Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: So who wants to know if you guessed right, in regards to the diadem, at least partially?

Written: 2019 - Licia

The salt of the sea drifted off the fjord, and he drank in the quiet.

Things had never been the same since Elsa had decided to stay in the forest, and Kristoff found that he missed the Snow Queen's light and easy personality. He loved Anna, but she wasn't Elsa. There was just something about the Snow Queen that set the ice harvester at ease. He didn't have to try to impress Elsa, he just had to be himself.

The darkness settled around him, and he let himself relax for the first time in days. Ever since Elsa's flight from the stables that day, things in Arendelle had gone from slowly getting worse to... Ah hell, who am I kidding, things are well past slow. They're practically running now.

Dire, not that he could accurately describe exactly what he saw. The wind picked up; it whistled in his ear, and he looked up, recognizing that familiar whistle. He watched a small cluster of leaves dance before him before disappearing, and after a moment, he removed the note from his pocket he'd received a few days earlier. In it, Hans had asked him not to mention that he'd written to him- to either Anna or Elsa, because he didn't want to rouse suspicion in an already tense atmosphere, especially given the current situation between the sisters. Kristoff hadn't seen Elsa since her flight from the stables that day, so it was easy keeping it from her, and Anna...

He shook his head. It was... complicated. He went back to the note, reading it again. He remembered that Elsa had mentioned that Hans had been injured the day she'd come by, but he honestly expected the traitor to move on after fully healing, but clearly not. From what Kristoff could gather, he'd decided to stay with the tribe.

Kristoff,

You know that Elsa has been in the Enchanted Forest for the past two years. Well, things haven't been going well. Elsa's role as the Guardian of Ahtohallan isn't what it seems to be. What Elsa did that day when she broke the curse wasn't complete, and that's what the river wants. I know it doesn't make much sense, but I swear, it will. The problem is that this all revolves around a curse, a diadem, a mad queen and the valley of the trolls. Have you ever heard of the legend of the tinderbox?

He swallowed.

Revolves around... the valley of the trolls... the legend of the tinderbox...

He knew the legend of the tinderbox, and knew it well. Grand Pabbie had told him about when he was a child. His gaze returned to the note.

The Valley of the Trolls, a name used by the Northuldra and the Southern Isles. To the people of Arendelle, it was The Valley of Living Rock, but to him, it was home.

The sound of hooves reached his ears, and he looked up, to see Elsa appear, sitting atop the Nokk, dressed in what he could only assume was a tunic and leggings of black ice, her long white hair in a braid down her back. He quickly stuffed the note back into his pocket; she didn't bother to dismount. "Elsa? What-"

"Oh, thank God! I was afraid I'd have to go hunting for you! I need to talk to you. It's important."

He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words.

"Is there somewhere we can talk, that's not out in the open? The library in the palace, perhaps? Please, Kristoff, it's imperative I speak with you. You're the only one who has the answers I need, the only one who turn on me or brush me off as having a death wish." He shook his head, confused by her words, but deciding she would tell him when she was ready.

"Not the palace. Your palace, on the North Mountain." She stared at him, surprised. "Let me go get Sven." She nodded. It didn't take long for Kristoff to come back with the reindeer in tow. "Come on." They rode in silence on the way to the North Mountain; the wind leading up the mountain was biting cold and untamed, but it didn't bother either of them- not the ice harvester who had grown up in and around ice and snow, nor the Snow Queen who was in her natural element. Despite the biting wind, Elsa breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the remains of her palace-

"Mama!" Elsa's mouth dropped in stunned surprise. She'd completely forgotten- "Mama home!"

She choked on her words, blue eyes wide at the gigantic snow monster that stood at the door of her former palace. She jumped as Kristoff gently nudged her in the ribs, and after a moment, she repaired the destroyed bridge. As an afterthought, she quickly created an ice stable, which Sven and the Nokk settled into; after making sure they were content and safe from the biting wind and snow- though she needn't have worried- she led Kristoff up the stairs towards the door. "Remember Marshmallow?"

Slowly, Elsa nodded. How could she possibly forget Marshmallow? And yet, she had; for her two years in the forest, she had near completely forgotten that Marshmallow and Olaf existed. And that made her selfishness even more evident. Was she really as Hans told her before she'd left the camp? Was she really that selfish?

She placed a quick smile on her face at the giant snow golem, laughing softly as he picked her up to hug her. "It's good to see you again, sweetie." He set her down, after a moment, turned to Kristoff, but Elsa quickly stepped before the ice harvester. It's okay, Kristoff is with me. Sweetie, listen to me. Kristoff and I need to talk. Can you stay out here and stand guard, so we can talk in private?" The golem nodded eagerly, and with a bright smile, Elsa thanked him quickly and then led Kristoff into the palace. Once the doors shut behind them, Elsa turned.

If she had said it didn't surprise her, the amount of damage done to her palace, she'd have been lying. It hurt her heart terribly to see all the work she'd put into it gone, thanks to-

Thanks to Hans and those duke's cronies. She shook her head. No, the Hans of the past had done this, not the man that stayed with the Northuldra, not the man she had married a few hours ago. After a moment, she led Kristoff down the hall, towards a small kitchen area, through a side door and into a small, hidden room. With a quick wave of her hand, she conjured a set of blue flames into the fireplace, and then turned to him, nodding to the small sofa not far away. Kristoff was suddenly glad he'd thought to grab the blankets from the stable when he'd gone and gotten Sven. He was surprised to find that the flames gave off a mild kind of warmth.

After a moment, Elsa joined him on the sofa, removing the staff from it's place slung across her back, but not the bag at her waist. He waited, giving her time to gather her thoughts. Setting it beside her, she turned to him, their knees brushing together as she spoke. "Kristoff... have you... ever heard the story of the tinderbox?"

