The pain was excruciating.
That's all Elsa could feel—pain. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before—writhing, searing, unrelenting agony that started in her chest and licked its way through the rest of her body. It twisted and contorted her insides with burning flames that were so hot they were—cold.
Cold.
Frigidly cold.
How could she be cold?
She was never cold.
Only once before in her life had she felt this kind of deep, bone-chilling cold—dark and menacing, devoid of warmth and love and—life.
It frightened her.
She was confused.
It was hard to think of anything beyond the pain.
What was happening to her?
She was trapped. Trapped in a coffin filled with searing blades of ice, unable to move or escape no matter how hard she scraped and clawed. Trapped in her own body like she had been trapped in her room—like she had been trapped in Ahtohallan, doomed to suffer eternally at the mercy of the harsh, bitter, lifeless ice. This thought caused her to panic. She tried to scream, to call out for Anna or Maren to help free her from this prison, but she had no idea if any sound came out.
She was dying.
Some part of her could feel it, could sense the icy death clawing up her insides—and this scared her more than anything else.
She didn't want to die.
She wanted to live.
But it was so cold, so dark, so blindingly painful.
She needed help.
Desperately.
Anna!
Maren!
Kristoff!
They felt so close, yet so faraway at the same time.
Please…
Help.
Elsa!
Anna ran to her sister, panic rising within, nearly cleaving her in two.
It had happened in slow motion, or so it seemed. The ice rebounded with a crack like a bolt of lightning, sending her sister's body slamming into the side of the cliff like a lifeless rag doll.
This couldn't be happening. Maybe it was a dream.
Elsa had been struck—by her own ice.
It wasn't possible.
Elsa was invincible.
Her sister was the strongest person she knew—this couldn't be happening.
But Elsa was lying on the ground now, her invincible sister was hurt and crumpled at the base of a cliff. Had to get to her.
Somewhere in her dazed, frantic mind she registered Maren sprinting alongside her.
Good.
That was good.
'Elsa.' She breathed as she slid to her knees next to her sister. Maren had fallen to her knees opposite her on the other side of Elsa, and was already trying to wrangle Elsa's convulsing arms down.
'Els, Els shhh you're gonna be ok.' Maren whispered as she continued wrestling with Elsa's shaking body.
Anna slid Elsa's head off the ground into her lap and tried to hold her head and shoulders steady. Elsa was shaking and convulsing uncontrollably, her eyes clamped shut—her face a contorted mask of unbridled pain. 'Maren, what's wrong with her?' Anna pleaded nervously, her throat thick with panic and desperation. Why she assumed Maren would have this answer was unclear to her, but in that moment of panic it was her first thought. Somehow Maren always seemed to have the answers Elsa needed.
Elsa let out a gut wrenching scream that cut though Anna's heart like ice itself. Ice shot out from beneath Elsa, coating the ground with jagged spikes and burning Anna's hands with searing cold. She winced but held Elsa tighter—so did Maren. Maren finally looked up at her with confused tears and pain on her own face. 'I—ahhh.' Maren tried, but her face was contorted into the same mask of pain as Elsa's. She took a deep breath and shook her head as if to rid herself of the pain that was not hers. 'I can—feel her emotions sometimes. When they're very strong—she's in unbelievable pain right now Anna.' Maren choked out before another grunt of pain escaped her. This surprised Anna, but then again it didn't—it explained why Maren understood Elsa so well, how she always seemed to know exactly what Elsa was feeling even when Elsa herself didn't seem to know.
Anna put a hand on Maren's shoulder and squeezed. 'Ok. We need to get away from here. Now.' Anna stated and glanced around, immediately aware that the draugrs were still surrounding them. Kristoff had picked up a thick tree limb and was swinging it savagely at the draugr near the wagon. He connected, which did very little to the monstrous being which still had its glowing green eyes trained intently on Elsa. Anna glanced in the other direction towards the valley—that draugr too was still staring at them—only this one had started moving towards them. Anna didn't have a plan, but moved to the side of Elsa to try to get her up anyway. They had to get her away from these draugrs one way or another—they couldn't stay here—more were surely on the way.
