"What's making you smile like that?"
"Oh, nothing at all.

Anna gave her sister a questioning look, but didn't insist. Elsa glanced at Aodhan behind her, who gave her a playful wink.

"Since you're in such a good mood, I should let you question him.
"You're the queen now," Elsa retorted, immediately regaining her seriousness.

The three of them, accompanied by Kristoff, were descending a narrow spiral staircase of cold stone that led to the dungeons. They were heading for Roderick's cell, deep in Arendelle's lowest basement, under close surveillance. Even when Elsa had been locked in here, she'd been placed just in one cell on the surface, with a single guard watching over her.

The troop of guards let them pass and, on Anna's orders, left them alone long enough to talk to the man in the cell. They approached the bars and stopped at a safe distance.

"Roderick," called the queen.

His cell was damp and almost entirely in darkness. The only light in the room came from the candlestick in the corridor, its trembling flames barely illuminating the bars in front of which they stood.
At the far end, a figure stirred in the gloom. Roderick rose slowly from the wooden bench that doubled as his bed, and approached them.
Now deprived of his powers of darkness, time was catching up with the man and regaining its grip on his body. Wrinkles crept into his already thin cheeks, and white hair now dotted his raven-black headdress.

"I was wondering when you'd come to visit me," he said in a weak voice.
"We've been busy repairing the damage you and your shadows have inflicted on Arendelle," Anna retorted coldly.

If he hadn't been responsible for the invasion of the kingdom, she would almost have felt sorry for the old man. Almost.
The latter closed his eyes, visibly tired. He opened them again to look sadly at the group.

"I'm sorry for what I've done to Arendelle," he declared. "The darkness had corrupted my heart, made me lose my mind... I was blinded by rage and power. Thanks to the magic of the light, my heart was freed and I came to my senses."
"Tch," let out Aodhan.

They all turned to him, but he just looked at Roderick with distrust and contempt.

"I know you don't believe me," the man replied to his silent remark. "But I'm ready to prove my good will by telling you everything you want to know."

Anna took a step forward, looking determined.

"When you fought with Aodhan, you mentioned "Yohamitään". Is this the entity you told me about after you kidnapped me?

At the mention of this name, a strange gleam passed through Roderick's eyes. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then answered:

"Yohamitään is indeed the entity I told you about. The one who lives on the southern island where I was stranded. It's thanks to her that I survived. To put it simply, she's an Ahtohallan, but she only grants powers of darkness."
"So that you can take over Arendelle and steal the powers of the forest spirits," Elsa added in a cutting voice.

Again, Roderick closed his eyes guiltily.

"That's it," he confirmed.
"But what's the benefit to Yohamitään?" she continued.
"Darkness," he simply replied. "Her one and only power over the whole world, through me."
"But we've thwarted her plans. You're no longer the avatar of her darkness, the horn has dissipated your powers, so this entity should disappear," Anna suggested hopefully.
"I wish it would," Roderick replied with a sad smile. "But she won't stop there. If she doesn't find a new avatar, then she'll send her own shadows over Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest. She'll want to destroy anything that can stand in her way, as you did."

Elsa and Anna exchanged worried glances.

"So Arendelle is still in danger?"
"I'm afraid so," nodded Roderick darkly.
"I don't believe you."

Kristoff's voice suddenly rose. Arms folded, he had been watching the exchange, glaring at the old man.

"Your evilness had nothing to do with darkness. You were already an evil man, greedy for power and without any scruples. That's why you were exiled from Arendelle."

For a second, a menacing shadow passed over Roderick's face, as if he were about to attack Kristoff. But his expression quickly disappeared, and he nodded.

"I've made mistakes, I acknowledge that. But please believe me, it's the darkness that has... made these vices worse.

A long silence passed, and Anna finally decided to end the discussion. She called back the guards as the small group left the room and headed up the stairs.

"What do you think, Anna?" asked her sister.
"He's definitely lying," she affirmed. "But I'm not so sure about Yohamitään. If the darkness still threatens Arendelle..."
"There's one way to be sure," asserted Kristoff. "The trolls can help us by looking into the future of the kingdom."
"That's right," agreed Anna, looking thoughtful. "We should go there right away. If he's telling us the truth, then..."
"We'll decide in due course," said Elsa, placing her hand on the redhead's shoulder. "But it would be safer if someone stayed with Roderick, in addition to the guards, to keep an eye on him."

When they reached the top of the steps, the group stopped behind Anna, who had halted walking. She turned to Aodhan.

"Aodhan, I trust you," she declared. "If he lies to us and hides his powers... You'll be able to stop him if he tries to escape. Do you think you can do it?"
"Yes," nodded the young man. "I'll keep an eye on him."
"We won't be gone long," Elsa assured him. "We should be back tonight."

