In hurry, Anna led the Viking into her room and made him sit on the edge of the bed. She prepped a candle and lit it with a lick of blaze she ignited from a match.
Anna knelt down before him and locked her eyes on his, her hands gently cupping his cheeks. "Deep breath, Hiccup… It's okay, you're okay, everybody's okay," Anna assured.
"Yes, yes…" Hiccup reached for her hands to feel her warmth. It was much needed at the moment.
Anna let the man calm himself while constantly wiping his tears away using her thumbs. It was quite torrential initially, as some even managed to run down her own arms instead. However, as time applied healing on Hiccup, his tears soon ceased to flow.
"Now Hiccup…" Anna kept his hands under her own. "Did something happen on your way back to the castle?"
Hiccup's brain flashed through every single event that occurred in the period of time Anna specified. "I… well, I saw the same thing in the woods. It was a living corpse, wearing Berkian attire but it seemed that it's gone through a rough battle, thus, the scars and cuts and everything. It attacked me and… I fell from the horse. I tried to fight back but… there was…" He sighed. "Nothing."
"Huh… and you saw the same guy in the library?" Anna asked.
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah…"
Anna looked down, trying her best to comprehend what on earth was happening to him. She couldn't come up with a lick of comprehension, so her mind naturally suggested that it was something…
Anna spoke up, "Could it be a magical being—"
"I was going to visit the library to search for an answer," Hiccup cut her and realised what he did. "Sorry, you were saying something?"
Anna shook her head. "Please. You first."
Hiccup sighed and patted the empty spot next to him on the bed. "At least sit next to me."
Thus, Anna did. She sat next to him.
"I was going to search for an answer either in the health section, or the history… or Hel, even the fiction section," the Viking scoffed, feeling a little embarrassed at his own desperation. "Can you believe that?"
"After seeing what I've seen so far in life… Yes," Anna spoke, nodding softly. "But Hiccup, I don't think you can find a clue in the library. I've practically spent my entire life in that library and read every book there is."
Hiccup processed her statement and accepted it. "You're right… there's no way…" he rolled his eyes to stare at the floor blankly. Anna gently caressed her back to remind him of her presence.
"Hiccup, do you see the… creature right now?" Anna asked. "Is he in this room?"
To answer the question, Hiccup slowly tilted his head up and looked around. Corner to corner. Even the ceiling corners. Fortunately, the moonlight shone brightly at the moment and revealed no such horrifying creature in the room.
"Nothing… there's nothing."
Anna sighed in relief. "Good. Um, let's visit Pabbie next morning. He will know something about this. For now, get a good rest. I gotta show Rapunzel and Eugene their room."
In fear of being left alone, Hiccup looked up to Anna. "Y-You're gonna be back, right?"
The fear drawn all over Hiccup's face surprised Anna a little. "Of course. It's just gonna be a moment."
Hiccup ran his fingers along his hair. "Alright, alright…"
With that, Anna stood up and walked to the door. "I will be back."
Hiccup's POV
It had been ten minutes since Anna left. I was already ready with my sleeping attire, my prosthetic removed from my leg, and blanket covering my entire body except for half of my face.
I could not get my mind off of the creature that I just stumbled upon. Its face unfortunately reminisced that of a specific Berkian: Spitelout. Despite possessing torn fleshes everywhere, I could still tell who it was. His eyes flashed red as if they were on fire. His remaining skin had either deep cuts of burn marks. His face expressed anger, an emotion I reckoned could only be caused by… my failure as a chief.
Even after finding the survivors of the raid and saving the dragons for the countless times from people who only seek to use them for their favor, the guilt remained. However, now it was accompanied with fear.
I was so deep in my thought, by the time someone twisted the doorknob open, I had a heart attack.
"WAHH!"
It was only Anna.
"Did I scare you?" she asked.
I exhaled in relief. "K-Kinda…"
She shut the door and started removing some of clothes while walking to the screen by her wardrobe. "Did it make an appearance again while I was away?"
I laid myself on the bed properly again. "No… but I can't get my mind off of it. There's one thing I haven't told you…"
"What is it?" Anna asked from behind the screen.
"The creature… it looked like Spitelout, the father of my cousin," I answered.
Anna didn't answer right away. Instead, she walked out of the screen in her sleeping dress with a curious face. "That's interesting… even looking like a corpse, you still could recognize who it was?"
"I've known the man since I was born, Anna. Of course I could," I pointed out. "You would've recognized it as well if you were in my position."
"Fair," said Anna, crawling onto the bed. "But right now, I have a strategy that will guarantee you a nice sleep." Anna smiled confidently and, rather, seductively, I could say.
"What is it?"
