Drum roll please! *drum roll*

CHAPTER 10!

The next morning, I was still by the fjord. I had my legs pulled up against my chest, tears still flowing. Nobody had bothered me yet, but it was too early for anyone to really be out.

The pain in my heart had dulled into a numb throb. I closed my eyes, wincing slightly as a wave of cold water sprayed my feet.

I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't bother looking. I wasn't ready to face the day. It was when a hand touched my shoulder when I responded.

Elsa stood above me, smiling sympathetically as she sat down next to me. "Hey," she said softly, pulling her braid over her shoulder. I opened my mouth to respond, but another sob threatened to break through. Instead, I just gave her a small smile in return and nodded.

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked, and I shook my head, a tear trailing down my cheek.

"No," I said hoarsely. I buried my face in my lap and tried to calm myself. "Sorry."

"Its okay," Elsa said, playing with her hands uncomfortably. "I understand how you feel. When Anna had... Well, was going to freeze before you came, I felt like the world was crashing around me. It felt hopeless."

"I know," I said. As Elsa gave me a confused look, I explained the movie and how I followed through the adventure while sitting comfortably on my couch.

It surprised me how much I wanted that back.

"You know, Hans really did love you," Elsa said. When I didn't respond, she continued. "When I accidentally sent that blast of magic, and you saved them all from the same fate, he looked heartbroken. As if he felt he should have taken the pain instead."

I squeezes my eyes shut. "I couldn't have lived with that. I can't."

"Hey," Elsa said forcefully, grabbing my hand. "You can get through this. Anna won't let you live like this. I won't either."

And with that, she stood up and started pulling me back towards the palace. Stumbling, I held back a smile as she started running. "Come on!" Elsa laughed, eyes sparkling. "Its time to see how to have some real fun!"

...

By the end of the day, I truly was exhausted. Elsa had lived up to her word, making sure I was always doing something to cheer me up.

First, it was making sweets. We made cookies and ice cream, cakes and pies. About halfway through, Anna came in and joked about how we left her out on everything. After that, she trailed around us fie the rest of the day.

Next, Elsa decided to go back to her childhood days. We found the ballroom, and within no time, the ground was icy and covered with fluffy snow.

A huge snowball fight broke out, and Elsa pelted us all with giant snowballs only she could make.

Overall, it was one of the best days of my life. At the same time, it was also one of the worst. Everything we did brought back memories, which I stuffed down. I didn't want to fall into the same depression I had before.

Still, when I was alone with only my thoughts to keep me company, it was hard to keep the jolts of sadness away. I couldn't sleep. It was worse than the night before.

As I turned over in my bed, thinking about the fact that I had really amazing friends. I knew I wouldn't be completely forget Hans, but even if it was for a moment, I was beginning to heal.

I closed my eyes, searching for better memories. I smiled vaguely and yawned. "I miss you," I whispered, clutching Hans jacket to my chest.

"Hans?" A loud voice said behind me. "I assumed so. I could help with that."

Spinning around, I glared at the smirking figure of Albert. "Go. Away," I muttered, emphasizing every syllable.

"Without hearing me out?" Albert said mockingly, slapping his hand over his heart. "That hurts, Emma."

"I said to leave!" I nearly shouted, jamming my finger towards the door. "I don't care what you want to talk about. The last time that happened, you killed Hans and stole certain things like, oh I don't know, my magic! No! Get. Out!"

"Eh," Albert shrugged crossing the room and sitting on the chair. "And what's the fun in that?"

"More than if you stayed," I muttered to myself, and Albert laughed.

"Your personalities always seem to change," he said, flicking the fabric of the chair. "Happy, to angry, desperate, to feisty... I never know which you'll be."

I scowled as he continued. "Either way, it never really works out for you, does it? The question is if it ever will."

"What do you mean?" I asked, curiosity spiking.

"Face it, we both know your life sucks. You've lost too many people, been through things people would never dream of. I can help fix some of this," Albert said. A smug look crossed his face as I sighed in annoyance.

"What," I said stiffly, folding my arms.

"I could make you forget all of this."

My mouth dropped open. Forget...? I snapped out of it quickly.

"Why on earth, or whatever realm this is, would I want that?" I demanded. I was furious at him for even offering something that absurd, and even more furious at myself for actually considering it.

"Why not?" Albert said, looking me in the eye with a straight face. My heart jumped into my throat as I noticed how much he looked like Hans.

"Because I..." I trailed off. "Because..."

"You can't leave your friends?" Albert asked. "You did it before. You couldn't live with yourself? You wouldn't even remember."

It infuriated me to no end how much sense it made. I didn't want to forget, but it seemed so appealing to not feel the pain...

"Let me guess," I said. "You'd take me home. I went home and still remembered everything the first time. What difference would it make?"

"The first time you still had your magic," the prince said. "Now you don't. The reason the others didn't remember is because Shifting is unnatural. Their mind rejects it. Now, if you were to leave... The same thing would happen to you."

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded.

Albert smiled. "You did us a huge favor. This is how we repay you. Now, this is the only offer you're going to get. Are you going to take up the deal?"

I licked my lips. Taking a deep breath, I replied, "Yes."

"Fantastic!" Albert exclaimed. "I'll come back tomorrow night. You can say your goodbyes tomorrow if you want."

A sick feeling if guilt twisted in my stomach. I was leaving. I had chosen to leave. To forget. A tear rolled down my cheek, splattering onto the floor.

Albert winked at me before striding out the door. "Oh, and Emma?" He said, sticking his head back in. "Your father won't remember anything either."

And he left.

