Frozen III: Zenith

Chapter 4

"I have no clue how to do this," Kristoff worries.
"I'm sure we can think of something," Olaf encourages.
"It's just impossible," Kristoff whines. "Leading my kingdom into war like this and putting the queen in danger-- this is stupid."
"It's going to be more stupid," Olaf whispers, "if you lose."
Sven makes a sound that is the reindeer equivalent of a taunting laugh. He sits across from Kristoff and Olaf, who study the chessboard in front of them.
"Move your--" Olaf begins.
"I know exactly what you're going to say," Kristoff quickly interjects, moving a piece towards the center of the board.
Sven nudges another piece onto Kristoff's square. He and Olaf stare at the board in wide-eyed disbelief.
"Wow," Olaf reacts, grabbing a notepad and inscribing the results upon its paper.
"How about twenty-three out of forty-five?" Kristoff bargains with the reindeer, who shakes his head.
Anna and Elsa enter the room, glancing at the chessboard.
"Again, Kristoff?" Anna expresses amusement at Kristoff losing, kissing him on the cheek.
"There is no way," Kristoff defends himself, "that a reindeer should be this good at chess."
"Did you do the day's work?" Anna inquires.
"Uh, yeah," Kristoff confirms. "Everything went okay."
"And just okay," Olaf whispers to Sven, "is not okay."
The boys recall the events which took place in Anna's absence, knowing full well that Anna would not approve.
*~*~*~*
"Are you done yet?" Kristoff whispers as loudly as he can to Olaf, who is in the kitchen setting a mousetrap under an apron on a coat hook.
"All set!" Olaf whispers back, cantering out of the kitchen.
Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven watch as, through another door, a chef enters the kitchen. He takes the apron from the coat hook, screaming in pain as he grabs it.
Outside, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven laugh, high-fiving each other, another prank well done.
Later, Kristoff rolls up a rug.
"We're all set!" He gives the thumbs up to Olaf.
Olaf finishes painting a red line by the wall, a few feet in front of a green line.
"Good here!" Olaf calls.
Kristoff picks up a mop and hands one to Olaf.
"Ready, Sven?" Kristoff asks the reindeer, who is waiting patiently in a large doorway.
Sven responds positively, and runs into the room, diving forward. Kristoff and Olaf start curling, mopping the floor in front of Sven as he ungracefully glides along, spinning slowly. The mops are stopped at the green line, and Sven slides to a stop between the painted lines.
"The winners," Olaf declares, "by total annihilation, the Sons of--"
Kristoff covers Olaf's mouth. "You might not want to say that one out loud," he warns.
A little later, Kristoff readies an arrow.
"Come on, come on," Olaf hypes, "right on the nose."
Olaf is waiting at the end of a room, while Kristoff and Sven are at the other end.
Kristoff pulls the stiff string back and breathes out. He releases the arrow. It travels swiftly, and hits Olaf's carrot nose with such force, that it is pushed out of the back of his head and is stuck on the arrow, impaled in the wall.
"Great shot," Olaf marvels, taking his nose back. "But what are you going to do about the hole in the wall?"
"Uh..." Kristoff searches for an answer. He sees a picture on the wall of some flowers, and covers the small hole with it.
"There," Kristoff steps back. "Good as new."
"Anna might find it suspicious that a painting is three feet off the ground," Olaf warns.
"I'll worry about that," Kristoff says. "But what. A. Shot!"
High-fives are shared, and happy congratulations are cheered. The game is won.
*~*~*~*
"Relax," Kristoff tells Anna. "Everything's fine. Everything's taken care of."
Anna and Elsa exit the room on the side opposite from which they came in, shutting the door behind them.
"Yeah, and by 'taken care of'," Olaf informs, "you mean handed everything over to the advisors."
"Not everything," Kristoff argues. "I got done a good... ninety percent of it."
Olaf raises an eyebrow.
"Eighty?"
Olaf crosses his arms.
"Fine, sixty-five," Kristoff confesses.
"It's okay," Olaf encourages, patting Kristoff on the shoulder. "Running a kingdom is hard work. And I would know."
"Wait, what?"
"Remember when you and Anna were on your honeymoon?" Olaf asks.
"We had Elsa take over," Kristoff states.
"Did she?" Olaf sarcastically questions, smartly running out of the room through the same door Anna and Elsa used to leave.
