Chapter 10 – Controlling the Storm Inside

Welcome to the final chapter of Facing the Storm. I hope you've enjoyed the story. Conclusions have never been my strong point so I think this chapter is awful, but let's see, shall we? Thanks for reading.

It was mid-winter in Arendelle.

The city was experiencing a lull in the weather, with the sun shining over the peaceful white snow.

There were two figures trudging through the snow towards Arendelle. One was Kristoff, marching determinedly, with his face set in concentration. "Come on, buddy, you know we need to move a little faster. You'll never get fit again at this pace."

And the other was Sven, limping just behind Kristoff with equal determination. He was still uneven on his injured hind leg, but Kristoff had been taking him out for a long hike every day, and the reindeer was almost fully recovered. The more he worked, the better the leg was getting, and the last time Ace had checked on him, he had smiled and told Kristoff, "A few weeks, and he'll be absolutely fine."

The two of them continued with their hike, and as they clattered back into Arendelle, Sven was level with Kristoff's shoulder.

"Race you to the castle," Kristoff said to his friend, breaking into a jog as the gates loomed.

Sven let out a delighted squeal and broke into a halting trot. He and Kristoff burst through the gates at exactly the same time, and both slipped and capsized.

"What the hell?" Kristoff sat up. "Why is the whole floor ice?"

"Hi, Sven!" Olaf skidded across the ice towards them. "You're just in time to skate with us!"

Sven was trying unsuccessfully to get to his feet.

"Olaf, what is going on?" Kristoff asked, standing up and being immediately tripped again by Sven slipping into him.

"Oh, well, Elsa wanted to take advantage of the weather and let everyone have some fun. So we're skating!" Olaf explained. "Come on, skate with me."

"Where is Elsa?" Kristoff propped Sven up. He couldn't see the Queen anywhere.

"She's coming," Olaf assured him. "She just had some things to do first."

"Is it working?"

"It's impossible to tell with you hovering over me."

"Sorry." Anna took a few steps back. "Do you want me to hide outside?"

"No." Elsa sighed, staring out of the study window into the frozen courtyard below. She drew in a deep breath. "This will work."

Following their return off the North Mountain, Elsa had found herself so completely exhausted that she had fallen into bed and slept like a log until the next afternoon. When she had woken up, Anna had anxiously asked how she was feeling.

"Fine, I guess," Elsa had replied. "Why?"

"There was a massive storm while you were asleep," Anna had explained. "I thought you would be awake. Didn't it bother you?"

It hadn't, Elsa had realised. After that confusing night, Anna and Elsa had managed to put a few pieces of Elsa's icy puzzle together. She only felt sick when she was trying to suppress her powers, and since the storms made her feel more magically inclined, like waving her powers directly in her face, she had always felt awful trying to ignore them. Elsa wished she had known that for the last twenty years.

After trying unsuccessfully to use up all her magic, Elsa had felt incredibly peaceful. And after crying her eyes out with Anna, she was feeling much more emotionally stable. And the sisters had concluded that the problem wasn't Elsa's use of magic – it was a lack of magic.

"After all," Anna had reasoned, "We know your magic is connected to your emotions. Keeping your feelings inside makes you feel terrible, and keeping all the magic inside makes you feel terrible, so the only obvious solution-"

"Is to let it go," Elsa finished knowingly.

And she had. She was using her powers every day, and found that it made her feel a bit more settled at night. And using her magic for big things, like creating huge snowdrifts and freezing the entire courtyard, was like a form of stress relief.

Anna was the best form of stress relief ever, but she couldn't be at Elsa's side all the time, and Elsa had to find other ways to manage. And after breaking down and declaring she didn't want to be Queen any more, Kai and Aaron had stepped up and helped her figure out a new schedule that put a bit less pressure on her.

There had been one other storm since then, and Elsa had sat in her bed, watching it, and was relieved to feel her own storm inside purring gently, like a companion and not a curse.

With each day that was passing she was able to say to herself "I can do this. I've got this under control."

Now, she was watching the courtyard freeze, and Olaf sliding around on it, and could feel the tension leave her shoulders and settle into the ice below her.

Anna bounced back to her side, unable to stay away for long. "So, you're feeling better then?"

"Much."

"And there's no reason to run away and stop being Queen?" Anna enquired.

"No. I've got this. I can handle being me."

"Great!" Anna peered out the window. "Look, Kristoff and Sven are back! Okay, let's go downstairs. Come on." Anna tugged on Elsa's arm.

The Queen let herself be dragged away, and into the sunshine outside. Anna almost slipped onto her butt immediately, but she still had a death grip on Elsa's wrist, so Elsa was able to haul her upright again.

"Thanks," Anna said. "Do you want to skate with me?"

"I've just got one more thing to do," Elsa said, gently prying Anna's fingers off her.

"Okay." Anna wobbled her way towards Kristoff, while Elsa went sure footedly towards the royal stables.

She knew Ace was there, because she had been avoiding him all week. She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't really know what she was going to say now, but she knew she had to say something.

Ace was inside, packing up his things and saying a gentle good bye to each of the horses as he passed them. He looked up, bag hoisted over his shoulder, as Elsa appeared in the door way.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hello, Queen Elsa," Ace smiled. "I was just getting ready to leave."

