Chapter 22: The Snow Queen

Pebble stared at the translucent woman sitting on the ice throne, letting her stony jaw drop open. After a moment, she turned to her brother, who wore a similar expression. "Kristoff, is that really…?"

Kristoff gave his head a jostle, then turned to the troll and gave her a smile. "I've learned by now not to disbelieve things just because they're a legend. Rock Trolls, mermaids, ice magic, and now Winter Incarnate…. Remember what Pabbie told us about her."

When they were much younger, Grand Pabbie had told the story of the Snow Queen. The young trolls and a young Kristoff were sitting on patch of moss, the elder troll forming images through smoke in the air as he began.

"The life of a demigod was bound to be lonely, living between the heavenly realm of gods and the earthly realm of mortals. It was not always so. Once, the heavens were much closer to the earth, and the Snow Queen's father would visit her and her sisters before returning to the sky. But those days came to an end centuries ago, leaving herself and her four sisters stranded on earth. The sisters didn't get along, and scattered across the world. Ho'oli flew over the endless oceans to the far west, Chione to the island nations in the south, Shinatobe to the Far East. And one by one, her sisters had found a way to return to their father."

Pabbie moved his hands and swirls of smoke showed beautiful women made of ice climbing to the tops of mountain peaks on dark nights, then leaping into the air flying further and faster until they twinkled as a new star in the heavens. "But she remained. For she knew that the winter needed a ruler, to keep the season just and fair. And for five hundred years she has been the monarch of the snow. So she lives in the great northern fortress, as the Snow Queen."

Now, Kristoff and Pebble were in that palace, and the lady of ice—the Snow Queen—was staring at them. But she wasn't quite staring at them. She was staring at Elsa.

Askel stared at the icy figure across the lake. Well, he thought, she's new. But he turned his head and looked beyond her, at the shining throne she stood in front of. There was a milky white radiance flowing through the chair. Askel smiled. She may be new, but that is just where it ought to be.

The Snow Queen spread a smile across her lips, although her eyes remained emotionless. "I knew you would come, my dear snow princess."

Elsa tried to answer, but Idunn stepped in front of her, a protective glare on her face.

"What do you want with Elsa?" the elder Queen of Arendelle asked.

"I only want her to claim her destiny," the woman of ice answered. "When she was born, twenty one years ago, I knew it. I could feel it. I visited Arendelle that year, so long ago—the year with no summer. Because a new Snow Queen had been born."

Elsa poked her head out from behind her mother. "What are you saying?"

"With you in the world, I could finally sleep. I have been sleeping in this lake ever since. And in my sleep I have been calling you. Surely you have felt it—a gentle tug inside, pulling you to this throne room. Now that you have returned to claim your throne, I can finally leave. I can finally return to my father and sisters." At once, the storm stopped swirling around the cavern, snowflakes suspended motionless in the air. The Snow Queen lifted her arms up as branches of ice grew off them. Once again she was a giant snowflake, one which started drifting through the air.

The Snow Queen's voice echoed through the cavern once more, a soft tone that seemed to come from the walls. "Your powers are strong, Ice Princess. But they cannot yet control all of winter. I have left such power in my throne. Take it—it is yours."

With a gust of wind the giant snowflake and a million smaller ones flew over the shattered staircase and out the cavern.

Askel walked up to the royal family. "Well, it looks like my two queens have made up, and the third queen has vanished into the air" he said with a smile. "I suppose you won't need that fire stone any more then, will you my dear Bandit Queen."

Idunn was still holding Elsa close, but she looked down into her hand to see it was still tightly squeezing a red crystal. She held it close against her dark vest, giving Askel a defensive look. Idunn looked from Elsa to the empty throne, and back to Askel. "You knew … you knew about this fortress."

"Of course. We are the bandits of the great white north, this is a great northern castle. Now how about the fire stone. It does, after all, belong to the Boreal Bandits, and I would venture that you no longer wish to be our Bandit Queen." His smile was gone now.

"You knew," Idunn repeated, tucking Elsa behind her again, this time to protect her daughter from the notorious bandit in front of her. "You knew that the Snow Queen hadn't been seen for decades. That her magic was … You wanted me to bring Elsa here. Because…"

"Perhaps if you put down that fire stone, we can discuss everybody's motives," Askle replied.

Idunn hesitated, and then lowered her hand. "Go on."

Askel let out an exhale. "Yes, I knew this was the magic fortress of the Snow Queen, and I had hoped that Elsa might wake up her power."

Idunn's eyes narrowed, and she raised the fire stone close to her chest again. "You wanted Elsa to become the new Snow Queen? Some giant snowflake that lives in the North Pole. You wanted me to lose my daughter?"

"No!" Askel held out his hands in defense. "No, I wanted the Snow Queen's power for us! I wanted Elsa here to wake up the power over all of winter, so that we—you and I—could have it. And we still can. Look at that throne. See it shimmer with a milky moon-lit magic? That's where the Snow Queen's power lies."

"Why would I want the power over all of winter?" Idunn still held the fire crystal close to her chest. She could feel its warmth flowing through her hand as anger at this grimy bandit flooded her.

"Just think, why were you cursed? Why was I cursed? You, spending three years away from your daughters while they were raised as magically-cursed orphans-separated, in isolation. Me, spending seven years away from my daughter. It was that sorceress, Hyacinth. In her summer garden."

Elsa jumped forward. "Hyacinth? You were cursed by Hyacinth too?"