As an answer, Anna tucked herself under the blanket and scooched closer to me. Instinctively, I lent my arm for her to use as a cushion. She was so close; I could feel her breath against my chest. I never knew I longed for such skinship. As if it was by magic, all my insecurities, my anxiety, my fear… gone.
"I'm counting on you, Anna," I whispered, caressing her back.
"But sleeping arm might be a side effect…" she stated.
I pulled her even closer. "It's worth it."
"Don't blame me when it hurts by morning."
We remained in silence for a moment. Just by enjoying each other's warmth.
"Anna, I'm sorry," I spoke.
Anna looked up to me. "For what?"
"For the ruckus that I've caused… I never thought I'd be a partner with a need for high maintenance. I must've left a bad impression on your cousin and her lover," I explained.
Anna slightly smirked. "Those two… they've gone through… perhaps not worse, but an equally enthralling adventure. They've seen a good chunk of the world, is what I'm saying. Rapunzel even offered her help back then."
"Somehow, I dunno. My point is, you didn't leave a bad impression on anybody. If anything, I'm surprised that you still care for what others may think of your current state," Anna replied.
I processed her point for a moment. "Yeah… I guess you're right."
Almost without noticing, Anna's hands cupped my cheeks and pulled me into a kiss. It was deep and lasted for several seconds.
When she let go, she planted her forehead against mine.
"This will pass, Hiccup. Whatever is going on inside your head, it will end. I swear."
The oath Anna swore made me drop a tear unconsciously. To have someone so committed to my being's safety after spending my life committing myself to ensure others' safety was… nice.
I wanted to appreciate her by action. So, I kissed the space between her brows and hugged her tightly.
I peeled my eyes to see darkness. I could feel my eyes physically blinking, but I saw no difference in terms of what I saw. Just darkness.
This was a dream. With what I just faced before sleeping, this was going to happen. I mentally prepared myself previously, but of course, the fear was still there.
Along with the darkness, I sensed cold. Dark and cold, there couldn't be a worse combination. However, I soon learnt that the darkness and the cold were not alone. On my skin, I sensed something liquid. That's when I realized that I was underwater.
It turned out that I was facing downward. When I looked up, there was a dim blue light. The depth I was in didn't allow much light in, so instinctively, I swam my way up.
While on my way, foreign objects fell into the water. They were bodies. They were… Berkians. Upon recognizing them, I stopped midway, unsure if I should continue making it to the surface.
In the middle of my thoughts, I sensed something pulling my foot. I looked down to see… Spitelout… pulling my entire weight deeper into the depth.
Muffling underwater, I kicked her off in attempt to free myself. However, more and more Berkians joined in and forced me to join them in the depth.
"You're mine…"
A sinister voice called from the depths.
Anna's POV
A ray of sunshine made its way to land right on my eyes. I learnt that when I peeled them open. Jerking away from the blinding light, I saw Hiccup sleeping.
He never seemed to move from his original position. Seeing from the messy blanket, it appeared that I moved a lot in my sleep.
I fixed my blurry vision to see better and nudged Hiccup by the arm gently.
"Hiccup, wake up," I called.
He didn't wake up. When I was about to call for him for the second time, I noticed a mark on his temple. It seemed to be dried stream of water. It could only mean… he cried in his sleep. Growing a tad more worried, I nudged Hiccup with a bit more force.
"Hiccup?"
He didn't wake up.
I bolted upright and slapped his shoulder. "Hiccup?"
He didn't wake up.
I shook his entire body rather violently. I cupped his cheeks and shook his head. I even opened his eyes by force. Nothing worked. Without realizing, my vision blurred due to tears building up on my eyes.
"Hiccup? Please wake up! Oh God, please, wake up! I beg of you! Don't joke around! Don't leave me like this! this isn't funny! Hiccup!"
I planted my forehead on his. "H-Hiccup! Wake up! For the love of God and Arendelle, p-please!"
All of my tears dropped on his face, soaking it, as if he himself had been crying. But the tears were all mine. He wouldn't wake up from a sleep right after he saw a horrifying being in his head.
While flowing my tears out, I sensed a hand grabbing my shoulder. I looked to the left and there were Elsa and Honeymaren, both still in their sleeping gowns and looking with concern.
"Anna? What's wrong?" My sister asked.
"Hiccup!" I answered. "He's not waking up!"
I moved over and let Elsa examine the viking closer. She placed a finger under her nose and looked up to me after a moment.
"He's breathing. He's still alive," Elsa reassured. That lifted some of the weight that fell upon my shoulders. I was so in panic as if he had died.
"I… I should've known better. We should've visited Pabbie last night…" I spoke to myself, taking Hiccup's left hand into mine.
"What happened? Why did you want to visit Pabbie?" My sister asked, sitting beside Hiccup.
"He… s-saw creatures… that just existed in his head. He saw… I dunno… demonic corpses that resembled his fallen people. It just started yesterday," I elaborated, trying to hold myself from crying to focus on the situation better.
