"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
Anna took Elsa's hands. "Where could she be?"
"Well she is certainly not in her room, and nowhere in the castle." It was late in the night, the ball had ended, and the castle staff was cleaning up the messes the guests made, from the busy night. Elsa had searched high and low for Tanya, but she had definitely disappeared.
"I checked high and low, and so did the staff. She's run away."
Elsa tried to keep it together. It was about what happened earlier in the library, she just knew it. Tanya probably had never shown her powers like that to anyone before, and she just did so to the queen of Arendelle. She probably was scared of being in trouble for her magic, and so she ran away. But Elsa kept this thought to herself.
Kristoff came running into the main hall, meeting the two sisters. "I just checked downstairs," he puffed. "There's no sign of her."
"What are we going to do Elsa?" Anna asked.
The queen opened her mouth to speak. But before she did, two guards hurried into the room. "My queen, we just heard that a girl had been sighted heading west in the mountains. We can send a team of men to go find her."
"No." Anna, Kristoff, and the guards looked at the queen all at once.
"I'll go alone."
If the queen went alone, she could approach the princess herself without intimidating guards around them. This way when she talked to Tanya, it would make her not feel like a wanted criminal.
"But your majesty, it's dangerous at this time of night. Wild beasts and bandits have also been spotted roaming the western mountain range," said the captain of the guard.
"There will always be wild animals and thieves. But with my powers, I'm more of a danger to them."
It was true. Over the past year, Elsa had been working on using her magic for self-defense. She would go out into the forest in the morning to practice, and hired instructors to teach her the basics on a regular basis. The queen had become much stronger and capable at protecting herself.
"I don't fear what's out there, but I need to do this alone. If I ordered guards to go and find her, our guests staying here will get the idea that something is wrong. It wouldn't be wise to send the wrong message."
"Elsa," Anna took her sister's hand. "You've always done things alone, let me and Kristoff help you. Let the guards go with you."
"You and Kristoff need to stay here and watch after the castle. I am certain enough in my powers that I won't get hurt."
"Pleeease…" Anna's words trailed off and her eyes were teary. She did not want her sister to leave again.
"I need you here Anna," Elsa gave her sister a hug. "I'll be back before you know it."
Elsa turned around to the guards. "Prepare my horse, I'm leaving at once!"
They moved fast, saddling her chestnut steed and arranging provisions for what the queen might need. Elsa changed out of her ice dress, and put on a light blue riding dress and royal blue cloak. She climbed up on her horse, which trusted her completely.
They were outside, and everyone looked up at the queen. A confident glow shone in Elsa's strong, pale face.
"If I am not back within a day, send men to go look for me."
The captain of the guard bowed and said, "At your command."
"Anna, stay strong for me."
Elsa looked over at Kristoff. "Make sure she doesn't do anything rash." Anna's fiancé gave a small smirk. She announced in a confident and queen-like voice, "I put my sister Anna and Kristoff in charge."
And just like that Elsa galloped off, without taking a second glance to see her family waving.
Elsa had rode west down the fjord for the next few hours, until she was too exhausted to stay awake. Near the bank she got off her horse, and stroked her steed's head.
"I think we both need a break now," she said gently to her horse.
The horse made a relieving grunt as the saddle was taken off his back. He plopped down to the ground to rest his legs.
The queen sat on the fallen mossy log near her companion, and ate the left over snack that was in her saddle bag from riding before. If only she had prepared instead of immediately taking off. Her actions back at the castle were pretty impulsive for her. It even took Anna, who was a very impulsive and spontaneous person, off guard to see her sister act unlike herself. Elsa could not exactly explain the reason why she acted in that manner. It threw her off too.
She thought of Tanya again, this time watching her play piano, the gaze of her eyes watching her fingers move gracefully along the keys. Elsa was very aware of her surroundings and details, and when people were watching her. Especially when she felt somebody else's eyes on her. Her gaze was different than when Anna watched her sister play.
Elsa had taught Anna how to play basic songs on the piano, when she sparked interest in learning. But it was not about learning for Tanya. It was something else. The feel of her body pressed right next to the queen's, so they could both fit on the bench. The natural warmth, which came from Tanya's fiery magic, against Elsa's own cold. It was a new sensational feeling that intrigued the queen.
Though it was getting very chilly especially being near the water, it did not bother Elsa much. She wished however she was able to make a fire, at least for her horse.
Then it occurred to Elsa.
A fire, of course.
It was definitely cold enough where Tanya might want to make a fire to keep warm. If she was anything like herself, her magical effects would react the opposite to hers. She would be a little more sensitive to the cold, like how Elsa was more sensitive to heat. Not that the heat bothered her, but it was not the kind of temperature she preferred.
Elsa went to an opening next to the bank of the fjord, and scouted out if she could see signs of smoke. Since it was darker, it would be harder to really see anything farther away.
Then just a little farther to the west, she saw a small puff of smoke rise from the trees.
Her intuition was right after all.
She walked back to her steed and grabbed the saddle. Her horse looked up at her tiredly.
"I'm sorry," Elsa coxed her horse. "We only have to walk just a little ways."
The flame from the fire grew brighter and brighter between the trees. It was not hard for Elsa to follow the glow.
