oO Ahtohallan Oo

"Your majesties! Come quick!"

The lights around the room had dimmed down low, just a soft blue hue lighting the floor as the walls came to life with a different sort of memory. Like watching a moving painting the figures of their mother and father came into view, their eyes wide and full of fear. Their clothes informal, Iduna's hair down and mussed as though woken from sleep.

A loud baby's cry echoed throughout the room as the scene shifted in a swirl of colors. The sounds of their parent's rushed footsteps echoing all around. They watched, captivated by the sight, the sound the colors as though they'd stepped inside the memory with them even though it couldn't have possibly been true.

The door to the old nursery was flung open, the doors crashing against the walls as a flash of lightning lit up the room. Anna's infantile cries raising to a new pitch. While her mother ran to her side, Agnarr ran towards Elsa's bed, small and just across from Anna's bassinet, where he thew back the covers in disbelief.

"Papa!"

Agnarr turned towards the open doors, his eyes wide in disbelief, "Elsa!"

Elsa's scream brought chills down Anna's spine, her breath held tight in her chest though she stole a glance towards the Elsa that was very much present with her now, her face was an unreadable mask. Her eyes focused, brow filled with concentration. No inclination that she even remembered this memory let alone had any emotional attachment to it at all.

The boy appeared, his bright green eyes shining in the lighting that crashed through the nursery doors, no older than eight or nine, dressed as a castle's servant a small pendant hung around his neck. This was not the boy they'd seen before yet, both of them instantly recognized him as the man who laid beside them now.

"This way! He went this way!"

"Papa-!"

The desperate scream was cut off as the memory shifted, instead of following their father, it showed the view of the boy who'd warned him. He ran through the servant's halls at feverish pace and when he broke free into the night, he leaped from the balcony that overlooked the garden's, right from the very room that Elsa had spent nearly all her life in. His body landing on the man who held Elsa's head under the pond's surface knocking him into the stone statue behind.

A furious pull raised Elsa from the water, a sputtering crying cough echoing through the entire cavern.

"He saved your life…" Anna couldn't even begin to swallow down the lump in her throat, her eyes turning away as the rest of the memory dissolved.

Elsa hadn't a single memory of that night. Perhaps it was the trauma, perhaps it was her age. All she knew is that her sister's words were true but when she realized the man who'd done the very deed laid still beside her a guilt wrapped around her heart. With a grace only she could possess she turned her head down, her fingers that had been clinging to his arm slowly relaxing as there was nothing more she could do for him.

oO The Black Sea Oo

"We're almost there. Look!" Honeymaren pointed around her brother's shoulder where large pieces of a ship laid scattered in their path, though her focus laid just beyond their destruction to the high peek of Athohallan's glistening ice.

"Yeah, now we just have to get through all that." Ryder pointed to a large chunk of the lower decks that was wedged between the ice as though the sea had opened up right beneath it.

"Always the optimist." Honeymaren grumbled before looking back at Kristoff who didn't seem in the slightest deterred.

oO Ahtohallan Oo

"I wish you peace…" Elsa's voice cracked, her whisper followed by the brushing of her fingertips down Agnire's partially open eyes, no longer in focus, rather staring off into an unseen distance. She closed her own eyes as she pressed her lips to his forehead, not a kiss but a show of respect for all he'd tried and had done for them. For all she could not do.

Anna stayed as quiet as she could, her own head bowed, her now freed wrists worried in her fingers. She'd never seen anyone…anyone—like that…right in front of her before and it brought back a mountain of emotions she'd felt when she'd been lost in the caverns beneath the water fall. The same soul-crushing weight of watching Olaf float into the ether.

There was a long time where neither sister had the courage to speak but when the time came it was Elsa who found the courage first, "We need to break the arrowheads…it'll release the spirits back into the world."

Anna nodded numbly forcibly turning her eyes away from Agnire, "Okay…how do we do that?" She sniffled softly and absently wiped at at her eyes with the back of her hands trying to be strong the Queen she was.

