Chapter Four: The Ice Queen

WISTY

After I absentmindedly got dressed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and made my bed, I went to my bedroom window for the seventh time to gaze with wonder and curiosity at the bizarre weather outside.

My head could only form one thought ever since I woke up this morning: it's snowing in the summer; it's July, and I saw snow everywhere in the City.

Normally on a snowy day I would feel excited to pick a snowball fight with Whit or build snow sculptures in the backyard of my parents' house. Whit and I would also go sledding outside, no matter how old we were. We even dared to go down hills that we hoped had a frozen pond at the bottom. Whit had taken Celia along with us a couple of times as well, and the three of us had so much fun together.

But I felt no such determination or excitement for any of that today. The fog, the fierce wind, the large snowflakes in the sky, and the thick blankets of snow covering the streets made for an unwelcome and uninviting sight. Even within my apartment, I could feel a chill in the air.

Watching the blizzard suddenly reminded me of a time during the The One's reign, when Whit and I were imprisoned in a basement in the Brave New World centre. I remembered that The One had wanted me to manifest my Gift within a deadline of twelve hours. With a wave and an incantation, His Coldness had chilled the whole basement with a heavy snowfall from the ceiling, and I felt the temperature plummeting at least fifty degrees. The One said to me that the cold should help me concentrate. Those twelve hours I spent in that room had been one of the worst nightmares of my life.

Why the hell is there a freaking blizzard outside during midsummer? The season changed from summer to winter in a single night. This was totally not what I was expecting. How was it even possible?

I turned away from the window, grabbed my phone from my bag on the floor, and called Whit, hoping to get an answer to my questions. My brother was probably as baffled by the snowfall as I was, but I had to talk to him and try to figure out what we should do.

I paced the room impatiently as I waited for him to pick up.

"Good morning, Wisty." Whit's voice came through my phone.

"Morning, Whit. Let's skip the small talk. I reckon you're aware of the blizzard outside?" I worried, and got straight to the point.

"Of course I'm aware," my brother told me.

"How on earth was it possible for the weather to change from nice, hot, and sunny to windy and snowy in just one night?" I hurried on.

"That's what I was wondering. Maybe it's not possible. Maybe somethingsupernatural caused this to happen," guessed Whit.

"You mean as in magic?" I knew at once what he was implying.

"Exactly. What else could it be? Somebody used magic to bring about snowfall in the City," Whit surmised.

I wondered, "Who could've done such a thing?"

My brother replied, "I don't know, but if that somebody is able to use magic to elicit a blizzard this terrific on an entire City, they must be very powerful. I don't think I've ever known or heard of such a person."

"If the snowfall was created by a person, that is," I muttered and then suggested, "Want to go outside and find out? Track down whoever did this?"

"Sure. I'm gonna go and retrieve my jacket. I'll meet up with you at your apartment in ten minutes, and then we can go together?" Whit asked me.

"All right then," I agreed.

"Wait for me. I'll be right there," said Whit before he hung up.

I put on a sweater over my top and then a thick warm jacket over that. I wrapped a scarf tightly around my neck and donned my gloves and my beanie. Then I pulled on my winter boots and stepped outside the back door of my apartment.

The sudden coldness hit me like a hurricane. The fierce wind beat at me and blew large snowflakes at my face and into my eyes. The snow at my feet was at least five inches thick. I never knew I'd be back in my winter clothes so quickly, I thought to myself.

I plodded through the snow to a small garage at the side of the building and climbed onto my motorcycle. I rode slowly to my apartment's front door and spotted my brother stumping in the lane towards my direction. He was heavily dressed in his garments as well.

Whit shivered when he approached me and muttered, "It's freezing."

I responded, "I know. I freaking hate this cold."

"I sensed a bone-chilling frigidness from afar on my way here, some sort of iciness." my brother stated, "It is definitely from somebody, I swear. I can feel the person's power, their magic. I think it's coming from the City square."

"We have a destination. Perfect. Or else we'd end up wandering in the streets for hours," I said in relief.

I rode the motorcycle towards my street and stopped in the middle. I hopped off and called to Whit, "Care to help me with clearing the road? There's no way I'm going to ride my motorcycle through this thick blanket of snow."

Whit came to stand by my side. I gave him a look indicating my intentions on how I planned to clear the road. He immediately understood what I meant. "Let's do it together," he said and took my hand, "Ready?"

