Hours passed with Kristoff carefully sifting through the pile of shards. He didn't rush. He didn't want to cut himself, after all. And he knew he had all the time in the world. He'd had to prod at the silvery hill of jagged glass to flatten the pickings, making it easier to identify individual shapes. He also had to remind himself every so often that he was not truly going to complete the mirror—even if it was possible, which it wasn't. But the isolation became a bore, and boredom quickly became an arrowed focus on the only activity available to him.
It felt like a miracle when he slid a sixth shard into place. When he caught himself musing over how it looked like the sixth and fifth were embracing, he realized he may have been focusing too much.
Fortunately, an excuse to take a break manifested when the sixth piece flashed with light. As Kristoff leaned over, he realized he'd been hoping for it: another glimpse of the world outside—even if that glimpse was through the mirror.
The subject in the mirror this time was—Kristoff started—a troll. But it was one he didn't recognize. Kristoff knew all the trolls in the Valley of Living Rock, so he knew the mirror was either showing him the past again or faraway lands. But this troll was wearing the familiar moss cloak lit by green crystals dangling from a vine necklace.
The next thing Kristoff noticed was that the troll in the mirror was sneaking around a human village. He looked to be scoping out the marketplace without being noticed. The troll would dive into fruit barrels, duck under tables and slither behind corners as soon as a villager's head turned. Kristoff actually chuckled. Even though a few people got looks on their faces, as if thinking, I swear I just saw something there!', the troll evaded every glance. Then the villager would shrug it off and go back to whatever he or she'd been doing.
What could have possessed the troll to infiltrate a human village? Kristoff's own family was very careful about hiding themselves and their valley.
The troll's luck ran out when children spotted him pilfer bread from the baker's window. They yelled and chased him all the way to the forest outside of the village. Here the troll found refuge in a tree. The youngsters did not look up and eventually tired of their search for the odd-looking creature.
The troll waited some time to be sure the children were long gone. When he was fairly certain it was safe, the troll climbed down... and found a few human men waiting on the ground for him. They stepped around from neighboring trees, trapping him in a towering circle before he could get away.
Kristoff bristled with anger as he watched the men stuff the poor troll into a sack. Then they rode on horseback to the edge of the forest, taking the troll in the sack with them to a boggy land crawling with mist and thorny plant life. There the men forgot their "courage", dropped the wriggling sack and rode back into the trees.
At first, the sack rolled left and right on the ground as feet and hands kicked and punched within. Kristoff let out a withheld sigh when the troll finally managed to rip himself free. But the victorious light in his eyes died when he saw where he'd been left. As he turned toward the forest to flee, a great shadow passed over the ground. The troll looked up to see a dragon. His mouth shot open in noiseless terror.
Kristoff could imagine the heat as he watched the dragon breathe fire across the first line of trees.
"Run," Kristoff urged the troll, knowing well enough he could not be heard.
But apparently the troll did not need to be told to run. After only a heartbeat of staring at the slate and scaly predator overhead, the troll dashed into the mists to hide.
The mirror view followed the troll, though Kristoff could not make out the land through the fog any better than the troll could. The more distance the troll put between himself and the forest, the harder it got to see anything. Even the ground was masked by grey haze, and so the troll trod carefully.
Kristoff noticed it before the troll did—a faint twinkling through the mist. The troll looked hopeful as he followed it. Kristoff supposed he would have done the same. A distant light seemed far more appealing than hanging around in the mists with a dragon flying around!
The light guided the troll to the edge of the marshlands. The fog had thinned and the source of the light revealed itself in a grassy patch on the ground.
The troll bent to pick the object up off the ground, obscuring Kristoff's view. But the ice harvester already understood what the light had been.
The hall doors' opening interrupted the show. But Kristoff did catch a final glimpse of the troll examining a mirror shard of his own before Kristoff slid his back into place.
No need for the ice minion to discover his additional activity with the mirror pieces.
She brought him another tray. Seeing that he had been working on the mirror, she nodded her approval. Kristoff wanted to shout at her, but instead he looked down at his next meal. His stomach turned a little as he found himself looking at raw meat.
He didn't comment as the ice minion turned away from him. After all, the meat would sustain him more than berries. He sighed as he sat to eat, reflecting as he looked around the hall.
Ice everywhere. Cold to the bone. But somehow, he had not frozen to death...yet. Rightfully, he should have.
Kristoff looked up at the high windows. It was getting dark.
"Is this where I'm expected to sleep?"
The ice minion had reached the door. She paused when he called out the question. But she merely scoffed and left him without giving an answer.
"Wait, what?"
