A/N: Hey folks, I'm so thrilled by the reception. Hope to do this story justice! Here's the next chapter.

A quick note: I'm putting this up without much editing etc because of my schedule, so apologies in advance for any errors.

Chapter 2

Saturday morning

"Elsa?" Anna pushed open the stable doors with one arm as the other wrapped around the last of their supplies. "Olaf? Where are you two?"

Kristoff popped up from behind the sled, "Still haven't seen them yet?"

Anna dumped the sack in the sled. "Nope. I thought she was already down here, but I guess not."

Kristoff scratched Sven's scruff, "Maybe she overslept."

Anna laughed aloud, "That's one thing Elsa could never do. I'm pretty sure it's against her biology to oversleep or something…"

"You might be right about that…." The mountain man smirked, well-aware of the queen's work schedule. "Maybe she's trying to pick out her outfit. After all," he raised his pitch to imitate his reindeer buddy, "she needs to look her best when she sees me."

"Ha, ha, mountain man, very funny." The princess chortled in mock amusement as she rolled her eyes, "I'll see what's keeping her, but you get ready to leave as soon as we're back."

"Ay ay, captain!"

Anna shook her head fondly as she headed into the chamber.

It wasn't like Elsa to be late for anything – struggles of being a queen and all - but given the way her sister had looked the night before, perhaps Kristoff did have a point.

She was terribly exhausted last night, even though she tried to hide it, that infuriatingly stubborn goofball sister of mine.

Not that Anna needed any more leverage to convince her to take a holiday…she had two years' worth to fall back on, after all. But it didn't hurt to have more, especially when arguing with someone as bull-headed as her sister.

"Sometimes, I think she wants to work herself into an early grave." Anna muttered to herself as she turned the corner to Elsa's room.

Not that I'd let her…no way she saddles me with the likes of Fritjof and Mikkael.

A small chuckle escaped her at the ridiculous thought as she knocked on the white and blue door.

"Elsa! We're waiting for you, come on!"

There was no response.

Anna knocked her signature knock again. "Elsa? Come on! It's time to part-ay!"

Silence.

It took a few seconds for Anna to curb the hint of fear that crept up at the painfully familiar situation she found herself in. But she braced herself.

Elsa hadn't done that in years, she wasn't going to start now.

"Okay, you better not be changing, cause I'm coming in!" After waiting a beat, Anna swung the door open. "Alright sleepy head, time to rise and shine. We've got a big-"

Her voice caught in her throat as she found her sister lying unconscious on the ground.

"Elsa!"

Anna dropped beside her sister, cradling Elsa's head in her lap as she wondered what had happened. A quick inspection revealed a reddish bump against platinum blonde hair, its presence sending a spike of fear through Anna.

She must have collapsed sometime last night.

But even more concerning than that -

"She's sweating…" Anna realized, the words taking her breath away. She'd learned a while back that Elsa didn't really sweat because her powers usually kept her safe from the heat.

Usually.

"Hey…" The redhead patted Elsa's cheeks softly, her voice dropping to a whisper, "Elsie? Can you hear me?"

Other than the raspy breathing that punctuated the tense silence, there was no response. Anna snapped into action.

"Guards!"

Men scuttled to the door, nearly tripping over themselves to reach the princess.

She turned to them, her eyes clear with urgency. "The physician, now!"

They scurried off, leaving Anna to pick her sister up and place her gently on the bed. In the morning light, it was easier to see her condition.

Elsa's alabaster complexion seemed ashy in the sunlight, the warm glow that lent her sister her rosy skin now nowhere to be found. Against this deathly pale skin stood deep purple circles, the kind that often accompanied bouts of sleeplessness. What with the clammy, sweaty skin and the early warnings of a fever, all of the signs made for a disturbing image – one Anna felt like a fool for not having noticed earlier.

"Oh Elsie…" She whispered softly, fingers brushing stray, damp bangs away from her sister's warm forehead. "What happened to you?"

It was several painfully confusing minutes later when the sound of hurried footsteps caught her attention. She looked up just as the servant entered the room, her expression softening at his presence.

"Sorenson, thank goodness. Where's Physician Bodil?"

The man bowed, a sympathetic look in his eyes as his gaze moved from her to the unconscious monarch. "Your Highness, the physician is on her way. She needed a moment to gather some supplies."

"And the others?"

"On their way, ma'am."

Anna immediately relaxed at the news and clutched her sister a little closer.

Sorenson didn't miss the gesture. He stepped closer, his brows furrowed with profound concern. "Do you know what happened, my lady?"

If anyone else had asked, Anna would have hesitated to share her thoughts, but the chamberlain's assistant had always been a reassuring face over the years, veritably as important to the royal family as Kai or Gerda themselves.

"I found her on the floor. She must have fainted last night…but she's barely breathing and she must have a concussion." A shiver passed through Anna as she recounted the symptoms to Sorenson. The man simply listened, unable to offer much more than his full attention and sympathy.

