Chapter 8

If one could both fear and hate someone at the same time, then Elsa definitely felt that way towards Hans, former prince of the Southern Isles. He had lied to and manipulated everyone around him into thinking he was a compassionate, loving person, but in truth was the very definition of a snake-in-the-grass. He left Anna to die from her curse and tried to murder Elsa in an attempt to take over their kingdom. Thankfully, Anna had thwarted both in a single act. Putting herself between Hans’ sword and the distraught Elsa was just the kind of act of true love that was needed to melt the ice that was accidentally put in her heart by her sister, ice that ironically allowed her to survive Hans’ deathblow when it transformed her into an indestructible ice sculpture just as the sword fell.

“Is there anything more recent?” Elsa asked Ahtohallan. “As close to the present as you can get?”

Another vision formed on the wall, but in it Kristoff and Sven simply sat in the cargo hold of the ship they were on. No one came to check on them and they didn’t say anything. At least they were alive, but time was of the essence. Elsa couldn’t waste any more time searching for more clues, not when she already knew the destination and the potential was there that the ship could be mere minutes away from delivering Kristoff to Hans and the torture that awaited. She rushed back to the entrance and shouted as loud as she could. “Gale! I need you!”

The wind spirit was there in mere seconds, having sensed her return and was already coming to greet her. It playfully spun around Elsa, tossing her hair about and ruffling her dress.

Despite her worry, Elsa couldn’t hold back a giggle as she was tickled. “I’m happy to see you too, but please stop that. I need your help and time is short.”

The wind spirit, seen only by the swirl of dust and leaves it carried along with it when it moved, coalesced in front of Elsa and waited.

“Remember when we first met and you lifted me right off the ground and tossed me around in the air? Can you do that over a long distance? I need to get back to Arendelle and then over the sea as fast as possible.” Elsa conjured up her goggles again and fixed them over her eyes. “The Nokk is fast, but not as fast as the wind itself. Kristoff and Sven are in danger and I need to get to them before they reach their destination.”

Gale responded by immediately picking Elsa up off the ground and soaring high into the air, heading straight for Arendelle.

“Thank you!” Elsa said. Flying through the air like this could have been terrifying, for a fall from this height would be deadly, but Elsa trusted Gale with her life, and her worry for Kristoff overrode any worry for herself. To help Gale carry her, Elsa manifested large wings made of snowflakes and affixed them to her back. They weren’t functional like a bird’s were, but they gave Gale a much larger area to push against, making it easier to propel Elsa forward.

If Elsa thought the trip to Ahtohallan had been fast, the return trip through the air was triply so. She didn’t even have time to come up with a clear plan to rescue Kristoff and Sven before Gale was lowering them down onto the castle courtyard. Anna was there along with General Mattias and several dozen guards. They all looked up in surprise as she descended from the sky.

As soon as Elsa touched the ground she was surrounded by people. “Elsa! You can fly?” Anna asked, shocked.

“No, Gale simply carried me. Here, put this on. I’ll explain on the way,” Elsa said, handing Anna another pair of ice goggles. Anna began to do so without question. Elsa also pulled Anna’s crown off and handed it to Mathias. “Here, hold on to this. Wouldn’t want to have it fall off. And General? Prepare your fastest ship and meet us on the Southern Isles as soon as you can.”

“Meet us on the-woah?!” Anna didn’t even have a chance to finish her question before Elsa grabbed her by the hand and Gale had picked the two of them up off the ground and soared back into the sky.

For several seconds Anna screamed in shock and fear as the ground sank far below her. But as time passed and she was not falling back down towards the earth she began to relax a bit. Having a deathgrip on Elsa’s hand did help steady herself and once Elsa noticed she was no longer freaking out, she conjured Anna her own set of ice wings. Once they were steady Gale increased her speed and they raced over the water towards the Southern Isles.

“Care to explain what is going on?” Anna shouted to her sister. The wind was so loud in her ears that she could barely hear anything else.

“Hans,” Elsa shouted back. “He’s the one responsible for kidnapping Kristoff!”

“Hans?” Anna asked, surprised. “Why would he want to do that? As far as I know he and Kristoff have never even spoken to each other.”

Over the next several minutes, Elsa did her best to bring her sister up to speed with what she learned from Ahtohallan. The noise of the wind made things somewhat difficult and she had to repeat herself several times but most of the information was relayed successfully.

“So Hans is planning to hurt me by hurting my husband?” Anna said once Elsa was finished. “Can that man sink any lower?” She looked down at the water. This high up it was hard to tell how fast they were actually moving, but she could see several sailing ships on the water around them. “Do you know which ship they’re on? Can’t we just land on the deck and take out the mercenaries? I’m sure you could do it without issue with your powers.”

“No, I don’t know which ship. And did you forget what they said? If we tried that, they’d kill Kristoff before we had a chance to do anything to them. Unless all four were sleeping if and when we find them, and I don’t think you want to take that chance, do you?”

