"No." Elsa deadpanned.

The sisters were standing on the shore at the back of the palace beside the lulling waters of the sea. The breeze was cold and wet and it left their hair dewy with tiny droplets of water.

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you," Anna said, her arms crossed under her chest. She looked regal, her time as queen had served her well.

"Anna, I know you're very strong, but there really is no way for you to come with me," the blonde relented a little, trying to instead approach the subject gently. "The sea is very wild there, and if you fall…"

It had been a couple of days since Elsa had shared her theories and conclusions with her sister. Anna, who had made the blonde sleep all of her missed hours, insisted that they wait some time before taking action so they could get themselves and their minds ready for the trip.

Elsa had expected this conversation, but she had not looked forward to it.

"If you think for a second I'm going to let you do this to me again, you are very wrong Elsa," Anna said icily. It made her sister's breath stutter for a second.

"I did it to protect you. When I pushed you away into the canoe I was protecting you," she whispered, begging for understanding.

"I don't care what you think you were doing. You had no right then, and you have no right now. They are also my parents Elsa, and I deserve to see them, I deserve to say goodbye to them just as much as you do."

Elsa got quiet and looked down.

"I don't want to lose you," she said quietly.

Anna sighed and untangled her arms. The breeze from the sea brushed their hair as they stood silently facing each other.

"You won't." There was an amused note to her voice which made Elsa lift her face, her brows furrowed. "Elsa," Anna said gently, taking her sister's hands. "You stopped a giant wave from destroying Arendelle. What makes you think something as simple as me falling into the sea is going to be a problem for you?"

"Anna-" She stopped when the ginger squeezed her hand softly.

"It's going to be fine Elsa. I'm going to be fine, don't worry." She smiled.

Elsa let go of a shuddering breath.

"You have too much faith in me," the blonde said a little bashful.

"I have the exact amount of faith you deserve." Anna grabbed her by the arms and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. They both laughed, the tensions diffused.

"So, time to call you horsy?" Anna asked jokingly, but her sister didn't laugh, she looked grim.

"Nokk… I don't know how to feel about him anymore," Elsa said distressed.

Anna lowered her hand so she could grab one of Elsa's, always a gentle support by her side.

"He… he helped the storm kill our parents," she whispered.

This Anna already knew quite well, being clear on her mind the day Elsa came to them soaked to the bone and full of anguish. She sighed a calming breath. The sky was gray as far as the eye could see, it wasn't helping their situation at all. Anna thought maybe this was how it looked before the storm had hit their parents' boat.

"I don't know if I can forgive that," Elsa finished sourly.

"Well," Anna started hesitantly, "from what you've told me, that's pretty much what Nokk was trying to do to you when you met him."

"Yes," Elsa choked the word out.

"I guess… I guess it's just in their nature," the ginger said ruefully, unable to find a way in which her sister's friendship with the water horse came out unscratched.

Elsa closed her eyes against the gray of the sky. She pressed her lips together, she did not want to admit her next words.

"I've been thinking maybe… maybe Nokk was protecting Ahtohallan… Maybe that's all he knew how to do. I don't… I don't think it's his fault, if that makes sense?" The effort of dragging the words out from her lungs and through her mouth was terrible. She opened her eyes and looked at the sea.

"I want to…" A tear fell down her cheek and she brushed it away angrily, "I wanted someone to blame. It's easier." She turned to Anna. "And it is his fault, he is the herald of storms and I saw what he did to our parents' boat, but…" she sighed with resignation, closing her eyes again. "not in a malicious way. It wasn't planned or intended, it was just…" She swallowed, almost unwilling to voice it.

"His nature," Anna finished.

"Yeah, his nature." She took a great big breath and let it go. "And we need his help to get there. Are you sure you're okay with this? How… how are you so calm about what they did?" Elsa's blue icy eyes looked confused at her sister.

"I think… back when we first went into the forest, they were all- the spirits I mean, they were all so angry and violent but also… kind and gentle. I came to terms with that back then. With the giants trying to crush me and all," she chuckled nervously. "It's like all natural things are I suppose. You have to tame them, and they can hurt you too, and some things just can't be tamed, like storms." Anna looked with meaning at her sister. "They're not bad or evil, they just are, and sometimes that hurts us." She breathed in long. "So, yes, I guess I came to terms with it a long time ago."

