Into the Unknown (A Frozen Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty

ELSA'S EYES SLOWLY opened and it was like she felt cold for the first time. She looked around, her eyes only slits, at the blurred world. She couldn't remember what had happened.

She shifted her elbows underneath her and pushed upwards. She shouted as she fell back down. Grimacing, her hand inched its way to her shoulder where a bolt of pain shot through. Something warm touched her skin. She pulled her fingers away and, with clouded eyes, saw her fingertips coated in red.

Her hand fell to her chest as she started shaking violently. She couldn't remember ever being cold enough to shiver. She didn't think it was possible. Her vision began to clear enough for her to notice that she was still in the forest. Still lying in the same spot she had been before she blacked out.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed. Along with the crack of lightning, Aloni's image, kneeling over Elsa, appeared. Elsa lurched upwards, scooting backwards on her elbows ignoring the pain. As the lightning vanished, so did Aloni.

Panting in relief, Elsa fell back to the ground. Now she remembered. Aloni had tried to control her and have her kill her mother. Mama! Forcing herself to roll over onto her stomach, she cried out as the pain wrecked her body. She glanced around, her vision a little less clear, as she searched for her mother. Finally, her eyes settled on a blob of colors at the base of a tree a few feet away. It had to be her.

Using what strength she could muster, she dug her nails into the dirt as she dragged her body towards Mama. She bit her bottom lip, trying to keep herself from crying out, but the pain was almost unbearable. She remembered injuring herself to keep from killing Mama. She just prayed that Aloni hadn't shown up to finish the job.

Elsa crawled her way to Mama and stopped inches away from her. "Mama," she shook her mother's shoulder. Mama didn't move. "Mama!" She shook her again, this time more roughly. Mama still didn't budge.

Elsa squinted her eyes as she glanced over her mother's body. She found that her face was bloody and beginning to bruise, but something more urgent caught her attention when she noticed a patch of blood pooling on the dry grass. She carefully rolled Mama from her side to her back. Peeling some bloodied hair from Mama's brow, Elsa found a nasty gash on her mother's forehead about an inch below her hairline.    

Elsa felt hot tears form on her bottom eyelids. She placed a shaking hand on Mama's shoulder and shook her again with all the strength she had left. "Mama!" she shouted.

She shook more violently and collapsed to the ground on her side, panting from how much strength she'd had to use. Her vision began to darken as her eyelids grew heavy.

"Elsa."

Her name sounded like a whisper in the wind as her eyes closed and unconsciousness overpowered her.

*****

BOLTING UPRIGHT, ELSA sucked in a deep breath and panted as she frantically gazed around.

"Elsa, hey! Calm down."

Elsa flung her head to the side to find Mama kneeling beside her, a gentle smile on her face. Elsa's heart pounded against her breasts as confusion swept over her. "What happened?"

Mama sat back on her heels. "Your wound is infected. Luckily for you, I think I was able to find enough herbs to help it on its healing path."

Elsa glanced down at her shoulder, her right arm no longer in its sleeve, to find a green paste where a gaping hole used to be. Looking at the wound reminded her of the pain that used to come with it and she closed her eyes, holding back a wince.

She looked back at her mother to find a slash on her forehead. It looked worse than before now that her vision was clear. Mama's face was swollen and covered in cuts and bruises. Elsa frowned. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Mama grinned. "Don't worry about me, Elsa." She shifted from her heels to her rear, revealing a blazing fire behind her. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Elsa looked up above the trees. The fog was still there, but it was darker. Night must have set. She lowered her head and stared at her hands. "I tried to keep Aloni out of my head to keep from hurting you." She returned her attention towards her mother. "But I fear that by doing so, I just left you vulnerable to her." Her voice lowered. "Maybe that's what she wanted all along."

"No, dear." Mama gripped Elsa's right hand and squeezed it, but didn't look at her. "You couldn't have known Aloni was going to control you or that she wanted me dead. It's not your fault." Mama glanced her way. "You were incredibly brave to do what you just did."

Elsa chuckled. "Or extremely stupid."

Mama laughed. "That too."

For the first time in a long time, she found herself connecting with her mother. Smiling at Mama's company. She couldn't remember the last time she and Mama had laughed together.

"I should've known there was a possibility she'd try to control me," Elsa began. "I think that's what happened to me with the soldiers. I think it was Aloni." A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed. "The... hatred that I felt..." She shook her head. "It wasn't my own." She watched as Mama's lips dipped into a frown. "I've been angry at you, at Papa, at Anna for not understanding why I had to keep my powers a secret, but... I was never full of hatred. Not like that."

Mama squeezed her hand even tighter. "Aloni's power comes from her anger," she explained. "The darkness that she has given into... She wouldn't be as powerful without her hatred."

"But what is she so angry at?" Elsa asked. "Is the darkness making her this angry or did she have it all along and that's why she gave in?"

Mama drew in a shaky breath. "She's angry at me." Elsa raised a brow as Mama shook her head, looking straight out into the dark of the night. "I said some awful things to her during my time as the fifth spirit. Towards the end, I gave into a little of the darkness, and Aloni paid for it. She had been there with me every step of the way and she got the blunt force of everything I had become." She heaved a sigh. "So, when Aloni pulled me away and convinced me to give up the power, becoming the next fifth spirit, a hint of that darkness still remained in me. I taunted Aloni for a long time even after being freed of the power, but she did nothing to me in return." She turned her gaze back to Elsa. "But I guess that can be said of any one. There's a hint of darkness in all of us that'll never truly fade."

Elsa lowered her head, Mama's words haunting her. A hint of darkness in all of us. Mama believed that she was meant to be the fifth spirit, and if she was... if that same darkness was inside her too... what would keep her from using her powers for evil like Aloni?

Sniffing back some tears, Elsa climbed to her feet. She winced as a tinge of pain shot through her arm, but it was short lived. "I think we should get moving." She gently shoved her arm back through its sleeve.

Mama raised her brow as she stood. "Get moving? Elsa, I think you need rest." She gestured towards Elsa's wound. "Your injury may be better, but it isn't completely healed. That paste is still cleaning the infection out."

"Great. Then it can do its job as we continue to Ahtohallan," Elsa argued.

Mama sighed but smiled. "You've always been so stubborn."

Elsa grinned. "Look who my mother is."

Mama chuckled as she tore the hem of her tunic. She found a thick branch and tied the torn material around it before sticking it in the fire. Once it ignited, she kicked up dirt, dousing the flames. Placing her free hand on her hip, she let out a long breath. "Follow me." She dropped her hand and stepped around Elsa. "There's a brook a few feet away where we can grab a quick drink before heading on."

Elsa licked her cracked lips. A cold drink of water was exactly what she needed right now.