In case the site is messing with update notification, don't miss the previous chapter!
She was so lost.
Her world had been so dark, so empty and quiet, chilling, as she wandered aimlessly through the endless darkness that seemed had no way out. She wished to call out, wished to know if there was someone out there with her and she simply could not see them, but her mouth never moved, voice never came out as her feet did not even feel like they were stepping over anything, just floating and yet trapped.
There was no indication on how much time had passed, how long she had spent in this unknown place all by herself. She tried to recall her past, of the life she once had, but nothing came up, nothing had made her feel grounded to the world.
She was leaving it, it seemed.
Something in her snapped, invisible shackles around herself becoming undone so suddenly that she had let out a surprised gasp, her limbs suddenly felt so free and no longer entrapped, the chill that had surrounded her had suddenly disappeared.
But she felt so tired, so out of breath and with no energy left in her, and when the ground below her feet cracked and fell apart, her body had fell along with it, pulled by gravity that had felt so much heavier than what she remembered.
Wind whistled past her ears as she fell, loose hair falling along with gravity as her limbs had done nothing, motionless before her back had crashed through cold water, feeling herself sinking and yet unable to do anything about it as water surrounded her completely, bringing her down.
Her eyes had opened somehow, though she could not tell if the blur in her vision had come from the fact that she was drowning or due to the fact her mind had been so exhausted that it was unable to register anything as she slowly lose her consciousness once again, perhaps both.
But in the midst of it all, she had seen him.
Her husband, swimming toward her, handsome as his hand reached out toward her.
Hans.
She wanted to move, to reach out for him as well, to take his hand and feel his warmth, to find her sanctuary and the safety of his embrace. She didn't know that she had missed him so much like so.
Yet when she did succeed, when her hand had finally touched his, she had noted that he was lacking his warmth, and his skin had felt different under her touch as she couldn't feel the rough texture due to the old scars on his palm.
He wasn't her husband, wasn't he?
Head breaking through the water surface, she has gasped for air before she had coughed as water had filled her lungs, and though delirious her mind had picked it's pace in catching up on what was going on. Turning, it truly wasn't her husband that had saved her from drowning, it wasn't even human in the first place, but the Nokk instead.
The water spirit urged her to climb onto it's back, and she had done so without question, had not even bothered to create reins as it took off, running above the water surface with such speed fast enough to make her hair and dress to fly behind them.
Her business had not yet finished.
Not when she could see the flooding water in front of her, rolling through the valleys in such vicious manner, ready to destroy and swallow anything in it's path whole.
Anna broke the dam.
The Princess had gotten her message and understood, she had done the right thing despite everything, she had known of the dark past that had been caused by no one but their own grandfather, she had succeeded in breaking the curse that had befallen the forest for years.
Now it was her turn to save Arendelle.
Urging the Nokk forward, the spirit had reared as it picked up it's pace, jumping over the highest rolling wave before they had moved down, jumping from one top to the next, descending the water as they started to outrun it.
Arendelle was right there, right in front of her, her beloved kingdom empty and abandoned as she raced toward it, the sound of vicious water right behind her sending shiver down her spine. Her heart raced within her chest, for what she was about to do was never been done before. Could she even do it? Did she have the strength and the capability to execute such powerful act?
But she really had no other choice.
The Nokk turned around, rearing as magic surged out of her raised hands, creating a wall of ice between them and the flooding water. She could feel the force of collision between her ice and the water, making her teeth gritted and brows furrowing as she maintained the wall to stand tall. Her hands were only lowered down when she was sure the entire water coming from the dam had gathered, using her magic to push them back as the wall was dismissed, turning the once violent current into a steady and peaceful wave.
The large amount of magic used had exhausted her as she breathed deeply, sighing as she was far more than ready to rest, but the cheers -no matter how far away it was and thus not as loud, had made her turned her head around to find the people of Arendelle that had looked on from the high cliffs, had been the witness of what could have happened to their kingdom and how she had prevented it, joyous just as she could feel the wind returning in blowing.
The spirits had restored Arendelle back to it's normal state then.
Truly, she wished to stay and celebrate with them, for their kingdom was saved and they could return without the fear of the angered spirits, their lives could return back to what it was once.
But Arendelle was not home without her family.
There was no word exchanged between them.
The Princess had taken Wilhelm -who had been under Mattias' temporarily watch when his father moved to catch her hand and thus saving her life in a way, into her own arms, holding him tight as she silently looked at the Prince Consort, eyes filled with the same grief and sadness that he felt within himself. She had buried her face in the auburn locks of her nephew then, shoulders tensing, and perhaps she was trying to find the comfort of hugging what was left of her sister.
The absence of his son to be concerned over had reduced him into a silent watcher. His eyes followed Kristoff, who had move to approach the Princess, arms wrapping around her figure and the young Prince as well.
