Chapter 3: Joan & Adele
Elsa's eyes weakly blinked as she woke up. She immediately shut them back with a grunt, because of how blinding the sun was.
At her grunt, Anna gasped of surprise, looked down at her, and almost dropped her on the ground. Both lost their balance, and Elsa yelped as the was about to fall, but had good reflexes and landed on her feet. With a bounce, she looked around, trying to understand why they were here, and why she was in Anna's arms.
And then she found herself right in Anna's arms again, but for a tight hug.
"ELSA!" Gasped the younger sister. "I was so scared! You fainted and didn't say anything and I couldn't wake you up!"
The Queen's voice was shaking with emotion, and Elsa caught up with what happened as she held her close. Once confusion passed, she raised her arms and hugged her sister back.
"It's okay. I'm here now. I'm fine." She assured with a soft voice.
The hug lasted, and when they parted, she smiled at Anna's face. Tears of joy had fell on her cheeks, and she rubbed them off gently with her thumbs. She held her face in her hands.
"Are you okay?"
Anna sniffed with a smile. "Yeah… I am now."
"Thank you for taking care of me. As always. What happened?" Asked Elsa.
"You're the one who's supposed to tell me!"
"No, not that, I mean… Why are we here?"
They parted, and Anna pointed at the valley.
"We passed the mist. We're heading South now. I managed to lift you all the way here." She added, flexing her biceps.
Elsa smiled, but then gasped slightly.
"You followed my advice."
"Of course. You know, you were right. We better go hide in Arendelle, and maybe find some answers there."
Elsa nodded, looking were in the middle of nowhere, in the vast plains. She slowly looked down at her hands, and the gesture surprised Anna.
"Are you sure that you're okay?" She frowned. "And what did you mean, 'not that'? You remember that you fainted? You know why? Did something happen?"
"I…"
She stared at her younger sister, unsure if she could tell her. "…Yes."
Anna gave her a look that meant 'Go on then', but Elsa bit her lip.
"I'm sorry, Anna, but I can't tell you yet."
"Yet? Wait… What?"
"I really can't. But I promise that I will tell you. At some point."
"What?! And don't "I promise" me. You know damn well that I hate it when you say that now."
Elsa quickly held Anna's hands in hers, and the latter startled at the move. She stared right into her eyes. "You have to trust me."
Anna frowned. "I do trust you! You know I do. It's not the problem. We have to share everything. Please tell me what's going on."
The Snow Queen hesitated, looking away.
"Elsa, come on."
The blonde's eyes dived into her younger's again. "I'm not hiding something from you. It's just… Something that I can't reveal yet. Sorry, Anna."
Anna insisted anyway. "Then tell me what it roughly was, without getting into details. You worried me so much… I saw you faint, and you passed out for more than an hour. You have to tell me what happened."
That was the argument that made Elsa's decision change. Anna looked deeply touched, and she still had marks on her face that showed her sadness then relief. The blonde inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
"Ahtohallanshowedmesomething."
Anna bent her head. "Okay, less mumbling please."
Elsa pouted. "Ahtohallan showed me something."
The Queen blinked as there was a silence. "That's… Rather usual, no? You often get convened into the glacier so they can show you specific memories of the past. Why do you look like it's a bad thing?"
"Because it wasn't a past memory. It was… A future one." Said Elsa.
Anna's big teal blue eyes became even bigger. "Ex…cuse me?"
"When the Spirits decided to close the Forest with the mist, they detected my presence. But I wasn't supposed to be there. And Ahtohallan knew. They always know, after all. Everything." Explained Elsa. "So they summoned my conscience, and showed me my mistake. What I changed in the future because of my presence there."
"And that's why you fainted. They needed to show you the memory." Muttered Anna. "It was kind of a punishment to make you pass out for so long…"
"They wanted to see me. Talk to me. First try to understand how I got here… Then scold me."
Anna's eyebrows lifted in a sorry expression.
"This is all my fault. Me and my damn curiosity. You have responsibilities as a Spirit, if I hadn't touched that stupid rock…"
Elsa hurried to raise her hands. "Anna. It's neither of us' fault. That magical rock surely was there for a reason. Call it destiny, chance, whatever, but it was there to be found."
