"Wait."
"What?"
While Kristoff was still somewhat angry and upset with Elsa, he was relieved that she was finally comprehending Anna's perspective. He also had to admit he was glad that Elsa had ice powers. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to transport Grand Pabbie to the palace in the first place.
After all, he rode here on Sven as fast as he could.
The sleigh would have only slowed him down.
Elsa quickly created an icy sleigh, complete with convenient icy reins for him to use to direct Sven. Not to mention tether aforementioned sleigh to his longtime buddy.
Gale easily lifted the heavy block of ice to the sleigh.
Both of them were anxious to return to the palace. Not to mention to see how Anna herself was doing.
"What about them?"
Kristoff grimaced as he (reluctantly) turned around.
It was a valid question.
The other trolls were still frozen solid. The extent of their guilt and culpability in Grand Pabbie's schemes remained to be seen. Kristoff felt torn in two as he stared at his surrogate mother figure, Hilda.
He didn't want to believe that she was guilty.
That her love and affection were fake.
It was Elsa's turn to suppress the urge to either shake Kristoff by his arms or hurry him along somehow. She would feel the exact same way if their situations were reversed.
Not to mention she could sympathize with his plight.
She felt used and betrayed by her own parents.
"How long could you keep them frozen?"
"Indefinitely."
"Let's focus on Anna for now."
"Okay."
Other than that brief exchange, the trip back to the palace was made in silence. Elsa even summoned the Nokk from the water molecules in the air. She mounted the horse spirit with practiced ease. Both of them were too preoccupied with their own thoughts to make even a token attempt at conversation.
Elsa bit her lower lip in agitation.
Kristoff had told her not to blame herself.
But it was difficult not to accept at least some responsibility for her role in the mess that was Anna's life. Her parents, especially Father, used her as a convenient excuse to ignore Anna and treat her like garbage. Elsa herself repeatedly told her to go away.
She never once considered what Anna endured growing up.
Even after things settled down and she was able to control her powers, Elsa constantly needed assurance from Anna. She was wrestling with her old fears and insecurities.
Due to her subconscious, emotional blocks, she couldn't sense Anna's growing inner turmoil.
Then, she refused to tell her about Mother's voice.
Elsa had told Anna that she didn't want to worry her. But what if it was more than that? What if there was a darker reason for her stubborn silence?
Then, Elsa selfishly tried to go alone to the Enchanted Forest.
Without any help or back-up to speak of.
Elsa suppressed a shudder. She sincerely doubted she would have been able to tame the Elemental Spirits by herself. Even if she had, she would have been ignorant about Grandfather's murderous actions and his true intentions for creating the dam. Or the fact that the dam was weakening the Elemental Spirits, Ahtohallan, the Enchanted Forest and disrupting the balance of nature.
Then she refused to wait for Kristoff to rejoin their group.
Before they discovered their parents' shipwreck.
Elsa was so busy feeling guilty and responsible for Mother and Father's demise that she never registered Anna's pain and grief. After all, they were her parents as well.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Elsa tried to send Anna and Olaf to safety...
...in an admittedly stupid, reckless and thoughtless way.
Part of it was the fact that Elsa wanted to keep them safe. Deep down, she always knew that the journey to Ahtohallan was too dangerous. She wanted to rub her arms. She remembered being attacked by the Nokk. Futilely trying to swim through large, heaving waves.
Nearly drowning several times.
There was no way Anna and Olaf would have survived.
But was there another reason that Elsa made that fateful decision to send them away? Elsa was still wrestling with fear and anger over Anna's lack of concern for her own safety.
But there was something else.
Belatedly, Elsa realized she had felt something else.
Elsa felt annoyed that Anna overrode her objections and joined the journey anyway. She felt this was an adventure that was far too dangerous for her. With a start, Elsa realized that underestimated Anna and didn't think she was capable of seeing it through.
She acted just like Mother and Father.
Not believing that Anna was capable of anything much.
Elsa knew she was wrong. Due to her own recklessness, Anna and Olaf nearly died in that icy canoe. She herself froze to death at Ahtohallan and was only revived when ANNA risked her life to tame the earth giants and destroy the dam.
Elsa was too caught up in the euphoria of discovering her purpose.
So much so that she didn't register Anna's myriad emotions during their reunion.
In fact, she didn't consider Anna's feelings in the matter as she abruptly made the decision to abdicate the throne and move to the Enchanted Forest. Elsa made a new life for herself with the Northuldra, Ahtohallan and the Enchanted Forest.
Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf became lower on her list of priorities.
Just as Anna stated earlier.
Elsa was so happy at finally discovering her destiny, the reason she was born, she never once thought about the impact on Anna to lose her only family so abruptly.
Nor did she even ASK if Anna wanted to be queen.
Elsa was coming to a lot of bitter realizations.
No wonder Anna snapped. Normally, she was a forgiving young woman. But even people like Anna had their limits. It was also ironic that both sisters suppressed their emotions.
But for different reasons.
For Elsa, it became a matter of self preservation.
For Anna, it was to avoid hurting others.
She always put others before herself.
