On the sea, near the coast of Norway

Ishiro had not slept well because of the roll of the boat all the night and decided to stay most of the day in his cabin. The idea of getting on the deck and meeting the other passengers did not please him. The Japanese historian had spent the last five years trying to study as best he could the myths and other legends about the "thing" he saw in his vision, which despite all the years, remained etched in his mind as on rock. After having negotiated and battled with the highest officials of the Japanese empire for a long time, Ishiro was able to obtain the right to leave the country and take the first boat to Norway only a week ago. During this week, the ship had skirted the northern coast of this great country named Russia, eventually reaching the shores of Norway.

Sitting behind a small desk, lighting up with the radiance of the filtering sun through a tiny window, Ishiro was reading one by one his documents which he had brought with him in a bag which he never parted with. A headache pulled him out of his reading, making him grimace in pain and hold his head in his hands. The previous days had been marked by violent visions ... There he saw this young woman with blond hair and dressed in a icy gown, and this other young woman with red hair and combed in braids. They had a family look, like sisters, and stood, horrified, in the midst of the flaming and smoking ruins of what had once been a city. Maybe theirs? And in the cloud of smoke and ashes covering the entire landscape, two humanoid and titanic forms seemed to engage in a violent and merciless battle, under the shocked gaze of the two sisters. One of the gigantic forms seemed to get a hard stroke, and began to fall with all its weight in the direction of the two women, and about to crush them...

-"Professor Ishiro?"

A voice behind the door of the cabin, as well as several little hits on the wood made the historian leave this macabre torpor. Picking up his breath to try to calm down a little, and storing his notes in his bag, he cleared his throat.

- "Yes, what is it?" he asked as if nothing had happened.

- "We come in sight of Arendelle, sir." the sailor's voice told him behind the door. Ishiro gave a false smile of satisfaction. Finally, he had arrived at his destination after all that time. Having collected all his belongings, dressed in a long gray coat and thick against the cold, gloves and boots of the same color, the Japanese historian left his cabin, crossing a long corridor of wood where stood the row of doors of other cabins, to reach the small staircase leading to the bridge. A new rolling motion nearly made him fall. Yes, it was time for him to return to the mainland, life on a boat being decidedly not a place for him. Hardly had he arrived on deck than the cool wind came to meet him to caress his face. The north air was greatly felt. The sky was rather overcast, light gray clouds covering a part and hiding a little sun, but nothing very disturbing. At least it was not raining. On the deck, the sailors joined their posts to prepare the berthing of the ship, while the other passengers, most of whom came as simple tourists, approached the railing to admire the view of the harbor and the great castle of Arendelle, appearing on the horizon between these magnificent and large mountains forming the fjord. Ishiro also went to look, but restrained his admiration. He was not here for sightseeing.

- "My god, it's really beautiful, is not it, sir?" the woman next to Ishiro asked him. She had a slight Russian accent, but the historian who had studied languages when he was a student understood her.

- "Certainly, madam." Ishiro replied behind that false smile he wore like a mask on his face. But for him, the time was not for rejoicing but for anxiety, and he had his reasons.

Long minutes passed during which the ship finally entered the bay of Arendelle, passing the first watchtowers safely, and finally stopped in the place which had been granted to him in the harbor. Ishiro was one of the first to get off the ship, wanting to leave it as soon as possible. He saluted and thanked the captain for the crossing, and went down the little footbridge installed to allow the passengers to get off. Finally, on the mainland, the historian told himself, who felt almost revived. The master of the harbor arrived, smiling, to greet the newcomers.

- "Welcome to Arendelle, ladies and gentlemen."

Ishiro listened only vaguely, his serious and closed eyes fixed towards the castle. He knew his destination already. Without losing a second, with a step slightly pressed but not too much not to attract attention, he climbed the stone steps to go up the port and entered the city.

While walking in the middle of this great avenue, he could contemplate how the people of Arendelle seemed happy and prosperous. Smiling faces, confident and sometimes laughing. Two years ago, however, there was a strange story around the world about a winter that buried the whole country in few minutes. Queen Elsa was also increasingly known in the wider world as a strong and just ruler, sure values for a monarch. Apparently, several great lords had tried to intimidate her, and all had failed. Others had tried to marry her in order to appropriate some of Arendelle's riches, but Elsa was not fooled and refused. She had even earned the nickname "Ice-eyed Queen". Yes, this woman was exceptional, no doubt, thought Ishiro, seeing the castle grow bigger and bigger as he approached.

