—{Princess Anna}—
I haven't been able to sleep since yesterday. I've been thrashing around my bed for hours and yet, my chest kept heaving up and down from anxiety.
There are so many questions and concerns running through my mind. What if Henry fails to help Elsa in whatever she is going through?
Will Elsa tell me the truth someday? Is she going to be fine outside, alone with Henry?
In the end, another hour passed and my worries are starting to eat me from the inside. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't calm myself down, I couldn't even think properly.
Especially since an owl delivered a letter to Kai this afternoon, it was from Elsa, describing the place they're at and how she's doing well with the help of Henry.
But the letter is still not enough to satiate my worry.
I quietly pulled myself out of my bed and stared outside the window, the moonlight serving as the only source of light in my room.
I don't think I'll be able to get a wink being like this—constantly thinking of my sister's well-being. So I jumped out of my bed and put on a dark robe over my night pajamas.
Grabbing the familiar rope made of countless blankets and clothes tied to one another, I escaped from the castle grounds. Not to brag but I'm starting to get good at this.
However, that's when I faced a dilemma. It's late at night and I don't think there are any coaches around still looking for passengers.
I did manage to find a few, but because of my suspicious appearance, the coaches simply stared at me before shaking their heads in refusal.
'I should've picked a more colorful robe. Like violet or something…' I couldn't help but curse under my breath.
———
—{Kristoff}—
"Ready for night travel, Sven?" I grinned while patting the head of my partner, Sven.
The reindeer simply rolled his eyes at me. My mind simply clicked and I instantly understood the intention behind such an action.
"Oh come on. You know we can find a cheaper shelter outside rather than here in the capital." I snorted at the poor attempt of Sven trying to convince me to rent out a stable for him to sleep on alongside the horses.
Does he even know how expensive it is to rent a stable for a night?
10 silver coins! That's like two bags filled with carrots!
"Let's go, boy." I climbed on his back and he reluctantly walked forward. Even though I don't need a saddle or a rein for him since Sven understands my words and if I say stop, he stops. If I say turn right, he turns left out of giggles—but he'll still turn right soon after that—I wanted to spoil him a little.
Thanks to the 6 gold coins that Polynesia handed to me earlier—Henry's payment for saving me or so she said, I finally managed to buy Sven a nice leather saddle and reins. Top-notch craftsmanship and a rare stitch of my and Sven's names on the side of the saddle.
Then I spent the remaining 4 gold coins for refurbishing my sled and buying a small wagon that can barely fit five people.
We arrived at where I last left the wagon, it was dirty and looked as if it was on the verge of breaking down in the middle of the road but still better than nothing.
Initially, I'm always left with nothing to do every summer since sleds can't be used on non-slippery grounds. But with this wagon, I might find another way to earn coins instead of sitting still. Instead of harvesting ice blocks that I can only do when it's snowing, I can now start delivering goods and maybe become a coach also.
After attaching the small wagon to Sven, we marched towards the massive gates on the rear side of the capital, we came across an inconspicuous hooded person asking around several coaches to hitch a ride.
I was about to go and mind my own business when all of a sudden, I saw a glint of a gold coin on the person's fingers.
I bent down and whispered to Sven, "Well, Sven. What do you think about that guy? Should we help him? He seems to be in a hurry towards somewhere." Then I pointed at the gold coin, "See that? That'll fill our bellies for an entire week."
I can see Sven's eyes glint in greed, his mouth even salivating a bit. When my partner nodded his head in agreement, I grinned and made my way towards the hooded man.
Clearing my throat, I puffed my chest and confidently spoke, "Excuse me, mister. I see you're trying to go somewhere. May I offer my services to you instead?"
However, when the man suddenly turned around, followed by the wind picking up all of a sudden, I froze on the spot.
"A woman?" I murmured to myself, seeing those thin lips and puffy cheeks. An auburn hair with a single streak of platinum. Her turquoise eyes stared at mine, directly making me shift in nervousness.
"M-My apologies, si—I mean, my lady. I didn't mean to mistake you for a man." And all of a sudden, I became a stuttering mess.
I saw her panic at first before covering her head with the hood again. That's weird, why would she hide her pretty face? I thought women like to flaunt their beauty everywhere they go?
"Uhm…How much for your….services." The lady slightly shifted her head to the side, as if to judge my poor wagon. I embarrassingly scratched my cheek.
"Normally, most coaches charge 10 silver coins but I'm willing to take only 5 instead. How about that?" I may not have a keen sense of reading people but I have a feeling that this woman has no idea about the value of that gold coin she's been offering earlier.
Through the hood, I can see her blinking her eyes in surprise before taking out her pouch and grabbing 5 silvers.
"Can you take me outside? Preferably somewhere spacious, stone grounds, and no trees around?" I frowned at her confusing destination but still nodded my head.
