~Chapter 6~
Anna
I waved my sister and brother-in-law off from the palace steps with the rest of my family by my side. For the most part, the reception was over since Elsa and Niklas already left and it was growing late. Many of the guests had come and gone as most of those left were citizens of Arendelle. We went back inside the palace and we passed by more people leaving. Most of them greeted me saying their goodbyes. Many comments were in regards to my fireworks display. I was so thankful Arendelle had done some trading with ships from China. Toward the end of the hall, a woman was standing in front of an oil painting of our family. She was easy to pick out as she was stopped and other people moved around her as they left. Her dark hair twisted into a braided bun with elegant attire. I did a double-take thinking I was staring at my mother from the back. Though as I got closer, the recognition sunk in.
"Aunt Isidora," I greeted, throwing my arms around her in greeting. She reacted stiffly surprised by my actions. As I pulled away, she straightened her cloak as she gracefully draped her hands at her sides.
"Hello again, Anna,"
"I'm so pleased you got to make it here all the way from Creawood,"
"Royan and Aksel insisted."
"They're here?" I asked glancing around.
Aunt Isidora glanced around flippantly with her hand.
"Yes, they're around here somewhere."
"Well, please stay in Arendelle for as long as you wish. You're family and it would be good to catch up."
"I don't know, my dear." She replied.
I could sense her hesitation. It was clear it was hard being here for her. Aunt Isidora looked up at our family portrait of Elsa and I with our parents. I could see her eyes glazing over though trying to keep it together.
"I know my sister would want me here today when she couldn't be."
"You're always welcome," I said grabbing her shoulder.
Moments later, two strong arms lifted me off the ground hugging me from behind. Royan and Aksel joined us.
"Hey Anna," Aksel waved as Royan returned me to my feet.
"I'm so glad you all made it, I just wish Elsa could have known too," I said.
"We passed glances during the reception," Aunt Isidora added, "Busy day, many people for a queen to acknowledge."
I turned toward Kristoff.
"You remember my cousins, right?"
"How could I forget the men who covered you with mud," Kristoff teased.
He shook hands with the both of them and bowed politely to Aunt Isidora.
"How goes your training of control, Anna?" Royan asked, "Judging by that firework display, you've got things handled since we saw you last."
I narrowed my gaze half annoyed at the insinuation.
"Let's just say I no longer require mud." I said with an obvious eye roll, "You do realize my powers weren't being used for that display, right?" I asked.
"Of course, Anna." Aksel answered for Royan, "Just looking out for you as always."
"Must be an older sibling trait," I smirked thinking of my sister.
Royan did remind me of her in a lot of ways. The responsible, calm one while the younger one is spontaneous and full of energy. Royan and Aksel were eerily similar to Elsa and I. Family tree dynamics and all that. I glanced at my aunt who wasn't really chiming into the conversation.
"Were you and my mother different personalities growing up?" I asked her.
"Excuse me, dear. I think I will take you up on the offer to stay. I'm more tired than I realized." Aunt Isidora replied.
"Of course," I said, knowing she was trying to dodge answering my question, "I'll have Brigitta show you to a guestroom upstairs."
I waved down Brigitta as my aunt excused herself for the night.
"Forgive her, being here is hard." Royan said as he watched his mother climb the stairs.
"There's nothing to forgive. I understand." I nodded.
The rest of the straggling guests left the palace over the next half hour given a fun goodbye courtesy of Olaf and myself. My cousins headed upstairs following their mother's lead each getting a guestroom as the palace had many to spare. I'd been busy helping to plan for this day that now that it was over, I wasn't used to so much free time. Though once the rush of the day had ebbed, I wasn't surprised by how exhausted I felt. We were about to head inside when Olaf stopped looking up to the sky noticing the dark clouds looming overhead.
"Those aren't flurry clouds, are they, Anna."
"Definitely not, Olaf." I agreed.
The wind began to pick up as Kristoff came behind me putting his arm around my back.
"Strange weather," He said.
Suddenly a strike of lightning came down hitting the fjord rippling a loud noise across the water. Olaf nervously grabbed my leg.
"New type of fire, Anna?" He asked.
"It's lightning, Olaf. It'll pass." I told him.
"I don't like it," Olaf muttered.
"Some people don't Olaf, you aren't alone in that," Kristoff added.
There was no thunder accompanying the lightning, which I thought quite unusual. I always thought the two went hand in hand. Suddenly two more flashes of lightning struck against the fjord in quick succession in the same spot. There were boats out on the fjord and some fishermen.
"I hope they're okay," I muttered.
Kristoff pulled me closer to him.
"They'll be just fine so long as they stay out of the water. Sailors know how to handle storms." He whispered to me.
It was in that moment as I looked out onto the fjord seemingly mesmerized by the stirred-up waves from the lightning strikes, that I heard a voice uttering a tune. It sounded like my name being echoed across the waves.
"Did you hear that?" I asked the guys.
"Hear what?" Kristoff questioned.
"Ooh, is this a new game? Like i-spy, but with hearing?" Olaf giggled.
