For a long minute, neither Elsa nor Anna moved. Finally, Elsa snapped out of the haze and looked around, taking in the scene around her. The guards were still unconscious, scattered across the ground, and Anna was utterly still. If it wasn't for the barely perceptible movement of her shoulders and chest as she breathed, she could have been a statue again. She grabbed Anna's shoulder.
"Anna, are you alright?" Elsa's forehead crinkled as seconds passed with no response. She began to shake Anna's shoulder, but there was still no response. "Anna, please, say something!" Elsa grabbed Anna's other shoulder as well and shook her sister harder, desperate.
Finally, Anna's bank eyes began to focus again on the outside world. Anna gently removed Elsa's hands from her shoulders.
"I'm okay, Elsa. I just need a moment." Anna mumbled.
Anna still looked a bit dazed, but Elsa couldn't wait. There was too much to do, and if she stopped she knew she would begin to think and if she began to think she wouldn't be able to do anything. The moment she saw their parents' true forms, a suspicion had formed at the edge of her consciousness. She needed to confirm it, but she didn't want to think about it until then. Elsa grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her inside the entrance hall.
"I'm going to get help for the guards. You just stay here or get a sled ready. I'll be back in a moment." Elsa bit her lip. She didn't want to leave Anna alone like this, but she couldn't afford to wait and she couldn't drag Anna across the entire palace. Elsa turned and ran through the halls, not bothering with decorum. If only she could run fast enough to escape her thoughts.
Anna felt as though she was detached from her own body, merely watching as she instructed the driver to prepare the reindeer and the sled. After she returned to the entrance hall, she felt just a bit more like herself, which meant that her fears returned as well. She paced the hall as she thought about their parents. She and Elsa had been so confident and they had technically achieved their goal, but it didn't feel like a victory. She tried not to think about the skin they wore, suppressing a shudder. More importantly, they'd been made of ice. Could that mean? No, it wasn't possible. Anna shook her head even though no one else was there to watch. She clenched her fists. She wouldn't let anyone say that. It just couldn't be true. Well, Elsa had wanted a sled prepared. They would find out soon enough. Anna stopped pacing when she felt something hug her leg. She looked down and was forced to smile when she saw Olaf.
"Hi, Anna! You were looking so serious that I just knew you could use a warm hug." Olaf grinned up at her, evidently pleased that he'd been able to get Anna to smile.
"You were right, I really needed that." Anna's smile dropped and her brow furrowed as she thought. "Olaf, can I ask you some questions about when Elsa created you?" Olaf nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, why?"
Anna wrung her wrists before asking, slightly apprehensive about what the answer would be.
"When Elsa created you, she didn't realize you were alive yet, right? How long did it take you to come to life?"
Olaf tilted his head in confusion, but answered anyway.
"Well, I don't know for sure. It was like waking up. You're still a bit asleep at first, you know?" Anna nodded, not having the heart to point out that snowmen weren't supposed to sleep in the first place. "It couldn't have been more than a few hours, though."
"Where do you think your mind came from, then?" Anna asked. Olaf now looked very confused, and Anna clarified. "I mean, did your personality come from nothing or did it come from something else?" Olaf continued to stare blankly, and Anna laughed nervously. "Sorry, I'm not making sense. What I mean is, do you have any memories from before you woke up?" Olaf rubbed his chin as he thought.
"I don't think so."
Anna nodded, though she was disappointed, but then Olaf continued talking, placing his hands on his head as though he could coax the memories out.
"Actually, I think I do remember something. It's kind of hazy, but I think it had something to do with you and Elsa. You were a lot smaller though. All I remember is that Elsa said I liked warm hugs and we were dancing on ice. Maybe it's just a dream."
Anna shook her head and forced herself to smile despite the icy feeling that settled in her stomach. It matched both the fake memory she had about the accident when she was younger and the real memory that she'd started to dream about. It was a good sign for her recovering memories, but right now it was bad news.
"Thanks, Olaf. You've been a big help." Anna patted him on the head. Olaf grinned back.
"Any time, Anna."