She's my first-ever passenger, so I'll do my best to cater to her even though her description sounds like she's referring to a cave.
"Well, hop in, my lady. I hope you're also comfortable sitting on a flat wooden surface just as you are on a leather sofa."
That earned me a chuckle from the lady. Well well well, Kristoff. Looks like you still got that charm, heh.
"Find something to grab on to, my lady. My partner tends to show off his speed, especially to pretty women." I flashed a charming smile, only to realize that the woman wasn't paying attention to me.
Embarrassed, I gestured for Sven to start marching while I grabbed a lantern, lit it in flames before attaching it to the side of the wagon. God, I hope it won't be this awkward later.
———
It's the last day of Elsa's training for control over her powers and she's starting to get a true hold over her ice magic.
Before, she could only make shapes made of ice and snow but now, she can replicate anything she imagines through her ice constructs—no matter the size or complexity. Not only that, Elsa barely exhausts herself when using her powers, definitely a huge jump from before.
'Great. I just guided someone to a treasure I cannot possess. Absolute Manipulation over ice? Seriously?' Henry's face darkened at the thought of it.
'Did the second film reveal the truth behind her ice powers? Is there something more about her that I missed out because I didn't watch the second part?'
As of now, Elsa is playing with her powers, constantly forming ice constructs that resemble Anna, Kai, Gerda, the royal castle, and even a snowman that looks eerily similar to Olaf minus a carrot for a nose.
If she keeps this up, he's afraid the main plot of the Frozen film would no longer happen. It's good news to be honest, at least that way, it proves that Henry's effort hasn't flushed down the drain.
Earlier, Elsa insisted on fighting with Henry again, confident that she would win this time. And that confidence isn't far-fetched. She's really capable of defeating him now.
Henry had to come up with a bullshit excuse just to prevent himself from the embarrassment of being frozen into ice and joining Walt Disney in an ice chamber.
He has a reputation to keep after all.
"It's time to go back, Elsa. I think you already have enough control over your powers. My guidance is no longer needed." Henry announced to her, surprising the woman who was in the middle of forming a construct of Henry.
She seemed hesitant, "…Are you sure?"
Henry nodded his head, "Don't feel down, Elsa. You should feel proud of yourself. You managed to achieve something that would've taken years for somebody else."
Hearing his words, Elsa looked down at the ground in contemplation. Questions swirling in her mind.
'Is this it? The end of my suffering? Will I no longer shut myself in and finally tell Anna the truth, apologize to her for how I've been treating her these past few years?' Still sitting on the ground, Elsa's hands curled into fists.
"But before we go back. I want us to meet someone first. My master knows about him and I'm sure you're the same." Henry mysteriously smiled, "Follow me."
Albeit confused, these past few days—Elsa found herself trusting the man in front of her, to the point that she would sometimes get flustered whenever their eyes came in contact.
She can't seem to explain what this feeling is. She just instinctively felt embarrassed to share it with Henry.
"O-Okay." She stammered, waving her hand, and the various constructs melted to a point of no return. Not a single drop remained.
Grabbing their horses, Henry took the lead. Following behind him was Elsa, her horse matching the gallop of Henry's.
"How far are we?" Elsa asked, for some reason, she had a feeling of what Henry had been referring to earlier.
Henry answered without a delay, "Almost there! It should be around here somewhere."
One particular reason why he chose a place away from the forest and only with rocks and stones was that he remembered Pabbie and the entire troll population lives somewhere similar.
Yesterday morning when he said he gathered wooden sticks and almost got frozen by Elsa, wasn't exactly the entire truth. During that time, he was actually searching for the home of the rock trolls.
Armed with nothing but his familiar memory of the place, he managed to find it after a few hours of speed-blitzing all over the place.
Without disturbing them, Henry went back while familiarizing the path and that's how he managed to find them in a few hours.
And now, he's tracing the same path he memorized and it didn't take long for them to arrive. The place was almost barren, with a few grasses growing on unusual parts of the rocky ground.
Along with dead trees and smog all over the place. The only attention-seeking part of the place was the countless round-shaped rocks placed randomly.
When Elsa saw this, her eyes widened in surprise. She's familiar with this place. This is where her parents brought her and Anna during that tragic day.
"What are we doing here?" Elsa frowned. Although the memory of that day no longer bothers her thanks to finding inner peace with it, it's still a painful memory nonetheless.
"We're here to meet friends," Henry smirked and walked around the place. All while praying in his heart, 'Come out now. Don't embarrass me.'
At first, there was silence, straining Henry's smile. However, a few seconds passed and the rocks started to tremble and roll around the place.
Henry's smile turned into a grin however, it soon turned back into a strain again as the rock trolls surrounded Elsa instead, abandoning him.
When the rocks transformed into the familiar figure of the trolls, they all had wide smiles, followed by a yell of joy.
"It's Princess Elsa!"