November 15

Anna raised her hands to the fire, allowing her fingers to take in all the precious warmth they could. The storm that had begun days ago had never truly stopped, and Anna and Eugene had experienced no respite from the freezing cold as they attempted to find their way back into Arendelle. Although there were mountain passes that would lead them back across the border, the constant snow was severely impeding their search.

Her powers had proved a lifesaver, giving her the strength to light fires and allowing her to withstand the elements to a degree. Yet they could not sustain her forever. The trolls' provisions had kept them alive so far, but they would run out within days. Anna didn't think she would be able to hunt successfully in this weather.

The Knight's mind briefly turned towards the fate of the rock creatures. How many of them had survived the assault? Anna had seen several of them struck down, but many had also managed to make their way to the top of the mountain. Were they in the same situation as Anna and Eugene, scattered throughout the valley and blundering through the blizzard? Or would their unique biology shield them from the cold?

"Do you think she's doing this?" Eugene questioned from across their now crackling fire.

Anna frowned. She couldn't deny that the same thought had emerged in her own mind. This storm and its biting cold had persisted for far longer than was natural. The preparations for the goddess's ritual may have kept her contained within the Palace, but that didn't mean that she could not exert her power beyond its borders. Anna had seen first hand that Elsa could create storms from long distances. Could the goddess do the same even with her power limited?

"I don't know," she sighed. The Knight couldn't help but think back to a time when Elsa's powers were an incredible source of comfort. The winter had been on her side back then, keeping Anna safe and shielding her from the worst of its wrath. Now it seemed to actively want her destruction.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the Prince's heavy words. "It doesn't matter," he intoned. "We'll make it back eventually. I'm not going to let their sacrifices come to nothing, and we've survived much worse than this."

Anna wasn't so sure.

\

November 16

Evangeline had lurked at the edge of consciousness for days. The spymaster had been vaguely aware of being loaded into a carriage and transported over an untold number of miles, but pain and exhaustion overcame nearly all of her attempts to rise from her slumber. Only once had she briefly risen, just long enough to hear that Anna's pathetic Savi ally had been the only enemy casualty throughout the entire battle.

Then, suddenly, they were gone. Evangeline opened her eyes as a sharp torrent of cold flowed into her limbs, healing her wounds and filling her body with renewed energy. Standing above her was the Goddess, wearing a look of fierce displeasure as she allowed the magic to dissipate.

"Six mages, Evangeline. I want you to tell me how six of the strongest members of the Faithful born in the last century were struck down by a rabble of stone dwarfs and two Ungifted warriors who had no idea they were coming. All under your leadership," Elsa demanded.

Six? "That many...who, Your Worship?"

Elsa frowned. "Alecto, Mercury, Aeron, Solas, Roman, and...Kayla. All dead. Andrew was kind enough to inform me of the death toll before I dismissed him from my presence. I wanted to hear this directly from you, Evangeline. Did you. Kill. Anna?"

For once, the spymaster was speechless. Kayla was dead? Evangeline had spent hundreds of hours training the girl, teaching her to harness the powers at her disposal. In time, she could have become one of the most deadly human mages in recorded history. A bitter taste entered her mouth as she processed the news. All of that potential...wasted.

Yet the thought was quickly overshadowed by fear of the Goddess's disappointment.

"No, Your Worship. Anna was able to flee to the top of the mountain. She could be anywhere in the valley by now. The storm you sent has made any attempt of pursuit impractical. She may perish in the blizzard, but I can't confirm it." Blinking back the tears in her eyes, the spymaster pressed her forehead into the floor beside the Goddess's feet. "I have failed you, my liege. I welcome any punishment you deem fit."

The Goddess frowned. "I am in no position to incapacitate my servants, thanks to your failures."

"There are still two dozen capable mages defending the Palace, Your Worship, not to mention your Ungifted army," Evangeline stated, keeping her head pressed to the ground. "Any one mage, including myself, is expendable. Barely a fortnight remains until your ascension, and Anna still has not caught on to..."

A heavy sigh erupted from the Goddess. "I refuse to take chances until my power has returned. In my current state, maintaining a winter storm at such a distance is incredibly difficult. There is every chance that Anna will survive and return to Arendelle. And therein lies your opportunity for redemption."

