Frozen: Playing with Fire

“We’re lost.”

“You’re telling me.”

The queen was initially frustrated that Tanya made them take a route moving further into the darker part of the woods. The other trail that Elsa suggested could have led them in the correct course, to a main road.

“Well I thought I could figure out the way through here, and that it would be safer. I’m usually pretty accurate with directions. But this way seems to go on forever.”
That’s how it appeared to Elsa as well.

She was mostly sure but not positive they passed the same boulder a few times. The dusky green birch and pine trees covered the canopy above, with their overshadowing branches. So far there was no sign of the sky or sun, so there was no real way of telling the direction they were headed.

“I guess it’s not your fault, there was a chance of getting lost here either way.” Though Elsa was frustrated at the situation, she could not make herself upset with the brunette. After all, she did not intentionally try to lead them astray.

Tanya shook her head. “It was a tiny bit my fault, since I insisted on taking this way… and now it’s gone.”

Both girls stopped in their tracks. The trail ended abruptly, in front of them. “Well that could be a problem.”

“Don’t worry, I know what to do!”

“And what might that be?” Elsa asked.

“I’ll climb one of these trees to the top, and look to see where we actually are.”

Before Elsa could respond, Tanya was scrambling up the tree like a monkey. A cute little monkey. She laughed, the last time she had climbed a tree was during her childhood. When she was five maybe? Anna must have been three then, so still too little to climb trees that would seem gigantic to her. It was an activity she and Anna enjoyed, though they would end up snagging most of their dresses. When they came back to the castle in leaves and twigs, Gerda their maid and nanny at the time, would scold them. It was obvious the nanny was never truly angry at them, rather it was to the extent of irritated.

“Wow it’s really hard to see up here!” Tanya yelled down to the queen from above, doing her best to avoid pine nettles.

“Can you see anything now?” Elsa yelled.

“Give me a second, I’m trying not to fall to my death,” she said sarcastically. The princess fixed her footing on one of the branches, after the previous one had snapped.

When she was a little farther up, Elsa called out, “Now?”

Tanya reached the top, panting and catching her breath. It was a tall climb, and her arms would be tired later. She scanned the area for some hope of settlement, smoke, or anything which seemed remotely hopeful. “We’re heading in the right direction…”

“Go on?” The younger girl could not see Elsa, but could hear her distant voice.

“…But the forest seems to never end around us. Every way I turn, it’s a sea of trees.”

Elsa was tired of being lost, but now she began to worry. Who knew how long it would take them to escape the maze?

“Wait! I see a faint string of smoke in the direction we are heading. We are going the right way after all,” she said self-assuredly.

“Thanks for the update, now come down before you slip and fall up there!”

“But the view’s so wonderful up here, just trees for miles on end!” Tanya said sarcastically, her silky hair fell in her face as she already was making her way down.

But the princess underestimated the too-thin branch, when she placed her right foot atop. The branch snapped underneath, and she lost balance with her left foot. Unable to grab anything else in time, Tanya fell backwards. The fall was at least twenty five to thirty feet.

In that moment, Elsa had a flashback of her childhood. It was not a good time to remember this particular painful memory of growing up, but she could not help it. She and her sister had snuck out into the ballroom early morning, after Anna begged her to make her a wintery wonderland. Elsa was creating snow piles for Anna to jump from one to another, when her own foot slipped. Unbalanced, she sent a blast of ice intending to make another snow pile, but instead hit Anna right in the side of her head. The redhead toddler fell down the mound, unconscious.

Instead of Anna in front of her, it was Tanya. But Elsa would not allow her past memories to get in the way of reacting quickly.

The ice queen created a thick snow pile under herself, as she held her arms open to catch the girl. As the princess made contact, the giant white mound of snow completely engulfed both of them. Similar to the reaction of jumping into a leaf pile or a lake, the snow flew everywhere. She was not usually so clumsy with her powers, she did not exactly have time to plan for a situation like this.

Snow splattered everything on the surrounding ground and trees, Elsa and Tanya’s heads popped up from the top of the pile. Elsa had caught the brown haired girl in her arms, who had snowflakes all over her face.

“Achoo!” Tanya sneeze loudly, covering it with her arms. It made the queen chuckle.

The queen became hot in the face from the panic that came back with her memory with Anna. This was such an Anna thing to do. But Tanya’s really not like Anna at all.

