"Who is it that approaches?" The old troll asked in concern.
"It appears to be a carriage, carrying two women from the village in the valley." The smaller troll responded in a rush. "I couldn't make out who they were, but the path curves away from our territory."
"Best to be safe in these matters. And I sense they are coming to a stop." The old one replied grimly. "Everyone! Disguise yourselves now! Only show yourselves to those who have proven their worth!"
A great rumbling sounded from all over the hidden glade as the population of trolls disguised themselves as boulders. Their magic wasn't very powerful anymore, as it had been dwindling for centuries, but they still retained the skill to enshroud themselves with one of the strongest illusions in the mortal realm.
"You best join your brothers and sisters." The old troll instructed the young one. "I will remain hidden and observe."
"Sure thing Grand Pabbie!" the younger troll saluted before he collapsed into a small oval.
The old troll held onto a clear crystal that hung from his neck and recited the spell of invisibility in his mind. He sent a prayer to the earth and knelt as the shroud overtook him, leaving him invisible, but able to see the entire clearing. The troll waited quietly and without movement. Any slight fidget might be enough to break the spell, and he did not wish to endanger his kingdom no matter how small it might be.
He watched as two young women walked into the glade, the hoods of their grey cloaks hiding their faces from view as they approached the center of the field of boulders.
"Grand Pabbie? It's me, Anna." The princess announced herself as she removed her hood from her face. "I've brought my sister today. She… well, we both have a question for you."
The old troll thought for a moment. This was the third time the princess had been in this glade. And the queen had been there only once before. He thought about the sisters and reached out with his spirit to find if their intent bore any ill will for his people. Sensing nothing but a troubling unrest, he stood from his place, the invisibility spell dissolving around him as his friends and family all rolled to their feet and bowed to the queen of Arendelle.
"Queen and Princess of Arendelle." He spoke calmly as he slowly approached. "I sense trouble in your hearts. What is the matter?"
"Grand Pabbie!" Anna called as she came over to him and took his hand in greeting, leading him back to her sister. "This is-"
"Elsa, we've met once before." He nodded to the queen.
"Yes, and I wish it were under better circumstances." Elsa replied. "However I fear that this time is no different."
The old troll nodded. He'd expected as much. For complete control of any magical power, whether from curse or birth, time was always necessary to master its uses. A great many ailments both physical and mental hailed from the winter which Elsa had been born to wield.
"The thing is, ever since I was frozen, I've been feeling more and more comfortable in extreme cold as if it doesn't affect me." Anna explained.
"I fear it is a side effect of Anna succumbing, no matter how shortly, to the ice I placed in her heart." Elsa finished clarifying and waited as the troll looked between them, in thought.
"You speak of succumbing…" He prompted hesitantly.
"Anna froze to a statue of solid ice while saving me from the blade of a traitor. I was… and still am haunted by that image." Elsa shuddered. "I clung to her as I mourned what I thought to be her final act, a sacrifice to save me. But by some magic I am still unsure of, she returned to me."
"Let me see…" The troll took both of Anna's hands in his own and listened to the soul he could feel thrumming through her veins. It spoke of a hardship passed but left no note of any curse, no matter how small to be affecting either her physical body or her mind. "It is odd, that Anna is clear of all curses. Unless…. Let me look at Elsa."
The troll repeated his process of listening to her soul. He heard the loud hum of the winter and the dull wavering of a troubled conscious, but no curses could be found to have affected the queen either.
"You too are clear of all curses. Yet you claim to have done the impossible by bringing your sister back to life." He spoke to the queen.
"Please, explain all you know." Elsa asked as she shrunk away from her sister slightly while affixing her gaze to Anna's. "She's the only family I have left."