I nodded. Whit was better at telekinesis than I was, but I gazed intently at the street ahead anyway and concentrated on moving the snow towards either end. Together, we managed to clear every street and road in the City with our magic, building the snow into a pile along either side.

I climbed back onto my motorcycle with Whit behind me. I pulled back on the throttle and we tore down the street.

My cheeks were so flushed with frigidness by the time we reached the City square that I almost felt them heating up. The snow had been cleared from the square as well, but another thin layer of it had already covered the ground like a huge blanket. We didn't pass by any cars or pedestrians on our way here. The streets were empty and eerily quiet today. All markets, cinemas, sports centres, art galleries, etc, were closed. But then, why would I be surprised? No one would be crazy enough to be out in this weather.

The City square was a vast municipal courtyard ringed by all the important government buildings. This was where Whit and I announced all of our public speeches and where we were broadcasted live on television. I downshifted and skid my motorcycle to a halt beside one of the buildings, and we climbed off.

From here, I could make out a figure in light blue standing somewhere near the centre of the square. It was a young woman. She seemed to be looking around the courtyard timidly, unsure of what to do. She stood still when she spotted us and stared at us as we approached.

We stopped when we got close enough to her. I judged that the woman standing before us looked to be around twenty-one, older than Whit and I, and she was gorgeous and breathtakingly beautiful. She was slender and had blue eyes, pale skin, light freckles, rosy cheeks, and pink lips. Her long platinum blonde hair was tied in a loose French braid that was swept over her left shoulder, and her bangs were slicked back on top of her head. She was clad in a crystal-blue, off-the-shoulder dress made out of ice with a right knee-high slit, as well as a crystallized bodice and translucent, powder blue sleeves. Attached to her bodice was a long, transparent floor-sweeping cape of sheer ice decorated with large snowflakes. I noticed that she had on a pair of ice-made kitten heels. She looked like a queen.

From the way she was dressed, I could tell she wasn't from the City. Nobody in the City dressed like that. What surprised me more was that she didn't even looked cold. She wasn't shivering, chattering her teeth, or hugging her arms to her chest like I was. It seemed like she was used to weather like this.

She retreated a few steps backwards and demanded, "Who are you?" She didn't sound very inviting or welcoming, but flustered and perturbed.

"We could a-ask you the same q-question," I said with a voice that had much less boldness in it than I intended, partly because I was shivering so badly. I felt like my body was on the verge of hypothermia.

Whit yelled over the howling wind, "My name is Whit Allgood," he gestured at me, "And this is my sister Wisty Allgood. My sister is a witch and I'm a wizard. We are the leaders of this City."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, but it was then replaced with realization, as if she had heard about us before.

I rejoined, "We sensed s-some sort of iciness coming from the square with our m-magic, so we came to find out more. W-was it y-you who brought this blizzard upon the City?"

Whit inquired, "Do you possess some kind of cryokinetic powers?"

I turned to Whit and asked, "Okay, what does that even mean?"

"It refers to the ability to produce or manipulate ice, frost, and snow at will," my brother explained to me, then looked back to the woman and repeated, "Are you able to do that?"

"Yes, I do have that power and I'm the one who brought upon this blizzard. It was all me," she acknowledged, "I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle. I came here in search of my sister, Princess Anna. I was told that she was trapped in a place called the Shadowland. I unleashed winter upon this City in order to get people to give me information to help me find her, and I won't stop this snowfall until she is found."

Uh-oh, I exchanged an uneasy glance with Whit. If she was looking for a way to get into the Shadowland, she already arrived at a dead end. There was absolutely no way to reopen all the portals, no way that Whit and I could find a way to help her.

"And if n-none of us c-chooses to help you?" I dared.

She turned toward one of the government buildings and gazed at it intently. A thick layer of ice immediately started to crawl its way up the building's sides. Elsa turned back to us and threatened, "Then I will freeze the entire City and everybody in it."

Who did this woman thought she was? She may be queen and was well-respected in this so-called Arendelle, but she had no right to strut into our City and wreak havoc upon it. How could I be stupid enough to think her as beautiful? Beneath that beauty she could be a venomous serpent for all I knew, a monster. This blizzard was completely unnecessary, but if Elsa chose the hard way and resorted to violence in order to force citizens to help her, so be it. I could play nasty too.

I took a few strides towards her, forgetting about the blizzard that was almost freezing me to death. I felt my body heating up. My core temperature rose. I summoned the fire that generated deep inside me with my sudden anger, and let it all out. I spread my arms and hands slightly and my body burst into four feet long flames. It was hard to keep up my human torch in this snowstorm. I could feel the harsh wind blowing and trying to sputter out my fire. Despite it all, Elsa recoiled at the sight of me anyway, and my confidence built up.

