A faint smell of smoke permeated the small wooden cabin. From the bed on which Elsa was sitting, it barely overtook Sven's musk. She had found the creature affable, seemingly more intelligent than the average reindeer. Admittedly, she hadn't been in contact with other reindeer than the one she just spent the day with, but imagination and books helped.
Kristoff leaned back on his friend, examining roped and tools. They had reached the snowline late that afternoon and settled down in the cabin not long after. Just as the mountain man had told her, the path up to the lake was inaccessible. What once was a proper path had been reduced to awkward cliffs. A possible, but difficult climb was the assessment.
Elsa looked up from her book, rubbing the bridge of her nose and let a yawn slip. Her eyes stung, either from reading or the tears that had come with her tired state.
"You should get some rest," said Kristoff, still focused on his work.
Glancing back and forth between the book in her lap and her guide, Elsa supressed a flash of annoyance. A night of restless sleep followed by a day worth of travel had left her drained. Kristoff had dashed any hope of rest on the way up. She was merely making polite conversation when it took a sharp turn into stories about creatures of the wild. Unfortunately for her, the tales were fascinating.
Elsa placed the book down on the floorboards, grudgingly yielding to the suggestion. Changing clothes felt too much of a bother, even if there was an appropriate place for her to do so in the tiny space that was the building. Instead, she simply slumped down into the bed.
Then and there, the rustic bed Elsa lay on felt better than all the down-filled monstrosities that the castle housed. Sleep came quickly.
A series of sharp knocks on the door jolted her awake. The iron fittings rattled much too loudly against the wood. Elsa jerked up from the bed, still half-covered in her cloak, in time to catch Kristoff's surprised look.
The mountain man placed a hand on a handle in his belt and approached the door. She could see Kristoff breathe deeply just before opening. A moment later, his grip loosened. "Anna?"
Elsa could hear her sister's voice from behind the giant back that was blocking her view. "Hey," it said sheepishly. Kristoff moved aside, letting the princess enter. She brushed away snow from her clothes and scanned the small space, then turned to face her boyfriend. "Konrad is still out there. Could you help him settle in?" she asked.
Kristoff nodded. "Sure. I have some extra blankets in the sled." He shuffled past Anna and disappeared into the night, closing the door behind him.
The sisters looked at each other in silence, neither willing to start the conversation. Elsa's mind was working through the drowsiness. How Anna had managed to find the cottage was a mystery. Only the head steward knew about her expedition. The rest of the castle staff saw only her hooded figure when she left on Kristoff's cart. Considering Kai's loyalty, it was doubtful that he would betray her trust. He had after all spent over a decade caring for the family without prying too far.
Elsa broke the tension first. "Anna, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I came here for you," replied the princess.
"For me? What do you…" Elsa began, trying to process the situation. Things risked coming apart at her sister's arrival. What good were her plans if Anna was here with her? She swung her legs down and stood, letting the cloak fall. "No. You shouldn't be here," she said.
The queen quickly realized it wasn't the right thing to say. Anna's eyes narrowed on her. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked sharply.
The older girl exhaled slowly, meeting her sister's gaze. As diplomatically as she could manage, she said "It means you should still be at the castle, resting."
"So should you, Elsa," said Anna, not missing a beat.
"I'm fine"
The princess moved closer, her face now a frown. "No you're not," she said, gesturing at the older girl. "Have you looked at yourself?"
Elsa didn't have to consult a mirror to assess her state. A simple shift in stance would be enough to drag fabric over tender bruises, causing them to sting. The doctor said they would go down in a few days' time, but she had her doubts. "I have, and I assure you, I am fine," said Elsa, skirting the truth. She was beginning to suspect her sister's methods. The need to direct the conversation elsewhere became pressing. "Did you come here all by yourself?"
"Yeah, I did," came the reply.
The queen supressed a grin; she'd found her foothold. Instead, she shook her head and said "you shouldn't be so reckless, Anna. You're the princess." Letting out a sigh, she went for the proverbial killing blow. "Tomorrow, you will wait here until we're done. Then we can return to Arendelle together."
Anna blinked with realization at the veiled command. "What? No! I'm coming with you-," she blurted out before getting cut off by Elsa.
"No you're not," affirmed the elder. "It's dangerous; I can't see you getting hurt because of this."
"Oh. So it's okay if you're in danger?" Anna snapped back.
The princess advanced.
"You think I don't worry? That I don't care?" she demanded, drawing closer. "Why do you think it's okay for you to do stuff like this? What if something happens to you?"
"It's just a lake. Kristoff has been on hundreds of them before. This is no different."
"I'm being serious Elsa!" the younger girl yelled. For a while, her chest was heaving. Then, she calmed down and spoke. "Something will happen up there… something really dangerous."
Elsa stared at her sister, taken aback by how ominous the last comment had been compared to the previous outburst. She could see out of the corner of her eye how the mountain man carefully snuck into the room. The tension and growing irritability kept her from realizing the worried features of the younger girl. "You don't know that," she countered flatly.
"Actually…" Anna said, hesitating. "I do." She turned away from Elsa, focusing on some spot in a corner. "I met the River Man on the way up here. And a lady with no back and flowers in her hair. They said you would be in danger if you went up to the lake. That-"
"Anna! What were you thinking?" The name alone was enough to remind Elsa of the creature and its strange spell. Kristoff's tales just added fuel to the fire. "Do you have any idea how dangerous they can be?"
