A/N: Alright, so this chapter should be quite the lengthy one and perhaps, hopefully, be a good one. But that is up to you readers that read this story. Anyways, I shall take my leave now, so enjoy the new chapter.
PS: I don't own Disney's Frozen series. They own that, but if I owned Frozen, to be honest, I think Elsa would need more character development as well as Anna. Looking over Frozen 2, I now think it was a bit rushed and should have taken the time to give more development to the characters themselves. Just an opinion I guess… :l ... :)
Chapter 26: The Miracle Healer
Back in the real world…
3rd POV
"So this is where the healer is?" Elsa asked Nokk upon arriving at the little shop in front of them, the water horse giving a nod to the 5th spirit as the spirit stopped in front of the shop. Elsa looked around the environment, not seeing a lot of people in this community that she arrived at, but the people that were around looked at her like she was nothing they've seen before. Of course, that would mean being stared at like she was strange and weird, but they went back to their normal business and simply ignored her.
In the end, Elsa wasn't there for attention in the first place and jumped off Nokk, reading the sign that was above the shop.
OPHELIA'S HERBS AND MORE
"Do you think this Ophelia is the healer that you guys were talking about?" Elsa turned to Nokk, the horse not responding but was looking concerned at the sign. With a glance back at the sign, Elsa was wondering what was making Nokk concerned. "Is something wrong?"
The horse shook its head, making the 5th spirit relax a bit. "It's the right place. I was wondering if this healer is someone we can trust truly. After all, most people we tend to encounter in this dimension are unpredictable. Who knows if they will believe us in the 1st place?"
Elsa thought about this before shaking her head, her eyes filled with determination. "It doesn't matter. Alex has helped us during these months, and it's about time I do the same for him. I can't leave his fate to be determined by whoever caused this to him. I'm going to help him get better, no matter what."
Seeing the determination that the 5th spirit had, the horse simply sighed and gave a polite nod to Elsa. "Very well. I can't stop you from doing what you think is right. I will wait outside, so you can go in and do what you need to do to save Alex. But be careful."
Elsa nodded and gave a polite bow to Nokk, looking at the shop and taking a deep breath before going to the door, pushing it open. Walking inside, she was greeted by the sight of a modern apothecary shop, some people walking around with children present with their parents. With a slight gulp, Elsa realized she was wearing her spirit outfit and hadn't changed into her modern clothing to blend in, but knew it was perhaps a bit late to back out. Instead, she made sure to cover her face with her hands, trying to find aisles in the store where there wasn't a lot of people in to hide from the people from recognizing her.
Sure, perhaps the people outside may have ignored her, but there was still a chance that some of the people in the store, including the children, would recognize her immediately and try to gain unnecessary attention that would certainly cause trouble for her. After all, this was the real world, and if the 5th spirit was seen here, it would certainly raise attention and prevent her from getting back to her own world.
So far, she was doing alright, blending in like she was a simple person looking for medicine, some people that did notice her just went back to their own tasks of looking for things they needed. Even children would run past her down the aisles, parents going after the children, and apologizing to Elsa as she told them it was fine. After all, children were children in the end, and you really couldn't blame them for their childish actions.
While Elsa was looking around the store for the mystical healer, she saw how the shop seemed to look identical, despite its modern look, to the apothecary shops back in Arendelle. With the same colors as that of the Arendelle banner and shops, it was like this was a modern Arendelle medical shop, which seemed to be impossible as this shop supposedly said to be in business since the early 1990s. After all, Alex had told her the first movie about her, and Anna came out in 2013, yet this shop had the qualities of the shops back in Arendelle.
Then she saw it. Behind the counter, hanging on the wall with some other flags, were none other a banner of Arendelle from around the time of her coronation, along with a flag of Corona and other kingdoms that were clearly older than it appeared. But what got Elsa's attention was that of a handmade quilt that was on display that had the patterns of the Northuldran tribe that looked identical to the scarf that was given to her and Anna from their mother Iduna.
"How?" Elsa tried to figure out what was going on and how this shop had things from her timeline past, only to feel someone tugging on her sleeves, and turned around to see a young girl with curly hair that was looking amazed at the 5th spirit. It was clear this little girl had probably recognized her by her looks, but the 5th spirit knew that she couldn't blow her cover in public yet, so she decided to play it safe and act normal. "Hello, little one. Where are your parents?"
"I don't know, probably somewhere around the store" the little girl responded, continuing to look amazed at Elsa, who was feeling her heart race faster, "But I have a question miss. Are you Elsa from the movie Frozen? You look exactly like her."
