Chapter 7

A/N Hi guys, the following chapter will be the last chapter of this story. I want to thank you guys for all the fantastic reviews that kept me going. I have to say it felt really weird at first posting my stories because I'd never really written any of my stories down. Enough said, enjoy the last chapter!

Kristoff had been walking through the forest following the ice trail with Elsa and Sven for almost the entire day now. Darkness was already starting to cross the land. He glanced at Elsa, despite living in the same castle for four years now, he didn't know her that well. She was always so distant with people. The only people she really allowed to come near her were Anna and Ellie.

'We should set up camp somewhere', he said, breaking the silence.

Elsa wanted to tell him no but she saw the sense in what Kristoff was suggesting. It would be madness to keep walking through the night.

'You're right', she sighed.

They both stopped walking and Kristoff started to look around to find wood to build some sort of a shelter for the night. As he was busy gathering wood, he noticed Elsa wasn't doing anything to help him. Sure, she was the queen, but the least she could do was help, Kristoff thought slightly annoyed. When he turned around to face her, he saw her waving her hands elegantly through the air.

'What are you doing?' Kristoff asked.

'Building a shelter', Elsa answered and indeed a small house of ice appeared. 'What are you doing?' she asked Kristoff in return when she looked at him standing there with his arms full of tree branches.

'Never mind…' Kristoff answered but Elsa had already disappeared into the house she had made.

'Are you coming in or not?' Kristoff heard her asking from inside. Smiling, he walked inside as well. It was times like this that Elsa really reminded him of Anna.

They had been sitting in the house together for a few minutes when Elsa saw Kristoff shivering. 'You can build a fire if you want to?' she told him.

'Won't the house thaw then?'

'Nah, my ice doesn't thaw, unless I want it to of course', she answered with a hint of pride in her voice.

Kristoff smiled at that but just when he started the fire it immediately went out again.

'Sorry', Elsa muttered.

'It's okay, I know you're worried about her but we are going to get her back you know,' Kristoff tried to comfort her. It did seem to work because the second time he started the fire it kept burning.

'Thank you', whispered Elsa, 'for coming with me. It must be hard leaving Anna alone like that.'

'Anna will be fine. She's probably planning a coming home party for us already.'

'Yeah, I bet she is…'

Even though Kristoff was denying it right now, Elsa knew he must hate leaving Anna like this. It really was very nice of him to come with her. She was actually quite surprised. After all they hadn't really spoken much in these past four years. It left her wondering why actually. They actually had a lot in common, they both loved ice, they both liked their quiet and they both loved Anna. She made a resolution to become a better sister-in-law, no a better friend, to Kristoff when they got home. With that thought she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Greta had dragged Ellie through the forest for a day and a half now. Contrary to Elsa and Kristoff Greta had not taken the time to stop for the night. That's why it was early in the morning when Greta and Ellie reached the edge of the forest. Ellie could see the familiar building that was the orphanage laying in front of her.

Greta dragged her towards it. The orphans that were playing in the front yard whispered, 'She's back!' Greta shooed them away and dragged Ellie up the stairs to a room that was all too familiar to her, the attic. Pushing her inside Greta closed the door behind the both of them. It was a new door Ellie noticed. It was way thicker than the last one and it had a different lock. Greta came towards her and finally took the handcuffs off.

Immediately the attic covered in ice.

'You can try to freeze this lock all you want. It won't work', Greta laughed at her efforts.

'Just you wait, Elsa will come and save me!' Ellie bit at Greta.

'Yeah, you keep saying that. It's quite pathetic really that you made up some imaginary friend that has the same powers that you do. As if someone would want to be friends with a monster.'

'Elsa is not imaginary!' Ellie was crying now.

'Whatever you say, but it is ridiculous to think that she's coming for you,' Greta scoffed.

Truth was Ellie wasn't so sure Elsa was coming for her either, but she couldn't lose hope. Another thought occurred to Ellie. Why had Greta come to kidnap her?

'Why did you come to get me?' Ellie voiced that thought. 'Why couldn't you just leave me be. Why do you hate me so much?'

'Well, I did promise your mother I'd take care of you,' Greta answered. Greta hadn't really meant to say that but the answer had slipped out.

'My mother?' Ellie asked surprised. Greta had never spoken of her parents before. Just that they'd abandoned her because of her powers.

Now that she had let out this much the girl might as well learn the whole story, Greta thought.

'Yes, your mother, we were best friends once. She was pretty with dark brown hair and rosy cheeks. She was the pretty, outgoing one while all I was, was the ugly shy friend. When we would be at a party all the boys wanted to dance with her. They only danced with me because she asked them to. She got all the attention and she didn't even care.'

A short silence followed.

'Then a new boy moved to our village. His name was Edward. He was the first guy who was genuinely nice to me without her asking him to be. I told your mother all about him, I even introduced them to each other. After weeks I finally mustered up the courage to ask him out. Do you know what he said? He blew me off saying that he had already found his true love in your mother. Not long after that they married. Edward died in a hunting accident a few months later while your mother was pregnant with you. After she gave birth to you she caught an illness. It was slowly consuming her from the inside. When she knew she wouldn't have long anymore, she called me at her bed. She dared to tell me that she had tried to stay away form Edward, but that she couldn't help it. She told me that she wanted me, as her best friend, to take care of you after she died. She made me promise. She dared to saddle me up with a constant reminder of the love I had lost. You turned out just like your mother though. A monster only capable of destroying things!' Greta spat out the last part, her voice full of hate, before leaving Ellie alone in the attic.

