#chapter 02

Over the course of two days, Phantasia’s condition worsened. 

Her eyes were bloodshot and her whole body ached with a dull, but constant pain. It started in her leg, but had spread to the rest of her body by now. Zecora and Twilight had come to visit her and were shocked by her appearance, especially as the doctor explained that the antibiotics, or really any medications, weren’t making a difference in her condition. The three stood outside her room, discussing the next move.

“Do you think we should amputate her leg? It seems like it’s pretty bad…” Twilight asked the doctor, who looked equally concerned.

“I suppose? I’ve never seen an infection move this fast before. I’m not sure if amputation would help at this point”

Zecora tapped her hoof anxiously, worrying about her apprentice.

“Perhaps the particular bramble is what left her in shambles?”

Doctor Horse tapped his chin. “I’m not sure what kind of plant would be able to do this–”

“Well, she was in the Everfree Forest, that place has a lot of unknown species of plants” Twilight interjected.

The doctor agreed that perhaps they should investigate and see if they could find the plant. Perhaps send out Zecora and Fluttershy, since the two knew the area better than anypony else. The trio trotted down the hall and into the doctors main office to discuss the plan of action.

Meanwhile, Phantasia was in her room groaning and rubbing her eyes. She felt like she was in agony and was so tired. She laid down with her eyes closed and tried to take a nap.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Her ear twitched. Drip. Drip. Drip.

She growled in frustration and sat up, looking around the room for the offensive sound. Her eyes settled on the sink, but it wasn’t dripping. That's strange… then where was the sound coming from? She checked the ceiling, the walls, even double checked the sink by turning it on and off with her magic. Nothing changed. She rubbed her ears and listened, but the sound was gone.

“Sorry, that was loud wasn’t it”

Phantasia whipped her head around to the door, but no one was there. She could’ve sworn she heard Nurse Redheart.

“Um… hello?” She spoke up, but was met with silence. “I’m dreaming again, huh?” She chuckled to herself.

“Phantasia” a voice whispered right in her ear.

She leaped up off the table and backed up towards the door on shaky legs.

“W-whos there!?”

No one was in sight.

She felt her forehead with her own hoof; she was burning up. Maybe she’s imagining things. It felt so real…

“Who are you talking to?”

She yelped and ran to hide under the bed.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Fiddlestick apologized, kneeling to see her under the bed. Phantasia let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, it’s just you– thank Celestia”

She struggled to crawl out from under the bed, waving off Fiddlestick as he offered to help. The two sat with their backs against the bed frame and made small talk. Anything from the bland hospital food to the books they were sharing. Phantasia told him about her worries and that she missed Zecora since she hadn’t visited much.

“I’m sure your mom will come back when you’re better” He comforted

“She’s not my mom” She squinted at him and the colt wilted.

“Oh, my bad I just thought…” he tapped the ground “Where… is your mom?”

She didn’t respond. Silence filled the room, but it wasn’t really awkward. He just waited; maybe she was thinking about it. Or maybe she didn’t want to talk about it. 

“My real mom left me in the woods as a baby and Zecora found me”

Her ears laid back and she picked at a chip in the floor tile with her hoof.

“Well… then that's not a mom. She might’ve been your mother, but she's not your mom”

Phantasia rolled her eyes.

“That’s the same thing!”

“No it isn’t!” He insisted “Anyone can be a mother, but it takes a lot to be a mom. Mom’s take care of you, love you and keep you safe… and to me it sounds like Zecora does that”

She stayed silent. He had a good point. One that seemed like it came from someone else.

“Who told you that?”

He chuckled nervously.

“Ah… my step-mom. She’s nice, a lot better than my original mother”

The unicorn didn’t ask what he meant by that, instead she stretched and moved to sitting back up on the bed. He went to join her, but she shook her head and moved him to the door with her magic.

“I’m tired and have a headache, we can hang out tomorrow”

He didn’t argue. He simply wished her a goodnight– despite it being noon– and let her sleep.