Both Elsa and Honeymaren took their time to process. Their faces were painted in shock and fear. Honeymaren knelt down to have a closer look on Hiccup. Growing seemingly curious, she laid the back of her hand on Hiccup's temple.
"I… sense magic," Honeymaren pointed out. "Queen Anna, someone has cast a spell on him."
My eyes widened. "Spell? How do you know?"
"Spending my life among magical beings in Northuldra, I know a spell when I sense one." Honeymaren shook her head. "Grand Pabbie is one of the elderly trolls, right?"
"Yes, he is," Elsa confirmed. "Remember the story of how Anna had her memory erased. It's the same troll."
"The trolls know the way. Let's go—"
"Hey guys."
We all looked up to the guests that had just appeared by the door of my room. Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra. All watching us with curious faces.
"What are you… up to?" Rapunzel asked.
"Um, the situation has escalated," I told her, getting off the bed to grab my clothes from the drawers. "Hiccup wouldn't wake up. We're going to see Pabbie now."
"Oh crap, he wouldn't wake up?" said Eugene. "Should we tag along?"
"There's no need, though I appreciate the concern. Elsa and Honeymaren should be enough," I replied. "I don't want to fuss you over this…" I tried to find the correct word but had a hard time doing so while collecting my clothes.
"B-But I might be able help!" Rapunzel said, sounding a bit desperate. Because of this tone, I stopped looking for my clothes and looked up to her.
Cassandra cleared her throat and explained, "Anna, Raps has a point. She still possesses a little of her healing power. It might be of use."
Everybody else looked at me, waiting for a reply. I simply didn't want her to fuss over something that was not related to her. Hiccup had not even conversed with either of Rapunzel or Eugene yet.
"Fine… um, go prepare yourself," I said. It was almost visible in the eyes that Rapunzel mentally cheered. Her smile indicated it.
"Thank you, Anna," Rapunzel said.
"Except for you, Cassandra. You're on guard duty here," I pointed out.
"And mother duty," Cassandra added, sticking up her thumb. "Very well, Your Highness."
Within a flash, we prepared ourselves, told Kai that I was going to be away at least until noon, loosely but safely positioned sleeping Hiccup on a horse and embarked to the Valley of the Living Rocks.
It was a trip with three horses. Elsa with Honeymaren, Eugene and Rapunzel together, and Hiccup and I leading the way. Along the way, it was a tough job for me to make sure Hiccup didn't fall off. I had to use one arm to hug him from behind and one arm to steer Molly, my horse. Through hard work, I persevered and reach the valley within half of an hour.
Because of the snowy weather, the entrance to the valley was filled with many puddles. The valley itself possessed many rocks and cracks that released warm natural gas, making it possibly the warmest spot in the entire Arendelle. It was warm enough for all of us to take off our coat once we arrived to the empty alley.
One thing was wrong, it was empty.
I hopped off and took Hiccup in my arms. I looked left and right and placed him to sit beside a giant boulder.
"So this is the valley?" Eugene asked, approaching me.
"It is. But the trolls are supposed to be here. They are like small boulders when they're stationery," I explained.
"Small boulders?" Rapunzel appeared from behind Eugene. "What do you mean?"
"The trolls shape themselves into small round boulders to hide. They also roll around to get around quicker," Elsa explained, hopping off her horse.
"Well, what about that one then?" Eugene pointed to the giant boulder behind Hiccup. "You mentioned that it's an elderly, right? Is he massive like that one?"
"No…" I denied. "He's only as tall as our shins."
I grabbed my chin and pondered of a possibility of the trolls' whereabouts currently. My mind came up with a hypothesis immediately. "Could they be hibernating somewhere else? Do trolls hibernate?"
"I don't think so, Queen Anna," Honeymaren replied, who's still on her horse. "They're as active as us humans. The valley is considerably warm, which is how the trolls like it. However, the melted snows create puddles everywhere. It's barely an inconvenience but it is one. I think they're residing in a cave somewhere nearby. Is there such place around here?"
I tried to remember how the map around the part of the kingdom looked like because I didn't bring one. However, nothing came to mind.
But apparently, something did inside my sister's mind. "There is one. Northeast from here. But the path is not so friendly for horse riding, so our best bet is to walk them."
"Walking it is, then," I declared. With that, I placed Hiccup back on the horse once again and followed Elsa's lead this time.
Going to northeast had apparently led us into thicker woods. The already dim sunshine was getting even dimmer as we proceeded deeper. With the ground producing warm natural gas here and there, the snows on the trees inevitably made the surroundings more damp than usual. Add the vines and the roots and the mosses, it was fair to say that we were slow on pace.
"Have you been here before, Elsa?" I asked.