Leaving the castle with a basket in hand to go shopping on the market, the servant Kai noticed this Asian man who was going to cross his path.

-"Excuse me, my brave. May I help you?" Kai asked politely. Ishiro stopped and stared at him for a few seconds. If this man could come in and out of the castle, he was certainly working there, the historian thought. It was a chance.

- "My name is Ishiro and I come straight from the Japanese Empire. I want to talk to Queen Elsa about a very important subject."

The servant seemed a little embarrassed, which the historian noticed immediately.

- "That's ..." Kai replied, scratching the back of her head "... The queen is not here. She left several hours ago to investigate something strange, apparently."

Ishiro's heart leapt into his chest and his face became more serious. He seized the servant by the collar, with force, and forced him to look him straight in the eyes. Kai, surprised, remained frozen.

- "Tell me where did she go, now!"

**********

The convoy led by Queen Elsa had walked for the rest of the day and was now on a dirt track in the middle of a large pine forest asleep. The hue of the night had invaded the sky since a few minutes and the first stars began to appear like candles that the gods lit in the dark. Twenty soldiers, only volunteers, had come, mounted on their horses, looking straight ahead in silence, walking in two perfectly arranged groups, led by the commander Ulrik himself on his black steed. Although Elsa was initially reluctant to this idea because judging it risky, Anna and Kristoff had also come, both sitting side by side at the front of a small cart covered with a fabric cloth, and pulled by two horses that Kristoff was leading with the bridles. Sven was following next to the trolley, step by step, while Olaf was sitting on the back of the reindeer. The snowman admired the beauty of this nature with his eyes and childlike smile, and tried to catch a group of fireflies flying near him. He nearly fell, but Sven caught him with his woods and put him on his back.

- "Thank you, friend." Olaf thanked him with a caress on the top of his head. Olaf's insouciance was enough to relax the tense atmosphere a little. While Kristoff was busy staring straight ahead, holding the bridles in his hands, his attention turned to his fiancée. Anna had not said a single word since leaving Arendelle, and yet she was usually the first to talk about something to break the silence. Covered with her cloak and cap against the cold, she showed a thoughtful and worried face. Kristoff, worried about her, gave her a very delicate shoulder shot to try to make her react.

- "Anna ... What are you thinking about? It's been hours since you've been locked on yourself. "

- "I .... I don't know ..." replied the princess with a reserved voice ".... Since we learned these disasters, I .... I have a bad feeling."

- "It's pretty normal," Kristoff said, trying to reassure her a bit. "A normal person never really feel good after bad news."

- "Yes, but that's different." Anna looked him in the eye to show him her shimmering worry in his irises. "I can not explain it, but I feel things that are completely beyond us are about to arrive."

This sentence sounded a little roguish, but Kristoff could feel the sincerity in Anna's voice. She was afraid, and that did not reassure him, quite the contrary.

- "If you want, when we get back we'll go to see Grand Pabbie. Maybe he'll know what you're worried about." Kristoff proposed, which Anna responded with a small nod and a smile for her fiancé, always present for her. Rolling her arm around his, she rested her head against his shoulder.

At the head of the convoy, sitting on her snow-white horse, Elsa also remained silent, her gaze focused in front of her. Even if she did not show it, she was as worried as her sister and felt the same bad feeling in her heart. Without knowing why, she had the impression that the world itself would be about to change, that the vision of all mankind would be changed forever. Elsa suddenly came back to reality when a rain of what appeared to be black snowflakes began to fall on the forest. Had Elsa still unleashed her power without paying attention? No, she did not feel angry or nervous and her hands showed no signs of magic activity. Everyone watched with perplexity, and quickly realized that it was not snow, but ash. A rain of ashes.

- "Wow, I've never seen black snow before." Olaf commented.

