//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Elsa's Snowdrop // by TheOneAJ //------------------------------// Surrounded by her toys and snow, a young Elsa sat on her window ledge and gazed out into the kingdom. It was a warm summer day, most of the kingdom was spending it outdoors, preferably on the beach. While the people played, Elsa focused on her breathing exercises her parents encouraged her to do each day to keep her powers in control. With a sigh after she finished, Elsa looked down at the beach towards the kids around her age, Anna included, playing in the waves. Well, Anna wasn’t playing with the kids, as her escort of guards made sure of it. As always, Anna had invited her to join along earlier that day. After Elsa got over the shock that her parents allowed Anna to venture outside of the castle, she made up an excuse as to why she couldn’t go as she always had, and was left to sulk in isolation. Normally, Elsa would have been—if not fine—then content with how things were. However, as she watched her sister play in the sand, eager to make new friends, only to have the guards pull her away, something in Elsa snapped. Not thinking, she placed her hand on the window’s lock and attempted to freeze it off. “Elsa!” she heard her father say before she could do so. “Father!” She turned to him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—” “You must be more careful not to reveal yourself,” he said as he moved towards the window. As he reached for the blinds, Elsa reached up, hand curled into an ice-ball, ready to stop him. Then, she looked at her hand, then at her father, and thought about how easy it would be to kill him. While the ice in her hand shrank, the room became colder. Then, just as her father was about to pull the blinds closed, Elsa managed one last glance at the beach. The guards had just put her sister down, and it had been clear that Anna had put up quite a fight. While she was straightening herself up, Anna glanced up to the window, clearly seeing her sister, and cried out, “Elsa!” ***** “…” “…going to be okay?” she heard someone say. “She’s just a little tired and needs some rest. Then she’ll be up in no time.” “Ugh,” Elsa said as she forced herself awake as pain shot through her ribs. “Hey, I think she’s waking up!” Elsa moaned in response as she forced herself to sit up while her eyes struggled to open “She is!” someone cried out as she felt something heavy land in her lap. “Hey,” she heard Kristoff say. When her vision became clear, she saw him holding back a bouncy troll child. “Take it easy. We don’t need to damage her any more than we have too.” “Aw,” the child moaned as Kristoff responded by tickling her. Elsa didn’t have long to enjoy the moment. As soon as she sat up she was surrounded by rocks that sprang into trolls, each one asking if she was alright, and a few who were asking random things such as “could you kiss my glowstone?” and “what’s your favorite color?” Elsa had just gotten to answering “blue” when a large and battered looking stone rolled her way. It unrolled, to reveal itself to be the troll’s leader, Grandpape, a tired looking troll with the most glowing stones around his neck, Elsa remembered him well. He was none other than the troll who had saved Anna when she froze her head as a kid. It was then when Elsa suddenly remembered something else he had done. “Where is Snowdrop?” Elsa said as she tried to get up. As she pulled herself up, a fierce stabbing pain in her chest brought her down. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Kristoff said as he helped her back down. “Take it easy, Snowdrop is fine.” Clenching her chest, Elsa realized that she wasn’t going anywhere. “Show her to me.” Taking a step back, yet standing his ground, Grandpape nodded. “Of course,” he said as he waved a hand away from them. “Come, she is resting.” Turning her head around a few times, Elsa staggered to stand up. Once she did, the crowd of trolls, usually bouncy and full of life, parted and allowed her to pass until she made it to the center of the dwelling. There, Snowdrop was bundled up in a thick blanket of the cloths Elsa had brought along and leaves. “Oh, God,” Elsa said with relief as she stumbled forward into Kristoff's arms. “Gah!” Elsa screamed as she held onto her chest. "You know what, your highness,” Kristoff said, “for someone who got stabbed by a tree branch while underwater, you sure aren’t acting like it.” “I… what?” Elsa questioned as she looked at her chest as she sat down next to Snowdrop. “Never mind, is she okay?” She ran her fingers through Snowdrop’s mane. “Why is she still asleep? How long was I asleep?” Elsa then glared at Grandpape. “Did you wipe away her memories?” The old troll shook his head. “No, but if you’d like—” “No!” Elsa screamed at the top of her lungs. “No! No more magic, no more secrets!” As she held Snowdrop’s hoof, something