Deep in the belly of the ice caverns, Anna walked along the thousands of Arendellian ice blocks. Their numbers did not lessen the further she went. The sun had no way in this far, but the cave was illuminated by it. The reflection of its rays bounced endlessly, block after block. The entire cavern was glowing in a faint blue colour. Mixed with the cold fog, it felt like walking through a version of heaven Anna might welcome. As Anna turned a slow corner, the light glared back at her. It stung her eyes. She had to turn away. Side-stepping and tucked into her shoulder, she continued forward.
Anna had been walking in this memory for a long while and yet, hadn't seen her sister. She couldn't sense Elsa either. The air matched the petrified cold at the base of Elsa's monument. It was strong enough to drown out any other chill. So much so that she did not pick up on a certain sprite's signature cold. Anna jumped when she saw Frore sitting cross-legged at the centre of her path.
"Frore, you're here," Anna exhaled, gripping her chest. The sprite smiled wide at her. Anna could see its teeth through the grin. The sprite was made up of pure ice; yet, the movement of its glacial features was fluid. It nodded in greeting and stood up. Frore was a tall creature. Its strides long. Anna stayed still as it closed in. Her stomach flipped when it made contact with the entire length of her.
Frore reached out and pinched Anna's chin between its fingers. It guided her to look up and into its eyes. The orbs there were a deeper blue than its skin. Anna recognized the hue. For a brief moment, Elsa was looking down at her. Frore pressed in further, dropping a feathered kiss on her lips. Anna took it because that too felt like the woman she loved. It was far too brief. Frore pulled away but took Anna's hand with it.
It dragged her along a divergent path that would have been impossible to notice with the sun's glare. The cavern began to narrow the further they went. Frore looked over its shoulder every so often and gave her its big smile to encourage Anna onward. The walls had closed in on each other. To press forward, Frore moved shoulder-first.
"Where are we going?" Anna asked. Without an answer, Anna chose to stop. She'd been in this memory far too long. Her time here had a price. "Answer me," the Queen Regent demanded. Frore squeezed her hand instead.
"Say something!" Anna tried again. She pulled her hand back and rubbed it along her gown in an attempt to restore the feeling there. If she were to traverse this cave system in the present, her fingers would be black. Frore again refused to respond. It pointed with its chin and continued without her.
"You got this," Anna told herself. She wove through, calculating how to turn her body to squeeze by. Frore had no trouble. In her struggle, she lost sight of it.
"Frore!" Anna called out. It was getting darker. The cold was ever present, but Anna worked up a sweat. The beads at her brow were freezing to her skin. She reminded herself she was under Kristoff's careful watch and continued despite the discomfort and fear. It was a great relief when she was able to wedge herself out of a crack in the cavern. On the other side, she emerged in a great wide den. The walls here were frosted by Elsa's power, but the ample space was not storing any Arendellian ice. There was a great ice wall blocking out what would be the natural entrance to the den. Anna recognized the sheen on the ice there. It was made up of the same power that Elsa had locked herself away with. The space was empty, save for the sprite, who paced around watching Anna. There was nothing here to lock up with ice.
"What the hell is your problem?" Anna spat at the sprite. She needed to shed her tension, so she threw her agitation at it. "Why did you leave me back there? Answer me, damn it!"
"It doesn't speak." The voice that reached Anna was Elsa's. It was void of the sweetness her sister used when they were alone together. But carried the cadence Elsa used to address her subjects. A figure stepped out from behind Frore. "I'm willing to address your questions, but I'll ask for something in return after."
"You again," Anna's eyes narrowed. She wanted to pull Frore away, but the sprite seemed content to stand between them. "Why did you bring me here? What is it that you want?"
"You're asking questions. Do you agree to my terms?" Anna tensed, weary and nervous to engage. Yet, she had vowed to never fear the cold. Her body was not reacting out of fear. This distrust was born from a lack of understanding.
"Tell me who you are." Her desperation was reaching a peak. The figure paced, stepping away from Frore and revealing herself fully. Even with the height of her crown, she was smaller than the sprite. She made up for it with her chin tipped up and her shoulders square. Her movements were poised and slow as if calculated. Her lips pursed. She was pleased by the agitation in Anna's tone.
"You know who we are, Anna. Take a good look," it felt like a command. Anna, as if she were her royal subject, did as told. Her watchful eye made Frore bounce on its heels. It dipped its head and tucked its hands behind its back. Anna knew Frore. She had spent a great deal of time imagining what it would look like, almost as if colouring in a picture. None of its features surprised her.
"You're Frore. You are with me right now in the foyer." It was too shy to do anything but give Anna a small, affirming nod.
"That's half right," the other figure cut in. "But we're more than our names."
Anna would often, with much endearment, call Frore a bout of cold. When Bulda spoke of it, she referred to it as a sprite. In memories belonging to Anna, she had felt it as an extension of Elsa. It was something that had become untethered from Elsa when she locked herself away.
