Chapter Thirty Nine

An End and a New Beginning

ELSA

My time has finally come. Elsa let herself slip into oblivion as the last fragment of ice turned her mortal body into a permanent fixture of nature, expecting to find sweet release. But there didn't seem to be anything different. She frowned, trying to make sense of it all. Her mission was done. The mantle of the Snow Queen had been passed on to her descendant and successor, Talya. Everything had gone right, so what was going on?

She opened her eyes to find herself no longer in the deepest cavern of Ahtohallan. No ice encased her, and she could freely move her limbs again. Elsa looked around at her surroundings. She was in a bedroom, very familiar and nostalgia inducing. This was her old bedroom in Arendelle palace.

So maybe it worked. She had departed from the mortal realm after two centuries, at long last freed from her curse of immortality. But is this supposed to be the afterlife? Then again, she had no idea what the afterlife realm was supposed to be like.

Everything felt different now, and yet so much still felt the same. Elsa couldn't explain it, but she knew that something had changed, though she didn't know what. She glanced down at her hands. They were no longer wrinkled. Running a hand through her hair, she saw that its colour was no longer grey and faded. Her hair was voluminous and fully platinum blonde again.

Elsa rushed over to the dressing table of her room. Even her body felt young and sprightly again, as though she were back in her early twenties for real this time. Checking herself out in the mirror, she got all the confirmation she needed. Her complexion smooth, wrinkles gone, deep blue eyes sparkling brightly with all the appearances of a young adult. This place had to be the afterlife, where everyone was young again. Unable to contain her emotions, she laughed heartily.

"I made it!" She exclaimed to nobody in particular. "I'm…I'm free!" In the privacy of her own "bedroom", she lifted her hands to the ceiling and laughed joyfully in wonderful catharsis.

Something she sensed caught her attention. So she wasn't alone in the afterlife. Her loved ones were here, somewhere. Curiously, she followed her instincts and explored the halls of the old Arendelle castle from her time - or more accurately, the realm of the afterlife. They were empty, but something was compelling her like a magnet towards the drawing room.

Intrigued, Elsa reached the drawing room and felt the sensation grow stronger. Her heart hammered in her chest sporadically as she put her hand on the door. Would she find her loved ones waiting for her? Opening the door, Elsa was met by the sight of her friends and family sitting around the drawing room and by the fire, laughing, talking and playing games together.

The Warriors, her most trusty companions during the War of the Exonian Empire, were all here. Melody, Tracy, Deirdre, Jade, and even Moana and Will. So were her old friends, Olaf and Sven. Janus, her husband, sat at the other end of the room, together with Anna and Kristoff. All of them looked young again as though they hadn't aged a single day since the Exon Campaign, all in the prime of their lives. The moment Elsa stepped into the room, everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked over at her.

She tried to find words in greeting, but found herself utterly speechless. Her voice caught in her throat, and emotions overwhelmed her. Tears began streaming down her face in joy as she stood before all her loved one, unable to speak.

Anna didn't give her a chance. Leaping to her feet, Anna dashed over to Elsa and enveloped her in a hug so tight that she squeezed the breath out of her.

"It's you! It's you!" Anna squealed. "I knew it! I knew you would come eventually. See, didn't I tell you? What did I say?" She grinned. "That we would one day be young women together again in eternity."

Her throat still tight, Elsa gazed at her sister. Anna was no longer the old, withered woman Elsa had paid her last respects to all those years ago. She was once again the energetic, lively girl with strawberry blonde hair and freckles on her smooth skin.

"Anna." Elsa pressed her face into Anna's neck and wept. Shoulders trembling, she felt more arms embracing her warmly and looked up. Everyone else had come over to join the two sisters.

"Welcome back, Elsa." Janus scooped her up in his arms and embraced her. Elsa rested against the chest of her husband. It had been far longer than a century since she'd felt this way, since she'd been with Janus. It felt so…comforting. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Elsa choked between sobs. "You have no idea how long it's been."

"Too long." Kristoff patted her on the back soothingly.

"But it's alright now. Coz you're finally back with us again." Melody added.

"The whole band's back together at last. Took you long enough." Tracy said in her all too familiar insensitive tone. "So tell us, how was it like being an old, decrepit sorceress?"

"Tracy!" Anna snapped.

"No, no. It's alright." Elsa laughed, wiping away her tears. There were no words to describe how much she'd missed this playful banter and atmosphere among her friends and family. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt now that she was well and truly home.

"Well you've got a lot of stories to tell us, I'm sure." Kristoff said.

"Yes, of course." Elsa said excitedly, turning to Anna. "I met our descendants."

"Really?" Anna's eyes went wide with astonishment.

"Yes." Elsa took Janus' hands. "I met our descendants too. A wonderful girl called Peggy. She's a spy, a fighter just like you were."

Janus squeezed her hands in return. "Then she's definitely one of ours."

Giggling, Elsa turned back eagerly to Anna. "I met your two heirs to the throne. Their names are Talya and Val. Val's a technology expert and Talya has powers just like mine."

"Say what?" Olaf said in awe and Sven snorted loudly.

"Yes, Talya can control ice too, just like me." Elsa went on. "She's the reason why I'm here now. She saved Arendelle and succeeded me as the new Snow Queen."

"And I'm sure there's a long story behind that." Tracy joked.

"And we can't wait to hear it." Anna bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Oh don't worry," Elsa smiled. "We have all the time in the world."

Author's Commentary:

It was so bittersweet writing the end of this world I've created. But I believe that if you love your characters, you owe it to your characters to create an ending worthy of them. In this case, Elsa finally gets to reunite with her friends and family, which is a happy ending in my book. The world has new Warriors who will continue the legacy of their ancestors, and it truly is a new beginning for them.

However, I'm quite pleased that I managed to create a loophole in this world I've created. So while technically this epilogue is the end of Elsa's story, it isn't exactly the end, because they have a part to play in Book 5 of my series which follows the main timeline in which the Frozenverse is set. What do I mean? You'll see in the teaser I've uploaded as the next chapter.