Elsa felt herself grow nervous, but kept her cool, trying to remember what Alex told her how to play along when this question would come up in this realm. With a smile, she crouched by the child, placing a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "Sorry, I'm not really Elsa, although I do like to dress up as her. Though you are not the first to ask."
The little girl's expression then saddened, as if her hope had been crushed as she looked down at the ground. "Oh. Sorry miss. I thought that since you were wearing the spirit outfit, that you were my favorite Disney character in real life. It would have been nice to actually meet Elsa so I could finally be brave enough to confront the meanies at my school. Sorry to bother you, miss."
As the little girl then started to leave with that sad expression still in her eyes, Elsa tried to hold her emotions back, but they got the best of her, making her sigh and rub her head in a stressful manner. "How I wish Alex was here at this moment. He probably would know how to help me in this situation," She muttered to herself. With a sigh, she did something that she knew could probably be a risky move for herself. "Hey, little girl. Wait."
As the little girl stopped in her tracks and turned around, Elsa went up to her and, using her powers, formed an ice figure of herself that was small enough for the girl to hold in her hands, handing it over to the little girl. As the little girl looked at the ice sculpture in amazement, she looked at Elsa with awe, while the 5th spirit placed a finger to her lips. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
The little girl nodded excitedly and, giving a quick hug to Elsa who returned it back, ran away in a happier mood than before, the 5th spirit feeling joy from making a child happy. She knew that children all around the world were obviously happy from watching her movies and seeing her on the screen, but actually doing something to make a real child's day great made Elsa feel proud of herself. Who would have thought in the 1st place that she would soon be exposed to a whole new dimension where she was a role model to young children everywhere despite being a "fictional" character?
Now, as a real character, she felt happy for herself and could feel that maybe, after she helped Alex and he returned her back to her own world, that she could still visit after to learn more about the modern world and perhaps spend some quality time with Alex, the idea of the young man being her friend made her blush slightly.
"You're a long way from home, you know?"
Elsa turned around to see an elder woman with white hair behind her that was around in her 60s, peering at the 5th spirit through her brown rimmed glasses as she was trying to figure out something about her. But what Elsa noticed about this lady was the aura around the lady, as it was something strong that could make you either relaxed or scared at the same time. But the 5th spirit composed herself and trying to look like a modern normal person, grabbed the nearest item on the shelf, and presented it to the elder woman. "Oh! I was trying to see how much this costs! Sorry I didn't notice you."
The elder lady looked at the item before glancing back at Elsa, raising an eyebrow as she gestured to the item in Elsa's hand. "Are you sure this item is what you were looking for?"
The 5th spirit was confused by what she meant before looking at the product, Elsa blushing madly by seeing that she had grabbed a pregnancy test kit by accident, placing it back quickly on the shelf and stepping away in pure embarrassment. "Oh, that?! No, I was simply looking for someone… I mean, something else… well, you know… I'm looking for something called the Mystical Healer... "
The elder woman sighed, and checking something on her clipboard that she was carrying, proceeded to speak without looking at the embarrassed Elsa. "You think, after years of leaving the business of magic, that I wouldn't have to encounter you Arendellians or Northuldrans anymore? But no! It's like they placed a tracker on me or something!"
"What?" The words Arendellian and Northuldran caught Elsa's attention, the 5th spirit following the elder woman as she began to walk away from Elsa. "Wait, please! Are you the mystical healer that healed the people of Arendelle and the Northuldrans from the dark curse plague?"
"Dark curse plague?! Bah!" The elder woman continued, trying to get away from Elsa with the 5th spirit determined not to lose her in this store, "It's a simple sickness that is so easily treatable by even a simpleton witch herself! And even if you cure it, they still treat you like the same trash they've always done before. Hell, they even go as far as permanent exilement! Those bloody Arendellians!"
"What are you talking about?" Elsa asked, the elder woman sighing and muttering something under her breath before turning around to face the 5th spirit, anger in the elder woman's eyes as she pushed her glasses back onto her nose.
"King Runeard, your grandfather! The bloody bastard had the thought of asking me for help when his people were sick from the plague, and when I had done my job of healing both the Arendellians and the Northuldrans, goes as far to exile me from the land because he claimed that my magic was 'too dangerous' to be kept in his kingdom! And now you, one of the descendants of the damned king and to be specific his granddaughter, come to me for what reason? Finish me off with your ice powers?"
"No!" Elsa replied, knowing this was the mystical healer indeed that she was looking for. "I need help. A friend of mine is suffering through the same thing you cured a long time ago, and I don't know what to do or how to heal him. You have to help me, please!"