She imagined what she was going to say to Tanya, and how she would try to convince her to stay at the castle. Would she apologize first and explain everything? Should she mention her parents? Or beg her to stay? Not that she was desperate for her to do so.
It reminded her of when she herself ran away to the North Mountain, and made herself a castle out of ice. Anna had tried to convince her to come back home with her, but Elsa had refused. When Anna said that she had caused an eternal winter, she lost it and her powers accidently pierced her sister in the heart. She knew she should have listened more thoroughly, and talked it out. But her fear was so overwhelming, and so was the pressure put on her to come back home. Elsa never wanted to live her whole life like a caged animal, she wanted to be who she was.
This was possibly how Tanya was feeling right now.
She came to a little clearing where there in fact was the princess, huddled next to a fire she was fueling. When she saw Elsa, she immediately stopped the flame coming from her hand, and stood up.
"What are you doing here," she demanded.
"What are you doing out here? Why did you run away?" Elsa said calmly. She thought it might be wise to hear her point of view first, before asking her to come back.
"I'm going back to Aldyn. I want to know why my parents just left me here without telling me."
"Your parents didn't tell you they were leaving?"
"No, they never tell me anything. They think they can leave me behind and leave me out to dry. I knew something was fishy about this whole trip. They wanted to get rid of me." Tanya folded her arms.
"That's not true," Elsa approached the girl. "Your parents told me that they already spoke to you about it. You didn't know before?"
"Not at all. And I'm going back home to ask them why they abandoned me here in Arendelle."
"There's war going on in Aldyn. Your brother needs them there, and they thought it would be safer for you to stay here."
"More like they would be safer if I was far away from them as possible. They're afraid of me burning the kingdom down."
"They want you to learn how to control your powers," Elsa shot back.
"See, they don't trust me. I'll have you know, I can control my powers perfectly. I know who I am, and I know how my powers work. They are scared and afraid of me and what I can do."
"They're you parents, they love you."
"No they don't," Tanya gave a sarcastic laugh. "I've just been a burden to them my whole life. To them I just destroy things. That's all my magic is good for."
"You're wrong, you are meant for more than that."
"How do you know?" Tanya's hands were turning to warmish hues. "You don't even know me! Who do you think you are anyway to stop me from going back?"
Elsa was full of emotion. It started to snow hard all around her, putting Tanya's fire out. "I was confined in my room for thirteen years, thinking I was a monster. You don't even know me either!" Once she saw the surprised look on Tanya's face, Elsa ceased the swirling storm.
"All I want to do is help, and listen. But you need to come back with me to Arendelle."
"No," Tanya said in a frightened whisper. "I shouldn't be near you," she backed up slowly and ran into the woods.
Great.
Elsa sighed. Even when she tried her best to talk to the younger girl, she blew it. She should have controlled her emotions more. But what Tanya said to her struck a nerve. However, Elsa knew she needed to mend things.
The queen signaled for her horse to follow her back through the trees, the direction Tanya went. She could see a glow in the distance, which meant Tanya wasn't too far ahead. For ten minutes she chased after the girl, following her light, until it suddenly went out.
That's strange, Elsa thought. Maybe she got a hold of her emotions.
It did not take long to realize that she was wrong.
In front of her she saw Tanya tied up and unconscious.
Elsa did not have enough time to process what was going on, until she felt a whack to the back of her head. Everything turned dark. She fell to the ground, and her thoughts went to a blank.
Back in Arendelle, Anna was pacing back and forth. She did not like her sister being away for so long, it was not safe at night. A series of "what if" questions played out in her head. She could have tripped and fell, wolves might have chased her, or…
Kristoff hugged her tightly. "Hey it's going to be alright. Elsa's a very capable person and would never act without thinking things through."
"But the way she acted before she left, she was being rash then," Anna in a frustrated manner, took a bite out of a chocolate bar she held in her hand.
"Your sister is very strong, her ice powers will protect her. I have a hundred percent faith in her. But we need to be patient, after all a day hasn't even passed yet."
Anna relaxed in her fiancé's arms. "I guess you're right, I just need to wait and have faith in her."
A friendly snowman waddled up to the couple with a smile on his face.
"Hey guys, is Elsa back yet?" Olaf asked.
"Not yet," Anna replied.
"Oh, hopefully she'll be back soon. Look at the clouds in my flurry."
"Is there something wrong?"
The snowman pointed upwards with his stick arm.
"Some of the clouds are turning darker. They've never done that before. I just wanted to ask Elsa when she gets back if anything's wrong."
Olaf was right, a few small clouds in the middle were turning to a darker grey color.
"Anyway, I think I'm going to call it a night!" A big smile returned to his face and headed upstairs.
"See if Olaf isn't worried, we shouldn't be either," Kristoff said to Anna.
"But what about his clouds? Something must be wrong with Elsa, or her magic wouldn't do that to Olaf's flurry."
"She could just be stressed out. People stress out from time to time."
But this was Olaf's flurry they were talking about.
She chuckled half-heartedly. "Okay, I'll wait. She'll be back here before we know it."
Deep inside, she knew something was wrong. Maybe it was her intuition or sisterly connection, but she knew something bad had happened to Elsa.