Later that night
Spending a night in a cave in the midst of a jungle on a tropical island on the other side of the world was something Elsa never thought she would experience. For her, the furthest she believed she would go was the furthest reaches of Europe, maybe the Americas if need be. Arendelle had never really been a kingdom to explore much beyond Scandinavia and Northern Europe and the British Isles, largely because there was no need in their mindset. They had everything they needed in their own territory, and if not there then it could come to them from other parts of Norway, or even the aforementioned areas. The current situation obviously did not do much to help too, but still it did not really change much for the mindset of the little kingdom nestled between the fjords.
Yet, here she was, and her family too, as if her was simply not enough! The jungle air, even now as the faint light of the moon coming from behind the gradually thickening layer of clouds, was warm. Comfortably warm, as Kristoff had noted earlier, seeing that the humidity and heat of the tropical island had reached a highpoint in the hours after they arrived. Even Elsa had struggled with it, and was amazed that not only did Olaf's permafrost survive in this drastic change of weather, but that Moll and Lora were completely unaffected, something they put down to their spending great amounts of time in this part of the world in the past.
Now, the ice queen sat near the entrance to the cave system, watching the smaller gigantic moth, given the nickname 'Baby Mothra' by Olaf, as it sat on the ground, legs tucked underneath its body, looking up at the sky, then at the surrounding jungle, then at the ground. Sven, carrying Olaf and Lora on his back with the former sitting in the lap of the latter, stepped towards it and the small snowman reached up and gave the smaller creature a rub on the face. Baby Mothra cooed and rubbed its head against the three; Lora almost yelping amid her laughter as she was nearly knocked off the reindeer. Olaf, blissfully innocent towards the happening, just giggled and continued rubbing its head, prompting Baby Mothra to return the gesture. Sven backed away a few feet, hoping to avoid getting crushed.
Elsa giggled, trying to hold herself together. While it was potentially dangerous, she could not deny that Olaf ogling and cuddling a creature many times his size was amusing. It reminded her of when she and Anna were young, when they first created the snowman, when they were not two monarchs having to deal with the responsibilities of an entire kingdom, hoping against hope that they were going to be able to find a way to survive and endure through one of the darkest times Arendelle had ever faced. They were just little girls, playing, happy, completely innocent to the rest of the world and its affairs.
If only …
If only such things could be like that now, obviously with more regal and poise, but the feeling and sensations would still continue. They could be eating dinner together, walking through the town and welcoming new arrivals and greeting the citizens everywhere they went, playing with Olaf, working together on queenly duties, really just anything. Anything to bring back the old normality.
So long ago it all seems. Elsa looked up at the world, eyes now more melancholy as she gazed at the surrounding jungle, watching the outlines of the trees sway in the wind, listening to the distant booms of thunder on the horizon, sometimes immediately followed by the flash of lightning. This mission of theirs had to succeed, for Arendelle, for their people, and for themselves. If not, then Arendelle would eventually fall.
"Hey Elsa, you okay?"
The queen turned her head to see Anna standing a few feet from her, Kristoff and Moll engaged in conversation not far behind the princess. Her sister stared at her anxiously, knowing all too well that something was up.
"Y-yeah," Elsa answered, giving her sibling a small smile. "I'm just thinking,"
Anna sat down next to her. "About what?"
A pause, then a sigh. "Anna, what if we don't fix this? I mean, what if we fail?"
"Elsa, we'll find God-"
"No, just him," Elsa cut her off. "It's this," she raised her arms, gesturing to those around them. "I mean us. What if we fail? What if this goes nowhere and everything we've ever known is lost forever? Arendelle won't recover if we don't succeed, and neither will we!"
Anna wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder and pulled her close, using her other hand to gently lift Elsa's head to look at her.
"Elsa, that won't happen. No matter what, we'll get through this. Arendelle will be saved, and we'll be fine."
Elsa looked at Anna questionably, though a small smile crept back, but the uncertainty was evident. Would they really be okay? The queen's own expression seemed to silently communicate this because Anna told her: "We'll be fine. I may be the princess, but I know we can do it. We'll find him, and we'll solve this matter. I promise."
Another pause, Elsa's face remained unchanged for a moment, still pondering, wondering what to do, what she could do, if there even was anything to do. Anna's words were strong, but they could be just that. Still she thought about the possibility of the future. Still she wondered about what might happen to them here, and to Arendelle.
She leaned into Anna, and pulled her into a hug, resting her head on Anna's shoulder, for a moment forgetting the rest of the world, forgetting the troubles they were faced with, and enjoying each other's company. Anna pulled her elder sibling closer, rubbing her back gently and comfortingly.
"I promise you too," she muttered lovingly, getting a squeeze from her little sister.
Everything else was a bit of a blur, yet a few smirks from nearby snapped the two out of their hug. Kristoff and Moll stood nearby, smiling down at them.
"Your interaction is very sweet!" Moll said.
Anna and Elsa withdrew from each other; the former giving a shrug. "What we do best," she replied.
"I'll bet," Kristoff commented.
A loud giggle and a yelp from nearby made the four look over to see Baby Mothra, now standing on all fours, trying to balance Sven with Lora and Olaf on her head, which was directed at the sky as if they were going to shoot up there all of a sudden. Whilst Olaf was, unsurprisingly, giggling like an excited child on Christmas morning, Lora and Sven looked more worried, both grabbing onto the tiny antennae near them, praying they were not going to fall off, both shooting looks of 'help' at the others.
"I'll be right back!" Moll said, half-laughing as she rushed over.