Two more days went by and the search for whatever plant she stepped on turned up nothing. They had no idea what part of the forest she went to, but they searched as far as they could safely. Fluttershy flew over the thicker parts where the bushes were too dense to walk through, but still found nothing. The only brambles they could find were normal, everyday plants.

“Do you think she’s just allergic?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know what allergy would do that” Twilight responded quickly as she looked between several books and papers. She was researching in her private library to try and find a possible answer.

Perhaps a foreign plant that was introduced with a bad side effect? Maybe even a poisonous plant? She couldn’t find anything that had a description similar to what was going on with the young filly. She groaned and put the books away before pulling out a scroll.

The door to the library swung open with a sweating and panting Zecora entering.

“Twilight! Something is wrong with Phantasia!”

The princess immediately dropped everything. Zecora led Fluttershy and Twilight to the hospital where a very confused Phantasia was trying to buck the nurses.

“What in Equestria is going on with her?!” Twilight shouted.

“W-we don’t know! She just started talking to herself and freaked out when the doctor walked in the room!” Nurse Redheart quickly explained “Zecora tried to calm her down but it made her freak out more”

“I want to go home! Leave me alone!” Phantasia shouted, stumbling and struggling to stand as she kept kicking.

Twilight used her magic to hold the filly down, allowing the nurses to inject a sedative. It quickly took effect and she calmed down, slowly slipping down to the floor and laying down. The nurses quickly moved her to a secure room to contain and quarantine her until they could figure out what was causing her to freak out.

“Could it be rabies?” Fluttershy suggested to Doctor Horse, who was holding ice over his freshly bruised eye.

“We aren’t sure… it's possible, but she can swallow just fine and isn’t having negative reactions to water” The princess turned to look at Zecora; she looked devastated and worried. “What is happening to my child?” she whispered to her friend.

“I don’t know, but we’ll find out”

🌟🌟🌟

Things were not looking good.

By day seven, Phantasia had lost her magic and her hair had begun falling out. Her colours were dull and her irises had turned white. The skin on her back leg where the bramble had poked her was completely gone; Dull flesh, muscle and bone exposed.

Her chest had a large lump of flesh hanging on, exposing the surface of her sternum and ribs through a gnarly gash created by her own hooves. She had thrown herself against the wall so many times in a futile attempt to kill herself that a deep gash formed on her head, exposing her skull. Her ear was torn and mangled, several spots on her front and back legs exposed more muscle and bone. Despite her emaciated state, she was still somehow strong enough to dent the door trying to escape.

She screamed and begged for them to kill her, but no one wanted to get close enough to check her since she had become so violent in her confused state. At this point, she’d given up asking for help and just laid down on the floor, crying.

The door creaked open, but she didn’t notice, and Fiddlestick hesitantly stepped in. “Phantasia?”

“Leave me alone…” He slowly stepped towards her with his head lowered.

“You’ve been yelling for a while… I thought maybe you’d like it if I visited?”

She got up, stumbling and struggling to stand as she glared at him through eyes he wasn’t sure could even see anymore.

“I said get out of here Fiddlestick! Before you get hurt too!” She yelled at him.

“I’m not leaving you alone! The doctors might be scared but I’m not!” He stomped his hoof and stood his ground, flapping his singular wing in defiance.

She whimpered and attempted to step towards him, but tripped over her own foot and fell against him.

He caught her, holding her up and helping her sit before he felt a sharp sting in his hoof. He pulled out quickly and looked at it. A small, purple quill was stuck in his hoof and as he looked back at Phantasia, he quickly noticed she was covered in them. They seemed to be sprouting from her exposed flesh. His stomach dropped and he backed away from her in fear. She cried and begged him not to go, pleading for him to stay. The colt shook his head and ran out of the room, slamming the door and making sure it was locked before he ran to the bathroom.