"Am I a storm?" Elsa asked tentatively.

"Yes." Anna grinned then. "but you're a storm that can tell good from bad and you always do your best to right your wrongs." She squeezed her sister's hand. "Come on, call Nokk."

Elsa nodded, not with a lot of enthusiasm but with conviction.

Anna let go of her and walked back to where Kristoff was waiting, giving them some privacy.

The white haired woman closed her eyes in concentration. She tugged at the string in her mind that connected her to the things of nature and sentience. That part of her that bridged the gap between the physical world and the spiritual.

Nokk?

And from the loud lapping waves jumped out the water horse, beautiful and splendorous. Elsa opened her eyes and saw the spirit trot to her cautiously. He leaned towards her and she felt the cool touch of his water snout against her cheek in question.

"We need your help," she pleaded.

The horse huffed and nipped gently at her hair. Nokk was looking directly at her, his big blue eyes questioning and unsure. They had parted on less than good terms and she was sure he didn't fully comprehend why.

Her heart softened and she leaned forward to rest against his flowing body, raising her arms to give the spirit a half hug. It was not forgiveness, but it was a step towards it, it was something Elsa herself needed to work on in her own time.

"Are we ready?" Came the approaching voice of Anna, She had a subdued but excited smile on her face. It was an adventure, for however sad the reason for it may be.

"Yes," Elsa said, turning to them,

"Please," Kristoff pleaded, "be careful out there, and come back." This last thing he said looking only at Anna.

"We'll be careful," Anna kissed his lips deeply. "Elsa will take care of me," she said with a faith unparalleled, it gave Elsa strength to believe she could actually do all that her sister believed her able to.

With a wave of her hand Elsa changed Nokk's rippling watery form to a dusty and more solid icy one.

~.~.~.~

They galloped through the sea at a speed Anna had never even thought possible before, it was frightening. She buried her face against the back of her sister and held on tightly to her chest. Yes, it was frightening, but in the glimpses Anna cached as she revealed her face to the wind she could see that it was also breathtakingly beautiful.

She was grateful she had thought in advance to dress up warmly, as soon as they began closing in onto the dark sea, the rain broke out. It was dreadfully cold and her sister's body temperature, which had dropped even more since she'd gone to Ahtohallan, definitely wasn't helping. Still, she burrowed as best as she could against her and waited, the stormy winds growing wilder and stronger with every passing league.

"Nokk, I need you to take me to the exact same spot we were last time," Elsa said to the spirit. He neighed in displeasure, remembering what had happened and the woman's sudden change of attitude towards him. "Please, it's important." She patted his flurry side.

Despite his apparent displeasure, Nokk relented, trotting on more forcefully than before, now with a direction in mind.

"Wow!" Anna exclaimed and squeezed her sister's middle. "We should not be able to move this fast," she exclaimed in a worried fashion. "It's unnatural."

That dragged a startled laugh out of Elsa.

"Of course it is Anna. It's a horse made of water and I can create ice with my hands. That's the meaning of unnatural," she said teasingly, feeling her sister's cold nose nuzzling her neck in a ticklish way.

The redhead grumbled quietly in good humor but Elsa sobered up. It wasn't far now.

~.~.~.~

Elsa was not sure she would've made it to the right spot without Nokk's help, the Dark Sea was vast and ever-changing; the best she could usually do was vague directions to the four cardinal points and things in relation to Ahtohallan. But she could see it now, a far away blue point in the distance, unlike the other blues in the sea, for this was luminescent and light in shade.

"Anna," she called, her voice tight with feeling.

The redhead sneaked her head from behind her back to look at her sister. Elsa looked forward grimly, suddenly full of apprehension for being back here. She… she didn't want to be here anymore, she wanted to turn them all around and forget this ever happened. But she knew, she would never forget.

"Over there," she said softly and pointed to the light blue spot growing in the distance, slowly it began to take shape. Two long figures standing side by side and gaining detail as the sister came closer.

