"This... is... amaaaaazing!"

The reindeer lifted them higher and higher, leaving the castle tiny beneath them.

Well, it wasn't a reindeer exactly. It looked like one, but it wasn't warm and furry like good old Sven. This reindeer was as cold and quiet as snow, which only made sense, seeing as how Kirsten had crafted him—it—whatever, from snow.

Kirsten stretched one arm out in the air and giggled like a girl at a festival. If not for the danger, or if her teeth weren't chattering in the lofty wind, Anna might have been even more excited than Kirsten. But at present, Anna clung to the other princess for dear life, not daring to look down at the ground for more than a few seconds at a time.

"You were saying?" Kirsten asked, looking back over her shoulder.

"That's it, really. Up till now, I seemed to be dreaming about stuff that happened long ago. This was more recent."

She'd had no choice but to tell Kirsten about her bizarre dreams. At first, she tried being vague. But when Kirsten reminded her that she'd revealed her magic to both Anna and Hans, Anna felt it was only fair to be more upfront.

Well, a little more upfront. She still couldn't tell Kirsten that she had come from the future.

"Well... I can make flying reindeer," Kirsten said with a small laugh. "Who am I to judge? But seriously... how do you know it wasn't just a dream this time? I thought you said the trolls were harmless."

"Yes. But not the leader! Volco, he..."

Anna couldn't bring herself to describe the carnage from her dream.

"You have the map?" Kirsten asked. Anna was grateful that she didn't press any further about the trolls. She dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a map Kirsten had pulled from the library. Then she forced herself to glance down at the expanse below so she could compare it with the map in her hand. But this map was not nearly as detailed as the one she'd taken from Oaken. It was difficult to pinpoint where the hidden path to the valley should be, if it even existed yet. If not, they were in trouble.

The setting sun served as a reminder of her race against time. Anna gazed at the darkening sky, hearing Kirsten gasp.

"What is it?"

Anna looked around although she didn't know what to look for. Kirsten pointed down toward treetops to the northwest. Anna's eyes followed. She frowned at a space where several trees had clearly fallen.

No, not fallen. She knew better.

"Should we...?" Kirsten asked. Her newfound confidence seemed to have evaporated.

"Let's check the ground first," Anna suggested. "We don't want to get too close if they're still nearby."

Kirsten nodded, but Anna felt the other girl tense up as they dipped and flew to that forbidding part of the forest. It occurred to her in that moment how much she was asking from her great-great grandmother. If anything happened to Kirsten outside of Arendelle Castle, it would be Anna's fault.

Not only that... if anything happens to her, something will probably happen to me... and Elsa.

It wasn't the first time Anna considered what changes she made to the past might do to the future she knew. She clung to the princess as the reindeer began to descend. She felt guilty, but this really had been the only way she could reach Hans in time.

"I didn't see anything... trolls would be hard to miss," Kirsten commented as the reindeer touched ground.

In their giant stallo forms, maybe, Anna thought as she climbed down. Her boots crunched in the snow as she turned around to find several still forms lying on the ground in the unnatural clearing.

"Princess... I think you better stay here," Anna said. But even as she said it, Kirsten was hopping down from the reindeer's back herself. She walked around Anna, pausing as her eyes caught sight of the bodies. Anna put her arm out to keep the younger princess from approaching.

"Are they...?"

"You should stay here," Anna suggested, glancing warily at the trees, both fallen and standing, as the wind blew their branches to and fro. "I'll check. If anything comes through the trees, just... take the reindeer and go."

Kirsten was heir to the throne, after all. Anna was just a spare from another century. If only one of them could escape, there was no question which it should—

"I'll stay here while you investigate," Kirsten consented. "But I am not leaving without you."

The courage and familiarity of her words struck a chord with Anna. It kept her from objecting. Besides, she could tell from the other girl's face that there would be no changing her mind.

It looked like she and her great-great grandmother had more in common than Anna originally thought.

Anna turned back toward the clearing and braced herself. Her breath clouded up in front of her as she approached the first man on the ground. She thought back to the nightmare in which Volco had flung these men into the trees and stepped on some of them like they were mere ants. The thought made her stomach turn. But she knew, even as she crouched down next to the first guard, that he was probably gone. His breath did not steam up into the winter air the way hers did—because he wasn't breathing. The only other thing she could think to do was to check for a pulse, a thing she had only done to herself for the sake of it after reading about characters doing it in books.

