Into the Unknown (A Frozen Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty Two

ELSA GRIMACED AS pain shot through her shoulder, her foot roughly slamming the ground as it hit a hole. She resisted the urge to rub her sore arm. She had injured herself to protect her from hurting her mother, but the pain just reminded her of how she had attacked Mama. She deserved whatever pain she felt.

Looking up into the sky, vibrant colors of pink, orange, blue, and purple rolled into the atmosphere. Night had seemed to pass quickly. They had stopped for a few hours to rest and ate what little berries they found along the way, but Elsa was still tired and her stomach gnawed away at her insides. She was ready for this to all be over. She had never wanted to take on this adventure, but now, it was inevitable.

A strange smell hit her nostrils. The sea. A thick aroma of salt water overpowered her and she took deep breaths, trying to keep back the nausea that came with it. With little to nothing on her stomach, the smell was too much.

Emerging from a tree line, Elsa's eyes opened at the sight of the sea in front of her. Its waters raged rampant and thunder and lightning cracked in the distance.

"No."

Elsa flung her head to the right as Mama numbingly stepped forward, her eyes fixated on the sea. "It's gone," she said.   

Elsa furrowed her brow and turned back towards the ocean. "What is it, Mama? What's gone?"

"The land bridge," Mama explained. She dropped to her knees, still staring out into the sea. "The sea was so... calm. It held a land bridge from here to the river, but now..."

"It must've been destroyed by Aloni," Elsa stated, balling her hands into fists.    

"She's been the fifth spirit for too long. It's upsetting the balance of Ahtohallan."

Elsa extended a hand towards her mother and smiled. "Then let's go free her and return it to peace."

Mama grinned and accepted Elsa's hand, riding her pull to her feet. She looked around the shore. "We had a few boats we used to fish on the sea." She squinted her eyes. "I don't know if they'll still be functional after all these years, but it's worth a look."

Elsa pulled on Mama's hand. "We won't find them just standing here. Let's start searching." Mama pulled away as she went to the left, and Elsa started searching on the right. If there were any boats still here, she would assume they'd be close to the water. She squinted as her eyes traced the shoreline, looking for any sign of even one boat still remaining.

Maneuvering around a boulder, her heart fluttered with hope. Four rowboats sat undisturbed behind the rock. "Over here!" she shouted, hoping to alert her mother.

She raced to the first boat, but her heart sank when she found the bottom of the boat had been completely destroyed. If one boat looked this bad, who was to say they wouldn't all?

Mama ran up beside her. She sighed before patting Elsa's shoulder. "Don't give up yet. There's still three more." She hurried on to the second. Elsa turned her head towards her mother, hearing her laugh. "See!" Mama exclaimed. "This one's perfect."

Mama placed her hands on the side of the boat and raised a foot to hop inside, but as soon as she did, the siding of the boat gave way and crumbled. Mama barely caught herself before she tumbled into the deteriorating boat. She huffed as she wiped debris from her pants. "Alright then. We'll check the other two."

Elsa's shoulders slumped as she walked to the third boat. "Mama," she said, softly. "These boats have been here for years; corrupted by the salt in the air." She shook her head. "It's too dangerous. Even if this boat were to float, there's nothing keeping it from falling apart in the middle of the ocean."