"Go ahead," I told her, my voice no longer stuttering, "Try and freeze it all you want, but I will burn you alive and roast you like a leg of mutton before you even know what's coming for you," I inched closer towards her, "I have the ability to control fire. I can melt away your snow and thaw your ice just as easily as you created them. You can't frighten me, Elsa."

A huge gust of wind hit me then, and the fire around me wavered. I felt my flames reduce from four feet long to three and then down to two feet. I tried to summon a new wave of fire from my body, but I felt as if the wind and snow was suppressing my heat.

Elsa was watching me carefully. She noticed my fire faltering, so she stood up straight again and bravely took a step in my direction. She jeered, "Better watch out. In a terrifying snowstorm like this, instead of burning me, your fire looks more likely to sputter out."

"You think?" I snickered. Without hesitation, I lunged at Elsa with the flames dancing around me. Unfortunately, Whit was in front of me in a flash. He used his powers and pushed me with a surprising strength that sent me flying a few metres backwards. I landed with a thump on the hard snowy ground.

I stood up instantly and yelled at him angrily, "What was that for?"

Whit put his hands on his hips and scolded me, "You just have to be so impulsive, don't you? There is a wiser way to deal with this situation than simply blasting each other with your powers."

"Isn't that what she intended to do this whole time?" I gestured at Elsa and contended.

Whit refused to argue with me further. He turned to face Elsa and commanded, "You need to stop this craziness now."

"Get me to Shadowland, and I will. My sister was sent there by this man called Hans. He told me that there are portals everywhere in this City, but all of them are sealed. Help me to reopen them. I have to find Anna. I won't leave her in there to die!" She pleaded.

My brother reasoned, "I know how desperate you must be feeling right now, Elsa, but I'm sorry. We can no longer access the Underworld. The portals are sealed forever and there is no way to reopen them."

Elsa shook her head firmly and said, "I don't believe you. There has to be a way!"

I shouted over the fierce wind, "No there isn't! The people here don't have any quarrel with you. They've done you no harm. Setting off winter in the entire City won't get you any closer to bringing your sister back."

She hesitated, and then demanded to know, "How were the portals sealed in the first place?"

"It's a long story," my brother told her, and then he suggested, "Why don't the three of us head inside one of these buildings?" Whit jerked his thumb at one of them, "Wisty and I will explain everything to you."

Whit started to head towards a light grey building that was once New Order controlled. Elsa and I followed him.

Once we were inside, I sighed deeply and said, "It's so much warmer in here," and then I turned to Elsa who walked beside me, "Don't you feel cold out there?"

She shrugged and said, "The cold never bothered me, just like the heat never bothered you."

My brother pointed to an office ahead and called over his shoulder, "We can talk in there."

The three of us went inside. I conjured up a fireball with my right hand and sent it flying towards the fireplace. The cheerful, blazing fire in the hearth instantly began to warm up the office. My brother thanked me for it and Elsa commented, "Wow…I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

Whit and I sat down on a couch while Elsa took a seat on the opposite couch, with a coffee table between us.

"So, Elsa, why don't you tell us your story first? You introduced yourself to us as the Queen of Arendelle. I've never heard of the place before. How was life there like?" Whit asked her.

Therefore Elsa told us her story. She told us about her parents' demise, her beloved sister Anna, all those amazing times she spent with her when they were little, the trolls in the Valley of the Living Rock, her ice magic, her life in Arendelle, her coronation day, losing control of her powers and running to live in solitude up on the North Mountain, creating the giant snowman Marshmallow, her reunion and reconciliation with Anna, and the night when Hans dethroned her and took over her kingdom. I could tell that sharing those memories brought back a range of different emotions for Elsa and overwhelmed her. It sounded like Elsa remembered every detail of her past and she missed nothing out.

"I escaped from the dungeons with the help of my magic. I created frost and snowflakes and used them to track down Anna and locate the Shadowland. They lead me to this City," Elsa finished.

After she gave us a few minutes to digest, I spoke up, "That sounds both wonderful and poignant at the same time. My Mom used to read me medieval stories when I was little. I never knew they could be true. You lived a very different life from us, Elsa. It must be hard to adjust from living in a castle to living in a city. I'm very sorry for what happened to your sister."