He watched as the invisible weight was lifted from the shoulders of the Northuldras and the Arendellian soldiers the moment the mist had been lifted, the curse was broken and they were free at last. He could see the relieved sighs that came from people around him, and yet he could not feel the same, unable to. Elsa was supposed to be there with him, to stand by his side, holding their son as they shared the happiness of finally able to see the clear blue sky once again, to perhaps share a kiss with him and held his hand tight in hers.
"I'm sorry I left you behind." Anna had whispered, though he knew she was speaking to the mountain man that been given her heart. "I was just so desperate to protect her."
He was desperate to protect his wife as well, and yet he was unable to, he was not given the chance to even try and keep her away from the dangers that now had stolen her from him, had stolen a mother from her son, a Queen from her kingdom. Worst, he didn't know whether he was supposed to apologize or expect someone to apologize to him. He would have definitely argued with his wife about it, of how reckless she was, of how she had not been careful.
"Thirty-four years,"
"Five months,"
"And twenty-three days."
He didn't hear Anna's footsteps when she approached, far too distracted with the raging thoughts that had only rendered him feeling empty, and had only noticed her presence when she had touched his arm. There was no need for them to speak of a word, as she handed his son back for him to hold. They understood each other's pain, they had lost someone they loved so much, and they knew no comforting words were able to mend their broken hearts.
Sven had run past them, grateful for the open field before them as a change from the constant forest that surrounded him, followed by the other reindeers that belonged to the Northuldra, the sound of children's laughter joining in as they could finally see the world beyond the mist they were born in.
Wilhelm had looked on, he had always found a certain fascination over animals in general, had often babbled so excitedly as his hands reached out to touch their fur, horses or reindeers being the most frequent ones that he met, though when one of the Council men had brought his dog into the castle once he had expressed just the same excitement as he squealed and clapped his hands, waddling toward the equally adorable poodle. Yet this time he had stayed silent, not even seeing the reindeers creating a large circle as they run around had interested him, had instead turned his head away and held back on onto his father, hiding his face away.
The gesture made his heart dropped.
The boy had always seemed to be so attuned with people's feelings, had always able to sense the atmosphere that surrounded him, and would try to comfort people in his own way. But to see him so gloomy like so, when nothing seemed to be able to distract him, had made the Prince Consort let out a sigh as he cuddled his son close. He wanted to do something, anything, to comfort the boy, but he did not know how. Not when he himself struggled to put on a smile.
Could he be the father that Wilhelm deserved if he himself had been so weak in such situation? Could he be even half of the wonderful parent that Elsa was?
He had started to slowly make his way further away from the forest, ready to just go back to where the people of Arendelle were, though he was unsure if he was ready to break the news to them. According to Anna, breaking the dam had meant that they had sent a tidal wave so big that it would wash away everything on this fjord, including Arendelle.
What would be left of their home then?
"Hans!" Kristoff's call had broken him out of his train of thoughts, approaching him in a hurried manner. "Have you seen Anna?"
"She was-" turning around, ready to point toward where the Princess had wandered off by herself earlier, he had trailed off when he could not find her standing at the top of the hill that she was supposed to be on. "She was just there, I'm sure of it."
That had settled another panic in both of the men, as they started to run, worried that something bad had happened to the feisty Princess. Had she fallen? Had she slipped on the slippery rocks and hurt herself?
But what he saw was not what he expected at all.
Anna was there.
She could see her sister's figure running down the rocky hills, stumbling as she made her way toward the beach, and she had urged the Nokk to go faster as her heart raced within her chest. After everything that had happened, seeing her younger sister once again, running for her, had made a slight guilt to settle in her. Because she had pushed her sister away, she broke her promise of doing this -saving the kingdom and the forest, together and had decided to go on her own.
The Nokk could not step out of the water, so the moment she had unmounted, the water spirit had melted back into the sea behind her, though she only had her eyes focused on the Princess standing across from her.
"Is it really you?"
Anna's question had come with disbelief and caution, though she could not blame her for doubting her existence. If she had recalled correctly -and she truly believed it was what had happened, she had died. Froze at the bottom of Ahtohallan, to be exact. So she nodded, giving her sister the affirmation that she needed as she opened her arms. "Anna."
The strawberry-blonde haired Princess ran up to her while the Queen had closed their distance with a slower walk, throwing herself into the older sister's embrace as her cry broke, arms wrapping around her figure so tightly as if she would fade away and disappear if she didn't hold on. "I thought I'd lost you."
"Lost me?" She had pulled away then, just so she could see her sister's face, hands taking hers as neither wished to part. "You saved me." Anna's act of breaking the dam had unfreeze her, had freed her from the death she was sure to have due to her own recklessness.
"I did?"
Reaching up, she had wiped her sister's tear away from her face as she gave her a nod, offering her a reassuring smile. "And Anna, Arendelle did not fall."
The Princess' cry had not yet stopped, though she could see how she attempted to reduce it yet turning it into a fit of sobs and prompting fresh tears to run down her face once again as she sniffed. "It didn't?"
"The spirits all agreed, Arendelle deserves to stand, because of you."
Another sob, this time accompanied with a snort as Anna wiped her nose with her own palm, and under different circumstances she would have scolded her for it. "Me?"
