As the tears run down her face freely, Anna quickly reads over papers, all spread out over the table in the library, and plenty on the floor. She's crying for multiple but simple reasons: she's been a bad queen, she's ruined lives, and she's letting her family down. Her family name. All the Agnarr and Elsa worked so hard to bring into being, she undid with a few simple policies.
"Why, why, why," she mutters to herself, "why did I have to do that? Why couldn't I be better? That man's kids are dead, and it's my fault."
The papers all have to do with taxing common workers and smiths. Most of it is fine print and not that important. Anna sees her signature on every single sheet, each scribble seeming more offensive than the last. As she gets to the bottom of the current stack, she notices Elsa's handwriting.
"That's it," Anna says, upset, looking at the papers all over the floor. "All my damage. All my incompetency. My legacy."
Elsa knock-knock-kno-knock-knocks on the open door.
"What do you want?" Anna asks coldly.
"What do YOU want?" Elsa asks back, showing hardly any emotion, trying to stay strong for Anna. "Look, I can either stay here to help you, or I can go to Ahtohallan and find out about Geirrod."
"Don't bother," Anna chuckles madly. "He's a better fit, anyway."
"Anna, you don't know that."
"Yeah. Yeah, I do," Anna argues the point. "I mean, look at these! Starting tomorrow, the tax rate takes sixty percent of those workers' income. SIXTY PERCENT! All 'cause I made bad choices. Don't tell me it's not my fault, 'cause it totally is. ...Has the mob outside calmed down?"
"They're gone," Elsa says. "Geirrod said something that calmed them down."
"He should be king, not me," Anna laments, adding, "well, I'm not a king; I'm a queen, 'cause I'm, you know, a girl. He'd be a king because—"
"I know," Elsa says. "I'll help you put the papers up." Elsa says this last sentence a little too eagerly.
"You said that a little too eagerly," Anna accuses.
"Sorry," Elsa apologizes. "I'm just a mess right now."
"Don't worry about me," Anna says. "Go to Ahtohallan. Find what you can find."
Elsa sort of nods and leaves the room. Once Anna's sure she's out of earshot, she scrambles for the papers that Elsa signed. She reads them over quickly, each sentence more terrible than the last.
"No, no, no, what?" Anna mumbles. "How? How did I not know?"
Anna is reading papers on the results of Elsa freezing everything after her fateful coronation. The events are as follows:
Elsa's blizzard froze all the crops in Arendelle and the surrounding uninhabited country. It was so cold, it got underground to the roots and destroyed each and every crop: every cabbage, every carrot, every ear of corn. A famine quickly took hold of the people of Arendelle, everyone on the mountainside and into the backcountry. To solve the crisis, Elsa enacted huge tax policies to buy food from the closest nations. The plan backfired, and dozens died within weeks, and hundreds more either starved or fled the ailing country. As if this wasn't enough, smaller cottages were either damaged or destroyed, and required thousands in repairs. Once the new planting and harvesting season came and homes got fixed, everything got back up to normal enough for Elsa to relieve the tax burden on her kingdom, but she still taxed more than she otherwise would have without the famine.
Anna was unaware of all of this.
"How?" Anna asks, bewildered and crying. "How could Elsa and me live our life with the upper class while the people starved and DIED? Can this day get any worse?"
In the castle courtyard, Elsa walks quickly to the gates. Kristoff swings the doors open and follows her.
"Where are you going?" Kristoff asks Elsa.
"Gonna go to Ahtohallan," Elsa says dejectedly. "Find out if Geirrod's lying."
Unexpectedly, Kristoff runs to Elsa to catch up with her, grabbing her by the wrist to turn her around and putting his other hand on her forehead.
"What are you doing?" Elsa asks, sort of scared but not really resisting. Nothing romantic going on, she just trusts that Kristoff isn't doing anything bad.
"You think he's lying," Kristoff says, removing his hand, "but you want him to be right. You want him to take over Arendelle."
"Okay, that's a total lie," Elsa says, crossing her arms, "but even if it were true… how would you know?"
"I grew up with trolls," Kristoff answers. "There's a lot that you and Anna don't know about me. I can see your past."
Kristoff pulls the collar of his shirt down a little, revealing a necklace with 6 jewels on it of varying shapes and sizes. All are an emerald green color.
"What are those?" Elsa asks.
