Author's Note:

Thanks for your patience, everyone. I forced myself to take a day off writing and gather my thoughts, which was really hard (I am having way too much fun with this story) and very beneficial. It's hard to believe I only started Freja's Daughters three days ago!

I love listening to soundtracks and instrumental music right before or even while I write. It helps my visualization process sooo much! Pandora is great for this! I've got to say, the music from How To Train Your Dragon gets me every time. I could seriously listen to it all day, every day!

Anyways... hope you enjoy chapter 7! Please continue to comment and review!

Chapter 7

It was night. The snow on the North Mountain glowed white, like ivory. The only blemish in its otherwise perfect formation was the trail made from the procession carving its way over the mountain.

In front of the convoy, King Stellan rode on his giant beige stallion. His throat was parched and scratchy from the icy wind that had picked up, and his eyes watered. Or were they tears? Stellan and his men had no clue where to start looking for the queen. There was no sign of life anywhere. Everything was hidden under the snow.

"Freja!" Stellan shouted, his voice carrying only a little ways before it was muffled by the falling snow. He called her name again and again, and now he was quite sure that his eyes were not watering only because of the cold.

"My lord, please…" came a pleading voice to his left. His captain's eyes were sorrowful, and very serious. "Shouting… well… It's not safe. We could cause an avalanche in this storm."

The king glared at him, "And how do you suggest we find my wife, captain?"

The captain looked down at his hands.

"Sire, we are unprepared and miles off course. If we return to Arendelle, just until the storm clears…"

"NO! We are finding her tonight! I will NOT leave her out in this storm alone! We keep going! We will not stop searching until the queen is safely back in Arendelle!"

Freja had never been so miserable in all her life. Just when she thought it was impossible for her to be any colder, she felt her body shudder and shiver even more vigorously than before. She had held the tears in for hours, but now she was sprawled on the stone floor, letting them stream freely down her cheeks. She was not sobbing. Aside from her clattering teeth and quick, soft breathes, she was completely quiet.

Her people. Her precious Arendelle. Stellan. Edvard had taken them all from her. Her palms rubbed gently against her stomach. Elsa. She hadn't felt her move since Edvard had left. Freja didn't know how long ago that was, but it felt like days. With a jolt, she realized that her daughter would never witness the light of day. Never feel warm sun on her cheeks. Never see anything at all. Her abdomen was stiff and cold. Squeezing her eyes shut, Freja willed her baby to move. To give her a sign.

"Oh, please! Please!" the queen said, as loud as she could muster, "I know you're in there. We only have each other. It's just you and me, Elsa," and her voice flickered as she spoke her daughter's name, "What am I going to do?"

Suddenly, she felt it. A kick! Even though she was wobbly and weak, Freja leapt to her feet. She was going to out of this! She had to! For Elsa!

She screamed. She yelled as loud and as long as she could. She shouted until it felt like her lungs were on fire. Ice crystals were beginning to form on the walls, and she pounded them back, screaming. Her hands were raw and bleeding. Another wave of unearthly chill coursed through Freja, and she dropped to the ground again, breathing hard. Her hair was almost entirely white, now. She forced herself to her feet. She couldn't feel her toes. She couldn't feel anything. Anything except Elsa.

Standing in the center of the room, Freja looked up at the ceiling, the spot where Edvard had come down. She could see that there was once a hole. It was covered by ice now. She leapt for it, missing by several arms lengths. She jumped again and again. Then she saw something!

Someone, or something, was standing on the ice above her! Freja yelled, her voice sounding more like a seagull now than a woman. A loud thump and a crack sounded over her head, and she fell backward are shards of ice came raining down into her prison. A large, moss covered rock had landed in the midst of the ice. Freja ran forward and jumped on top of it. Maybe now she could reach the hole. But the rock moved! It came apart with a gravelly fluttering sound and was peeking out at her with beady black eyes.

"You… you're a… rock!" Freja exclaimed. She wasn't sure what to say.

"Well, technically, I am a troll, your highness" said the rock, and Freja's eyes widened. "But you can call me a rock if it makes you feel better. My name is Bulda."

"Bulda?"

"That's me. Now, stand here, and we'll get you out!" Bulda pulled Freja to the center of the room, so that she was standing underneath the hole. Suddenly a chain of trolls appeared at the opening, each holding on to the next ones feet. A scruffy looking troll smiled at Freja as he grabbed her under the armpits. Bulda scrambled up the troll tower easily and disappeared over the top.

"Pull her up!"

"Careful, careful!

"Don't worry about a thing, your highness. We've got you!"

Before Freja could speak a word, she was sitting on a snow bank in the open air. She breathed in deeply and laughed, throwing her arms up.

"We made it, Elsa! You are going to be born, and you're going to have a perfectly normal childhood!"

The trolls watched her with strange expressions on their faces.

"… what?"

Bulda scuttled forward and ran her large gray hand down Freja's braid. "You're hair."

Freja's heart throbbed. She had almost forgotten about Edvard's curse. Or whatever it was. She suddenly realized how cold she was. Deep down inside, she could feel it spreading. Her breathing faltered and her vision was blurry. Gasping, she rolled over and threw up into the snow.

Bulda nodded.

"Well, there's no time to lose then, your highness. We need to get you someone who can help."

The trolls lifted Freja above their heads and hurried away into the forest.