"You're a part of her," she answered. Frore was curling into itself now, trying to make its long arms and legs smaller. The other figure, however, was excited by Anna's line of thinking.
"Which part, Anna?" she asked as she continued to guide Anna.
"I don't know!" Anna snapped. She couldn't stare Frore down any longer. It seemed pained, not because she was looking at it but because she was trying to see it. Anna threw her hands up. Her eyes darted around the empty den. "I don't understand any of this."
Frore skirted away and paced the room. Anna tracked it. As it moved, it pushed a cooling air around the room. It disturbed the chill that overwhelmed the area.
"Why don't you try me?" the figure probed. Anna looked back at her. Her little heart was racing, confused, and trying to convince Anna that this was Elsa. She was here and within arms reach.
"You're a queen?" Anna responded, ignoring the aching desire to fall into a cold embrace.
"I am," she said. Unlike Frore, she was more than happy to be taken in. "I am Elsa's devotion, her allegiance to her people. I am the Queen of Arendelle." Anna knew the cold that hung around her now. It was overwhelming and brittle. This part of Elsa was the petrified cold that emanated from within her sister and into the foyer.
It dawned on Anna then, "You're not Firn."
"I am not." Anna knew to believe her. She was regal. Her features had the inherited grace that belonged to Arendelle's bloodline. She was crafted of snow, much like a snowman, but her skin did not look porous or fluffy. While it had an otherworldly tint, she looked more like a portrait of Elsa. One where the artist translated Elsa's magic into paint and removed any imperfections. While she claimed to be Elsa's devotion to her people, she also looked like the Queen Elsa could only dream of being. The more Anna looked at her, the more she wanted to give in to her insistent pounding heart and fall to her knees. She wanted to kiss this queen's ring.
"You may call me Sarn." To have snuffed out the difference between this Queen and Firn was Anna's first morsel of understanding. She built on that by looking back at Frore. It had a hand on the ice wall and its forehead pressed against it. This sprite was her oldest friend. In her years of solitude, its cold hung around the castle, indicating Elsa was near. Anna's nostalgia was born from it. It was the only thing Elsa was able to give Anna back then.
"You're Elsa's side of our bond," she told the sprite. It didn't look back at Anna and kept staring at the ice wall.
"To say the least," Sarn affirmed. It was all the confirmation Anna needed. She closed the distance between herself and Frore. Pressing herself against its back, she curled her arms around its waist. She shoved her face between its shoulder blades. Of course, digging into what Frore was would cause it discomfort. Elsa was never able to sit with her feelings for Anna and feared having the depth of them exposed. But after the Great Thaw, Elsa never rejected Anna's touch. Frore bent its elbow upwards and threw its hand back. Landing it in Anna's hair, Frore caressed her with its frozen fingers.
It felt like a reunion. But something was missing. Frore was aware of this. It adjusted itself and moved Anna under its arm. The sprite kept her close while pushing her forward and leaning her in towards the ice wall. Anna had to focus her eyes to see what Frore was showing her. Elsa was on the ground, laid out on her side. She had passed out from great exertion, creating the riches within these caverns. Of course, holding Frore was not enough. Both it and Anna were untethered from Elsa. They longed to be on the other side of this wall.
"Wait," Anna said as she dug further. "Are you Elsa's power? Or are you a piece of her?" Anna's head hurt. She could feel her brain knocking against her skull, overwhelming her. For most of Anna's life, she had only hoped magic was real. It was written in history books and told in legends. It hailed from foreign lands, but it had been culled in Arendelle. These two were feeding her way too much information. It felt like they were shoving mouthfuls of snow down her throat. The brain freeze was painful.
"Elsa is her power. We cannot be one and not the other," Sarn closed in to explain. It might have even been a bit of envy that drew her near. She placed a hand on Anna's shoulder. Anna covered it with hers and thumbed her smooth white skin. It spread a chill through her body as if jumping from one nerve ending to another, but Anna bowed to the cold and bore it.
"There are a great many of us," the figure added as Anna mulled the response over. Anna's head shot back at that. Sarn scoffed and leaned into Anna's ear. "You were hardly this shocked when you met Olaf."
A relief washed over Anna. That inching warning ringing in her ear vanished. Anna knew everything about Olaf. She immediately knew what part of Elsa he was.
"He is Elsa's desire to be free. To play," Anna stated. She thought back to how many more there could be. There was a mammoth-sized ice ogre on the North Mountain. Marshmallow had been thrilled to become the Ice Reserve's protector. A role Elsa had likely carved out for her.
A quiet settled in the den, as the three looked at Elsa's still body. She'd expended an incredible show of power and had done so intending to leave Arendelle. As Anna looked at Elsa, she felt her spite rear. It was an emotion she struggled to make peace with. It shifted something inside of her and coupled with anger to alter even her body temperature. Elsa was such a capable creature, both in body and mind. She went to great lengths to be with Anna, only to be meek when it mattered. The act of power that had lined the cavern walls was made in the name of Arendelle and Anna. Not unlike the two parts of Elsa, who stood at Anna's side now.
