Love Turned Cold

Chapter 8

It was not always obvious to the rest of the family that Elsa never fully processed her grief over losing her parents at 18. Sure, Ahtohallen provided some closure knowing her mother was at rest there, at least Iduna's spirit was. But Elsa... grief was hard to process. She never allowed herself to fully grasp it, and learn to let go. And now with her beloved gone, it had become even worse.

It was too much... far too much. She'd lost so much.

Even for Kai, being a little boy, he could recognize when someone was terribly sad, even if they tried to hide it. He felt a certain kind of sadness for the Snow Queen, he understood she did not want to hurt anyone. Not her sister, or him.

For Elsa, she kept reliving the moment she met Conrad. The uncertainty at the time of what they would become. She never would have imagined that the young prince would become her husband. Ever since the accident with Anna all those years ago, Elsa refused to believe she'd ever find love, she didn't even think she could be a good queen.

And no one had known that Elsa contemplated running away during those 13 years of isolation. She very much believed once that the kingdom would be better off without her. Maybe not as a dead princess, but far far away, where she couldn't harm anyone, especially Anna. She would often fantasize about her kingdom of isolation, where she could live and try to control her powers. Anna could have possibly become queen sooner, and perhaps, the sisters could have reunited later along the way.

But even if that were the case, Elsa would have never met Conrad, her parents wouldn't have gone on their trip... and her two beautiful children, they would have never been born.

The possibilities had things not gone the way they did are extensive. Fate had a funny way of working things out.

The regret began to sink in. Had Elsa never listened to Anna's begging to build a snowman that night, Anna wouldn't have gotten hurt and have her memories altered... her parents wouldn't have left and perished at sea.

What could she do? All the what-ifs became too great for her to even think about.

Meanwhile, Anna led the group through the dense forest, slowly making their way to the North Mountain. Gerda had become tired, so Kjerstin carried her, her and Robert taking turns doing so.

Jonis smiled, seeing his sister and brother in law caring for the child. He knew Kjerstin would make a wonderful mother someday, and he knew she was longing for a new kind of happiness. Hers and Robert's coronation was supposed to be the biggest family event since his aunt became queen.

It was quite evident, in Grand Pabbie's words; "never a dull moment with you two".

Before traversing to the mountain, Anna brought Kjerstin and Jonis with her to see Grand Pabbie, hoping he could offer solace and answers.

The troll did comfort them, saying Conrad' spirit was with them, but that they did need to tread carefully when they did find Elsa. Everyone already knew Elsa's emotions influenced her powers, much like Kjerstin's. And with the two of them in the same room, with heightened emotions, it was going to be extremely difficult, and that they needed something, an emotional anchor, to help bring Elsa back to her senses, and help soothe her emotions.

Anna would be the best at talking to Elsa, remind her of the good memories in life, with Conrad and their family, with Anna and hers as well.

"Can you guarantee this will work?" Anna asked.

"I cannot promise anything, you will only know if you try." Anna pursed her lips. He was right. There was no way of knowing until they went forward with it.

And Kjerstin and Jonis knew exactly what the emotional anchor would be. But it had been so long since they last saw it, they couldn't recall where it was. They both last remembered their father putting it away somewhere in their bedroom.

"Do you remember where papa put it?" Kjerstin asked as the two sorted through their father's belongings. They did clean it up as well since many of Conrad's things would be stored away in the attic later on for safekeeping and to keep them from breaking or wearing down. Jonis looked through the bedside table drawers while Kjerstin tapped on the walls, trying to find a compartment, she remembered being told by the servants and her aunt that there were various secret compartments throughout the castle, even hidden rooms, and stairways. Kjerstin one day longed to find all of them, just to prove they existed, and see if they were used for anything. Given how her great grandfather built this castle, and kingdom, he had many secrets, and it wouldn't surprise her if hidden compartments and stairways were a part of that.

"I don't know. But it has to be here somewhere." They spent an hour searching the bedroom with no luck. They periodically found a random trinket, fondly thinking back on better days before safely putting it away. Then Jonis thought of a spot they hadn't checked yet. He walked over to the fireplace, spying a wooden box on the mantle alongside other decorations and knickknacks. Kjerstin saw what he was looking at and joined his side.

"You think it's in there?"

"Only one way to find out. Hop up and take a look." Kjerstin complied and hopped up on her brother's back to reach the mantle, which was much taller than them, and grabbed the wooden box. Jonis let her back down and Kjerstin inspected the decoration. She tried to open the drawer on the front, but it wouldn't budge. She tried prying it open with her nail, but that didn't work either.

"Is it stuck?" Jonis asked. Kjerstin shook her head, observing it a bit closer.

"No... I think it's a fake drawer."

"Huh... let me see." She handed it to her brother, who also inspected it. But then he noticed something. One side of the box, a vertical crack, unnoticeable upon first glance, going up the side of a carved in column on the box. He lightly pressed it to see what would happen, and the door creaked ajar as Jonis moved it around in his hand. His eyes widened and he slowly opened it. He gasped.

"Oh my god."

"Is it-" Jonis pulled it out for his sister to see. The young queen swallowed hard, a flood of memories came rushing through, she bit her lip, fighting back tears. After a nod of affirmation, Jonis carefully placed it back inside, wrapped it in a soft, protective fabric, and placed it in Jonis's travel bag.

"We know how much this meant to them, this has to work."

"I know it will."