I dream of a land where time stands still.
It is cold. It is frozen.
I find myself traveling through the mountains in an unrelenting blizzard.
"Please stop!" I cry out to the clouds above. I stumble with each step, as I am trudging along through deep, deep snow.
"It is not my choice." The blizzard responds.
"It must be." I argue. "You're the one that is making it snow!"
"I'm afraid not." The blizzard's voice floats down toward me from the dreary gray clouds. "The storm is inside of you."
I continue to fight the storm, willing myself to reach the top of this incline.
Upon reaching the top, I discover that Arendelle is only a short distance away.
It looks as it did the day I departed.
Buildings still lie in piles of rubble, surrounding the castle.
There are many scorched houses with their walls blackened, only half standing.
I will myself to run towards my home. My pace, of course, is not at all faster than the pace I was previously going, but at least I'm trying to put forth effort.
I must get there. I must.
I wonder what Anna is doing? I wonder how she and Kristoff have been? I hope Olaf has been doing well. I hope all of my people have been doing well.
My heart beats fast with anticipation. I am exhausted beyond words, but I am determined to reach my home.
"It is useless." The blizzard tells me.
"I must see them." I choke out, breathless from exertion.
"You will not like what you find." He warns.
I ignore the blizzard, or rather I try to ignore him as much as I can. It is hard to fully ignore him when he is pelting snow into my eyes.
I reach the cobblestone path that will lead me through the gates and into the heart of the palace.
The gates are wide open. Of course, Anna would never have closed them.
It feels like a dream. Actually, it is a dream, but you know what I mean.
I follow the path into my old home.
The blizzard was right. I do not like what I see.
Everyone is frozen.
No, I do not intend to say that everyone has become ice sculptures. They just seem to be stuck in time, as if Fate hit the 'pause' button.
They are all gathered in the ballroom, just like they had in one of my very last memories of them.
Kristoff and Anna are dancing... or they were. They are caught in the middle of a graceful twirl.
Olaf is by the refreshment table, about to take a bite of a snow cone. I would've laughed at the sight had it been under different circumstances.
Various village girls are gathered in a circle at the edge of the dance floor. They are stuck in a moment of laughter, most likely the result of some entertaining village gossip.
Everyone is like this... simply frozen.
"Why are they like this?" I demand.
"I did warn you..."
"Why are they like this!" I yell, losing my tempter. "Why are they frozen?"
"It isn't them." The blizzard answers. "They are all going about their lives just fine."
"I don't understand..."
"It is you." He explains. "You cannot see them move, because you are caught in a land where time stands still."
"No!" I cry. "No, I want to go home!"
"Calm yourself." The blizzard speaks, his voice surprisingly soft, like falling into a pile of snow. "You still have a little more time. Make haste, Queen Elsa. Time is running short."
I open my eyes.
I am still trapped in my closet.
I am still alone. No wait, not completely alone.
In the midst of my foggy mind, I can hear that someone has come into my suite.
My first assumption is that it is only Hemmin, but I can make out thumping noises as if someone is shuffling around in the drawers, as if someone is searching for something, as if someone is searching for clues for something.
Somehow, I know in my heart that this is Ember.
He must know that something is amiss. He must have realized when he had spoken to this other "Elsa" that something was terribly wrong. Ember knows me well enough to have figured this out.
I need to call out his name. I just need to say one simple word.
If I do this, he can save me. He can save both of us.
I try to open my lips. Why is something so simple so very hard?
Ember.
Ember, please.
My lips crack open, just the slightest bit. A hoarse whisper escapes.
"Ember."
The shuffling stops.
I can hear cautious footsteps nearing the closet. The door is opened; a dim light pokes in from my suite into my half-opened eyes.
"Elsa?" Ember gasps. "Elsa!"
I can only smile at him.
"Elsa, your face is blue. You're ill." Is that panic I hear in his voice?
"Elsa?" He repeats. "Elsa, say something!"
The water. We need to get to the water.
He reaches out to touch my face, but jerks his hand back before making contact.
Through the fog in my mind, I can almost see fear in his eyes. Is he afraid to lose me?
"Water." I croak out.
"Water..." He trails off. He has no idea what I'm tying to tell him.
"Get to the water." It takes all that is in me to get these simple words out.
"How?" He seems to be staring at his own hands. He is afraid to touch me.
"Carry." I breathe. "Me."
"I can't, Elsa!" He cries out. Fear is in his voice as much as it is in his eyes.
"Please." I can't say any more. I can't do it. My body will not allow it.
He looks from his hands, to my face, and back to his hands.
Through the fog, I can see the fear in his eyes become a fiery determination.
He reaches out for me.
His hands make contact with my body.
This is the first time Ember has firmly touched me. He did touch me one other time, back in the palace all that time ago, but that was only for mere seconds.
This is completely different, yet so very much the same.
It feels as though there are fireworks going off inside my body, exploding into warmth.
It feels beautiful. It feels right.
He picks me up and holds me against his chest.
I admit that I do not know many details of what happen during these few moments that he carries me. I can vaguely see that he takes me out of my room, down the hall, and to the upper deck.
My main focus is on the heat.
I listen to his heartbeat, his breathing.
I never thought fire could be so irresistibly wonderful.
"Are you sure about this?" I hear his voice closer than it has ever been before. It is deep, rough, and mesmerizing.
We must be on the upper deck now. We must be nearing the edge of the Gerda.
"I trust you, Elsa." He whispers to me.
It's ironic, because I don't even trust myself.
We are probably just going to drown ourselves.
At least we will drown together.
Ember jumps.
I feel a brief sensation of flying. It feels glorious. Fire and Ice are traveling through the sky together.
This sensation ends all too quickly and is replaced by another one. This one is much less enjoyable.
This is every nightmare coming to life all at the very same moment.
Icy water encloses itself around Ember and I.
I feel panic well up within me.
We are going to die.
At least I'll die with Ember.
Rather than think about the frigid fingers of the ocean grasping for my frozen body, I let my full attention go to Ember and his fiery warmth. Even here, in the cold depths of the angry seawater, Ember's warmth still welcomes me.
He holds me close.
Fire and Ice sink into the very same ocean that took my parent's lives.