'I've got her.' Maren assured and swiftly picked Elsa up. Anna rose quickly with them, her arms still beneath Elsa, afraid Maren might drop her—but she didn't. Maren was only a bit taller than Anna, and Elsa was not exactly heavy, but it still surprised her how easily Maren lifted her. But what now? She didn't know what to do—they were trapped. Even if they could get Elsa back to the trolls, Pabbie seemed too weak to help and they couldn't get trapped in that valley by draugrs again. No, they had to get to Arendelle—that was Elsa's only chance.
'We have to get her to Arendelle—somehow.' Anna breathed, still trying to work out a way to get to the wagon first. Perhaps she could run as a distraction, then Maren could get Elsa to the wagon—
Just then a noise startled her from the steam—coming from the direction of the valley. It sounded like—'Sven!' Anna called out in relief when he and Daisy came sprinting out of the steam. Daisy unceremoniously rammed her antlers into the draugr nearest them, sending it flying into the side of the cliff, seeming pleased with herself. Sven kept running, aiming for the draugr Kristoff was still swatting at. 'Kristoff!' Anna yelled and motioned for him to get out of the way. He noticed and rolled to the side just as Sven came charging. Sven's antlers connected and that draugr too was sent sprawling.
'Come on.' Anna said and motioned to Maren. Now was their chance to get away.
'Daisy!' Maren hissed and whistled, calling Daisy to come. Daisy stopped and cocked her head at Maren—she looked torn between listing to Maren or going for a second attack on the draugr. 'Daisy now!' Maren commanded and Daisy finally gave in, listening to her and trotting over towards them. Kristoff was trying unsuccessfully to pull Sven off the draugr that was now on the ground. Popping, crackling, snapping noises erupted as Sven stomped the draugr's wooden body to death. Anna felt a twinge of sadness for it. It wasn't the draugr's fault—it was being used by the Vættir—but now wasn't the time to focus on that. Kristoff finally managed to yank Sven away from it, and Anna sighed in relief.
'Go girl.' Anna said then patted Daisy's rear, sending her over towards Kristoff.
'Go, go. I'll get them hooked up.' Kristoff said when he saw the three of them. Anna scurried up into the wagon and gestured for Maren to slide Elsa up. Anna grabbed her sister under the arms and hauled her up into the back of the wagon.
Elsa was still shaking, but not as badly as when the draugrs had been locked onto her. 'I've got you sis.' She whispered and squeezed Elsa as tightly as she could. Maren hopped up into the wagon a second later, just as Kristoff climbed up into the front.
'You all good back there?'
'Go!' Anna practically yelled. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Kristoff took them off at breakneck speed. She held Elsa's head and shoulders in her lap so she wouldn't be jostled, and Maren held the rest of her. Maren still looked terrible, her face a near mirror image of Elsa's pained expression. 'Maren, are you ok?' Anna asked nervously. She could not afford to lose Maren right now too.
Maren nodded. 'Anna, I need your help.'
'With what?'
Maren grimaced. 'Remember how I said you have a natural gift for healing?' Anna nodded. 'I think I can fix Elsa, but I need your help—usually I do this kind of thing with Kalle, but we don't have that option right now.'
'Ok, just—tell me what to do.' The wagon hit a bump and they both gripped Elsa to keep her from sliding around.
'It's going to be difficult in the wagon, but we have to do something or—we just have to start doing this now. Hold her tight.'
'Ok.'
Maren splayed her hands over Elsa, her eyes closed, and moved meticulously up and down Elsa's whole body—yet never touching her. Elsa's breathing was shallow and erratic—her body still shook and convulsed with each wave of pain. Frost had crawled over the floor of the wagon beneath them, and Anna hoped it wouldn't get as far as the wheels. Maren sighed and shook her head. 'They really messed up her insides.' She said and took a deep calming breath, her eyes filled with sadness and love as she gazed at Elsa.
A lump formed in Anna's throat. 'But, you can fix her?' She asked hopefully, unwilling to accept the alternative. Whatever was wrong with Elsa was far beyond any physicians capabilities, of that much she was sure.
