This was DEFINITELY going well, Agnarr thought sarcastically to himself.
He was watching the events at Ahtohallan via an enchanted pool that allowed the dead to view the goings-on of the living. His face softened as he gazed at Anna, who was, not surprisingly, still horrified by what Ahtohallan was revealing to her.
Not that he blamed her.
He would feel the same way if he were in her shoes.
Agnarr bit his lower lip in consternation. For many years, he wondered why he and Iduna were stuck in limbo after their demise. He thought they were good people.
Why didn't they make it to Heaven?
He suppressed a shudder.
Even now, the last moments of their lives still haunted him. He could remember the angry, darkened skies. The flash of lightning. The crash of thunder. The turbulent waves of the sea rocking the ship to and fro.
Trying to maintain his balance on the swaying ship.
Reeling in shock and horror as he noticed the increasingly large waves.
Holding onto his precious wife as the ship finally gave into the violent waves. Shivering from the cold, shuddering from the knowledge they were about to die.
Struggling to breathe as they sank into the ocean.
Gasping for air as their water filled with lungs.
Until everything went black.
The next thing they knew, they were in another realm.
Instinctively, Agnarr and Iduna knew they were dead. But this wasn't heaven or hell. Instead, they found themselves in an odd realm with eternally grey skies. They were surrounded by lost souls with empty looks in their eyes.
They made a small home for themselves near the enchanted pool.
Every so often, they would look after their daughters.
It was only now that Agnarr understood WHY they were rotting in limbo. He flinched in shame and guilt. He never meant to hurt his younger daughter. He also knew he only made things worse for his children when he put them in isolation.
Locking them under quarantine at the palace.
Not protesting when Grand Pabbie outlined his schemes.
Belatedly, Agnarr realized that Elsa would have found the key to controlling her powers IF Anna was allowed to keep her memories. She acted as a stabilizing force for Elsa.
It was due to her innocent wonder of magic that kept Elsa calm.
Even encouraging her to accept her powers.
It was thanks to Anna that Elsa found the courage to explore what she could do. Instead of alleviating Elsa's fears following the accident, Agnarr and Iduna exacerbated the problem rather than ameliorating it. Elsa's fears only increased and she was kept locked inside her room like a prisoner.
Anna was kept isolated, neglected and ignored.
She couldn't understand why the palace was in lockdown.
Her parents pushed her aside. No one provided her with a proper explanation and the servants ignored her. While Elsa was only thinking of her safety when she kept telling Anna to go away, the younger princess didn't know that.
All she knew was that Elsa wanted nothing to do with her.
Just like everyone else in her life.
Agnarr had a feeling that Anna was right. In other words, he found have found a way to resent Anna even if Elsa's powers didn't play a factor. He was traumatized by how close Iduna came to death after Anna was born. It was touch and go for weeks.
Iduna would slip in and out of consciousness.
She was struck with a vicious childbed fever.
Only his royal duties kept Agnarr from Iduna's side. Poor Elsa didn't understand why she couldn't see her mother. Agnarr deliberately ignored his infant daughter, who was being tended to by wet nurses. He made sure that she was kept locked inside the nursery.
He knew that if he saw her, he would be tempted to harm her.
Or even worse, kill her.
The rational part of Agnarr knew that it wasn't Anna's fault. She was an innocent baby and it wasn't like she deliberately tried to harm her mother.
But since when could logic effect grief?
FLASHBACK
It was chaotic as the doctor and midwives worked frantically to save the queen.
Agnarr refused to leave Iduna's side.
Thankfully, the annoying brat was far away in the nursery. Kai and Gerda assured him they would keep an eye on Elsa in her chambers. There was a violent, swirling ice storm that formed due to her fear and confusion.
But at least it was kept confined to her quarters.
Kai and Gerda could be trusted to keep their mouths shut.
Agnarr's entire focus was on his wife. He didn't like how she was even paler and there was a growing pool of blood on the bed. The midwives already changed the sheets three times.
But it was still uncertain whether his wife was going to make it.
He prayed to whatever deity that was listening.
Iduna had to make it.
She had to.
