Anna noticed the dwindle of light in her sister's eyes and knew exactly how she was feeling. It wasn't a wonder as to why Elsa wanted to visit Arendelle again.
As Anna ran to her sisters open arms she was greeted with that lingering, hushed voice again. It wasn't speaking to her but rather crying- a deep sobbing that bubbled and lingered like ocean tide.
Elsa pulled away from her, a bittersweet smile breaking her usual stoic expression, and curtsied. "Your majesty."
Anna laughed then, looped her arm through Elsa's, and tugged her inside the looming door of the castle.
The illusion of your sunlight in a world so hollow
"So Elsa," Kristoff grinned from next to her, "is it true- does Ahtohallen really know everything?"
Anna tensed in her place. She had been trying all day with no avail to edge her older sister into this topic of conversation- but of course, whether he knew it or not, Kristoff had done the work for her.
Elsa smiled "Ahtohallen knows everything about the past. It's like standing in a collection of memories- your past in a mirror just-" she almost trailed off into a signature silence. But something changed in her eyes and she finished. "... like you're staring back at your whole life."
Kristoff hummed, a vulnerable thought hiding just beneath the surface of his eyes. It pained Anna to think of how much she needed to see Ahtohallen without even considering Kristoff's wishes. She felt nothing short of guilty.
"Do you think that maybe-" he started hopeful but suddenly seemed to dial back his expectations "you could find my past? M-my parents?" His otherwise steady voice faltered for a moment and Anna found herself pressing a small hand against his shoulder, rubbing half circles there.
"All our paths are connected so I'm sure I could." Kristoff perked up slightly at Elsa's promising tone. Elsa stood up from her spot across from them and almost fell into pacing. "I've been thinking- hoping actually," she met Anna's eyes and her words we echoed " that maybe you'd both like to visit Ahtohallen with me?"