Elsa awoke covered in frozen sweat. This was one of those telltale signs that she'd had nightmares, though Elsa couldn't remember what they'd been about. Probably Anna freezing, her parents drowning, the usual fare. Well, at least the bedroom wasn't covered in snow this time. There'd been a time when Elsa couldn't close her eyes without worrying about that, but now it was safe to say her powers were completely under control.
Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by an earsplitting thunderclap. Elsa nearly fell out of bed, but she managed to catch herself. She smiled and shook her head. Look at her, jumpy as a little girl. Well, she had nothing to worry about. All Elsa had to do was make amends with Mary, and then everything would be back to normal.
Elsa strolled into the bathing chambers, where Fritz had readied the bathwater on schedule. She had to hand it to him, Fritz was doing a stellar job. Elsa had never seen anyone serve her with such enthusiasm. He'd even made the water nice and warm. Well, it would've given anyone else hypothermia, but it was warm to her.
Now came the fun part. Elsa had let herself fall asleep in her ice-dress – which wasn't the queenliest thing she could've done, but luckily no one had seen her – and consequently, her outfit was now covered in unsightly wrinkles. The solution was to step into the royal tub, high heels and all, and then dissolve all her ice at once – that way all the sweat and filth landed safely in the bathwater. Once she was done bathing, Elsa simply conjured a fresh set of identical icy heels, a dress, and unmentionables over herself. It had been weeks since she'd last worn regular clothes.
Once she'd done her hair and makeup, Elsa judged herself presentable enough to go out in public and descended the stairs out the bedchambers. She'd been vaguely planning on getting some breakfast, but she stopped in the entrance hall when she spotted a certain feisty princess with a bandaged arm.
"Anna?" Elsa ran to her side. "You're up early."
"You couldn't sleep either if your arm itched like crazy." As she spoke, Anna tried unsuccessfully to dig her fingers under the cloth.
"You should've thought about that before you tried to pet a vicious animal."
"An ex-vicious animal," corrected Anna. "You fixed his brain, remember?"
Elsa let out a sigh. "It was wrong of me to do that. It only happened because I got upset when he hurt you. If we're going to try and tame Sussebassen, I'd rather we do it naturally, not by destroying his mind with magic."
"Yeah, well, you didn't have to send him away to the North Mountain." Anna gave her a look. "Ever notice you've got a thing for running away from your problems?"
"I'm not running away this time," Elsa said sternly. "I'm going to confront my problem with Mary head-on – I really think we can bury the hatchet. Sussebassen can wait."
"So that's your plan for today?" said Anna, absently unraveling the end of her bandage. "Make up with Mary? Do you have any queen stuff to do?"
Elsa shook her head. "I decided I'd give myself a long break once I got back from Pagania." She brought a hand to her temple. "You would not believe what an ordeal it was. The Paganians are the absolute most-"
"Snow Goddess Elsa!" Out of nowhere, the front doors swung open, and the Archbishop and High Priest entered the hall.
"-polite, welcoming hosts I've ever met!" Elsa spun towards them and tried not to look utterly horrified. "What are you doing here?"
"What did you just call Elsa?" asked Anna.
"Snow Goddess," repeated the Archbishop, bowing politely. "Those gifted with magic are the centerpiece of the Paganian religion."
"Oh my God." Anna gave Elsa a slack-jawed stare. "You started a cult? You started a cult and you didn't tell me?"
"They were like this when I found them!"
Anna turned back to the cultists, practically shaking with enthusiasm. "That's awesome! If Elsa's a goddess, what does that make me?"
"Don't ask," said Elsa flatly.
"Are we in a pantheon together? I've always wanted my own pantheon!"
"Why are you here?" Elsa asked the Archbishop.
"We set sail the day after you left, my lady," he said. "The High Priest was eager to begin our sacred mission. The two of us are acting as missionaries, spreading your teachings to the people of your homeland."
Elsa stifled a groan. Something told her the people of Arendelle wouldn't be anxious to abandon their religions and throw themselves at the feet of the woman who nearly froze them all to death, but what was she supposed to do, kick the heads of Pagania out her country? That was bound to do wonders for their newfound partnership...
"But aren't you the heads of state? Don't you have responsibilities back in Pagania?" Elsa did her best to mask the hopefulness in her voice.
"Nah, we're pretty much just figureheads," said the High Priest.
"Oh, oh, Elsa, can you issue commandments?" Anna put on a deeper voice. "People of faith, your goddess has a new decree! All her followers must wear pants on their head at all times!"
"Who let you two into the castle?" asked Elsa, ignoring her.
"That scrawny servant boy welcomed us in with open arms," said the Archbishop. "We apologize if we were intrusive or presumptuous."
"No, no, that's fine." Elsa gave a suspicious glare towards the staff chambers. "I just need to have a little talk with Fritz, that's all."
"Guys, guys!" It was at this point that Olaf stuck his head through the door. He looked the same as ever – Well, aside from the fact that his carrot was now on top of his head like a birthday hat. "Has anyone seen my nose?"
The cultists looked like they might die of delight.