Anna held tightly to her, no longer willing to hide her face.

The waves were huge and crashed around them, promising death if they strayed too near. They were almost there, Elsa concentrated on the area around them, around the plank of putrid wood she could already see. She knew she could do this, she'd done it before, but not consciously. Her power was so much grander than she could perceive, but she could try. She only had to put her will and imagination to it.

The violence of the waters began to disperse around them, Anna turned her head in confusion this way and that as the waves calmed, like they existed in a small, protective sphere where there was no storm.

"You're doing this right?" The redhead wondered out loud.

"Mh-hm," it was not as hard as she thought it might be. It… it actually didn't take a lot of concentration out of her. It scared her sometimes, the amount of power that she had. She was sure there was more she was not aware of, but the thought disturbed her so she focused on the present.

"It's… them," Anna's voice broke as they reached the figures; wispy specters made of mist, blank-faced and all but dead.

Elsa could hear the tears in her eyes and found her sister's hands wrapped around her stomach, squeezing them in comfort.

"Stay over Nokk, I don't think standing over ice will be very easy out here."

Anna nodded at her sister's words but she was lost, lost in the faces of her parents who she hadn't seen in six years, almost seven now. She was breathless.

Elsa descended and walked closer, guiding Nokk to her side and to the specters. Atop the icy horse Anna extended her hand to the face of her mother before Elsa could stop her.

"Anna, wait!"

But it was too late, the round cheek flurried beneath her fingers and destroyed the features of the woman. Her sister gave a heartbreaking gasp.

"No! Don't worry Anna, look, just wait a second," Elsa said, quickly taking her hand and reassuring her.

It seemed painstakingly slow to them, as the vaporous mist returned to its place

"I'm sorry," Anna said, gasping, unable to take her eyes away from the figures.

"It happened to me too," Elsa whispered, rubbing comforting circles on the back of her hand. Her eyes remained on their parents, so cold and void of life.

"I… I can't believe it," Anna whispered after a quiet which had prolonged beyond them. "It feels like a dream."

Elsa nodded. After all this time, after all the wonders they had seen, the world was still so full of mystery. And wonders which were not wonderful at all.

"What-" Anna gulped, "what do we do now?"

Elsa took a breath. "Now, we try to let them go. And we hope they can pass into the next world."

But Anna was struck by the strangest of thoughts. She… she really didn't want to do that. Why couldn't she keep them here? With them. Use Elsa's powers to do as she had done and visit them in their memories.

"I don't-" she croaked.

Elsa turned to her.

"I don't want to do this," she forced out.

"Oh, Anna," Elsa reached out her other hand to comfort her sister. Anna took it and turned to look at her, distressed.

"That's not- I don't want to see them go," her voice cracked. "Not again."

Understanding crossed Elsa and her eyes turned pained.

"Maybe we could-" Anna didn't know how she'd ever finish a sentence like that, so she didn't. Elsa though, seemed to understand just where her mind was at and squeezed her hands gently.

"I know. It's unfair," she agreed. "But… don't you think they've suffered enough? Trapped here? For years," she said softly.

Anna sobbed, lowering her head, chin to her chest.

"I don't- I don't want to do this," she cried again.

Elsa climbed onto Nokk again, facing her sister, and pulled her into her chest as strongly as she could.

"I didn't think- I didn't know I would feel like this. I don't know what I thought," she cried.

"I know, I know," Elsa soothed.

She'd felt that same at one point, but she'd had time to think about it. All the stories of ghosts and specters floating around her head through the days, shells of themselves, trapped, or corrupted beyond recognition. And her love for them outweighed her grief.

"They…" Elsa swallowed. "They're not here anymore Anna, this is not them, this is not our parents, it's just…leftovers."

"Don't say that!" Anna cried harder, ugly and loud, smooshing herself against her sister's chest, trying to hug her tighter.

"I'm sorry," Elsa muttered. "But for what's left of them and their memory, we have to try and do whatever we can."

A few minutes later Anna calmed down, sniffling as she tried to wipe her snot and tears. Elsa's eyes were red when she looked up but Elsa smiled crookedly at her. Anna nodded at her sister. She would never be ready, so there was no better moment than now.