Elsa watched Olaf hop down from his perch on the window seat in her bedroom. She had not been able to speak with him until the early evening. There had been much for the queen to do upon her return to the castle: townsfolk to placate, imports to sign off on, construction proposals to hear out and even a birthday present to select for an ambassador's ten year old twin daughters. Olaf had been the perfect listener as Elsa described her meeting with Lady Cathrine. When she'd finished relaying Cathrine's opinion of Lord Harald, the queen had asked Olaf to report his own findings.
"We had breakfast after you left," Olaf repeated a little louder. Poor Elsa was under so much stress that it appeared to be affecting her hearing.
"No, I heard you. I just can't picture you e—," Elsa paused, then shook her head with a half-smile. "—never mind, go on."
"It was kinda fun. We talked about sausage and potatoes!"
He smiled when both of Elsa's eyebrows lifted.
"All right..." Elsa responded. Olaf thought she looked tired. Or maybe she was allergic to sausage and potatoes. "Did you notice anything suspicious?"
Olaf stopped mid-step, an emotion creeping over him that had become more familiar ever since people started trusting him with secrets.
"I think so," he admitted. "But I think I was more suspicious than he was."
"Why?"
"Well, I got really nervous..."
"And?"
"I sort of..."
"Yes?"
"...asked if he missed being the regent."
Elsa paled a little. "How did he react to that?"
Olaf reflected back to the conversation in the dining hall, his memory reaffirming a thought he'd had at that time.
"Honestly, he seemed more alarmed by something his manservant said to him." He met Elsa's waiting gaze and continued. "It was whispered, so I didn't catch it. Whatever it was, Lord Harald was shocked. But then he dismissed it! ...That's suspicious, right?"
The queen's brow furrowed at that. "His manservant... that was that Liam, right?"
Olaf nodded.
"Hmm... well, there's no way of knowing what was said. For now, just keep your eye on both men if they return to the castle."
"Will do!" Olaf exclaimed with a little bow that made Elsa smile.
"Moving onto another topic... I'm sorry I didn't get to ask sooner, but do you have everything you need in your room?"
Olaf had been given his own space in one of the guestrooms. While he didn't appear to need sleep, he said he enjoyed doing it for the dreams. His favorites were of course about hot summer beaches.
When Olaf nodded, the queen followed up with, "Are you happy here?"
"Of course! With you and Gyda and Sofia... Sofia's going to show me how to make cookies tomorrow!"
Elsa giggled. "I'm glad one of us can have fun around here."
"Me too!" He grew a little serious over a sudden thought. "Though I wish Anna, Kristoff and Sven could be here too..."
The queen did not comment, but of course she agreed.
"Are you okay, Elsa?"
She blinked, realized she had just been staring at the floor after Olaf spoke and laughed a little. "I'm just tired."
Olaf waddled up to her and opened his little arms. Warmed by the gesture, Elsa leaned down for a hug.
"Thank you, Olaf."
After the embrace, Elsa gave Olaf an affectionate pat on the head before seeing him out. At the door, Olaf paused and peered up at her.
"Do you think you'd wanna join us tomorrow? To make cookies?"
The invitation was tempting, but there were still the other nobles to visit.
"Another time. I expect tomorrow will be very busy."
Smiling, the snowman nodded. "Another time. Goodnight, Elsa!" He waved as he waddled off toward the guest wing.
Once she was alone, Elsa shut her bedroom door. With a swish of her wrist, she magicked her blue dress into a silvery satin nightgown. Then she sat at her beauty dresser and combed her fingers through her braid. She reached for her sterling hairbrush, but then paused to reinforce her protection charm for Kristoff. It had become a bit of a nightly ritual, her doing this. She wasn't even certain that she needed to, but she did it just in case. It had been three days already since Kristoff left and a week since Anna's disappearance.
Anna...
The meeting with the nobles and all the talk about an engagement had been good—temporarily—for taking Elsa's mind off of her sister's absence. But now the horrible what-ifs seeped past her wall of distraction. Elsa began brushing out her hair, the action meant to self-soothe.
Could the Ice Maiden have frozen Anna? Was that why Elsa couldn't feel her sister's energy the way she felt Kristoff's?
Her hand stilled over the brush in her hair as she stared into the mirror.
"Stop it," she told herself.
The sooner she firmed out her allies at home, the sooner she could worry about Anna and Kristoff. With that in mind, she decided she'd visit Lord Jorn and Lady Linn the next day.
The princess walked Anna back to her guestroom at the end of the day. Anna's feet were more exhausted from hours of touring the castle than they had been after days of trekking the forest with Hans.
Her face fell when she thought of him.
"I'll ask the servants to bring your dinner here. I doubt you'd want to dine at the king's table."
Anna nodded with a strained smile. Then she thanked Kirsten and bid her a good night's sleep. She waited for the other girl to turn away before entering her room.
In the doorway, her eyes lingered over the door connecting to the other guestroom. Her heart tightened with worry as she thought of her prince out in the forest with Hansel and the king's men.
The prince, not her prince.