"During my time as the queen, I scoured rarely visited areas of the kingdom. This cave was one of them," Elsa explained. "Though, it was… two years ago since I last visited this cave."
"You're so responsible, Elsa," Rapunzel commented. "I really have to take notes from you."
Elsa glanced to cousin with a smirk. "You'd better make sure you got a lot of blank pages then. Like two hundred of them."
Even I could tell that Rapunzel wouldn't need that many. But I kept that to myself.
"Do you still remember the path?" Eugene asked.
Elsa said, "It's a bit blurry, but I think we're headed to the right direction."
As we progressed, I noticed that the vegetations around had started to… vary. Previously, they were all normal trees with green leaves. The deeper we carried on, the more colorful the vegetations became. Some had white barks, others had red to purple leaves. It was as if we were entering a different dimension.
"The trees, were they always like this?" I asked my sister.
She shook her head. "No… I don't remember them being like this."
"Huh… are we still far?"
"We should be there soon—ah! Talk about the devil."
I moved aside to have a better look and Elsa was right. The cave was just up ahead, its entrance was illuminated with a humble ray of sunshine. Coincidentally, by the entrance sat two little boulders.
"Look. The boulders. They really are here."
"Oh, those two boulders? They are the trolls?" Eugene asked, sounding unsure.
"Yeah!" I picked up the pace and pulled Molly along. "Let's go."
I led the others to the entrance, where the boulders never seemed to… 'come' into life. Once close enough, I knelt down and had a closer look. The pattern, the color, unless the trolls happened to somehow change color during winter, these two boulders were definitely the trolls.
"Hello?" I greeted. "It's me. Queen Anna of Arendelle, daughter of King Agnarr? I'm here to see Grand Pabbie."
No reaction.
Or at least that's what I thought.
"Queen Anna?" A masculine but squeaky voice sounded from inside the cave.
"Ohh? And Queen Elsa?" A feminine voice sounded.
"Who's the funny looking guy? And who's the brunettes? OHHHH new friends!"
I stood up and took a few steps backward, enough to make a space for a possible crowd of trolls. I looked behind to Rapunzel and Eugene and warned them, "They are a bit extravagant sometimes."
The ground shook a little and a loud thumbling sounded from inside the cave. One by one, grey boulders rolled their way out of the cave and 'came' into life, revealing their true forms.
"Queen Anna! Queen Elsa!" They all cheered
The smiles and the cheering welcomed us, causing quite the commotion. Before I could even kneel down to high five all the hands there were, the trolls surrounded us and even brought Eugene to the ground. Of course, we all had to laugh at it. Interestingly, the horses were pretty calm about the commotion.
"Oh wow he's so handsome!"
"Are you single?"
"Nice teeth!"
"Ow, yeow, OUCH, don't touch my teeth!" Eugene whined while being swarmed by the trolls.
"Hey, hey, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen," I warned them politely. "He's a guest from a faraway kingdom. He still needs to come home after this."
While greeting the troll here and there, a familiar sight came to my vision. Grand Pabbie. Knowing that he had arrived at the scene, the trolls calmed themselves and made way for the elderly to reach us.
I was about to give a greeting to Grand Pabbie when an unfamiliar sight came to vision. Followed after the elder troll… a woman showed up. She wore a light brown dress with animal skins and had faded tattoos on her fully exposed arms. Accessories made out of vegetations and metal adorned her wrists and ankles. Her shoulder-length hair had similar accessories, and some were beaded. She looked like a tribal woman, but despite her looks, she was a charming woman.
All of us were on guard for the unwelcomed guest.
"Uh… hello?" I greeted. Seeing the greeting was not meant Pabbie, he looked behind and noticed the woman.
"Oh, why did you follow me?" Grand Pabbie asked.
"I was curious. I had to look," she responded.
Grand Pabbie looked at us and at her once again. "Erhm, Queen Anna, Queen Elsa, this is… Freya. She's new around here, so it's natural to be surprised."
"Your majesty." Freya bowed down with an endearing smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
I returned the smile, trying to be as polite as possible. "Miss Freya. I am Queen Anna of Arendelle. May I ask… who you are? I know the name, but… to be here in a cave so far away from civilization…"
Freya waved her hand off. "I know, it must be weird, or even suspicious for me to be here. But I assure you, I'm… merely a woman who lives here in the cave and happens to have the trolls as her companion."
Her introduction did not make a lick of sense in my ears. "You… live here?"
She smiled. "I do."
"Pabbie mentioned that you're new here. Where are you from? How long have you been here?"
Freya looked to the ground and looked up again with a smile. "I um… from a far away land. North from here, across the sea. I've only been here for a few weeks. I did lose count, though."
Freya did not sound convincing to me, so my remained ready to draw my blade as subtly as possible. "Does the previous land in which you used to live at have a name?"