There was awe in the princess’ blue-green eyes, as if she was looking at her savior. “Oh um, thanks for saving me,” Tanya said embarrassedly snapping out of a daze and blushed, tucking strands of hair away from her pale face. “I should have seen that coming, really.”

Elsa did not know how to respond back to something like this, she did not know how to talk to girls at all. But she managed to say from her wobbly voice, “Of course, I would have any day.”
What a thoughtless thing to say.

That made the girl smile, before melting all the snow off of her with her powers. The blonde figured she must have the ability to raise her external body temperature as well.

“That’s a practical skill to know,” Elsa pointed out.

“It’s usually how I dry off fast after washing or bathing. But it’s not as nifty as your powers though. Your abilities are amazing. You literally created a whole pile of snow to catch me.”
She noticed Tanya’s facial expression and body language. Something seemed to be bugging her, Elsa thought, but kept it to herself.

“Anyway, I saw some smoke coming from a mile away or so,” the younger woman pointed out. “It was just a thin line, so it was probably some sort of campfire or chimney. Either way, I say we go check it out.”

“Wait,” Elsa caught the girl by the hand, before her curiosity got the best of her. “We don’t know who it could be. There is nothing else for miles, for all we know it could be those men we left behind days ago.” Even though Tanya was the type to quickly make decisions, Elsa had to be cautious, for the both of them.

“Oh I doubt it,” she scoffed. “Really, what are the chances of us bumping into those ruffians here anyway?”

The queen sighed. The chances, she estimated, were probably very slim. Tanya did have a point there. “Alright we’ll check it out. But we are not revealing ourselves to anyone unless we know it’s safe.”
“Deal,” Tanya extended her right hand out, and they shook on it.

It ended up being a chimney coming from a house, as Tanya had correctly guessed. There stood a cottage, with giant stone steps leading up to the front door. The yard was encircled by an intimidating black metal fence with spikes in Gothic style. To Elsa’s displeasure, lining the fence there were skulls with lit candles in them. Most likely human, though a few looked animalistic. The candles which lit the bones flickered with an almost magical quality.
Good to know…

She could smell something very rotten, figuratively and literally, coming from the house. In her stomach, Elsa had a very ominous feeling about the place.

Out of every cottage in the world, we had to end up here, Elsa thought.

“So um, what do you want to do?” Tanya looked just as wary as Elsa.

“I don’t like this place,” she stated in a quiet voice.

“Me neither.”

“It’s better if we go now, before whoever lives here is aware of our presence.”

“Excuuuse me, but she already knows.”

A different voice broke in the thin air, coming from the seemingly depraved house. Elsa and Tanya looked nervously around, though nobody was to be found.

“Up here,” the voice said tiredly, coming from the fence. There was a thin black cat, relaxing on the metal gate. Its fur was mangy and knotted, and the outline of ribs poked out from its sides.

“Yeah, she already knows you’re here. So it really doesn’t matter if you go off or not.”

“A talking cat?” Elsa had seen nothing like it. She was not too surprised though, Olaf was the most shocking thing she encountered that could talk.

“Isn’t it obvious? This voice isn’t coming from anywhere else. And it’s downright evident that I’m unmistakably of the smartest cats in the world. Only the brightest creatures (with a little help of magic) can talk.”

“Congratulations on your achievement, we were just about to go, so it was nice meeting you,” Tanya rushed as she grabbed Elsa’s hand and made for the woods.

The cat laughed, “You’re really not going back in there, are you?”

Elsa stopped in her tracks, pulling the princess back slightly. “And why not?”

“The woods are only going to lead you back here. That’s what they do with everybody. If they don’t direct you back to the cottage, you will become so lost, you won’t realize it until you’ve walked a hundred times in circles.” The cat moved along the fence, and continued, “That’s what typically happens anyway.”

Tanya, Elsa could tell, was not enjoying the situation at all. Whoever was the master of the house knew they were already there, most likely understood magic, and was possibly not even human. Elsa decided if they were to face whoever was in the house, their magic of ice and fire combined could fend off any sort of potential demon.

Elsa pulled Tanya back, who was clearly not happy. “What is your name?”

“Lev, a pleasure to meet you,” the cat’s chest puffed out. “And who might you be?” The tom glared at Tanya.

Elsa had a gut feeling the cat was toying around with them, while someone else was watching from the house. Deep down she knew there was no getting away, so they just had to face whatever was there. Getting down to the point, she asked, “Where’s your master Lev? I’m curious to meet them.”

