"It's Queen Elsa!" Upon reaching the back gates of Arendelle's walls, the patrol knights quickly noticed their presence and relayed the information inside.
Quickly opening the gates, several knights rushed out, including doctors and nurses.
Although they have seen Elsa's capability of ice magic earlier, she is still their Queen, hence they must serve her despite these 'flaws'.
Meanwhile, Leo who was carrying Elsa on a princess carry was confused upon sensing the entire Arendelle and found the absence of two familiar life forces.
'Where's Iduna and Anna?'
***
*Horse footsteps!*
"Hold on, Anna. We're almost there." Caressing the face of the sleeping Anna, Iduna spoke with a determined face. For every step that the horse takes, the more anxious she becomes.
She can't help but express worry not only to Anna, but also to Agnarr and Elsa.
Out of the four of them, she's the only one who doesn't have any current problems, hence she was the one to bore all of the worries that her family is giving her.
"Anna, please hold on." Caressing her face for the last time, Iduna returned her hands on the horse's leash and tightened her grip.
"Hah!"
*Hurrying horse footsteps!*
***
"S-she took her horse and went away with Princess Anna!" After discovering the absence of her sister and mother, Elsa quickly grabbed Kai the Butler and raised her question regarding their disappearance.
"Why? What happened?" Intense worry gripped Elsa's heart, as she thought of the worst thing that might've happened to them that caused them to leave in a hurry.
"I-I am not sure, your highness but...." Kai then looked around before getting close to Elsa's ear and whispered.
"....I think the curse is back, your highness. Miss Iduna's destination might be the trolls." As the most trusted butler of the royal family, Kai is obviously one of the rare few who knows the secret of Elsa and what happened to them a few years back.
As soon as Kai finished his words, Elsa's face turned grim. She was already expecting such an answer but it turns out she wasn't prepared enough.
"I-I..." Elsa stuttered, not knowing what to say and do. Thankfully, someone was with her.
With a pat on her shoulder, Leo comforted her as he spoke.
"I'll go and find her. Stay here and become what you're supposed to be. I'll be back." Smiling at her, Elsa was about to retort and refuse when Leo quickly turned around and disappeared.
"Wait no Leo!" However it was too late as Leo was already gone.
"Your Highness, the citizens of Arendelle have been asking for a report from you! They want answers about what happened during the event! Not to mention our guests! Some have left already while most stayed and waited for your answer."
Elsa stayed still for a moment, trying to think of ways on what to do in the current situation.
"Tell them that I....will make a speech. The people of Arendelle have been in the dark for way too long. It's time to tell them the truth." After stopping in the middle of her sentence and taking a large breather, Elsa continued and finished.
Kai had a look of surprise on his before nodding in a serious manner. He knows that this speech that Elsa will make will change the entire reputation of Arendelle and perhaps, might even cause chaos throughout the entire world.
"I will do as you said, your highness. Please excuse me." Bowing, Kai then left, leaving Elsa alone in the clinic, where her father lays on the bed still.
"Dad...." At this moment, Elsa was still in the dark about how her father was still alive and breathing. The image of the impaled Agnarr is still vivid in her mind.
"I'm glad. So glad..." Not knowing, a tear slowly fell from her eyes and as it slid on her cheek, the wet tear slowly turned into ice before falling on the ground and broke.
Of course, this wasn't known by Elsa as she was busy weeping on her father.
***
*Splash!*
The running horse stepped on a mud which splashed all over, waking up Iduna from her trance as her mind was occupied by the things that occurred today.
Everything was so fast and quick, in one moment she was chatting happily with her family and before she knew it, her husband got impaled by her eldest daughter, then the said daughter ran away and now her youngest daughter is on her death bed as the curse once again surfaced.
"Where was the Daredevil? He was supposed to protect her at all times. Just when we needed him the most, he was gone, just like Leo...." Iduna muttered under her breath, confusion was clouding her thoughts earlier.
Finally, after a full hour of constant riding without taking rest, she finally arrived at the place where the trolls lived.
"Grand Pabbie! Please help me!" Without hesitation, Iduna carried Anna in a princess carry and jumped out of the horse, landing perfectly fine on the ground as she shouted.
*Rumble!*
It didn't take long before countless rocks started rolling towards her, surrounding Iduna and Anna.