Elsa climbed down the icy horse, standing graceful on the water as it turned to ice under her feet. She looked determinately at the wispy blue figures and took a step towards the plank of wood they stood upon.

"Nokk," she called, and the spirit horse approached her side. Now Anna was close enough again that if she wished she could touch them. Her hands remained in her lap though.

Elsa took in a deep breath and repeated in her head, 'if I put my mind and imagination to it, I can do anything,' and pushed away the thought of how scared that made her. And then she exhaled.

Elsa raised her hand to where the fingers of her parents gently touched. And then… she took their hands. She heard a gasp beside her as their forms remained undisturbed and spidery cracks of ice spread from their hands up their arms.

Their eyes remained vacant lost, but Elsa was holding onto them.

"Do you want to start?" she asked quietly.

Anna pressed her lips together, the answer was no, but she did not say so.

"Remember, if something is holding them here, we have to let them know…"

Anna nodded firmly.

"I loved you-" She stopped. "I still love you so much. I've grown up good, I'm happy. I wasn't okay but… I'm getting better." Her voice cracked but she smiled. "I… I have a man now," she said particularly, drawing out the word 'man' a little. She giggled wetly and smiled. "He's a good man, he makes me very happy. His name is Kristoff. I…"

Anna looked down for a moment, stumbling on her words as if uncertain.

"I'm the queen of Arendell now," she said quietly. "I… know that's not what you expected-" Anna looked then to her sister, this was not hers to talk about, but Elsa smiled encouragingly at her. "I know it's not what you expected, and I don't know if you would've wanted it but… I'm trying my best. The people seem well. I think…" she said with a lot of hesitation, not meeting their distant eyes. She looked up though. Gathered herself. "I think you would be proud."

Anna sighed out, the gentle wind fluttering her loose hair. She leaned down from her high position on Nokk and carefully, so very carefully, reached her fingers out to them where Elsa held them. She exchanged a look with her sister and Elsa nodded.

"Go on, I think it's okay."

And then Anna touched their fingers and exhaled with relief. She looked up at them and tears gathered in her eyes. Their gazes were way, far away from here. But she could touch them. For the first time in almost seven years, Anna, Queen of Arendell, touched her parents.

"I love you, I love you so very much, I'll never stop loving you."

She was meant to say something like 'I don't need you any more,' something that would free their ties from the world and allow them to move forward. But she could never say that, it wouldn't be true. She would always need them. Even after all this time she still needed them. Hoped for their warmth, their advice. So she didn't say that.

She sat up straight and smiled as wildly and honestly as she could.

"Thank you for everything that you taught me… I'm happy," she said, "This life that I have is so good to me and I'm so very happy. I can take care of myself, and when I can't well… I'll always have Elsa. And Kristoff and Olaf. I'm good." And through her words her honesty shined through. She hoped dearly that something, something out of what she said had reached her parents.

Anna nodded at Elsa, confirming she was done.

It was the snow queen who took a deep breath now. She spent hours upon hours thinking about what she could possibly say to them. There were so many things she wanted to say, but what did they need to hear? Anna had found a good balance. But she needed to make sure what she said would untethered them for certain. She bit her lip and closed her fingers more securely around theirs.

"Mama, papa…" the specters remain motionless, with the exception of the wisps that separated and united from their mist-like bodies.

Anna seemed so sure that their parents would be proud of her, but what about Elsa? She wasn't so sure. After all, she had abdicated the throne, but most importantly… she was so far from what her father had taught her to be. No she wasn't ashamed and she did not regret it but… would they be proud?

She remembers, before the accident that is, her parent's indulgent smiles and tales. Words about how special she was. A blessing. There had been a time they wouldn't not have minded. She held onto their kindness then, and breathed again.

Then Elsa gasped. The shade of her mother, ever the same since the first time she'd seen her, almost imperceptibly, had shifted her head.

"Did she just-?"

"Yes," Elsa breathed out. Then she rushed to say what she needed, afraid to break whatever spell she may be casting.

