"Ah-ah-ah-ah."
Elsa's eyes shot open, and she sat up in bed.
"Ah-ah-ah-ahh, ah-ah."
She quickly threw the covers off her and headed to her door.
"Hello?" She called out. She didn't know what she was expecting but she had been ignoring the voice all this time so maybe if she answered, it would respond.
"Ah-ah-ah-ah."
Elsa sighed. She didn't know what the voice wanted. She walked out of her room thinking a walk might help her.
The voice kept calling out to her.
"Listen." Elsa said frustrated. "I don't know who you are or even if you are a friend. I am trying to understand but you have to give me something more."
"Ah-ah-ah-ahh, ah-ah."
Elsa walked out of the castle. "I have a good life, I finally reunited with my sister, and I have control over my powers. I can't afford to mess up this time like I did before." Elsa thought about the people of Arendelle and how they had forgiven her.
"Ah-ah-ah-ah."
Elsa felt a pull. It was like the voice's power was growing stronger and her powers were responding to it.
Elsa lifted her hands staring at them, and then looked up. "Are you like me? Do you know where I truly belong?"
"Ah-ah-ah-ahh, ah-ah."
Elsa finally realized why she had been so weary of the voice. It had sounded wrong, and she had mistaken it for danger. No, the voice sounded lonely. Just like how she was for all those years.
"You need my help." Elsa whispered in understanding.
For the first time Elsa became excited. There was someone out there like her and they were calling for her. She was not alone.
Elsa raised her hand stretching it out towards the north. She could now tell that the voice was coming from there.
Elsa hesitated. She knew that she was taking a risk, and more importantly she knew she was being selfish. But she had to do this.
Elsa allowed the voice to pull her powers out of her and it spread through the air.
Millions or ice rune stones appeared across the kingdom.
Elsa looked at the ones in front of her and noticed that it was four repeating ones. She raised her hand and touched one.
Something awoke Anna. She could see something outside her window and so she ran to the palace balcony. She was greeted with the rune stones. Anna noticed that the people of Arendelle had also been awoken and were leaving their homes in curiosity.
"Water, air, earth, fire." Anna said as she noticed what the runes each meant. She lifted her hand and touched the rune of wind.
Suddenly the runes all fell, shattering on the ground. Anna heard a noise and before she knew it, she was being pushed back by the wind.
Anna heard screams and she saw her people running. Anna quickly got up. She ran through the palace and as she ran, she saw the torches that lit the castle go out. She ran out and started helping people as they were being bushed to the mountains. Anna saw the water in the fountains drain up. She heard a shout and when she looked back, she saw the earth rolling upward. Everyone started to move faster. Anna picked up a child and ran with his mother who was caring a baby.
The people of Arendelle did not slow down until they reached a high cliff that looked down on their kingdom. It was only then that the wind dissipated, and the earth calmed.
Anna and Elsa were handing out blankets and telling everyone that everything would be alright. Anna looked over to Elsa and noticed that she had a troubled look on her face. Before Anna could ask her what it was Kristoff came up to them.
"Well?" Elsa asked him hopefully.
He shook his head. "No good, if you try to reinter Arendelle the wind and earth go crazy."
"What are we going to do then?" Anna asked concerned.
The earth started to shake, and everyone started to panic again but then small boulders rolled into view and revealed the trolls, one in particular rolled up to Anna and Elsa.
"Your majesties." Grand Pabbie greeted in concern.
"Grand Pabbie!" Kristoff exclaimed in relief. "Do you know what is happening?"
"Actually, I was hoping that you would have the answers." Grand Pabbie said in confusion. "Strong magic is at work here. Magic that is filled with hate."
"But why would anyone be angry with Arendelle? Especially to this extent? And why now?" Anna asked. She then felt Elsa shift next to her.
All eyes fell on Elsa as she guiltily looked at Grand Pabbie.
"I know why this has happened."
"Go on." Grand Pabbie encouraged her.
"These last couple of months I…I have been hearing a voice." Elsa confessed. Both Kristoff and Grand Pabbie were surprised but Anna became irked.