"Not that anyone had officially named it, no. But it was full of ice and snow, so maybe the name Iceland rings a bell, Your Majesty?"
It did. Elsa spoke up, "That's… way beyond the Isle of Berk…"
"Ah, yes. I have in fact been to Berk once. Finally we're on the same page." Freya giggled while looking at my sister. However, when she laid her eyes on my sister, her expression turned curious. "Excuse me, Your Majesty… you two look alike, do you happen to be siblings?"
"We are… What is it?" I answered with another question.
Freya took several steps to approach my sister. Her gaze that was locked onto my sister made it seem that she was studying her. Elsa couldn't help but back off a little. Honeymaren stepped to her side in a protective manner.
"You…" Freya spoke softly, then she turned to me. "Your Majesty, what is your kingdom's policy about… witches?"
My eyes widened slightly. Before I could even question what she was on about, using her hand, Freya summoned a ball of green fire. Everyone was surprised except the trolls, who were mesmerized by the magic.
Freya only summoned the green fireball for a few seconds until it went away. Somehow, with much more confidence, Freya crossed her arms and looked at me, waiting for a response. I was still collecting myself after witnessing something like that.
"You could summon magic?" Elsa asked, very much in disbelief.
Freya nodded. "I can. That green fire was only one out of hundreds that I can do. I sensed your cold magic and felt relieved to know that I'm somehow not the only person who can wield magic in this kingdom!"
"Unless…" Freya turned to me again. "You never knew about your sister's magical power to manipulate ice?"
I cleared my throat to gain my composure back. "I've known that since we were little. As for your question… we are open to people of magic. We welcome them."
"Does that include me?" Freya asked with anticipation. I was going to be polite, but knowing that I knew so little of her, I made clear of my stance.
"As long as you do not lay harm upon my people, Miss Freya," I warned. In response, Freya smiled earnestly.
Freya explained with one arm on the air, "I hold an oath to never cause harm with my magic. I will only use it to help those in the need for help or to protect the harmless ones. Though… I did use my magic to slightly decorate the nearby woods." A sheepish smile curled on Freya's mouth.
"I can give you my testimony, Queen Anna," Grand Pabbie said. "We've lived with her for a few weeks only, yes. But her words are true."
Hearing that did ease me a little inside, despite not yet knowing if her actions would reflect her words or not. With that, I relaxed my muscles a little. "Very well. I honestly don't mind how you decorate the woods around…"
"Thank you. So! Shall we come in?" Freya offered.
I looked at the others and gestured them to come in. "We shall."
The entrance of the cave was large enough for the horse to come in. So they followed us. As all of us walked into the interior of the cave, I saw that it had been decorated, too. There were torches on some spots on the wall and holes on the ceiling to provide even more lighting.
The cave was practically a house for the trolls. There were almost a hundred of them, so they built themselves furnitures made out of clay and woods to make life easier. But they all seemed to be nearly pre-historic if compared with furnitures we had in the kingdom, naturally.
There were other passages that led to other chambers in the cave, but we were led by Freya and Pabbie to a part of the cave that had a circle of rocks carved as spots to sit on. On top of these rocks, sat hays as cushion.
"Please, sit down," Freya instructed.
We left the horses be. I grabbed Hiccup and carried him in a bridal style and made him rest against one of the rocks. I sat next to him and checked his breathing, his heartbeat, and his temperature. That was the least I could do.
I saw everyone else had taken their seats and even served drinks by the trolls. Seeing so, I sat on the floor next to Hiccup. The sight drew Freya curious while she was helping Pabbie grab a wooden tray of treats.
"What's wrong with him?" She asked.
"I uh… that's why we're here." I turned to look at my lover. "This is my lover here, Hiccup Haddock. He um… wouldn't wake up. We were going to see Pabbie to see if he could help us."
Pabbie and Freya exchanged a glance and put away the tray. In a rush, the two examined Hiccup more closely. Growing impatient and curious, Elsa, Eugene, Honeymaren, and Rapunzel ignored the hospitality for the moment and circled Hiccup. We all waited for a diagnosis as the duo touched Hiccup by the head.
"This… how could I not sense this before?" Freya asked herself.
"You're not alone. This spell is so subtle, but very much entrapping his consciousness," Pabbie explained. "I've seen this before."
"You have?" I asked.
"Several years ago, but that's another story for another time. To make Hiccup gain his consciousness back, we have to do a spell of an Old Magic. I know the ways, but if I could have your help, Freya, that would help a lot," Pabbie said, looking up to the witch. "Do you know the Old Ways?"
"I do." Freya smiled. "It's one of my expertise. Though… it has been a while since I last put it into practice."
"I will help. Now." Pabbie turned to me, "Queen Anna, before he slept, did he claim to see… things that existed only in his head?"