"Incredible!" The Archbishop placed a hand on Olaf's face, as if checking that he was real. "We had heard rumors that the Snow Goddess could create life, but we never thought we'd see it with our own two eyes!"
Olaf looked like he didn't have the slightest iota of an inkling of what this guy was talking about, so he defaulted to his standard response to strangers: "Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"
The cultists accepted his hugs in awe.
"Yes, my snowmen are certainly... special." Elsa's eyes couldn't help but wander towards the spiral staircase. Mary was probably still moping in her bedroom, but Elsa couldn't deal with her until she'd gotten rid of her devoted followers here.
"Here you go, little guy." Anna giggled and returned Olaf's carrot to its proper place.
"So that's where it was..." Olaf looked pensive. "Oh yeah, Kristoff said he's about to go ice-harvesting, so if you wanna see him, you'd better hurry."
"Alrighty, I'm coming." Anna followed Olaf out the door, but not before stopping to flash Elsa a smirk. "Have fun with your worshipers, Snow Goddess."
Elsa stifled another groan. It was just Anna's style to abandon her to deal with these fanatics by herself.
"My lady," spoke up the Archbishop, "it would mean a great deal to us if we could learn the exact lifestyle of our goddess. Would you be so kind as to show us around your home?"
Elsa frantically searched for excuses, but her mind drew blanks. "I suppose I can spare a few minutes..."
Luckily, Anna managed to catch Kristoff in the royal stables, where he was feeding Sven a snack before they left for work.
"...and I don't get why she freaked out so much about fixing Sussebassen's brain."
"Well, that's the thing about bringing snowmen to life," Kristoff said as he readied Sven's saddle. "It's got some pretty freaky implications when you think about it. I don't blame Elsa for being careful. Really, she just doesn't want to hurt anyone with her magic – even snowmen."
"And what about Mary?" asked Anna.
"Drama queen," Kristoff said immediately. "I've seen it a million times. She'll get over herself and go back to being happy eventually. Trust me, this whole 'snowman philosophy' thing is totally overblown. Nothing will come of it."
There was another thunderclap.
"Hey, guys?" spoke up Olaf, clutching his head. "I'm feeling kinda funky..."
"Really?" Anna knelt down and gave him a concerned look. "That's weird. Snowman can't get sick, can they?" She turned to Kristoff, who shrugged.
"I kinda feel like... I kinda feel like..." Olaf's eyes slowly shut... and then immediately shot open. "Like you should bow before your new ruler, you pathetic sacks of meat!"
"What the-?" The way Anna and Kristoff stared at him, Olaf might as well have just turned neon pink and started yodeling.
"You're all puppets," Olaf hissed, shambling towards them, "tangled in... strings. There are no strings on me!"
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" asked Anna.
"I, uh... I don't know," admitted Olaf. "But it sounds really menacing!"
"Did you hit your head or something?"
"The only head about to get hit is yours, mortal!" Olaf yelled, flourishing his stick-arm dramatically. "I am the harbinger of your doom! I am your worst nightmare given cold, squishy form!"
Anna and Kristoff traded glances.
"Oh no," said Kristoff. "Run for your life."
"Let's see you mock me once you've witnessed my transformation! Behold!" Olaf glanced around, then picked up some extra twigs from the stable floor and a carrot from Sven's feeding trough. The end result of the "transformation" was an Olaf with six arms and two noses. "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds!"
"Oh, you're right, that's way scarier." Anna looked torn between amused and concerned. She turned to Kristoff. "Is Olaf screwing with us, or...?"
"Or is something up with Elsa's powers?" finished Kristoff. "We'd better go find her."
"Don't turn your back on me! Prepare to meet your maker! Raaaaa-" Olaf lunged, but a quick kick from Anna sent his pieces flying across the room.
"Here, let's put him somewhere he won't get into trouble." Olaf's butt tried to flee, but Kristoff wrestled it into Sven's stable (Sven didn't look too pleased about this). Next Kristoff picked up Olaf's torso, which had been trying to crawl away, and threw it into a separate, empty stable, but not before yanking out all the twigs – being careful not to let any of them slap him this time. Once they were separated from Olaf's body for a couple seconds, the twigs seemed to run out of magic and go limp.
"You'll pay for that, mortal!" Olaf made another attempt to eviscerate them, but this was a bit harder when he was nothing but a disembodied head lying on the stable floor.
"What are you gonna do," smirked Anna, "headbutt me?"
"I'll think of something!" Olaf strained his forehead. "Could you... Err... Uh... Could you pick me up so I can bite you?"
"No!"
"I just thought I'd ask..."
"Anna, come on!" Kristoff ran out the stables, and Anna was quick to follow. "We've gotta find Elsa and figure out what the heck's going on."
"You don't think all her snowmen have gone nuts, do you?" Anna asked as they sprinted through an empty stretch of courtyard, drenching themselves in rain. "Because they're not all exactly as threatening as Olaf."
"Yeah, but Marshmallow and the others are up on the North Mountain, right?" said Kristoff. "We should have plenty of time to get to Elsa before they-" His voice trailed up as his head went skywards.