"You did what was right, for everyone." Her sister had been right back then, after they had found the truth about their parents, she could not do this by herself, she needed her sister to save Arendelle and Northuldra.
Something crossed over the Princess' expression, like she had suddenly remembered something, and her cry had died down completely. "Did you find the fifth spirit?" The question had made her smile, and even without saying anything Anna had understood the reason behind it. Two sisters, one mind. "You are the fifth spirit. You're the bridge."
"Well, actually, a bridge has two sides. And Mother had two daughters." Her hold on her sister's hands tightened in a squeeze as she smiled to express just how having Anna share this with her -instead of her bearing it on her own, felt. "We did this together," at that, Anna had nodded. "And we will continue this together."
Both pressed their foreheads against one another, smiles tugging on their lips. "Together."
"Elsa!" They pulled apart then, as she turned her attention toward the mountain man that had ran toward them -or her to be exact, arms opened wide. "You're okay!"
Kristoff didn't strike her as a hugging person, but he had embraced her so tightly then, and after recovering from her initial shock of his gesture of affection, she had returned the hug by wrapping her own arms around his large figure.
And past his shoulders, she saw them.
He was standing there, across from her, their son in his arms, and he bore the similar face that Anna once had, of disbelief and caution, eyes wide as if he was seeing ghost. Though the latter could definitely what he was thinking at the moment.
Kristoff released her, after realizing that hugging the Queen was perhaps not the best idea he had in mind, and she was able to stand before them completely, to show them of her whole body and the fact that she was there.
"Mama!"
She had barely missed Kristoff's foot as she stumbled forward, heart racing and body trembling for an entirely different reason as she came to kneel on the ground, arms opened just as Wilhelm -who had wriggled his way out of his father's embrace the moment he had seen her, fell into her embrace, pulling him as close as she possibly could as she held him, tears stinging against her eyes as she lifted him up as she came to stand back on her feet.
Hans' arms came around her next, enveloping both she and Wilhelm in them, warm and felt like home as she buried her face against her son's auburn hair. It had felt like forever since the last time that she held them like this, to see the little family that she had. "Wilhelm's ice crystal was-" his voice come in a choke then, as his hold around her tightened. "I thought you were-"
"I'm alright, it's alright." She could feel the fear in his voice, could feel the race of her son's heart against her own chest, and she understood just how fearful it must be, for her family to witness her magic fluttering away. If Anna had openly cried in front of her, her husband and son had only held her, yet it was enough. "I'm not going anywhere."
"You can't do that to us, Elsa." He deserved to be angry at her, they all did, after what she had done and the trauma that she had put them in. "You can't leave us like that."
"I know." She could feel his hold tightened as she shut her eyes, managing to free one of her arms so that it could wrap around her husband, fingers curling around the fabric of his clothing. "I'm sorry."
"I do hope," Hans started, just as he pulled away to look her in the eyes, though hands had held her upper arms still. "That this thing, this 'putting us in mortal danger situation' is not going to be a regular thing."
Rolling her eyes, she had nudged him lightly with her elbow. "Of course not."
They returned back to join the Arendellian guards and the Northuldra after a bit more of scolding was bombarded at her direction by the rest of her family; of how she was not heeding the words of warning in the lullaby that she sung herself almost every night for her son, of how she had put them all in a grieving mess, and how she had basically been so reckless and had put everyone else before herself.
Wilhelm never left her embrace, not even once ever since she had lifted him up, snuggling his head in the crook of her neck, a fistful of her hair in his grasp as she told the Northuldras of how beautiful Ahtohallan was.
"You know," Honeymaren had started as she stood by her side, making her turned her attention away from Yelena who was at her other side. "You can stay up here, if you want, you are the fifth spirit after all."
Here, in Northuldra, where the people embraced magic and possessed high respect of the ancient spirits that guarded the land. Amongst those who were her Mother's people, the life and family that she had left behind to save Arendelle's Prince that was her Father. A place that she felt she belonged in, where she could interact freely with the spirits as they now worked side by side to maintain peace.
"Even if I wanted to, Honeymaren, I could not stay here." She had noted the slight disappointed look that crossed the young woman's face, if only for a moment, but she had chosen to not spoken of it further. "I have a husband I love, a son that needs me, a sister that I could never part away from, a kingdom under my care," her eyes glanced over at Anna and Kristoff who stood a little far off as they spoke with Lieutenant Matthias. "And a, hopefully, future brother in-law that I have to convince in wearing royal suits, if it comes to it."
Besides, even when she was to stay in Arendelle, a place where she had been born and raised in, it did not mean that she could not protect the forest. She would always be there should she was needed to keep the balance between the spirit world and this one, a bridge that she was meant to be. And with Nokk at her service, she could reach the forest far quicker.
She was the fifth spirit, but she was still the Queen of Arendelle as well.
And we've come to the end of Frozen 2 everybody! Will it be the end of this book though? I'm not sure as I do have a few things in mind to write.
Anyway, yes I did change a few dialogues to better fit with the AU.