Elsa carried Olaf to the sled, then rebuilt the ice shield that protected them from the ash. She remained calm, despite the situation, taking one step at a time. Let Honeymaren bundle Olaf up. Reinforce the shield. Make sure Sven's eyes and nose are protected. Make sure both she and Honeymaren have a filter to breathe through. Hook Sven up to the sled. Make sure he was ready to go. Light the lantern so they could see their way.

Before she knew it, Elsa's tasks were done, and she stared blankly past Sven towards the smoking volcano as a numbness settled into her heart. First Kristoff and Ryder, and then more and more of their people, and now Olaf, Anna. Who was left? Was it just the two of them, alone, while the whole world slipped away? Had all of Arendelle and the Forest fallen? Was the only home she had left the woman standing behind her?

Elsa wrapped an arm around herself, the numbness fading somewhat as the sheer weight of her thoughts pulled her down. It was Maren's hand on her elbow that brought her back to earth; back to herself.

"They'll all be okay."

She turned, taking a breath and nodding. "Let's get moving. We have a break in the storm and we should take advantage of it." They both climbed onto the sled, Maren sitting on Elsa's right and taking her hand.

"Let me." Maren picked up the reigns and urged Sven on; she barely needed to, before Maren could even do anything he'd already started moving, pulling them through the ashen snow.

Sven's single-minded determination did a lot ot buoy Elsa's spirits, and she focused on that, on the warmth of Maren next to her, on the thought and hope that she'd return and find Anna waiting to greet her and tell her all about how she held Arendelle together.

She could do this, she had to do this; Elsa just hadn't felt this unsure and insecure in a long time. And everything felt just a little muted. Sven's hoofprints in the snow were a soft crunch, and the air had a dead sort of numbness to it. The world around them was mostly colorless grey from all the ash. Even the snow was grey.

But, she reminded herself, Anna was alive. Olaf was just sleeping. She could save them both as long as she kept pushing forward. As Anna would tell her; keep doing the next right thing.

But what if she did something wrong? Elsa had traded one set of responsibilities for another, deeper set, and she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she was walking on thin ice as it was.

"Elsa."

Startled, Elsa nearly fell off of the sled. She caught herself and brushed herself off. "Yes?"

"You kind of wandered off there," Maren said.

Elsa frowned. "Sorry, I haven't done that in awhile."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

There was a looming volcano with angry spirits and Elsa didn't at all want to talk about it. But that didn't mean she shouldn't talk about it. Maren deserved that kind of honesty and Elsa had promised herself that she would always try to be honest with the people she loved, especially Anna. But that included Maren, "I'm scared, Mare. What if I have to fight this thing? What if I can't get it to calm down? What if…"

Elsa shuddered, the wind picking up as she spoke, "What if we're the only ones left? What do I do if you fall asleep and I'm all alone? I don't want to be alone again. I spent so much of my life being alone."

Her life had become perfect, like she'd gotten to have her cake and eat it too; a freer life, but one that she could be around people when she wanted, and have time to herself when she wanted. And to be able to see Anna still.

Maren's grip on the reins tightened. "I wish I could promise that I'll be able to see this through with you to the end, but I could keel over at any moment or we could reach a place I can't go, like you said on the ship. So with that in mind, I'm going to ask you to promise me something."

"Promise you what?"

"No matter what happens, you take care of yourself, Elsa. I don't want you dying for me. Anna wouldn't want that either. If you have to retreat, do it." She squeezed Elsa's hand, and put a finger over her lips before Elsa could protest. "Self-sacrifice isn't an option."

Elsa sucked in her lips, and stared down at their hands. There'd been times in her life when she'd wondered if it might be better if she died. After hurting Anna, especially, those dark thoughts in her palace and then the dungeon and … after.

But ever since she'd discovered her destiny, she'd embraced life. Knowing where she belonged had been a salve on wounds she'd never known she'd had and while those wounds would always be there, she had something to hold on to. Something distinctly hers.

"I haven't … I'm not planning on jumping in the volcano or anything, Maren. But I'm mortal, just like you. My magic doesn't grant me any special gifts in that department. I might die today, but I promise you I'll try my hardest not to."

Maren clearly didn't like that answer, but she nodded and looked forward. Elsa analyzed what she'd said; no, she didn't actually want to die. But it could come for her today, or tomorrow, or any time. She touched Mare's cheek. "Hey. I mean that. But that's just life, isn't it? We go through it, and then one day our string is cut and we move on to whatever comes after. I have no desire to see that string cut any sooner than necessary."

