Gerda

I fall to my knees and start pounding on the ground. Anna starts to do the same. We're not making much progress, but Kristoff already has a good-sized hole in the ground. For a few minutes, it seems like he's really going to escape. Then Kristoff stops digging. He wipes his brow and shakes his head.

"The bars go underground," he says. "I can dig into the ice around them, but they're too close together for me to fit through."

"It's ok," says Anna. "We'll find another way out." She sounds exhausted. "We will."

I press my hand against the icy ground. It's smooth, flat, and impenetrable, like a wall. Maybe we'll never break through. Maybe this is it. I think back to the long summer days I spent with Kai when things were easy, sitting in the window boxes and watching the roses grow. The cozy winter nights we spent drinking hot cocoa and listening to his grandmother's stories. We could be back there now if it weren't for the Snow Queen and the goblins. I could be there now if I hadn't gone after Kai. But I'm glad I went. I'd rather die now at the hands of the Snow Queen than grow old knowing I'd failed my best friend when he most needed me.

The ground beneath my hand begins to rumble.

The white box in the center of the room, the one that's covering Queen Elsa, explodes into pieces. I instinctively cover my face with my hands. When I lower them, Queen Elsa stands in its place. She takes a deep breath.

"Someone was attacking my ice," she says. Her voice is faint, almost a breath. Then she collapses, crumbling onto her hands and knees and clutching her chest with one hand.

"Elsa!" Anna rattles the bars of her cage.

"Hold on, Anna." Elsa waves one hand. She's still using the other one to hold herself up. The cages melt into the ground. Like that, we're free.

I run to the center of the room, skidding across the slick ice floor to help Elsa up. She doesn't seem to be able to stand, so I support her shoulders and help her sit down.

"Are you ok?" Anna asks, kneeling beside her.

"No." Elsa shakes her head slowly. She grimaces, like even that is too much effort.

"Was it me?" Kristoff looks horrified. "I didn't mean to attack your ice."

"No, no, you can't hurt the ice. That was good. It woke me up." She presses her palm against her chest. "It was Johanna. She's pierced my heart. I don't know what's going to happen to me. I've never heard of an Ice Mage being pierced by ice."

"You'll be ok," says Anna. "We'll find an act of true love for you to do."

"You can try. Any bad boyfriends I can save you from?"

"Sorry, I'm fresh out."

"Too bad." Elsa tries to laugh but winces instead.

"Maybe if you save the kingdom," says Anna. "Saving everyone is pretty loving, right? We were thinking, if we interrupt the resurrection spell before it works, Johanna won't have an excuse to start an eternal winter."

Elsa shakes her head. "I'm not going to save the kingdom, Anna."

"Why not?"

She looks up to the ceiling, open to the sky. "The eternal winter's already started."

"What?" I say. I didn't mean to interrupt, but I can't believe what I'm hearing. "When?"

"Just now."

I picture my grandmother, at home in Ciera, probably baking a pie or knitting a shawl. She's resourceful and always well-prepared. She'll have enough food set aside to survive a normal winter. Not an eternal winter though. No one can survive that.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Elsa says. "Especially you, Gerda. This isn't the kind of kingdom I meant for you to grow up in. I wanted so much better for Arendelle." She looks down at her hands, her eyes sad. "This whole thing is my fault. I should never have gone to look for Fred. None of this would have happened if I'd just stayed home."

Anna squeezes her hand. "It's not your fault."

"How can you say that?" Elsa squeezes her eyes shut. "When Jo was born, I was so worried for her. I didn't want her growing up like me, isolated and afraid. I tried to show her love. I tried to teach her control. I thought she wouldn't be a threat to the kingdom if I taught her how to use her powers. It never occurred to me that she'd use them to bring about the troll prophecy on purpose." She hugs herself, presses her palms against her sides like she's trying to hide them from us. "How could I be so stupid? To think we could live here without hurting people? We're monsters. Both of us."

A quiet snow starts to fall from the ceiling. The flakes are big and wet like tear drops.

"Stop that," says Anna. "Neither of you are monsters. People make bad choices when they're mad or scared, but that doesn't make them bad people." She pauses. "Ok, Johanna's acting pretty bad, but that's because she's illused. If we can get the goblin glass out of her heart, she'll go back to normal."

"I tried," says Elsa. "She's too quick for me." A wind curls up around her. It's a sad, soft little wind. It sounds more like it's crying than howling.

I throw my arms around Elsa's neck in a warm hug.

"You didn't have to apologize to me," I say, "because I don't think you did anything wrong. I think you're the kindest, bravest queen Arendelle-Ciera's ever seen. And you didn't just leave. You had to go find King Frederick for the same reason I had to go after Kai and the same reason Anna had to go after you. Because you do everything you can to save the people you love."

Elsa hugs me and pats my hair. "Thank you, Sweetheart. I don't know how much this means when we probably won't live to see the dawn, but you're one of the bravest people I've known."

Suddenly, she tenses.

"Johanna's coming," Elsa says. "I can feel her sledge getting nearer." Out of her skirt pocket, she pulls a little glittering drawstring bag and hands it to me. "Take this, Gerda. Don't let Johanna have it, and don't touch what's inside."

I take the little glittering bag and tuck it deep into my coat pocket.

A/N – Thanks to all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and giving up a good night's rest just so you can find out what happens next (heh sorry about that)! Just a Guest, you may want to reread Ch 17 – A Drop of Blood to find the answer to your question! :)

Til Wednesday!