"The knowledge I have has been passed down for centuries, so please understand that there is a limit to what I can tell you that I am sure is accurate. As legend goes, when the heart is frozen, only an act of truest love will cure the curse placed there. But once the curse runs its course, nothing can be done, and to solid ice you will freeze forever. According to the stories, the victim is killed the second they freeze solid." He spoke calmly but searched through the countless bits of knowledge he possessed for an answer. "It has never been done in my time on this earth, but if you are to be believed, you and your sister performed acts of true love for each other lifting the curse, but the time-line you have described is unprecedented. I do not believe anyone suffering the winter's curse has ever been cured from it's final stage, nor do I believe it will happen again. Alas, I know not the side effects it could cause. The only reason I can assume for this development would be because of an affinity between your souls that has given Anna recognition by the winter trapped within you, Queen Elsa. Perhaps a recognition stemming from the incident in your childhood."
"You speak of my power, of the winter, or ice as if it has sentience. As if it can think." Elsa spoke as she carefully memorized the words she was being told.
"Yes, the winter knows you well Elsa. As the earth knows of this glade since time immemorial." The elderly troll spoke carefully once more. "The seasons can not think as you and I do, Elsa. But that is not to say they don't think, or communicate. Have you ever heard rain thundering down on the roof of a carriage? Or how about the wind howling through an open window? I'm certain you've heard the sound of ice cracking before, have you not?"
"I have, to all you've described." Elsa nodded, realizing already where the conversation was going.
"Then you've heard the earth speak to you in it's most basic form." Grand Pabbie said as he took a step back to address both the royals. "Now, you must understand that even those of us gifted by the seasons can never fully conceive of the will of the earth. And for that reason I can only guess at the will of the winter. But I would not find it odd if, from one means or another, the winter has chosen to protect Anna. Just as it chose you to control it when you were born, Elsa. Whether this was brought on by an event is unknown to me, but I sense your souls have become exceedingly close even after such a terrible separation."
Elsa took a moment to think over his words and performed a short bow to the troll. "Thank you for your wisdom Grand Pabbie. I will need time to think on your words. But I have one more question. Does the cold pose any threat whatsoever to Anna's safety?"
"Come Anna, remove your cloak." The troll instructed as he pulled a crystal from around his neck. This one was a brilliant blue that shone as if the light was within the item. "This crystal holds only a fraction of the full power of winter within it. I will attempt to channel the smallest fraction of this into your hands and I want you to tell me if, and when, you start to feel even remotely cold."
"Sure thing!" Anna nodded as she let the troll once again take her hands and she felt an interesting buzz tingle down her arms and into her body. It wasn't exactly cold, but she could tell that it was supposed to be. Indeed, it seemed that it was the same temperature as her skin when she wasn't paying it any mind. Anna held her silence for what felt like minutes until the troll released her hands.
"I dare not do more lest I pour the ice of a thousand winters into her at once." The old troll said in awe as he stepped back from the young royals. "It seems that the winter does indeed recognize Anna as one of it's chosen, to whom it will do no harm."
"Does that mean…" Elsa breathed realizing what the trolls words might imply, but too afraid to actually voice her hopes.
"Yes, dear Elsa. It would appear that you can no longer harm your sister, and your sister has no more reason to fear you." Grand Pabbie sighed as he said the next thing that he knew he must say. "But I caution you both of the future. A dark evil is stirring, and a gateway to a great evil may be opening. But how exactly, and where, is unclear. The stars have spoken of a small group of heroes that will save this world from the coming plague, but I cannot say who these are or from whence they come. The only information the sky has given is that they will wield the elements of nature as their weapons, and stand against the very darkness that will consume us all if the heroes should fall. Be warned that the stars have also spoken of the winter's involvement, though I cannot say how or when it will be needed."
"Thank you very much for your time and counsel. I will investigate at the earliest opportunity." Elsa did a small bow before she started leaving, Anna following in her wake as she waved at the trolls who waved back, recognizing her from when she'd visited with Christoff.
The two entered their carriage and continued their trip up to the ice castle in the carriage-sized sled carried by a single large horse crafted from ice.