- "This is not snow, Olaf ...." Anna told him, more serious. Sven wanted to swallow one of the flakes of ashes that passed in front of him, but spat it out very quickly. Commander Ulrik was on his guard, looking serious. A scalding smell suddenly filled the air, and a group of terrified birds passed through the sky just above the convoy, fleeing to the north. The sudden sight of black smoke columns rising high in the sky beyond the trees struck everyone's heart.

-"Let's go on!" Elsa ordered, taking the path, followed by the rest of the convoy. A few hundred meters further, after having finally come out of the forest, the convoy found itself faced with a horror vision.

Farther down, at the edge of the ocean, was what was once a village of several hundred inhabitants, but today was nothing more than a field of burning ruins, whose black fumes 'rose. Anna covered her mouth with her hands, while Kristoff, also in shock, wrapped his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. Olaf quickly lost his smile, and Sven gave a small moan. Ulrik showed a darker, scowling reaction. Elsa was also shocked and angry, but did everything to master her emotions.

- "Look for the survivors but stay cautious!" she ordered in a firm voice. The soldiers obeyed immediately.

- "Feet down!" said the commander. All the soldiers obeyed, coming down from their saddles and taking up their arms, just in case. swords and rifles taken, they were ready.

As the soldiers dispersed into several groups, under Ulrik's supervision, Elsa set foot on the ground, feeling the crackling ash under her boots. Anna and Kristoff joined him. All around them was spreading this vision of desolation. The black fumes hiding the sky, the earth blackened and disfigured, homes destroyed some of which are still gnawed by small waves of flames. The remains of what appeared to be a ship, stood in the ruins of a house. No sign of life was shown or heard, much to the sadness of the little group.

Olaf noticed Sven digging something in between rubble, and came to see. What he saw then broke his heart of snow.

- "Elsa .... Anna ..." they heard the sad tone of the snowman behind them and turned. "Sven found that."

Between his thin and small hands of wood, Olaf held a little doll dressed in a little pink dress, very damaged and covered with dust and ashes.

- "Oh no ..." Kristoff sighed, rubbing a hand on his face. Olaf gave the toy to Anna who took it in her hands. This little doll had certainly belonged to an innocent little girl who lived here, now gone. Anna remembered her own dolls when she was a child, and it broke her heart even more. Clutching the doll against her heart, the young princess felt on her knees in the black dust, shedding tears, unable to restrain her pain. Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven came around to support her. Elsa knelt beside her, also taking the doll in her hand and contemplating it, without saying a word. The young queen pinched her lips, also in pain and sadness. The culprit of this atrocity would be found, then judged and punished, she sworn in the back of her mind. With a wave of the hand, Elsa created a little box of ice, adorned with the symbol of Arendelle, and put the doll inside, before depositing it in the ruins of what had been the house of this little girl unknown. A very modest burial, but necessary. Anna huddled against Kristoff, continuing to shed tears. Seeing the sadness of her sister only reinforced Elsa's determination.

- "I will find the one who did this, Anna ..." Elsa said, clenching her fists "And I will personally take care of his fate."

The tone of Elsa's voice almost scared the others, as if someone else had suddenly taken his place. Elsa could be angry at times, but not so much. Anna felt it, and was worried about.

- "Elsa!" Olaf shouted suddenly, standing behind, a little further, at the top of a hillock, and waving his arm to the queen for her to come. He looked horrified. Concerned in advance, Elsa asked Kristoff to stay with Anna and she left alone for Olaf. When she approached, she could see Olaf's bruised face, which then pointed to the other side of the hillock. When Elsa stepped forward to see, her heart took another leap and the fear took hold of her a little more. Behind the mound, there was a real carnage. Soldiers and horses, surely the garrison stationed here, all over the ground, lifeless, most of them seeming to have been crushed by a monstrous force. Some cannons were also present, but all had been destroyed. The ground had been flipped in all directions, as if a violent earthquake had erupted and killed all the men on it. A little more than a hundred soldiers of Arendelle, massacred visibly without the slightest pity. Elsa's heart was deeply bruised, and Olaf felt it. He wanted to say a word but changed his mind, seeing clearly that the young queen, sighing with misfortune, did not really want to speak for the moment.

Ulrik suddenly appeared a little further in the middle of the ruins, waving his hand to the group.

- "Majesty! Come here! There is a survivor!"