"I promised Anna I'd watch out for you, but I feel like all I've been able to do is hold onto you and pray."

"And fight bears," Elsa said. "But holding on to me goes a long way."

"We haven't run across any."

"But if we did, you could fight one. I even packed a spear for you."

A faint smile appeared on Maren's face. "I could. And I'll fight whatever I have to for you."

Elsa remembered a story she'd heard once, about how Haladreth had fought a bear with only a small skinning knife. She believed it, just like she believed that Maren could too. She was so kind and brave and Elsa admired her gentle strength.

"I'd rather we fight it together."

?

They'd barely been traveling for an hour before Maren realized that Sven wouldn't be able to go on much longer. The terrain was rockier, with hidden pratfalls and volcanic rock buried beneath the snow that could twist his leg or even break one of them.

She took a look at Elsa, then brought the sled to a stop. "Sven can't go any further. It's getting too dangerous for him. One wrong step and…"

Elsa looked back, then glanced worriedly at Sven. "You're the expert, Maren. I don't want anything to happen to him if I can control it."

Maren nodded, and then hopped off the sled. "Okay Sven, we need to turn you around."

Sven looked at them, confused, then turned back towards the volcano and stomped his hooves. Elsa came around to his front and held his fuzzy face in her hands. "This is as far as you can go, Sven. We need you to be able to get back to Kristoff and Anna, and someone has to take care of Olaf, who's still sleeping in the sled."

He tilted his head and huffed, ears twitching and Maren wished she had her brother's talent for communicating with reindeer. She hoped they weren't going to spend the next hour trying to coax Sven into going back the way they'd come. He was a little too close to the volcano for her comfort to just leave him here. "Please, Sven? For Kristoff? For Ryder? Go back to the village."

"Or at least that cave," Elsa suggested, seemingly able to tell that the village might be too far for Sven to want to go.

His ears drooped, and then his head. Elsa hugged him, probably more tightly than Maren thought she normally would. "We'll be all right. But Kristoff will kill me if I let anything happen to you."

Finally, Sven relented, and together the two women got him turned around. Maren studied him for a moment, then started to undo the barding and the sled.

Elsa gave her a quizzical look, then started to help on the other side.

Maren kept her voice low, "He'll have an easier time without the sled. We're going to need to secure Olaf to him so they'll both be safe."

"That's a good idea."

Once Sven was free of the sled, Elsa picked Olaf and brought him over to the reindeer. It was easier said than done to get him tied down, but between Maren's rope work and a little application of ice magic, Olaf was secured. Elsa stroked his frozen head, then patted Sven. "Okay Sven. Just head southeast from here. You can shelter in the cave, but if you feel up to it try to get back to that village. I'm counting on you to keep the both of you safe, you've got it?"

Sven stomped his hooves, straightening like he was being given orders by a general.

"Good luck, Sven," Maren said, as he started to trot off. She felt Elsa grab her hand, holding it so tightly that it hurt, but said nothing and let her lover hold on as hard as she needed to.

Once they were out of sight, Elsa leaned back against the sled, closing her eyes. Maren stepped closer, putting her arm around her and held her like that for a few precious moments.

"He'll be okay. Probably better than us."

Elsa smiled tiredly at her. "Let's pack what we can carry and keep moving. I want to get there by…" she laughed, "I almost said 'sunrise.'"

"Hey, maybe we will get to see the next sunrise together."

Eyes sparkling, Elsa nodded and Maren let go of her so they could take care of their packs. The volcano was still belching smoke, but less of it than it had been previously. Maren didn't know enough about volcanoes to tell if she should be worried or not, but she erred on the side of caution while also seeing it as a good sign. At least it would make the next leg of their journey easier, even if she didn't know if that meant the thing was going to explode while they tried to climb it.

Elsa refilled their water skins with melted ice, and Maren packed what was left of their food and a few blankets. She strapped a pickaxe to one of the packs, and then slung that over her shoulder and picked up the spear. Elsa picked up the second pack and then the lantern and neither of them looked back as they started towards that hulking shadow of a mountain.

Maren wished she could enjoy the way Elsa looked in the lantern light, but they were close, far too close to the end of all things for her to focus on that right now. One foot in front of the other. She reached for Elsa's hand.

One foot in front of the other.

?

