Chapter 4
It’s been four days since Jana arrived at the ice palace. Jovanna the yellow butterfly emerged from her chrysalis and has been demanding her favorite nectar, sourced from the elf kingdom, so this afternoon Jana is trudging back up the north mountain from the village Avaya delivered the large package to. Large because once one butterfly got a special order the other three demanded equal treatment.
While walking Jana thinks back to a conversation she had with her familiars yesterday.
*********
So cold! Jovanna cries
We’re in the North Mountain Viara informs her The very top
Why?
Jana adopted a student Arnar tells She’s very pretty
I didn’t adopt her. And we came up here for you to keep your new item of interest to add to your hoard.
But we’re still here. Raj points out
…I don’t want to leave yet Jana answers quietly, before walking over to where Elsa’s practicing her multitasking, creating a snow sculpture with one hand and aiming ice at the ten flame targets Jana set up beforehand. “Beautiful.” She praises, though looking at the lady instead of the creation.
*********
(Does she-
Yes
Definitely
Isn’t it obvious?
But she doesn’t-
No Three answers overlap in varying tones of disappointment, anticipation and excitement.
And she doesn’t-
Not
One
Clue
But she does-
OF COURSE
Well we’re pretty sure, but we can’t read her completely Raj clarifies
And if she doesn’t…
And we’re not going to tell them?
An aura of ‘What do you think’
Okay then. This will be fun Jovanna flies up to perch on the chandelier having a perfect view of the scene below)
********
Thinking back the lot of them had been very quiet since that conversation. Jana knew how to recognize the signs by now, they were plotting something but what? And did it have anything to do with her new beautiful friend? She was so lost in thought preparing a speech to dissuade her butterflies and plans for the various tricks they’ll try after her speech inevitably fails that she only noticed she was back when a snow giant reared up and roared “GO AWAY!”
Jana looked up, shocked from the interruption and sighed “Not again.”
********
Anna had left. Again. She had told her to leave. Made a snow titan to throw her out. Because she was cursed. She had cursed Arendelle to an eternal winter that she can’t - can’t, can’t, can’t - fix.
Elsa paces back and forth around the room, her surroundings becoming a deep red to match her growing panic “Get it together.” Her carefree mood from the past few days, from this morning is non-existent and her control is slipping as a result, more and more with each passing second. “Control it.” She orders herself. But her fear mounts with every step and frost spreads along the wall. “Don’t feel. Don’t feel.” She whispers desperately. The frost expands. “Don’t feel. Don’t. Feel.” Ice spikes grow out from the wall as Elsa stares in horror, completely unaware to her surroundings.
She doesn’t know how long it is until she comes back but Jana calling “Elsa! Hey. Lady.” A calming hand on her shoulder as she asks “You okay?”
Elsa shakes her head resisting the urge to turn around and cry in her arms. “I lost control. Again.” She doesn’t want to face the disappointment.
“That’s alright.” The hand on her shoulder has come down to rub Elsa’s arm comfortingly. “Let’s run through the list. One, are you alive. Nod for yes and I guess no movement for no.” Elsa smiles weakly and nods once.
“Brilliant. Two, is anyone dead. You know, except the snow titan outside that I may have melted again so… you probably need a new doorman.” A short quiet laugh emerges from Elsa’s mouth but she doesn’t move otherwise.
“I love your laugh.” Jana admits quietly before continuing “Three, is anyone - including yourself - hurt.”
That brings Elsa’s mood down again sharply. She gives a sharp nod “My sister, Anna.”
The soothing rub of her arm falters for a second before resuming “You have a sister?” Jana’s voice sounds a bit sad. “Where was she hurt?”
“Ice. In- In her heart.” Elsa let out a hushed sob feeling a tear trickling down her face. Then she’s being turned around and drawn into a tender warmth.
“It’s okay. It’s just ice. Ice can melt.” Jana whispers near her ear.
Elsa buries her face in Jana’s neck, crying freely now. “H- How?”
“A frozen heart. So you need warmth, emotional warmth.” Jana chuckles “The most cliché part of a fairytale. True love.”
“She’ll be okay?” Elsa feels Jana’s arms tighten around her.
“You love her. She’ll be okay.” She promises. “Anything else?”
“Eternal winter.” The other piece of information Anna brought that made Elsa feel like she was drowning.
“What!” Elsa looks up sharply at the exclamation. “By dark lady you’re powerful.” She takes in Elsa’s expression “Sorry, wrong moment to marvel I suppose. But if you brought about ‘eternal winter’ you can always break it. For every curse there is a counter. For every jinx a cure. You just have to find it.”
“And what would be the counter for this?”
“Hmm.” Jana’s hand rubs a circle on Elsa’s back as she thinks “The best way would be for you to break it, you have the magic but maybe not the mindset yet. But we’ll work on that, building your confidence and reversing the emotions you were feeling when you set off this ‘eternal winter.” We have some time, it hasn’t spread to the other side of this mountain yet. And it would be best for us to return to where it all began so-“
“We have to go back to Arendelle?” Elsa can feel her fragile stability cracking at the notion “Is there any other way?”
“Umm- Yeah. But it might have the unfortunate side effect of burning the place to the ground.”
“Or nothing? It could work?”
Jana nods slowly. “What is it?”
“I…told you I spent some time as a bird.” Elsa nods encouraging her to continue. “It was a firebird. A phoenix.”
Searching her memory Elsa frowns “They’re immortal. Are you-?”
“No, no, not immortal. When a phoenix rejuvenates it leaves behind a flame. This flame is its life force meaning if the flame is ever put out the phoenix will truly die.”
“So to save Arendelle we have to use this flame, wouldn’t it kill the phoenix?” Elsa’s not sure she can do that, not even for Arendelle.
“No because you can use my flame.”