"With this." Elsa pulled up the dagger that Angire had been carrying with him. They'd relieved him of it when they'd laid him down. When they'd tried to…A sharp breath turned the dagger in her palm, her hand beginning to tremble just from holding something so outside of herself. The metal felt frigid in her palm, nothing like the ice she wielded. This felt heavy. Dangerous.

"Elsa?" Anna waved her hand in front of her sisters eyes, knowing that time was still of the essence. As much as she hated to think about it, without Alrik chasing after Agnire he was sure to come chasing after them, and in their current place there was no where for them to run.

"Sorry." Elsa jolted slightly as she snapped back inside herself. She pushed herself up to her feet before grabbing the staff. Turning it slowly she realized that they were still missing one more arrowhead, hers.

Deciding that the best course was not to worry her sister she rolled the staff in her palm before lowering down to the floor. She placed the arrowhead that Agnire had given to them flat along the ice, her breathing growing heavier as the cold was beginning to creep into her as well.

Remembering what had happened last time one of the spirits had been released—through a rather thick haze—Anna took a step back before nodding her head, "I'm ready." She took hold of what could only be described as a desk made of ice before giving Elsa an encouraging smile, "For Agnire?"

"For Agnire." Elsa nodded her head with one last look to her sister before she brought the dagger in her grip down with surprising force. However, when nothing happened, she peeked open one of her tightly shut eyes to realize that she'd missed her mark. Her hand trembling along the hilt having taken her off course.

Anna pursed her lips, concern lining her brow as Elsa didn't seem to be capable of holding the dagger in any manner that would allow her to strike true. Without a word, she moved forward slowly and bent down across from her. A small look was shared between them before Anna's hand curled firm under and over Elsa's, her fingers taking a tight grip. A shared nod raised the dagger once again and this time, their aim was true.

oO The Black Sea Oo

"Woah!" Honeymaren gripped on tight to the deck she'd been climbing over. The entire world seeming to roar with life from every direction. A voice of earthquake like proportions. She felt herself swayed well outside the command of what was normal and the wood beneath her gave a dangerous crack as it shifted in the liquefying sands.

"Hold on!" Ryder too clung to a bit of rope that had kept him from falling down into the sand, Kristoff swinging dangerously from his hand.

oO Ahtohallan Oo

Anna hesitantly peeked open her eyes one at a time, her breath stuttering past her lips as she released it from her hold. The rumbling echoed from every possible direction but the ground was gradually growing steady and it gave her a small spark of confidence when she saw Elsa too had braced herself.

"I think the giants are awake…"

Elsa gave a nervous chuckle to her sister's well timed quip, her own breath returning but before her smile could reach her eyes a very distinct sound wiped all humor from her face. Her eyes shot down to the floor beneath them partially pierced by the dagger, where large cracks were beginning to form in all directions.

Before she could warn Anna, a mighty shudder clashed her teeth together and the floor beneath them both gave way with stomach dropping speed. As her body began to spin outside of her control, she reached out for Anna, her fingers stretching before a hand clasped around it but there was no pull to it as they were both falling.

Anna couldn't even scream, the terror so strong that she had no ability to do anything but hold onto Elsa. Her eyes wide as she saw the floor well below survivable height coming up to them fast. It wasn't her first time falling from an unbelievable height, only this time, there wasn't twenty feet of fresh powder to break her fall.

Suddenly, a great wind came from somewhere beneath them, pushing hard against their bodies. A moment of weightlessness wrapped around them, pulling them right side round before they landed in tandem. The force, not as gentle as it could have been, leaving both women to brace themselves on their knees to attempt recapture their hearts that had left them somewhere above.

A weary and astonished laugh bubbled up the back of Anna's throat as she felt herself surely slipping into a state of delirium over her life or death experience. Her sister's richer tone joining her briefly before a heavy twang turned her attention away.

