I'm Afraid of What I'm Risking if I Follow You

Part 8

"Oh... you," she scolded as she quickly shot out ice to dull the fires. She had to refrain herself from calling him worse.

"I think I have an idea," said Hans, trying to get them back on track. Once Bruni was bored of running about the hut, he scrambled back up to Hans's shoulder.

"Trust me, I've had a million different ideas, and none of them have worked out so far." Elsa waved a dismissive hand; she could figure this out, she was sure. Hans should just focus on his rehabilitation.

"Well, have you considered this: I ride on the front of the Nokk," he suggested.

Elsa blinked; she honestly hadn't. She just figured she should, because she could create the reins. She trained him to trust her after their conflict. But, much as she didn't like the idea, it wasn't like any of her others were doing any good right now. "What's your plan?"

"It's going to sound crazed, from how I describe it. But the way you talk about the waves of the Dark Sea make me think of the Southern Isles, so I can try to picture it. We ride as far north on land as we can before crossing the last leg on sea."

"But I just considered that," Elsa pointed out. "What would make it different if you rode in front?"

"May I?" Hans held out his hands for Elsa to hand over her journal, realizing she'd made the mistake of not hiding it before he walked in. He wasn't going to try and look through all her thoughts, was he? She could always stop him, if he tried, she supposed. Very hesitantly, Elsa surrendered it to Hans after flipping to a blank page farther back.

Hans sketched out a crude drawing of them on the Nokk; it was nice to see he was as terrible an artist as she was. "I take this time to learn how to ride the Nokk up to full speed," he explained. "When we reach the Dark Sea, you can tether yourself to him with another rein you create so you can ride without your hands."

"Why do I have to keep my hands free?" she asked.

"So you can use your powers to part the sea until we reach calmer waters." He emphasized this with a little drawing of Elsa (was it Elsa, or just a blob with sticks?) holding the sea open.

Elsa's eyes widened. No, she hadn't considered anything as crazy as that, but that's because it was, well, insane. She couldn't part an entire sea—could she?

She thought to when she was released from Ahtohallan and saved the giant wave headed for Arendelle. That was a huge wall, sure, but could she keep up something like that for an entire final leg of a journey? It took quite a bit of time before the waters calmed on the Dark Sea.

"I don't know if I can," she admitted. "I don't know how long my powers can exert themselves for until they give out."

"Have you ever tried?" he asked, handing back the journal. Thankfully he didn't seem to have an interest for anything else she had tucked away in there. "You won't know until you do. If you let me ride, you can save all your energy for that final leg."

True, she hadn't been very tired after climbing the North Mountain; in fact, she built an entire castle atop it without a second thought, and hadn't found herself exhausted afterward. Were her powers truly limitless? Elsa looked down at her hands, contemplating.

With this plan, the water wouldn't touch Hans. Elsa wouldn't have to worry too much about navigation, given both he and the Nokk could hear the voice. If she and Hans could train properly for this... they might just make it.

"If we do this your way," she warned, "and in the end I can't hold on as much as I need to—there's a very real possibility you won't make it out of this alive."