Ellie didn't even hear the last part though. The only thing she could think of is that her parents had loved her. Her mother hadn't abandoned her. She had left her with the woman she thought, was her best friend.

If the ice trail led where Elsa thought it would lead, they couldn't be far away. She remembered Ellie mentioning that the orphanage was close to the border of Arendelle and they were nearing that border right now.

'What exactly is the plan when we get there?' Kristoff asked her.

'We're going to do go in and grab Ellie', came the simple reply.

'That's your plan?!' Kristoff said while he couldn't shake the feeling that he had said this before to someone.

While talking they had reached the edge of the forest where they could see the orphanage lying there.

Seeing the orphanage confirmed Elsa's suspicion of who might have taken Ellie. Not wanting to waste any time, she started to march towards the building, Kristoff and Sven hurrying after her.

She came to a halt in front of the building. Looking up she saw a little window covered with frost at the top story of the orphanage. The worry that had consumed her during the trip suddenly turned into anger.

'Maybe you should knock?' Kristoff suggested behind her.

'Maybe she doesn't know how to knock?' he answered in the voice of Sven.

'Of course she knows how to knock!' answered Kristoff but when he looked back at Elsa he saw her move her hands and a gust of wind threw the doors open.

'Okay, maybe she just never has to knock…' He whispered.

'Wait here', Elsa ordered him.

Greta turned around when the doors of her orphanage suddenly were thrown open. In the hallway of the orphanage stood a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, looking very angry.

'Where's Ellie?' the woman hissed.

Greta just looked at her. It was like looking at an all grown up Ellie. The woman was unbelievingly pretty with platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes. Greta quickly regained her composure. 'There is no girl called Ellie here', she lied.

'Don't you dare lie to me! I've seen the frost on the window.'

Was it just her or did the temperature just drop? Greta shook that thought away. So this woman knew of Ellie's powers, this made Greta wonder who she was. 'Elsa, everything okay?' a man with messy blonde hair walked into the building as well. Well Greta figured that answered her question as to who the woman was. Wait, Elsa, so Ellie hadn't been lying…. But surely she didn't have ice powers as well?

Before she could even finish that last thought properly, Greta felt her feet suddenly getting very cold. When she looked down she saw ice beginning to form around her feet and the lower half of her legs freezing her to the ground.

The woman, Elsa, ran past her and started to climb the stairs, the man following her. She tried to follow them as well but due to the ice around her legs, she couldn't move an inch.

Ellie who had been sitting in her attic making ice figures heard commotion down stairs. It was true that the cold didn't bother her but she still felt the temperature drop. Could it be… could it really be that Elsa was coming for her?

She suddenly heard footsteps running up the stairs before the door to the attic burst open. In the doorway she saw to of the people she loved most, one being Elsa and the other one being Kristoff.

'Elsa?' She whispered still not daring to believe that she had really come for her.

She saw Elsa open her arms wide for her so she didn't waste any time and ran into Elsa's arms. After they had stayed like that for some time both enjoying their hug, Elsa broke the embrace.

'Come on', she said, 'let's go home.'

'Does that mean…' Ellie started to ask.

'Yes, I'm never going to let you go again', Elsa answered softly before Ellie could finish her question.

When the three of them got to the bottom of the stairs they were greeted by the sight of Greta still standing in the spot Elsa had left her in.

'What are you going to do with her?' Kristoff questioned.

'I'm going to leave her here and tell some guards to go fetch her and lock her up for child abuse.'

'But what if she thaws in the meantime?'

'I told you yesterday, my ice doesn't thaw, unless I want it to', Elsa replied smugly.

'That still leaves the matter of who is going to take care of the children,' Kristoff gestured to the orphans who had gathered in the hallway and were currently staring at the three of them.

Elsa thought for a moment before replying, 'Well, I do have a lot of couples staying at the castle who want to adopt a child.'

The children all cheered at this. Though Greta had never been as cruel to them as she had been to Ellie, the prospect of having a family was better than staying in an orphanage.

Kristoff, Ellie and Elsa along with the group of orphans started to make their exit when Greta screamed at them.

'You can't get away with this!'

At that Elsa turned around and replied smugly, 'I'm the Queen of Arendelle. Better yet I am the Snow Queen. I can get away with anything.'

With the group left the building while Elsa smiled realizing this was the first time she felt proud being the Snow Queen.

When they came home the following day Anna had been waiting for them with a welcome home dinner, just as Kristoff had predicted. After diner the orphans had all been giving a room in the castle and would be meeting their adoptive families in the morning.

Kristoff, Anna, Ellie and Elsa were now sitting in the living room of the castle by the fire. That is Elsa was sitting in a chair while Anna and Kristoff had fallen asleep on the couch.

On top of the fireplace a little ice figure of Ellie now joined the other five figures that represented her family. Elsa had made them the day she first met Ellie.

She looked down at Ellie who had fallen asleep on the carpet in front of the fire. The two of them were a family now. They formed their own family within a bigger one. She felt that her bond with Kristoff had gotten stronger too. Anna wasn't the only thing holding them together now that they shared the experience of rescuing Ellie.

She smiled down at Ellie again. She would make a beautiful queen someday, but more importantly she would be a wonderful daughter. She already was actually. She was the daughter Elsa hadn't even dared to wish for two weeks ago. She'd never thought she'd one day have a child that would understand her the way no one else could, but more importantly she never thought that she'd have a child that she couldn't hurt, even if she tried.

With that Elsa lay down on the carpet beside her daughter and drifted off to sleep.

The end