Anna blinked slowly as she turned to the sound as well, her eyes growing wider as the staff that must have followed behind them spun precariously towards the edge of a cavern she could never comprehend. The very place where her sister had given her life for the people of the forest, for their grandfather's misdeeds.

Elsa was on her feet quickly, trying to reach the spinning staff before a large arm wrapped under her arm and around her neck. Her head fell back outside of her control in a bid to take the sharp edge from her throat while her hand had risen to pull at the arm that threatened her.

"Gotcha." Alrik grinned into her ear, his lips pressed tight as he spoke. He'd been led down into the deeper reaches after he'd been blown back by the releasing of the wind spirit. His path winding and twisting until the air had become painful to breathe. When the entire cavern had given a mighty shake, he had been so sure that he would have been crushed under the monoliths of ice that now blocked the pathway out.

"Let her go!" Anna had come to her feet, the dagger that had triggered their fall hastily retrieved and held out towards the man who threatened her sister.

"Or what?" Alrik grinned and shifted just a touch to make sure his blade pressed too tight for Elsa to speak.

Anna swallowed thickly before her eyes turned to the staff that had finally come to a stop to her right, and well in front of Alrik, "Or I'll throw it over." Her breath came out in wisps now, the cold beginning to seep into her bones.

"You wouldn't dare." Alrik shifted his hold when Elsa pulled, her feet just far enough from the ground not to give her proper purchase, "Not if it meant losing your sister."

A snarl ground Anna's teeth but when she caught her sister's eye the cold around her felt so much more powerful.

Dive down deep into her sound, but not too deep or you'll be drowned…

Anna's ear twitched to the sound of her mother's voice, soft and sweet, as though calling to her heart for what she needed to do. What she could never have done alone. The realization that she'd have to choose, that her sister was willing to sacrifice her life, again, just to save everyone else. She shook her head in a clear refusal, her eyes turning back towards Alrik.

"Oh, and look what I found in my travels." Alrik grinned when Anna lowered her stance, clearly cowed by his words. A small shift brought his arm from around Elsa's waist where he'd had her partially pinned against his frame to show her the last of the arrowheads, the arrowhead that held her power inside it, "What sort of statue should we make out of her, hm? What pose do you think would look best?"

Elsa snarled and ripped her head further from his lips that pressed into her cheek as he spoke but she didn't give him the satisfaction of a reply. Instead, she swung down with all the force in her small frame, her fist like a stone, and she struck the one place her father taught her was out of bounds in polite combat.

"Now Anna!" Elsa's body lurched forward, her other arm that had taken hold of his wrist ripping the sword from her throat before coming out to aid her in her scramble on her fingertips and toes as Alrik crumpled down nearly on top of her.

Anna pushed off with a speed she didn't know she was capable of on ice and with all the strength she had inside her, suddenly realized what her mother had truly meant. She kicked the spear sending it sailing fast and hard into the cavern's depths. However, she hadn't accounted for her lack of friction and found herself suddenly on her back, sliding towards the very place she was very sure she wasn't supposed to go.

Elsa was already on the move before she'd seen Anna fall, knowing her sister's history with her element. Without a thought she scooped up the dagger that had flown from Anna's hand in surprise before sliding expertly along the plane. When she was ready, she reached out, grabbing hold of her sister's outstretched arm and struck down hard, anchoring them into the ice where her body gave a most painful jerk, the injury in her shoulder burning like a starburst of fire she'd never known.

Anna held on as tight as she could, both hands wrapped around her sister's forearm as her legs dangled precariously. Elsa having stopped most of her body from sliding over the edge, "Up! Up!" Anna couldn't help herself, and when Elsa pulled she pushed. The small incline they'd landed on seeming to want to do nothing more than to pull her down.

Elsa ground her teeth and pulled harder, and when she felt the weight of Anna's arms around her neck she breathed a sigh of relief into her hair holding her tight to her chest by her free arm. However, before she could celebrate her success, a sharp boot crashed down on her fingers still held tight to the dagger that anchored them in place.

