Despite his anger towards her, Kristoff still felt gratitude for Elsa.
Why? She used her powers to freeze Grand Pabbie completely.
Neither was in the mood to listen to his litany of lies and excuses. Kristoff was relieved that Elsa sensed he wasn't in the mood for a chat. He was still sitting on the same spot as he didn't trust himself to stand.
How?
How could Grand Pabbie do this to him?
While a part of him wanted to deny that Grand Pabbie could be so cold and calculating, Kristoff was a realist. He had to grow up the hard way and learn life's harshest lessons from a young age. Grand Pabbie already proved he could be quite ruthless if he was so inclined.
The true reasons behind altering Anna's memories was proof.
Grand Pabbie also confirmed that he CHOSE not to save Kristoff's parents.
Kristoff heard it straight from the horse's mouth. This was devastating in every sense of the word. From the moment Hilda adopted him, he didn't feel alone anymore.
The trolls gave him what he desperately needed as a child.
Now, he was starting to wonder what was fabricated and what was real.
Was Grand Pabbie the only guilty party? Did he send Hilda to that exact spot so that she would encounter Kristoff and Sven in order to adopt the both of them? He certainly knew that Kristoff and Sven would be there to witness what would happen to Anna.
Grand Pabbie knew he would someday marry Anna and become king.
Kristoff shuddered.
He felt used, as if he were a mere pawn on Grand Pabbie's chessboard. Grand Pabbie became his primary teacher. It would make sense that Kristoff would apply the lessons he learned in his everyday life. Grand Pabbie would definitely influence his decisions as king.
Kristoff wouldn't have thought twice about making Grand Pabbie a trusted advisor.
Nor would he have objected if the trolls became advisors for his descendants.
No wonder Anna felt such anger, bitterness and resentment towards Grand Pabbie and the rock trolls by extension. They were inclined to obey his will as his word was law.
Grand Pabbie treated all of them like pawns.
So they could fulfill his nebulous philosophy that was his version of the Greater Good.
Kristoff was startled out of his reverie as Sven nudged him with his nose. Grateful, Kristoff stroked his reindeer's head. It was at this moment that Kristoff remembered his unofficial slogan: "Reindeer are better than people".
It seemed like no one could be trusted.
It felt like everyone had an agenda.
That everything was a grand conspiracy designed to control him.
To use him in some way.
Kristoff gave himself a mental slap before he lost himself to paranoia. While he questioned everything that happened to him while he was under the trolls' collective care and influence, one thing DID feel real: his love for Anna.
Yes, it felt like Grand Pabbie orchestrated a sequence of events so that they would meet.
But he genuinely fell in love with her over the course of their journey.
Kristoff knew she felt the same way about him. Right now, their love felt like the only thing that Kristoff could count on, well, besides Sven, of course. Kristoff gave himself a mental shake as he decided that he would confront his hurt and anger later on.
Right now, everything felt too raw to confront just yet.
He felt exposed and vulnerable.
Kristoff didn't like feeling vulnerable. It felt like he had to put up a mask from an early age to protect himself from the pain of losing his parents. He didn't like interacting with people unless he had to. It wasn't just a matter of being unable to trust someone.
He was afraid of getting close to another person.
He didn't know how he would feel if he became close to someone only to lose them.
Kristoff knew he made a huge risk when he proposed to Anna. But she was the only woman he could picture as his wife. He simply couldn't live without her.
Finally, Kristoff felt like he had the strength to stand.
Slowly, shakily, Kristoff got to his feet even as he felt his legs start to buckle.
He wasn't yet ready to confront his revelations about Grand Pabbie. But he DID feel ready to confront Elsa and demand an explanation. It was time for her to face some facts.
If he had to shove them down her throat until she choked, then so be it.
Every so often, Gerda would glance over her shoulder.
To make sure that Anna was still asleep.
Dagmar, another holdover from Stoiske's reign-not to mention her younger sister-helped her search the queen's quarters for more drawings. Gerda didn't dare ask another maid to help her. Fortunately, Anna could be a pack rat when it came to her things.
Even items from her childhood.
Gerda could feel her mind racing.
She felt like her head would burst as the questions started filling in her mind, like water overflowing on the edges of a dam. How could Anna know about this tree? Why did she draw it in such extensive, intricate and excruciating detail?
Why did she draw her grandfather in such a tortured fashion?
Who was the woman entangled in the roots?
Gerda didn't know how or why Anna knew about this damnable tree. Stoiske was meticulous and thorough to the point of obsession when it came to destroying all knowledge about the tree and its very existence.
Runeard never learned of it.
The same could be said of Agnarr, Iduna and Elsa.
Gerda foolishly thought their secret was safe...until she stumbled upon this drawing. She had a grim feeling that Anna was drawing this very tree for years.
And no one even noticed.
They all thought Anna was imagining things.
Carefully, the sisters searched Anna's quarters. They would paw through her things, but make sure to clean things up and leave things exactly as they originally found them. Finally, they found a secret compartment hidden in Anna's wardrobe.
Sure enough, this was where the queen kept the drawings.
Quickly, the sisters left, closing the door after them.
Gerda clutched the drawings close to her chest as if they were the most priceless of jewels. They could feel their hearts pounding as they headed for the servants' quarters.
Both were wary of running into someone they shouldn't.
Like a guard or fellow servant.
Fortunately, Fate was on their side and they reached Gerda and Kai's small bedroom without incident. They knew they were in a race against the clock. Anna could wake up at any moment. She would be none too pleased to learn that the drawings were gone.
Much less the fact that someone found her secret compartment in the wardrobe.
Gerda and Dagmar carefully locked the door after them.