"I'm sure the physician can heal her, princess. Please don't worry."

Anna nodded absently. It was perhaps the only thing keeping her from full-blown panic as repressed memories of her sister, unconscious, bleeding, wounded kept threatening to bubble to the surface.

No, it'll be okay. We'll fix her, I know we will.

Wordlessly, the princess reached for her sister's hand, unconsciously searching for the soothing icy aura that usually surrounded the queen like a permeable membrane…but there was no comfort to be found, only an unnatural clamminess.

What's happened to you, Elsie?

Anna paced nervously across the room as the physician checked her sister's vitals. There was a dreadfully haunting silence in the room. Kai and Gerda, who'd arrived with the physician, stood to one side, their sympathetic expressions following the princess and checking on the physician alternatively. Sorenson had left to collect Kristoff, after Anna realized she'd completely forgotten about her boyfriend and their planned trip.

After several minutes of listening to the ticking clock, Anna burst out nervously, "I-Is she going to be okay?"

The physician sighed and turned to the princess. Anna's heart sank at the defeated look on her face.

"Physician Bodil?"

"After testing her responsiveness and checking her vitals, I can only conclude that the queen has entered a coma-like state, but how and why, I cannot say."

The blood drained from Anna's face. "A coma?!"

The physician nodded. "I'm afraid so. The strange thing is none of the symptoms provide any explanation as to the cause. The sweating, the concussion, the migraines, none of them point to the true nature of her condition."

"Migraines?" The surprised princess cut in. "What do you mean migraines?"

"Her Majesty came in the other day asking for a concoction to chase away some rather severe migraines. I gave her a prescription of belladonna, but it looks like she never finished it." The woman gestured to the half-empty bottle on the bedside.

Anna could feel a dull headache of her own pounding on the back of her eyeballs as she wrangled with the information. Why hadn't Elsa told her she was in pain? Why did her sister keep insisting on keeping her emotions and her feelings under wraps?

For the same reason she usually doesn't tell you things, she doesn't trust you.

She shoved the thought aside and turned to the matter at hand.

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

To her dismay, the old woman shook her head. "Truth be told, I have never seen a condition like this before, princess. There is more at work here than I can comprehend." She rose from the chair, an apologetic look on her wrinkled features. "I think whatever is affecting Her Majesty, it is outside my area of expertise."

An anvil dropped in her stomach at the words. "You can't give up like that! If you don't help her, who will?"

The woman hung her head, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I'm not sure I have the answers to your questions."

"But-"

"I think she's right, Anna." A familiar voice cut in, startling the inhabitants of the room.

Anna turned to find a solemn Kristoff standing in the doorway, his hands full with a collection of objects she'd seen a thousand times before, but rarely on their own.

Olaf's nose, arms and buttons.

"I found these in a pile in the hallway." He handed them over to a slightly trembling Anna, as he added, "I thought maybe Olaf had left them there, but no one's seen him since last night."

Kristoff cast a glance at the comatose queen as he concluded, "I think something's wrong with her magic."

Anna didn't want to agree, but as she looked at the items that had once belonged to her snowy friend, she knew it could be nothing else.

Olaf…

A grim Anna glanced up at her boyfriend, her next words a whisper. "We need to see the trolls."

The room grew noticeably more agitated at the suggestion. Though Anna was now practically part of the troll family, the castle staff could not forget the first time the royals had sought out their assistance.

Sensing the tension in the room, Anna stood up and squared her shoulders. "We'll take Elsa with us."

She turned to the chamberlain. "I'll need you to hold down the fort for me, Kai. I promise I'll be back soon."

"Your Highness," the chamberlain sighed, almost as if apologizing for what he was about to say next, "once word of this gets out, the people will need reassurance and a leader they can believe in. Perhaps if Master Kristoff were to take the queen instead-"

Anna raised a hand, cutting him off. "I'm sorry, Kai. But I need to be with Elsa. I can't just wait here and hope that everything works out alright."

"As much as I understand your worries, Princess Anna, the last time both of you left the kingdom, things did not turn out so well."

The reminder only dimmed Anna's mood. Truth be told, she couldn't be upset with Kai for doing his job, especially when he had a point. But Elsa was in trouble. How could he expect Anna to do any differently?

"Anna…" Kristoff turned to her, his voice low as he hesitantly added. "I think maybe Kai is right."

Her eyes blazed with barely contained fury as she turned on her boyfriend. "You can't be serious!"

The ice harvester managed a regretful sigh. "As much as I know you want to go get some answers, I can't guarantee Grand Pabbie will have them." He paused before admitting, "Honestly, I'm not sure the trolls will be available at all."

At Anna's look of surprise, he added, "This time of year, they usually travel to the Caves of Gedref. Assuming they haven't already left, they'll be too busy to meet with us."