“Of course,” Lev did something with the tall black gate to make it open for them. “My apologies. Right this way.”
Tanya secretly shot her a scowl.

The black cat led them up the stone pathway, and up the giant steps to the door. Was this cat cursed with some enchantment? Would they both be turned into animals, or end up as a decoration for the fence? The queen and princess looked at each other hesitantly. But it was too late, because the door swung open in front of them loudly.

Greeting them at the door appeared to be an old lady, who was just as thin as her cat. She wore a dark blue dress with an off-white apron, and brown boots to match. Her gray hair was bushy and scraggly, and her face screamed of age. The woman had a large curved nose, though not overly large or pointy, and a crooked front tooth. Her eyes were piercing, wild but wise. She was wearing floral patterned oven mittens, and from the smell of it, appeared to be in the middle of cooking.

“Ah I’ve been expecting you both. Now don’t just stand there, come in, come in!”

Elsa did not know if the eccentric stranger was to be trusted, but she walked inside bravely, with Tanya following behind. Inside was a fully furnished house. Most objects and furniture looked very old like they had been used for years. It was not necessarily dirty, rather dusty, with some cob webs here and there. There was an engraved wooden table with chairs, in the dining room next to the kitchen. Shelves with many antique and some ancient looking books lined shelves upon shelves. The woman who lived here had to be very clever.

“Now if you’ll pardon me, I just need to move the kettle from the fire, and the soup off the stove. Sit down, it shan’t take too much longer.” The old, frail woman rushed into the kitchen as the kettle started to scream. It was the only thing that made noise in the entire house, piercing the quiet room.

The two of them sat down in chairs, which were cushioned. The table was already made and set, with a forest green table cloth, bowls, silverware, and teacups. There was a candle in the middle, dripping with wax onto the silver candle-holder.

There was an uncomfortable silence at the table, apart from the clanking of pans coming from the kitchen. Tanya started twirling her thumbs, and a strand of hair fell into her face again. Quickly she tucked it behind her ear. Lev jumped on top of the table across from the girls, and his stomach rumbled. “Well I am certainly hungry, aren’t you? I haven’t eaten in days!” That certainly appeared to be the case. The cat came over to inspect Elsa, like any other cat would, and looked at her expectantly. Not knowing what else to do, Elsa stroked Lev’s black fur, and he started to smile and purr.

“Ah right there, that’s the ticket.” He kept purring until he suddenly stopped, and his nose twitched. Lev moved away from Elsa’s delicate hand, and sniffed her a few times.

“Hmmm, interesting,” he muttered to himself. He went over to Tanya and sniffed her as well. The princess was not a fan of cats, or at least this cat, as Elsa could obviously see.

“Oh!” A mew came out of the cat’s mouth as he immediately jumped off the table, and strode into the kitchen.

As the black cat approached the shadow of the woman cooking, she looked down as he whispered something.

“What!?”

Lev mewed very quietly a response to his master’s outburst.

The woman went silent before speaking again, “Well I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

Elsa was extremely confused. What in the world was going on in there? What did the old lady mean? Clearly the younger girl was thinking the same thing. There was something that the two strangers were hiding from them.
“I don’t like the feeling of this, let’s get out of here while they’re still preoccupied,” Tanya whispered closely in Elsa’s ear. Tanya’s whispering in the queen’s ear made her insides jump.

But again, it was an opportunity too late. The woman walked out with a tray with three bowls of soup. On the top of Lev’s head was a tray with a kettle. How the cat was balancing that heavy thing on his head, Elsa did not know.
The empty bowls were replaced with an orange-ish looking soup, and the woman poured black tea into each of their cups.

“Cream? Sugar?”

Tanya shook her head, and Elsa said, “No thank you, I’m fine. I’ll have it black for the moment.”

“Very well,” she poured a bit of cream and a sugar cube into her own teacup. The woman passed the rest of the cream to Lev, who happily started lapping it up on the table next to her.

“I don’t think we have formally introduced ourselves,” Elsa was determined to make conversation as much as she had to, in order to figure out the woman’s ulterior motives.

“Of course, where are my manners? The woman shook her head. My name is Baba Yaga, and I’m sure you’ve met Lev.” The black cat mewed quite contently, while cleaning the milk off his face. “What might your names be?”

Elsa was tempted to lie to the woman, and give a fake name and reason why they got lost. Something about the house, the cat, the woman, seemed a little too peculiar. But if the two had already had spied on them in the woods, there surely was not much they could hide.

