A/N: Um... I guess thanks to the two of you reviewed. Uh... TBH, it would be nice to get more feeback, but whatever. It doesn't really matter. I guess.
Nico walked along the beach of Camp Half-Blood. The sun was setting. He just didn't feel like going to the sing-a-long that evening, so he went to walk in the sand.
He was troubled, which was different from his new happier life with good friends. This was the first time he had really been troubled since the war against Gaea had ended.
Memories had resurfaced. Good and bad ones.
Losing them explained a lot, such as why Nico felt so empty and alone. He never truly was alone… He'd had someone, but she had been taken away from him, and he'd lost all of his memories of her. That morning, he'd woken up with all of them intact.
Elsa…
He clearly remembered meeting her for the first time, seeing her on her birthday, her facing off Khione for the first time, taking her to the mountain trolls, thinking that she was dead, saving her from her frozen head, taking her to Camp Half-Blood for the first time, and losing her. Losing her was the most painful memory. He'd been able to do nothing. Just stand there helplessly and watch as she was taken.
Nico had the ring she'd given him. When he'd forgotten her, he'd held onto it, knowing that he should. He was glad that he'd held onto it. Nico wore it the whole day.
He'd isolated himself from most of everybody, especially Will Solace. This was too personal. Elsa was a close friend of Nico's; with whom he had shared some of his deepest darkest secrets. They related to each other. Nico had gotten some confused looks when he avoided talking to most people. When Will had knocked on his door, Nico asked for privacy, explaining that he simply needed a relaxation day to think. That was healthy, right? Will had grudgingly agreed that some people did need a day to themselves, especially after things demigods went through.
In reality, Nico had found Elsa's things, and was looking through the things she had brought in her backpack. He didn't know if she'd ever come back, so he sought out comfort in her belongings. There was nothing personal in there that might have helped him to understand her even more. Just clothes and jewelry. Nothing that meant anything to Elsa.
He'd put everything back carefully, and in pretty much the way he found it.
Nico didn't feel any better. The leather backpack burned a hole in the cabin, it seemed.
He'd cried a few times upon realizing that Elsa was gone, and he couldn't do anything to find or save her.
Nico, once he had enough of walking through the sand, moved to the grass bordering the beach. He gazed across the ocean. It did nothing to soothe or comfort him. It just provided background noise. He turned to look at the hill/mountain that towered over camp. He looked to the top, and closed his eyes. Nico envisioned the ice palace made by Elsa on the top of it. A tear formed in Nico's eyes. He blinked and it rolled down his cheek. He brushed it away. Not out of shame, but because Elsa probably wouldn't want him to shed tears over her.
What Nico did wonder was if Elsa was dead. Had she survived? Or had she died? Perhaps a trip to the Underworld would fix this…
He kicked a pebble onto the sand of the beach, pursing his lips together.
As he thought, should he look to the waves, or to the mountain? The waves were easier to look at, but was it better to just endure the pain in his heart from looking to that mountain? Would that make it easier, or should he just avoid the pain?
"Elsa…" Nico whispered, closing his eyes tightly. "I miss you… Where are you?" He felt the air get colder around him. Goosebumps arose from his flesh. Cold flecks touched him. Nico's eyes flew open, and couldn't believe his eyes. Snow?
He furrowed his eyebrows, and looked at the sky. There were no clouds, but it was snowing over him. Where had it come from?
Nico turned wildly around several times.
"Looking for me?" A slightly familiar voice piped up, sounding like she was smiling.
"Elsa?" Nico gasped. Her voice was more mature than he last remembered. He tried to zero in on where her voice was coming from.
"Over here." Nico found himself facing a tree. Then, Elsa stepped from behind it. She looked older, but then again he probably did too. She was wearing a silver cloak with the hood up over an elegant teal dress. She was wearing makeup. She looked like she was about to cry, though she was smiling.
"Elsa?" He choked out, near tears. "Are-Are you real?" He stepped towards her.
"You tell me." She managed. "This feels like a dream…" She approached him, and the two were left with half a meter between them.
"Yeah… Same here." Nico chuckled nervously. Both of them were crying, and the tears shone in the moonlight. Twilight had approached. They just looked at each other, seeing how the other had matured and grown. Both were smiling because they were finally together again after everything that had happened. Neither of them even knew each other's full story yet.
The two of them became overwhelmed and rushed at each other; throwing their arms into an embrace. They cried at the feeling of finally feeling the other, and knowing that this wasn't a dream. If this were a dream, why would they feel the fabric of the other's clothing or the temperature difference with such detail? This was real. Finally. The two buried their faces in the other's shoulder and cried with relief.
Eventually, the two of them joined hands and began to walk to the Hades cabin for guaranteed privacy. All of the cabins were soundproof.
Once inside, Elsa removed the hood of her cloak, revealing her newly acquired diadem. Nico gasped upon seeing it.
"What… How?" He asked. The two of them sat down on beds across from each other and Elsa began her story. There were tears shed of sadness as she told her story to someone for the first time. Elsa had to stop for a bit on some parts, for they were difficult to tell, and they both ended up crying harder by the end of her story, though it ended with the festivities after her coronation. A happy ending. But the main part of the story… That was what left Elsa hyperventilating and with shaky hands and a shaky voice. That was what left her unable to speak, just sobbing. That was what left Elsa needing Nico to come over and sit next to her and hold her hand for the rest of her story. That was what left him with an arm around her, doing his best to comfort her, even though he didn't exactly know how. But Elsa finally had a shoulder to cry on, hands to hold, and arms to encircle her and make her feel safe.
Telling her story, though difficult, was liberating.
When it came time for Nico to explain everything that had happened to him, he knew that his story paled in comparison to what Elsa had gone through. It couldn't hold a candle to the unspeakable tragedy and horrifying things that had happened to Elsa.
It was then that he knew that she was the strongest demigod he knew and ever could know.
Tartarus was nothing compared to what Elsa had gone through. Sure, Nico had felt physical pain and the pain in his heart of going through it alone, but Elsa had been through so much worse. And she literally had nobody. The only living person who loved and cared about Elsa was Anna, and Elsa had been forced to leave her.
Once they finished with their stories, Elsa had a warning for him.
"I have to thaw my frozen heart before I turn eighteen." She informed him. "Aphrodite told me that once I become a goddess, if my heart is still frozen, it will stay that way while I am a goddess, never to be reversed." Nico bit his lip, concerned. Elsa continued. "Aphrodite promised that she would send my true love, and that it would be someone worth it, but I have less than four years, Nico. Four years to thaw my frozen heart."
"We can get through this, Elsa; trust me." Nico promised, forcing a smile for Elsa's sake. She smiled weakly before speaking.
"I hope you're right."
A/N: This was the original final chapter to GKSQ, in case you didn't get that. BTW, I updated the polyvore link to include Elsa's clothing from both this and last chapter, if you're curious. Please follow if you wanna see how the story goes, favorite if you wanna give an indirect recommendation to others, plus have easy access, and review if you would like to let me know your thoughts. Seriously, I love almost any type of feedback. That's something people don't really get about fanfiction authors. Anyway, see you either Thursday on Snowdrops, or next Monday.
BTW: This is off topic, but if you pray or whatever, please pray for me to do well on my finals. Cause I really need to do well in Spanish, Math, and Concept Physics.