At that, the spymaster raised her head. "Redemption, Your Worship?"

"Your mages did not attempt to pursue the girl into the blizzard. Understandable; finding Anna in such conditions would have been impossible, and the need to report back was paramount. But now, I want you to guard against her return. Travel to any towns she may pass through near the border, order any soldiers present to be on high alert, and track her down. Or lure her out. I don't care how you do it, as long as you do not reveal to her the truth," she commanded, a thin smile spreading to her lips. "Defeating her without the trolls' interference should not prove difficult, and I imagine you will enjoy taking vengeance."

Evangeline bit her lip. "Your Worship, the trolls were not the only reason our attack failed. I..." she looked to her Goddess, dreading the implications of her words. "Anna has regained her powers, Your Worship. She is as deadly as ever."

Silence. Elsa's face went stark white as she processed the news. A torrent of emotions passed through her eyes as the Goddess's supreme confidence and poise briefly cracked. There was no doubt that she was processing the same implications that had occurred to Evangeline.

Has she suspected this all along? the spymaster couldn't help but wonder. Is this why the Goddess has been so intent on Anna's death? Perhaps we were wrong about the ritual after all.

"Find her and kill her," Elsa ordered. "You have styled yourself as the most powerful mortal mage on earth, and now you will live up to your boasts. Return to this Castle before the ritual without the heads of Anna and her two companions, and you will wish that death had taken you."

Evangeline nodded quickly. The Goddess was being more than generous, she knew, in giving her the chance to atone for her mistakes. Whatever the details of the ritual, the woman in front of her was the most powerful and decisive entity that had ever walked the earth. Evangeline would serve her with ever fiber of her being.

"Yes, Your Worship. Thank you," the spymaster answered, finally lifting her head. "However...that task has already been partially fulfilled. One of my agents found the boy's body on the mountainside following Anna's escape. It was a poor trade for all of our losses, I am well aware. Still, it could serve to demoralize Anna even further."

Elsa's eyes widened. "The boy? Prince Eugene is dead?" I...are you certain?" she demanded, her voice laced with an emotion Evangeline couldn't quite identify.

The spymaster shook her head, once again averting her gaze. "Forgive me, Your Worship. By all accounts, the Prince still lives. I was referring to Anna's little ice-harvester, the man known as Kristoff. As I stated, it was poor compensation for the death of so many mages."

For a moment, the Goddess was silent. "Yes, I...good," she breathed. "Now, leave me. Return with confirmation of Anna's death, and you shall be rewarded."

\

Even as Evangeline left her study, the Goddess was battling a pounding headache.

Perhaps it was mere coincidence. Much of Elsa's power was being diverted to the ritual, and sending a winter storm to the valley had taken up most of her remaining strength. Since her reincarnation, the Goddess had never stretched her abilities to such an extent.

But the Goddess could not longer deny that her worst suspicions were also a possibility. A remnant perhaps remained, expressing its grief and frustration whenever one of its loved ones suffered. If so, it had proved itself a noticeable nuisance after she had defeated Anna and orchestrated Gerda's death.

Yet, in the end, that was all it was. A nuisance. Beyond a flickering of pain in her forehead, it had not hampered her in any way. And once the ritual was completed, the Goddess's powers would transcend the physical realm. Any remnant, if it even existed, would be instantly purged by her full abilities.

Hopefully, Evangeline would succeed. The consorts of Gods and Goddesses had formidable powers; Elsa would never forget the sight of the King's human Queen on the field of battle, decimating any human enemies that had stood in her way. However, even she, the cause of the Divine War itself and the most powerful consort alive, had been no match for any of the actual deities even after her ascension.

And Anna, of course, was linked only to a small remnant of godly power. Thus, she possessed a small fraction of the abilities that the consorts had once held. Whether a single powerful human mage would be able to overcome her was difficult to say.

Evangeline would be a useful lieutenant if she survived. But if not...all were expendable. If the spymaster managed to keep Anna away from the Palace for the sufficient amount of time, that was all Elsa really needed.

Of course, it was also very possible that Anna would perish in the storm that the Goddess was maintaining in the valley. If that was the case, then she had already won.

For the moment, she needed to shut her eyes and do her best to avoid a pounding migraine.

\

They weren't going to make it.