In a panic, he plucked the quill and tossed it in the trash, washing his hoof in the sink over and over until his skin was raw and swollen. Panting, he pulled a first-aid kit from the cabinet. He wrapped his leg a bit haphazardly before letting out a sigh.

Deciding it was properly clean, he returned to his room. He couldn’t let anypony else know he snuck into the quarantine room or else he’d be in big trouble. It wasn’t that bad an issue anyway, at least not in his eyes.

Before he could fully shut the door, multiple ponies walked by in a rush, including Princess Twilight. He decided it was better not to snoop for once, and laid down in his bed. Meanwhile, the group of ponies gathered outside of Phantasia’s room.

“What do we think the diagnosis could be?” Twilight asked.

“Well… we aren’t sure. We’ve never seen this before!” Doctor Horse wiped sweat from his brow and cleared his throat. “She’s gotten worse so much faster than expected”

The group looked through the dense glass window on the door and Twilight gasped at the sight of all the needle-like quills protruding from the bloody filly. Zecora tried to look, but the princess pushed her away.

“You shouldn’t see this–”

“I must!” She stomped her hoof, cutting the alicorn off.

Twilight relented and allowed the zebra to look. She stared for a moment, watching what was the closest thing to family she had in Equestria, crying on the floor in pain.

Sinking to the floor, Zecora let out a shaky breath.

“What can be done for her?”

The doctor and nurses all looked at each other with somber expressions.

“The truth is Miss Zecora… we don’t know. There isn’t anything we can do safely since we have no idea what caused this–”

“Then what do we do?! Would you want to suffer if that happened to you?” Zecora pleaded.

She couldn’t just let her little girl go through so much pain. She wouldn’t allow it. There had to be something they could do.

“Look, it could be dangerous for someone to go in there. We don’t know if it’s contagious, but even if it isn’t, she’s too volatile to approach”

Twilight stepped closer to the doctor.

“What if we sedate her– from a distance. Keep her asleep with magic; Maybe then we can take samples of blood and those… quills” She shuddered at the mention of those things. Something about it made Twilight feel uneasy. The look of them was off in a way she couldn’t quite place. “I suppose that could work, but we’d have to get a hazmat crew in so we don’t risk it spreading to anypony else”

The princess nodded in agreement with the doctor. He turned to speak to the nurse, urging her to call for the crew. Twilight looked to Zecora, who was still looking at Phantasia through the glass.

“I know it’s hard Zecora, but we’ll figure something out. We can save her”

The zebra shook her head.

“The damage is too severe. She will not be able to leave here”

Twilight lowered her head, knowing it was most likely true. The injuries she sustained already would likely kill her if they did manage to cure her, but someone had to hold onto hope. The Hazmat crew came quickly. They brushed past the mares and the unicorn of the group produced a gas can before pulling the tab and throwing it in the room with the infected filly. Quickly, the gas knocked her unconscious and the crew entered with several heavy-duty, steel containers and tools. They extracted multiple blood samples and plucked a few quills from her skin, placing all of it in the various containers. Zecora couldn’t watch anymore; She turned and galloped down the hall, running into the bathroom and slamming the door shut. Looking at herself in the mirror, she tried to calm down– but it wasn’t working.

She began to sob. Her beautiful filly… what was nearly her daughter, was dying. The small family she’d created here in Equestria.

Prologue

If you had told me a month ago that I would be standing on the outskirts of an airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, I would’ve said that you were misinformed. And if you had told me that the whole reason I was in Fairbanks was to catch the tiniest puddle jumper in existence to what feels like the very edge of the world—or, in this case, a town on the edge of Denali, the highest mountain in North America—I would have said that you were high as a freaking kite.

This isn't even trying to pretend that it's not poorly disguised Twilight fanfic.

The only consolation is that it seems as though our narrator might be a bit more fun than Bella. At least it seems as though she has a bit of spice.