A sharp cry left her lips but by the time Anna could raise her head to see why, they were falling. Again. Though before either one of them could take a second breath, a great fire and a roaring thunder exploded from down below. The frozen staff that had fallen shattering upon impact releasing the last two spirits still trapped inside.

Anna's eyes turned red with the mighty fireball that reached towards the sky, both she and Elsa seemingly falling into the jaws of a creature they'd only read about in fairy tales. Elsa's eyes shown near white when the beast came through the flames, its wings large and all encompassing; a great crack of white light leaving it's open maw with a righteous roaring freedom.

Both women let out a heavy grunt when they were pulled from the air above the freezing waters of Ahtohallan's deep river. Large claws cradling them endearingly as they soared higher. It circled high through the large cavern before it's bright large jaws opened wide again, lightning shooting from its teeth directly into the heart of the man who had held it captive for so many years. A deep chest rattling thunder following in its wake.

Alrik never felt the cold waters of Ahtohallan, he'd never even known what had felled him.

Anna could barely think to breathe, her eyes nearly two sizes over normal as she was gingerly set down, her legs failing her near instantly when she tilted her head up to the spirit that was nearly the size of Arendelle castle itself. It's large cloud-white head, crowned with sharp angles and horns that crackled with energy but it was the gentle green in its eyes that made her heart soar.

Elsa felt the familiar comfort as well, her smile growing with relief, her chest still thrumming from the power displayed so brilliantly before her. With nary a thought, she reached out from her knees and felt a warm embrace wrap around her soul when the dragon's nose pressed into her palm, its breath cracking the air around it, sending a light tingle down her arm.

Anne felt a similar pull inside her, and as she leaned forward to place her hand just beside Elsa's she felt a beautiful light fill her soul. A soul that had found peace, a soul that had returned home. A warily traveled life finding its purpose in the darkness. Tears spilled over her lashes as the dragon pulled back it's mighty head. Bowing ever so elegantly before turning upward.

Before she could make her proclamation, the large dragon pushed itself towards the highest peak, a large gust of wind in its wake, its body seamlessly spinning through the ice into the sky beyond. Another crack of lightning lighting up the ice above. The sweet call of freedom, of a soul finally at peace.

oO The Black Sea Oo

"Was that?"

"Definitely."

"Impossible."

Honeymaren, Ryder and Kristoff turned their heads when the great sky dragon flew by, the flap of his mighty wings sending sand flying into the air over their heads before he spun with great joy. It's roar like a child's happiness in summer time tasting the warmth of the sun, of the freedom it brings to just be. A thunderous sound that shook in their chests before flying high, so high he was lost into the blueness of the sky and whiteness of the slowly moving clouds that had begun to form.

oO Ahotohallan Oo

Elsa lowered her head down to her chest, just taking a moment to breathe in the pure joy around her. Though it wasn't her own, she couldn't help but be swept up in its feeling. When she turned towards Anna the love inside her heart blossomed like a flower in spring. Her hand reaching out to wipe away the tears that had begun to run down her face before pulling her into a tight, warm, hug.

Anna smiled against her sister's shoulder unable to put what she was feeling into words. They'd done this, they'd done this. Together. Finally, she was able to understand the world her sister lived in, the beauty and splendor that was always around her. A heavy sigh left her chest, "That was amazing…"

"It was…" Elsa pulled back with a deep breath of her own. When she came to her feet, an unusual sound from her sister gave her pause and raised her brow, "Anna, are you alright?"

Anna took a small step back, not sure why she was laughing and crying. She shook her head looking down at her hands or a moment, "Did I just use magic? Did we just use magic, together?"

"Yes, we did." Elsa's voice was still reserved and reverent as she stared oddly at the ever changing emotions over the Anna's face.

"Woohoo! I can't wait to tell Kristoff and Olaf! Born powerless ha!" Anna couldn't help the spark of childish glee that filled her face, nor the way her hands clapped together at the knuckles beneath her chin just completely caught up in the moment.