that had been held inside of Elsa came out. Something that had been buried deep, and not even an eternal winter could have vented out. “Is it too much to ask, to not have to hide things from people?” Breathing heavily, she took a moment to scan the crowd, which had gone eerily silent at her outburst. A crowd, that suddenly burst into hysterical laughter as her stomach began to growl. “Um,” Kristoff said as he pulled an apple out of his pocket. “Maybe you’d like to eat first.” With a few last meditative breaths, Elsa humbly held her hand out to accept the apple. While she was starving after going days without eating, and still steamed after her outburst, she refrained from gobbling the apple and took tiny bites. While eating, she never allowed her eyes stray from Snowdrop for more than a few seconds to blink. She would have thought that Snowdrop would have been awake by now. When her sister’s head had been frozen she had— she pushed that thought out of her mind as she began to ask a few questions. “How long was I out for?” “Just a day,” Kristoff answered as he handed her another apple. “I got you here just as the sun was beginning to set. You’ve been asleep all morning.” He chuckled. “You sure do know how to take a beauty nap.” Elsa rolled her eyes as she ran a hand over her bandage. “So much for my log powers then, I suppose.” Grandpape tilted his head in response. “Log powers?” “Oh yeah,” Olaf nodded as he waved one of his branch arms. “She has the power to move logs and branches now.” “Hum,” the old troll said as he scratched his chin, “that shouldn’t be possible.” For some reason, Elsa became insulted. “But it is true! Although, for some reason I can only summon the logs.” She then stretched out her arm at a fair sized branch lying on the ground several yards away. “Watch.” She raised her hand, and as before, she commanded the branch to come to her. To her dismay, the branch didn’t even wiggle. “Um, Elsa…” Kristoff said as he reached a hand out to Elsa. “Just,” Elsa said as she ran her fingers through her hair as she took deep breaths, “just hang on. It worked before.” Although the longer she held her hand up, the more the pain in her chest intensified. “Take it easy—” Kristoff tried to say as Elsa smacked his hand away. “Do not tell me what to do!” In her fit, Elsa blasted the log with her ice powers, which froze the logs. A moment later, it lifted up from the ground and landed in front of her. “Well, I’ll be,” Grandpape said with a grin. “Impressive, but simple enough to understand. If anything is frozen, or covered in ice, you should, in theory, be able to move it.” All of a sudden, Olaf jumped into the air with widened eyes. "You okay?” Kristoff asked the snowman with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not sure.” Olaf answered as his eyes narrowed while he stared off into space. “It felt as if a hundred voices simultaneously cried out at the same time. I even think one of their heads exploded” Kristoff slowly nodded his head. “Right… So,” he addressed Grandpape and Elsa, “she doesn’t have log powers?” “Oh she does,” Grandpape said. “But,” Elsa questioned, “you just said I did not.” “You don’t, but you can when it’s a frozen log.” “So,” Kristoff said as he ran his fingers across his chin, “would that not just be ice powers?” “It would, I suppose,” Grandpape added. “Yes,” Kristoff added, “but if it’s a log, wouldn’t that be log powers just as much as it wouldn’t technically be food power if you froze some food?” “No, then that’d just be frozen food powers, not log powers.” “But that would just be ice powers, not log powers,” Kristoff pondered, “right?” Sighing in defeat, Elsa placed both of her hands over her head as she said, “No more! Logs, logs hurt my head!” “I imagine logs would hurt anyone’s head,” Olaf said as he sat down next to Elsa, “then again, these logs would probably just go through me. Hey,” he began to circle the crowd of trolls, cowering in place in utter silence. “Is it just me, or did things get awfully quiet around here?” In baffled silence, notroll said a word. To Elsa’s dismay, when she moved an arm in their direction, they all gasped and backed away. A few mothers even brought in their children closer to them. Fortunately, the awkward silence didn’t last long. For in one deep voice, Grandpape said, “Now, now then, shouldn’t we all be happy the queen’s alive.” It got a few of them to lighten up, and even smile. “You know.” The troll king smirked. “I think all of this good news is worth of… A song?” Elsa’s face darkened. “Oh.” The trolls pulled back their arms. “Oh… We are so happy, the queen is alive.” They clapped their hands. “We are so happy, that she’s not dead.” They continued on as the choreography began to get more energetic. With a shrug of his shoulders, Kristoff allowed a female troll to grab his hand and pull him into the dance. “I find it best to