"Crystals," Kristoff answers. "They represent my magic. I learned it from the trolls. Like how Pabbie looked into Anna's past when she was 5, I looked into your past. I saw what you did." Kristoff starts tearing up. "You gave me an upper-class position. I sold ice to the rich. But what about the poor? You want Geirrod to be king so your legacy can be erased, since taxes and strain on the poor have only gotten worse with you, and that carried onto Anna. She looks up to you. She looked at what you did and thought raising taxes even more would be a solution."
Not wanting to hear any more, Elsa bolts off, through the gates and jumping over the bridge, landing on the Nokk. She rides off for Ahtohallan to search for answers about Geirrod.
Speaking of Geirrod, he's at the dinner table with Sigurd in a dilapidated house. There's only the table, five chairs, and empty shelves in the blank dining room. Two clean empty plates sit in front of them.
"That was a great meal, Mrs. Johannson!" Geirrod calls into another room.
"She's a great cook, isn't she?" Sigurd sighs contently.
"She sure is," Geirrod agrees, leaning back in his chair.
"It's too bad there's not more of it," Sigurd says. "What exactly can you do for us, Geirrod?"
"Anything you want," Geirrod answers. "See, my story is one of comeback. I almost died when I was young. And now look at me, about to rule a kingdom once my truth is verified. I'll give your people a comeback story, too."
"You know," Sigurd says, "ninety percent of us are being taxed half our income. There's the rich folk on the water's edge, and the dozens of castle workers; we've nothing against them. But let me tell you something: we don't want Anna. We want the throne. It's the only way we'll have enough access to get to the real endgame."
"And that is?"
"We want Elsa. I don't know if you heard, but five of my children are dead because of her. I told her it was because of Anna. She's powerful. I couldn't risk upsetting her, or another winter might begin."
"Fair, fair."
"We want Elsa," Sigurd continues. "Queen Anna is young and naive. You will find controlling her will be easy. She taxed us because it was what Elsa did in trouble. Plus, she is in over her head. Zero qualifications. I don't know what Elsa was thinking. But we have to give the appearance of going after Anna to get the throne. If we go after Elsa immediately without the throne, her powers will save her. The spirits might aid her, too."
"So, to summarize," Geirrod says, clearing his throat, "you don't care about Anna."
"Nope."
"You only care about her position, because it gives you access to resources you can use to kill Elsa."
"Not only that," Sigurd says, "but resources for all of us. No one will be hungry in Arendelle again. The position gives us access to Elsa and health."
"I see," Geirrod says.
"How do you plan to go about this revolution?" Sigurd asks.
"They'll learn that I'm Agnarr's brother," Geirrod explains. "I'll show them what I would do in certain situations to prove what kind of a king I can be. With you and your fellow men at my side, we'll oust them. Make them run away. Nobody dies."
"Elsa dies," Sigurd says. "She'll pay for what she did."
"Have it your way," Geirrod smiles evilly. "Elsa dies. If we cannot oust Anna peacefully, we turn to violence."
"All due respect, my liege," Sigurd says, "but what good will numbers do if the few have the better weapons AND the castle as a stronghold?"
"The battle will be a diversion," Geirrod elucidates. "I'll sneak into the castle through one of its hidden escape routes. Get to Anna that way. Then, well, Agnarr's legacy will be dead."
"An excellent plan," Sigurd says, extending his hand. Geirrod shakes it heartily.
In the castle, Anna is walking through the grand hall slowly, where Elsa revealed her ice powers to the party attendees. She's there to go over the Nythsa papers, which are still on a table. However, something catches her eye regarding the throne: a small colorful mist, made of varying and changing shades of every color imaginable, floats above the seat.
"What in the world…" Anna whispers, going to the throne to investigate.
She looks at the mist, which appears contained inside invisible barriers. She puts her hand out to touch it, and particles of the mist form to give her a solid place to touch it. When she makes contact with the mist, it disperses out of its invisible barriers and forms the likenesses of Runeard and young Agnarr and Geirrod, much like how Elsa's powers formed memories in "Frozen II". Like holograms.
"Father?" Anna asks.
"Geirrod," Runeard addresses his younger son, his voice booming with regal authority, "why did you try to kill your brother Agnarr?"
"This throne is mine," Geirrod answers. "Always has been."
"Brother," Agnarr says, turning to Geirrod, "this throne is not yours. It is Father's. Then, it will be mine and my children's, if I have any. After that—"
"Oh, I know how it's 'supposed' to work," Geirrod says sarcastically. "It's just that I don't care. I'll murder your children if I have to."
"You wouldn't dare," Agnarr gasps.
"Maybe," Geirrod shrugs.
"I've seen enough. It's true," Anna says to herself.
The mist disappears.
