A Journey of Two

Chapter 7

Anna probably wouldn't have let go of Elsa if she hadn't heard Mimir clear his throat just a little too loudly.

"While I may be all up for lovely moments such as these," said Mimir, with that crooked smile of his, "but I believe that the both of you still have a curse to undo?"

"We do," said Anna, as she and her sister helped each other onto their feet. "What do we have to do?"

"You see, Ahtohallan is not just a place where memories are found. In fact, Ahtohallan is much more than that. She may also be considered as life's teacher. So, unless I'm mistaken, which I'm probably not," chuckled Mimir, "I have reason to believe that Ahtohallan is trying to teach the both of you a lesson."

"What kind of lesson?" asked Anna.

"A kind that's not for me to teach, but for Ahtohallan. After she has deemed that you two have learned your lessons, everything should return back to normal."

"Okay then, off to Ahtohallan we go," said Anna firmly.

Elsa gave Mimir an earnest look. "Thank you for your help, Mimir."

"Oh, it's nothing at all. I'm just glad that the two of you managed to sort things out. Hurry along now, off you go."

"Um," said Anna, knotting her eyebrows together, "Quick question. How do we get out of here?"

"Oh yes, that's right. Almost forgot. Both of you, come place a hand on the trunk of my tree. This way is much easier than going back the way you came."

Trying not to think about which part of Mimir she was actually touching, Anna awkwardly placed her right hand on the trunk of Mimir's tree. She looked at Elsa, who was wearing the same look of confusion on her face as she was.

"Now, this might be a little bit uncomfortable, but I assure you it is completely safe. I think."

"Wait. Wha –?"

"I wish you two the best of luck on your endeavours, Anna and Elsa of Arendelle!" said Mimir, interrupting Anna, "Do come and visit whenever you can!" And that was the last thing Anna heard before she felt herself being pulled by her right hand into nothingness, with darkness pressing in everywhere around her, making it hard for her to breathe.

A split second later, Anna found herself landing hard on her feet and stumbling onto soft grass. She looked up and gave a sigh of relief when she saw that her sister was next to her as well. They were now standing in front of the well they had gone down just a few hours earlier.

"It's a good thing we didn't have to go back through that dark tunnel, huh?" said Anna as she picked herself off the ground.

"Yeah. Now let's get to Ahtohallan." The sisters mounted their horses simultaneously, and with a kick of their heels, they rode off northwards.

*

They had gone a full day of riding without meeting any obstacles, so Anna wasn't too surprised to see that their luck had eventually run out. As they had both agreed that they should get to Ahtohallan as fast as they could, they decided that it was best to continue riding through the night. Elsa was the first one to hear the howls.

"Wolves," she said, turning her head back to look behind them. Although she saw nothing there, they had to be close. Anna took a glance back as well, "We'd better hurry then."

They continued riding in silence, and the sudden absence of howls caused Anna to worry more and more with each growing second. The woods that they were now riding through suddenly seemed awfully eerie, and Anna wished with all her heart for morning to come soon. As kids, Anna had often heard stories from her parents about wolves that preyed on night-time travellers, attacking them when they least expected it. Plus, Anna also had some first-hand experience with wolves, which was also when she'd first met Kristoff. She smiled at the thought of him, but the smile quickly faded when she wondered how he was doing alone in the castle.