Anna shivered at the thought. “No, you’re right. It’s too risky. So what can we do?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I think our best choice right now is to reach the Isles before they do. We can figure out something more after that. Maybe set up an ambush like they did for Kristoff and Sven.”

Save for the wind propelling them forward, they flew in silence as each tried to think of a way to rescue Kristoff and Sven without putting them in further danger. They soared over a few ships heading in the same direction and Anna prayed that her and Elsa’s distance and relative size would prevent anyone on the deck of those ships from noticing them. for one of them surely held the love of her life. Well, one of the loves of her life. To simply pass him by knowing the danger he was in was difficult, but she understood the necessity.

They had been flying for quite some time when the Southern Isles finally drew close. At this height they had seen the group of islands a while ago, but now they were maybe an hour out if they were sailing. Both sisters had gradually gotten used to the feeling of being high in the sky, when they suddenly dropped for a second before stabilising. The sudden drop made their stomachs lurch and they both felt a moment of panic and they let out a yelp of surprise.

“Gale, is everything alright?” Elsa asked, worried.

The wind spirit responded with her usual sounds, but seemed tired. A few moments later they dropped again, causing both women to cry out.

“If we drop from this height, we’re in serious trouble!” Anna pointed out, clearly worried.

“Gale, get us down to the surface, quickly! If your strength gives out when we’re up this high, we won’t survive the fall!”

Gale did as requested, mostly. Her strength was nearly at its limit as she brought the sisters down to the water as steadily as she could, but would occasionally stumble and drop them but would catch them a second later. When they were about thirty feet above the water, she lost what little strength remained and they plummeted the remaining distance, splashing into the cold sea.

Surprise shifted into survival as Elsa quickly conjured a large sheet of ice under her and Anna, who’s hand she still held tight. The slab of ice, less dense than the water around it, quickly rose to the surface, carrying the women with it. It burst from the surface in a splash and Anna and Elsa both gasped for air. They were only underwater for a few seconds, but the shock of hitting the water had stolen much of their breath.

“Thank you Elsa,” Anna said, sitting back on their makeshift raft and letting the panic go. “You saved me. This dress weighs like a ton when wet. There’s no way I could have swam to the islands. I would have drowned out here.” She pulled off her goggles and immediately rubbed where they were, trying to warm up the chilled skin. Having ice, even magic ice that wasn’t nearly as cold as regular ice, pressed against bare skin for so long was at risk of causing damage.

Elsa made her and Anna’s ice wings and goggles vanish now that they were no longer needed. “There’s no way I would have let that happen,” she replied, then brought her attention to their companion. “Gale, are you okay?”

Gale twirled around Elsa, showing that she was still there, but there was no strength in her and she couldn’t even ruffle Elsa’s now soaked clothes.

“You gave it your all, didn’t you?” Anna said. “Thank you Gale.”

Elsa nodded in agreement, then said, “I wonder if being this far away from the Enchanted Forest is having an effect.”

“What do you mean?” her sister asked.

“I found it more difficult to create this block of ice than I expected. Back in Arendelle I made that ice palace, with all its intricate details, with pretty much no strain at all, but this simple slab actually required a bit of effort. Not much, mind you, but compared to the palace it should have been effortless.” She held out her hand, palm upward, and Gale settled down upon it. “Thank you Gale. We couldn’t have gotten this far without you, but can take it from here. You go home and rest, okay?”

Gale signalled her agreement and spun once more around Elsa and then Anna, before soaring back into the sky towards home. As she was the very wind itself, such a trip would be easy despite her exhaustion now that she didn’t have any burdens to carry.

Anna looked around and took in their situation. They were still in the middle of the sea, soaking wet, but at least their destination was close by. “So now what?” she asked.

Elsa waved her hand, carefully transforming the slab of ice into a simple two-person boat, complete with paddles. She picked one up and looked at her sister. “Now we row.”

Anna looked at the paddle made of ice, then down to her bare hands. She looked around, then decided to use her stockings as makeshift gloves to protect her hands while she rowed. She pulled them off, did her best to wring them out, folded them over as many times as she could without them getting too tight, then grabbed a paddle and got to work.

The waters were rough and their progress slow, but the two women never gave up. The chill of their wet clothes soon gave way to the heat of their workout. There was a reason rowboats didn’t venture out into the oceans and Elsa and Anna strained their muscles as they fought to keep their boat heading in the right direction.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” Elsa said as they neared the shore.

“For what?”

“I feel like this is somehow my fault. I mean, what you and I are doing, the incest, it’s taboo and I can’t help but feel like the universe is punishing us.”

Anna set down her paddle and looked at her sister. “That’s an utter load of nonsense.”

“But Kristoff was kidnapped right after you and I crossed that line.”