“My name is Elsa, Queen of Arendelle.”

Baba Yaga was not surprised one bit. “You tell the truth. Wise girl.” She turned over to Tanya, who had been mostly silent the entire time. Elsa knew she was incredibly uncomfortable.

“Tanya, Princess of Aldyn.”

The old lady seemed satisfied. “Now how did you manage to so luckily become lost in my woods, and end up here?”

“Sorry to not answer your question directly, but you seem to know at least a lot about us already,” said Elsa.

“Yes, although I don’t know a lot about you both, or why you are here. But I can always tell when someone is avoiding the truth or lying to me. So with that being said, why have you come to see me now?”
“Actually we were not intentionally seeking your place for any reason, outside of curiosity. We saw your chimney smoke from a distance. It was the only thing we could see besides trees for miles,” Tanya spoke up.

“The forest does that. It projects an illusion to its travelers, clouding their judgement.” Baba Yaga’s voice was shaky.

“You asked us our reason for coming here, what is your trade?” Elsa eyed the ancient books on the shelf with interest, and raised an eyebrow.

“I can see you are very observant,” Baba Yaga said. “Indeed I am the witch of these woods, though I like the term wise woman a bit better. Don’t you think? It seems to have a better ring to it, and less of a stigma.”

“It certainly does.”

“My cat Lev, who you’ve met already, is very wise as well. As a kitten, he was gifted with intelligence.” Baba Yaga pet Lev with her long, bony fingertips. “You two are certainly luckier than most folk.”

“And why is that?” Asked Tanya earnestly.

“Because you have been truthful with me, I will be truthful with you. Most people who come to this cottage seek me for a reason, and intend to trick me to give them what they want. Now these men and women lied to my face, stole from me, or were simply not magical beings nor were capable of magic. Those people, whether I liked them or not, I ate.”

Tanya’s eyes grew wide, and Elsa could tell, her palms became sweaty. The queen herself felt as if her ice powers had frozen her in one place, so that she could not move.

Was… this woman intending to cook us!? Is she still…?

“And no, I don’t intend on eating either of you. I was preparing for it actually, but when Lev sniffed your scent, he right away detected you both possess magical abilities. Now I don’t eat magical beings, because they’re bad for my indigestion. People who are honest with me I don’t eat, since there should be more honest people in this forsaken world. So that puts you both out of the question.” Baba Yaga sighed. “Plus I’ve been trying to get on a strictly fish and vegetable diet for the last few years. I’ve been trying to lose those last few pounds.”

As Baba Yaga patted her belly, Elsa thought that losing weight was the last thing the witch needed. But she did not dare to say that out loud.

“So you could tell we have powers?” Tanya asked.

“With Lev, it was very obvious. So tell me now, what are they?”

Elsa spoke before Tanya, “We’ll show you ours if you show us yours.”

“On my honor as a witch and wise woman.”

Elsa flicked her fingertips, and her thoughts swirled in her soul. In a pinch, the whole table with everything on top of it was frozen solid into a sculpture. The ice was so pure that you could see right through it, and it reflected light all throughout the room. Lev wasn’t turned into ice, but his feet were stuck to the table top. In just as much time it took to freeze the table, Elsa waved her hands and the magical ice evaporated into thin air. The table, silverware, and food were left in their original forms.

“Very impressive. I have never seen anything like it before, in all my years.” Baba Yaga looked over at Tanya. “Now it’s your turn to share child.”

Elsa could tell the girl did not know what to present. If she set anything on fire, she might not be able to put it out. The candle in the middle of the table was now unlit thanks to her powers. The princess suddenly had a look of enlightenment, and with one of her fingertips, there lit a flame, like a dagger. Pulling the finger up to her lips, Tanya blew in the direction of the candle. The flame traveled on Tanya’s breath, and lit the candle wick. To the queen, it looked as if the princess had just breathed out fire, and it was beautiful.

“Very smart girl,” Baba Yaga was very fascinated with both of them. “You have a very enchanting but dangerous power as well. I suppose it’s my turn, don’t you think so Lev?”

“Yes, they should be allowed to see what you are capable of.”

“Its black magic, isn’t it?” Tanya spoke up.

“Oh dearie, I don’t really like to call it that. It’s more so a very prehistoric and ancient magic which goes back for centuries. I’m indeed adept in many areas of this study of magic. For example, with potions.” Baba Yaga took a flask from her sleeve and dropped the blue liquid from the vile into her tea cup. It blew out a blue puff of smoke.