just go along!” he advised Elsa before he and Olaf’s voices were lost in the music. Shaking her head, Elsa felt tempted to join them. That was, until the pain in her chest prevented her from moving fast, and Grandpape’s hand pulled her in the opposite directions. “If you wouldn’t mind, your highness,” he said, “there are some things I’d like to talk to you about, in private.” Elsa nodded, and leaned down to take Snowdrop with her when Grandpape stopped her. “She’ll be fine,” Grandpape said as he pushed her hand away. “I promise. The steam will help her wake sooner. I know how you feel, but before they finish singing, I’d like to discuss a few things away from the rest of my family. In return, I can answer a lot of your questions for you, such as why your parents did what they did in your upbringing.” Attention forfeited over to him, Elsa complied with a deep breath. “Heaven help you if anything happens to her. She is my responsibly, and I will not fail her in getting home.” To that, Grandpape grinned. “Glad to hear. Now come on,” he motioned towards the musical number, “even they can’t go on singing forever. “It isn’t like we were cold,” they sang on, “but just didn’t know what was what!” they clapped. “So now that we’re not dead, we can play and sing instead!” “Yeah,” Elsa shuttered. “Lead the way.” ***** “Sorry about that.” Grandpape said as they walked further away from the clearing. Deeper into the forest, until the singing was nothing more than a light hymn in the background. “It is quite alright.” Elsa said. “It certainly lightened the mood.” Grandpape’s expression remained the same. “I was talking about how they reacted to you earlier.” Elsa raised an eyebrow. “Earlier, what do you…? Oh.” She thought back to how scared the trolls looked when she used her powers and shouted. “I suppose I’m feared by everything now, not just humans.” “No, child,” Grandpape said as he placed a hand on Elsa’s. “Sure, they are, nervous, like a lot of people will be after what happened. However, we can’t change that. We can only move forward, learn from our mistakes, and try to make amends.” Elsa responded by curling into a ball. “Yeah, you make nearly bringing on an eternal winter and abandoning my sister for twelve years sound forgivable.” “I never said easy, but possible.” He sat himself beside her. “And it was only for three days you know.” It took Elsa a moment, but once she realized that Grandpape had told a joke, she couldn’t help but laugh at it. “Yeah, and I am sure that if it was only for one day then things would be different.” “Maybe.” Elsa couldn’t figure out if he meant that seriously or not. “But just remember this, child, nothing is impossible. Sure, some things are more likely to happen than others, but nothing’s impossible. And you know what, I don’t believe everyone will so easily forgive and accept you, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there will be many who never will. However, with the right heart and determination, I think you can change things for the better.” Elsa sighed, but looked up with a hopeful smile. “And how am I going to do that?” Grandpape grumbled to himself. “I think it’s time you learned a little history.” With that said, he began to wave his arms around. “Sorry I had to drag you out here to tell it. It’s not something we trolls like to think about if we can help it.” Elsa hesitantly nodded. “It is fine. However, is human and troll history really that bad?” Grandpape sighed. “If it’s any consolation, we were just as bad with the other races.” With one final wave of his arms, his magic came into effect as his story was told through the magic art of silhouette. As he spoke, the mist swirled around into whatever shapes he needed to tell his tale. “Long ago,” he began, “when civilization was starting out, your kind, and mine, and many others,” the mist swirled around to form the silhouette of every sapient creature that had ever lived, working together, using magic to shape the world. “All discovered the art of magic. At first, it was used to tame the elements, and made the world a livable place for all of us.” His mood fell as the mist grew darker. “But alas, as time went on, our true nature of greed and pride set in. I wish I could say it was just you humans, but no, even we trolls are guilty. Once we tamed and defeated nature, we slowly, but surely, turned on one another, believing that only one kind could rule the world. The wars were deadly, catastrophic, with the type of magic we had back then. I’m surprised we didn’t rip the world apart.” “Though, many races were lost through the war,” the silhouette of the centaur was stabbed by a human. “Others, fled into hiding,” the silhouette changed to a mermaid swimming away. “Eventually, it was the humans that came out on top. Yet, their drive for war and power didn’t stop. For soon, they began too turned on one another.” “At