Askel ignored the remark and continued. "She is safe in her summer garden. Her life is sustained by that summer garden. And that's why we need to freeze that summer garden."

Idunn relaxed at this. "So that is what this is all about. You're throwing a tantrum at Hyacinth, years in the making? That's just silly. Freezing the summer garden with the power of all of winter will freeze all of Arendelle too. I'll have no part in that."

She turned back to Elsa, then gestured to Anna to join the reunion. Anna was holding her distance, unsure of the interchange between the former Bandit Queen and the current bandit leader. "Come on, Anna. Let's go home."

"Mamma, what about the throne?" Elsa looked at her mother. Suddenly, the icy queen of Arendell felt like a little girl again, turning to her mother for answers she couldn't figure out herself. "I've felt its draw. And the Snow Queen said it's my destiny. Doesn't the world need a Snow Queen?"

Idunn held Elsa's shoulder and smiled. "The Snow Queen has been sleeping for twenty one years. I'm sure the world can last without a Snow Queen for a good while yet."

As they turned to walk away, Idunn felt a blast of steam hit her back. She was on the ground sliding, and managed to turn her head and look at Askel. He was running away toward the throne, a silver stone in his hand.

"Askel!"

"If you won't claim the throne, then I will! I will have my revenge!"

He made it half way across the lake before falling forward to find his feet were cased in ice. He looked back and saw Elsa and Idunn running after him. He squeezed the silver crystal and called forth steam to melted away his frozen shackles. The magic knocked out his breath. He was wheezing as he got back to his feet. Behind him, the two queens of Arendelle were still giving chase.

This won't do, he thought, and pushed his hands out to summon a monstrous geyser. Steam bounced off the walls of the cavern, causing rockslides and fissuring cracks through the frozen lake. The cave filled with a heavy mist, so thick that Askel couldn't see the fingers on his outstretched arms. His pursuers wouldn't be able to see him.

He turned again to run toward the throne, but at the first step fell on his face again. This time wasn't due to any magic assault, it was because he was so exhausted. The monstrous geyser had sapped all the energy out of him. All he could do was sit on the icy floor.

Despite the mist, Elsa ran onward, Idunn close behind her. She was surprised to find herself at the end of the lake in front of the throne, without ever finding Askel.

"Where did he go?" she wondered aloud.

"It doesn't matter," Idunn answered. "He won't get the throne—he won't freeze Arendelle. We are safe. Please Elsa, let's go home."

"But don't you see Mamma, we aren't safe. Not while somebody like Askel can claim the Snow Queen's power." Elsa looked at the throne and took a step to the icy chair.

"No!" Idunn grabbed her arm. "Elsa, no."

Elsa gave her a weak smile. "It is, after all, my destiny."

"No. Elsa you don't have to." She took a breath. "All we need is someone to take the Snow Queen's power. It mustn't be Askel, but it doesn't have to be you."

"Mama, I …" Elsa began. Her eyes grew wide when she realized what Idunn meant. "But you need to go back to Arendelle. Arendelle needs its queen. Anna needs her mother."

Idunn smiled at Elsa and tucked a strand of platinum hair back behind her ear. "When I was cursed with magic vision, I saw … Arendelle already has a queen."

"Mama, I …" Elsa began. "It's my destiny. Up here, I'll finally know that my power won't hurt anyone."

"Shhh my dear child," Idunn pulled Elsa into a hug. "I know your power won't hurt anyone. You have control."

Through the mist, they heard Anna's voice ring out, "Elsa? Elsa! Where did you get to?"

Idunn held Elsa in front of her. "When your father and I were on that ship, as it was going down, he made sure I was rescued by mermaids. Because, he said, 'the princesses need their mother.' But I can see clearly now, that what you need is each other. You take care of Anna."

"Mama, but I …" Elsa tried to answer, but Idunn had already leapt on the throne. At once, her body froze into a solid blue form, her eyes growing wide.

"So this is what it's like to rule the ice? Elsa, I wish I'd known when you were little…."

"Mama! No, you can't," Elsa reached out to feel her mother's icy hand.

"It's alright, my dear child." She stared outward into the mist. "But there is much more than ice, I can feel … the changing of seasons. It's already starting. Fall is ending, and I am being summoned."

"You can't leave," Elsa squeezed her mother's fingers, but already the ice on them was branching outward. Idunn was transforming into a snowflake.

"I must leave," the snowflake answered. "But I will visit Arendelle, when the first snow falls." The snowflake wafted into the air, disappearing into the fog.

Elsa watched it float away, tears falling down her cheek. She kept her eyes on the last spot she saw it, long after it was gone.

A few minutes later, Anna found Elsa sitting on ice near the empty throne. "Where's Mama? Where's Askel, for that matter?"

"Askel is somewhere in the mist," Elsa answered. "And Mama is … Mama is the new Snow Queen—the conductor of winter. And she has a season to orchestrate."

"What does … does that mean she's gone?"

"She said that she will visit Arendelle with the first snow."

Anna looked up into the misty space where Elsa was staring, before answering. "Then we'd better hurry home. Arendelle usually gets its first good snow in early November. And if we have to sail back without magic balloons, it may take us a while to get home. And we don't want to miss the new Snow Queen's first visit."

Anna grabbed under Elsa's shoulder and pulled her to her feed. "Besides," Anna added, "Kristoff and Olaf and Pebble are all pretty anxious to get out of this creepy cavern. And you're the only one that can make a stairway."