"Oh, I see," the elder lady spoke, clicking her tongue in disappointment, "You're just like King Runeard right now. You plan on using me to help someone you love, and after I am done, you're going to toss me aside like a piece of trash! Sorry darling, but you won't fool me again." The elder lady began to walk away, with a tearful Elsa following behind.
"Wait, please! I'm not like my grandfather, miss…"
"It's Ophelia!"
"Miss Ophelia, you have to understand. I know what my grandfather did, and I know how cruel he was to the Northuldrans and what he did to gain power, but I'm not like him. I understand what it is like for people to be afraid of you because of your powers! Believe me, I know!"
"Yeah, yeah, don't tell me, Elsa. I saw your life in the movies and in real life as well. I was there to experience everything that happened to the day of your coronation when you froze Arendelle and left for the North Mountain. After all, I'm from your dimension."
The elder woman stopped at the pharmaceutical counter near the back of the store, fixing some items while Elsa stopped at the counter, tears rolling down her eyes. "Then you know how I got back with my sister Anna and undid my mistakes. You know how I became the 5th spirit of the Enchanted Forest and how me and Anna became the bridge for magic and people. You know about the life we lived and where it led up to."
The elder woman turned around, her eyes examining Elsa's expression. "So how the hell did someone like you end up here? It was to be clear that no one from the dimensions of Disney were to find their way into the real world."
Elsa wiped away some of her tears, trying to compose herself. "The Enchanted Forest was attacked by a shadow group known as the Peace Keepers for the sole reason of trying to eliminate the spirits, including me. I picked up some crystals one of the Peace Keepers had dropped, and I was brought to this world. I ended up in this apartment, where I met someone named Alex, and he made it his mission to help me return back to my world, but now he's afflicted by the same curse that was used to inflict upon Arendelle and the Northuldrans. And now, he's suffering because of me..."
"Look, your majesty or spirit or whatever," Ophelia responded, trying to stock up the shelves with some bottles of medicine and other medical items that she was handing to the other employees working around her, "I've dealt with the Peace Keepers before and I know what they're capable of. They're the reason I'm in this world in the 1st place, and I'm not planning on defying them just to help you. I have too much on stake that I can't risk losing because you have come for help for some guy you just met from this dimension. Now if you please leave…"
"Listen to me!" Elsa yelled at the woman as she slammed her hands on the counter, ice coming from her hands onto the surface as Ophelia jumped back in safety. Elsa knew that what she did caught everyone's attention, but at this moment, she didn't care. The only thought in her mind was that an innocent life rested in her hands and that Alex's life was probably fading by the minute. "I don't care about your hard feelings to my grandfather or how you got here or how you think of me or Arendelle! Do you think I couldn't accept what my grandfather did to my people? I couldn't, but I had to put my feelings to the side to tell Anna the truth, even if it meant for me to die to find the truth! I sacrificed myself to help someone I cared about, and now someone that cared about me is dying, and the only one who can help him is you! For God's sake, can you please help me save my friend's life because if I could do it for a price, I would give up my own powers to repay all the things Alex has suffered through just to help me!"
Ophelia stared at Elsa as if she just said something insane, which it did sound exactly crazy. "You would give up your own powers to save some guy you probably met and not really know at all just because he saved you and helped from a lot of bad stuff?"
The 5th spirit's words came to her mind, realizing what she had said and what she had said she would do to save Alex. But she knew that Alex had gone through a lot to put up with her, and she knew that she was in debt with the young man for helping her while stuck with him in this modern world. He had said that he was willing to give his own life for her to save her, so it was only fair she could offer something in return that was a part of her to save him. "Yes, even if it required me to sacrifice my own powers, I would help my friend get better again."
Elsa's emotions were getting the better of her, leaving the 5th spirit crying silently with the elder woman looking at her with a slight hint of annoyance. After all, Ophelia appeared as if she was trying to resist the urge to help Elsa, gritting her teeth in anger. But it's hard to not want to help the 5th spirit when she's crying and looks broken emotionally, and that was killing Ophelia in her mind as she tried to bang her head with her hand before sighing, shaking her head with disdain. "Fine! I get it! Some guy you care a lot about is suffering and you want me to save him, yes?"
The 5th spirit nodded, making Ophelia look around at the people that were looking at the two of them, and whistled out loud. "Alright, you know what to do, Jessica," Ophelia spoke out loud, Elsa feeling a bit confused before seeing the people around her fade from sight, not understanding until she saw the young girl that she had handed the ice figure to standing in the middle of the shop, a small smile on the little girl's face.