It was a spot-on description. "Yes. He claimed to see… a corpse, an animate one, that tried to attack him yesterday. He could also recognize who the person was… unfortunately. It was one of the fallen Berkians."
"Fallen?" Pabbie asked.
Elsa took her turn to explain, "He was the chief of Berk. But another kingdom raided his home, and only a tiny number of people made it out… they're now residing in Arendelle, starting anew."
Pabbie turned to see Hiccup's sleeping form, pity painted on his face. "I'm… sorry to hear that."
Somehow, Freya looked a bit more infuriated inside than saddened to hear the news. I could see the muscles on her arm were tense and her sigh sounded a bit more angry than sympathetic. With fisted palm, Freya assured me, "We will get him back."
Honeymaren's POV (didn't see that one coming, did you?)
"So how are you planning to do that, Miss Freya?" I asked out of the blue.
Freya looked up to me and smiled a tad. "We're going to perform an Old Magic that will allow you to tap into Hiccup's mind. You see, what Hiccup is undergoing through right now is a constant nightmare. The nightmare trapped his consciousness and one of us is going to have to free him."
The explanation baffled me, and it did the same to everyone. I had known my fair share of magic, but I never knew such thing was possible. Traversing into a person's dream.
"So… we're going to go into his dream?" Queen Rapunzel asked, her fists planted on her chest.
"One of you is going to go into his dream," Grand Pabbie reminded. I was quite surprised because I didn't catch that. "Hearing from his past experience, I suppose the nightmare that's currently taking place must be about his people's fall. He was the chief, after all. So whatever environment either of you will face, it will be a dangerous one."
Anna raised her arm. "I'm going."
"Anna, don't!" her sister denied. "It's dangerous! It should be me!"
"I can just take a sword with me. I'll be fine," Anna insisted and stood up to grab the sword she left on her horse. Seeing how insistent Anna was, Elsa stood up.
"No. Like a sword would be enough. I have my power to handle all kinds of dangers in there! You don't!" Elsa retorted. Anna was going to say something back, but Elsa cut her quickly, "Plus you're going in alone! Let me do this!"
"D-Don't underestimate me…" Anna said and said nothing more, her shoulders dropping. All of us, and probably herself too, knew that she could bring no more point to the table.
"Queen Anna…" Freya called. "I'm afraid I was only going to allow your sister to go, anyway. She's the most capable person we've got."
Hearing this, Anna dropped her sword and gave up. In a loving manner, Elsa walked over to her side and hugged her. The sight was a warm one to spectate, I found myself smiling goofily.
"Just… m-make sure you return, too, okay?" Anna reminded.
"Of course. The two of us will return," Elsa assured. With that, they let go of each other.
"Alright, that's settled," Pabbie said, clapping his hands once. "Elsa, if you please, sit down on the ground and lay your back against Hiccup's. We need to maintain a good connection, so this position will do perfectly."
"Alright," Elsa replied.
Freya positioned the chief of Berk to sit with crossed legs and upright back. Once Elsa sat behind him, she laid his back against hers. We, the mere spectators, found ourselves building anticipation as we knelt down, circling Hiccup and Elsa.
I noticed that Anna was still feeling down for not being able to go. Her vision remained looking downward, so I made it look up by patting her back.
"She's going to succeed," I assured her.
A warm smile curled on her lips. "Thank you, Honeymaren."
"I'm going to get the needed ingredients. Freya, please instruct Queen Elsa of what to do," Pabbie excused himself and walked over to the other side of the cave where many shelves stood.
Freya nodded and began her instruction, "So, Your Majesty, firstly, you need to find Hiccup himself. After that, you must find the source of his fear. We don't know in what form the source will be, but you will know that it is once you see it. Find it and destroy it."
"Sounds simple enough." Elsa cracked her fingers.
"Good. Now…" Freya looked over to the side to welcome the ingredients Pabbie had brought on three different bowls. She grabbed one that contained… some gas looking mixture that illuminated green.
"Lamb's cress," Freya named, gesturing at the mixture. "This will put you into sleep. After that, we will initiate the process of sending you into his head."
"Okay… do I… drink this or…" Elsa asked.
Freya brought the bowl closer to her face. "You only need to breathe it in. Within seconds, you will fall asleep. When you're ready."
"I'm ready."
With Elsa's confirmation, Freya gently brought the bowl closer to her nose, close enough for her to breathe in a good amount. Within an instant, Elsa's eyes fluttered and shut. Her head collapsed and her weight rested against Hiccup's back even more. Making sure that the two didn't collapse, Pabbie and Freya nodded at each other.
They grabbed the remaining two bowls that seemed to have the same ingredients. They both looked like glowing orange gas. Simultaneously, they dipped their fingers into the mixture and rubbed them on Hiccup's and Elsa's temples.