She turned to Kristoff, who nodded in agreement. After a quick goodbye, the group parted, Elsa, Anna and Kristoff leaving the castle to visit the trolls, and Aodhan heading back down to Roderick's cold cell.

Aodhan wrinkled his nose as a musty smell filled his nostrils. He grabbed a chair and sat down in front of Roderick's cell, who was watching him.

"Aodhan, is it?" he finally asked in a hoarse voice.

The young man didn't answer, just stared at the man behind the shadow of the bars.

"I heard the guards say it was you who summoned the light of the horn," he continued, not taking offense at his silence. "I suppose I have you to thank for that."
"Save your breath," growled the young man.

Roderick chuckled, a hollow laugh, before regaining his seriousness.

"I know you don't trust me, and that's perfectly normal. But I want to prove myself, show them my good faith. You must understand that, don't you?"

Aodhan raised an eyebrow at him, without answering. His reaction piqued his interlocutor's interest.

"Aaah, you know how I feel, don't you? You have powers too, and that scares them. We're outcasts, you and me."
"You're wrong," Aodhan retorted sharply.

Yet he couldn't help thinking back to the remarks Anna had been making ever since he'd woken up in that guest room a few weeks ago. She'd even accused him of being allied with Roderick. And if things seemed to have improved, a voice was whispering in his ear... What if it was just an appearance? What if Anna had never fully trusted him? What if Elsa's feelings weren't sincere, but tainted by the same doubt? What if they'd left him with Roderick to put him to the test?
What if... What if...

"I can see the doubt in your eyes," Roderick continued in a whisper. "You know that those sisters don't trust you. And you feel that no matter how hard you try, nothing will ever be enough for them. Just as you'll never trust me, no matter what I do to help you."
"You're wrong," repeated Aodhan. "I'm not like you."
"But there is a way, Aodhan. This horn can save Arendelle. I may be the only one who can help you neutralize Yohamitään. I've spent years at her side, I know every secret, every trick, every whisper of her magic. If we took the horn to Yohamitään, its magic could wipe her out once and for all. We'd be heroes, and Elsa would trust you at last."

Aodhan's ears were ringing. He could see his kiss with Elsa playing out before his eyes, their moments of complicity and every glance exchanged. He thought back to the evening before, when they'd all had fun together while Anna chased them with her snow teeth.
Roderick watched him attentively, a slight saddened smile floating on his lips.

"You seem lost in your thoughts," he commented.

Aodhan looked away.

"Do you remember the first time your powers hurt someone by accident?" Roderick suddenly asked. "Imagine how I felt, trapped in my own body. All I could do was watch the grip of darkness grow stronger every day, harming Arendelle. All I did was to protect this kingdom. I love Arendelle. And to be responsible for all this chaos breaks my heart."

Aodhan refused to look at Roderick and struggled to swallow. He could hardly believe the sincerity of his words. Was the darkness really responsible for what he had inflicted on Arendelle?
Even so, a doubt lingered inside him. Roderick's words resonated unpleasantly within him. He thought back to the friends he'd had as a child, who'd admired his fire powers. He thought of his beloved village, casting him out as if he were a nobody, after everything had burned down by accident. All his life, Aodhan had known nothing but solitude. He was loved, then thrown away. He was adored, then feared. The friendship Anna had shown him yesterday was only temporary. Was the same true of Elsa's love?
After all he'd gone through to save their kingdom, which he now considered his own home, he felt the chill of doubt creeping up on him.
He could see only one way to secure the permanent trust of the one he loved.

"He's here! Kristoff has arrived!

Exclamations rang out from all sides as rocks rolled towards Elsa and Anna. But they dodged the young women to throw themselves at Kristoff, who fell backwards laughing his head off.

The rocks quickly took on the shape of little trolls, and their enthusiasm was very difficult to calm. A troll, apparently older, judging from the moss that covered his face like a beard, approached them.

"Now, now, calm down!

The trolls moved away slightly and Kristoff was finally able to stand up, dusting off the dirt covering his clothes.
The little group was in a clearing, the same one where Kristoff had taken Anna three years ago, when they had asked their advice about Anna's heart, which had been frozen by Elsa's ice.

"Have you married yet?" asked an elderly troll.
"Not yet, or you'd have been invited," replied Anna, lifting a few trolls out of Kristoff's way as he tried to join them.
"So, what are you doing here?" asked Great Pabbie, the elder of the trolls.

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff sat down on a nearby tree trunk and explained the situation to Great Pabbie. They summarized as best they could what had happened in Arendelle, who Roderick was, and what Yohamitään supposedly was.

"We need your wisdom to find out if Roderick is telling the truth," concludes Anna. "We need to know if Yohamitään is still threatening Arendelle."
"I understand," nodded Great Pabbie.

