Chapter 17 / A Normal Life

Oslo, Norway

Present Day

After long years away from home, Elsa returned to Arendelle Manor to find it just the way she and Anna had left it, that is to say pristine. In their absence, Kai and Gerda had dutifully maintained the Kaldborg family property, loyally awaiting the day that their wayward masters would return. They were overjoyed to see Elsa again, and relieved to hear that Anna, though she wasn't present, was alive and well elsewhere in the world.

However, all was not well for Elsa when she tried to settle back into a regular lifestyle after the short stint of adventure she had. Arendelle Manor was old, and contained within its walls were the persistent echoes of memory. Everywhere she looked, Elsa saw the ghost of Anna's smile, or the phantom sound of her parents' laughter, echoing through the empty corridors. Haunted by her past, the present and the imminent future, Elsa had trouble sleeping. Nights were spent tossing and turning restlessly, until she rose in the middle of the night to wander the empty halls in an aimless fashion. She made sure to avoid her parents room, her father's study and Anna's room. Pale as she was, she would give Kai and Gerda a dreadful fright when she encountered them by chance during the night, appearing to them like a lost spirit. Tried as she might to stop the endless tide of painful memories in her mind and the unrest in her heart, Elsa found that the longer she stayed at Arendelle Manor, the more difficult it became.

After a week of being home, Elsa dismissed her loyal house servants. Kai and Gerda were reluctant to leave, having served the Kaldborgs faithfully for many years. However, they were aging, and Elsa gave them her blessing to enjoy an earlier retirement rather than spend their days tending to an empty and quiet manor. Soon after, Elsa moved into an apartment in the city, yearning for some distance between her and the house of memory she could no longer stand to be in.

After she locked the door, Elsa decided to stroll around the property for what she hoped would be the last time. She passed around the sides where she and Anna used to climb on thick ivy on the walls. She rounded the corner and gazed at the paddock where she used to ride, now empty and bereft of any horses. Kai had sold them long ago. Elsa wandered on, casting a gaze over the greenhouse where her father used to keep a small herb and vegetable garden. As she passed it by, Elsa couldn't help but stare at the old willow tree and pond.

A cold sense of dread filled her then, and in her mind's eye she saw Anna's signature red hair dipping below the surface of the pond. Her breathing quickened, and her legs felt weak. The wind howled and moaned through the evergreens, seemingly whispering Elsa's and Anna's name at once. Before she succumbed to the terror, she spun on her heels and ran back towards the front of the house. Elsa jumped in her car, speeding away from the ghosts, the memories and the pain. She hoped that would be the last time she ever stepped foot on Arendelle Manor.

... ... ...

Three years later and it was April, Anna's 23rd birthday was next week and neither sister had seen nor spoken to one another since their argument. Elsa was 25 herself now. Every few months, Anna would send Elsa a postcard which was always from some different corner of the world. It was enough for Elsa to know that her sister was alive and well, and likely happier without her. When Elsa received the first about three months after their argument, she was surprised. The postcard was from Colombia, and Anna had kept her message short. It simply read;

Dear Elsa,

I found your address from Kai and Gerda. I just needed to know you were okay. I'm doing fine. I'm in Colombia right now, but you probably guessed that from the postcard. Anyways, I think I might have found El Dorado.

Oh, and Kristoff says hey.

Your sister,

Anna.

There was no mention of their argument, or any prying questions into Elsa's past, which she was grateful for. Truly, it had seemed that Anna had moved on, without Elsa. As much as it hurt her, Elsa thought she made the right choice. In any event, Elsa had managed to keep herself busy as well.

Shortly after moving to Oslo, Elsa completed her degree in social anthropology in just two years thanks to her academic prowess and real world experiences. After graduating, she found a job as an assistant registrar at Oslo's Museum of Cultural History. In just one year, she moved up the ranks thanks to her passion and drive. Her family name had also opened further doors not ordinarily possible due to their renown. She attained the position of conservator, and then chief curator. In her day to day business, Elsa tended to each gallery and exhibit at the museum, planning new arrangements and overseeing the acquisition of new pieces from artists or artifacts recovered from around the world. When she wasn't at work, Elsa mostly kept to herself. She preferred to spend her time alone by keeping her marksmanship skills honed at the gun range, or keeping her body active at the gym partially because a small part of her actually missed the thrill of adventure. At home, Elsa mostly read and thought.

As busy as her everyday life was, Elsa was deeply unfulfilled. She missed Anna terribly and she often fretted about where she was in the world, what she was doing and if she was safe.

She was no longer Elsa Drake, and at home she was simply Elsa Kaldborg; daughter to deceased treasure hunters and heiress to a vast fortune. She set aside the excitement and thrill of adventure for the routine and humdrum offered by an ordinary, everyday life. Elsa had hoped that in time, such adherence to her monotone existence would quell some of the unrest in her heart and mind.

Tried as she might to adjust, Elsa struggled. Her life had been so strange and different from normal people that she begun to feel even more isolated than ever before. She had trouble connecting with people over mundane issues and she couldn't just talk to anyone about her experiences as an adventurer. For that part of her life she had Anna, and that was all she needed. But Anna wasn't in her life anymore, and every time Elsa forced herself to say that it was for the best, it got just a little bit easier, though the pain of it remained constant.

Indeed, over time, Elsa fooled herself into thinking she could even be happy without Anna one day. It wasn't until Anna suddenly reappeared in her life again that she found out how wrong she was.