"Wait, what?" Anna reacts as the moment hits her. "How did I do that?"
Anna dashes out of the hall, not stopping running until she finds an attendant.
"Look," Anna tells the confused attendant, out of breath, "get me Geirrod. Now. As fast as you can."
"Right away, your majesty," the attendant says, himself running down the hall.
"I'm getting outta here," Anna says to herself. "Gonna leave it all behind. Geirrod, the throne, Arendelle. It's all gone."
Anna spots some paper and— I wanna say a feather, but were paint brushes used for writing in the 1860s-ish? Pens of some sort, maybe? I don't think it matters— something to
write with. She pens a quick note, running to the nearest window.
"Gale, get this to Elsa," Anna says. "Don't let her reach Ahtohallan. … Hoooold up just a second. Do I have powers? How'd they work? Wait, and why now of all times? Ahh, this is SO confusing!"
The note Anna wrote makes its way across the air to Elsa, who is only a couple minutes out from Arendelle. In what would be amusing on-screen, the paper flies into Elsa's face.
"Stop a moment," Elsa tells the Nokk, getting off and standing on the water. She reads the note. "'Elsa, it's true. I saw the past and Geirrod is telling the truth.' This is Anna's handwriting. Come on, let's go back."
Elsa gets on the Nokk again and rides back towards Arendelle. The sun is setting over the kingdom, providing a pretty epic scene to look at. Also, to establish the time of day for theatrical effect.
Half an hour later, Geirrod is waiting at the castle gates, leaning against them with crossed arms, humming away to pass the time. The sun is almost completely down, providing creepy shadows on the fjord and the castle.
Elsa rides up on the Nokk, hopping onto the bridge in front of the gate. The dim lights overhead provide little light as Elsa notices Geirrod in the shadows. When she's close enough to him and sees who he is, she scowls.
"'Sup, niecey?" Geirrod nods, trying not to laugh at himself.
"What are you waiting here for?" Elsa asks angrily yet not loudly.
"Waiting for the gates to open," Geirrod replies. "Same thing your sister waited for for so long."
"What's taking so long?" Elsa whispers, knocking on the gates hard. "Wait a minute," she says. "This is stupid. I have ice powers."
Elsa makes a tight spiral staircase for her to climb up, the ice providing a flash of light. She hurries up it, vaulting over the gates and landing in a pile of snow that came out from under her feet. She makes the staircase and snow disappear.
Geirrod didn't flinch.
Inside the courtyard, a guard is hurrying out with a lantern.
"If you were just… two.. Seconds… earlier…" Elsa reacts.
The guard shrugs and opens the gates, letting Geirrod in before locking them for the night.
Shortly thereafter, Anna and Elsa meet in the library. Candles and a roaring fire provide the room with illumination.
"Anna, please tell me you haven't gone crazy," Elsa says, pacing back and forth.
"I don't know anymore," Anna mumbles from the couch. "I swear, I saw Father when he was like twelve, and Grandfather. The other boy— he looked like he could be related. What they said… it means Geirrod is telling the truth."
"I'm not going on this," Elsa chuckles, crazed. "We're not giving away our family's legacy because of a hallucination."
"It WASN'T a hallucination!" Anna cries, standing up quickly. "It was like a mist. I touched it, and the memories formed. When I was done, they disappeared. That's what happened."
"You coulda just led with that," Elsa says under her breath.
"Look," Anna offers, "I bet if we get Pabbie involved, you'll learn that I'm telling the truth."
"Anna, why do you want this to be the truth so bad?"
"I dunno," Anna shrugs. "Maybe I don't want to be queen anymore. Maybe it'd be better if we were both out of office."
"What do you mean?" Elsa asks, trying to sound confused but not sounding confused.
"I saw the records," Anna says. "Because of you, there was famine and disaster. You know how many people are in Arendelle? Not just Arendelle, but the backcountry, too."
"Eleven thousand, rounding down," Elsa answers.
"That was when your reign began," Anna says. "You want to know how many there are now? Nine thousand, rounding down. Sure, there's immigrants and babies being born, but there's also death and people leaving. Because of YOUR taxes! While we were living it up with the upper class with all the chocolate we could eat, they were starving and dying! How could you live like that? How could you live with yourself?"
"I only did what I thought was best."
"Was it really best to do that? Was it really best to give the throne to me? I'm a horrible queen! I keep saying that, but no one listens!" Anna laments.
"Calm down, Anna," Elsa says. "There are other things to take care of right now."
"You're just trying to get the pressure off yourself," Anna accuses.