Every now and then, he would get nightmares of seeing the pale, unmoving form of his mother after she died from childbirth. Her face was forever frozen in a rictus of fear and pain. Runeard looked grim as he led his son to her corpse.
Sternly, he ordered his son to "man up" and face reality that his mother was gone.
Tears wouldn't help the situation.
Agnarr watched with an eagle eye as the doctor and midwives did the best they could to revive his wife. He didn't know how much time has passed.
He didn't care how long it took.
He wouldn't let them rest until Iduna was out of danger.
His anger towards his second daughter continued to grow by the minute. It was HER fault that Iduna lay, possibly dying, in this very bed. Why did she have to be born?
Much less conceived.
Their lives were much better before she came along.
It was only when Agnarr was practically a zombie that the healing staff was finally able to get him to leave the room. He slept in the guest chambers.
But his sleep was fitful.
Every so often, he would wake up, pale and gasping, shaken by nightmares.
He was haunted by visions of his mother dying. Sometimes, his mother would be replaced by Iduna. Kai and Gerda would be of immense help to the grieving king. He had no time for his simpering brat of a daughter or trying to comfort Elsa.
The moment he could call it a day, Agnarr would race to Iduna's side.
She was so weak and fragile.
Only the rise and fall of her chest-and her weak, restless movements-assured Agnarr that his wife was still alive. The doctor called in other professionals to aid him when it came to the queen's treatment.
The more Iduna struggled, the bigger Agnarr's resentment towards his second child grew.
He wanted nothing to do with her.
If Iduna died, he would wish that the baby expired instead of her.
Thankfully, Iduna's condition gradually improved despite her childbed fever. Agnarr was warned that there was a chance that Iduna would never wake up from her comatose state.
But Agnarr knew she would survive.
And he would be correct.
While Iduna would make a complete recovery, the royal couple was horrified to learn how much damage the difficult pregnancy did to her body. Agnarr spent his spare time nursing his wife back to health.
But he still carried a lingering resentment towards the baby.
It didn't help that Iduna insisted on seeing her.
When Iduna was well enough to hold the baby, Agnarr only softened somewhat as it was clear that Iduna loved her. She didn't seem to bear the child any ill will, even though her condition was touch and go because of her.
Iduna was the one to name her Anna, after one of her favorite aunts in the tribe.
She made Agnarr promise he would at least try to love their second child.
FLASHBACK ENDS
To this day, Agnarr blamed his unborn brother for the death of his mother.
And if he lost Iduna, he would have blamed Anna and sent her away. It would be just as much for her safety as it was for his peace of mind. He wouldn't have been able to see a living, breathing reminder of his wife's murder.
In his mind, it was murder.
Thankfully, Iduna was able to recover.
But the damage the difficult pregnancy did to her body was irreversible. Agnarr never realized he still carried some bitter resentment towards Anna for what happened to his wife.
It was why he treated her like garbage following the accident.
Agnarr wanted to vomit.
Ahtohallan was revealing all of their secrets. But he knew this had to happen, as Anna and Elsa were living under a blanket of lies for their entire lives.
He wished he never came up with that stupid plan to isolate his daughters.
If he only had Grand Pabbie heal Anna, Elsa would have been able to discover her destiny as the Fifth Spirit that much quicker.
Anna had always been the key to helping Elsa with her abilities.
But he was too stubborn and blind to see it.
Agnarr gazed at the enchanted pool again. He never realized how much buried anger that Anna carried. Nor did he realize the damage he'd done to both of his daughters.
Until their deaths.
Agnarr knew that he had to make amends.
If Anna left Ahtohallan from the realm of dreams, he and Iduna would never be able to contact her again. The problem was, Anna felt like her entire life was a lie. He couldn't blame her for thinking that way. As it was thanks to him, Iduna and Grand Pabbie that Anna and Elsa found their memories wiped repeatedly.
Grand Pabbie would also perform other spells upon the girls.
All in a bid to keep Elsa locked in her chambers.
Agnarr was about to activate a portal that would carry him to Ahtohallan when he felt a hand clamp tightly on his shoulder. He instinctively shrugged off the hand, whirled around and got into a defensive stance. His eyes widened in disbelief at what he was seeing.
"Father?"