"Ikkuma! Ikkuma!" The Inuit woman is with me.
I don't know what you are trying to tell me. I'm so, so sorry. I do not know.
She leads me through the ice palace of Inuitia. She is practically carrying me, as I can hardly keep myself on my feet.
It seems as though the castle is a giant maze constructed of ice.
I would have already been lost had she not been with me, directing our course.
I trust her every move.
At each fork in our path, I trust her judgment unconditionally.
"Ikkuma!"
We take an abrupt turn to the right, then another immediately to the left.
My feet slide all over the frozen floor, but the Inuit holds me steady.
I hear an alarming cracking sound above me.
Icicles are breaking loose from the ceiling. They plummet to the floor, cracking holes into the ground. I pray that we don't become the icicles' next target.
The Inuit woman skillfully zigzags around the falling objects.
"Ikkuma!"
She increases her speed, continuing to dodge the icicles.
I stumble, but she doesn't miss a beat. She clings onto me tighter still and barrels on ahead; a woman on a mission.
Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Left.
We come to a great gap in the ground. The drop extends as far as the eye can see; an endless abyss of dark nothingness.
There is no way around. We must jump.
The Inuit woman ensures that her hold on me is secure. She backs up, preparing for a running jump.
A wolf comes, from out of nowhere, and takes us upon it's back.
It darts toward the gap without hesitation. It dashes across on thin air. It's as though there is some sort of invisible bridge guiding it's way.
Once safely on the other side of this great crevice, the wolf allows us to dismount.
The Inuit woman bows solemnly to the creature.
We have no time to waste, the woman takes hold of me again and proceeds on our journey to wherever it is she thinks it is so important to get me.
Right. Left. Left. Right. Left.
We emerge into a large, circular room. A cloaked figure is on their knees in the dead center of this room.
I gasp for breath, nearly falling to the floor myself if it were not for the Inuit's support.
"Ikkuma! Ikkuma!"
The cloaked figure looks up.
Could it be?
It is Ember.
This is when I notice that the room is melting, and rather fast.
The ice is becoming a sludgy mess. The ceiling is going to cave in on top of Ember!
I have to save him! I have to get him out!
I try to take a step toward him, but my feet feel like led. I look down to see that they are cubes of ice, frozen to the floor.
"Ember!" I cry out.
In desperation, I turn to the Inuit woman, who is disappearing before my eyes.
"Ikkuma!" Her body fades until it is no more.
She can't help me.
"Ember!" I scream again. "You have to get out!"
His smoky eyes stare into mine. "Only you can help me, Elsa."
The room caves in on top of him right after my whole body freezes solid.
"EMBER!" I scream this with everything that I am.
I am shaken out of my nightmare and I find myself sitting upright in my bed.
I wonder if my screams were audible or not.
However, I do not have much time to ponder this.
Ember bursts into my room.
"Elsa!" He yells. "They're coming! They're coming, Elsa!"
His hands are flaming. His eyes are wild.
"Calm down." I tell him, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
He jerks away, singeing the wall behind him.
"Ember, you're going to set us all on fire." I say, soothingly. "Calm down."
He falls to the floor and buries his head into his hands. "Conceal. Don't feel." He murmurs under his rugged breath.
I slide down to the floor next to him. "What is wrong, Ember?"
"I heard them talking." He chokes.
He has no time to say any more.
Three crew mates storm into my room.
Two of them grab on to Ember, one of them comes after me.
I am jerked to my feet.
"Let go of me!" I cry as I feel rope scraping over my icy wrists.
"Elsa!" A blast of fire rises up.
"Keep calm." I tell Ember. "It will be alright."
They tie both of us up.
Ember continues to mumble his chant to himself. I can tell that it is taking everything in him not to torch the whole ship.
I hate watching him suffer.
We are led out of the small room and on to the upper deck.
A crowd has gathered here; this must be every member of the crew.
Captain Roald appears before me, a sinister smile on his face.
I can read his eyes as clearly as one can read a book. They say, "You lost, I won."
I am infuriated. I would like nothing less than to freeze the life out of him. I immediately feel shame upon thinking this.
"My Queen," He says the title mockingly. "It's so nice of you to join us."
"My pleasure." I spit out.
"Now don't be sassy." He sounds as though he is scolding a child for wrongdoing. "It isn't becoming for someone of your stature."
I can still hear Ember muttering to himself, willing his powers to remain in check.
"Conceal. Don't feel."