"Come on, Sven," Kristoff jumps on his reindeer's back to chase Olaf. They break through the door, leaving a man-riding-a-reindeer-sized hole in the door and walls.
"Gangway!" Olaf calls, running between Anna and Elsa. They step aside to let him through. Noticing the sconces on the wall start shaking, the sisters share a look of confused concern. They look back to see a reindeer charging through the hall. Anna and Elsa turn to run, but it is too late: they are each picked up in one of Sven's antlers in the pursuit.
"Just an average day with Olaf?" Anna pokes at Kristoff.
"Oh, yeah," he replies with sarcasm. "Completely normal."
At the end of the hall, Olaf jumps out a window, breaking glass, and spins two or three times on a second-floor dive into the fjord below.
"Kristoff..." Anna shows her disdain for what her husband clearly wants to do.
The sisters shriek in fear as Sven determinedly jumps through the window, breaking any glass that Olaf did not, and the group ungracefully crashes into the waters below. Anna and Elsa go under temporarily. Anna comes up first and begins coughing.
"Kristoff--" she scolds between coughs. "What-- on earth-- were you thinking?!"
"Relax," Kristoff blows off the situation, lying on a floating Sven's stomach, "we do this kind of thing all the time when you're out. In fact, that's the fourth time we've broken that window."
"Four?!"
Elsa comes out from underwater on her nokk.
"If you would," Elsa tells the water. It sends a stream comparable to that of a modern-day firehose at Kristoff, knocking him of Sven.
The group swims to the bridge that separates the castle from the village, and the water hoists simultaneously each member of the family over the gray bricks walls. Olaf is doubling over in laughter near where they were put.
"You should have seen your faces," he teases, and continues and laughing.
"And luckily," General Mattias walks to the drying royals, "with the use of modern technology, you can." He bends down to use a camera to take a snapshot. As Anna and Elsa scowl, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven wrap arms and hooves around each other and smile with wide-open mouths. A flash from the camera captures the moment.
"Got it," General Mattias informs, picking up the camera and walking away.
"Hold up, General," Olaf calls, flipping a coin to the photographer who catches it and holds it back to the snowman to wordlessly express thanks.
"What up, Pabby?" General Mattias greets the head of the Trolls, who is walking towards the castle. Grandpabby gives the General a glance, but otherwise ignores him.
"Were you expecting me?" Grandpabby inquires, seeing the group still on the bridge ahead of him.
"Grandpabby, what are you doing here?" Kristoff wonders, happy at the sight of an old friend.
"I am here to inform you of grave news," Grandpabby heralds.
"Grave news?" Anna expresses the worry that crosses into everyone's minds.
"Arendelle is awoken. We do not have much time."
"Wait, wait, wait," Elsa gestures with her hands for Grandpabby to slow down. "Arendelle is awoken?"
"Yes. He is coming," Grandpabby warns.
"'He'?" Anna repeats.
"We kept it a secret," Grandpabby shares, "so everyone could live happily and peacefully. We did not think he would return so quickly."
"Allow me to express the confusion on all our minds," Olaf steps to the front. "The what?"
Grandpabby sighs and turns around, moving his hands and fingers upwards, bringing into existence magical sparkles and swirls to visually explain what he will impart vocally.
"Long ago," he begins, "there were three different beings sharing a world: people, Trolls, and Hellions."
"Hellions?" Anna confirms.
"Yes. They had the power of hellfire, much different from normal fire. It spreads much more quickly, and cannot be stopped by anything except for its user's murder, as they do not die naturally. But the Hellions were not evil; in fact, they coexisted with us quite peacefully, until the birth of one Hellion: Arendelle. He became so consumed by his power, that he killed all the other Hellions and enslaved all people. All people, that is, except for a few who managed to escape, and the Trolls. He was strong, so we could not kill him, but we managed to trap him inside the earth, under your kingdom, and our ancestors have kept him there for hundreds, even thousands, of years." Grandpabby ends the magic show and turns to face the royal family again. "But something came alive inside of him, and we cannot hold him much longer. You have spoken of a bridge having two side, and your mother having two daughters. Elsa, Queen Anna, you must work together as the bridge between man and nature to defeat this new enemy, or he will enslave and torture any who dare not stand against him."
"What do we do?" Anna wonders.