In fact, the only thing I have been able to count on these past few weeks is that no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse…

Prologue summary: Like most prologues, I don't know why the author bothered. But here we are. Our narrator, Grace, stands in an airport in Alaska, about ready to get onto one of those tiny puddle jumper planes to go to a highly remote place.

That's it. That's literally the entire fucking thing.

Chapter 1

Seconds later, I feel the wheels skip across the ground. Then Philip hits the brakes hard enough to slam me forward so fast that my seat belt is the only thing keeping my head from meeting the control panel.

This feels like a solid case for whiplash.

Then grab onto the handle of my suitcase and start dragging it toward a small patch of concrete that I’m pretty sure passes for an airport in Healy. It’s a far cry from San Diego’s bustling terminals.

She keeps comparing San Diego with a town in Alaska that is so remote you can't even drive up to it. Like honey, I don't know what you're expecting here. I get that it's a shock, but you can't look at a place like this and be surprised that it's not goddamned California.

“No worries, Mace. Had to run a few errands in Fairbanks anyway.” He says it so casually, like hopping in a plane for a couple-hundred-mile roundtrip journey is no big deal.

My uncle is a pilot and let me assure you that it's not a big deal to them. Especially when you live in a remote place like Alaska.

...and to pull my brand-new coat more tightly around me because it’s literally about eight degrees out here...

[three pages later]

I’m really about to ride a snowmobile in the near dark through Alaska in weather that is more than twenty degrees below freezing...

Is it 8 degrees or -20?

EDITORS? WHO ARE THEY?!

“Hold on to my waist!” she shouts as she turns it on, so I do. Seconds later, we’re speeding into the darkness that stretches endlessly in front of us. I’ve never been more terrified in my life.

Chapter 1 summary: Grace is flown out to the remote town of Healy, Alaska in a two-seater puddle-jumper by her uncle's friend, Philip. It seems as though Grace's parents have recently died, and she has to go to live with her uncle and cousin. As you might expect, it's fucking cold there, which is a shock to Grace as she came from California.

Her cousin, Macy, is waiting for them in the parking lot of the “airport”, which is literally only a landing strip and parking lot. She apologizes for her father not being able to be there, since he runs a boarding school and needed to take care of some emergency. Grace isn't even sure where a school would be, since they kind of saw everything when flying into the town, but decides not to question things too much.

Grace is even more shocked when Macy leads them over to a literal snowmobile and starts to load up Grace's luggage. Macy gives her some snow pants and boots, and then an insulated helmet for the ride.

Chapter 2

Still, there’s something more to him, something different and powerful and overwhelming, though I don’t have a clue what it is. I mean, sure. He has the kind of face nineteenth-century poets loved to write about—too intense to be beautiful and too striking to be anything else. Skyscraper cheekbones. Full red lips. A jaw so sharp it could cut stone. Smooth, alabaster skin. And his eyes…a bottomless obsidian that see everything and show nothing, surrounded by the longest, most obscene lashes I’ve ever seen.

Oh boy, here we go...

When exactly did I become the heroine in some YA romance?

Unless this entire thing was intended to be read as a tongue-in-cheek meta parody, I'm kind of angry over this. Because you KNOW that it's exactly what's going to happen.

One glance and I know that this dark boy with the closed-off eyes and the fuck-you attitude isn’t the hero of anyone’s story. Least of all mine.

Chapter 2 summary: They get to the school, which is a literal castle. I'm not even going to question the logistics of building a place like that in the most remote corner of Alaska. Macy starts to unload Grace's luggage, but Grace is determined not to sit back and let other people do all of the work for her. She grabs one of the bags, but then gets winded doing simply that. Macy says that it's the altitude, and that it'll take a while to get used to it, after having lived at sea level her entire life.