"What? You have been hearing a voice and you didn't think to tell me? Or anyone?" Anna demanded of her sister.
"I didn't want to worry you." Elsa said quietly, but Anna glared at her, and Elsa lowered her eyes in shame. "I was scared. Talking about it would be admitting that it was there. I had hoped it would just go away."
Anna wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder and hugged her close. Telling her that she was not alone.
"So, what happened?" Kristoff asked in concern.
"The voice." Elsa began. "It grew stronger each day and would pull at my magic, tonight I let my magic burst out of me."
"Why would you do that?" Kristoff said angerly. "You don't know what that voice is and now it has attacked Arendelle!"
"No, the voice is not the one who attacked Arendelle." Elsa said quickly.
"How do you know that?"
"Because its scared." Elsa said and Kristoff fell silent. "I can hear it. Someone is calling out for help. It is trying to reach me."
They stood there quiet, taking in what Elsa just said.
"What does the voice sound like, can you describe it?" Grand Pabbie asked.
"Yes, it is a gentle voice, a woman." Elsa explained. "Ah-ah-ah-ah." Elsa sang and Grand Pabbie's eyes grew wide in shock.
"Could it be?" He whispered.
"What is it?" Anna asked letting go of Elsa.
The troll looked Elsa in her eyes as he spoke. "That is the call of Ahtohalla."
"She's real." Anna whispered in amazement.
"Yes, she is real." Grand Pabbie said in deep thought.
"But why does no one remember her? Or the Enchanted Forest?" Elsa asked suddenly. All this time and she had thought her parent had lied to her, but if it was actually true then she might finally find the answers she had been looking for.
"Ahtohalla is the protector of Ahtohallan, the river of memory. Water remembers all, and it all flows back to Ahtohallan. Once the mist enveloped the Enchanted Forest all memory of that place vanished." Grand Pabbie explained but then looked at Anna and Elsa strongly. "But how do you two know of it?"
"Our parents were there when the mist went up, they told it to us when we were young." Anna said as she glanced over to Elsa. "Our mother was Northuldran."
"I see." Grand Pabbie said and then turned away raising his hands to the sky as an image appeared above them. "What has happened to Arendelle is caused by the fight that broke out in the Enchanted Forest." The image showed a dam and the two people shaking hands before pulling out weapons and attacking each other. "A wrong demand's to be righted. If not. Then there is no future." Grand Pabbie lowered his hands scared as he then turned back to Elsa.
"Elsa, you must follow the voice. Only Ahtohalla knows what truly happened. She is calling for you and you must help her."
Elsa paced slightly as she thought. She then nodded her head. "I will go, Anna please tell Kei that I need my horse."
"Wait, you are not going on your own." Anna said as she grabbed her sister's arm.
"Anna, I have my powers to protect me." Elsa tried to reason but to no avail.
"Excuse me, I climbed the north mountain, survived a frozen heart, and saved you, all without powers, so I am going."
"Elsa's right Anna you should stay behind." Kristoff said as he placed a hand on Anna's shoulder.
"Wait what!?" Anna asked as she turned to her boyfriend.
"Elsa is the one who is being called, this is her journey." Kristoff explained. "And you managed to climb a mountain thanks to my help and survived a frozen heart and saved Elsa because of shear dumb luck. You're staying behind."
Anna stared at him flabbergasted. "I can't just let Elsa do this alone." She finally said.
"She won't be alone. I am going with her." Kristoff said confidently. Elsa opened her mouth, but he stopped her. "I have traveled to the north many times. I can get you to the Enchanted Forest."
Elsa nodded her head then turned to Anna.
"I promise I will be safe." She said gently as she placed her hand on Anna's shoulder.
"We promised to not shut each other out." Anna said, she sounded desperate. Elsa could only look at her sadly.
"I know, and I know I haven't been doing well with this promise. But you are the only family I have left. I need you to stay safe. And if anything happens to me you are all Arendelle has left."