Anna spun back, fixing her eyes on her sister. "Do you, Elsa?" she retorted, her vigour returning. "Since when did you become an expert?" Another step. "They were nothing but helpful to me."
The mountain man had been quietly watching the scene unfold from his place at the door. With a tinge of worry, he said "they're not as nice as you think, Anna. Vættir don't help people without getting something in return."
The princess turned. "Look, I don't think-"
"No, you don't!" Elsa interrupted. "And that's the problem. How can you trust those creatures to just tell the truth?" Her thoughts were blurring; Anna at the mercy of some monster's trick, her own powers failing. She reached out for the first thing, not even considering the words. Elsa jabbed a finger towards her sister. "This is like Hans all over again!"
Anna snarled. "You trusted him too!"
"That is not the point-"
"That's exactly the point!" Anna was yelling, the forcefulness making the others cower. She marched on Elsa. "You think you know everything, that you know best! But you don't!"
Elsa boiled over, meeting fire with fire. "Enough! I am your queen, and I command you to-"
She didn't get the chance to finish. Anna was upon her, even louder. "Yeah? Well out here you're just my sister and I don't care what your orders are!" The princess grabbed her by the shoulders. "For once, just once when it's important, will you just listen to me?"
Elsa stood stiffly, eyes wide, drawing small and shallow breaths. She grasped for a reply, but her mind was blanking out. Sensing her struggles, Anna let go and pulled back.
"I- I need a moment," Elsa said weakly, looking around the cabin. Her focus fell on the door. Moments later, she was gone.
The princess remained motionless, still looking at the where Elsa had stood.
Elsa had lost track of time. At first, she had only been walking. Now there was a goal.
She marched through the mountainous landscape, barely disturbing the field of blue and white. Had it not been for the snow and ice illuminating her surroundings, they would have been impossible to navigate. Now, it was merely tiring. Far ahead, she spied the cliff face Kristoff had shown her earlier. The sheer surface stretched upwards, covered in streaks of snow. Massive cliffs shot out from the ground in front of it, suggesting the path that once led up to the peak before crumbling into its current form. At the very top, the alleged Frozen Heart awaited out of sight.
In her mind, memories of her recent spat with Anna glowed. It had become a storm of emotion, no sense of reason in sight. The more she thought about it, the more her irritation intensified. She felt the need to focus, and the one thing that remain clear was her task.
Standing before the monolithic stone formations, Elsa paused for a while to drink in the sights and summon back the day that had past. She had been here with the mountain man, before nightfall, to plan for their ascent to the top. There was no easy way to reach to the top. The cliff face shot out at an awkward angle, making it difficult to scale, even for experienced climbers. Using her powers to reach the top had been out of the question. Elsa felt no confidence in her conjured ice. Though it looked as clear and strong as before, her magical creations were now often brittle to the touch, thoroughly unsuitable for climbing.
A freezing wind pressed against her. It brought a chill that would have caused others to bring their cloaks closer. It whipped up powdery snow into the sky. Elsa drew a deep breath, filling her lungs with clear mountain air in an attempt to focus her weary and cluttered mind. There was no way for her to make the climb alone, but going back to the cabin for help would mean facing Anna again. The idea of going behind her back stung, but Elsa needed to know. If she wanted to get up there, magic was the only solution.
The ice won't hold, a part of her noted. It doesn't have to be ice, came the reply.
Elsa dug her heel into the snow. Controlling and conjuring ice was the most prominent of her abilities, but not the only one. She twisted her arms above, small magical flakes of ice coalescing. With a thrusting motion, the magic was sent forward and out. It drew the snow around her and guided it into a vortex, crashing into the numerous pillars that led to the top and linking them together in a torrent of white. It wasn't enough. Struggling, Elsa closed her eyes and pressed her mind further to force the magic into submission. She slowly clenched her fists, exhaling. From ground to peak, the snow compacted. A layer of frost flashed between the individual flakes and fixed them to a lattice.
Her creation was complete. The packed snow ended up being far less elegant than the crystalline staircase that bridged the chasm before her palace, but right now function trumped form. Hopefully, the use of natural snow would keep it together longer than her entirely magical conjurations. With a huff, Elsa lifted her skirt and began her ascent up the bridge to the lake.
The bridge held, frost crunched underfoot and when she stepped on to the rim surrounding the lake her legs were burning.
Breathing heavily and rubbing her things, Elsa took a moment to gather her strength. Her lack of rest was taking its toll, but the answers were so close. The Frozen Heart lay before her, a large circular sheet of ice covering what she could only assume was water. The edges were smoothened by wind and snow banks. Across the pale surface, small particles danced in silver light and mountain winds. For a moment, the glittering reflections flashed in unison a form far out on the lake.
She took a careful step, testing the ice. Intricate patterns flickered beneath the surface, spreading. Ahead, the form pulsed again in the airborne snow. Elsa didn't notice the winds picking up, ever so slowly, nor the snow that drifted down from the midnight sky, now blossoming into lights.
Elsa advanced.
A/N: Okay, so the spat between the sisters was kind of strange to write and I'm still unsure about how the characters came though well enough or not. Please don't hesitate providing feedback on that part (or any other for that matter). Thanks!