Elsa wiped away her tears and said quietly, "Thank you, Wisty."

I was beginning to regret lunging at her with my flames just now a little, but then she shouldn't have cursed our City in winter with her magic.

My brother told Elsa, "I'm sorry too. This Prince Hans of the Southern Isles reminded me of all the evil rulers this City had in the past, The One Who Is The One, the Wizard King, Darrius…" he turned to me and continued, "They were arrogant, malicious, sadistic, and wicked. They all had one thing in common: hunger for power."

I nodded, "Hans sounded like another tyrant to me."

"I guess my punishment for him was too lenient," Elsa conceded, "If I killed him, none of this would have happened." She said to Whit and me after a moment, "That's enough about Hans. I believe it's your turn now."

My brother and I hence took turns in telling Elsa our story, starting from that night when we were torn from our family, slammed into prison, and accused of being a witch and wizard. It happened such a long time ago, but when we reflected on it and described it to Elsa, it felt like the events happened just yesterday. We told Elsa about life in the City under the New Order and The One, our powers and abilities, the Prophecies about us, the different dimensions of reality such as the Overworld and the Underworld, and the Half-Lights and the Lost Ones. We mentioned Celia, Byron, Janine, Emmet, Sasha, Jamilla, the Visitor, the Matron, Mrs. Highsmith, the Resistance, our prison raids to save the kids captured by the N.O, Margo's vaporization, the Stockwood Music Festival, the time we spent in the Brave New World centre that was operated by this computer programme called ERSA, our battles against the N.O troops, the Blood Plague, celebrating the Holiday with the Needermans, fighting against the loathsome Pearce, the time when Whit and his friends were almost eaten by Lost Ones in the Shadowland, and the defeat of The One Who Is The One. And then my brother and I moved on to our lives after the New Order. We described what we remembered about the Council, General Matthias Bloom, the kidnappings, the Wizard King from the Mountain, my short-lived relationship with Heath, Sasha's death, Whit's fight against the snow leopards, Larsht, Izbella, the battle between people of the City and the Wizard King's army, Heath killing the King, and the battle Whit and I had with Pearce. We carried on about Pearl Marie's death, Terrence Rino and the new Council, the crimes committed by The Family, Darrius, my brother's Excision, Whit's exhausting and awful time spent in the slave brigade at Work Site #1 digging in the giant pit, the Horsemen from the desert, the Lost Ones coming to the City, the final battle at the square against Pearce and The One, and at last: Byron's demise.

Whit and I took our time and explained everything to Elsa in detail. We had to drink two cups of water to recover from our hoarse throats. We gave Elsa some time to take it all in. Judging from her expression, she seemed to be intrigued and fascinated with our story.

"Unbelievable," Elsa finally concluded, "What an astonishing, exciting adventure. You both have been through so much. You are the most powerful witches and wizards, you have performed tons of heroic deeds, and together you saved this City thrice," she marvelled, "That sounds impressive. I have to say I'm amazed."

Whit put an arm around my shoulder and hugged me to him. He said, "Yeah, my sister and I had been through an ordeal." He asked me, "It was quite an adventure, don't you think?"

"Yes it was," I said before I jested to Elsa, "If The One had met you, Elsa, he would be astounded by your ice magic."

She laughed and then said, "I'm glad I didn't meet him then." Then she turned serious and added, "I'm deeply sorry to hear about Byron. He must be a very dear friend to you both."

I didn't even realize that until the very last moment, I thought. The guilt of being so mean and annoyed at Byron, snapping at him, and turning him into a weasel hit me all of a sudden. That pain I felt for him being gone had never really went away.

"He was," I said sadly.

"Thank you, Elsa," said my brother.

Then Whit and I briefly told Elsa about our excellent life as leaders of the City during the past three months.

"Things were going perfectly well in this City," I finished. After a while of hesitation I kept a steady gaze on Elsa and decided to add, "Until your arrival this morning." My words stung her a little. She looked offended, but I continued before she could say anything, "I decided that I'm just going to be blunt and tell you that you've had a wasted journey. You don't know how to open the mother portal to save your beloved sister."

"I can try with my magic," Elsa suggested, "I was able to create a magnificent ice palace up on the North Mountain as well as a giant snowman with my magic. I was able to set off winter back in my kingdom and here in your City. You have no idea how powerful I am. Perhaps my ice can break through the earth and reopen the Portal."

Whit joined in, "Okay. Let's say you do manage to find a way to open it. How do you know if Anna will even be right beside the Portal when it's opened? She can be wandering anywhere in the Shadowland. It's likely that she'll miss her chance of getting out. Or, Anna might not come up from the Portal straight away. Maybe she'll travel through it a few days after you opened the Portal."

"If Anna doesn't notice that the Portal was opened, I'll travel to the Shadowland to retrieve her," asserted Elsa, "I will ensure that she makes it to the Overworld."

Whit shook his head firmly and countered, "It's too dangerous, Elsa. Wisty and I told you about our experiences in the Shadowland. You're most likely to get lost long before you find her."

"But I have to try," Elsa argued, sounding desperate, "Anna is all alone down there. There is no food or water. Humans can't survive in the Underworld, you said so yourself. I have to try and save her. I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

My anger for Elsa from earlier still lingered. Elsa cared for her younger sister and loved her just as much as I loved Whit. She was kind, selfless, and benevolent. So why did I kept getting the feeling that she was my enemy? Her magic was the exact opposite of mine. It was as if her ice was designed to put out my fire. I didn't like that one bit. Before I knew it, I uttered the worst possible thing in my mind that could happen to Anna, "What if the Lost Ones had already gotten to Anna? If that's the case, your sister is as good as dead."

Elsa gave me a menacing glare that could kill, "The citizens all believe that you're a hero, but just now you sounded exactly like Hans," she hissed.

"Stop it, Wisty. You're only making things worse," my brother said to me sternly.

My anger was instantly replaced by fury and rage. I stood up abruptly and cried loudly in frustration. I involuntarily shattered all the light bulbs on the chandelier and on every lamp in the room with my magic. Simultaneously, the fire roared wildly in the hearth, and the glass of the large window in the office cracked and shattered. Elsa jumped at my sudden outburst.

I paced restlessly about the office while I shouted in exasperation at my older brother, "Don't you see, Whit? We can't help her!" I recalled what Celia told us when we were locked in our cells and then turned to Elsa, "When Darrius unleashed the Undead upon the world he gave them a power they didn't have before. In the Shadowland, they ate only flesh. But in this world, they can also eat souls," I asserted, "When Lost Ones devour a human soul, then they can live again. They're no longer Undead. They become immortal, invincible, and more evil than ever before. They will destroy the entire world, and that's exactly what will happen if we let you open the Portal! I'm sorry, Elsa, but you are never going to get your sister back, ever."

There was a dead silence in the room.

"Wisty has a point, Elsa," Whit told her quietly.

Good. I've got Whit on my side. "I think it'll be best for you to leave this City. It'll be the best for all of us," I said authoritatively to Elsa.

Elsa stood up and stepped towards me until she was only inches away. She looked me directly in the eye and said right to my face, "No." She took another step closer and I had to back away a little. She was older and taller than me. She continued, "I didn't come all this way here just to be sent back to my kingdom again. You may be a leader, Wisty, but I am the Queen, and you can't tell me what to do. I will not. Abandon. My. Sister."

I didn't know how to reply to that. I simply stared at her, speechless.

Elsa sharply turned away from me and began to stalk out the room.

"Elsa!" Whit stood up and called after her.

For a moment, I thought she would ignore him and storm out. But she hesitated and paused anyway without turning to face my brother.

My brother implored, "Please. Do not attempt to open the Portal. Think about the risks you're about to take. You will not only jeopardize yourself, but you'll jeopardize the entire City. You're not the only one who lost someone important to you. Wisty and I had lost people who were dear to us as well. I watched Margo, Sasha, and Byron die in front of my eyes."

At this, Elsa turned to face him and said quietly, "They were your friends, Whit. Anna, however, is family. There is a difference."

I was about to remind her of the time when Whit and I watched The One vaporise our parents, but we brought Mom and Dad back from the Shadowland. They were alive, so I knew it would be useless to bring up this information. I held my tongue. There was no convincing her now, was there? I thought hopelessly.

Elsa sighed heavily after a moment and told us, "Fine. For your sake and the City's, I won't open the Portal." So she had seen reason after all.

"Promise us," Whit responded.

Elsa looked at me and Whit and repeated, "I will not open the Portal, I promise."

She sounded certain enough. I noticed that Whit and I were both holding our breaths. Whit let out a huge sigh of relief, and so did I.

We watched as Elsa walked out of the office, her long, transparent floor-sweeping cape trailing on the ground after her. A chilling gust of wind blew in from the large broken window and slammed the door shut with a bang.