Anna looked up from her sleeping bag. Two yards away, an exhausted Eugene was passed out in his own bedrolls. For the moment, the two travelers were warm enough. But this storm had shown no signs of letting up, and neither of them had any idea on how to make it back into Arendelle.

Tomorrow, they would use up the last of their food rations. And if this blizzard continued, Anna would have no chance to hunt and scavenge for more. Gradually, the two of them would grow weaker and weaker, until the snow rose to cover their shivering bodies.

She had little doubt now that this storm was the creation of the Goddess herself. Nothing else could explain its ability to linger on for days on end without sapping in strength. It was galling to think that after all they'd weathered and sacrificed, Anna and Eugene would be beaten down by nothing more than tiny white flakes of snow and the biting cold.

No. I can't give up. We still have enough strength to travel. All we have to do is find our way out of this godforsaken valley. Even though we can only see a few feet in front of us.

The Knight collapsed back onto the ground in frustration. They had to find a way. Anna had not come this far, defeated a horde of hostile mages, and watched her friends die before her eyes only to perish quietly in the grips of a snowstorm.

Her mind went back to the last time she had faced such an opponent. Anna would never forget the day she had nearly frozen to death, wounded and exhausted following a vicious duel with Drell's most powerful follower. None of the Castle's doctors had had any idea how she could have recovered from such severe hypothermia. The only thing that had been clear is that, somehow, Elsa had saved her.

But she can't save me now.

Sighing, Anna reluctantly closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overcome her. Tomorrow morning, she and the Prince would have to come up with a way to find an exit out of this valley. For now, the only thing she could do was recover as much energy as sleep could provide her...

\

Pain!

All Anna knew was blinding white agony erupting in her head. She opened her eyes, desperately trying to find the source of the attack even as the pain consumed most of her thoughts. And there was nothing.

Eugene was still sleeping soundly. The illumination provided by their crackling fire revealed no nearby wild animals or enemy mages. Running her hands over her head, Anna was shocked to find no wound of any kind.

The Knight slumped forward in her sleeping bag, shutting her eyes once again as agony continued to wash over her. Anna was no stranger to headaches, but this was something else entirely.

She gritted her teeth, riding out the waves of pain. Finally, after several seconds, the torment began to subside. What had been a sharp flare of agony slowly gave way to a constant dull ache. Breathing heavily, Anna took a moment to compose her thoughts.

What I wouldn't give for a dose of Elsa's healing-

No sooner had she had the thought then her pain flared up once again, nearly as strong as before. Anna clenched her fists tightly, waiting for the agony to dim for a second time. Now she really wanted a sample of Elsa's-

The agony arose again, just as unbearable as before. Her hands now shaking slightly, only one thought seeped into Anna's head. This is crazy. Every time the pain starts to fade, until I think of Els- ah! And again, the pain returned.

Anna laid back down in her sleeping bag, casting her mind about wildly in an attempt to come up with an explanation. Did this...whatever it was...have something to do with her connection to Elsa? Ow!

"No, that's insane," she whispered to herself. "Yeah, I'm her consort, but that only grants me my magic. It doesn't give us a mental connection. Or...does it?" Anna's mind flashed back to the various visions she'd experienced in her sleep, each one consisting of events that occurred thousands of years before she was born. Somehow her connection with...their connection...had enabled Anna to witness those events in her mind.

Okay, so we share some kind of mental connection. Does that mean we could, like, talk in our minds or something? No way. If we couldn't do it before, when we lived in the same Castle and she wasn't possessed, why could we do it now?

The answer, for once, came to her easily. Because we didn't know about our connection. Drell told me the truth only days ago. If the real Elsa- damn it! -is still conscious within her body, she probably learned the truth when the Goddess talked about it or something.

"So, is this some kind of attack from the Goddess?" Anna whispered into the air. "...No. I'm not her consort. And if she could do this, it would have happened long ago. That means..." Anna's heart filled with joy. "This must be from E-" Ow! I'm such a moron.

Was the real Queen trying to take advantage of their connection? Yes! Maybe...maybe this is her way of contacting me. She must be fighting! It was a wild, insane hope, but Anna furiously seized upon it. She laid back down on the ground, forcing her mind to focus on the pain.