first, it was merely those with power who fought, putting innocent lives between them. Then, in time, the common man tried to rise up against the evil tyrants. Then, as it would be, somewhere along the line, your kind declared all magic evil, and thought to wipe it out. Worst of all, they almost succeeded.” Elsa wanted to say how horrible that sounded. But, when she thought back to what she had done, could she really blame them. While magic could do good things, it seemed to cause nothing but pain to whoever wielded it, and those caught in the middle of it. She was so lost in thought that she nearly didn’t hear Grandpape continue. “However, as we can see, they only almost succeed. From time to time, some used their powers for evil and world power . Though, most kept their powers hidden. Fewer still, used their powers for good.” “However, one thing that seems absolute is, that the magic seems to be stronger in royal bloodlines such as yourself. Mostly in part that many revolutionist leaders were siblings to those with powers. As a result, nobility tends to produce the most children with magical gift. Most of the time, it’s nothing more than the ability to communicate with animals.” He showed Elsa a silhouette of a young woman petting several woodland creatures. “Easy to miss, even by the prince or princess with said powers.” He then waved a hand as the silhouette became an image of Elsa. “Then you came along. Not only are you one of the first royals to come around with the powers over the elements, but one to come along with such strong power as well. Even back in the old days, no one had the talent you possess.” Elsa turned her head and clenched her fist. “I’m sorry this all happened,” Grandpape assured as he sat down next to her. “Maybe if your parents weren’t so dead set on keeping you hidden—” He didn’t get to finish as a hand slapped across his face. “Don’t you dare accuse them for what they did!” Elsa spat. “They… They did what was best for me.” Grandpape sighed. “Elsa—” “No!” she protested, breaths growing heavy as her eyes threatened to water. “I mean, locking me away, from the world and my sister, they knew what they were doing.” Tears began to roll down her cheek. “I mean… I had to. They… They had to be thinking of something with what they did. My miserable childhood had to be for… something.” After that, the pair remained quiet for a bit as Elsa occasionally broke the silence with a sniffle, to which the old troll would rub her back. “I’m sorry,” Grandpape finally said. “They did have good intentions. I feared for what might have happened if your people knew what you could do back then. Although, I did suggest, many times after that day with your sister, to let me guide you. Yet, they refused, believing that, one day you would be able to control your powers on your own. Then they went on that voyage and…” Elsa held in her breath, thinking about the day she was told the news. Then, she thought of something. “So, why didn’t you, or any other troll, come for me? If you knew of some way I could control my powers?” “How many palace guards would allow a troll to just walk into a crowded kingdom to see a princess unannounced?” When Elsa thought about it, she had to admit that not many who would call themselves good guards would have. “In any case, I admit, I also thought you needed space after the death of your parents. I thought, that once you became queen, I would try to contact you and see to it that I could help you with your powers.” He shook his head. “Then everything happened, and here we are now, I suppose.” “Yeah,” Elsa groaned, “here we are.” After another long moment of silence, Elsa asked, “So, what now?” Gandpape chuckled. “I suppose, that’s up to you, and what you do with it. Do you want to remain alone, the monster everyone talks about in the village? Or, do you want to be the queen, who sets the model for people to follow? To be the one who ends the hate humans have towards beings with powers.” Elsa thought on that. What did she really want? She closed her eyes, and tried to envision the future where she would be the most happy. In it, she saw herself, sitting in a fireplace as she played a silly game with Anna. Just the two of them, no conflict, while their parents watched on them with joy. She also, saw herself, cradling a child. Elsa had thought that her imagination would make it a baby, yet, for whatever reason, that baby took to form of Snowdrop. Elsa opened her eyes with a gasp. “Is everything okay, child?” “Um… Yeah,” Elsa stuttered. “I mean, all I want is to be happy with my sister. I would almost prefer a peasant life over the life of a queen if it means that could happen.” Grandpape huffed. “Well, I suppose that’s what everybody would want. And who knows, maybe one day that could be the case. However, even I can tell that with what has happened, nobody is going to let you live