This chapter is actually a tribute to the 2012 Russian film, "The Snow Queen". If you haven't seen it, you should.
"These paths lead up to a cave. I never noticed anything strange myself. No one comes up this far. No way anyone would want to come up this far. But some of the ice harvesters think that it's haunted," said Kristoff pointing to the path the crow went. It had led them on the strange mountain paths north of Arendelle. Paths only Kristoff knew, and so he made an agreement to come and guide them through what might be a dangerous journey.
The paths were so poor that they had to leave their mounts below and continue by foot. Small flakes of snow began to fall, indicating a winter was fast approaching now. If they weren't careful they might get trapped by an unexpected blizzard.
The party stopped a moment seeing that upon the top of the mountain which had no cave, but a small tent, which the crow that had been showing them the way. It landed in front of it, gave a crow and then jumped between the flaps, disappearing inside. A ruggety old things, with small bird bones laying discarded out the tent flap.
"That's really creepy," commented Bjorn.
"You were saying?" said Anna.
"Well, I never went up this way," said Kristoff.
"Because you're scared of ghosts," said Anna.
"No, I'm not," said Kristoff. "It's bird bones. That doesn't mean it's a ghost."
"Well it's certainly not a cave," said Anna.
"Would you two stop it?" said Elsa examining the tent.
"Why don't you quit starring, and come inside? Or is even the mighty Snow Queen herself, once again surrcummed to her fear?" said a voice inside the tent. A crackly old woman's voice. "Come inside. The two who are of the cursed bloodline, I would that I could see you with my own eyes. The rest must wait outside."
"Whoa, no argument here. None whatsoever," said Kristoff backing off.
"Anna?"
"Uh... Okay," said Anna carefully walking in after her sister. She gave a glance at her husband, as though to say, "You're going to get it for letting me do this."
The tent was a stuffy place, made from animal hides and decorated with the bones of lord only knows what. The crow had perched himself over the head of a hunched old woman who seemed to sit cross legged before them.
Elsa examined her carefully, and then waved her hand in front of the woman's eyes. Finding no reaction, she realized the old woman, who carved her living eating lesser creatures, was blind.
"There's no need for you to marvel, Elsa of Arendelle," said the woman.
"Okay this is really getting weird," said Anna. "How did you convince me to come with you again?"
"I didn't," said Elsa matter of factly. "You insisted."
"Oh right. Biggest mistake of my life," said Anna.
"Really?" Elsa retorted.
"Before you ask, I was not the one who cursed your bloodline," said the Finn Woman. "Nor do I fully understand where it came from. I only know it was Gow who took it."
"Uh... who?" said Anna.
"The troll that built the mirror child. Do you not know anything," said the Finn Woman.
"No, she doesn't," said Elsa.
"Yeah like you know," said Anna. Elsa shoved her to get her to be quiet.
"I'm not interested in riddles or wasting time. Your crow brought me here, and I want to know right now, what you want," said Elsa.
"What would you do if you could be the Snow Queen again?"
Elsa thought for a moment, and honestly didn't really have an answer. For thirteen years she cursed herself for her powers. Then only a year ago, she came to terms with it. Now she simply couldn't imagine her life without it.
"Oh Elsa? She would do lots of things... She has the most impressive display of ice sculptures," said Anna. The old woman, certainly couldn't look less impressed. Once again Elsa scolded her to be quiet.
"It's simply who I am," said Elsa. "I don't see it as a curse. I can't explain what I would do because I don't know everything. All I know is what I am. And it's not this."
The Finn woman nodded. "The power is to be burdened by you alone. Not even the child your sister will bare will share it," said the Finn woman.
"Wait, what? No, I'm not... What I mean is I've only been married for nine months. We're not even thinking about kids right now..."
"You don't ever wait on anything, do you?" said Elsa with almost a laugh.
"I will grant you access to the cave, but beware of those who lurk within," said the Finn woman.
"Wait, what? What cave?"
