"What They're Going to Say"
"Faster, Sven!" Kristoff urged. He rode Sven hard, with Elsa balanced in his arms and Olaf holding onto his belt. She still hadn't woken despite the rough ride through the wilderness and up the mountain toward the Valley of the Living Rock. Sven bellowed loudly, and the reindeer did his best to up his speed. "Come on, Elsa," he whispered to her. "You can beat this. We're almost there." The reindeer thundered on, but every minute seemed like an hour, and Elsa's ashen face only seemed to grow more so in the dark night.
"Help!" Kristoff cried fearfully as he roared into the Valley of the Living Rock. Sven reared up and grunted and Kristoff and Olaf slid off. Kristoff cradled Elsa close and looked around desperately as several rocks started to fidget and roll.
"Kristoff!" Voices called. Fire crystals began to glow all around and lit up the hollow.
"He's got the Queen! The Queen!" Several different voices started talking all at once.
"Where's Grand Pabbie? She won't wake up!" Kristoff said breathlessly. Grand Pabbie rolled out from the center of the trolls. Kristoff lowered Elsa so Grand Pabbie could put his hand on her forehead, and the elderly troll studied her.
"It's not good," said Grand Pabbie, "She's been poisoned and she's close to death." He shook his head. Kristoff's eyes widened and Olaf gasped and covered his mouth in shock.
"What can we do to save her?" Kristoff asked anxiously. Bulda came rolling forward and Grand Pabbie turned to meet her. They exchanged something yellow between them.
"Take these flowers, and brew their petals into a tea. She needs to drink as much of the tea as possible to flush the poison out of her system. Once she's awake, she may be resistant to drinking it, as it is very bitter, but it's the only thing that will cure her." Grand Pabbie told her and he handed a small bouquet of yellow flowers to Kristoff who balanced them with Elsa. "Now, I advise you to get back to Arendelle as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence for Queen Elsa," Grand Pabbie said.
"Olaf, come on!" Kristoff shouted, and he handed the flowers to Olaf. He clutched Elsa close to his chest and hurriedly ran to Sven and hopped on. "Sven, let's go!" he yelled, and the reindeer called out as Olaf jumped on and grabbed Kristoff's belt. They tore through the forest as swiftly as the night would allow.
"Do you think we'll make it in time?" Olaf asked seriously. He held the small bouquet close to his chilly body.
"We have to, Olaf," Kristoff said. He tried his best not to jostle Elsa as they rode. For a few minutes, the only sound was that of Sven's hooves pounding against the dirt and rock as they went. "Come on, Sven! Come on!" Kristoff urged.
Anna paced back and forth and checked out her window again. She hadn't slept with the three warships in the fjord. They had arrived outside the harbor and dropped anchor. Their flags still flew, but they had yet to strike thankfully. The Captain of the Guard had also identified the flags – Weseltonian war flags. When Anna had called for Kai to bring the Duke of Weselton to her, his quarters had been found empty. His quarters still had gifts, and the pervasive smell of Jenny Cheddar, but the Duke himself had seemingly disappeared, and his own ship had raised war flags.
Anna and Elsa's council had spent several hours discussing the situation before dispersing. Originally, they had hoped to keep the ships out of the harbor, but then the ship in the harbor raised its war flags. Now cannons were trained upon all four ships, and guards stood watch in pairs of two in four-hour shifts. The townspeople had been alerted and were ready to evacuate to the cliffs if needed. Anna sighed, the village was filled with peaceful people, not warriors.
A sudden commotion at her door and then a knock caught her attention.
"Yes?" she called. A red-faced servant opened the door.
"Your Highness, Kristoff has returned with the Queen! He's taking her to her bedroom right now!" The servant exclaimed. Anna nodded.
"Thank you for letting me know," she said and she crossed her room swiftly. She could barely keep herself from running to Elsa's chambers. She didn't bother to knock when she got to Elsa's room. "Kristoff, is Elsa all right?" Kristoff looked up from placing Elsa onto her bed. Olaf smiled at her.
"She's been poisoned," Kristoff said.
"You were right!" Anna proclaimed loudly. Kristoff nodded and he adjusted Elsa and pulled the covers over her inert form. She took quiet, shallow breaths.
"The trolls were able to give me a cure. The kitchen staff is brewing it up into a tea for Elsa right now," Kristoff explained. He allowed Anna to reach past him and stroke Elsa's forehead tenderly. "It shouldn't take too long to make the tea." As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Anna said. A servant walked in carrying a silver kettle and a tea cup and saucer with the Arendelle crocus on it. Dr. Rosted followed close behind. The doctor immediately went to Elsa's bed and took her pulse. Anna took the kettle and poured the tea into the cup. Dr. Rosted helped pull Elsa into a semi-sitting position and opened her mouth for Anna to pour the tea in. Carefully, Anna poured the tea into her mouth and began to rub Elsa's throat so she would swallow. Elsa spluttered, but she swallowed the liquid and then gagged. Elsa stilled again, and Anna felt her heartrate starting to slow. "Isn't she going to wake up?" Anna asked.
"Give her some time," Dr. Rosted said. Anna nodded and she sat down on Elsa's bed to stroke her forehead again.
"Elsa," Anna called gently to her sister, and she tapped Elsa's cheek. Elsa groaned and turned her head away from Anna's finger. Anna smiled and moved her hand to tap against her older sister. Elsa blinked her blue eyes muzzily and then closed them again. "Come on, Elsa," Anna coaxed. Her sister groaned once more and opened her eyes. "Hey, you," Anna said with a smile, and tears slid down her cheeks.
"Hi," Elsa said weakly.