Nothing.

The man could have family. Did his parents know he had gone after the trolls on the king's orders? Did he have a sister like Elsa or a brother like Kristoff? Did he have a sweetheart waiting for him back in Arendelle? Would she come look for him when he didn't return home?

When Anna stood, the forest felt like it was spinning. Maybe it was her hopes pulling away from her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts so she could move on to the next man. But he was gone too.

Anna avoided looking back at Princess Kirsten as she moved from body to body, each one confirming the fear at the pit of her stomach: that Volco had left no survivors, save for the two he sent back to Pabbie. Even though she had seen him make the order, some part of her dreaded each next man lying in the snow might be Hans.

What would she feel if she found him amongst these castle guards, cold and dead? What would it mean to her?

Anna swallowed back the urge to throw up as she stood away from the last remaining body. She focused on the sound of her boot steps as she made her way back to Kirsten; she was afraid that if she didn't, she might lose it.

Oddly, it wasn't until she spoke that she started tearing up. Still, she put all her effort into not falling apart as she delivered the news.

"Fifteen castle guards, dead... by Volco's hand. We were too late."

Even as she shed tears, a different emotion gradually took hold as Anna watched Princess Kirsten weep over the fallen guards.

That Volco...! How could anyone do such a thing?! He's nothing like Pabbie, Cliff, Bulda or the others. He's a monster!

"But maybe not too late for Hans," Kirsten said suddenly, sniffling. She wiped off her own tears with one arm and looked around, trembling. "I think I... it's strange, but I can feel other magic here. We may be able to follow it."

Anna dared to hope.

"The only problem is... it branches off in two different directions."

Kirsten pointed first north and then southeast.

"Volco told one of them to bring Hans and Hansel back to the caves. That would be that way," Anna said, pointing north. "But the rest of them may be on their way to Arendelle."

She and Kirsten both stayed silent, thinking.

Finally, Kirsten spoke. "We flew here. It will still take them all night to reach Arendelle on foot. We can go to the caves, rescue those two and then fly back to warn my father."

Anna's mouth dropped open, but she found herself speechless in the face Kirsten's resolve.

Who is this? Anna thought, thinking back to the timid girl who hid from her when Anna first went to Olaf's castle. Maybe this was who Kirsten was all along—a brave young woman. Or maybe it had something to do with seeing her guards lifeless in the snow. Whatever it was, Anna admired the other girl.

"You said their lives are in danger, right?" the princess asked as she hopped back onto her snowmount. Then, she offered a hand to help Anna up. "Let's get a move on!"

Just as she thought, Kirsten was able to follow the trail of magic north. They flew in the cover of the trees. It was only thanks to their closer distance to the ground that Anna was able to recognize the path leading into the troll lands. She had Kirsten land the snowmount so they could continue on foot.

The sky had already grown dark, so it was difficult to pinpoint the exact moment they entered the trolls' territory. Kirsten had to summon a snowy torch to light the way, taking the lead in spite of Anna's protests. The girls did not get very far before Kirsten stopped short and gasped.

Anna quickly walked ahead of the princess to see what the trouble was. She found herself staring at Pabbie, crouched as if hiding and waiting for them a little ways along the trail.

"You!" Pabbie hissed when he recognized Anna. "I already helped you out of here once. I won't be able to help you a second—"

"Pabbie!"

It was all she could do not to dash up and hug him. The fact that he clearly sneaked out this far to meet them—to stop them from walking into danger—told her all that she needed to know.

"Saph brought Hansel and Hans?" she asked.

Pabbie looked troubled at the mention of the two prisoners. Then, he narrowed his eyes.

"How'd you know it was Saph who brought them...?"

"That's not all I know," Anna answered as she slowly stepped toward him. She knelt down so he wouldn't have to look up at her. "I saw what Volco did to the king's men. I know that the trolls who went with him are afraid of him. I know they just want to protect the forest."

Pabbie's gaze fell in shame at the reminder of Volco's violence.

"I know there's a way for the trolls to make peace with Arendelle even now."

He looked like he wanted to believe her. But a breath later, he shook his head.

"Surely not after what Volco did."