"You are not the only one with gifts, Elsa of Arendelle," said the Finn Woman. They heard a rumbling sound as the earth opened up. "Now go claim what is yours."
"You should probably go back," said Elsa quietly as they walked down the path together where Bjorn and Kristoff were waiting. They weren't paying attention as Hans, who had been waiting in the shadows, carefully slipped through the cave entrance.
"No, Elsa, I'm not..."
"I don't know if that woman is crazy, or right. But I would rather you go, okay?"
"Fine, fine. Just shut me out. I've been nothing more than a secondary character in this whole adventure anyway," said Anna. "I thought whatever we're going to go through, we're going to go through it together. Like we were past all of this."
"It's not about shutting you out, and I think you're moody," said Elsa.
"No, I'm not... because I'm not... whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm tired of you trying to protect me and then pretending like I have a place with you one moment, but then I don't the next," said Anna. "You're just like papa. Trying to separate me from things you think are dangerous, and it never works."
"I'm sorry about that. How I've treated you lately Anna. There's just been a lot of things that happened lately..."
"You know what? Forget it, Elsa. I'll just go, since that only seems to be what you want," said Anna.
"Hey, where are you going?" said Kristoff as Anna walked past him.
"Away from here," she replied.
"It's just you and me then?" said Bjorn.
Elsa shook her head. "What am I going to do with her?"
"She's your sister. You'll bicker, hate each other for awhile, then be best friends later," said Bjorn sheathing his sword. "Believe me. I have a couple of my own. Sisters that is. Ever tell you about them?"
"A couple times," said Elsa putting her hand on Bjorn's shoulder.
"Gerik!" Hans shouted as he waded through the green colored water. His voice echoed off the walls of the cave. In the middle, sat an earth incline with only one single tree growing from it. "Gerik, I know you're here!"
"Ah, Hans. How goes the over taking of Arendelle," said Gerik descending from the earth ramp.
"Over taking of Arendelle? Is that a joke? Your plan didn't work," said Hans. "And now I have three hundred mercenaries who are going to want to have my neck. How long will it be before Queen Elsa strikes a bargain with them. My head, for their freedom."
"I only said I will help you get Arendelle. Which you did. If you couldn't keep it, that's not my fault. I gave you the perfect opportunity. Don't tell me you couldn't handle one pair of ordinary sisters," said Gerik.
"You have no idea how troublesome women are. Especially those two. I curse their entire bloodline," said Hans. "And you still owe me."
"Do I? If I recall, you showed me where to find this place, and I take the queen's powers. That's it. And, if your done griping about your troubles with women, perhaps I should show you what I found," said Gerik. He turned to face the water. "You know, it's a shame no one knew where to find these powers."
He lifted his hands high in the air, causing a funnel of water to come streaming from the lake. He threw it, causing the force to collapse down several of the stalactites. Gerik laughed as he conjured rain and clouds all within the cave itself.
"Amazing, isn't it? I spent all week trying to learn to control them. The queen was right. They do have a mind of their own, but, she was wrong about them being controlled," he said with pure joy.
"You're a madman," said Hans.
"Don't call me that," said Gerik, conjuring a water funnel that took the shape of what appeared to be a hand. With one thought, he slammed the full fury of it on Hans, throwing him from the rock face. He then forced the water to sweep Hans away in a tidal wave. "It was your kind that made me. It's your kind that deserves me."
"Gerik," said Elsa as she and Bjorn looked up from the water below. "I might have known."
Gerik chuckled, letting the water fury finally recede. "Elsa of Arendelle. You don't look worst for wear."
"I've been better," said Elsa as she climbed up the rock face. Bjorn drew his sword carefully following behind her.
"You know, you don't have to look at me like your enemy. I've got what I wanted. And I really do feel sorry for what I did to you. These powers are amazing. I'm inhuman. I don't need to eat. I don't need to sleep. I don't need anything."
"That's not true," said Elsa.