The little girl then snapped her fingers, transforming into an older but young woman with red curly hair, walking to the elder woman while giving a smile to Ophelia and Elsa, who had a look of shock on her face. "So, gran, how do you rate my mirage spells?"
"You're doing better than before, my dear," the elder woman ruffled Jessica's hair, turning to face Elsa, who was trying to form words but was still in slight shock, and looked down at the counter, frowning at the ice on the counter. "Now, will you mind if you removed your ice from my counter, please?"
Snapping back into reality, Elsa looked down and noticed that her powers had caused frozen spikes to emerge, feeling a bit of embarrassment as she recalled her ice back to her while wiping away her tears. "Sorry, I let my emotions get to me. My powers are normally kept under control easier than before after Anna helped me realize that I could control them when I feel loved."
Ophelia shook her head, rubbing her neck as she reached for a bottle by her, applying the light green lotion on her neck. "Nothing to be ashamed of, my dear. After all, you're not the only one here who sometimes let their power out of control when they're not allowed to see some guy they love…"
"Grandma!" Jessica turned to the elder woman, who smirked at her grandchild's embarrassment. "You shouldn't say that out loud while Elsa is here! Besides, I'm like 20 now, so you shouldn't even be allowed to tell me who I date and who I don't date."
While Ophelia laughed, Jessica shook her head and extended her hand to Elsa, the 5th spirit shaking the young woman's hand. "Nice to meet you in person, Elsa. Aside from watching you on screen and actually being present in front of you in real life, I'm more honored to be in your presence than I have ever felt in my whole life. I'm such a huge fan of yours, and I even have a channel dedicated to doing fanart of you!"
"It's fine," Elsa replied, still trying to figure out how Jessica was able to change into the appearance of a young girl despite being a grown beautiful young woman, "How were you able to convince me that you were the little girl that I felt compassionate for?"
Jessica sighed and, gesturing to her grandma, ran her hand through her hair. "I learned it from my grandma. My grandma is what you would call a white witch. Not only that, but she was also born originally in your universe, and since magic is always present in the Frozen dimension, she taught herself the ways of light magic to help people in whatever way she could. Unfortunately, she was a good witch in a bad time, which was that of your grandfather's reign."
"Right," Elsa replied in a sorrowful tone, remembering what her grandfather was capable of gaining power, some tears dropping down her cheeks as she wiped them away. "I had promised Atohallan to undo everything he had done to Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest, trying to live up to the role of uniting the two sides of the bridge all the time. It's rough, but I love it as it gives me a sense of loving myself for who I am. I'm sorry for what my grandfather had done to you."
"Yeah, well, don't worry dear" Ophelia replied, causing Elsa to look at the elder woman, "King Runeard was quite the, how should I say, doubter of magic, and he had enlisted some Peace Keepers to get rid of me. I was fortunate to escape with my life, but upon escaping, I came in contact with one of the Peace Keepers, some man named Darius, that offered me in exchange of my freedom, that I would have to hand over one of the most powerful spell books to them. It was very unfortunate, but he gave me these."
The elder woman reached under her counter, pulling out a box and revealing a set of green crystals, Elsa recognizing what they were from the ones Hans had. However, the light the set of Beacons in the box had were very dim, hardly glowing at all. The elder woman grabbed the Beacons and held them to Elsa, who took them and examined them closely. "Why do the Peace Keepers have these crystals? What are they in the first place?" Elsa asked, glancing at Ophelia.
The elder woman seemed to think something before giving a response. "Long before the spirits of the Enchanted Forest came to be, Atohallan had formed a set of Enchanted Objects, one side being the Enchanted Artifact, and the other being that of the Beacons. I'm not sure about the Enchanted Artifact, but supposedly it's something to aid the Enchanted Forest along with the spirits whenever the powers combined are not enough to fight a dark entity force. For the Beacons, they originated in Atohallan and were meant to teleport people to different dimensions by the will of Atohallan, but they were stolen when someone had entered Atohallan with the sole reason of destroying the place. Fortunately, it survived the attack, and whoever had attacked Atohallan didn't have the sense to ensure that it was completely annihilated."
It made sense for Elsa why when she had entered Atohallan why the pillars had fallen, why she had to jump to form ice platforms when it was obvious there had been a bridge, and why she had to go back to Atohallan after she saved Arendelle to fix the place up after she decided to stay in the Enchanted Forest. She had thought that it had been years since no one going to Atohallan had left the place in slight ruins, but it never occurred to her that perhaps Atohallan had been attacked. "Who was this person that attacked Atohallan?"
