Love Turned Cold

Chapter 7

Ingdis heard the creaking sounds of wagon wheels approach the castle grounds as she cleaned a window. She rushed outside to see Heidi... without her son.

"Heidi!" She hugged her cousin tightly, "Where's Kai...?"

"The snow queen took him..." Heidi muttered. Ingdis pursed her lips and gave a quick nod to Celin and Gerda. She ushered the three of them inside where it was warm. Anna was there to greet them. She came up to Heidi.

"I... am so sorry for the pain you must be going through. We welcome you here while we figure this out."

"Your sister hurt my son." Heidi hissed. Ingdis placed a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder, who shrugged it off.

"Heidi, it's not her fault."

"Find my son, and fix him."

"We will go and find my sister. But... we had to bury my brother in law." Heidi blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Anna sighed, turning to see her niece walk into the main hall.

"... A former enemy killed my sister's husband on coronation day... her grief has overcome her. We've been scrambling to figure out what to do." Heidi was speechless, she thought the Snow Queen had turned malicious. But no... it was grief.

"Oh... I- I had no idea... I'm so sorry for your loss." Anna shook her head.

"You didn't know. I don't blame you for being angry. But I will help you. I promise. I just need to break through my sister's barrier and bring some sense back into her. But, she can be difficult sometimes." Kjerstin joined her aunt's side.

"What're we going to do?" Anna looked at Kjerstin.

"You, your brother, and I will travel to the North Mountain to get your mother." Gerda came up from behind her mother.

"I need to see Kai. May I please come? He's my best friend, and I can help him!" Anna was shocked a child insisted on braving such dangerous weather.

"I'm sorry...-"

"It's Gerda."

"I'm sorry, Gerda. But it'll be too dangerous for you to travel with us. You must stay here with your mother where you're safe."

"But doesn't the story go that an act of true love saves a frozen heart? Right? That's how your sister saved you!" Anna paused. She was right, "and queen Kjerstin and her brother have powers too! They'll protect us!" Celin shook her head. What a determined child she had.

"Please your majesty... he's my best friend. I want to help." Gerda looked up at Anna with large hazel eyes, begging for permission. Anna looked at Heidi and Celin, understandably hesitant to bring a 9-year-old along. Kjerstin looked down at the young girl, seeing the determination in her eyes.

"As long as you stay with us and don't stray from our journey, you can come." Anna opened her mouth to protest, but... Kjerstin was responsible. Jonis was too.

Gerda couldn't be denied to see her best friend. Anna saw herself in Gerda. It was that same determination she had all those years ago to bring her sister back home... And she respected that.

"She'll be taken care of. We'll bring her with us. Heidi, Celin, you're more than welcome here, and Ingdis will help you both until we get this settled and straightened out."

"Anything to bring them home." Heidi agreed.

Anna went to the guest quarters to talk to the family about what was going on.

"We'll prepare to leave to get Elsa and Kai here in two days."

"And we're bringing Gerda with us?" Jonis asked. Anna nodded.

"Yes, you, me, your sister, and Gerda will travel north."

"If it is not too much of an intrusion, may I come? I want to be here to support all of you." Robert offered. Soliel nodded.

"We both can. We'll be back up in case something goes wrong." Anna looked at Kristoff, Oliver, Signe, Ryder, and Honeymaren. All of whom nodded.

"Whatever will help," Kristoff assured, hugging Anna.

Oliver and Signe were concerned, however. They still had way too much on their mind to process anything. They helped bury their older brother only the other day, and the emotions were still too raw. Signe stood and left the room, Oliver following her. They bundled up in their winter clothes and headed through the kingdom. Signe stopped at Conrad's grave, which was next to the late Queen Iduna's burial stone.

Signe wiped away a tear, resting her hand over the runic inscriptions. Looking at them again pained her more than anything.

"Conrad... if you're listening... your family needs you... we all need you... Elsa is grief-stricken. You need to help her... she needs it more than anything." Oliver stood nearby, silently praying alongside his sister. He, too, hoped their brother was listening, wherever he was.

After a bit of time, Oliver gestured for his baby sister to head back to the castle to warm up before the storm got worse again.

"Will anything ever be the same again?" Signe asked. Oliver was unsure if that was a hypothetical question or not, but he wanted to comfort her in some way.

"Things will be different... But, perhaps it can be for the better. Give it time, you'll see."