The Storm Rages On
Chapter Fifteen
Courage, Part Three
Anna blinked, the intense light fading, her vision returning to normal.
She was standing in her bedroom, back home in the palace in Arendelle. Everything was as it was before she left—had it really only been a matter of days?—right down to the smallest detail. Exhausted, Anna allowed herself to sink into her own bed, to give her body a rest from the constant strain of carrying her ever-growing children.
She had barely closed her eyes when the bedroom door burst open. Startled, Anna forced herself to sit, straining against the heavy weight on her abdomen. Straining, she looked, gasping in astonishment.
She saw . . . It can't be! How . . .? She gasped softly as she saw herself run into the room, moving to the bed, sinking to her knees, burying her face in the pillow. Anna watched, uncertainly, as painful sobs wracked her alternate self.
"Excuse me," Anna said, carefully reaching forth her hand. "Is . . . Is everything all right?" She reached out her hand to touch the crying Anna on the shoulder, to try to reassure her. She let out a cry of astonishment as her hand merely passed through the sobbing woman, falling through to touch the blanket beneath her. Anna tried again, once more experiencing the same, strange sensation. What is this? I don't . . .
"Anna!" She looked up, startled.
"Kristoff?" Anna could hardly believe what she was seeing. Her husband entered the room, but he looked so . . . different. His eyes were dull, bloodshot, betraying the exhaustion he most certainly felt. His forehead was creased with lines, no doubt the result of intense stress. A scraggly, unkempt beard covered his face; he looked as though he had not shaved in weeks.
The sobbing Anna looked up, turning toward her husband. Anna could not believe how thin this woman looked, how pale, how worried.
"I . . . I can't do it anymore," Alternate Anna whispered. "It's too much! I can't . . ."
"It's all right." Kristoff moved toward Alternate Anna, gently pulling her to her feet, holding her close. "I know they're a lot of work, but—"
"A lot of work?!" Alternate Anna stared at Kristoff in disbelief. "You have no idea! You're always working! You're never home! You don't have to deal with . . . with . . ."
Anna watched the scene, horrified. Am I really that bad of a mother? What is wrong with me?!
Alternate Anna pulled away, brushing the tears from their eyes. "They're getting more dangerous, Kristoff. They've figured out how to summon ice intentionally now. Just this morning, I almost lost my hand. One of them—I didn't see which one—thought it would be funny to freeze the water in the sink while I was washing the dishes. It was so cold! I just barely was able to get my hand out of there before . . . before . . ."
Anna's heart sank, her hand clutching her belly. So, it's true. The babies . . . They can . . .
"What about Elsa?" Kristoff asked. "Isn't she helping at all?"
Alternate Anna let out a single laugh, bitterness laced around it. "Elsa? Please. She thinks that children are nothing more than fun and games. She doesn't mind playing with them, doing all the fun things she's always wanted to do. But when push comes to shove, when the real work begins, she disappears, leaving me by myself to try to manage alone . . . and . . . and I'm so tired . . . so damn tired . . . !"
No! Elsa wouldn't . . . She would help me! I know she would!
A knock sounded at the door. Kristoff and Alternate Anna turned to look at it, Anna looking on as well, invisible.
"Forgive me, Your Highness." It was one of the servants. His face was pale, his legs shaking.
"What is it?" Kristoff asked. "What's wrong now?"
"I'm afraid . . . I'm afraid your children have figured out how to escape from their cribs. They are currently . . . redecorating the throne room with snow and ice, and none of us can stop them."
Alternate Anna groaned. "I'll be right there," she said, rising.
Once the servant had left, Alternate Anna looked at Kristoff. "You see? This is what it's like. Day after day after day!" She shook her head. "If I had known, I . . . I don't think I ever would have wanted children after all."
"Don't say that!" Kristoff protested. "It's just a phase! I'm sure they'll grow out of it!"
"And what if they don't?" Alternate Anna looked to the ceiling in despair. "What if this is how they behave for the rest of their lives? I'm such . . . I'm such a terrible mother! I can't control them! I can't . . .!"
Anna moved forward, not caring if they could see her or not, wanting desperately to reassure her doppelgänger, to help her see that she was doing the best she could, that there was no shame in that. But the room began to fade, Anna's vision blurred, and before she knew it, she was—
"Mama! Mama!"
Two voices rang in Anna's ears. She looked about, astonished. Before her stood two four-year-olds, a boy and a girl. The boy was an exact replica of Kristoff, right down to the nose and chin. The girl, conversely, looked exactly as Anna had when she was that age, down to the freckles on her face. The only exceptions were the hair and the eyes. Both children possessed platinum blonde hair that shimmered in the room's light. And their eyes were pools of purest blue, the color of . . . ice.
The little girl ran up to Anna, wrapping her arms around her waist, oblivious to the bulge that was Anna's abdomen. "Mama! Play with us! Play with us, please!"
"You . . . You can see me?" Anna asked uncertainly, lightly stroking the young girl's hair.
The girl laughed. "Mama's funny!" she cried, turning to the boy. "Come on! Let's play!"
Before Anna could say anything, the boy and girl unleashed a wave of ice upon the floor, coating the tile in frozen water.
"Skate with us!" the boy cried. "Please, Mama! We wanna have fun!"
Anna moved forward gingerly, trying to keep her balance, the weight of the children growing inside of her making it difficult to remain standing. "I . . . I can't right now, darling. Mama can't skate—"
The boy's face grew red, his eyes narrowing. "But we want you to skate with us! Skate with us, Mama!"
"I'm trying, sweetheart!" Anna protested, nearly falling. "But I—"
"Don't you love us?" Now the girl was crying, tears falling from her eyes.