"Then we'll just have to get there as fast as possible," Anna replied, steely determination clear in her teal eyes as she stressed the word.

As Kristoff took in her expression, he knew there was no point in arguing with her, not when the matter concerned Elsa's safety. He nodded slowly, "I'll get Sven ready."

Anna turned to Kai, "Whatever's happening to Elsa, we're going to get some answers, no matter what."

It was the most silent ride Kristoff had ever shared with Anna.

The couple had opted to take the sled, mostly because it was already prepped and also because it allowed Anna a chance to hold her sister in a more comforting position than could be managed on a horse. Behind them trailed the chamberlain's assistant and a small contingent of guards, an unfortunate necessity when both the queen and the princess were traveling far from the kingdom.

He turned around to glance back at Anna, but she was lost in her own world, absentmindedly brushing Elsa's hair into place with one hand while the other wrapped around her waist in an expectedly possessive gesture from the princess.

"Any change?"

"Huh?' Startled from her thoughts, it took a few seconds for Anna to understand him. She shook her head solemnly, her gaze darting up to meet Kristoff's concerned look. "She's getting worse…"

Indeed, it seemed the queen had only gotten worse. Her pale skin seemed unbelievably more so in the light of day, making the dark purple circles under her eyes stand out in stark contrast, so much so that the difference was clear even from where he was sitting.

The princess clasped her sister's increasingly warm hand as she watched her chest rise and fall. The motion, slight though it was, was perhaps the only thing keeping her from spiraling into absolute despair… because at the very least, it meant Elsa was still alive.

But only just.

She gulped at the horrifying thought and pulled Elsa closer to her bosom. Her face buried into her sister's pale neck, but the normally comforting icy minty perfume was no longer present, making the gesture that much more painful.

"It's okay, Elsie…we'll have you back on your feet in no time." She whispered, but whether the words were for her sister's comfort, or her own, she couldn't quite say.

And yet, the words broke Kristoff's heart anyways.

"We'll find out what's going on, Anna."

The princess agreed morosely, her eyes fixed on Elsa's pale face. "She has to wake up, Kristoff." She looked back up at him, despair barely concealed in her stormy blue eyes. "She just has to."

"And she will," Kristoff promised. He turned to Sven and patted his friend on the back, "Come on boy, we gotta go faster."

The sled sped up, as did the group of guards behind them.

It was close to noon when they reached the Valley of the Living Rocks.

The sight of the trolls was a blessedly welcome one, but even as they approached, Kristoff figured the answers they would get from Grand Pabbie would be limited, because the trolls bustled about with such frenzy that they could hardly catch their attention.

After deciding it better to leave Elsa with the guards, Anna and Kristoff hurried into the valley. And though the magnificent colors and the liveliness of the troll's preparations would have normally sparked her curiosity, Anna had only one thought in mind.

Bulda was the first one to notice them. But before she could insist he take his clothes off, Kristoff broke in with an urgent request. "I'm really sorry, Ma, but can we talk to Grand Pabbie? It's about Elsa."

The troll looked surprised, "Oh dear, I do hope everything is alright."

Anna could only shake her head. "Something's wrong with her magic. Please, Bulda…It'll only take a few minutes."

The troll woman sighed, regret clear in her expression. "As much as I wish we could help, Anna, Pabbie and the others are preparing for our trip to the caves. It's an ancient tradition, one we've upheld for centuries. Any delay in the trip would upset the balance of the elements."

Kristoff watched the spark of hope fade from Anna's eyes. Though he had expected the response, it was hard to stomach his girlfriend's reaction.

"Surely we could see him for just a few minutes, Ma. Elsa's in a tight spot and there's no one else who can help."

Bulda shook her head. "I'm truly sorry, Kristoff, but you know that Grand Pabbie takes these things very seriously. He asked not to be disturbed and I can't just-"

"Your Highness?"

The surprised group turned to find Grand Pabbie standing before them, his weathered stony face befitting the gravity of their plight. "I know why you have come to see me."

The words raised Anna's spirits, "You'll help us then?"

Pabbie shook his head as he drew closer, "I'm afraid it is not my help you will need, princess. The one who can help you lies far from here, in the Black Mountains."

"The Black Mountains?" Kristoff's incredulous tone sent a shiver of dread down Anna's spine, "But that's a two-day round trip!"

The troll nodded solemnly, "And that is why you must proceed at once. Elsa does not have much time left."

The words settled like a lead weight in Anna's stomach. "W-what?" She whispered in stunned disbelief.

Grand Pabbie clasped his hands before him, his expression grim. "Already, I can sense her spirit weakening. The magic that is at work here is powerful and dark, and Her Majesty has been exposed to its negativity for far too long. I fear she has but three sunsets left before the magic saps her of all her energy."

He looked up at Anna, "After that, it will be too late to save her."