Together, Pabbie and Freya chanted in a tongue I was not fond of, "farðu, ó ferðamaður, inn í djúp minninganna..." (traverse, oh traveler, into the depth of memories…)
"…Huh!"
Elsa gasped slightly, but that was it. For the anticipation that had been built, the spell was rather anticlimactic.
"She's in," Freya said, letting go of Elsa.
"Just like that?" Eugene asked. "No… poofs or anything?"
"Not every spell has to end with an explosion of white smoke, young man," Freya replied, taking a seat on one of the rocks.
"How do you know that Elsa's now in?" I asked the witch. Before she could answer, I heard Elsa let out a gasp. Everyone else saw that.
"Some of her actions will be seen on her physical form. Like that tiny gasp, there…" Freya pointed out. "It's natural to gasp at whatever nightmare Chief Hiccup is going through."
"How long is this going to take?" Anna asked. In response, both Pabbie and Freya shrugged.
"We don't know. If Her Majesty takes long to find him, then it will be long," Freya answered.
Anna instantly hugged herself upon hearing the response. I assumed that the worst-case scenario immediately popped up inside her mind. To ease herself a little, Rapunzel and I instinctively rubbed her shoulders, reminding that we were in this together.
"Can I… hold their hands?" Anna asked.
Freya shook her head. "I don't recommend that. We shouldn't disturb the connection."
All of us remained speechless for a moment. Anna was clearly feeling down, so I kept on soothing her physically. While doing so, I noticed that we were being spectated in the entire time. The trolls surrounded us with curious faces, although one by one started leaving since there was nothing happening at the moment.
I thought that we were going to wait and do nothing at all when Queen Rapunzel cleared her throat out of the blue.
"Miss Freya, Grand Pabbie, allow me to introduce myself," Queen Rapunzel declared. Out of the blue, too, Freya's eyes bulged. "I'm Queen Rapunzel, queen of Corona. It's a kingdom far in the south. Pleased to meet you."
It hit me too that the witch and the elderly troll hadn't learnt our names yet.
"Oh, yes! Where are my manners? We haven't even learnt each other's names yet!" Freya spoke in a frantic manner. To calm herself down, she cleared her throat. "Erhm, yes! I am Freya. A witch. Pleased to meet you."
Pabbie followed soon, bowing slightly, "Your Majesty, Grand Pabbie. The elder of the trolls of the Valley of the Living Rock."
"Hello Miss Freya and Grand Pabbie. Eugene Fitzherbert. Captain of the Royal Guards of Corona. Your witchcraft is very cool," Eugene complimented politely, as if he was a big fan.
I took my turn to introduce myself. "I am Honeymaren, Elsa's lover. I'm… just a person from Northuldra. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Ah yes, Northuldra. I have heard of that land. Four magical spirits guarded the land, yes?" asked Freya.
"Five now, technically," I answered. "Elsa turns out to be the fifth spirit."
Freya rounded her mouth. "Ooohh… interesting. Anyways, pleased to meet you all. It's an honor to have royalties in my very um… humble cave, despite the occasion."
"It is a shame that something so… out of this world had to happen to Hiccup," Rapunzel explained, smiling faintly. "Truth to be told… I barely know the guy. I only know of his past that was briefly explained to me… We've only met for a day and then suddenly this happened. I even wondered to myself if our arrival caused this to happen."
It was such a bold statement to think that way. Anna apparently found it the same as she looked up to her cousin. "Don't be ridiculous, Punz. Your presence here has nothing to do with what's going on."
Rapunzel smiled endearingly at her cousin. "Let's hope so… by the way… Grand Pabbie, I'm curious of what you said previously. You have handled a similar case back then, was it the exact same spell?"
"Ah, yes," Grand Pabbie confirmed. "I think it was… five years ago. It was a little more complicated than what we have right now because there were two of them."
"Two of them?" Anna asked, her curiosity seemingly growing.
"Two different pairs of husband and wife came to see me, each had a child. One was a boy, the other was a girl. I remember one of the husbands was a royal guard… named David. David Fitzgerald. I can't remember the others, unfortunately."
"Huh… Mr. Fitzgerald?" Anna asked.
Fitzgerald… was the guard who accompanied Elsa to get out of the castle every now and then back then. Since Elsa had just told me the story two days ago, the memory was still fresh. It frightened me a little of just how coincidental it was to hear that name again.
"You're fond of him?" Grand Pabbie asked Anna. I almost mistook to whom the question was directed to.
"He quit his job around… three years ago. I haven't heard of him since then… So, what's with him?" Anna asked.
Pabbie made sure he was in a comfortable position before starting his tale. "As I said, two children from two different parents. One was a teenage boy, namely Ethan…"
Oh no. Ethan. He was one of Elsa's friends back then.