They knelt at the bed and carefully arranged the drawings in order. They started from the night following the accident that resulted in Anna losing her memories of Elsa's powers.
Both sisters paled at what they were seeing.
These weren't figments of a child's overactive imagination.
Even at a young age, Anna had a talent for drawing. But the images were dark and macabre. Anna would draw images of people fighting and dying. Of Arendellian soldiers attacking innocent people. Of broken down villages and crumbling buildings.
Large piles of bodies.
Pools of blood.
It was hard to believe that this was what Anna was seeing. She was such a cheerful, happy-go-lucky young girl that it was hard to fathom how Anna could come up with such vile images. The sisters would quickly learn there was a common theme to the drawings.
The tree would be in each picture.
Gerda could feel her mind racing.
Iduna came from a powerful, ancient Northuldran tribe and the Enchanted Forest. Her family was intricately linked to magic and the Elemental Spirits. Was it possible that powers ran in Iduna's family? It would certainly explain how Elsa had snow and ice powers.
For so long, it was thought that Anna was an ordinary young woman.
With no powers to speak of.
But what if that wasn't true? Gerda could still remember watching from the sidelines as a powerful Seeress named Volva entered court to inform Runeard about two prophecies.
Gerda was too far away to hear their contents.
But Runeard definitely seemed to believe what she was saying.
Now that she thought about it, Gerda realized that Volva bore an eerie resemblance to Anna. Could she have been Iduna's mother? If Volva was a powerful seeress, perhaps Anna's dreams weren't made up or conjured images.
Maybe they were actual visions.
Gerda found her attention returning to the first drawing she initially found.
She carefully studied the people trapped in the tree. Gerda stared hard at the screaming woman ensnared by the roots. Then she let out a surprised gasp.
She recognized her!
Iduna gave her husband a skeptical look.
"Are you sure the second prophecy wasn't about Elsa?"
"Father was insistent." Agnarr said. "According to him, your mother warned we would sire two daughters who each had their own separate destiny. Elsa fulfilled hers when she tamed the Elemental Spirits and became the Fifth Spirit."
"Agnarr, it just sounds so...farfetched." Iduna said.
"I know." Agnarr admitted. "But you have to admit, the prophecy fits her."
"But she doesn't have any powers." Iduna said.
"I know." Agnarr said. "But remember the prophecy, the exact wording."
"Agnarr, Anna was born in summer, not winter." Iduna pointed out.
"But she was touched by winter." Agnarr said.
"No, Elsa was touched by winter." Iduna said. "She has snow and ice powers."
"But Anna was marked by winter's touch." Agnarr said.
"How?" Iduna asked.
"The accident." Agnarr said grimly.
"Oh." Iduna's eyes widened in realization. "The white streak in her hair."
"It appeared after Elsa hit her with that ice blast." Agnarr reminded her.
"Oh, God." Iduna looked ready to vomit. "The prophecy DOES fit her."
"Which means she is in grave danger." Agnarr said.
"We have to warn her." Iduna said.
"We can't." Agnarr said.
"Why not?" Iduna demanded.
"For whatever reason, Ahtohallan has made it clear that we are to say absolutely nothing to either Anna or her sister." Agnarr said grimly. "We can reconcile with Anna, but that's it."
"But we can't warn her?" Iduna wanted to sob over the injustice of it all.
"No." Agnarr said. "Come on, let's go find her."
Anna felt revulsion and vindication at the same time.
Yes, she was repulsed that she was seeing this vile tree yet again.
Anna was haunted by this abomination of nature for as long as she could remember. She would try to go to her parents for love and support. But they would send her back to her room before she could finish her explanation.
They seemed to prefer to believe she was lying.
Making up wild stories.
The servants were too busy with their duties and Elsa kept on telling her to go away. Talking to the portraits and reading books became boring and tedious after a while.
The same could be said in regards to playing by herself.
With no other outlet to speak of, Anna turned to drawing.
It was a compulsion she never understood. All she knew was that she had to draw whatever it was she was seeing in her dreams. She found it ironic that she would still have her damnable, accursed visions despite Grand Pabbie's vile spells and constant interferences.
The tree was a frequent visitor in her nightmares.
It pulsed with an evil, malevolent power.
Anna always felt like she was being watched whenever she was in the tree's presence. She felt like she was being weighed, scrutinized and judged as an evil presence invaded her mind and scanned her from head to toe. She always felt dirty and polluted afterwards. Her feet became stuck to the ground. She was unable to move, blink, breathe or speak everytime she was summoned to face this evil facet of nature.
She didn't like being confronted with this tree again.
But she felt a curious sense of elation as well.
Anna loved that she was able to prove her naysayers wrong. Despite what Mother, Father and the servants thought, she wasn't lying or making up wild stories.
The tree was real.
Just as she kept insisting for years.
Anna could easily recognize her cold, heartless great-grandfather Stoiske who was impaled by various branches and clawlike fingers. Even in his portraits, he was so cold and removed from humanity. Anna wanted to burn his portraits, but no one would let her.
She looked grim as she stared at the woman.
She didn't know who she was, but she could feel her pain and anger.
Her desperate pleas for release and mercy as she struggled to free herself from the roots that held her in place. Anna was about to reach forward to touch her image when one of the clawlike branches started to extend. She instinctively jumped back in case of attack.
But the branch extended sideways.
Thin, rootlike strings began to rain downwards.
Another shape began to form in the black ice. Anna squinted, unable to make out what she was seeing at first. Until she realized she was looking at a small cross of sorts.
The strings were dangling from its edges.
Like a marionette, she realized.
Her gaze slid downwards. Her eyes widened in disbelief. The strings were attached to the hands and feet of a familiar entity that did nothing but ruin her life:
Grand Pabbie.