"But Volco doesn't have to lead the rest of you. He shouldn't get to, not when he doesn't represent the life-loving trolls I've met."

She gave Pabbie an encouraging smile. He considered her words quietly at first, eventually nodding in agreement.

"Now... Hans and Hansel," Anna said, cutting herself short at the guilty look on Pabbie's face. "Oh... oh, you didn't kill them, did you?!"

"What? Of course not! But if I don't, Volco will. And the tunnels are guarded now because of last time."

"Pabbie, right?" Kirsten asked, finally joining the conversation. Pabbie nodded, though he looked a little wary about the fact that Anna had brought a new person to the valley.

Kirsten followed Anna's example, kneeling down in the snow so that Pabbie would not have to gawk up at her. "You just have to talk sense into the others. Anna has told me a little about your... community. Based on what I've heard, they can't possibly like what Volco's doing."

Pabbie's face grew rather dark at that. "They don't like what King Olaf's done to the forest either!"

Anna intervened here. "But King Olaf can be reasoned with... right?"

Kirsten's frown revealed her uncertainty.

"Look," Anna said, addressing the two of them. "Volco has gone too far. He's taken lives. There will be war once the king finds out. But if we can show him that Volco acted alone—killed alone, then..."

"All right."

Anna blinked a few times, wondering if she had heard Pabbie right.

"None of us want war, right?" Pabbie asked.

Anna and Kirsten nodded.

Satisfied with the consensus, Pabbie beckoned them to follow him down the trail and into the Valley of Living Rock. As soon as they broke through the trees, Anna gulped. There weren't just young trolls spread across the cliffs this time. Adult trolls stopped mid-conversation, turning their eyes toward Pabbie and the two humans. There was a deafening silence. For a moment, Anna thought all hell would break loose the moment any of them breathed.

"This lady is Anna... and this—" Pabbie paused to indicate Kirsten, but clearly he did not know her name.

Kirsten stepped up and bowed. "I'm Princess Kirsten."

"And they come here today to offer something I hope we can offer back," Pabbie sang.

"What's that?" the crowd of trolls asked. If there was one way to win a troll of the valley over, it was by using song.

Pabbie stepped aside and gestured for Anna to take the spotlight.

"Well, I'm glad that you've asked that... you see, we're offering friendship. We think there have been one too many misunderstandings between us all. Humans and trolls, I mean."

"I don't know you and you don't know me," Kirsten chimed in."Maybe if we did, we'd find similarity? Your valley is lovely, my castle is grand. We both love our homes and the ground on which they stand."

One of the trolls stepped up, egged on by some of the others. "We've seen... your ships in the fjord. They look like they fly on water. And it's something we don't understand, yet still it awes and mystifies us all."

Anna grinned and sang back, "I've seen your crystals, your love for nature, connects you to trees and the sky and water. Humans forget this, though they know beauty too. Someone could remind them, those someones could be you."

"With moderation, we don't need all the trees... we just needed some for ships, but we've become greedy..." Kirsten looked a little worried as she sang this part. She suddenly bowed low, interrupting the song to shout, "On behalf of Arendelle, I'm sorry!"

The valley fell quiet save for the echo of the princess's heartfelt apology. A few of the trolls stepped up to her, patting her on the shoulder. She looked up in alarm but relaxed as she saw they were smiling at her.

"Arendelle's heir seems righteous and kind," one sang.

"Perhaps she can lead her folks to see with the same mind," another added.

"We don't know you and you don't know us," Pabbie sang to Kirsten. "But I suspect now we can build a base for trust."

Anna started as the entire valley started singing in harmony.

"Da da dum dy dum da, da da dum dy. Da da dum da dy dum da, da da dum dy..."

"Yes, I'm sure of it," Pabbie added, smiling. "We all just need to act with more patience, courage and peace."

Anna agreed. Then, she remembered the other reason she and Kirsten were there.

"Pabbie... can you take us to Hans now?" She felt a small nudge from Kirsten. "...and Hansel."

The troll did not seem to notice the unspoken exchange between the two young women. He merely nodded and asked them to follow him to the caves.

Anna had never been in this particular cave before. Granted, it was not like she ever got a full tour of the valley and every cave.

The cavern was shallow, unlike others she'd visited so far. Almost immediately to the right were two chambers made into cells of a sort. There were even bars made of narrow strips of stone that stretched from floor to ceiling. Anna suspected the bars were magically crafted since there were no doors through which the prisoners could get in or out.