"The other was a girl, a teenager also, named Catherine. She was the daughter of the royal guard," Grand Pabbie continued.
Catherine. Also one of Elsa's friends back then. Whatever could have happened to these two?
As if Grand Pabbie was reading my mind, he elaborated furthermore. "The two claimed to see… an animate corpse, too. As it happened, at that time, they had just lost a friend, called Jack."
Jack… Overland was his full name. He died because of drowning in a frozen pool. His death was, regrettably, caused by the sleeping ice queen before us, Elsa.
Pabbie continued, "The corpse also looked like their friend, was what their parents told me. So, I performed the Old Magic and sent their fathers into the children's minds."
"Did they succeed?" Rapunzel asked.
Pabbie nodded. "They did. Their children woke up from the nightmare."
"Wow… Did the fathers mention about anything that they faced inside the dream?" Anna asked.
"Well… it was their fallen friend that I mentioned. Jack. He was the source of the fear that entrapped their consciousness," answered Pabbie.
"Jack…" Anna murmured, grabbing her chin. "Was it Jack Overland?"
The elder troll snapped his finger. "Yes! Him. Do you know him?"
"… Jack Overland did indeed die. It was because he drowned in a frozen pool," Anna explained. "Fitzgerald, and Jack's three other friends were there as witnesses, but not all were there in the entire timeline of the incident. I was reported that a Jack encountered a bear while hanging out with his friend, whose name was never reported. While chasing for Jack and his friend, the bear had apparently flipped the entire ice that covered the pond. Somehow in some way, Jack fell into the water, but his friend didn't… and… that's all that was reported to me."
Everybody was stunned by the story. For me, however, it was a different story, almost literally, since I knew the incident from the 'nameless' friend that Anna didn't know the name of. I tried to remain as natural as possible on the outside while listening to Anna.
Anna continued, "Fitzgerald arrived to the scene late… because he was picking up Ethan and Catherine. By the time he arrived to the scene, Jack was already drowning and could not break through the thick ice. Neither could Fitzgerald himself, for that matter. The frozen pond was said to be their spot to hang out. So… ever since then, Elsa forbid everyone from visiting it."
"I see. The parents didn't tell me any of these," Pabbie replied. "Everything you've just said is news to me."
"They didn't? Not even Fitzgerald?" Anna asked, sounding surprised. She was replied by a shook of a head from the troll.
"Ah." Pabbie raised a finger and said, "As for the… 'nameless' person who was with Jack when the bear arrived… The parents reported that they also witnessed a blonde girl. Catherine was a brunette, Ethan was black haired. When they asked who it was… it was 'Anna', they said. Perhaps this was the third friend."
Everybody raised their brows at the name. Except for me, who very well knew it was name that Elsa used to cover her identity. She, at the moment, sadly could not come up with a better name.
"Of course, it's not you, Queen Anna," Grand Pabbie added. "Just a girl who happens to have your name, too."
Everybody had their hands on their chins, still processing the rather tragic story of Jack Overland's death. I followed along by looking away while pretending to be pondering. I could only wonder how they all would react to the fact that Elsa was the 'Anna' in that incident.
"Well, let's just take the moral lesson," Freya broke the ice that had been around for a while. "Do not play on a frozen pond."
"Agree," Eugene replied. "Death by freezing… I suppose, you, Queen Anna, had experienced such thing?"
Anna chuckled a bit. "Technically, yeah. Though… it must be terrifying for them to be haunted by their… dead friend, to the point their parents had to come to you."
"True… I can't imagine," Rapunzel added.
"After this," Anna said, "I'll have to find them. Ethan and Catherine. Something tells me there's more than what's been reported to me."
I froze at the statement. Of course, there was very much still more than what was reported to her. And I knew that. The truth was not so simple.
"W-What exactly are you trying to find, Queen Anna? In the end, it was an accident," I asked, trying my best to sound natural.
"Mainly about the blond girl, Anna," Anna replied. "If she survived the attack, then she would know exactly what happened. It's a part of my responsibility as the queen. Sure, the incident happened before Elsa was coronated, but that's no excuse."
Anna sounded so determined, it scared me.
"Good luck~" Queen Rapunzel squeezed Anna by the shoulder, smiling with optimism.
"Hnngh!"
We all looked up to Elsa, who seemed to grunt at something. When we observed her more, Elsa suddenly raised her hand and show a beam of ice at the entrance of the cave.
"Whoa…" Eugene said, mesmerized by the magic. "I wonder what she's facing…"
"Can't be something good…" I replied, crawling to my lover to reach her. However, Freya gestured me to not do so.
"My dear, you don't want to do that," she warned. Sighing, I backed off.
"Come on Els," said Rapunzel, "You can do it!"