"Of course I do!" Anna said, trying to move toward the girl, but unable to gain traction.
The boy and the girl looked at each other, visibly upset. Letting out wails of sadness, they unleashed wave after wave of ice and snow about the room. The temperature plummeted, frost forming on the walls, a harsh, cold wind howling about the room.
"Shhh! It's okay! Don't cry! Mama's here!" Anna tried to move forward through the wind and snow, but she couldn't see, the snow was too thick, the wind too strong.
The children's wails increased in intensity, now full-fledged roars of rage. The ice and snow fell faster, the wind screaming in Anna's ears. Desperately, she forced herself forward, trying to reach the sobbing children, but she lost her balance. She fell forward, the unrelenting ice rushing toward her. She screamed, realizing she was about to crush the precious lives growing within her and she braced herself for the impact—
Her eyes fluttered open. She was standing in a chamber of rock, the palace now long since vanished. Crying out, Anna moved her hands over her belly, desperately searching for signs of life. She exhaled in relief as two sharp kicks from opposite sides of her womb jolted through her. Her relief turned to panic as a flood of pain coursed over her unexpectedly.
"So." The voice echoed in Anna's mind, speaking to her innermost self. "Are you still certain you want to be a mother? After seeing all of this? Knowing what your children may be, how difficult their powers may make your life? The voice grew soft, reassuring. "I can take care of them for you. I can make them disappear, like they never existed. You can have your life back, Anna. Your body. Your health. You can be free of them! Just say the word. After all, is this really how you wish to bring children into the world? Like this?"
Anna fell to her knees as another wave of agony ran through her body.
"You've had such a difficult pregnancy, Anna. You've endured more than any woman should have to suffer. Let me take the pain away. Let me undo what has happened to you. Let me give you what you secretly desire!"
Please, make the pain end! A defeated voice rang through Anna's mind, desperately trying to tear apart her resolve. I can't take it anymore! It's too much! I . . . I would be such a horrible mother. They'd be better off not living at all than having to put up with me!
"Well?" The voice rang in Anna's mind once more. "Have you made your decision? Do you wish to be free? Do you want to end your suffering?"
Her mind overwhelmed, the pain nearly unbearable, Anna opened her mouth defiantly, a single syllable leaving her throat. "No!"
The voice was astonished. "What did you say? You cannot mean that! You would risk dying in childbirth for them? Risk them becoming uncontrollable masters of the ice and snow? Why?!"
Gritting her teeth, Anna forced herself to stand. "Because they are my children. Because they deserve the chance to live. Because no one has the right to take that from them. Especially not me! Because, no matter what happens . . . I love them!"
The princess cried out as another round of pain racked her abdomen, her face turning pale as she screamed.
"You are foolish!" the voice roared. "You are going to die and nothing can save you! Your children will be unloved by their fellow men. Feared! Rejected! Is that what you want?! I offer you one final opportunity to change your mind!"
"Leave . . . me . . . ALONE!" Anna cried. "You will not . . . harm . . . my babies!"
A final torrent of agony tore through her body. Anna screamed, her vision shrouded in red, then—
"Anna! Anna! Oh God, someone help me, she's not waking up! ANNA!"
Anna shot straight up, hyperventilating, unable to calm herself. "The babies!" she gasped, staring at Kristoff, a wild look of terror in her eyes. "He tried . . . He tried to take them from me! I . . . I fought him, but I . . . I . . ." She looked about, panic coursing through her. "Are they all right? Are they?!"
Alúvelin knelt next to Anna, Valanda by her side. Together, they placed their hands on her abdomen, letting their power show them the babies' health. Both exhaled in relief. "They're fine," Alúvelin said. "A little excited, a little active, but they are both just fine!"
Tears ran down Anna's face, her head falling back into Kristoff's lap. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It . . . It was horrible! He showed me the most awful things . . . that our babies would grow to be uncontrollable, dangerous! He . . . He tried to make me beg him to take them away. He made it so . . . so painful! But . . . But no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much he tried to convince me, I couldn't . . . I wouldn't . . .!"
Kristoff held her close, kissing her. "You protected them!" he said softly. "You kept them safe! I'm so proud of you! Thank you!"
She looked about, into the relieved faces of Alúvelin, Valanda, and Arberish. "How . . . How did all of you do? Did you pass your challenges? How did you find me?"
Arberish stepped forward, kneeling beside her. "We each have had to face our darkest desires, our deepest secrets," he said. "But . . . But we've succeeded! We have each passed the test, each in our own way." He took Anna's hand. "Now, all that remains is for us to move forward and claim the Tritastónende. Our journey is almost at its end!"
"That's . . . That's wonderful!" Anna said, pushing herself to her feet, leaning on Kristoff for support. "I . . . I'm definitely ready to go home now." She patted her abdomen. "So are they, I think."
She turned. "Elsa? Are you ready? Let's finish this."
Silence filled the room. "Elsa? Elsa?!" Anna looked about, frantically searching for her sister. "Where is she?" she cried. "Where's Elsa?"
Arberish looked at Kristoff, his brow creased with worry. "I thought she was next to you! When we all met in the last chamber, I thought you said . . ."
Kristoff shook his head. "I never said anything. We had all just passed the tests, and then we heard Anna screaming, so we rushed in here. I . . . I just assumed . . ."
Anna looked to Alúvelin and Valanda. "You didn't see her, either?"
Both women shook their heads. "No," Valanda said. "I guess . . . I guess I thought she had finished her trial first, that she followed us when we ran to you."
Anna's face turned white. "Oh, no!" she whispered. She looked at Kristoff, her eyes wide with worry. "Where is she? Where is she?!"
AN: One more challenge left: Elsa's. What I have in mind will, I hope, be worthy of the build up. More to come!