“I have the power to give life and bring death to vegetation.” With a wave of her hand, they witnessed through the window young birch trees popping up from the ground outside. As quickly as they sprung out, they withered into sticks. “Shapeshifting is another,” the old woman turned herself into a cat identical to Lev. When he turned to see his master, he jumped straight up in the air in surprise. “These are only just a few,” she turned back into an old woman. “But what I am most proud of, is the ability to read the soul,” Baba Yaga went near Tanya, and played with a strand of her hair as she passed by. “Because that doesn’t just take magic, but knowledge as well.”

“So tell me,” Baba Yaga put her hands on the back of Elsa’s chair, and leaned in. “Would you like me to do so for the both of you?”

Elsa froze. “What does it cost?”

“Not a penny.”

“No what I mean is, what’s in it for you, if you read our souls?”

“Fair question. Understand I am being truthful when I say there’s no selfish motive.”

After some thought Elsa responded, “Very well then.”

“Elsa.” Tanya whispered in the corner of her mouth. In every inch of her being, Elsa could see the princess wanted to be as far away from Baba Yaga as possible. The queen clearly saw that she did not like the idea of this one bit. But Elsa knew when someone was lying to her as well, and she believed Baba Yaga was being honest with them.

“You can tell mine first. But first explain, what exactly is a soul reading?”

“Why it’s the truth in your heart soul exposed, as I like to put it,” the witch chuckled. “However the soul is very guarded by layers of memories and feelings, so it needs a little help and support to open it up. Those barriers to the soul will also be revealed, as they hinder people from opening up properly.”

“So it’s similar to a palm reading or fortune-telling.”

“In a sense.”

Baba Yaga got up out of her chair, humming, and went to a giant cupboard. Opening up the main cabinet, it revealed several jars and thousands of vials of foreign liquids. Elsa assumed they were the all potions, and her hands started to get very cold.

“Ah where is it now, I had it in a jar somewhere…” Baba Yaga murmured to herself, as she sorted through the jungle of glass. “It was here just a few days ago when I made a new batch… Here it is!” The woman picked up a small marmalade glass jar with a seemingly simple, clear fluid inside. She came back to the table with a teaspoon in her other fragile hand.

“I just made a new batch of this the other day ago, as it expires around this time every year. Now what we need to do is take just one teaspoon of this, and orally intake it,” the old witch instructed similar to how one would talk to themselves. “The awkward taste disappears if you mix it into another liquid, something like tea or soup.”

“I’ll have it in my tea please,” the queen requested.

“Tea as well will do for me,” Tanya added.

In both of their cups as the watery liquid entered the tea, it blew a spark. Their drinks turned their drinks to a dark, cloudy color. Elsa took the cup in her right hand, and put the substance up to her lips. Surprisingly, the tea did not taste any different than before. But in a matter of seconds, she could feel her chest suddenly getting colder and hotter at the same time. It was a strange sensation, much different than a normal heartburn.

“What’s happening?” Elsa put her hands to her chest.

“It’s working, that’s what’s happening! And thank goodness. It will go away in a minute or two. It’s best to not panic at all. Now, we can do business!” Baba Yaga took out a cone shaped object from her sleeve, put the small opening to her ear, and the big opening against Elsa’s chest.

“Mmhmm… yes… yes?” The woman appeared as if she was talking to herself again. Neither Elsa nor Tanya could hear anything.

“Um…I don’t think…” Tanya began.

“You’re right, you’re not thinking. Now shush,” the wise woman silenced her. “I’m trying to listen and hear what her soul has to say.” Baba Yaga put her full attention to listening though the cone.

After a few minutes of saying “go on,” and agreeing with whatever the cone was telling her, the old woman backed off and concluded, “Very interesting, you have a lot to say my dear.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?” Elsa asked.

“Why, it can be either. It’s your response that counts.”

“So tell me then, what did my heart tell you?” Elsa was skeptical about the whole “soul reading” thing. It sounded a lot like bogus to her, and she knew well enough that fortune tellers only told people what they wanted to hear. They were only after money or personal gain. Yet what Baba Yaga was doing seemed different.

“You’ve been in a lot of pain your whole life, haven’t you?”

Elsa did not know what to respond with, she felt her chest tighten.