"Obviously, you don't want either of us to rule," Elsa says calmly. "But I have a hard time believing you had a vision."
"It wasn't a vision!" Anna yells loudly, stomping her foot.
Both sisters are quiet for a moment as fast, heavy footsteps get louder and louder. After a moment, Kristoff and Erik come into the library.
"Geirrod's still crazy," Erik says.
"Yeah, like you two," Kristoff adds. "What are you yelling about?"
"Well," Elsa begins.
"Elsa," Anna begins.
Elsa and Anna talk really quickly and in escalating voices. Kristoff and Erik share a confused glance as the royals squabble unintelligibly.
"One at a time," Erik says as if he's used to this sort of thing. Backstory needed.
"Me first!" Both Anna and Elsa say simultaneously.
Kristoff takes Anna into the hall, and Erik and Elsa stay in the library. We'll focus on the former couple.
"What's going on?" Kristoff asks. "I know you're under a lot of pressure, but don't take it out on Elsa."
"Here's the thing," Anna says, concentrating on her breathing to calm herself down. "I saw a mist on the throne, I touched it, and it turned into a memory of Runeard, Father, and Geirrod years ago. They were talking, and it confirmed everything Geirrod said. When I saw what I needed to, it disappeared."
Kristoff pulls Anna's undone hair to the side, putting his hand on her forehead.
"Oh. This is nice," Anna says. "What are you doing, exactly?"
Kristoff takes his hand off Anna's forehead. "I saw your own memories," he says. "It's true. What you're saying is true. We should go into the North Mountain soon. Visit Pabbie. See what he has to say about your powers."
"Later," Anna says, "but what did you do?"
Kristoff shows Anna his necklace, actually taking it off and putting it over her head.
"What's this?" Anna asks curiously.
"It's a troll necklace," Kristoff answers. "It represents my powers. I can see peoples' memories."
"Okay, but why didn't you tell me before?" Anna asks.
"There was no need to," Kristoff says. "Besides, troll power needs to be as secret as possible, because there's people like Runeard who hate magic and would kill me if they had the chance."
"Elsa still won't believe me," Anna says, looking back into the library.
"Then that's HER fault," Kristoff says, turning Anna back around to face him. "She has no reason not to believe you."
"Yeah, other than that I sound crazy," Anna says.
"She's always believed you," Kristoff says. "If she's not now, then she must have a reason. I saw her memories, too, and believe it or not, she wants Geirrod on the throne just as much as you do."
"Wait, what?"
"So she must be not-believing you for another reason. Do you know what that could be?"
"No," Anna says. "But you believe me. And that's enough. Would you still believe me even if you didn't—"
"Anna, if you think for one second that I won't believe you for any reason," Kristoff says, "then I've been the worst husband of all time for setting that thought up."
Anna hugs Kristoff tightly. "Thank you for believing me," she whispers, teared-up.
Elsa comes into the hallway. "Am I interrupting anything?" She asks.
"You're fine," Anna says, turning to face Elsa. For mental imaging, the Anna/Kristoff hug is over.
"If you're saying something," Elsa says, "then I have no reason not to believe you. Where's Geirrod?"
"Thank you," Anna says. "I had him taken to the dining room."
AKA, the room where Hans lied about to other dignitaries about Anna having died.
Anna and Elsa go by themselves to the dining room, where Geirrod is sitting in the chair at the head of the table. The moon's early beams shine on his face.
"Yes, my subjects?" Geirrod asks.
"You were right," Elsa says. "But this kingdom isn't yours."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Geirrod sighs. "For tonight, I'm going to be staying elsewhere in Arendelle. Tomorrow, I would appreciate it if both of you would take a walk with me and Sigurd."
"I've got too much to do," Anna says.
"No, you don't," Geirrod responds quickly.
"Where are we going?" Elsa asks. "Are you going to kill us?"
Geirrod laughs. "Of course not, there's no sense in that right now. No, no, we're going to a place very important to most Arendellians. Why did you want me here anyway, just to tell me what I already knew?"
"I wanted you here," Anna explains, "so I could tell you to your face that you may be my uncle, but you'll never be king."
"That's not it," Geirrod says. "I'll bet you wanted to kill me. Since I tried to kill Agnarr, you want to do what I could not. Am I right?"
"Shut up," Anna says.
"Am. I. Right?" Geirrod repeats.
Anna doesn't respond.
Geirrod gets up, yawning and stretching. "I'd better turn in," he says, heading out. "Lovely chat. I'll see youse two in the morning. Good night and sweet dreams!"