Maren nodded. 'We can. Whatever they did to invert her magic, it mangled up her energetic meridian lines—that's why she has no control over her body right now, why she's in so much pain. We need to straighten them back out.'
It was difficult for Anna to follow exactly what Maren had explained, but enough of it made sense and she trusted her, so she nodded. 'What do I need to do?'
'Love and empathy. That's what healing is, at its core—and you have an abundance of both Anna. Put your hand on her heart and just try to feel as much love as you can and push it into her. Will her to hold on.'
'Love will thaw.' Anna whispered and nodded, remembering Elsa's words. Love was the key to thawing Elsa's ice—of course it could heal too. And Maren was right, love was one thing Anna knew she could help with. 'I can do that.' She confirmed, and Maren nodded with a kind smile.
Anna felt Elsa still in her arms and looked down—her head had rolled to one side and she looked eerily calm. 'Maren.' Anna whispered, panic rising in her voice.
Maren bent down near Elsa's face. 'She's barely breathing.' She said and locked nervous eyes with Anna. 'It feels like her magic is strangling her.' Maren added, continuing to run her hands over Elsa, concentrating. Anna became suddenly aware of something wet spreading across her chest. Instinctively she reached for her necklace, fumbling and panicky she pulled it out—only to find, it was not there.
All that remained was the metal chain.
Elsa's ice had melted.
'Maren!' Anna hissed more panicky than before, her throat closing up and hot tears starting to sting her eyes. Maren grabbed her hand and placed it on Elsa's chest.
'Love, Anna. Focus on that.' Maren said absently, then resumed her concentrated position over Elsa.
Anna closed her eyes, took a deep, shaky breath, squeezed Elsa tightly and tried to do as Maren said. She pushed the fear away, the greatest fear of her life—losing Elsa, and instead focused on every wonderful moment she'd ever had with her sister, praying that it would be enough. From her earliest memories—running after Elsa through the halls of the castle, giggling with pure joy—to riding behind her on Nokk across the vast ocean on one of the best days of her life. Following her around, always. Love and awe and admiration—those were the emotions that surfaced when she thought of her sister. It didn't matter what Elsa was doing, Anna was enthralled by her—wished she was her many times. Elsa teaching her, Elsa hugging her, Elsa protecting her when she was sad or hurt or lonely. Quietly, modestly from the shadows—that was Elsa's way. Shielding her from the harshness of life, even when Anna had no idea she was doing it. Taking on insurmountable burdens herself, just so Anna never had to. Hiding all the pain behind a beautiful smile. Always Elsa. So many memories flooded her, it was effortless to feel unconditional love for this person who had freely given her so much, and asked for nothing in return. Her sister, her ally, co-conspiritor, protector, and greatest friend.
Her hero.
Anna felt tears of pain and love flowing down her cheeks, but she didn't care—she couldn't lose her now. She couldn't. Without Elsa, she was nothing—she was lost.
How long she was lost in those thoughts was hard to say, but the sudden sensation of wetness spreading beneath her jolted Anna out of her memories. Elsa jerked violently and her ice clothes started to melt off her body. They kept melting until they were all gone—just like her necklace. Anna's throat closed up and a sick feeling engulfed her.
Elsa was dying.
'Maren…' Anna sobbed, pleaded. 'It's not working…'
'Anna, it's ok. She's still alive, she just can't breathe. Put your fingers here for me.' Maren instructed in a calm voice, and placed Anna's fingertips on Elsa's right shoulder. 'Keep pressing there.' Anna nodded and watched as Maren squeezed between Elsa's thumb with one hand, then with the other traced a precise line up Elsa's arm with her fingertips. With closed eyes, she slowly ran the length of Elsa's arm from her thumb, right up until she reached the spot where Anna was pressing. Maren's brow was furrowed and she seemed to be focusing intently on something Anna could not see. Elsa suddenly let out a deep sigh of relief and started breathing normally again. Maren sighed and took in a deep breath.
'There. Now she can breathe again.' Maren sighed in relief and kissed Elsa's hand. Anna quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.