Shaking, I climbed back into bed. Somehow, I found sleep.

It was dreamless.

...

The next morning, I dragged myself out of bed. To face the day ahead seemed to be the hardest thing.

Still, I made it to breakfast and enjoyed the morning with Anna.

She tried to keep conversations as far away from Hans as possible. I tries to keep conversations as far away from his brother. We both failed miserably.

"How did you sleep?" Anna asked. She winced slightly.

"Good," I said after a long pause. "I guess."

"What's going on? What happened?"

"I got a visitor," I mumbled. "Albert."

"What?" Anna gasped. "What happened? Are you okay, or did he hurt you? Well, I guess your okay because your right here but you know what I mean... Tell me everything."

It was difficult, but I did. Anna stayed quiet the whole time, and it was several minutes before she spoke.

"I think you should leave," she said.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Well," Anna began. "Albert was right. You've gone through so much. It would be easier on you to... Forget. To leave."

Even though she said that, I could hear the pain behind her words. "I'm sorry," I said. "I should have thought it through more. I don't want to leave you guys. I love all of you."

Anna smiled. "We love you too," she said, giving me a hug. "Which is why we should let you go."

The sincerity in her voice touched my heart. They were willing to let me go, even if it was hard. It was hard on all of us.

"Do you think I could change my mind? Tell Albert?" I asked, playing with Anna's hair.

"I'm sure you can try," she responded. "But I don't think he'll let you back out now."

I nodded and closed my eyes. I was excited to go home, but devastated that I had to forget. "Do you think you'll forget too? You did last time."

"Nah," Anna said. "The reason we forgot is because you didn't want us to be in pain. We forgot because part of you wanted us to. However, Albert doesn't. I'm sure you'll be fine, and we will be too."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while. "You know, I think I can tell when someone watches this 'movie'. And the storyline it follows," Anna said.

"Really? How?" I asked.

"Well, there are times where a certain part of the story comes into my head. I feel like someone is talking to me, watching me in that memory. Maybe I can tell if you're watching it, too," Anna said. I smiled at her and looked down.

"Let's go find Kristoff. Tell him the news," I said. Anna and I walked back to the palace with our arms linked.

...

Surprisingly, Kristoff wasn't all that shocked when I told him.

"How did you expect that?" Anna asked, poking the ice harvester in the stomach.

His ears grew red. "I may or may not have accidentally overheard the conversation," he mumbled. "What? I was going to check on you, Emma!" He added defensively as we stared at him.

We spent the day relaxing around the castle. Before I knew it, the sun was already setting, bringing me back to the harsh reality: I was leaving.

After dinner, Elsa trailed behind me as I headed to my room. "Emma?" She asked, pausing as I opened the door.

"Hmmm?" I mumbled distractedly as I stared into the dim room.

"Well... Anna told me that you were going to leave. I just want to tell you... Well, you'll be missed," Elsa said, smiling at me. "Here's something for you to remember us, even if you won't."

She held out a small package. Taking it from her, I opened it to find a small bracelet with a bunch of snowflake charms dangling all over it. It truly was beautiful, and I gasped as I held it up. "Oh my God! Elsa, this is beautiful! Thank you!"

Elsa laughed as I gave her a hug. "You're welcome. Honestly, I don't even know you and yet I feel as if we're sisters."

"Sisters forever," I said. "Anna, Elsa and Emma. I like the sound of that."

"Me too," Elsa said, giving me a warm smile. "Now good luck and stay safe."

A pang of guilt rang through me. "You too. Take care of everyone."

We exchanged another hug before I closed the door to my room. Slipping the cool bracelet on, I shook my wrist and giggled at the clear tinkling sound that followed.

"I love you guys," I breathed, admiring the bracelet.

"Goodness, Emma!" Albert said, suddenly appearing in front of me. "First you say you miss me, and now you love me! I'm flattered."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

"As you wish," Albert smirked. "Are you ready?"

"Yea- actually, just a second."

Scrambling around the room, I collected a bottle of ink, a quill, and a sheet of parchment. Going as fast as I could I scribbled down a note.

Dear Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Hans, and Sven,

I'm gone. I wish I could have had longer to spend time with you, even another day. But that's not the case, and I'm sorry.

Thank you guys for giving me friendships I never had in my world. I will miss you all dearly. I hope you can remember me, even if I don't. You guys truly do deserve the best.

Anna, you really were my best friend. My sister. I'll miss your optimistic attitude and bubbly personality. I love you.

Kristoff, you were a person I could rely on. Even when the impossible happened, you were there to support me and believe in me. I love you too.

Elsa, I wish I had more time to get to know you. You are an amazing friend, and an even more amazing queen. I love you.

Olaf, there is so much to love about you. You bring a smile to everyone's face, and give people the support they so desperately need. I love you.

Sven, you are just a cool reindeer. I love you.

Hans, even though you're gone, I will love you forever. I wish you could be here. I wish that I could stay. But you're gone, and I can't stop that. I know I'm in live with you, Hans Westergaurd.

I love all of you so much. Thank you for everything.

Love forever and always,

Emma

Wiping a tear from my eye, I blew on the ink and rolled up the parchment. Setting it on the pillow, I turned back to Albert. "Let's go," I said bitterly, glancing around the room.

"Let's go," Albert said, roughly grabbing my wrist.

Hi!

Yeah. A lot happened in this chapter.

Sorry for the long wait. I kinda got into the story and wrote almost three chapters. (I smashed two chapters together)

Who can't wait for the next chapter?

Review Please!

HUGS AND KISSES LAURYN OUT!