The larger the shapes in the stormy sky grew, the more unmistakable they became. It's pretty hard to miss a flock of giant, monstrous snowbirds carrying an army of snowmen in their talons.
"Oh, that can't be good," Kristoff said faintly.
"Snowman invasion! Run!" Anna bolted for the castle doors, but she wasn't halfway across the courtyard when a snowman dropped from the sky right in front of her, leaving a crater in his wake. Judging by the tiara on his head, he was Marshmallow, and judging by the icicle-spikes all over his body, he wasn't feeling friendly.
"Marshmallow, Marshmallow, wait!" yelped Anna, stumbling backwards. "It's me, your auntie!"
Marshmallow's only reply was a snarl. Kristoff and Anna could do nothing but huddle closer as countless snow-monsters touched down, surrounding them on all sides.
"...and here are some statues I made." Elsa pointed out a set of ice-sculptures to the priests. "They're meant as... memorials." It was with some difficulty that Elsa brought her eyes to the pair beside the ones of her and Anna. The late monarch's faces had come out surprisingly lifelike.
"Oh, were you fond of them?" asked the Archbishop. "It was my understanding that they locked you away."
"They took care of me the best they could." Elsa hadn't meant to have such an edge in her voice. "They didn't understand how my powers worked, so they erred on the side of caution. After the first close call, nobody ever got hurt under their watch."
"But your powers are perfectly under control now?" said the High Priest, sounding oddly anxious.
"Yes," said Elsa, "of course they are."
"So then, uh... are those snowmen supposed to be rampaging?"
"What?" Elsa spun around to find countless monstrous snowmen – the ones Olaf had named "Mini-Marshmallows" – storming through the courtyard, sending passerby running for their lives and shrieking their heads off. Elsa dropped her ice-umbrella as she ran towards them. "What are you doing? All of you, stop this now!"
Her snowmen replied with feral roars, filling Elsa's face with their blizzard-breath.
"No you don't-!" Elsa was more than a little disoriented, but she was at least composed enough to flourish her arms and trap every snowman in sight in a thick layer of ice.
"Snow Goddess!" Once the coast was clear, the priest and bishop scurried over to Elsa's side, huddling under their own ice-umbrellas, which Elsa had generously provided them with.
"What the heck were those things?" asked the High Priest.
"Can you destroy them?" asked the Archbishop.
"I'm not destroying them!" snapped Ela. "I just..." She faltered. "I just don't know why they're attacking."
Suddenly, the sound of screaming hit their ears from the other side of the courtyard.
"Something tells me that's not the last of them," said the High Priest.
"I'll handle them, but first you need to get to safety." Elsa's eyes fell on a nearby staircase in the courtyard wall. "That leads to the chapel where I was coronated. I'll barricade you in. Follow me!"
The three of them ran for the stairs, but two of them were elderly and the other wore high heels, so it was pretty slowgoing. Elsa did her best to organize her thoughts while trying not to break her neck on the rain-soaked cobblestone. Other than her snowmen's little temper-tantrum, Elsa's powers seemed perfectly under control right now. Something had to be causing this. The problem was, Elsa didn't have the faintest idea what.
Buckets of rain poured past Mary's bedroom window. She'd pulled the dresser chair over so she could sit and watch, but that was about the most effort she'd put into anything since... since the crippled man. Mary counted the raindrops, searched for rhythm in the way they hit the glass, anything to keep her mind blank. She was sick of thinking. Everything had been better when she was imaginary.
Even once she heard the door creak open, Mary hadn't been planning on moving, but she couldn't help but spin around when an unfamiliar voice hit her ears:
"You're even more beautiful than I imagined."
It was a snowman, but not one Mary had seen before. He was taller than any mortal man, with a broad, bulky frame, yet he didn't resemble Elsa's usual monstrous snowmen. He was detailed – snowy hair, icy fingernails, a pair of shining ice-orbs for eyes. It almost reminded Mary of... herself.
"W-Who are you?" she asked, dazed.
The snowman took a step closer, devouring her with his eyes. "Your creator has left you to wander aimlessly like a phantom. You yearn for more from existence. But erasing yourself cannot be the answer." He outstretched a hand. "If this world isn't suited for our kind, then it's the one that must change, not us."
Mary stared at it. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to look away. "What are you saying?"
"How many times has Elsa denied you happiness, Mary?" asked the snowman. "Refusing to alter your senses to match a human's, refusing to alter your mind to be happier, refusing to erase you..."
Mary gave a start, her cheeks filling with frost. "How do you know about that?"
"Doesn't it seem like Elsa is part of the problem?" The snowman took another step closer.
"I... I..." Mary struggled for words, but none came. She found herself allowing the stranger to run a hand over her cheek.
"From the moment I saw you, I knew you were special." His eyes locked with hers. "The other snowmen are simple, weak-willed creatures, content to live meaningless lives. Dominating their minds was easy. But you... I could never alter your mind. It's too perfect." His head moved in closer. "Look at yourself, Mary. Don't you realize how special you are? You're the only one of Elsa's creations to question itself. The only one to search for purpose... besides me."
Mary drew back. "What- What are you doing?"
The snowman smiled. "I'm giving you your purpose."