"I'll help," Anna said, getting up and following the young Asian woman to try and stop the baby giant moth from accidentally hurting their friends.
Kristoff sat down next to Elsa, exhaling a little. "Never is a dull moment with them," he told the queen, who went to reply, but the ice harvester spoke up. "I know! I know: 'You said that already'" he quoted Elsa's words from before.
She rolled her eyes. "Actually, I was going to say you beat me to it." She informed him.
Kristoff shrugged. "Hey, I've got my own powers! Maybe I'm special too."
Elsa giggled. "Yeah, clairvoyancy is your specialty. Who knows, maybe you can predict what the wedding will be, and the name of your kids!"
Kristoff blushed a little, looking away, prompting a small laugh from the ice queen. "I take it you mentioned it to her," he said, embarrassed.
Elsa gave a nod. "I did tease a little,"
Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "Only a little."
Elsa smiled at him innocently. "Of course. But I'll make sure to do the rest just for you, big brother," she told him, pinching his cheek.
Kristoff smiled. "Well, thank you, Your Majesty," he replied, trying to sound noble and regal, giving a small bow, making them both chuckle again.
They looked up at the others to see Baby Mothra lower its head towards the ground, allowing the three to slide down off her body; Anna catching Olaf in her arms; the snowman excitedly telling her how fun it was and wanting to do it again. Anna gently advised him not to and set him down, grabbing hold of his hand in case he tried to run up there again anyway. Lora hugged Sven whilst Moll managed to get the gigantic baby moth to lay down again, pressing her own head against the hairy one of the baby, who responded by lowering her antennae and rubbing them against Moll, making the woman giggle.
"Where's Mothra?" Elsa asked.
He jerked his thumb back at the cave. "Resting. Think the journey took it out of her." A pause as he looked back at the baby. "And a new-born and its curiosity."
Elsa nodded, knowing that whilst a human baby and toddler were hard work, a baby Titan was a whole different level. A few times today they had had to keep an eye on the youngster as it tried to fly inside the cave, though Mothra had thankfully put a stop to that. Then it wandered outside, climbing through the brush and on the mountain the cave was at, then it had taken to nuzzling against the Olaf and anyone else in reach, having been particularly fascinated when Elsa had created a small snowfall around it, trying to open its mandibles and catch the snow as it fell. It was, to quote the twins, a "complete stranger to the world, yet fascinated by everything that was around it."
The others could not agree more.
"You okay, Elsa?" Kristoff asked her and she saw him looking at her.
She nodded. "I-I think so," she replied. "Just wanted to try and stay calm, not think about stuff after everything we've had to go through."
Now it was Kristoff's turn to put his arm around the queen. "Hey, we'll be fine. Anna would have told you that, and I do too."
She nodded, looking up at her sister. "You know, I … I can't believe she … still believes in me. Even after the last five years."
"She's never stopped doing that, Elsa." Kristoff told her, making the queen look at him again, a trace of surprise in her deep blue eyes. "Really, she hasn't. She's always thought so highly of you."
Elsa did not reply, but her gaze fell to the ground, then back to the sisters and Anna and the others. "Y'know I used to have nothing. I don't mean like poor-wise, but … I had no confidence, no sense of real love, all because I shut her out for so long." She told him, eyes becoming moist. "Then I … I got her back, and even when I … I almost became lost again," her hand traced to her abdomen, wincing slightly as her fingertips touched that area beneath her clothing. "She still believed in me, still held me close, not resenting me for what I've done to her."
Hot tears fell down her face, the memories of the past few years and beyond coming back all at once. The accident when they were young, the shutting out of her little sister, the isolation, the fear of her powers, the Great Winter, all of that seemed like an eternity. Then came all of this with the Titans, the near end of Arendelle twice, the coalition, Elsa's almost certain death at the hands of a demonic beast and its insane rider. Any of those times could have been it for her and her kingdom, her family and friends, and her sister. Anna could have decided that was it and left, or married Hans and in turn cut off Elsa out of her life. Or worse, she could have been killed by him, or any of the other times when the Titans had become known to the world once again.
Yet, she's still here. She deserves better.
"Hey! Hey!" Kristoff soothed, wiping her tears away. "Don't be sad."
Elsa sniffed, a breath getting caught in her throat, trying not to burst into tears, guilt ringing in her heart.
"I-I'm sorry!" she wiped away the rest of the tears and tried to control herself, lest she start a new ice age in the Pacific. "I just … just don't want to lose her, Kristoff!"
"You won't," Kristoff reassured her, turning her to face him. "Now look at me!" he told her firmly, but gently, something that surprised the queen. Wow, he's telling a queen what to do! "Elsa, we will get through this. Anna will never give up on you, and neither will I or Olaf or Sven, or anyone else." He paused to let the words sink in.
Elsa nodded, sniffing a little, looking back up at her younger sibling. "Promise me one thing, Kristoff." She said.
"Anything,"
Elsa looked at him, now herself firm, but he could see the pleading within her eyes, the desperation that he not fail her. "If anything happens to me, no matter what way this all ends, please take of her."
Without missing a beat, he nodded. "To the end. Whatever it takes."
Elsa managed to smile at that a little, but the fear gnawed at her, the uncertainty that they would fail or fall apart becoming lost in the whirlwind of thoughts in her mind. In the distance, the storm drew closer, the distant booms of the thunder, occasionally accentuated by the brief, but ubiquitous flash of lightning, filling the sky.
For Elsa, her family meant the world to her, and Anna was at the top of that list. She would do any and everything to keep her safe.
Whatever it took.