Anna waved a hand dismissively. “Sheer coincidence. Hans had to have arranged this long before you and I became intimate. The trip from the Isles to Arendelle alone would have meant those mercenaries were hired before we ever made love. Are you saying the universe was preparing to punish us before we even thought about doing anything ‘wrong’?” She used air quotes when she said that last word, clearly showing her opinion on the matter.

“No, but-”

“But nothing. You and I are going to rescue my husband. Then we’re going to make sure that Hans can’t ever do something like this again. Then we’ll all go home together, you will join Kristoff and I in our bedroom, and the three of us will have the most amazing sex ever.”

Elsa couldn’t help but blush. “Anna!” she chastised.

“What? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

Elsa’s blush deepened. “No,” she admitted, “but it’s hardly the time to be talking about sex. Not when one of those involved has their life in danger.”

“Fair point,” Anna agreed. She picked up her paddle once more and began rowing. “So let’s get to shore and figure out what to do next.”

They chose to make landfall away from the port, where hopefully no one would notice them. If the current and former queens of Arendelle suddenly showed up on a tiny boat made of ice the news would spread like wildfire and it would only be a matter of time before Hans learned of their presence, thus putting any kind of surprise rescue plan in jeopardy.

Thankfully, once they were close enough to shore the waves helped propel their boat forward, so they just had to make sure they stayed facing the right direction, lest the surf tip them over into the water. They eventually stumbled onto solid ground, grateful to be able to finally rest. Elsa dismissed the boat and breathed a sigh of relief. A downside to their rest was that the cold began to set in. The damp clothes, coupled with them no longer putting out so much body heat from their paddling, and with the sun now setting in the distance, made for a rather chilly experience. Elsa, being naturally immune to cold temperatures, didn’t think anything of it but Anna was already shivering.

“We’ve got to dry off and warm up,” Elsa said, noting her sister’s situation. The Southern Isles had an appreciably warmer climate than Arendelle but not so much that one could sleep through the night soaking wet with no source of heat.

“I don’t suppose you can conjure up a couple of those magic dresses of yours, can you?” Anna asked. She was rubbing her arms to try and warm herself up, to little effect.

“While it might be drier, I don’t see how wearing clothing made of ice and snow will warm you up. You’d honestly be better off naked if heat was the only thing you were worried about.”

“As fun as that was in our room, I don’t think I’m ready to be seen in public without any clothes on. Why don’t we poke around some of the nearby houses and see if we could, um, ‘borrow’ some dry clothes.”

Agreeing, they quickly walked away from the shore towards town. The first house they came across had sounds coming from inside, presumably whatever family living here was enjoying supper together. There was no sign of any laundry outside, and with their need for stealth, the women moved on.

Thankfully, the next house had a clothesline filled with laundry. Anna and Elsa carefully approached, doing their best not to be seen by anyone from inside the house, and were relieved to find the clothing was quite dry. Anna grabbed a pair of towels for herself and Elsa and they did their best to quickly dry themselves off. Even with her dress still damp, that made a big difference in how cold Anna felt. They returned to the laundry and began checking out what was there in terms of clothing. It was hard to gauge what would or would not fit, but beggars can’t be choosers and once they spotted a pair of dresses that probably weren’t too small, they went to pull them off the line.

“What’s going on here?” came a voice from off to the side.

Anna and Elsa jumped at the unexpected voice and turned to find a slightly overweight middle aged woman standing nearby with a laundry basket in her arms. “Uh ... it’s not what it looks like,” Anna said, looking entirely too guilty.

The woman looked the two of them up and down, noticing their dishevelled appearance. The trip through the sky and unexpected dunking into the sea had both of their hair a complete mess and their wet clothing looked anything but regal. Anyone looking at them now would never have guessed they were royalty. “My goodness! What happened to you?” She set her basket down and rushed over to Anna, brushing some of the stray hair out of her face and grabbing her hands. “Oh my! You’re chilled to the bone. Please, come inside and warm up. You can explain yourselves after you’ve put on something dry.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Anna began, but the woman tightened her grip and began to pull her towards the house. “But if you insist.” She wanted to maintain their stealth, and while they’d already been seen by someone, causing a scene by acting suspicious would only make things worse.

Once inside, the woman, who introduced herself as Ethel, insisted they go straight into her bedroom and find something suitable to wear while she began to prepare some tea for them. “My husband, Gregor, just left for the pub about fifteen minutes ago, so you won’t have to worry about a man barging in,” she told them.

“What are we going to do?” Elsa asked quietly once they were alone. “Our plan of staying unseen has already been ruined.”

“Nothing we can do about that now, so we should just do as she suggested and put on something dry,” Anna said, already looking through the drawers of clothes. She found a simple dress and fluffed it out. It would be large on her, but judging by Ethel’s appearance all of her clothes would be of similar size. She reached behind her to try and unlace her own dress, but the water-soaked fabric was difficult to move in. “Can you help me out?”