that life so easily.” Elsa groaned, Grandpape went on. “No, things aren’t going to be easy. You’ll have to fight for it. Work at it every day, and it’s possible that at the end of all of this, you will gain nothing.” Elsa’s skin began to crawl. “However, I believe in you. And, if you will let me, I would be happy to instruct you in any way possible. Perhaps even, you can bring in a new age where magic and my people can be accepted again.” “Alright,” Elsa nodded. “Although, I’m not looking forward to going back to Arendelle, or acting like everything is fine when it isn’t.” “Then don’t. You’ve lied to you sister long enough, and I can understand why, but no more. Besides, if you’re going to get through all of this, you will need at least one person you can be openly honest with, someone that you love more than life itself.” Suddenly, a large rock rolled in front of them which, just as suddenly, sprang into a troll. “Granpape, queen, the foal is awake!” Elsa sprang to her feet and raced through the trees. Granpape scratched his chin. “Two doesn’t hurt either.” He then curled into a rock and chased after her. ***** “Snowdrop!” Elsa cried out as she made her way past the trolls. Once she did, she saw the young foal on her belly spinning her head nervously back and forth, legs kicking in the air, shouting. “Elsa, where are you?” “Snowdrop!” Else shouted out again, this time gaining the pegasus’s attention. “Princess El… gah!” Snowdrop said as she tried to get airborne. “Hey,” one of the older trolls said, pulling her down. “You gotta take it easy for awhile. Getting shot in the head will take a lot out of you.” Elsa backed away at the mention of said incident. To her dismay, Snowdrop ignored the orders and flew right into Elsa’s arms. Looking up at Elsa with her pale eyes, Snowdrop muttered, “You have to help me!” Elsa began to tense up. “These trolls are trying to drive me insane, and they won’t stop poking me!” she yelped when one of the troll children jumped up to do so. “Quit it!” she yelled down at them as Elsa held back her laughter. Once Elsa’s glee passed, she realized that now might had been as good a time as any to ask Grandpape if he knew of the kingdom of Equestria. She wasn't’ counting on him having a map, but perhaps with his old age he might have at least heard of the land where Snowdrop came from. “Hey, Grandpape?” Elsa turned to him. “You wouldn’t happen to know of any lands where pegasus come from called Equestria, would you?” Grandpape raised an eyebrow. “E-quest now?” “Equestria,” Elsa explained. “Snowdrop said that is where she came from. However, I have never heard of it. I don’t suppose you have?” Grandpape shook his head. “I’m sorry, but this kingdom is new to me as well. In fact, I didn’t even believe that pegasi existed until today.” It took a second, but soon the words began to sink in. “Wait, are you telling me that pegasi are not suppose to be real?” “Afraid so, dear,” a middle aged troll said. “They’re actually made up, not real, a figment of the imagination, just like griffins and unicorns.” “Hey,” Snowdrop said, “who said t—ow!” Snowdrop winched as she held a hoof to her head. “Snowdrop!” Elsa said as she placed a hand to the foals head. “You are still cold.” She shot a look towards Grandpape. “I thought you healed her!” “Hey, hey!” Kristoff said as he got between her and Grandpape. “He did.” Elsa closed her eyes and took a breath through her nose. “Sorry… I am sorry.” “It’s quite alright,” the troll assured. “Though, with how long she had ice in her head, I’m impressed that she’s even alive.” He liked up to Elsa, who pulled Snowdrop back. “Promise you will not do anything to her mind other than to heal her?” “I promise,” he said as he waved his arms around her head. “As I was saying, fortunately for you, this one seems to have magic in her. It was able to fight back the ice until she got here, but, she is still weak from the experience. I’ll have to keep her here until then.” “Oh,” Elsa said as it clicked in her mind. “… Oh.” Realizing what it meant, she craned her neck towards the west, and to Arendelle. “Don’t worry,” Grandpape broke Elsa’s thoughts. “We’ll take good care of her, and I’ll do whatever I can to find out where her home is. You have my word.” Elsa believed he would. Yet, as she realized that her time to return drew near, she couldn’t shake a strong ick in her gut about leaving Snowdrop behind. Even though this would probably be the safest place in the world for her, some part of Elsa didn’t feel right about leaving her behind. Some ancient instinct kept her from simply letting Snowdrop go, even if it was for the best. Already knowing what she would do, she turned to Grandpape, hands below her chest as she fidgeted with her thumbs. “Actually, sir, I was thinking… Maybe we could keep her at the castle instead.” Everyone’s mouths dropped, and she went on. “I mean, you would have to come, if it wouldn’t be a problem. I’d be happy to pay any fee if necessary. I just thought that... we could check the castle archives for information on Equestria while she was recovering.” Grandpape moaned. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t want to sound rude, but I’m not sure if right after everything that has happened this would be the best time for trolls to be walking in a human kingdom.” Even though he had a good point, Elsa continued to argue. “All… the more reason to insure that someone like Snowdrop is kept safe behind the castle walls… Besides,” she straightened herself up and ceased her finger twiddling. “I think a little culture bonding for this new age I unintently brought on might be a good thing for everybody.” No one said anything at first. Then, one of the younger trolls pulled back his arms. “Oh…” he began. “Oh…!” the others joined in. “Oh no,” Elsa whispered as the new song began. ***** An hour later, after they had finished singing and had Elsa’s wound freshly patched up and hidden, all that was left to do was to pack up. They even distributed Grandpape and three other trolls he had ordered to come along in such a way that Sven could carry them, Elsa, and Snowdrop. While Elsa had convinced him to come along with them back to the castle while they healed and tried to find Snowdrop’s home, he only agreed on the condition that he and some of his trusted trolls were brought into the kingdom hidden until they got to the castle. Elsa had also agreed to keep the still sleeping Snowdrop hidden under a blanket until they reached their destination as well. At first, she didn’t think much about it, since Snowdrop would be asleep for the whole trip anyways. Yet, as they secured the last troll in place, it occurred to Elsa that she was hiding Snowdrop from her entire kingdom. Similarly to how her parents had done so with her own powers. She shook her head at the thought. Of course, once Snowdrop got better, she would allow her to go out and play with the other children. However, as Elsa tried to imagine Snowdrop happy with the other children, all she could picture was all of them running away from Snowdrop. “You’re crazy, you know that?” Kristoff snapped Elsa out of her daydream. “Well,” Elsa protested, pushing her thoughts out her mind. “I wasn’t going to leave her. I… I just want to make sure she is not in danger.” “You mean by bringing her and a bunch of trolls into a kingdom full of people who had just been traumatized by an eternal winter their queen brought on.” Elsa puckered her lips. “It was only for three days.” One of the trolls unrolled himself. “And I thought we already worked this out.” Elsa shot him a glance as the young troll resumed his rock form. “Point is,” Kristoff said as he leaned in closer to Elsa’s ear. “I don’t want to see the kid or these guys hurt just because you’re acting like a mother too stubborn to let their kid go.” Face turning red, fist clenched, she pushed Kristoff away from her. “You will refrain from ever saying that again if you value your freedom.” She crossed her arms and turned her head. “I am not letting any emotions I have towards Snowdrop affect my decision.” Kristoff, surprisingly unfazed, replied, “Um, I hate to point this out, your highness, but even if that was true, you just admitted that you do have feelings towards her.” Elsa’s face flushed as she did her best to avoid eye contact with Kristoff. “Speaking of, how come you are not asking a million questions or seem too be surprised by a talking pegasus?” Kristoff lowered his eyes. “After all I’ve seen,” he scratched his chin, “I doubt a five-headed chimera with a lavender mane that poops rainbows would surprise me.” He shrugged. “At some points, things that are impossible become… unsurprising.” In the back of her mind, Elsa began to wonder if that would be her fate in a short while. Although, she figured that could be a problem for another day. For the moment, as she climbed onto Sven’s back, after she checked to make sure Snowdrop was safely secured, the only things that mattered now was going back to Arendalle, for good this time. What she would have to face from her people was uncertain, though her gut gave her a good idea. Yet, as she ran her fingers across Snowdrops warm body, and thought about the hug she was sure Anna would give her—as well as the reaction she was sure her sister would have seeing a talking pony—it eased her mind. She sat up straight and said, “Are we ready to go?” “If there’s nothing left to do,” Kristoff said as he patted Sven, “then I say it’s time we head home.” “Yeah,” Olaf said with a sigh as he slid under the blankets as well. “Home, and a nice, non-life threatening place where you don’t have to worry about dying every second. It sounds like a swell place.” While Elsa wasn’t sure about that much, she nodded and said, “Yeah, let’s go home.”