The elder woman shrugged in response. "Not really sure who it was. But to the rumors that I heard from the Northuldrans when I was still in my real home dimension before I came to this real world dimension, it was a man they called 'the Superior.' And from it appears, this Superior is the leader of the Peace Keepers, but no one really knows how he looks since he wears a mask to conceal his identity."
Jessica shuddered in slight fear, her right hand rubbing her left wrist as she looked at her grandmother. "He sure sounds scary, granny. I wouldn't want to go against someone that sounds very dangerous to mess with."
Elsa, still looking at the Beacons, then held them over to Ophelia, her eyes filled with determination. "Well, if this 'Superior' tries to hurt my home and the people that I care about, I won't let him get away with it. I will find this Enchanted Artifact, and I will bring it back to Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest, so I can stop whatever dark entity from shrouding all that I love in total darkness."
Ophelia stared at Elsa, taking the Beacons and placing them in the box she had, her eyes looking worried. "Are you sure that you will be ready for whatever is to come?"
Elsa nodded, the elder woman and her granddaughter exchanging worried glances at each other, before Ophelia turned around and went to somewhere behind the store, the 5th spirit watching her grab something that she couldn't see well. The elder woman then came back, in her hand a small vial that was clear yet had a light glow of light, holding it out to Elsa while beckoning for her to take it. "Here. This is what you really need."
The 5th spirit took the small vial, examining it as she looked back at the elder woman. "Is this…"
Ophelia nodded. "The cure for your friend from whatever dark plague curse or sickness inflicted upon him. It should free him immediately from the curse, but it will take a moment for Alex to wake up from whatever nightmare he was currently in before you cured him from the curse. It's the least I can do after verifying that you are truly not like your grandfather at all."
A small smile came upon Elsa's lips, tears coming out of her eyes as she reached forward to hug the elder woman, catching her by surprise. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
With a sigh, Ophelia returned the hug to the 5th spirit, Jessica reaching for a phone to snap a photo of the two but placed it away with a glare of her grandmother, the young woman whistling as she stepped away to focus on something else instead. After a while, the two finally separated from the hug, Elsa bowing in respect to the elder woman while thanking her for helping to save Alex. The elder woman gave a nod, telling Elsa that she was able to go now and help the person that the 5th spirit cared about at the moment.
As Elsa gave her thanks once again, she started to leave, but a question came to her mind, making her turn around to ask Ophelia something. "By the way, how did you get the Northuldran quilt along with the banner of Arendelle from my coronation?"
The elder woman simply gave a smile. "I got them from the Northuldrans as a thank you gift, and the banner came from when I visited Arendelle in my free time and off days. Of course, that was years ago, and I'm sure the Beacons I have enough energy to teleport me one more time before expiring. I'm saving it for a time in need."
With that, Elsa gave her thanks to Ophelia and Jessica, who gave the 5th spirit a staff-like object that she said would help Elsa a lot later on, and proceeded to leave the shop. With the two wishing Elsa luck and asked for her to come again when it was a free day like today, as the store was really closed for the day and thus the reason why there wasn't any real customers, the 5th spirit found Nokk to be waiting outside for her, Elsa mounting onto Nokk with the horse asking if she found what she needed to save Alex. Showing the vial to Nokk, the horse neighed happily. "I knew you could do it, miss Elsa."
Elsa patted Nokk on his head before telling the spirit to head on back to Alex's place, making sure the vial was secured in a small pouch made of ice for herself while holding the staff in her hand. With the two spirits taking off, it was clear that hope was to be found in the vial, whatever it was in the vial to be a cure to heal Alex. After all, with the hope attained from this small act of kindness from the elderly lady and her granddaughter…
What could possibly go wrong?
A/N: Chapter 26 concluded. With these past short chapters, I thought I would make this one longer than the rest (around 5k words and 10 pages to be exact!) and put all my heart and soul for this one. So, if you guys don't mind, please leave a review. New or not, all sorts of remarks for the story helps a lot, and I feel motivated by the reviews left behind. Special shoutout to those who left a review in the past, and to those in the possible foreseeable future. Without you guys, I don't think I would have a reason to write fanfic in the first place.
Anyways, the next chapter should finally find Alex facing his past due to the curse he is under, which will be very painful for him. Also, I'm planning on writing some fanfic shorts and possibly update my new story, Incomplete Without You, with a new chapter. Check it out if you can, and be sure to keep staying safe in these times. Be sure to expect the new chapter by next week, and keep on guessing on what could happen next in to the characters. Until next time! :)