*Bam!*
"It's Queen Iduna....Gasp! Princess Anna! What happened to her?" The first one to come out was a cheerful troll who was happy to see them first before gasping in surprise upon seeing the current state of Anna.
"The curse is back! I need Grand Pabbie!" Iduna cried out.
"I am here, dear. What's the problem?" Thankfully, it didn't take long as Grand Pabbie arrived at the same time as the rest of the trolls.
"It's Anna! Please help her! S-She passed out earlier, h-her hair has turned white and..."
"Calm down dear, take a deep breath and explain calmly." Pabbie's stoic face helped Iduna to calm as the woman finally took a deep inhale and exhale.
"The curse is back, Grand Pabbie. Anna was exposed by Elsa's ice powers." After finally taking a breather, Iduna explained properly.
"Give her." Pabbie nodded his head and replied, gesturing for Iduna to lower Anna so he could reach her.
Touching her forehead, Pabbie closed his eyes, sensing the familiar feeling inside her.
"The curse is indeed back."
"But can't you just erase her memories of Elsa's ice like what you did a few years back?" A concerned troll stepped forward as she asked.
Iduna also looked at Pabbie, waiting for his answer.
Much to everyone's dismay, Pabbie shook his head and denied.
"It is impossible. That was just a one time thing. She has already made so many memories, manipulating her memories would only hurt her instead."
"So there's no hope?" Iduna tried to hold back her tears from falling as she asked, already expecting the 'Yes' from Pabbie.
However, much to her surprise, Pabbie shook his head and responded.
"No. There's still another option."
"What is it!?" Iduna quickly asked without hesitation.
"A true love's kiss."
"..." Upon hearing his words, the entire place turned eerily quiet.
"H-How am I supposed to find her true lover? She wasn't exposed that much to any men besides her father, Kai and Le-....." Just as Iduna seemed to have given up, mentioning Leo's name suddenly made her halt.
As if on cue, Anna nudged for a bit as she opens her mouth and muttered softly.
"Leo...."
Every troll besides Pabbie leaned forward, smelling the scent of the most joyful emotion in life.
Love.
"She's dreaming..." Pabbie muttered and placed his hand on Anna's steaming hot forehead.
Closing his eyes, Pabbie seems to be probing inside her mind.
"Hold my hand, Iduna. You should see this." Raising his other free hand to Iduna, the aforementioned lady quickly took it.
*Gasp!*
Gasping in surprise, Iduna suddenly found herself standing alone with Pabbie in the streets of Arendelle.
Scanning her eyes around, Iduna found three figures aside from her and Pabbie.
It was Leo, Elsa and Anna.
However, Leo and Elsa were standing side by side with their hands intertwined, laughing and having fun as they walked.
Behind them was the lone figure of Anna who bore a sad expression as she raised her arm slowly, as if trying to reach them, yet she couldn't.
"Anna." Iduna muttered, immediately coming to understanding about Anna's current dilemma.
From the looks of it, Anna developed feelings for Leo however due to Elsa, she was unable to fully express her feelings for him, hence she decided to bury her feelings for herself.
"We must go back. Dreams shouldn't be disturbed like this lest she gets stuck here with us and never escape forever." Unfortunately before Iduna could reach out and comfort Anna as a mother should do, Pabbie interrupted her moment, speaking of the consequence that would happen.
Without waiting for Iduna's response, Pabbie grabbed her hand again and disappeared from the dream just in time as Anna turns around with a tear falling down on her cheeks.
***
*Gasp!*
As if waking up from a deep nap, Iduna opens her eyes just to find herself standing still, in the same position as before.
Breathing heavily, Iduna's eyes darted around and saw the worried expression of the trolls.
"Are you okay, Queen Iduna?" One of the trolls asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. But I might need to remind you and everyone that I am no longer a Queen."
"If it's not you anymore, then who is the Queen of Arendelle now?" The same troll asked.
"My sister." Just as Iduna was about to answer, someone else among the crowd answered.
Parting way, Iduna gasped in shock upon seeing Anna awake, rubbing her eyes as she yawns, however her hair still remains having a tinge of white.
"Mom? Is that you? Where are we?"
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 88 - The True Love's Kiss]
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