She spotted the original troll hunter in the first cell. He was curled up in one of the far corners, sobbing like a child afraid in the dark. She'd let Kirsten handle that one.

As she passed on to the second cell, it felt like her heart was going to leap up her throat. There he was, sitting calmly in the dark. Anna grabbed the cell bars.

"Hans!" she called.

"Anna?"

He squinted at her outside of the cell as though he weren't sure whether he was imagining her. Then, he slowly rose and rushed to the bars, covering her cold fingers with his own. Surprisingly, his were warm.

He was smiling. His eyes were wide as he searched her face and opened his mouth to speak. But at first, he could only smile.

It was a smile that could have knocked Anna over if she hadn't been holding onto something.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he said breathlessly.

"What?" she said. Of all the stupid ways to respond...!

Suddenly, he let go, looking as if he just realized what he'd said. Anna dropped her hands too, although she was more reluctant. She looked away from his face as her own grew quite pink.

But it didn't necessarily mean anything, did it? Not, 'I thought I was going to die' or 'I didn't think you'd come here' but 'I thought I'd never see you again'. It didn't necessarily mean that he'd missed her. He just... thought he'd never see her again. Right?

Anna forced herself to glance back toward Pabbie, who held up his earth crystal and closed his eyes in wordless concentration. Seconds after, the cell bars disintegrated into dust which fell to the cavern floor.

Kirsten stepped into Hansel's cell to calm him down so that he'd follow her out.

Something moved in the corner of Anna's vision, making her turn her head to find Hans reaching for her. When their eyes met, he stopped himself and smiled. Anna couldn't help but think he looked unsure of himself.

Suddenly, Hans grew serious. "We have to hurry."

"Huh?"

"He's right," Pabbie agreed. "If Volco actually killed people out there, I can't imagine what he'll do when he reaches Arendelle."

Anna had almost forgotten about Volco. How on earth were they going to deal with him?

It looked like Kirsten was finally able to convince Hansel that her presence wasn't some troll trick and that Pabbie was really letting them all go. Once the group ran out of the cave, Kirsten used her power to create two snow reindeer.

Anna glanced back at Pabbie as she put her mittens on and asked, "Can you come with us? They may actually listen if you're there."

He shook his head.

"I have to watch the children. The adults left here? They're not fighters... if you fail and Volco returns, he'll be angry. Someone will have to..." he trailed off, getting lost in unpleasant thoughts until he could shake them off. "Saph went on to catch up with Volco. You understand? You have to hurry... before he gets the rest to do something they can't take back."

Anna nodded and climbed up on one of the reindeer. She was a little startled when Hans climbed up behind her. Kirsten and Hansel had already taken the other one. The troll hunter still looked pretty shaken up, murmuring about death. Before any of them could leave, he actually spoke.

"Wait..."

Hansel twisted around to look at Pabbie. "He was going to kill you too... if you didn't kill us. Why did you let us live?"

Pabbie stared at him thoughtfully.

"I've met some nice humans," he answered, looking at Anna. "And I've met some evil trolls. I think our people could be friends if only we tried understanding each other."

Anna found herself smiling in agreement.

"We should go," Kirsten whispered.

Anna nodded and picked up the reins. "Hold on, okay?" she said over her shoulder to Hans. She ignored her fluttering heart as she felt him wrap his arms around her middle.

After one last wave to Pabbie, the four of them were off.

A/N: I mainly included another song to lighten things for Anna and Kirsten since, y'know, they had just discovered a bunch of bodies in the forest. Not that they'll forget that any time soon. It's obviously already had a huge impact on Kirsten, one which Anna observes right away. Oh, and I imagined the song to the tune of "Danse for Trærne" by Alexander Rybak in case you had a hard time imagining it. The actual English translation of the song is much better, but you know, copyright. So I just made up new lyrics, but that was the tune in my head everyone was singing to. :)

Don't misunderstand though! No one here thinks everything's going to be all hunky-dorey just because the princess sang with the trolls. Even Pabbie said it—the two groups still don't understand one another, but the fact that the princess showed up to suggest peace and friendship is major! Anyway, I didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea. Peace and friendship will take effort, and all the characters understand that.