"Oh. Is this going to be the speech about how much I need other people. How being alone isn't worth it. Are you going to whine about how lost you feltwithout your little sister, or that ape man back there..."
"Hey, I told you I didn't shave that morning," said Bjorn.
"You know, I'm not heartless Elsa. I suddenly realize how heart breaking it must have been to feel so wrong," said Gerik pulling from his robes the mirror. He tossed it at Elsa's feet, hitting a rock and causing it to shatter in three separate pieces.
A storm erupted of ice and snow, swirling around the entire room of the cave. Bjorn tried to pull Elsa back, but she refused. The storm, might have been a fury, but Elsa knew it as a part of her. She stepped into the vortex, and in a moment the entire storm was absorbed back inside her. Her hair, her gown, everything that she was, returned. It filled her, made her strong again. The cold of the cave was nothing anymore.
When the transformation was complete, Elsa glared at Gerik.
"Oh, no, no, no. My vendetta isn't with you. You don't get to stop me," said Gerik. He threw a wall of water at her, which Elsa had only time to freeze part of it. It slammed into her, forcing her to fall off the cliff. Bjorn reached down, and grabbed her, pulling her up as she choked out a lungful of water.
"I was almost half expecting to think you don't even choke," said Bjorn with a smile, as he patted her on the back. He suddenly let out a painful gasp, and Elsa looked up only in time to see Hans pulling out his bloodied knife.
She launched her ice, mostly out of panic, and only managed to catch Hans in the leg, trapping him against a rock.
"No," she said cradling Bjorn in her trembling arms. But she saw the wound. A deep wound. Always fatal. "I love you..."
He only managed a slight smile.
"Of all the dumb, stubborn, pig headed things she could have done, this is the worst. She must have been laughing when she told me back in the valley how she needed me at her side. That was probably all for show," said Anna as she stomped down the mountain path.
"Oh come on Anna. Don't get like this," sighed Kristoff, as the snow picked up a little more.
"Oh no, mister. I'm just getting warmed up. She freaks out over the stupidest things. Me getting engaged, and then something some creepy old lady tells her. Which isn't even true by the way"
"I don't know what the old lady said, and you were engaged to Hans. Hans! The first day you met him."
"That is not the point. And don't you start siding with her, because she clearly overreacted."
"I'm not siding with her. I just don't like it when you two argue because usually world gets cursed when you do. Then my ice business suffers," said Kristoff. Suddenly the hill froze over, and the flakes of snow that had been falling steadly halted as though stuck in time itself. "Oh great. See this? This is what I'm talking about..."
"Oh no," said Anna looking at the snow. "Something's happened... Elsa..."
She dashed off, back up the mountain path as fast as she could go. Kristoff followed, realizing the urgency in Anna's step.
Hans struggled to get his foot free, picking at the frozen lump with his knife. Once, he even slipped and caught his leg, letting out a loud gasp.
Elsa did nothing other than hold Bjorn until he breathed his last. With a shaking hand, she moved her hands over his eyes to close them. Her own breath suddenly got heavy as the storm inside her raged.
She couldn't hold it back as she laid Bjorn's head gently to the ground. She pointed her fury directly at Hans, freezing his leg further up, reaching his thigh.
"What are you doing?" he said. He reached for his sword, but when he tried to pull it out, he found the blade frozen to the scabbard. Elsa struck him again, this time freezing his other foot. Hans begged in agony for her to stop. She wouldn't. The ice came to his chest, near where his heart was. He was freezing,
"You told your men I was a monster out to destroy the world," she said, trying to bite back the tears. "Maybe I should, starting with you."
"Elsa no!" Anna shouted rushing up the incline. She tackled Elsa before the Snow Queen could freeze Han's heart. She held Elsa, pinning her even as Elsa went into a fury screaming and crying. Even as she conjured a terrible storm, Anna held on until finally Elsa broke down in uncontrollable crying. "It's okay, Elsa. I got you," said Anna as a tear rolled down her face.