She closed her door behind her and struggled with the irritation building within.
He was arrogant, deceitful, cowardly, fickle and an almost-murderer. She should not miss Hans.
But she did. And it had not even been a full twenty-four hours.
What would Elsa think?
The pangs she felt doubled at the thought of her older sister.
"Ugh."
Her feet hurt. Her heart hurt. Being awake hurt. But she wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet, so she took a seat in front of the beauty dresser. She stuck her tongue out in the mirror when she noticed how tired her eyes looked. Then, she looked down.
As a guestroom, the room lacked the mess of personal items one's own room might have. This included the dresser surface. But there were a small stack of blank papers and a quill off to the left.
Anna hesitated. After all, what was the point in writing a letter she couldn't send?
Even so, she found herself pulling a single sheet of paper toward her. She didn't have to think of a message. As soon as she dipped the pen into its ink, the words poured out:
Dear Elsa,
I have so much to tell you. I wish I could explain to you where I am right now, but you'd never believe me. I'll tell you everything when I get back, anyway. Just know that I am safe and will do all I can to get home. I love you.
Your sister,
Anna
Her hand went still as she recalled the last conversation they'd had. Elsa likely felt as bad about it as she did. All the more reason to find a way home.
Anna looked at the letter again, wistfully reading. If only there was a way for her to let Elsa know she was okay...
A knock at the door startled her. Then she remembered Kirsten had said she'd have dinner sent to her room.
It felt like she'd just drifted off to sleep when a series of urgent knocks woke Elsa. Blinking back the urge to ignore it and close her eyes again—that was something Anna would do—Elsa sat up and quickly waved a hand over her hair to tame it so she would not look quite so wild when she answered her door.
The knocking started up again just as she reached for the door handle. She answered it to find Gyda and Olaf with the kitchen girl trembling just behind them.
"Elsa, come quick!" Olaf urged her. Without any explanation, he ran back toward the stairs with Gyda following.
"Wait!" Unheeded, Elsa turned her eyes to the girl lingering in the hall. Sofia? The girl looked like she'd just seen a ghost. "What is this about?"
"I was... heating the water to wash the dishes, Your Majesty..."
Sofia held her arms around herself, something Elsa recognized as an anxious gesture; she herself did it sometimes. Pushing wouldn't help, she knew. So she kept quiet even though she was impatient to hear what had frightened the girl. Olaf and Gyda would not have charged ahead like that if the Ice Maiden were attacking again, surely. So, what?
"When I looked up from the stove, I... I swear it wasn't there before. I use the stove all the time, see. I would have noticed."
"What wasn't there before?" Elsa asked, frowning.
"A message. Scratched into the wall."
Puzzled, Elsa asked the girl to show her.
Sofia took a deep breath. Although she still looked frightened, she led the way to Olaf's trail down to the kitchens.
As some of the first to rise in the morning, most of the staff was asleep by that hour. Those that encountered the queen and her guide in the hall quickly bowed and darted out of their path.
Sofia led Elsa through a narrow pantry and into a room where Olaf and Gyda came into view. The two had stopped a noticeable distance away from the stove. Sofia pointed a shaking finger up ahead, seemingly unwilling to get any closer.
Elsa inched closer, squinting at the far stone wall. When she had stepped up beside Olaf, she could read the message. She almost fell over when she did read it.
"What's it say?" Olaf whispered.
"Anna's safe. Love you," Elsa said.
"Awww, I love you t—wait, is that what it says!? Do you think Anna left this?"
The queen sniffled and looked back over her shoulder. "You're certain this just appeared on its own?"
Sofia nodded, looking horrified that the queen might think she made it up. But Elsa smiled over at Gyda and then down at Olaf.
She hadn't the faintest idea what all the commotion would be about. She certainly hadn't expected this. But as soon as she touched the message on the wall, somehow she knew. The same way she had been able to sense Kristoff's presence. Now she could feel Anna's.
The only thing troubling her was that it felt more like an echo.
"How is this possible? She must have come through here," Elsa murmured. "You're sure you didn't see anyone else in here with you?"
"I was here," Olaf spoke up. "Mopping the floors." He pointed to a bucket of murky water and an abandoned mop on the floor.
Elsa nodded, looking at the message once again. Why would Anna have left a message instead of coming to tell Elsa herself she was here...?
She had been here, hadn't she?
A/N: Remember, Olaf can't read or spell, lol.
Also, I made a playlist of all the music I listen to as I'm writing this story. :D A lot of it is stuff that's on the radio... I do a lot of brainstorming on my morning/evening commute, so that's why. Some of it is old, most of it is pretty and a few things are just regionally or lyrically appropriate. Feel free to check it out: tinyurlcom/zrb5jqd (well, can't exactly link on FFnet but just put the "." before the "com" :D)
Thanks for reading!