"You must train to be ready for his return. Our power can keep him at bay a little longer, but when he is back, his fire will be more powerful than ever."
"How do we do this?" Elsa asks, looking at her ring and thinking of Jack.
"You both must come with me. I will assist you in growing and developing your powers to their fullest potential."
"But I don't have any powers," Anna points out.
"That is true, Anna, you don't," Grandpabby agrees. "But you must come with me for a different reason."
"If I'm going to leave my kingdom when war is at hand, I'd like to know why," Anna argues.
"You must learn the truth about your kingdom and your parents."
"Tell me. Now."
"There is a lot to tell. That is why you must come with us," Grandpabby tells Anna. "To the lands between the Enchanted Forest and Arendelle. The kingdom, not the Hellion. The air in those regions is... special. Kristoff, you stay behind to take care of evacuation protocol. We have time, but not much of it."
"How long do you think?" Kristoff wonders.
"I do not know. That is why we must get ready now."
"What about Jack and the Enchanted Forest?" Elsa wants to know.
"The elemental spirits will take care of them," Grandpabby assures.
"We'll see each other again, right?" Olaf asks.
Grandpabby sighs. "I cannot guarantee it. We will train as quickly as we can, and return in time to fight. But meeting again; there is no way of telling."
"Anna," Kristoff turns Anna to him again. They kiss, knowing very well it could be their last kiss. Olaf shades his eyes and Sven's, and Elsa sheepishly smiles.
"We'll see each other again," Anna states confidently.
"Let us go," Grandpabby says. He starts walking away. Elsa follows.
"You coming?" Elsa turns to ask Anna, holding Kristoff's forearms in hers. Kristoff reciprocates.
"Yeah. I'm coming," she replies, looking Kristoff in the eyes once more before ending the embrace to follow.
Kristoff puts his hand out a little as if to stop Anna from leaving. The effects of what just happened have not quite hit him yet. He watches Anna and Elsa leave behind Grandpabby. They do not look back.
"Now, there's one thing we can't do," Kristoff tells Olaf and Sven, getting down to business. "We can't cause any panic."
"Run for your life!" Olaf calls to a passerby woman. She drops the dishes she is carrying, shattering them, and runs off screaming.
Sven hits Olaf in the back of the head with a swift hoof.
"As hilarious and well-timed as that was," Kristoff tells Olaf, "We can't scare people. It will make the situation that much more difficult. I'll go inside and start getting things put away with the castle, and you two go and calmly tell people to gather their things and pass the word to head for the North Mountain. You got that?"
"Oh, come on," Olaf blows off the seriousness of the dilemma, leaning on one of Sven's antlers. "You seriously don't trust us to handle such a simple task as that?"
"I never said that," Kristoff becomes annoyed. "I said to tell people to gather their belongings and pass the word to others to do the same. Clothes, food, heirlooms-- anything important. Then they go into the North Mountain as far as they can. We can't have anyone die."
Olaf becomes serious, realizing for the first time that lives are at stake.
"We have to do this," Kristoff tries to get Olaf to respond. "Please. For Anna. For Elsa. For everyone."
Olaf looks Kristoff squarely in the eyes. "We won't let you down," he promises, hopping on Sven. They ride off, leaving Kristoff alone on the castle bridge.
*~*~*~*
Anna, Elsa, and Grandpabby are riding in a wooden wagon being pulled by Trolls. The wheels are Trolls as well, rolling along as barrels, balancing the wagon bed on top of their ever-rolling rock bodies. They ride through the streets by the docks on their way out. Hale lines the wagon bed for seatbacks. No one speaks.
Elsa looks up at the sun, seeing its level in the sky to tell the time. Once again, Ond's voice echoes in her head: "Return here at five o'clock this evening if you want to change your mind. If you tell anyone about this, I will make you regret it. I can show you how to truly use your power."
"Can we stop for a minute?" Elsa asks Grandpabby upon seeing the bakery, breaking the silence. The wagon comes to a stop, Grandpabby wordlessly granting Elsa permission. She gets out of the wagon and goes into the bakery. No reply from the wagon.
The bakery bustles with business for the evening rush. Elsa looks around and sees Ond, sitting in a corner booth. Elsa quickly makes way for the booth, sitting down and leaning on the table upon arrival.
"Let's get straight to it," Elsa cracks down. "You said you can help me use my power. I need to know how. Show me."