He shifted and made a few complicated gestures. Light appeared before him, slightly bluish, and soon formed a silhouette they quickly recognized: the castle of Arendelle.

"I see... Shadows spreading," he began. "Darkness over a broken heart. You must not be deceived by appearances, for the light of truth lies in the darkness. You must unite, or..."

Arendelle's castle shifted between its normal colors and complete blackness, then disappeared completely.

"Or the darkness will take over everything."

He then turned to the other three, who were watching him with apprehension.

"The future is wavering by the minute, but a decision has just been made that will change everything as we speak. You can still save Arendelle, if you make the right choices."
"A decision has just been made?" repeated Anna without understanding.

She exchanged a worried glance with Elsa, who dreaded saying a word. They were both thinking the same thing. The three of them had to meet Aodhan at the castle immediately.

Night had just fallen when they arrived at the castle of Arendelle. Dark clouds hung over the kingdom and a few snowflakes began to cover the cobblestones of the inner courtyard. All was quiet and peaceful, as usual.
They hurried inside the castle, and as they headed for the jails, they came across Mattias, visibly worried.

"Anna, Elsa!" he exclaimed.
"Mattias, have you seen Aodhan?" Anna asked sharply.
"Aodhan?" repeated the captain of the guard without understanding. "No, I haven't seen him, but there's something more important... Roderick's escaped!"

Elsa and Anna exchanged dark, panicked glances. The blonde hadn't uttered a single word since they left the troll. Apprehension knotted her throat painfully.
Another guard came down the corridor. After trying to catch his breath, he announced, shocked:

"My Queen! We arrested Aodhan at the castle gates just now! He... He's with Roderick!"

Elsa's heart seemed to freeze, as if she'd just been pierced by her own ice magic.
She and Anna rushed out of the castle, heading for the wide gates.

In the inner courtyard, a crowd of guards had gathered in front of the gates leading to the bridge. Her ears ringing, her vision blurred, Elsa ruthlessly pushed past them, preceded by her sister, who was calling out to her without her hearing. Finally, she arrived at the source of the royal guard's concern. She let out a lament and fell to her knees, hand to her mouth.
Aodhan stood before them, hiding Roderick behind his back, watching the spears pointed at them without a care in the world. His gaze was dark, empty and glassy, hidden beneath a strand of blond hair. On his back, the Narwhal's horn was firmly attached, its surface totally dull.
Roderick, for his part, showed no expression. No joy, no triumph, no defiance.

"We're leaving," Aodhan announced simply. Don't try to stop us.
"Aodhan..., Elsa murmured feverishly.

She barely felt Anna's hands on her shoulders.

"Look at me
Where's the sparkle that I used to see?
In your eyes, your devouring love
Like a blazing fire?"

Aodhan stubbornly refused to lay eyes on her, staring at a point above her head. But Elsa couldn't take her eyes off him. The world was fading away, collapsing all around them. She couldn't believe that after everything, he'd set Roderick free.
Not after the kiss they'd exchanged on the balcony.

"In this life,
It is rare for us to find that somebody who
Will always be there to support us
And complete us."

She clung to Anna as she tried to get to her feet, like she would cling to a rock in the middle of a storm. She was staring defiantly at Aodhan now, and his silence, on top of his betrayal and stubborn refusal to look at her, was infuriating her. Ice formed in the palms of her hands as she stepped forward, ignoring her tears, shouting at him:

"So why
are we tearing it apart?
Right from the start,
you had my heart!
Then why
Is our love fading away?"

She was now only a few centimeters away from Aodhan, and she thought she saw his lower lip tremble. For a moment, she thought she'd reached him. Breathless, she watched him.

The young man finally laid eyes on her. The emptiness of his gaze terrified her. He tilted his head slightly, looking almost pained, melancholic. She couldn't understand his gesture. Did she even understand what he was really feeling, or was she misinterpreting the expression on his face? She had to force herself not to grab him by the collar of his coat and shake him to get a reaction.
He suddenly turned and grabbed Roderick by the arm as they made their way to the bridge. The guards approached, but Anna interrupted them: she knew the uncontrollable strength of Aodhan's powers. He was capable of blowing up the whole castle if anyone got in his way.
But in front of Aodhan and Roderick, at the end of the bridge linking the castle to the town, another group of soldiers was approaching dangerously, their spears pointing forward. Elsa rushed after Aodhan and tried once again to call out to him.

"So why
are we tearing it apart?
Right from the start,
you had my heart!
Then why
Is our love fading away?"

Aodhan suddenly pushed Roderick off the bridge and quickly followed. The guards rushed from both sides of the bridge to the spot they had jumped from.
The two men were swimming towards a boat, and Elsa could only watch helplessly as the sail unfolded, carrying Aodhan and Roderick to the south.

So why?