Elsa had been relieved to see that Anna was looking much better when she returned to the entrance hall. She still looked nervous and stressed, and they still weren't saying much to each other, but anything was better than that mute shock. They now sat in the back of the sled as they headed toward the Valley of the Living Rock. Elsa tried to preoccupy herself with casting snow ahead of the sled, but aside from adjusting the magnifying lens to its initial position as they passed by Andselv just in case they needed to use it again, she was mostly unsuccessful. Casting a bit of snow didn't require much focus, but Elsa was not ready to distract herself by talking, either. She didn't want to talk about their parents, and Anna didn't seem interested either. Still, she needed to at least make sure that Anna was alright.
"Anna, did you mean what you said to them?" Elsa watched her closely, gauging her response.
Anna fidgeted uncomfortably and frowned as she thought before answering.
"I'm not sure." Anna bit her lip. "I don't want to think about our parents like that, but sometimes I can't help thinking about how the eternal winter would never have happened if they had done things differently. What about you?"
Elsa sighed, focusing her gaze on their path through the forest.
"I don't know either. Maybe I did feel that way, deep down." Elsa rubbed her arms even though she almost never felt cold. "Or maybe I'm just confused. I feel like my memories of how our parents really were are mixed up with how those things act. I can't tell what's real anymore."
Anna placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled encouragingly at her.
"Don't worry, Elsa. Our plan worked and the trolls will be able to help us now. Everything will go back to normal once we figure out how to get rid of them." Elsa smiled back.
She wasn't nearly as confident now as she'd been before they saw those things for what they really were, but at least Anna was by her side. It made her worry sometimes, but it also gave her strength.
The trolls seemed to sense that Elsa and Anna were even tenser than the last time, because as soon as they arrived with the rumbling of rolling stones and greeted them, they called for Grand Pabbie, who made his way to the front of the crowd.
"Greetings, your majesty." Grand Pabbie bowed once again, and Elsa curtsied in return. "The blizzards haven't stopped, have they? Tell me what you know, and I will try to help you."
"We have some more information about the things that have been causing the blizzard." Elsa explained everything that had happened since their last meeting, once again leaving out some of the more personal details.
Elsa waited, the muscles of her back tense, while Grand Pabbie considered what he'd been told. Anna looked nervous as well as she waited. Grand Pabbie frowned and looked up at her with mournful eyes, seeming to hesitate before he spoke.
"Your majesty, it is difficult to say, but I can think of no other explanation except that your own magic created those creatures." Elsa froze, her worst fears realized. Her hands trembled as he continued speaking. Anna clenched her fists. She wanted to say something, but decided to wait until his explanation was finished. "I was confused before because they did not fully resemble any of the spirits I have heard of, but this explains everything. When Anna came here before, the snowman she was with was created by you, correct?" Elsa nodded. "It would make sense for them to be like that snowman, a manifestation of your magic. It would explain their ability to summon blizzards and use ice, as well as their appearance."
Elsa looked down and folded her hands. But Anna shook her head.
"That can't be true. What about their magic? Elsa couldn't thaw their snow. It couldn't have been the same magic as hers!" Anna's voice raised until she was nearly yelling, but she couldn't help it. She knew what this would do to Elsa. She glanced at her sister, who was still not saying anything. Grand Pabbie didn't seem to take offence, simply shaking his head sadly at her.
"The Queen's magic follows her emotions. No one has full control of all of their emotions, and your sister is still new to using love to thaw. I am well-versed in love magic, but even to me it is still a mystery. I cannot say why it did not work the first time or which emotions created those creatures, but Elsa simply needs to try again."
Anna still couldn't accept it. She frowned as she searched for another explanation, any other explanation.
"But it's not like Olaf! Elsa never made ice statues of our parents. And why are they attacking now? If she made them during the eternal winter, why did they wait three weeks to attack? If she made them recently, why now and not earlier? It doesn't make sense!"
Grand Pabbie just shook his head again, but Elsa spoke before he could, still looking down.
"Anna, thank you, but that's enough." Elsa sounded tired. She folded her hands again and tried not to let her voice tremble. "I don't remember making them, but I didn't realize that I created the eternal winter either until afterwards. It explains too much. Why my ice didn't work on them and how they knew those things that only our family could know." Elsa finally looked up at Anna, her face nearly expressionless aside from the slight quivering of her bottom lip.