"Already?"

"I've stayed long enough. The reindeer no longer needs me, and there are a lot of other animals who do."

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"Thank you, your sympathy is appreciated." Ace stroked the nose of Elsa's horse. "I didn't get along with my brother; I didn't agree with what he was doing with his life. He solved a lot of his problems with violence. He didn't see any other way to do things. I wanted to help him. But he never wanted to listen to me. We hadn't really spoken since your coronation. He was still family, though, so it still hurt to lose him. But I can't change the path he took; I can only take my own."

"You wouldn't have lost him if it wasn't for me," Elsa said softly.

"I see a lot of death, in my work," Ace said. "And a lot of the time, someone is to blame for it. But at the same time, there is good happening that cancels out the bad. It's true that my brother would be alive if it weren't for you. It's also true that you would have never been near him if he hadn't attacked your sister. And when Princess Anna caused you to freeze Arendelle, it made the relationship between you two stronger. Everything is connected, the good and the bad."

"Aren't you angry at me? Even just a little?"

"There is no shame in losing control over the ones we strive to protect. The true shame would have been if you had turned your back on your sister when she needed you. I am angry that I couldn't turn my brother onto a better path. Like Princess Anna was able to do for you. My brother was a life that I wasn't able to save. But Sven was. I was able to right his wrongs." Ace was standing close to her now, his dark eyes looking into her bright blue ones. "I forgive you."

"Why?"

"Because we can't control every turn in our lives. And you need to hear me say it, because until I look you in the eye and tell you that, you are going to hang onto that guilt. And it will weigh you down. We can't control everyone. I loved my brother, and there is a whole in her life now. But I will carry it with me, and change my life so that whole doesn't become who I am." Ace walked past her and out of the stables. He paused in the sunshine to lift his face to the sky and smile. "Thank you for calling for me. It was an honour to work for you."

"I still haven't paid you."

"Do you see that, over there?" Ace pointed towards Sven. The reindeer was being pulled around the ice by Olaf, nipping at his nose and scrabbling to keep his balance. "That, right there, makes my heart richer."

He positioned his bag more comfortably over his shoulder. "Good bye, Queen Elsa. Good luck with your family."

"I'll pay you when you come back," Elsa said to his retreating figure.

Ace looked back over his shoulder. "How do you know I'm coming back?"

"I still owe you dinner." Elsa smiled.

Ace grinned. "I look forward to it."

"Elsa, spin me!" Anna shouted, sliding across the ice towards her sister.

Elsa braced herself as Anna crashed into her, but she managed to keep both of them upright.

"Quick, turn me, I'm racing Kristoff!"

"Kristoff is on his back spinning like a turtle, I think you have a pretty clear shot at winning," Elsa observed.

"Did you ask the vet out?" Anna turned herself around, using Elsa as a handle.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I have everything I need. Do you need a push?"

"Yep," Anna was ready to 'race' to the other side of the courtyard again. "Okay, push me!"

Elsa shoved her sister, and watched Anna careen across the ice, swerving accidently and tripping over Kristoff as he was half way to his feet.

Elsa giggled at them, as they yelled at each other and blamed the other for falling, or staying fallen.

"Hi Elsa," Olaf sailed past, with Sven's teeth latched into his twig hair and the rest of the reindeer being dragged along on his stomach.

"Hi, Olaf." Elsa smiled down at her snowman.

"Do you want to skate with me?" Olaf offered her a hand.

"Of course." Elsa slid her hand around his and gripped him tightly. He continued his skating, with Sven making amused noises behind them.

When night fell the weather picked up. Anna was getting ready for bed when the entire castle shook, and the sound of the wind whistled and howled. Hard snow drummed against the window. Anna tiptoed from her room, and knocked gently on Elsa's door.

"Come in."

Anna peered around the door, finding Elsa already in bed, propped up on a few pillows and reading.

"Hey," Anna came all the way into the room. The snow hit the window in another torrent, and its loud pounding almost made Anna jump. She eyed Elsa. "It's a bit weathery tonight."

Elsa lowered her book slightly. "Yeah."

"How's the storm?"

Elsa glanced at the window. "Looks set to stay for the night. Will you be able to sleep?"

"Of course. I can sleep through anything."

Elsa looked relaxed and comfortable, with no visible tension in her body.

"How's the storm inside?" Anna asked, slightly uncertain as to how Elsa would react. Would Anna's question remind Elsa that she was suffering and uncomfortable? Would Elsa be irritated that Anna didn't think she was able to read a book without needing someone to check on her?

But Elsa smiled warmly and sank a little lower into her pillows. "Peaceful. In fact, I think it's sleeping."

"Does that mean you will?"

"It does."

"How long has it been since you actually slept in a snow storm?"

"This, thanks to you," Elsa smiled tenderly at her sister, "will be the first time in forever."

The End. Good grief, I stole a lot of dialogue from the film throughout this story. Did anyone catch it all?

I've got ideas for a few other stories that I might have a go at, if anyone is interested. Mostly because I'm still obsessed with this movie, and I have to get the crazy out somehow. I have to LET IT GO!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

SpicedGold