'How did you do that?' Anna asked in awe.
Maren smiled. 'I had to pull her lung meridian back into place—like I said, they're all tangled up. We'll have to untangle them one by one.' She said, and wiped away wet tears from under Elsa's eyes with her thumbs, never taking her eyes off Elsa as she spoke. Anna was in love, that was true—she loved Kristoff very much. But she had never quite witnessed love before, not in the way that Maren loved her sister anyway—and it was beautiful. Anna smiled—love was beautiful.
'We're almost there. How is she?' Kristoff called over his shoulder. The clip clop of running hooves on cobblestone resounded, and Anna looked up to see that they were already on the outskirts of town. She quickly took off her cloak and draped it over Elsa.
'She's—ok for now. Just hurry.' She called back to him. Elsa was still shaking, but at least she was breathing more evenly now. Anna had no idea what hour of the night it was, but was thankful that most people were asleep and would not see them—she wasn't ready to answer questions about this yet.
Kristoff wasted no time—without any people out, they charged down the empty lamp-lit streets and eventually, straight into the castle courtyard. Kristoff hopped down immediately and gestured for them to hand Elsa to him. Together both she and Maren carefully lifted Elsa and passed her down to Kristoff's waiting arms.
'Your Majesty! Is everything alright?' A surprised guard called as he approached the wagon, realizing Anna was among them. Anna hopped down from the wagon as he bowed to her.
'Major Jensen,' Anna greeted upon recognizing the young man. 'It's—there's been an attack. My sister has been hurt. Please find General Mattias and tell him to mobilize the guard at my command. We need a perimeter set up in the woods around the kingdom—I don't want anything or anyone coming into Arendelle territory without my knowledge.' She stated in the most commanding tone she could muster, trying desperately to imitate Elsa. The man's eyes flicked to Elsa in Kristoff's arms, then to Maren and finally back to her.
'At once.' He said, clasping his fist to his heart and bowing his head.
'Let's go.' She said to Kristoff and Maren, already starting at a clip up the castle steps. Two guards bowed to her as they opened the large entryway doors, but she ignored them and headed straight for the stairs. At this hour no one else was awake, and she said a silent thank you for that.
Once upstairs, they entered Elsa's room, and Kristoff laid her down on the bed. Maren was already by her side, starting again to work on her. Anna moved to join them, but Kristoff took her by the hand and led her a few paces away.
'What can I do?' He asked softly, taking both her hands in his.
She took a deep breath and looked into his soft, kind eyes—always stable and comforting when she felt like her world was ending. 'Find Kai, please. Fill him in on all of this—then, check in and make sure Mattias understands what's going on. I—I can't leave her—' Anna tried, but the lump in her throat prevented her from finishing.
'I know, it's ok. I've got covered.' He reassured, then leaned in and kissed her. 'I'll be back soon.' He said, then turned to leave the room. Anna swallowed the lump in her throat, then hurried over to the bed. Maren had discarded the cloak and was up on the bed with Elsa, hunched over her —concentrating again. Anna climbed up on the bed on the other side of Elsa, careful not to disturb Maren's process.
'I fixed a few more meridians, but I need your help with the others.' Maren stated without opening her eyes or shifting focus from what she was doing. Elsa wasn't shaking anymore, which was a good sign, but her face still looked pained. Finally Maren opened her eyes and looked up; dark circles had formed under her eyes and it worried Anna. 'We need to do the heart meridian now, that's a big one.' She added and Anna nodded.
'Scoot down over there by her feet.' Maren instructed, and Anna complied without hesitation. 'Now, pinch behind her ankles and hold there.' Again Anna complied wordlessly. She watched as Maren placed her fingers on Elsa's abdomen—feeling for something? Her other fingers she placed above Elsa's heart, again palpating there. Suddenly Anna felt a strange sensation in her fingers—it ran up her arms to her heart, almost as if a warm invisible band had snapped taut between her fingers and Maren's.
'Woah.' Anna muttered absently, confused by the unexpected sensation.
'You felt that?' Maren asked with a pleased smile.
'Yeah, I did—like a band snapping into place.'