She then looked down, her hands unconsciously holding her arms in a self-hug.
"I changed the whole timeline. We failed, Anna. I ruin–"
"I'm sure you didn't." Reassured Anna. "I know you don't want to tell me what the future memory is - now I get what the 'yet' was about - but it can't be that bad, right?"
The look that the Snow Queen gave her contradicted it.
"Oh my goodness. It is? It changed something big in the future?"
The elder nodded with bitten lips, her arms still crossed.
"Seriously?! Just by being there?! We didn't even touch anything! We talked to no one!"
"Yes, but back then, the Fifth Spirit wasn't supposed to be there."
Anna sighed, passing a hand in her hair and tucking it behind her ear. "You'll have to tell me what that memory is in due time. This is just a mess. Why is time travel always such a mess? And how did Ahtohallan even show you a memory of the future? Magic would drive me crazy if I didn't find it wonderful, I swear. Gosh, I need some booze."
The elder snorted at her sentence. Anna smiled after a while. Somehow, the way Elsa's mood lifted also lifted hers.
"Come on, we should head to Arendelle. The road will be long. Unless of a miracle, like, if we cross roads with a merchant cart."
The Snow Queen nodded with a smile, and walked at her sister's side to the South.
"Is that a merchant cart?" Squinted Elsa.
Anna looked to the horizon.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Ten minutes had barely passed. This was a world record of chance, thought the Queen.
They hurried to catch up with the hooded cart, drove by a simple merchant with a horse. With calls and hand shakes, they managed to stop him.
Anna suddenly put her arm in front of Elsa, and the blonde almost fell back at the move.
"Wait!"
She took her jacket off. "Here. You're wearing your super sparkly outfit, it will look very suspicious. Take this."
"What?" Blinked the elder.
"You're literally wearing snow, Elsa. Do as I ask, quick!"
She obeyed, vanishing her double train with a flick of the wrist and quickly putting the jacket on before buttoning it. It was a good idea, for it covered most of Elsa's magical outfit. The jacket was comfortable, but Anna's arms were smaller than hers and her shoulders broader, so it felt weird. If they weren't in an urgent situation, she would have complained.
"Hello", smiled Anna to the man.
They saluted the merchant, who bowed his head, tilting his hat as a polite gesture. His eyes widened in surprise.
"You look exhausted. What are two young ladies doing on such a warm day in the middle of the plains?"
Elsa lifted her eyebrows. Was it that warm? She couldn't tell, for she was wearing an ice outfit. She then realized that her younger hadn't told her about how warm she felt, and only then noticed how red Anna's cheeks were.
"Thank you so much for stopping. We're in great need of a ride." The redhead smiled.
Anna wanted to introduce herself, but then realized they had to come up with fake names to hide their identities. Stating that they were the royals coming from the future definitely would be a bad idea.
The Queen cleared her throat as she thought.
"My name is Joan, and this is uh…"
"Adele."
The redhead lifted an eyebrow at the surprising speed of improvisation from Elsa, but also the choice of the name. She side-looked her sister, and the elder gave a slight shrug.
"Nice to meet you, Joan and Adele. I'm Reed. Well, lucky you, I was heading to Arendelle too. You can jump on the back."
"Oh, nice!" Beamed Anna. "Thank you so much, sir!"
Elsa frowned, not moving. "How do you know we're heading to Arendelle?"
The merchant looked at them like they were idiots. "Why, this is the road to the South. And you're wearing the crocus crest."
He pointed at the motive on the arm of Anna's jacket, on Elsa. Both sisters suddenly widened her eyes. They were so used to see Arendelle's crocus everywhere that they forgot it was sewn on the shoulder, and betraying them.
"That's rather odd to have it displayed like that, however." Chuckled the man. "Are you two scholars or something?"
"Yes, exactly." Said Anna, jumping on the opportunity. "It's a school uniform."
"I see. Now come on, we don't have all day." He said, smiling behind his mustache.
Elsa hurried to go on the cart, going in the back under the hood.
They sat among the supplies the man was selling, and the cart went along on the road. The two sisters looked at each other with awkward looks. After a while, the merchant whistled a melody, indicating he was too distracted to pay attention to what they could say.