“You still hold on to the past, especially what happened with your coronation and your sister. Although there is something new worrying you. Something that has happened very recently, has been haunting your dreams at night. Your heart did not want me to speak specifics out loud, so I will honor that. However, you need to know that the past isn’t going to repeat itself again. You have become so worked up about what has happened, that it’s difficult to let things go.”

Elsa, for the first time in a while, felt her insides starting to boil. Her whole life she tried letting her problems go away, but it was always hard for her to. She was embarrassed Baba Yaga was saying all these things in front of Tanya, even though no particular details were shared. Elsa outwardly kept her composure.

“Go on,” she kept urging the wise woman, waiting for her to continue.

“Worrying and fretting about things of the past is only building strife inside you. You cannot help what you have no power over. Your soul told me it’s longing to be still, and to find some peace of mind. When you can accept your past and yourself, then you can create a new life within yourself.”

The queen felt like she had just been summed up. No fortune teller could be this accurate about someone they barely knew. Under the table her hands were freezing, and spun her thumbs around; a nervous habit she thought she broke long ago.

Baba Yaga looked satisfied with her reading and told the queen, “During the next few days, you will feel more open to yourself and people around you. That can also be a good and bad thing. You have to be careful with what or who you listen to, even yourself. The same goes with you,” the wise woman turned to the princess.

“I thought you just said we are supposed to listen to ourselves,” the younger girl said, confused.

“You heard me right. But sometimes your heart can tell you things you want to hear, and not always the truth. Now I believe it’s your turn to drink from the cup.”

Lev nudged the teacup closer to the princess. Hesitantly, she picked it up with both hands, and brought the tea to her pink lips. Immediately she made a funny face, and coughed the liquid down her throat. Tanya patted her chest, “Is this stuff really alright to consume?”

“Old batches of this potion tend to poison people most of the time, but this one was freshly made. Now be quiet, I’m trying to listen!” Baba Yaga already had the cone placed on the princess’ chest, which startled her. Elsa just giggled as a smile crept on her pale face. The queen made up her mind, that the old woman did not pose any threat, or mean them harm.

Just like she did with the snow queen, Baba Yaga was talking and whispering similarly into the cone. As she was murmuring to herself, Elsa noticed that Tanya was trying very hard to hold in sarcastic laughter.
“Oh you’ve got issues dear,” the wise woman laughed as she removed the cone, and put it back on a shelf.

Tanya’s expression changed dramatically, and became peeved. “Excuse me?”

“Yes, with problems that you are dealing with, and are going to have to face in the future. First thing to do is to accept that.”

“I’ve already known that since…”

“Since you learned of the firebird’s curse when you were a little girl,” Baba Yaga finished.

“How did you know that!?” The princess’ eyes became wide with amazement.

“I thought you would understand by now what I’m doing, after my entire explanation.”

“I have been listening this whole time, but…”

“…But you just didn’t believe it,” the woman finished, interrupting her again. “No, rather, you weren’t willing to trust any of it.”

“The curse has been with me my whole life.”

“Correct, it has been harboring inside you since you were born. However, your power hasn’t.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Taking a quick sip of tea Baba Yaga continued, “You are confusing something you have no control over, with something you have full control over. The firebird did indeed curse your family, and after generations, it placed itself inside you, harboring your soul. That’s what it shared with me, when I attempted to communicate with it. It desire is for you to be the instrument in bringing about your kingdom’s destruction. But with that curse removed, it does not remove your power, only the inability to control it.”

“I can control it, very well I might add.”

“Of course you can, right now. You are nowhere near your kingdom, the city the curse has set itself upon to destroy. Eventually, the curse will want to devour you entirely.”

The princess’ face went pale, and her eyes sunk with fear. The wise woman was touching upon the very subject Tanya tried so hard to escape and avoid. “How do I get rid of it,” she said silently, as if to herself. She stared at Baba Yaga, confronting her straight in the eye, burning with a fury Elsa had never seen in the girl.

“How do I get rid of it!?”

In her anger, Tanya accidentally caught the wood chair on fire, and could do nothing to put it out herself. But as quickly as it had been lit, Elsa froze the chair over, reaching a hand to the seat and vanquishing the flame. Once the flame went out, the queen thawed the chair and the ice mysteriously vanished. She reached over, taking the princess’ sweaty hands. They felt soft within hers, but Tanya didn’t seem to notice at all. It was the first time Elsa had ever held the girl’s hand.