Elsa (ow!) I'm here. Listen to me, you have to get the Goddess to stop this storm somehow. If this keeps up, Eugene and I are going to die. I love you know matter what, but you have to keep fighting! Please-

With every mental word, the pain in Anna's head expanded. The Knight was forced to stop thinking as the agony became unbearable. She clutched her eyes tightly, wondering if this had been a terrible idea after all.

The world went black.

\

She was standing in an empty room, surrounded on all sides by a thick red mist. The only things of substance were her own body and the clothes that adorned it, which Anna noted to be the outfit she'd worn during her time in the Castle.

"Hello?" she called out into the mist. "Elsa? Anyone?" Anna walked forward, searching for a clue of where she was. But there was nothing. The red mist continued to surround her, almost completely limiting her vision to a few feet in front of her. Not that there appeared to be anything to actually see.

"An..na..."

A soft voice echoed from within the mist, though Anna had no idea which direction it had come from. It was a feminine voice, perhaps vaguely similar to Elsa's, but distorted almost beyond recognition. "She...doesn't know we're here", it droned on. "But her un...conscious influence poisons o...our connect..."

"Elsa!" she shouted. There was no response, and the voice did not arise again. Anna's emotions were utterly torn. On the one hand, it seemed that Elsa was trying to contact her, which meant that her fiancé still existed and was still fighting! But it was also apparent that whatever connection they had was being weakened by the presence of the Goddess.

Now another voice echoed out of the unknown, this one clear and all too familiar.

"Everything I told you has come to pass," it gloated. 'Don't you think it's time to stop fighting? It's hopeless. From the moment you first interfered, it has always been hopeless. What chance do you have to stop what was ordained thousands of years before your birth? Close your eyes and die in the snow, and you may meet your mortal Queen in the Realm Beyond."

Anna would never forget the graceful yet condescending tone of the voice that now assailed her. "Jocasta!?" Anna shouted. "What-how can you be here? You're dead; I saw the body myself."

"Didn't I tell you I would always be with you?" Jocasta laughed mirthlessly. "I showed you the horrors that this world was capable of, the brutality that the Ungifted truly deserve; did you think that such a simple thing as death would keep me away forever?"

Anna shook her head, regaining some confidence. "No. This isn't you, not really. You're just a figment of my imagination. The magical link between Elsa and me is being poisoned by the presence of the Goddess. You're the poison."

The form of a woman now stood before her in the mist. Jocasta looked exactly as she had appeared the day Anna had first encountered her in the cells of King David's tower prison.

"Maybe so," Jocasta agreed easily. "But does that make my words less true? No one can deny that you have had your share of lucky victories, Anna, but they have done nothing but delay the end. You're no hero, no matter what your friends tell you. You'll always be nothing more than a silly peasant girl who blundered her way into a world that she could never truly belong to."

Flashes of memories now invaded Anna's mind. First came her time at the orphanage, living amongst those who shunned her. 'Clueless, clumsy Anna,' one said. 'Go run to your little waterfall and give us a break from your rambling,' another put in, grabbing one of her pigtails and punctuating his statement with a hard yank. Tears threatened to invade her eyes in response to the repressed memory. Even amongst the lowest of society, she had been the least of those around her.

"The only family brave enough to adopt you gave you back within a week,"Jocasta continued. "And when the orphanage finally kicked you out, not a single employer in Arendelle was foolish enough to hire you. Too careless. Too ignorant. Too awkward. And so you stole from better citizens to scavenge out a pathetic existence, until-"

"Until I saved Elsa!" Anna shot back. "Your little plan was stopped because a silly peasant girl was brave enough to risk her life for a virtual stranger. I delayed the Faithful's agenda for an entire year with nothing but a small knife!"

The voice chuckled. "Brave? You think you were brave? What does it mean to risk your life when one has nothing to live for? You would have welcomed death that day. Elsa saved you in the end, don't you remember? And then you were the recipient of her pity. You were whisked off to the Castle, dressed up like a nobless, and given enough food so that your ribs would stop showing. But nothing could hide what you really were."

Anna couldn't help but agree. The nobles had hated her from the very beginning, and the soldiers hadn't been much better. Even many of the servants had resented her for the life of luxury she'd received, despite never having worked an honest day in her life. Anna had occassionally felt guilty for accepting so much from Elsa, but she'd allowed her fascination with luxury and the Queen's gentle words to assuage her misgivings.