Elsa couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. When the softest of breezes ruffled her hair she raised her eyes in question. Another soft whisper made her turn her towards the edge of the cliff overlooking the river where a soft light was beginning to grow. Not from over the edge but along side it.

"Bruni?"

Anna turned to see what her sister was concentrating so much on when a flare of fire, shaped like wings erupted before a little blue salamander made a daring jump through them looking ever so pleased with himself. She couldn't help but smile when the little creature ran circles around her before coming into the space between them to look up into their faces.

The little salamander smiled up at the two sisters around something obviously in its little mouth. The little fire spirit spurted and sputtered raising its little arms out wide as though he were a dragon before jumping excitedly on his back legs for them to take what he'd retrieved.

"What do you have little guy?" Anna couldn't help but chuckle from the display before offering out her hand for the salamander to drop what it had found. When the cold metal fell into her palm, her eyes widened and her heart lept, "Elsa."

Elsa's brows furrowed lightly as Anna came back to her feet to hold out the final arrowhead. She was sure she was supposed to feel happy, elated even but something inside her held her back and the smile fell from her face. Could she accept the consequences her very existence caused? Could she step back into the light after all she'd done?

Seeing her sister's reluctance Anna took a deep breath and wrapped her fingers over it before raising her other hand to rest over her heart, "Elsa…One mistake does not define who you are, or take away who you're meant to be. It's what you do after that matters. How you take that next step."

Elsa shook her head slightly, the darkness inside her that had always kept her company trying to creep forward once again. Despite all the amazing things she'd done to right her wrongs would it ever be enough? Would she ever be enough? Could she take that chance?

"You can do this." Anna lowered her head just enough to reach her eyes, "You're not alone. I'm right here. Right beside you, and there are so many others…so many others who need you...Who believe in you just like I do."

Anna opened her hand once again, rose between them, the next step not hers to make. She couldn't force her sister to believe in something just because she wanted her to. She had to believe it too. Have faith in herself, just as she had faith in her.

Gingerly, Elsa reached into her sister's palm taking the steel into her own before closing her eyes tight. How long had she wished that she'd not been born with her powers? How many nights had she lamented the ice that ran through her veins? Here was her chance to be like everyone else, to be normal.

Slowly, the cavern around them came to life with all the memories in her life of when she'd used her powers. From the first little flurry to her amazing display on the battlefield. Their sounds slowly blending together to one gentle caress. The good, the bad, the terrifying all wrapped into one long song. Her song.

Gradually, the bad days faded out under the power of the good days, the happy days where she'd felt free. Where she'd felt most at home inside herself and she knew she couldn't resist that call. It wrapped around her soul as her fingers clutched tighter then, with one silent call to the heavens she threw out her hand towards Ahtohallan's river. Her eyes watching as the black steel glittered out of sight falling deep into the river's waters.

Anna held tight until the bright light that burst forth took away her sight. Her hands coming up to shield herself from the flurry of ice and snow that rushed forth. The largest snowflake she'd ever seen twirling so brilliantly before them. Unlike the others that had exploded with great force this felt like a warm hand reaching out and Anna took Elsa's tight, lacing their fingers for a moment to remind her that she was not alone, that she could do all this and more. When she released her hands went to her heart hoping that Elsa would make the right choice, the choice that was right for her and no one else.

Elsa took the few steps forward that left her sister slightly behind though always beside her. A slow breath filled her chest and when she raised her trembling fingers she felt a peace come over her that she had always desperately cried out for but had never found.

"Let's go home…." Elsa held out her hand, to which Anna gladly took, her eyes widening just a little before a graceful smile crawled up to her eyes.

"Home."

Then. The world went white.

oO Ahtohallan Shore Oo

"Look…it's snowing…" Honeymaren raised her hands towards the sky when the softest of snowflakes fell into her palm, heart pulsing with love, "Elsa…"