He didn't speak for a moment, and she opened her mouth to speak again when he interrupted her. "I know it. The cursed river, the diadem, the drowned princess-"

"The mad queen who lusted after her sister and the creation of the Valley of the Trolls." Elsa finished. "It's not a legend, or a story. It's truth. And it's playing out again." She stood, and soon began to pace. Kirstoff sat, listening as Elsa explained everything, from her discovery of the box in the ruins of the gypsy camp, to the malicious voice of the river, the desperate Fifth Spirit and the trapped princess, her discovery of the diadem and what she'd seen when she put it on, her marriage to Hans and their argument on this, what was supposed to be their wedding night.

"You married him? The former traitor of the Southern Isles?" He didn't meant to be harsh, but Kristoff couldn't wrap his head around it. Elsa was smart, Elsa had a mind unlike anyone he'd ever met. Elsa had earned her monikers, despite her few short years on the throne of Arendelle. Elsa wouldn't fall for a man's charming tricks and silver tongue-

"He's changed, Kristoff. I've told you this already. Served his sentence and been cast out, exiled from the Isles. He's not the man he was at my coronation. He cares for more than just himself, and if anything, he's happy with the tribe." She glanced down at the ring she wore. "He loves me, and he makes me happy." She took a seat beside him, holding out her hand. A moment passed before he took her hand, bringing it close to study the ring. "Could be a master carpenter if given the chance. Made my wedding ring and my staff." He lifted his head to drink in the staff leaning against the sofa.

"It's beautiful, Elsa, both your ring and the staff." She pulled her hand away with a soft smile. "You're happy?"

Her arms wrapped around her knees, and she nodded. "I am. We are... when we're not at each others' throats or... which we're doing more and more lately. And I know it's the river that's causing it. And the fact that my soul, my body, is not my own." She then stood, proceeding to pace as she told him about how it wasn't just her soul within her body anymore, but half of the drowned princess and the Fifth Spirit as well. As she spoke, Kristoff watched as her features seemed to shift, as though there was something else taking residence within her body.

"But... Elsa, why did you come to me? Why not... why not Anna?"

She stopped her pacing, turning to him. "I came to you, Kristoff, because I trust you. And..." She sighed. "I didn't go to Anna because... because that's not Anna. Not my Anna. That has not been my Anna from the time we were children, when my parents took us to the trolls and they wiped her memory clean of my magic." She sighed. "Look, Kristoff, I know you're in love with her, but you need to know. The Anna... that sits upon my throne..." She took a deep breath, before taking a seat beside him again, reaching out and taking his hands, making sure he was listening. "It's a changeling. A troll changeling." She swallowed, not giving him the chance to respond. "The real Anna is... is either in the Valley of the Trolls or the Fae realm, or... or she could be dead. I don't know, I only know that the woman that sits upon my throne, that wears the crown of Arendelle is not real. She is not of this world. And she needs to be stopped before she destroys my kingdom. And I need your help. Please."

He pulled away, but she tightened her hold. "Elsa-"

"Please, Kristoff. I know that you love her, but the woman you're engaged to is not real. Not human. I need to know all you know about the trolls and how to stop them."

His head snapped up. "Stop them?" She nodded. "Elsa, they're my family! I can't just turn on them-"

"I know they're your family!" She snapped. "You think I don't understand what it's like to have to turn your back on family? I spent thirteen years in isolation, Kristoff! I know better than anyone!" She took a deep breath. "I know they raised you, and you should be ever grateful for that, but the good they did for you does not extend to Arendelle. It does not extend to me. They stole Anna away because they could not get to me. They want me. And I know it's because they want to use me as their puppet to take over Arendelle and wipe out the Northuldra- simply because my mother's tribe follow magic, and the trolls believe they are the entitled ones, the only ones allowed to use magic in any form." She lifted her head, straightening her back, and Kristoff saw the queen who had sat upon the throne of Arendelle at the tender age of twenty-one. "They are evil, and must be destroyed."

He didn't want to believe it, he couldn't. As he stood and began to pace, he went back over Elsa's words, carefully going over every detail. Everything she said suddenly made a lot more sense, especially in regards to how... to how she had been acting in the last couple of months. He briefly thought of Hans' note, but decided against telling Elsa; she didn't need that added argument to boil beneath the surface, especially when she was only here for one thing. Silence settled between them, before he finally spoke again. "It explains a lot." He didn't go into detail, and Elsa didn't push. "And the diadem?"

She sighed and slowly pulled the crown from the small bag at her waist. "I've seen what lies ahead for me- most of it. I couldn't bear to watch the rest, but... I have a pretty good idea of what awaits."

Silent, he joined her; she rested it within his palm, and he studied it. "It's broken."

"It's missing a piece." She clarified. "Hans said he thought it could be a comb or..." She stopped, and he studied the gap closely. There was something oddly familiar about the diadem, as though he'd seen it at some point, yet he'd never seen this crown before-

She turned, smiling softly at him, even though her eyes were void of emotion, lost in a distant memory. Her long red hair was pulled back into a beautiful twist, with a very small- well, it looked as though it were a decorative comb being used as a crown, and not the signature gold, green and purple stoned ones that were common among the Arendelle royalty. No, this one was white, almost like it was made of... ice and snow, in the form of a snowflake... something far more suited to Elsa than Anna...

"Or another crown."

Her brow furrowed and she looked up at him. "What?"

He held it out to her, and she took it, but didn't slip it back into the bag. "Elsa," She tore her gaze from the ancient headpiece. "I think - no, I know- where the missing piece of that diadem is."

"Okay. You want to tell me?"

An..." He stopped, taking a deep breath, and then realized he had no choice. "It's in Anna's hair. The missing piece of your diadem is her crown."