As they go further into the school, Grace realizes that the other students milling about in their down-time are all staring at her. She feels gross because she's been traveling all day, and their stares make her uncomfortable. Macy tells her that there are rooms for single students, but they're all full, and her dad wanted to know what Grace wanted to do. There's an awkward moment where Macy puts her foot in her mouth about the deaths of Grace's parents, but Grace says that she'd like to bunk with her cousin.

Honeymaren stepped outside and quietly walked away from the kota, leaving the two alone. This was a deeply private moment, she felt instinctively. When she raised her head and looked around, she saw only sad faces and bowed heads. Yelana stood nearby and gently took her in her arms as she passed, knowing that Elsa was also very close to Honeymaren's heart.

The sun had set a few minutes ago and the first campfires were lit in the village. No stars had been seen in the sky above the Enchanted Forest for more than thirty-four years. But now the first of them appeared in the rapidly darkening firmament, and many of the Northuldra stared up in awe. Even though it had been a while since the magical fog had disappeared around the forest, it was a miracle for most of them to experience it.

It had become very quiet now and except for Kristoff and the others from Arendelle, nobody was standing in front of the kota anymore. No one spoke a word, not even Olaf. Then sobbing from inside could be heard and the flap of the hut opened. Anna stepped outside with her head down, tears in her eyes. Kristoff rushed towards her and gently put his arm around her shoulders. He felt her body tremble and wondered what was really wrong with Elsa. No one had told him anything, no one knew more.

Anna raised her head and looked into his eyes. Then she began to speak in a fragile voice and the others curiously came a bit closer. “Elsa is ... she ... ”, she broke off and began to sob again. “Kristoff, my sister has ... she didn't recognize me! She doesn't know who I am! She ... I talked to her, told her about me and Arendelle, about our parents, about Olaf, about all of us and about our experiences here in the forest too. The Spirits and Bruni, who she liked so much. Even about Ahtohallan and who she was afterwards, who we both were. The bridge. Of the fact that together we both freed the forest and the Northuldra, that she made me Queen of Arendelle.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Kristoff, she doesn't know anything anymore. Nothing at all! She ... she's forgotten all of us ... including me.”

Then Anna just couldn't take it anymore and collapsed. Anna slipped out of his grip to fall to the floor in front of him and screamed, “Elsa!”

She began to cry unrestrainedly and her body shook with helpless sorrow. Kristoff immediately knelt beside her and tried to comfort her in some way. Mattias watched helplessly as his queen let it all out. Halima took his hand and sobbed. Many Northuldra had rushed by the noise and watched in dismay. Olaf looked sadly over from Anna to the kota. He could not understand what was going on. Then he made a decision, walked towards the entrance of the hut and entered the inside.

It lasted only a few moments then a scream came out of the kota. “Ahhh ... get out! Help me! Get this thing out of here! Don't touch me! Get away! Get out of here!”

All heads went around startled and even Anna stared at the hut in disbelief. Seconds later the entrance opened and Olaf came out backwards. He turned around with his head down, walked a few steps and abruptly dropped to the ground. Then he started to move his body slowly back and forth. Over and over again.