As a result, Anna didn't know who she was. Elsa vowed to be a better sister, to help Anna discover her destiny. To help her realize that people DID love and appreciate her.
Things had to change.
Or she could lose Anna for good.
In a way, Kristoff was worried about the same thing.
No, he wasn't concerned over losing her.
He knew their love for each other was strong. No, he was worried that Anna's darker emotions would swallow her completely and change her personality.
And not necessarily for the better.
He was also ashamed that he didn't sense how deep her wounds ran.
Oh, he knew that something was wrong. That she was pretending that she was okay ever since Elsa moved to the Enchanted Forest. But he didn't realize the depths of her pain.
For years, Elsa was all she had.
Until the sisters were separated due to the accident.
Even if Anna had a great relationship with her parents, years of being isolated and quarantined in the palace, especially during your formative years, had a lasting impact.
It would definitely explain why Anna was so quick to trust Hans.
Kristoff adjusted his grip on his icy reins, deep in thought.
If Anna decided to break her bond with Elsa, it would destroy her. It was almost like they were connected somehow, in an interdependent, symbiotic circle.
They relied on each other for strength.
It would also destroy Elsa, who was finally realizing Anna's side of things.
Kristoff knew that Anna had to discover her purpose. Due to her parents' neglect and trying to avoid hurting others, constantly putting other people first, Anna never learned how to live for herself. She had her own identity, but it wasn't a fully established one.
She had to put herself first for a change.
Discover who she was.
Kristoff didn't want to see her drowning in her anger and bitterness. He loved Anna the way she was. He knew it would be up to both Elsa and he to help Anna through this.
But how?
While his spirit was still bound to this tree, he could see well enough.
His senses were still superior to that of mere, weakling mortals.
He first focused on Elsa and Kristoff. At first, he felt some amusement. Grand Pabbie, the great, powerful leader of the trolls, a being known for being wise and practically all-knowing, an entity that was well over three hundred years old, was a popsicle.
His frozen features were still betraying his anger.
His mouth open as if to yell at something...or someone.
Gale already transported him to the crude, rather unsophisticated ice sleigh that Elsa created with her powers. Really, he thought with a contemptuous sneer, she was such a show-off. So unworthy of the gift of magic with her crude, infantile displays.
He also felt contemptuous of the Nokk spirit.
Allowing her to treat it like a beast of burden.
At least Elsa was finally lifting her head out of her arse and realizing the damage she had done to her sister over the years. To him, she was a rather selfish creature.
So caught up in her woes and so-called traumas and difficulties.
Allowing her insipid fears to weaken her further.
The only things she did right was first, handing the crown over to a far worthier and superior recipient. Then, doing her (unwitting) part to make Anna whole once more.
He was well aware of the prophecies surrounding both sisters.
The only reason he didn't act against Elsa was that she was needed to aid his love.
But he vowed to make her pay for hurting Anna. Now that she was no longer required, she was...expendable as far as he was concerned. Grand Pabbie would pay as well, for that matter. He never anticipated the troll would go that far to suppress Elsa's powers.
Elsa was weakened.
But Anna suffered as a result as it came at her expense.
Then his gaze hardened even further as it shifted to Kristoff. The puny, mortal peasant would never get to defile Anna with his trivial lusts. He wasn't worthy of licking her boots, much less marrying her.
Yes, he would be useful in weakening Arendelle further.
As if someone's enemies could be stopped with weak concepts like peace and diplomacy.
But it wasn't worth the risk. He refused to lose her to some pathetic ice harvester of all people. It was why he...encouraged Grand Pabbie to turn Hans into a sleeper agent.
He wanted to punish the prince for daring to feel attracted to Anna. It would have eventually developed into love.
It was also why Krig became yet another pawn.
He didn't like that the powerhungry, ambitious mortal wished to conquer Arendelle. He would have raped Anna repeatedly until he got her with child.
Then he would have arranged for her to have an "accident" once she gave birth to a son. His brothers would have been no better. It was why he punished the royal family and the entirety of the Southern Isles for their temerity as a result.
Well, he amended, Anna would have had an "official" accident.
In reality, Krig or his brothers would have kept her as a plaything for life.
Anna had the unfortunate curse of being a lure for cruel, sadistic males. She was just so beautiful and innocent, the bastards wouldn't hesitate to tarnish her purity.
Grand Pabbie rebelled when he tried to arrange for Kristoff to become king.
Well, he refused to let that happen.
Vowing to punish Elsa and Kristoff on a later date, he shifted his focus to another pair of mortals that would eventually feel his wrath.
Especially Iduna.
Despite what people thought, Iduna WAS supposed to die of childbed fever.
During her fever dreams, she would waver between the living and dead worlds. Iduna clung desperately to life, but she was fated for an early demise. Unfortunately, he had foreseen that Anna's life would be infinitely more difficult if Agnarr lost his little wife.
So, he visited Iduna during one of her dreams and they struck a bargain.
It was because of HIM that Iduna was still alive.
But the stupid woman not only forgot, she also had no memory or recollection of what she was supposed to offer as payment, in exchange for her insignificant life:
Anna.