"You are all I have left too Elsa." Anna said but Elsa had already made up her mind.
"You are out voted Anna." Elsa gave her younger sister a stern look and then she lowered her hands, bringing them together in a queenly pose. "I am going to go address our people, stay here."
Elsa gave Kristoff a look and the two of them walked away.
"She is simply looking out for you as any sister would." Grand Pabbie said gently.
Anna sighed. "I know, I just…I just wish she would believe in me more." She looked at the troll hoping that he would have answers.
"She does, you just have to remember that it hasn't even been a year since she and Kristoff, the two people who love you the most, saw you die."
Anna could not argue with that. She was still not happy about it but for now she decided to drop it. There were more important things to discuss right now.
"What was Ahtohalla like?" Anna ask Grand Pabbie. His eyes became down cast.
"Lonely." He whispered.
"She was lonely?" Anna encouraged him as she turned her body to give him her full attention.
"Ahtohalla is not like most other spirits. She has lived for a very long time, even for someone like me, and has interacted with many humans."
"So, she could never relate to anyone." Anna said in understanding and Grand Pabbie nodded.
"To human for spirits, and to magical for humans."
"Our mother said that she could not give powers. So how is Elsa connected to her?" Anna asked.
"I do not know." The old Troll said in deep thought. "Your mother is correct. Ahtohalla has never been able to grant people magic, however." Grand Pabbie looked over to Elsa and frowned. "Maybe she…"
"Grand Pabbie?" Anna called out worried.
The troll simply shook his head. "It is nothing."
Anna gave him a small smile. "Do you miss her?"
Grand Pabbie's eyes went wide as he snapped his head to the princess. "What?"
"In the story our parents told, they said she had an old friend. That was you, wasn't it?" Anna explained in a soft voice.
"Yes, yes I was." Grand Pabbie spoke in a forlorn voice, and Anna could see he was remembering the past. "I was very young when I first met her. I remember her walking into our clearing, she fell forward and transformed into an owl and swopped over our heads." He gave a small chuckle. "Later she confessed to me that she had tripped. She was…" He stopped as his eyes went wide, and he glanced over to Anna. "The kindest person I have ever met." He finished.
Anna saw mist encircle the old troll's eyes and she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am all right." He spoke like he was in a daze but then snapped out of it. "I think you should go to the Enchanted Forest."
"What? Why?" Anna was taken aback. She thought that no one would be on her side.
Grand Pabbie glanced over to Elsa and seemed to think. "Elsa is too eager to go. I can understand that she thinks this will answer the question of her powers, but she needs to be more cautious. If you were to go, you can remind her of that danger."
"But…"
"But Kristoff and Elsa won't let her." Olaf said making Anna jump.
"Olaf!?" Anna said in surprise. "How long have you been there?"
"Since Elsa confessed to awakening the Spirits." Olaf said innocently. "Anyways, Elsa will freeze your feet to the ground if you try to come, so I will remind her about not taking things to seriously."
"Wait, you're going?" Anna asked in surprise.
"Yes! Elsa has her magic and Kristoff has Sven and mountain man powers to protect them, while I am pretty much immortal, so I don't see why I can't go."
"You are going, and they are still leaving me behind?!" Anna couldn't help feeling like she was being pushed away.
"You were out voted." Olaf simply stated.
Anna wanted to retort but knew that taking her frustrations out on Olaf was not right and was not going to get her anywhere. She thought about her predicament as she looked around at her people. Then an idea came to her.
"Olaf, I need your help."
As Anna talked to Olaf about her plan Grand Pabbie looked up towards the Northern lights.
"What happened to you my old friend? Did you plan this or has someone hurt you?" He glanced down at the kingdom of Arendelle. "I can see you in her eyes. Please let it be just my imagination."
Author's notes:
Thank you for reading!
Not much to say about this chapter. I wanted to give Elsa a little more context on why she released the spirits, instead of, she just wanted to. I did not want her to hide behind her just saying "My powers know they are good". Someone is just as lonely as her and needs her help.