"What made you think you deserved anything of the sort? Yes, you went into battle as was your duty, but any of the Queen's soldiers would have done the same in your place. Elsa was smitten with you, that was all. You did nothing to improve yourself beyond training with a sword, something you did merely for your own amusement. When she tried to adjust you to your new life, you actually resented her for it."

Anna recalled that clearly as well. Her face burned with shame as she remembered yelling at Elsa for insisting that she educate herself, only to be shot down when she couldn't even name the first King of Arendelle. As a matter of fact, she still didn't know who he was. Her mind drifted to her disastrous sessions with Gerda, and the look of quiet disappointment that constantly adorned the older woman's face as Anna failed again and again to answer the simplest of questions.

"You, a lady of Arendelle? A Queen? Don't make me laugh," Jocasta taunted. "You were the dressed up doll of the Queen, nothing more. No titles or honors could ever make you worthy of a place in that Castle."

"I was worthy-!"

"Because Elsa decided you were? I thought you didn't agree with the mindset of the Faithful, where the most powerful being gets to decide what is right and wrong. Anna, you couldn't have even found a place among the servants if the Queen didn't take a shine to you. Wouldn't you have applied there, after your time in the orphanage, if you thought there was the slightest chance that you would have been accepted?"

Anna would have. The thought had even crossed her mind at one point. But if she hadn't been able to find work at a tavern, there was no way in hell she would have been accepted at the Palace. Even a kitchen maid needed a modicum of skill.

"And now you think you're a hero?" Jocasta smiled. "Anyone could be as powerful as you if they'd happened to win Elsa's affections. You're a foolish, rambling, clumsy little peasant who couldn't even survive in the real world without Elsa or Rapunzel's protection. You couldn't even stop us from facilitating Elsa's possession. It was child's play, really. The Faithful spent months trying to kill you, and Elsa's magic kept you alive. But all they had to do the day of the reincarnation was lie about where the Queen was and you flounced off in the wrong direction. Accept it; the only thing of worth you have is your power as Elsa's consort. And that will be far from enough to stop her ritual."

The Knight said nothing. Part of her did consider that day her greatest failure. If she had simply seen Kayla's lie for what it was and pressed on, Anna might have had a chance to save Elsa. But now, Eugene's words came back to her. Elsa had been fooled too.

"Cease fighting against the inevitable. Die peacefully, and this can all be over."

Anna knew Jocasta had a point. She probably wasn't up to the task, and the odds were definitely not in her favor. Ever since her arrival at the Castle, the Knight had questioned her worthiness to even set foot in those halls. That sense of unease had only increased when her memories had returned. How could she be expected to defeat the most powerful being who had ever lived when she couldn't even eke out a living as a common citizen?

"You're so kind and brave that you were willing to put everything on the line for the smallest of chances to save a woman you barely knew. That right there is something that makes a person special, and that's why Elsa fell for you," Rapunzel assured her.

Anna looked into Jocasta's eyes, remembering the pleasure that had blazed within them as they had beheld the Knight's torture. Anna remembered the suffering she had endured rather than give up information. And she remembered why her lips had remained silent: not out of any sense of incorporeal duty, but out of the simple desire to protect her loved ones and the people that they ruled over.

"You're right, Jocasta," Anna said slowly. "I'll always be a silly peasant girl. If I ever get back there, I'll slide down the bannisters in the Castle and ramble whenever I'm in the same room as a noble. I don't think I'll ever manage to memorize the names of the first six kings of Arendelle, and I'll never be smart enough to really understand why silver is taxed when it enters the country but gold isn't."

Jocasta's smirk grew.

Anna stepped forward. "And you know what, that isn't a bad thing. Yeah, I'm not capable of surviving on my own. I don't have the skill or the smarts to live on my own, and I needed Elsa to save me. But who gets to say that that's what determines my worth? You? I don't think so."

"Then what does?" Jocasta demanded, her smile gone. "The power Elsa gave you?"

The Knight shook her head. "Nope. You know, I've always wondered what it was that made people like Elsa and Rapunzel think so highly of me. You're right; I certainly wasn't the only person willing to risk my life for theirs. But I do have one thing most people don't, and I think I can finally put it to words."

"Do tell."