"But-" Anna protested, but Elsa cut her off.
"Please, Anna." Elsa turned to face Grand Pabbie, and curtseyed again. "Thank you for your assistance." Anna reluctantly thanked him as well and they left.
Anna's anger dissipated as the sled glided back towards Arendelle. If she were to be honest, she hadn't been entirely surprised by Grand Pabbie's conclusion, even if she wasn't happy about it. Besides, she was more worried about how Elsa was taking the news. Her sister hadn't said a word and seemed to be pretending that casting snow in front of the sled was taking up all of her attention, but some frost was spreading on the bottom of the sled near her feet, the first bit of uncontrolled ice Anna had seen from her in weeks. Unless, of course, she counted those things. Anna crossed her arms and tried to recall her previous stubbornness.
"You know it's not your fault, right, Elsa?" Anna's voice lost its edge as Elsa didn't even turn to face her. "It really isn't."
Elsa finally whirled to face her.
"Of course it's my fault, Anna!" Elsa snapped. She sighed and turned away again. "Those things exist because of me. The harvest was ruined again and eighteen guards were injured. What if someone had died?" Elsa's voice began to crack, and Anna pulled her into a hug. After a moment, Elsa hugged her back. Elsa continued speaking into Anna's back. "I told the people that I would take care of them. I told them that it wasn't my fault this time. How am I going to tell them the truth? They'll hate me again, just like our mother said they would." Anna patted her back.
"You don't have to tell them by yourself. I'll be there with you. And they won't hate you. It wasn't your fault. Really. You couldn't control it, and there was no way you could have known. You'll melt them tomorrow and everything will be alright. You'll see."
"I wish I could believe that." Elsa said, but she didn't let go.
The next morning, a desperate anticipation clawed at Elsa's stomach as she waited in front of the entrance hall once again with Anna and the last two competent guards in front of them. Her folded hands and straight back were mere facades this time, not helping her calm down in the slightest. There were dark bags under her eyes. She hadn't slept well since the first attack, but the previous night she hadn't managed to sleep at all. She had to defeat those things this time. It was her duty as queen and as their creator. Elsa's stomach churned when she thought of her responsibility for this situation. She had to make things right. She didn't know if she would be able to live with herself if she couldn't. Elsa glanced nervously at Anna. The danger her sister had been in for the past few days was directly her fault, and Elsa couldn't stand the thought of Anna being hurt because of her. Still, she needed Anna by her side. It was her love for her sister that had allowed her to perform the Great Thaw, and hopefully now that she knew what those things really were, it would allow her to melt them as well.
"Remember, if this doesn't work, run. Don't think, just run." Elsa said, hoping that it wouldn't come to that. Anna suppressed the urge to frown and nodded.
"Got it."
The situation was too serious for her to question Elsa, and she could tell just how much her sister needed her support. Anna gave her sister a thumbs up and a goofy grin, trying to lighten the mood as she did before. Elsa gave her a weak smile, but Anna could tell that her heart wasn't in it. Anna frowned and returned to watching the road in front of them. They passed the rest of their time waiting in silence until the storm blotted out the sun once more.
Again dark storm clouds blocked out the sun, and again heavy snowfall blinded all who were unfortunate enough to be outside. The royal carriage creaked as it passed horseless and driverless through the roads, heading inexorably towards the palace. As it passed by, the onlookers were struck by a chill that reached far deeper than the snow. The figures inside cast twisted shadows as they spoke with the voices of the damned. How many more times would this happen, the onlookers wondered. Would the kingdom ever be freed from this curse? There weren't even gates to keep them out. Once again, Queen Elsa and Princess Anna were waiting in front of the castle, and the carriage stopped in front of them. The dead King and Queen descended from it and faced their children.
Elsa could have laughed despite the cold as their parents stepped through the shadows towards them. Even through the blinding snow, the shimmer of the wheels of the carriage, no doubt made of ice, was barely visible. No wonder it had been able to move without horses. So much made sense now, but she was still powerless. Despite all her magic, she was always powerless. Their father spoke first, stepping closer, just out of range of the guard in front of Elsa, who couldn't suppress a shudder.