Snowmen can't cry but with Olaf everyone had the impression he did now.

~~~

Anna grabbed Kristoff's hand and he helped her to rise. Then she went over to Olaf and took him in her arms. He needed comfort now, more than ever, and she hoped a warm hug from his best friend would help him. At first he did not react. His pain was just too great. Then he nestled his head on Anna's shoulder and began to speak softly.

“I don't understand this, Anna. How can Mom forget me? She's never yelled at me before.”

Again tears began to stream down Anna's face and she squeezed her eyes shut, hugging Olaf a little tighter. Olaf had never called Elsa that before! But he was right. Elsa had never yelled at anyone before. Never! Something had changed her. It wasn't just her memory loss or the fact that her skin was so unusually warm. It was almost as if she had become a different person.

Mattias gently squeezed Kristoff's shoulder and pulled him aside. “Let's leave the two of them alone and calm down a bit first. We need to talk.”

Kristoff nodded and they sat down together with Halima at the next campfire. “How could all this have happened. What can we do?” Kristoff looked at both of them for help.

Mattias hadn't known Elsa and the others for very long, so he was the only one in the group who could see the events emotionally at a distance and remained calm and composed. Not least because of his age and his background.

“I experienced something similar once before, with a soldier with a severe head injury. He couldn't remember anything afterwards, not even his own name. It took a very long time and was a difficult healing process, but little by little his memories came back.”

Kristoff started to answer when Yelana came out of the darkness to her crackling fire and sat down between him and Mattias. Everyone looked at her eagerly.

“You want answers and you are seeking for a solution. Unfortunately I cannot give you one. Even our healer has never experienced such a thing and is at the end of her abilities. But I can tell you what happened before you arrived.” And so she told them everything she knew and left out no detail, including the disappearance of the spirits and that Elsa's magic was apparently gone as well.

“We must take Elsa back to Arendelle. The more things she sees there from her past, the sooner her memories will hopefully return,” Mattias noted at the end of Yelana's report. “However, we should be careful that as few people as possible become aware of this. This whole thing could leave us vulnerable if details get out beyond Arendelle's borders.”

“Vulnerable?” wondered Kristoff.

Mattias looked at him with a serious look, “Elsa's magic and her status as Fifth Spirit. If it became known that she no longer possessed either, then ...”, he left the sentence open.

Kristoff couldn't imagine exactly what Mattias was thinking about, but nodded slowly. It was probably best to keep everything as secret as possible for now.

“I will ride back to Arendelle with Halima in the early morning and bring back a few reliable men and an inconspicuous means of transport. I will think of a reason for this and also bring a suitable disguise for Elsa. There's nothing we can do at the moment, so perhaps we should get some sleep.” At this, he looked questioningly at Yelana.

“I have already made sure that everything is prepared. The two kotas over there will be at your disposal for the next few days.” she replied and pointed in that direction.

Finally they all rose together and Kristoff looked over to Anna who was still cradling Olaf in her arms.

“Oh Anna!” he whispered and slowly walked over to her.

~~~

Kristoff managed with a lot of feeling and gentle words to get Anna and Olaf to go to one of the provided kotas for the night. He opened the flap and held it open for them. Inside the kota there were two very comfortable looking beds, which were covered with plenty of furs. Anna had to pull up her nose involuntarily when she entered and an intense reindeer smell hit her. She was used to Kristoff's odor, but this was different and almost took her breath away at first.

Kristoff didn't seem to mind when she turned to him, and he just closed the flap behind him with a motionless expression.

“Can you ... ,” she asked and nodded towards the entrance.

He raised his eyebrows, but then understood. “Uh ... yes of course. Sorry, I hadn't thought of that.” He fastened the flap to the outer sling and then came back in. A gentle night breeze blew through the inside and let Anna breathe a sigh of relief.

He let her choose one of the beds and Anna sat down on the front edge of one of them. Olaf pulled down one of the furs and lay wordlessly at the foot end. Anna looked over at Kristoff, who stood there undecidedly. Finally he sat down opposite her. For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence.

Then Anna said softly, “Remember when we talked about my past as a child?” He confirmed with a nod.

She let out a long sigh, “Well, I thought of that because of the similar situation with Elsa now and that I still can't remember by myself what happened to me that night when Grand Pabbie simply took away my childhood memories with Elsa's magic. Elsa told me everything a few years ago and helped me to visualize it. For that, I am infinitely grateful to her.”

Kristoff nodded, “Yes, I understand very well what you mean. I remember that it was pure coincidence that I followed this ice track that one of your parents' horses pulled behind it and that I was hidden behind a rock when I watched everything. I mean, I grew up with the trolls, but I had never seen this ability with Grand Pabbie before or known about it. To witness what he did with you and to see his visions about Elsa scared me a lot.” Kristoff was caught up in his memories for a moment. Then he shook his head. “But let's stop thinking about it. We better should go to sleep now.”