They were so close that Elsa could taste it; assuming she could taste anything but dirt and ash. Maybe the better word was that they were so close she could feel the heat from the molten rock that cast an orange haze higher up the mountain. If they could feel it from here, it would be unbearable when they got closer. Elsa came to a stop, leaning her hands on her knees as she thought about their next course of action.

"Can you feel anything?" Maren asked, putting her hand on her back.

When she'd first met Bruni, she'd felt something a bit like a buzzing at the back of her mind. She hadn't known what it meant then. And like with Maren, the spirits had an aura for her to see.

But Elsa felt no buzzing, and when she tilted her head and looked a little to the left the only thing she could see was Maren's faint white glow.

"No," Elsa said. "I can't feel anything. Or see anything." She straightened, a horrible thought occuring to her. "This has to be it, Mare! We can't have come all this way and gone to the wrong place. This has to be it!"

Maren nodded, staring at Elsa and then looking up the craggy slope as a stiff wind blew her hair around her masked face. "Then we keep going until you sense something, or whatever we're supposed to be doing here becomes more clear."

"We can't go that way," Elsa pointed towards the lava flow. "I might be okay, but you'd burn to a crisp getting too close."

"Yes but…" Maren started to pace back and forth, moving one of her hands. Then she came to a stop. "Okay let's try to go around, but I just have this feeling that whatever we're looking for is higher up."

Elsa flexed her fingers, debating for a whole half a second sending Maren away on a sled of ice. "Then we'll take a path that doesn't cook your goose."

She started to walk, and then to climb, Maren close behind her. The heat from the volcano was uncomfortable, but not dangerous yet, steam rising from Elsa's skin. She looked down, seeing the way Honeymaren sweated and struggled. At the first ledge they could rest on, she cupped Maren's face and kissed her.

Elsa blew into Maren's mouth, chilling her from the inside to the outside. "How do you feel?"

"Cold," Maren said, flexing her fingers and shivering.

"It won't last forever." Elsa took her hand and peered up through the darkness, hoping to make out where they needed to go next.

"Elsa?"

"Yes?"

Honeymaren didn't respond, but her hand in Elsa's went slack. Elsa's heart froze, her eyes falling to their hands, then to Maren's face, her eyes closed. Honeymaren slumped back against the rock face, Elsa catching her head before she cracked it open. With trembling hands she pulled Maren into her lap and buried her face into her hair. "No. No no baby no… Not now! Not you too!" Elsa gripped her tighter. "I love you."

She was alone now, just herself and this mountain. Sven and Olaf were somewhere to the south, too far away to find in time to put Maren in the sled. Anna and Kristoff were even farther away and would still be far away even if she was right next to them.

Elsa felt her power build inside her and threw her hand out to release some of it. She watched the snow fall, melting as it did so.

It wasn't safe here. Elsa released her power again, creating a slide of ice. It started to melt almost immediately, so she jumped into it, Maren still cradled in her arms. At the base of the volcano again, Elsa picked Maren up and carried her as far as she could. She must have walked for an hour, stopping frequently to rest, before she found a sheltered overhang.

First, she kissed Maren, removing the chilling effect from her, and then she built a shelter made out of ice. Something to protect Maren from the elements and the falling ash, at least long enough for Elsa to do whatever it was she was supposed to do.

If she failed, they were all dead anyway.

The thought should have caused her some alarm, but she barely felt it. Elsa could barely feel anything. It had been a problem ever since she'd lost Anna, but it had just gotten worse.

Closing her eyes, Elsa centered herself. She latched onto the way Anna had always made her feel, the warmth and sunshine and earthy tones of her sister and how much she loved her. She thought of the scent of leaves in Maren's hair and the taste of her skin, of Kristoff's laugh and Olaf's warm hugs. And Sven's soft, soft fur. She loved them, she loved them all.

Kneeling next to Maren, to stroke her hair and give her a last kiss, Elsa slipped the stuffed horse from so long ago into her arms. And she almost missed it, but there, in Maren's pocket was a folded paper. Elsa pulled it out, unfolded it and skimmed it.

Her eyes watered again and she smiled. "Thank you, Mare. I think you figured it out."

Leaving her pack behind, Elsa crawled out of the shelter. She started to jog towards the volcano, and then she started to run, creating an ice slick and jumping onto it.

Tears left trails in the ash on her cheeks as she held close to her heart the people she loved. If she forgot these things, if she forgot love in all its beautiful forms, Elsa knew she'd be lost.