"Do you think I should tell him that this jacket actually is a tailor-made one I drew, that is inspired by the new royal guards' uniform 30 years from now?" Chuckled Anna.
"Shhhh!" Scolded Elsa, waving her hand to advise her to not talk that loudly.
Anna bent to her elder and talked in whispers.
"Sorry. Also… Adele? Seriously?"
"It's the first name that came to my mind. We totally forgot to come up with fake ones."
"Now I'll have to call you that in public until we find a way to get back to present time…" Sighed Anna. "It's so bad."
"Hey!" Nudged Elsa. "Don't even let me tease you for picking Joan."
Anna smiled, and looked around them. She inspected the supplies. "He's a turnip merchant. Hmm…"
She knew it wasn't the same cart, but made sure by lifting all tarpaulins that a young Agnarr and a young Iduna weren't hiding with them.
"You never know", she explained to the blonde who looked at her with a grin.
They rested against the wood, lulled by the movement of the cart and the whistling of the merchant. It was a good thing that the cart had a hood, because the sun was scorching above them.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were warm?" Frowned Elsa. "I could have refreshed you with my magic."
"I didn't want to bother you."
"Annaaaa…"
"Don't give me that look."
"You know you never bother me. You should have just asked it."
"I'm better now, don't worry. Since I gave you my jacket, I'm feeling lighter."
Elsa stared at her face.
"I'm not lying!" Sweared Anna.
"Okay."
Time passed, and they knew that it would be long before they arrived to the kingdom, so they laid on each other and let sleep find them.
"I miss Nokk." Mumbled Elsa. "It's faster with them."
Anna giggled. "Yeah, no wonder. Well, now you know how much time it takes me."
"Hmm-hmm."
"I'll ask for that merchant's full name once we're in the village. When we go back to our time, I'll make his stand the most beautiful of the marketplace. In the least suspicious way possible."
Elsa snorted at her side, but it was a tired snort.
"Hey, don't faint again, please."
"I won't." Smiled Elsa, her eyes closed. She patted her sister's hand.
Anna consented to close her eyes as well with a smile.
They startled awake when the merchant called them.
"Hey, girls! We've arrived!"
They blinked fast and hurried outside. Before they even hoped down, Elsa knew it was true, for she recognized the typical smell of Arendelle's harbor, and Anna recognized the distant sound of the clock tower's bell. Nothing much would change over the next 30 years…
The redhead turned around the cart to thank the merchant deeply.
"Oh, it's fine." Said the smiling man with modesty. "You know, I almost thought we wouldn't make it. My right back wheel almost broke on the way when we hit a pothole. It didn't wake you two up, though."
Elsa looked down to inspect the wheel, and gave a meaningful hand gesture to her sister to tell her to distract the merchant. Anna understood and nodded, before asking the man where his place on the marketplace would be.
The Snow Queen kneeled in front of the wheel, and refurbished it with a gust of magic, fixing the broken part with ice more solid than steel. Wearing a satisfied smile, she stood up, and gestured at Anna.
They thanked the man once again, and the redhead showed a spot where they could hide, behind a low wall where they pretended to sit against.
"Hey. I've been thinking. I have a plan. What about we go to the post office. We ask them to send a letter to the Queen in the future. Me. And in the letter, we write: 'Don't touch the glowing rock. Signed: Anonymous.'. What do you think?"
Elsa chuckled. "That sounds stupid, but it might work."
"I know, right? I'm a genius." Smiled Anna, beaming.
"But that means that we'll die."
The redhead frowned.
"What are you talking about? No, we will be safe, for…"
She then gasped. "Oh, crap, you're right. We would cease to exist. I mean, current we."
"Exactly." Sighed Elsa. "We're the future of ourselves. This is how you're planning to make us die." She added, laughing. "Anna and Elsa of Arendelle disappear after touching a magic rock, get transported to the past, then die because they create a paradox with a letter. Great."
Anna snorted. "Yep, not very glorious for an end."
"I thought you aimed to be in history books as being the oldest Queen that ever lived", reminded Elsa with a grin, remembering a conversation they once had at the dinner table.
The younger sighed.
"I almost ruined that. Okay, new plan."
A silence passed.
"Do you have a plan?"