A stroke of silence occurred, as the old woman gazed at the princess curiously as she looked away. Finally she spoke, “You need to learn how to control yourself.”

There was a grief in the Tanya’s worn eyes which absorbed her anger. “I’ve tried ever since I was a little girl! And you just said I will eventually have no control over myself.”

“In some logic. But you need to realize,” Tanya brought her gaze to meet the woman’s once again. “It’s not about what you are born with, or who life declares you to be. It’s what you do, and what actions you take. Once you accept that, you may be able to change your fate.”

“If I may interrupt,” Lev leapt up onto the table. “It seems that we have reached the edge of the forest.”

“Right on schedule,” replied Baba Yaga.

“Wait, we are?” Elsa said, surprised.

“Oh yes. And lucky for you two, it’s in the direction you two need to be headed. For me, this is the place where I pick my berries.”

Elsa and Tanya looked at each other and then down, to realize that they were holding hands. Tanya let go in embarrassment, her pale cheeks turned rosy.

Baba Yaga went into her kitchen, and brought out two sacks for each of the girls. “There is a little food packed in here for the both of you, enough that it should last you until you arrive in Aldyn. But be careful, from what I have heard from the woods, there is a war about to start there.”

As Elsa was about to take the sack from her hand, Baba Yaga spoke again, “I believe you have something of mine as well.” Elsa was confused. What is this woman talking about?

Tanya seemed to have an idea however, as she reached into and rummaged through the queen’s bag. She took out the wrapped up package and handed it over. “Before making our way through the forest, a man handed this to us, saying we may meet a friend of his in the forest.”

Baba Yaga seemed to accept the package, and opened it with care. Inside of the wrapping was another one of her lights she had posted outside the house. “That fellow Geralt never forgot to return it,” the old woman chuckled to herself, “even after all his years.”

“You know Geralt?” Elsa had a difficult time connecting how the bizarre old woman and fisherman knew one another.

“Oh yes, he got lost deep in the forest as a child and stumbled upon my house. This was before I decided to curb my diet, so I let the child in, intending to have him for supper. However he proved to be a hard, honest, young worker, and well, I just couldn’t complain with that. We actually got along very well, might I add. After a while I let him go, lending him with of my lights to assist him out of the forest. Very considerate of him to think of returning it.” She gave a wrinkly smile.

The door to her house slammed wide open, exposing the fact they were truly at the end of the forest.

“Now, be on your way!”

Baba Yaga made a motion with her hand, and a strange force made the girls fly out of the cottage. As they stepped onto solid earth, Elsa hesitated before speaking to the old woman. “You told me to focus on the present.”

“I did indeed. And?” Baba Yaga spoke down from the front door.

“How is that supposed to ‘create a new life’ with that knowledge, exactly?”

“Remember what your sister taught you?”

“She taught me about love,” Elsa reflected. “But isn’t that focusing on the past?”

“There is a difference between reflecting and obsessing over your past. Your sister Anna taught you that with love, you can have full control over your powers and emotions. I believe you’ll find soon enough with love, focusing on the present will become much easier.”

The ice queen let that sink in. She would contemplate those words.

“Goodbye now!” There was a strange tone in the wise woman’s voice in how she bid farewell.

Elsa joined Tanya outside the magical moving house, and watched as it seemed to fade farther away from them, until it magically vanished.

They could see the old woman and her cat at the door step. Through Baba Yaga’s shaky voice at a distance, Elsa made out, “Remember what I told you both!”

The trees were much more spread apart now that they were at the edge, and past them could make out rolling hills and mountains.

So, with love, focusing on the present will become much easier. Is that it? Baba Yaga’s advice echoed through Elsa’s head.

The queen of Arendelle looked over at the ashy brown haired girl, who was busy figuring out what direction to take, and suddenly understood. All the burdens of her childhood, coronation, powers, escape at sea, and duties as queen which overwhelmed her, suddenly evaporated as if they were never existed. None of those things mattered. All she could think of was the way the sun landed on the princess girl’s brown hair, making it glow. Or how her forehead creased a little when she was thinking or trying to figure things out. Elsa tried to think of many other details. She finally saw what was in front of her.

In order to start a new life, live in the present. In order to live in the present, love.

Love... Love?

Oh no.

In that very moment Elsa accepted something about herself, which she did not want to admit. It took the truth from the wise woman Baba Yaga, to give her the cold hard facts which stared at her right in the face.

She was in love.

And it scared her.