The voice echoed out again as I stared out to the horizon of the fjord. A chill crawled down my spine as Kristoff grabbed my shoulder as I turned back around. A large rounded boulder came rolling towards us and stopped just in front of us. We knew who it was of course as the elder troll unraveled his form from his travels. Kristoff and I exchanged curious looks unsure of why Grand Pabbie was here, but his expression appeared rather serious.
"Grand Pabbie, it's great to see you." I greeted.
"I wish it were under better circumstances, Princess Anna. Please, where is your sister?" He promptly asked looking around.
"She's not here I'm afraid. She's on her honeymoon with Niklas."
Pabbie's eyes widened in sudden recognition.
"The new king. I forgot that was today." Pabbie muttered to himself.
Kristoff and I exchanged curious looks because clearly, Pabbie had come all this way from the valley for an important reason.
"I know you mean to speak with my sister, but can we help?" I asked.
Pabbie seemed unusually distracted and hesitated to respond to my question, but he finally did.
"A vision came to me today and I wanted to seek council with your sister,"
"What kind of vision, Grand Pabbie?" Kristoff asked pressing the matter further.
"The grave kind." He answered with a concerned gaze,
I knelt down getting at Pabbie's level grabbing his shoulders.
"Please Pabbie, tell me what you have seen and perhaps I can help." I reasoned.
"Well, seeing as your sister is gone. I suppose I must."
Suddenly more lightning struck the fjord making me jump in surprise as rain began to fall. Kai had noticed we were all outside still and kindly brought Kristoff and I umbrellas so we wouldn't get soaked. Trolls loved rain as it promoted growth of moss and Olaf didn't mind it.
"How long has lightning been striking the fjord?" Pabbie asked.
"Since just before you arrived." I answered, "What does this all mean?"
"A great evil from a strong ancestral line is trying to get free. A powerful malice who wishes harm upon this land."
"Who is or rather what is this presence, Pabbie?" I asked directly.
"I know not, Anna. Though I fear it's reacting to what happened today. I've seen your sister twice in this vision. It's all I see I'm afraid and everything is quite unclear."
"Reaction to what happened today?" I echoed, glancing at Kristoff. He too held a concerned expression. Was Pabbie saying my sister's marriage to Niklas was responsible for this thing trying to get free or Niklas becoming Arendelle's king?
"This doesn't make any sense, Pabbie, but I suppose we should go get my sister and Niklas. They should hear this sooner than later since it involves them."
"What's done is done, Anna. The lightning on the fjord shows that." Pabbie replied.
Kristoff grabbed my shoulders as I turned toward him.
"Let's sleep on it tonight. We can get Elsa and Niklas in the morning." Kristoff offered.
"But can this wait?" I asked, glancing at Pabbie.
"I know not," He replied.
"You mentioned an ancestral line. Maybe Aunt Isidora might know something." I said, glancing at Kristoff.
"Worth a shot," Kristoff nodded, supporting my idea.
"Okay then, in the morning." I nodded. "Pabbie, would you mind staying in Arendelle for the time being while we sort this thing out?"
"Of course, your highness." He agreed.
It was decided. I just didn't like thinking that it could be a mistake to wait. Would Elsa wait? Olaf had a sleepover with Sven in the stables. Kristoff kissed me goodnight before we parted ways for the night. I laid down in bed thinking I'd drift off easily due to my exhaustion of the day, but instead, I laid there restless. Tossing and turning into the early morning hours. I heard that voice again call out and upon feeling annoyed, I put a pillow over my ears as I eventually dozed off.
Brigitta shook me awake the following morning. My eyes did not want to see sunshine so early. The drapes were open blinding me.
"Good morning, your highness. I trust you slept well."
"Could have been longer," I complained, "I'm guessing everyone has already eaten breakfast."
"I haven't seen anyone this morning except for Kristoff, your highness. It is nearly midday."
I threw off the covers staring at Brigitta seemingly dumbfounded.
"Well geez, what a waste of a morning!"
I wanted to meet up with Elsa hours ago, but first, I would talk with my aunt and get her council. I didn't want to make a poor decision reacting with my emotions. I knocked on Aunt Isidora's door gently informing her it was me. No answer. Three times I tried.
"It's only your niece," I called, "Aunt Isidora?"
I slowly opened the door and I found my aunt still in bed sleeping. Breathing peacefully and her eyes seemed so fatigued. I'd hate to disturb her, but she'd understand. I gently shook her, but she didn't stir. Was everyone in the family a hard sleeper, except for Elsa? A pin drop could wake my sister up.
"Aunt Isidora," I called no longer using hushed tones.
She didn't stir. Trying not to be alarmed, but this was rather odd. I found Kristoff wandering the halls downstairs greeting me with a warm smile.
"And she finally awakens," He said, "You talk with your aunt yet,"
"Kristoff, I can't wake her," I said, no longer hiding my concern.
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I mean, she won't wake up," I said.
"I haven't seen Royan or Aksel either," Kristoff added.
Kristoff and I raced to their rooms knocking politely and when no answer came we found them sleeping just like my aunt.
"Why won't they wake?" I said, beginning to pace the hallway outside their rooms.