The sisters are silent a moment as Geirrod's footsteps recede down the hall.
"You were going to kill him?" Elsa asks in disbelief.
"That'd make me no lower than you," Anna whispers, grabbing a dagger that was stuck under the table by where Geirrod was sitting and tossing it onto the table. "At least I predicted his pride would put him at that seat."
"I can't believe you," Elsa says. "And I'm going to ignore that first comment."
"I regretted it as soon as I put the dagger there," Anna says. "I couldn't carry through, even if he wasn't my uncle. I'm not a killer."
"I'm going to bed," Elsa says, leaving the room and trailing snowy footprints. As she leaves, Kristoff comes in.
"I'm going to see Pabby right now," Anna says, "and figure out that mist thing. There's nothing you can do to stop me."
"Why?" Kristoff asks.
"If I could make memories once, I want to know if I could make them again," Anna answers. "Plus, I'm not tired, and it gives me something to think about other than this stupid castle and stupid throne."
"I'll go with you," Kristoff offers.
Within a few hours, Kristoff and Anna have arrived at the Valley of the Living Rock. I didn't name it that. Anyway, the trolls come to life quickly.
"They're back!" Someone shouts as the trolls cheer loudly under the Northern Lights.
"Where's Pabbie?" Anna asks urgently.
Pabbie rolls up promptly. "Anna. Your heart isn't frozen again, is it?"
"No. At least, I don't think so," Anna answers as the noise dies down. "Look, here's the thing: I saw a mist, I touched it, and I saw a memory of my father, grandfather, and uncle."
"So Geirrod's back," Pabbie reacts.
"Wait, you knew about him?" Kristoff asks.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Anna questions.
"He was gone," Pabbie answers. "There was no reason for you to know, no reason to put the thought of an evil relative in your heads."
"Fair enough, I guess," Anna says. "But what can you tell me about what happened?"
"I verified it, by the way," Kristoff brags.
"Well, it was probably a hallucination," Pabbie shrugs.
"No, it wasn't," Kristoff and Anna say at the same time.
"I saw it," Anna says.
"I did, too," Kristoff supports. "But, uh, I saw her memory of the memory. I'm just going to stop talking."
"That's what I think," Pabbie says.
"You HAVE to be lying," Kristoff says.
"Have a good night," Pabbie says harshly.
"Why won't you believe me?" Anna cries. "Why won't ANYONE believe me?"
"I believe you," Kristoff says.
"You're not just anyone," Anna responds, half-smiling at Kristoff.
"I will tell you the truth," Pabbie concedes, "but I will tell you first why I did not want to: your powers are vast and terrible. No human in the world has ever been as powerful as you are."
"Got it. I'm powerful," Anna summarizes.
Pabbie makes visions in the sky, which would be cool if this was on the big screen, but we can't see it here. He narrates, though, so there's nothing important to see.
"You know the story of the four spirits of the Forest and the fifth spirit," Pabbie explains. "But you, Anna, you are the fifth spirit, not Elsa."
"Wait, what?" Anna reacts.
"Your power is energy: the real fifth spirit. You can see living memories, but with two conditions: it must be where the memory took place in real life, and your emotions must be unstable. You only see when you need to see. Your power is knowledgeable that way. It keeps you from going crazy from seeing energy mists everywhere."
"Well, why— why didn't you tell me, and why could I only see my powers now?" Anna asks.
"It is only now because your power so no reason to burden you with it until now," Pabbie elucidates. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid of what you might become. Power is corruptive."
"I'm learning that all too well."
"Everyone does."
"If you're gonna get any sleep," Kristoff tells Anna, "we should head back soon."
"I know. Thank you, Pabbie."
"Yes. Always happy to help," Pabbie says somewhat unhappily.
Kristoff gets into the front seat of the sled, and Anna gets in the back, sort of burrowing in the supplies and falling asleep really, really quickly. For a few hours, she's able to forget about all the stress that's going on.
Kristoff is tired, but not sleepy.
**That's not all,** he thinks to himself. **Grand Pabbie was hiding something else. But what? I can't get a read on him. And if Anna's the fifth spirit, where does that put Elsa? Where does that put Elsa's powers? Does Anna have to leave? There's something else, something that Pabbie didn't say.**
These thoughts replay themselves over and over in Kristoff's mind until he eventually gives in to the starry night and falls asleep, Sven taking him and Anna the rest of the way to Arendelle.
Is that better formatting? I don't mean that snarky, I mean it legitmately, is this formatting better?