The Fire Queen - a sequel to Frozen 2

A Castle Tour

Back at the castle and still in their wedding finery, Anna and Kristoff were surveying the damage. They walked into the portrait gallery, the room where Anna had spent a lot of time playing on her own during her lonely childhood. For many years, the people depicted in the paintings were the closest things she had to friends. As she looked around to see some paintings singed and others destroyed, she felt distraught. It was if her very childhood had been attacked. She looked down to see what remained of the wedding presents. She tried to pick one of them up, but it disintegrated in her hands.

"What a waste," she whispered to Kristoff.

A solitary member of the royal staff was doing her best to clean up. The sound of her sweeping echoed through the gallery as Anna and Kristoff walked towards the dining room. When Anna saw all the food destroyed and her wedding cake in ruins, Anna felt her bottom lip wobble. Her dreams of a fairytale wedding had been crushed.

"Why?" she asked, turning to Kristoff. "All I wanted was a perfect wedding day. For us, for the kingdom, for everyone. Why would anybody do this?" All Kristoff could do was hold her.

They made their way upstairs to witness more of the devastation. With a sense of trepidation, they walked to the part of the hall where the family portraits hung. They saw that they were no more, they had been totally obliterated.

"I loved those paintings," Anna said as she cried into Kristoff's chest. "Just yesterday Elsa was telling me about how we'd paint a new one together." Kristoff held Anna as she wept.

They walked around a little more, and did at least find some clothes that had survived the fires. They got changed then made their way back downstairs.

Meanwhile, Elsa had walked from the town to the castle. She had seen first hand the destruction that Freya had caused in the town, and now she could see the scars that the castle bore. She always tried to hide her emotions, but when she thought that no one was watching, she walked around a corner and held her head in her hands. She couldn't help but blame herself.

Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and General Mattias met in the courtyard of the castle. Anna was livid.

"Just look at our home, Elsa!" she cried. "The ballroom, the library, the bedrooms...I don't think there's a room in the castle that Freya hasn't touched! Even the family portraits are gone! And she ruined our wedding. The guests have all left, she embarrassed us in front of the whole world. I dread to think what it's like in the town!" Anna sobbed. "You said she was nothing to worry about!"

"I'm sorry," Elsa said solemnly, looking at the floor, "I thought I'd done enough to keep her trapped in Northuldra. I really didn't want you to cancel your wedding Anna. I'm so sorry she destroyed everything."

"Well there's one thing she didn't destroy," Kristoff said to Anna.

"What's that?" Anna asked.

"My love for you," Kristoff declared.

Usually Anna would laugh at such a corny line, but in her devastation she was glad to hear it. She smiled a little and fell into Kristoff's arms.

General Mattias was apologetic. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he said while looking downwards. "I failed you. I did all I could to stop her getting into the chapel. Everyone was on patrol. I even put my two best men on the chapel door. I will have to discipline them!"

Elsa tried to reassure him. "No, you did the best you could," she said as she placed her hand on his arm. "We all saw what Freya was capable of. No soldier could have stopped her."

"Your Highness," General Mattias said, referring to Elsa, "you know more about magic than anyone else here. What do we do with her?" he asked as he held out his arms.

Anna spoke up. "We can't let her out," she declared, "she's already caused so much damage, if we let her out she'll just cause more."

Mattias nodded in agreement. "As far as I'm concerned we should lock her up and throw away the key. Imprisonment is what she deserves," he said boldly. "It's a miracle that no one was hurt."

"No, it isn't," Elsa corrected him.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?" Mattias asked, puzzled.

"Freya has power over fire," Elsa replied. "If she wanted to hurt someone then she would have done so by now. But think about it. She set fire to the forest of Northuldra when she was on her own. She attacked the town when everyone was at the castle, and she set fire to the castle when everyone was back in town. She's trying not to harm people."

There was an awkward pause while everyone tried to come to terms with what Elsa had said.

"Well, what do you think we should do, Elsa?" Anna asked. Elsa was standing there with her arms folded, looking pensive. She sighed.

"We need to work out why she's here, and why she has her powers. Look, you're not going to like this, but she needs help," said Elsa.

"What?" everyone else exclaimed in unison.

"Help?" Anna replied angrily, raising her voice. "Elsa! She attacked our kingdom! She ruined our wedding! How can you say she needs help?"

"She's just sixteen. She's a child," Elsa insisted. "Her parents locked her up in a tower. She doesn't know where her powers come from. I've seen fear in her eyes. She's scared."

"Wait," said Anna as she held up her hands and shook her head, trying to process everything, "you think that she's scared? That she's the victim here? Elsa! She's left our kingdom in ruins!"

"I know, I know, it's just that..." Elsa said before she sighed and looked away. "I could have so easily ended up like her." Elsa looked wistfully forwards as she remembered herself at Freya's age.

"When you're kept away from everyone, when you're shut out because of something you can't control, you always ask yourself 'Why?'. What did I do to deserve this? Why is the world so cruel? Freya is lashing out in the only way she knows how. And I could have done that too," Elsa said as she turned to Anna. "That's why she needs help."

Anna thought about what Elsa had said. She remembered their childhood, and how Elsa was kept away from everyone for most of her childhood years. She calmed down as she began to understand Elsa's point. "But how can we help her?" she asked.

"I need to think carefully about that," Elsa replied. "We need to hold her for now. Tomorrow I will have a plan."

"Okay," Anna agreed, slowly nodding. "General Mattias, keep Freya under guard round the clock, we can't risk her escaping," Anna commanded. "We will meet again tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Mattias replied, as he went to check on their prisoner.