"I never wanted to die. But when your agent gave me the chance to turn away and leave Elsa in his hands, I stayed behind. When the Queen forbade me from seeking out the trolls, I went anyway. I was the only person who thought that Elsa should use her powers to stop a war between Albion and Lucrania, even though it could tarnish Arendelle's reputation for decades. When I lost my memories, I gave away all the money that Kristoff left me to a little girl, even though I was at my absolute worst," Anna continued. "I suffered a lot for most of those things, and I don't regret any of them. I am a hero, Jocasta, because I always try to do the right thing. And I never give up."

Loud, genuine laughter erupted from Jocasta. "Seriously? Still reading children's books, I see. Morality isn't what determines someone's worth, Anna. And it won't protect you from the Goddess's magic."

"No. But it will give me the courage to fight against it. And I say it is what determines someone's worth. Or at least, a big part of it. All the people I admire most seem to think so. They've been telling me that's why I'm worthy of Elsa for years. I'm finally going to listen," Anna said firmly. "Trying to do the right thing doesn't make me smarter or stronger or more likely to make a living than anyone else. But it makes sure that I'll fight the battles that really count."

The figment in front of her smiled thinly. "And you think that's enough to rule a country?"

Anna shook her head. "Of course not. I'll be at Elsa's side, nothing more. I'm not going to tell her how to conduct policy or deal with her nobles. I'm not going to discuss military stratagems. But I will be there to offer her all of the comfort and support she needs. And if I ever think that she's losing sight of the most important thing, I'll remind her that all the success in the world means nothing if it doesn't help others. That's what a good consort does."

Jocasta sneered. "You're nothing. Your friends are nothing. You're all going to die at the hands of the Goddess, and doing the right thing isn't going to magically ensure that you stop her."

"Definitely not. But it ensures that I am going to sure as hell try," the Knight replied. "I am Anna, daughter of no one, silly peasant girl extraordinaire, and the rightful Queen Consort of Arendelle. And I am sick of you."

Even as she said the words, the image of Jocasta calmly shimmered out of existence.

A cold wind erupted behind her. "Anna…"

The Knight whipped around so fast it was a miracle her head remained attached to her shoulders. Standing several feet behind her was a woman whose appearance had never faded from Anna's memory. The platinum blond hair adorned into a French braid and a dress of blue ice were her most distinctive features, but it was the two light blue eyes that truly drew the Knight's gaze.

"Elsa!" She vaulted forward, arms outstretched in preparation for the tightest, warmest embrace she could possibly manage. Anna closed her tear-filled eyes, reaching out to embrace her lover and felt...nothing.

Again, Anna whipped around. Elsa was still standing before her, with tears in her eyes to match Anna's own. But a closer look revealed that she wasn't entirely there. The Queen's form was undeniably somewhat translucent, and Anna quickly understood that there could be no physical contact between them.

The Knight couldn't help but sink to her knees, entirely overcome with emotion. "Elsa! Gods, I've missed you! I…I can't imagine how terrible it's been for you!" She paused ever so briefly, raising her eyes so they could again meet Elsa's own. "None of this is your fault! None of it! I don't blame you for any of it. Even when I lost my memories, deep down I never stopped loving you. And I never will. Now…do you know where we are? How did we get here? This isn't the Realm Beyond, is it?"

Elsa's eyes were still tinged with sadness. But Anna's heart leapt with fond recognition as the Queen reflexively raised a hand to her mouth, as if to stifle a light giggle. The fingers lowered to reveal a small smile on Elsa's lips.

You haven't changed at all, it seemed to say.

Anna frowned. "Elsa, you…can't talk, can you? Even with whatever happened with Jocasta, or that illusion, or whatever it was, our connection is still weak, isn't it?"

Her smile now gone, Elsa nodded.

"That's fine!" Anna declared. "You have no idea how good it feels to see you, to be able to tell you how much I've missed you. We both made mistakes, and were fooled by people we trusted. But the only people to blame for this are them, Elsa! I'm still fighting out here, and you're still fighting in there, and that's what matters."

Though her face was clearly maligned with doubt, the Queen again lowered her head in acknowledgement.

"Keep fighting, Elsa! I know you're fighting against incredibly powerful magic, but you're strong too! Somehow, you have to get the goddess to break off this storm, or Eugene and I are going to die," Anna said firmly.