"Mama, papa… I'm so different from how you used to know me. I don't know if you would recognize me." Elsa was not following what she had planned. Still she continued. "Perhaps you'd recognize in me the child that I used to be…" She decided to take a leaf out of Anna's book. "I'm happy too. I'm happier than I've been since… since I can't remember when. I am happy with myself, and the people around me love me." Elsa's eyes teared up. Anna placed her hand on her shoulder. "I don't know if you'd be proud of me but I know you would not begrudge me this happiness. I remember your love and care. I hold them close to my heart. You did the best that you could, even when it wasn't enough." Elsa sucked in a breath, fighting against the wave of emotion.

Her father's face seemed to move then, slowly. Still, no emotion. It was like they were trying to look at Elsa.

"You always tried your best. You're still trying," she said with a wet smile. "Even when you're not wholly here, you're trying."

"Thank you," Elsa said, "I love you. You can go now." She sighed.

They waited, breath held in their chest as they hoped for something, anything, to happen.

The minutes went on.

"It's- Did we do it?" Anna asked anxiously.

"No," Elsa answered emotionless.

Their parents' faces were just as they had been. As if nothing had changed or happened, they were once more staring voidly at nothing. Never here in the first place at all.

"It wasn't enough." Elsa closed her eyes.

It wasn't enough.

Anna hid a sob behind her hand.

Elsa opened her eyes and looked on at the sea with hopeless sadness. She wondered if this would be their fate forever. If every time she crossed to Atohallan she would know they were here, somewhere out at sea in the darkness of their death.

Elsa let go of their fingers and sighed. She took in their features one last time, studying their unblinking eyes.

Through her mind's eye passed the image in the book which had stroked her so. The Man on his knees, crying in despair. The wife looking down on him.

I release you beloved.

Elsa took a breath, her eyes sparking with a thought.

"You don't belong to this world…" she began.

"Elsa?" Anna asked wetly.

"A great tragedy has befallen you and it took you before your life was meant to end. Some things tie you here." She caressed their fingers, taking their hands now fully into her own. "Grief, love, concern. Fear… But there's no need for them anymore. The reason for your fear has passed, it does not tie you here. Your grief is long past too, even if ours is not, it does not tie you here."

Elsa didn't know where such words came from. Maybe from within herself. Maybe from the books upon books she had read. Either way, they felt right.

"And your love and your concern?" Elsa looked at their eyes and suddenly, her own misted, she could see them here. They were here with them. "Your love and your concern are dear. Your love and your concern are here. Your daughters. And your daughters live happy lives and despite how different our lives are, we live by the love you gave us. You don't have to be concerned anymore, we're okay. Concern does not tie you here."

The fingers in her hands twitched. As if wanting to hold onto her.

"And your love… you love releases you. It does not tie you here. You are free… So go. We'll keep you forever, but we… We do not tie you here."

Something like a sigh left her mother. As if a breath upon waking. And then Elsa startled.

Her father's hand was on her cheek. He was smiling at her.

He was here. They were here.

She looked into his eyes, they were not gray green as they had been in life, but faded blue, luminescent like all of him. He turned his face to look at Anna and Elsa turned with him. Her parents were smiling at Anna. Her mother was holding Anna's hand.

"Mama, papa," Anna cried with a smile.

And just like that, the ghosts of their parents, blue specters who had been tied to their deaths for years… Just like that, like mist, they vanished into the air. Hands intertwined and smiles upon their fading faces.

From her palms Elsa felt them misting away until there was nothing left to hold.

Amid the dark sea Anna and Elsa were alone. But not really.

Anna sobbed. Happy. Sad. As she held onto Elsa's shoulder, her sister took her trembling hand. Her eyes, too, were filled with tears.

"I'm- I'm glad they're okay," Anna said, blue eyes bright and wet. Her smile true.

"Me too." Elsa smiled back and leaned against her sister and Nokk.

Everything would be alright.

Abril: Hello everyone, it's been half an age since I posted anything for this story. There was just this one chapter left and even if I'm not fully interested in this particular story anymore, I didn't want to leave it unfinished.

Cheers everyone, for closing circles and not leaving stories unfinished hehe.

Leave me a comment if you're feeling generous today (: