Author's Note:

There won't be any dialogue in this chapter, I'm afraid. It will just be on Elsa debating on what she should do next as she was put in a difficult situation. More exciting events will happen in the chapters to come!

Chapter Five: Elsa's Contemplation

ELSA

Elsa stayed in a room at the very top of one of the government buildings that ringed the City square, the same one where she had disputed with Whit and Wisty in the office at the ground floor. Three days had passed since her arrival, but the blizzard she brought upon still lingered in the City.

Word about Elsa, the sudden snowstorm, and her intentions on opening the Portal to save her sister had spread rapidly to every corner of this City. She didn't have TVs back in her kingdom and never knew that anything like them could possibly exist, but she learnt how to use the one in her room and had gotten pretty familiar with it. Elsa saw her face plastered on almost every channel, and there was nothing good to be said about her. People of the City called her the Ice Queen and claimed that she had cursed their land with her wicked ice magic by conjuring up a dreadful winter. Workers were still repairing the damage the City suffered from previous bombings and battles, and they couldn't resume under the snowstorm. The sky remained a dark, gloomy grey and the snow never stopped falling. The famous witch and wizard, along with everybody else, were demanding that she restore summer and peace to this land and then leave the City at once. She had promised that she won't open the Portal, but Whit and Wisty didn't seem to believe her. They still appeared to be suspicious. Of course they are, Elsa thought, I didn't restore summer or leave this City. I lingered here instead, and they must be wondering why. The leaders kept reminding people on the news that they must prevent Elsa from bringing destruction upon this place at all costs. She hadn't tried yet, but everyone seemed to believe that her ice magic was powerful enough to open the Portal.

I will not open the Portal, she had promised Whit and Wisty.

Elsa hadn't once stepped foot outside after she settled in this building. The people here disliked her. That fire witch Wisty hated her. If she went out, she was afraid that she'll be treated as a monster like the Duke of Weselton had once treated her, that she'll be mocked. The witches and wizards might pick a fight with her or harm her with their magic if they saw Elsa out in town, and there were witches and wizards everywhere in this City. It would be best to live in solitary confinement, something she had been used to all her life. Therefore Elsa had locked herself in this room and froze the door. In that way, no one will be able to come in and she won't be able to get out unless she wanted to. But nearly everyone knew that she stayed in a room at the top floor of this building.

The room she chose wasn't too bad. It was entirely different in appearance compared to the rooms in her castle, but there was food to eat, water to drink, couches where she could relax, a TV that she regularly watched, books and magazines on shelves that she could read, a bathroom she could use, a big mirror where she often gazed at her own reflection, and a comfortable bed that she could sleep in. She was satisfied with all of that. There was also a wardrobe full of clothes that she could wear, but they looked too outlandish and eccentric for her taste. She much preferred the gowns she often wore back in her castle. She didn't think that she would ever get used to living in a "city", as they called it. She belonged in Arendelle, in the kingdom that had been her home for all her life. Hans told her after he cast Anna away that life was very different in this City, and he was damn right.

Elsa was standing in front of a window and gazing at the square around ninety yards down below her, which was covered in snow and as empty as usual. She wondered how life in Arendelle was like under Hans's reign. Hans had announced to her people that he would spare them and allow them to continue to live their joyful lives if they pledged their allegiance to him, and that he would put any who chose to defy him to death. Elsa wondered what choice each of them made. Her people loved their queen and had always been loyal to her. Elsa was a friend to every one of them. They would never betray her and bend their knees before Hans, the self-styled king who was so cruel, ruthless, and evil. But this meant that they chose defiance and were put to death. How many people loved Elsa enough and died for her? How many betrayed her in order to save their own skin? Elsa was unsure of the outcome.

When I return to my kingdom I will find out who the traitors are, Elsa assured herself. If none of my people are treacherous, they will all be dead by now, and Hans will toss their corpses at my feet. I will be alone in this world, she thought.

She couldn't be any lonelier than she already felt right now. Of all people back in her kingdom, Anna was the one she missed the most. She couldn't begin to imagine what Anna must be going through in the Shadowland. She dared not dwell on it. Elsa had never seen a Lost One before, but if those creatures were as horrible as Whit and Wisty described they were, Anna wouldn't stand a chance of surviving. She feared that Wisty was right, that maybe the Lost Ones had already gotten to her. No, I must not think that of her, Elsa reminded herself. Anna was feisty, spunky, and optimistic. She knew her sister inside out. Anna was the kind of person who could find a shred of hope and cling to it no matter how dejecting and desperate the situation was. Anna always had faith in her. If she was still alive, she would be yearning for Elsa to come to Shadowland and rescue her. Anna knew for certain that Elsa would never abandon her.

I will not open the Portal. That was the promise she made. If I do, the Lost Ones will return, kill everyone in this City by consuming their souls, and become invincible. If I do, all hell will break loose.

What was she doing before Hans overthrew her that night? Elsa tried to recall what happened. She was preparing for Anna's birthday with the cooks. They gave her several suggestions on how the birthday cake would have been designed. Elsa's thoughts suddenly drifted to the tiara. It was to be her sister's birthday present. She had hidden it in the hole beneath the floor of her bed chamber, but her castle was crawling with Hans's malicious soldiers, and it was likely that they either stole it or destroyed it. I will have nothing to give Anna now, Elsa thought sadly. All that she planned so far for Anna's birthday had been for naught. There wouldn't even be a celebration. Instead, her sister would spend the rest of her life in a dimension of reality she didn't belonged in, and she would mostly likely be gone before her birthday was even upon her. Anna had loved her so much, but it would seem to her that Elsa didn't love her enough in return. Anna would leave this world believing that her older sister had given up on her, without even being there to mourn for her, hold her hand, and say goodbye.

Elsa hadn't even realized that she was crying. Tears were falling freely down her cheeks and more were welling in her eyes and blurring her vision. Was she failing her sister?

She could easily freeze this City and everybody in it like she threatened she would, but Wisty was right: that wouldn't get her anywhere near to finding Anna.

What else was there for Elsa in the City aside from Anna? What other good reason did Elsa have to linger here in this place? It could be possible that most of her people had gladly pledged their allegiance to Hans and pretended to be loyal to him, but still loved Elsa deep down in their hearts. She imagined Kai and Gerda, servants to her royal family, keeping up the pretence by cleaning Hans's chambers, polishing his soldiers' armour, washing their surcoats, scrubbing their boots clean, mucking up their horses, and attending the new king during meals, while all the time they were hoping against hope that their real queen who had escaped Arendelle would return with her sister, save her people from Hans's tyranny, and take back her kingdom.

Elsa arrived to the City from the east. She had crossed the sea, a barren, desolate plain, and a wide river to get here. She could do as she had been told and run back home. It's what everyone in the City wants me to do anyway, Elsa thought bitterly. She could announce to her people who remained that Anna was lost, tell them that there was no hope and that she failed them, and give herself up to Hans.

No. She cannot return to Arendelle as a failure. Elsa knew this Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. He was a power-hungry villain. He had always wanted to rule her kingdom by any means. His only desire was to become king, and he was prepared to rid anyone necessary in any way he could for his quest for power. He got rid of the people who chose to defy him, he got rid of Anna by sending her to Shadowland, and that night he was just about to get rid of Elsa. Hans took everything she had from her—her belongings, her people, her throne, her kingdom, and her sister. Elsa must avenge him for what he did, or else Arendelle would be doomed for the rest of eternity. Elsa didn't realize until now that she still had a chance. Anna may be suffering, but she couldn't be dead, not yet. To think that of her felt so wrong. Elsa could feel it deep inside of her that somewhere down in the Shadowland, Anna was calling her name, waiting for her. She and her sister could be Arendelle's salvation. They just needed to trust themselves, to be strong enough to believe in it. When Elsa escaped from her castle, she was adamant on finding and saving Anna, and she was not going to give up on her now.

I will not open the Portal, Elsa remembered her promise. If I do, the Lost Ones will travel through it and destroy the entire world.

Didn't Wisty and Whit already figure out a way to kill a Lost One? They told her that you had to hug them, and call forth every memory of happiness and beautiful thoughts you had. Then the Lost One would burst into flames, never to walk the earth again. There would be nothing left but a small pile of burned paper, and soon even that would be gone, blown away by the wind. During the last battle at the City square, an army of kids had killed the Lost by hugging them; if the Lost returned to the City after the portals were opened, they could be killed the same way again. It was not like the citizens wouldn't be able to stand a chance against them. They could defeat the Lost Ones if they stood together. They knew how to. Whit told Elsa that if she opened the Portal, she would be putting everyone in the City in jeopardy…but that was a risk she was willing to take.

She no longer cared what the witch and wizard, or everyone in this City, thought of her. They could call her the Ice Queen, a sorcerer, a monster…whatever they wanted. Nothing would stop Elsa from going after her beloved sister. Elsa decided that after she retrieved Anna from the Underworld, regardless of the state she was in, she would lift her "curse", restore peace and summer, and then leave this strange City for good. She had developed a cordial dislike towards this land and the people. She wasn't welcomed in the first place. She was an outcast here and will always be one. The sooner she rid herself of the witch and wizard and their people the better. I will not linger here any longer; Elsa affirmed in her mind, I have a sister to rescue, people who needs me, and a kingdom to take back.

Elsa wasn't exactly sure how she would take back Arendelle yet, but she would have more time to decide after she rescued Anna.

I will not open the Portal, Elsa reminded herself one last time before she changed her mind. I'm sorry Whit and Wisty, but for the love I bear for my sister, I think I'm going to have to break that promise. Anna was her family, and family don't abandon each other.

She went to the bathroom and washed her tear-streaked face. She reminded herself of why she was really here. The Allgood leaders did whatever it took to save their people and free their land from tyranny, and Elsa was prepared to do the same. She was not going to merely give up, succumb to despair, and let others tell her what she can or cannot do. She was better than that. It's time to save my sister, Elsa resolved.

She decided to do it during the middle of the night while the City slept. In that way she wouldn't get caught and no one would stand in her way. There couldn't be a chance more perfect than this.

The sun was already setting outside. It would only be a couple more hours before her time came. So, Elsa spent the rest of the day flipping through a pile of strange fashion magazines and sipping tea to help pass the time. She waited for another two hours and a half after midnight before thawing the ice over the door and sneaking out of the building. The wind was howling outside and snow continued to fall heavily. Elsa raised her arms high above her head and then brought them down to her sides gradually, calming the weather with her powers. The snow started to fall more gently, and the night grew still and silent.

Elsa began to make her way towards the centre of the dark plaza, where the porcelain tiles of the ground were laid in the shape of a many-rayed sun. This was the mother of all portals. If she opened this one, she opened them all. After she got Anna back, Elsa planned to close the Portal by freezing it and sealing it with thick layers of ice to prevent any other creatures from crawling out. She stared at the sun for a long time and then took a deep breath. She was ready. Let's do this, she told herself in her mind.

She threw her arms out in the direction of the sun, and a bright and powerful beam of ice shot towards it from her hands with a thunderclap of wind. It emanated snow, mist, and frost into the air and lit up the square in a polar light. The light was brightest at the area where the beam struck the ground, illuminating the area in a near-blinding glow. The ground quaked and trembled beneath her feet. Elsa could feel the porcelain sun disintegrating, her ice penetrating deeper and deeper into the earth, breaking the seal that locked the portal. With a cry and a new wave of her magic, she broadened the ice beam, increased its strength and power, and sent it plunging into the ground, cracking the porcelain tiles like brittle glass. She was getting closer to creating a gaping hole in the earth. A defiant voice inside her declared: People of the City, be prepared to say hello again to Shadowland!