"We'll figure it out, Anna. in the meantime, let's go find Niklas and Elsa."
The mysterious voice called out again. It was louder and shrill to my ear. It was nauseating. I brought a hand to my head as I ventured back to my aunt's room. Desperately I tried to shake her awake again as Kristoff watched me from the doorway.
"Anna," He said.
"I don't know what to do,"
Kristoff left me alone for about a minute before he returned with Grand Pabbie entering the room. There was a sudden chill in the air as if Elsa was in the room and I turned expecting that maybe she was here, but it was only my imagination. I rubbed my arms surprised by my sudden feelings of cold. My fire powers would always keep these feelings away-until today. Pabbie grabbed my aunt's hand and brushed his other hand across her forehead.
"What's wrong with her, Pabbie?" I asked quickly.
Kristoff put his arm around me holding me close as I bit my lip nervously.
"There is ice magic at work here," He answered, "It is drawn to great power."
He looked up pointing at the nearby window that had frosted over as if we were in winter. I figured if I could melt the ice maybe that could help them wake if this was some sort of spell. I didn't notice the ice the first time I came into the room. I took a deep breath and conjured a fireball in the middle of my palm and waved it across the window. Though nothing happened after doing this.
"Fire will not help," Pabbie said.
"How ironic," I grumbled, "Pabbie, what can we do?"
"I'm not sure, I seem to be blocked from my visions." He said, glumly, "Whatever it is has tremendous power the likes of which I haven't encountered before."
"They're alive, Anna, so that's good at least." Kristoff pointed out.
"But for how long?" I said, with anxiety in my tone, "If they don't wake, they can't eat or get water. They'll die."
My aunt and cousins were in trouble. I didn't understand what was happening, but I had to act, I had to do something, anything. I marched down to the library downstairs and I began scouring the shelves for anything that could be useful. Spending mere seconds reading through each title, there weren't any that stuck out to me that would be useful. I moved the ladder against the bookshelf to reach every possible title that was out of my reach. Most of the books were fictional stories, but I did cross a few books from the historic archive during my father's reign. Though as I scanned through it, it wasn't useful. Kristoff started pulling books down for me in my distracted state. I accidentally dropped one right on his head.
"Ow," He said rubbing his head, "Okay bookworm tornado, let's take a breath and slow down."
I looked down at my fiance from the ladder shaking my head.
"Kristoff, do you not understand the urgency?"
He gently grabbed my hands pulling me down from the ladder.
"Of course I do, but when people get desperate, that's when mistakes are made. We'll figure this out."
Kristoff got me down as I sat on the floor pressing my back to the bookshelf as Kristoff sat right there beside me watching me curiously.
"Why are they asleep?" I muttered., "I don't get it,"
I sighed heavily.
"My brother-in-law has been crowned king for less than a day and there's already problems."
"Everyone faces problems, Anna."
"Well sure, but everyone blames the leaders. I don't want anything to unravel Niklas's reputation in the eyes of our people. He's a good man. He's family."
"I know," Kristoff whispered.
My heart was beating wildly in my chest as my mind was going to worst case scenarios in my mind. If my aunt and cousins never woke up, how would we explain to the citizens of Creawood that their royal family died in Arendelle? Leaning my head against Kristoff's shoulder, I just had to stop and contain my thoughts. After a minute, I rose to my feet feeling a little calmer as Kristoff stood up beside me too.
"I'm going to need some help," I muttered.
Without further explanation, I ran out of the palace outside as Kristoff followed right behind. On the steps of the palace, I stopped gazing up toward the sky. I closed my eyes as two fireballs engulfed my hands.
"I need you, come to me," I called.
A pillar of fire erupted around me as The Phoenix appeared beside me as the pillar dissipated. The vibrantly feathered creature of orange and red squawked as it acknowledged me. It bowed its head as I followed suit. The creature blinked at me stepping closer tapping its sharp talons at the ground.
"My family is in danger. I need some answers as to a strange sleeping illness brought on by ice and-"
The Phoenix squawked as it shot up into the air as fast as lightning. High in the sky, it no longer looked like a bird, but a ball of fire as it sped off into the distance into the west leaving a trail of smoke behind.
"Well, that's one way to guide someone to a destination," Kristoff muttered.
"Trust The Phoenix," Grand Pabbie said coming up behind us, "He is older and wiser than I. He's showing you the way to the answers we seek."
Sven came up behind us nudging Kristoff with his snout as Olaf rode on his back.
"Anna, there's so much smoke in the sky. What did you do?" Olaf laughed, lightheartedly.
I patted his head gently.
"Not me, Olaf. Listen, I need a favor and it must be right now."
"Okay Anna, just ask." He replied.
"Go with Sven and find Elsa and Niklas. Bring them home."
Olaf followed my directions I gave him to the chateau where I knew Elsa and Niklas were staying. I hated to interrupt their time alone, but this was an emergency. Olaf sped away with Sven as Kristoff came up behind me with two horse reins in his hands.
"I'll follow you," He nodded with a smile.
"Rather the Phoenix," I corrected.
We both hopped into the saddles and sped off following the trail of The Phoenix.