"May I inquire," Ond asks, leaning back and looking at his twiddling fingers, "why you are so urgently seeking my assistance?"
"No, you may not," Elsa denies. "Tell me."
"Well, it's a simple formula, really," Ond shares. "It's the answer to everything: true love." He sighs. "It's always the answer. I would know, of course."
"Okay. Thank you for nothing," Elsa says sarcastically, getting up to leave. "I'm going to turn you in now, unless you give me a reason not to."
Even in the darkest times, Elsa finds the grace in her heart to show kindness and give people chances. It is the attributes only developed through a life of trial. Of course, it does not hurt to be given a second chance herself. Curiosity is another reason for her kindness, however apparent, towards Ond. Elsa desires to know how to develop her powers for the unstated reason of fighting Arendelle.
"Oh, I'll give you a reason not to," Ond offers. "If you give me the chance, I can show you how to unlock ultimate power."
"Like I'll give you that chance now."
"Elsa, can I ask you a question?"
"Make it fast."
"Have you ever felt as lonely, as locked-up, as isolated as I have?"
Elsa's childhood flashes before her eyes. She sits down to listen.
"I was locked in a jail cell for nearly six years. Sure, I could keep myself busy, but the loneliness was almost unbearable. I'm sure someone of your stature has never felt that."
Elsa remembers all the times she has had to ignore Anna from her side of the bedroom door. Countless times, each one more heartbreaking than the last. Elsa almost feels sick thinking about it, and the memories ground themselves in her thoughts.
"I have," she replies quietly.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Elsa responds, looking Hans in the eyes for a fleeting moment.
"Of course, it didn't help to have twelve older brothers mocking me from the other side of the bars the whole time. They called me nasty things. They teased me, asking me if I wanted to... build snowmen and the like."
This strikes a chord within Elsa.
"I know what it's like," she shares.
"Six years with no one," Hans goes on. "All I could do was think about my ruined life. No one should have to go through that. But I did. I had to bear it all. Trapped. Alone. No one to be there for me."
"Princess Elsa?" A familiar voice asks, knocking on the door.
"Yes?" Elsa replies dejectedly.
Kai's voice sighs. "Can you open the door? This is something I must tell you face-to-face."
"I'm not opening this door for anything," Elsa denies.
"If that's the way you will have it," Kai allows. "I deeply regret to inform you that... your parents' ship... went down in the Southern Sea."
"What?" Elsa reacts, opening the door, not expecting to hear this information. Her room ices over with frost. She sees Kai's eyes, filled with sorrow and regret. Elsa's own eyes well with tears. She slams the door and falls against it, sobbing.
Elsa becomes sorrowful again upon remembering the six years between her parents' death and her coronation.
"This is terrible," Elsa says. "No matter what you do, you can't live like that."
"I know," Ond agrees. "All I want is to be loved by someone. Anyone. But it can't be. Because I'm me."
"Ond--"
"No. Don't say anything. I was born to be rejected and hated and alone."
"Ond, I can tell you from experience that it won't be this way forever," Elsa encourages, any hostility temporarily leaving her being replaced by sympathy. "Something will change for the better."
"You really think so?"
"I know it will."
"Thank you, Elsa."
Ond stands up and Elsa does the same.
"Now, I have to go," Elsa ends the conversation. "My sister is waiting for me." She walks away to leave, but is stopped.
"Elsa, wait," Ond pleads, grabbing her arm and turning her towards him. Most unexpectedly, he kisses her, holding her cheeks in his hands. Elsa does nothing to stop it nor break it up. She knows she is engaged to someone else, but she believes that Ond needs a moment of love. He just spilled his heart to her, revealing that his experiences were the same as hers. Those wretched times. No one should have to go through them. For a moment, a fleeting, slow moment, she feels love for Ond.
Ond ends the kiss, and Elsa looks at her right hand and sees the bracelet from Jack, suddenly remembering that he is the one she loves, not Ond. But poor Ond. His life has been horrible. He needs this.
"I..." Elsa begins. "I have to go."
She runs out of the bakery quickly, jumping into the wagon.
"Go," she commands, and the procession moves ahead, no one aware of what went on inside the bakery.
Ond exits the bakery and looks around for Elsa, and sees her on the wagon leaving. No one there sees him. He runs after it for a short moment, then ducks behind a building, chuckling to himself.