Anna quietly agreed, “Yes, you're certainly right. Let's better go to sleep.”

~~~

Kristoff lay awake for a long time, pondering her words and today's events. Pale moonlight flooded in from above and enveloped the kota in a diffuse light. Anna had a restless sleep as he could tell by the creaking of the bed. He looked over to her. Anna rolled back and forth, her breath went in jerks, her body twitched in her dream. Then she screamed out loud. Kristoff jumped out of bed and hurried to her.

“Anna!” He wiped away a tear with his thumb and stroked her cheek. She woke up, still breathing heavily, and looked at him.

“Please stay with me tonight,” she whispered and moved aside a little. He hesitated a moment, but then lay down next to her gently. Anna snuggled up against him.

“Thank you,” she breathed.

“Sorry to wake you, but you had a bad dream and you even screamed.”

Anna hesitated a bit before answering him, “I dreamed about the cave. Where Olaf had dissolved in my arms. At that moment I believed ... I knew that Elsa hadn't made it, that she had gone too far. Everyone I loved had left me. I felt so lost, Kristoff. I don't know where I found the strength to get back up again. Honestly, nothing was the same anymore. I was so alone. It felt like I was the last person in this now-desolate world.” She paused, and Kristoff heard more than he saw in the dark, that she was crying again. “The way Elsa is now, it feels worse for me, as if she had died!” Kristoff swallowed hard. He was afraid of the next two days and how they would change his Anna.

“My bright star has gone. I have lost her,” she mumbled softly after a few moments before falling asleep again.

~~~

The next morning brought light rain and it had become quite cool. The sky showed grey clouds and the usually so friendly looking forest lay in grey shadows. The camp was quiet and not many of the Northuldra were on their way yet. Mattias was just about to saddle the horses when Kristoff, Anna and Olaf stepped out of the kota. Halima stood next to him and they talked quietly together.

Anna immediately cast an uncertain glance over to Elsa's cabin, while Kristoff walked over to the two as soon as he noticed them.

“Good morning, General ... Halima,” he said and nodded to them.

“Well, it could be a little better, Kristoff,” Mattias replied with a grin and wiped the raindrops from his face with one hand while holding the reins of the two horses with the other one.

“Morning, Kristoff. How is Queen Anna doing?” asked Halima and looked over to her.

“She's fine, but her sleep was restless,” Kristoff replied. All three looked over to her now and Mattias noticed the direction in which she still was looking.

“Take good care of our queen, Kristoff. All this has taken quite a toll on her and she now needs rest and someone to comfort her with attention. I'm convinced, you are the best man for that.”

“This of course is, General Mattias, thank you. Take good care of yourself on the way back. I'll see you in about two days.”

Mattias gave Kristoff a friendly slap on the shoulder. “We will. We'll hurry.” Then he helped Halima into the saddle and led both horses over to Anna and Olaf. He bowed respectfully to Anna. Halima did the same from the top of the horse. Anna looked at them and the horses in astonishment.

“You are leaving us already?”

“Good morning, Your Majesty, excuse our behaviour, but yes, we don't want to lose any time and want to be back here as soon as possible. Last night we all agreed that we want to bring Elsa back to Arendelle. Unfortunately there's not much we can do for her here now, but the doctors at home will surely find a solution. Kristoff knows all the details of our plan. Rest now, and don't grieve. Kristoff, Yelana and Honeymaren will take care of everything you need. Please do not worry. We'll be back in two days.”

Anna nodded wordlessly and he got on his horse in relief, turning it towards the big clearing. Then they both rode off, waving goodbye one last time. Kristoff stepped beside Anna, put an arm around her and they watched the horses disappear between the trees.

“It's gonna be all right, Anna.”

~~~

---

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment if you liked the story, I would be pleased to read your opinions, even criticisms. If you want to be tagged as soon I publish the next chapter please let me know.