Elsa's eyes were unreadable.

\

November 17

The Goddess sighed. For too long now, her powers had been stretched to the breaking point. Keeping the storm up while preparing the ritual had depleted her available reserves to dangerously low levels.

If an attack came, she needed as much strength as possible to fight against it. The Goddess's intuition now warned her that Anna may well have already made it out of the valley. If she turned up at the Palace gates, Elsa wanted as much power as possible to be brought to bear.

At the end of the day, she was still holding all of the cards.

\

"Anna!"

She awoke to the Prince of Corona rapidly shaking her by the shoulders. "Anna, the storm's gone. Let's pack up our gear and get the hell out of here while we have the chance!"

Anna nodded groggily. Had it all been a dream? Her memory of the vision was dim, and there was nothing in the way of physical evidence to prove that it was more than a hallucination.

But as her eyes lifted towards the now clear sky, she allowed herself to hope.

\

November 18

Evangeline smirked with relish as her final teleport brought her within the walls of Elverum. While not quite expansive enough to be a city, the town was far larger than the typical farming village.

It would suit her purposes perfectly. Even if Anna made it out of the valley, Evangeline would not have to spend the slightest amount of effort looking for her. Once she heard the news, the former Knight would come straight to Evangeline of her own accord.

The spymaster's eyes fell upon the nearby schoolhouse, and her smirk grew.

\

Not Anna…

Responses:

Frost108: You'll find out soon enough

UnSweetForest: Not quite sure what you're saying, but hang in there!

CoolNicNac7112: I hope so!

DimensionalLover: Thanks! I don't enjoy writing it as much as fluff scenes, but it's fulfilling nonetheless.

YotaGuy: I would never abandon this story. I've put far too much work into it!

ASnowQueen: It's deliberately ambiguous for the moment.

Thorneux: Thank you!

PenguinVuelve: The Goddess; she certainly doesn't want to kill Elsa.

Guest 1: Thanks! I know the darker parts of this story aren't for everyone, but it's not as if I didn't give out warnings! Isn't there enough light fluffy Elsanna out there for one darker story to exist?

Crazykrew616: I warned everyone! The fluffy parts were intended to give the darker parts more impact, and vice-versa.

ClaireCooper: Oh, I'm sure.

ThunderJovi: What's your idea? I'm genuinely curious!

: I'm not sure if I've reached that level yet.

Andilite: Wow, you're cold!

Guest 2: Thanks a lot!

Arekanderu: Yes. Unfortunately, he didn't live to see it.

TheChronicle: Just to clarify one of the questions you had earlier that could imply some spoilers. I have no problem with nit-picking at all, as it helps me keep this story internally consistent.

An interactive guide definitely seems interesting! As for the throwing knives, Anna used them up in the early part of the fight. Evangeline was probably one of the 'bodies' they noticed, mistaking her charred clothes and unconscious form for a burned corpse. Hey, they were in a hurry.

Kristoff's death was foreshadowed twice, both times subtly but noticeably. The first was when he was captured by Drell's group; the narrative notes how he couldn't imagine how much agony he would be in if a blade penetrated his body. The second was when Kale told him that he would never understand sacrifice. Again, somewhat subtle, but probably noticeable on a repeat reading.

Guest 3: …Yes.

Coincidencless: Anna has a lot of things he doesn't. An awesome sword. Incredible magical consort powers. And…plot armor.

ObsessiveImaginings: I think it's a little late to be introducing new major characters.

Amateraszu: Anna will never betray Elsa. However, if it turns out that she can't free Elsa from the Goddess, would it really be betrayal to kill the Goddess and let her spirit pass on?

Gwyndoline: Thanks! The Goddess wasn't in a good mood, but she's not stupid like some other villains. She doesn't kill her servants if they can still be useful.

BreeBear98: And I love writing them!

Spooths: Yeah, but responding to comments in PMs would take me a lot more time.

VelascoAnna: Thanks!

Guest 4/5: She refers to herself as Elsa now. Originally she didn't have a name.

BluhKiel: I hope your heart is okay.

PascalDragon: Wasn't that enough death for you?

Guest 6: A little too busy at the moment.

Theoriginal3: No spoilers.

Guest 7: Come on, it was one month.