The Rift

Chapter 10

              The inside of Elsa's tent erupted with a blast of ice. The fifth spirit gasped loudly and shot up in her bed, sweat running down her brow. Marie jumped awake. "What the- You okay?"

"Ahtohallan." Elsa's voice was urgent. "We need to go to Ahtohallan."

Marie looked over Elsa's shoulder. A couple hours had passed, and the two women were now riding The Nokk over the smooth surface of The Dark Sea. Glaciers riddled the water, causing Marie to stare in wonder. They were beautiful. Their reflection shone back at them, and Marie was suddenly reminded of how quiet Elsa was. The brunette casted a glance at her as they continued to ride, Elsa in the front. They had left suddenly, barely able to grab something to eat on their way out of the camp. "What's going on?" Marie asked.

Elsa squeezed the ice reins. "I might have remembered something important, but I can't be certain. Ahtohallan will have the answer."

Marie narrowed her eyes. "The answer to what?"

The Nokk neighed quietly in reaction to its riders' rising tension. Elsa stared straight ahead. "The real reason why I came to your world." A twisted pit swirled in Marie's gut. Something was not right. She could feel it. The Nokk slowed as they approached a giant glacier. It glowed with the same blue hue as Elsa's magic. But Marie did not have time to admire its beauty, for as soon as they came to the shore, the two women were greeted with the sight of a young girl standing on the icy terrain.

"Layla?" Marie leaped off the water spirit and sprinted towards her.

"Marie, wait!" Elsa cried. The brunette crashed through the image of the girl like fog.

"Who are you?" The voice was identical to Elsa's but sounded ethereal and distant. Marie gasped. Layla was nothing more than an illusion and she was not alone. A pure white figure of Elsa was approaching the girl. "Where did you come from?" the entity of Elsa asked.

Layla's figure ran into a crack of Ahtohallan's glacier, causing Elsa's figure to give chase. Marie froze. "Is this...a memory?" she asked.

Elsa's breath caught in her throat. "It's the night I crossed over, and when you came to Arendelle." They simultaneously followed the memory. The cold seeped into Marie from Ahtohallan's icy tunnels, but she pushed it down using the adrenaline that pumped through her veins.

"They're chasing me!" Layla's voice echoed.

"Who is?" The other Elsa grunted as the rift opened a few feet away from them. Although it was an illusion, gusts of wind still blew through the tunnels with great force. Layla stepped into the tear. "Wait!" The entity of Elsa dove after her, and the rift vanished as the memory ended.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Marie demanded, rounding in front of Elsa.

The royal's genuine confusion silenced Marie. "I didn't remember it happened until this morning," Elsa said quietly. Marie's gaze landed on something behind her, and Elsa followed at the sight of Marie's petrified expression. A dark figure stood at the end of the tunnel and stared. Marie took off. Elsa whipped around. "Wait! Don't go too far!" Her heart lurched within her small chest when Marie disappeared behind a turn. Elsa sprinted forward. "Marie, stop!" Her hand snatched the other woman's forearm. They were at the edge of an abyss, nothing but dark, empty space looming before them. Elsa held onto her arm and leaned down to catch her breath, her heart pounding. "You can't just run off in a place like this. You might not come back!"