"Why or how did Elsa make you?" Anna asked.
"Elsa didn't make us, not really. She was broken before she was ever fully fledged. We were torn apart. Even Elsa is one of the pieces," the answer was curt, a matter of fact. Sarn was tied to the hurt Elsa endured early on in life, as were Frore, Olaf, and the others.
It reminded Anna of how Elsa aligned with the abuse. She had always felt it necessary. Elsa's power had been curbed for the good of Arendelle. Anna let that sink in. Her spite waned. Tarik's threats had not unravelled Elsa. The King had. It was their father who had defeated their love. He'd trained Elsa like one would a wild animal. Tarik acted like the spurs shoved into Elsa's sides, a command from the King that Elsa had to follow.
"Elsa gave some of us vessels. She let Frore and I go, while others, she hid away." At that, Anna ran her hand through her white hair.
"Firn? What part of Elsa is she?" Anna asked.
"Her control," the answer shook Anna. Firn had been inside Anna since she was a child. She became a part of Anna on the night Elsa slipped. Firn was the blast of cold that had struck her right where her skin now turned white. The fear in young Elsa's eyes then flashed before Anna, and she almost fell into a memory within a memory.
"Why are we here, in this memory? How are we here?" Anna continued to press. Firn could pull Anna back into the present at any moment. She needed as much information as she could get.
"Firn has a great grasp of ice power. She can manipulate the memories water holds. She freezes whatever moisture she can find behind your eyes. It makes these moments feel real. Frore and I have been a part of a great many memories you've traversed. It was Frore's idea that we alter the ice here to personify ourselves." This spurred Anna's mind. A million questions fought one another as they each climbed up her throat.
"Why?" was the winner.
"We want to help you," the figure said.
"Like you helped Elsa with the rose bush? You can bring Elsa back." On the other side of the ice, Elsa began to stir. Anna imagined it now, Elsa emerging from her tomb in the present.
"In the Garden, we came together because Elsa understood the balance between the Crown and her heart. When she chose to lock herself away, she did so in allegiance to Arendelle and to keep your bond forever precious." Sarn moved away from Anna as she admitted her involvement in Elsa's demise.
"You locked her up." The accusation wasn't directed at this being. This had not happened because of Elsa's devotion to the crown but because of the burden of being queen. Nonetheless, Sarn dipped her chin in shame.
"I did," she admitted but motioned to her companion. "I'm sure you can recall that Frore, however, did not." Anna knew that to be true. Frore was the one who rushed to her side, who rang the alarm and had been steadfast at Anna's side since.
"Does that make the ice weaker?" Anna asked.
"It does."
"So can we save her?" The hope in Anna's voice was obvious.
"Not without control," Sarn warned. She must have known Anna would not heed. She added, "I will caution you against anything that does not serve Arendelle. You are the Queen Regent. Firn is not. You are Elsa's choice."
"No," Anna stomped her foot. The opaque sound bounced off the walls. "Elsa is Arendelle's queen. If you are who you say you are, our goals align. You have to do something."
"Perhaps," Sarn shrugged, "but that brings me to what I need from you." Anna shrank as Sarn bore her gaze into her.
"That feeling you've been ignoring, Anna, it's time. Find out what is happening to your reign. For Arendelle, Anna. I ask you for this one thing. Forget all this for now, and return to your Kingdom. Please protect it from what's to come." Anna shook her head as Sarn spoke. The figure reached out and put her hands on Anna's shoulders. She looked sincere.
"Frore and I are with you," Sarn coaxed. "We are in your past. We are with you at this very moment, in the present. We won't abandon your mission moving forward."
"I want her back, all of her, every part," Anna said, her eyes begging Sarn to fix this.
Elsa began to stir. On the other side of the wall, she took a weak stance but with a determined brow. Still, she only had the strength to lift her dominant hand. It hung out in front of her and pointed directly at Anna. Frore and Sarn fell back into the memory. They took their marks with their backs facing Elsa. Queen Sarn put both her hands out and above her. She cupped them together and pointed them out like a child would to catch a snowflake. Her power began to swirl there. It was the same mystical green that shone from the jewel in her crown. Frore's hands came together at the wrist and its fingers spread out. The sprite's jaw fell open. From its gut, a roar built up. Frore screamed as it conjured a verdigris orb in its palms.
"Now!" From the other side of the ice, Elsa called out through her teeth. Her power rushed forward. It was a mighty gale, and it blasted cold at Anna, knocking her off her feet. The other two were unaffected. Their power pulled away from them as they matched Elsa and fed her goal. Anna watched the three sets of cold thrash and then come together. They were building something.
Firn pulled Anna to the present before she could see what it was.