Love Turned Cold

Chapter 13

Kjerstin knew this was not how it was supposed to go. She'd hoped she could break through her mother's mental barrier a little easier, but it became clear Elsa wasn't breaking easily. Kjerstin desperately looked to her aunt for help. Anna knew Elsa better than anyone, Conrad second to her. But Anna would be the only one to help calm her sister down, with all the times she had done it before, she couldn't imagine it would be that difficult.

"Elsa!" Anna called out in the swirling blizzard. Behind her, Robert, Soleil, and little Kai hid behind an ice pillar, they couldn't handle the level of intensity as Kjerstin or Robert could, and Anna was barely hanging on. She remembered that chill running through her all those years ago. She pulled her old travel cloak tighter around her shoulders, a shiver running down her body. She carefully stepped forward, shielding her eyes from the sharp snow turned to sleet.

"Elsa! I know you can hear me!" She called out again.

"Anna..." The retired queen perked up hearing her sister's voice echo through the blizzard, billowing through the great hall of the ice palace. The voice echoed, full of grief, pain...

"Elsa... I know you're in pain... I can hear it in your voice. I know Conrad being gone hurts more than anything. I know this was like losing me."

"It is NOT the same!" Elsa cried out. Anna bit her lip, mildly regretting the choice of words.

"You came back! Conrad can't!" The blizzard slowed, revealing Elsa's silhouette as she emerged to see her sister. As she stepped closer, her heels clicking on the icy floor, Anna was in disbelief to see the grief having warped her sister's features.

The warm, rosy cheeks were splotched red, and her blue eyes weren't crystal clear, instead of red too from the tears. The snow still circled the sisters.

Kjerstin cautiously joined her aunt, nodding to her to allow Kjerstin to speak to her mother. She held out her hand, gesturing for her brother to come too.

"Mom," Jønis whispered, nervously holding out a hand. Elsa looked at her children.

"Why are you here?" Elsa repeated her question from before.

"We came to help you, mama..." Kjerstin replied softly, also repeating hers. Elsa's demeanor softened hearing her eldest call her mama this time, and Kjerstin noticed this.

"We know, mama... we know it hurts. It hurts us too that papa is gone. But we're still a family, we have to stay together..." Jønis said. Elsa sniffled, pursing her lips tightly. She could only see Conrad in her son. Her breath caught in her throat, flashes of Conrad darting through her mind. Glancing at Kjerstin, she saw herself.

She backed away, putting her hands to her face, tears beginning to fall. The memories of Conrad became too painful. He was gone, because of a jealous monster. And she'd nearly killed an innocent child due to her grief, just like she nearly killed her sister.

"Elsa?" Anna asked tentatively, feeling the tension grow stronger in the room as the wind picked up again.

Then, there was a spine-chilling wail, reverberating through the ice walls. Anna's blood ran cold, she'd never heard her sister make such a sound, behind her, she heard another cry, a child's cry.

Kai.

"Soleil!" Kjerstin exclaimed, "try to keep him warm. My mother's ice is starting to take hold of him!" Soleil nodded and took the boy in her arms, singing him a song as she began to raise her body temperature, Robert offering his cloak and helping her keep Kai warm. They had to wait to remove the ice shard for now. Keeping him as warm as possible was the best route.

"Mama!" Kjerstin yelled through the wind. She didn't know what to expect, given how unpredictable her mother's powers could be when her emotions were on a high. But, so we're Kjerstin's. Ever since Kjerstin was a child, it was noted how Elsa and Kjerstin's powers tended to be in sync when one or both each other's emotions ran high. With her mother grieving, it was equally painful for the young queen to see her mother this way. She was desperate to help her mother. And soon, Kjerstin's own tears streamed down her cheeks, feeling her heart beginning to race. She felt the magic within her running on high.