Maren shook her head with a smile. 'I told you you were a natural at this. That was her heart meridian you felt snapping back into place—keep your fingers there, hold it in place—we're not done with this one yet.' Maren instructed and Anna nodded, a small proud smile forming over her lips.
Maren traced her fingers up Elsa's abdomen until they were near her other fingers on Elsa's heart. Anna could feel the energetic cord between the two of them waver slightly, but mostly it stayed taut as Maren moved—it was the strangest sensation she'd ever felt. 'You see, we're using our energy to help push hers back where it needs to go—but you always have to be careful when doing this so you don't deplete your own energy in the process. That's why we usually do this with two or more people.' Maren said absently as she focused on Elsa's heart. This made sense, Anna could feel the cord snake up through her hands, down her arms and into her own chest—it was strange, but it was almost as if she could feel Elsa in that cord. She could understand and even feel how this could be tiring after a long period, and understood why Maren looked so drained already. 'The heart meridian is the longest, it runs from the feet all the way up to the top of the head.' Maren continued, sliding her fingers up from Elsa's heart, over her face and landing on the top of her head. Her other fingers were still pressing on Elsa's heart, and Anna felt the cord stretch up from there to the top of Elsa's head, and back down to Anna's fingers. It wavered for a moment, but then Anna felt it grow taut—snapping into its rightful place. Anna smiled and locked eyes with Maren, who nodded in approval. In the same moment Elsa moaned and breathed a sigh of relief, and Anna saw the muscles in her body visibly relax. This was working!
They continued that same process for another hour, perhaps two—Anna had lost track of time. Moving and setting Elsa's energetic cords back where they were supposed to be. The only sign of the passage of time was the lightening of the sky outside of Elsa's window.
'That's the last one.' Maren said finally, exhaustion apparent in her voice and features. Anna too felt wiped out from this. She sensed the last cord snap into place and somewhere she could feel that that was it—everything in Elsa was back where it was supposed to be. Elsa finally looked completely peaceful and still—her breathing and facial expressions calm and normal.
They had done it.
Maren drew the covers up over Elsa's body, then glanced at Anna with darkened, tired eyes. 'She needs to sleep now. I think, I'm just going to—' Maren started but then stopped. Looking dazed, she sank down next to Elsa, swung an arm over her middle and was asleep instantaneously. Anna smiled and stared at them with her own sunken, heavily lidded eyes, realizing she didn't have the energy left to move either. Her body felt limp and heavy, so she let herself fall into the bed on the other side of Elsa, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Kristoff knocked on the door to Elsa's bedroom, but got no response. He knocked again, a little louder—again nothing. He didn't want to disturb them, but he needed to tell Anna that he had spoken to Kai and Mattias and all was well. Mattias had put the guards in place, and no one had seen any draugrs as of yet.
Why were the girls not answering? Nerves got the better of him, and he opened the door himself to peek inside. To his surprise, they were all asleep—Anna was curled up, her back pressed to Elsa's side and Maren draped across Elsa from her other side. He smiled and walked over to put his hand near Elsa's face—hot breath hit his hand immediately, and he was relieved that she was indeed breathing. Maren must have figured out a way to help her—Elsa looked peaceful enough. It appeared her only danger now was being suffocated by the two bodies that were pressed against either side of her. He chuckled lightly, then swept Anna's hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. He would keep watch, but let them sleep.
Just then a strange shadow fell across the room. He glanced out the window—it seemed cloudy. Strange. He had been outside only moments before speaking with the guards, and it had been a crystal clear sunny morning. He walked over to Elsa's balcony to get a better look. It was not cloudy—but it was rapidly becoming overcast. He watched closely as thick clouds of fog descended from the woods and spread over the kingdom, blocking out the sun and clear blue sky. He had never seen anything like it. The clouds shimmered and sparkled in a strange way—it did not look natural.
Then it dawned on him. His heart sank into his stomach. This was not naturally occurring cloud cover, or fog—
It was the mist.
A/N: Anna & Elsa's song for this chapter: Wind Beneath My Wings: Idina Menzel version