"No impertinence this time?" He smirked. "Now you only need to get rid of these guards and we might actually be able to have a civil conversation."
"I promised that I would destroy you and I will!" Elsa yelled. Their mother placed a hand on her cheek and tilted her head coyly.
"Really, now? I would like to see that, dear. I'm waiting."
Elsa did her best to ignore them and turned to Anna, who offered her hand.
"I know you can do this." Anna said, holding her sister's gaze.
Elsa smiled at her and took a deep breath, facing her parents again. She closed her eyes and focused entirely on her love for her sister. At first her fear overwhelmed her, but then it in turn was overwhelmed as Elsa remembered the time she built Olaf with Anna when they were children, how she had concealed her powers for Anna, and how her father had made her promise to protect Anna once her parents died and she was made Queen. Elsa spread her arms, banishing the ice and snow.
"Nothing happened." Her father leered.
Elsa's eyes widened as she saw the snowfall continue, unyielding as ever, and she spun to face Anna.
"Run!" She yelled, grabbing her sister's hand.
They raced towards the entrance hall, their guards following them. Then Elsa made the mistake of looking back when she heard her mother speak.
"Leaving already?"
Elsa's heart fell into her stomach and she stopped moving. Anna felt her arm being tugged and turned back to see her mother gripping one of the guards by the throat at arm's length, inspecting him dispassionately as he made weak, gurgling sounds.
"Let him go!" Anna screamed. He only had another minute at most.
Beside her, Elsa spread her arms again, reaching desperately with her magic for the magnifying lens, shocked when she realized that the lens was in pieces.
"You didn't think the same trick would work on us twice, did you? Elsa, I was the one who taught you about strategy." Her father shook his head disapprovingly at her.
Anna couldn't wait any longer, running forward and lunging at her mother with a fist pulled back. The other guard cursed and followed her. Her mother dropped the guard she was holding and smacked Anna and then the other guard aside.
"Anna!" Elsa screamed, and waved her arms, catching her sister and the guards with a pile of snow and sending ice coursing along the ground in spikes at her mother.
Her mother dodged the first spikes, but Elsa sent another and another. Her father lunged at her, but Elsa shot a flurry of icicles at him, forcing him back. She pushed Anna and the guards to the side with a pile of snow, away from the battlefield, as she pushed her powers to the limit, summoning pillar after enormous pillar of ice and snow and sending them crashing over her parents. Snow filled the air, completely blocking her vision, and she paused, gasping deeply. When the snow settled, she gave a rasping sob as she saw her parents still standing, apparently unaffected. Her father shook his head again as he took his gloves off, stuffing them into his pockets. Her mother did the same.
"That might have been enough two days ago, Elsa." Her father mocked her. "But I at least taught you that when you know all your enemies' trump cards, they have no reason to hold back."
Both of her parents waved their arms, and ice spikes flew towards her. Elsa gasped and barely raised an ice wall in time to protect herself. The next few minutes passed by in a blur that felt like hours as Elsa summoned and blocked pillars of snow and waves of icicles by the dozens. Elsa attempted to build a snow golem like Marshmallow, but her parents stripped of it snow even as it was being built. Finally, her father conjured a rain of sharp icicles that forced her to raise a dome of ice around Anna and the guard. Her mother took that opening to rush forward and force Elsa to the ground.
"That's enough!" Elsa yelled, rage filling her even as she was held down.
Her mother let go of her and stepped back. Elsa slowly got up, spreading her arms as she did what she'd promised herself to never do again, letting the anger take physical form as an enormous storm. The harsh, white clouds of the storm swept over the city, pushing aside the storm her parents had brought and letting in light, once again revealing their true forms.
"Leave!" Elsa commanded. A harsh, blinding wind blew, and when it ceased her parents were gone. Elsa reached up with one hand and dissipated her storm and the ice and snow she had conjured before running to Anna. Her sister had returned to consciousness and was sitting up, seemingly unharmed except for some bruises. Elsa fell to her knees and hugged her, sobbing. "I can't do this anymore." Elsa rasped, trembling. Anna couldn't think of anything to say. All she could do was hold her sister until she ran out of tears.