Frozen 3

Chapter 47

Anna

Four o'clock in the morning. I couldn't get to sleep. No matter how many ways I turned, no position suited me. Exhausted by all my useless attempts, I ended up sitting up on the bed. I was sweating. The sweat from my forehead stuck my hair to my skin. The heat had been choking me for days. I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and went to open the window wide. Although no air entered the room, I remained motionless for a few moments, seeking to refresh myself by all means. A slight sigh behind me made me turn my head. Elsa slept peacefully. I approached her and sat down on the mattress. My sister was lying on her side. Her face, leaning on her hands, looked serene and relaxed. Her mouth slightly ajar let out her slow, silent breath. I smiled as I watched. I had missed her so much. I could not resist and begged her to spend the night with her, as before.

Looking at her, I thought about what she had told me the day before. She had trusted me enough to tell me her secret, which must have weighed heavily on her heart. I was so happy for my sister. It was the first time that I saw her in this state and so fulfilled. Yet her announcement had destabilized me. It took me a few seconds to realize what she told me. And during these short moments, I could see her look change and suddenly sink into a painful sadness. Nevertheless, I should have expected it and noticed that Elsa could only be happy in this way. After all, she had never loved a man. Most seemed attracted to my sister and then, when they discovered her powers, fled immediately. Others approached it only in view of a potential king status. Of course, she kept pushing them away and gave them no hope. I had long considered this coldness on her part as a lack of desire to engage in a relationship that would subsequently deprive her – if it became serious – of imposing herself and maintaining her status as an independent queen. Once married, she would no longer have the slightest weight in royal decisions since this was reserved for the king. Elsa knew it. And yet, this was not what had prevailed in his refusal to commit. It must have been something stronger than her, you in the depths of her being, who had prevented it. Honeymaren was the only person who managed to get my sister out of her confinement, she who had never really opened up to the outside world.

Elsa's lips showed an unconscious smile. She was dreaming, no doubt. I stood there watching her tirelessly. Suddenly, my stomach gurgled and broke the silence. I was hungry when I had eaten enough the night before. I got up and was careful not to wake my sister and left the room.

***

The kitchen was empty, all the servants had left it long ago. I sneaked up to the stoves, guiding myself through the faint light emitted by the reflections of the moon, refusing to attract the attention of a possible curious by illuminating more. I opened the cupboards in which the food was stored. There was almost nothing. Most of it had to be thrown away. It became more and more common now. All that was left was the leftovers from the dinner the night before: a portion of salmon and a few turnips. When I took the dish in which everything had been gathered, I almost released it immediately as the smell was unbearable. I was grimacing, disgusted. It had suddenly cut my appetite. Disgusted by what I had just felt, I preferred to fall back on a hot drink, convinced that after that, the outside temperature would seem more lenient. I grabbed a saucepan and filled it with water, then took a match and rubbed it against its scraper. Nothing. I made a second try. Still nothing. Not a spark appeared. I tried again and again. Same result.

"I don't understand..." I whispered.

I continued for several minutes, hoping to see a flame. In vain. I suddenly had the idea to go and have a look through the window of the kitchen overlooking the village. Arendelle was not illuminated. All the street lights were out, too.

"How is this possible..."

I remained dumbfounded behind the glass. For a while, I hoped that the falotiers had forgotten to light the streets of the kingdom. But I quickly drove away this thought, realizing that it had never happened and that it was impossible that they omitted such an essential thing. No, it couldn't be that. The beating of my heart suddenly accelerated. My hands became clammy. Reality hit me hard.

"Oh, no," I said, helpless.

I rushed out of the kitchen and ran through the whole castle, no longer worrying about the noise I could cause or the little lighting that prevented me from seeing properly in front of me. At the turn of a corridor, in the last turn that separated me from Elsa's room, I violently hit someone and fell back. As I found myself sitting on the ground, I uttered a cry of both astonishment and anger at the immense black mass that I could not distinguish at night:

"Eh! What are you...

"Oh, I am so sorry... I had not seen you and did not think that..."

I immediately recognized his voice. But it was only when he bent down to help me up that I exclaimed:

"Kristoff!"

"Anna! What are you doing here?"

"I have no time to explain to you. I must find Elsa!" said I, grasping the hand that the young man held out to me.

Back on my feet, I rushed to my sister's bedroom door and opened it so suddenly that it hit the wall. The young woman who was still asleep woke up with a start and stared at me.

"Anna, what are you doing?"

"The spirit of fire has disappeared!" I cried.

"What? But how..."

"Come and see!"

"But it is not even five o'clock in the morning ... You must have had a bad dream ..."

"Am I telling you!"

Elsa sighed before getting up. When she saw Kristoff who had remained in the corridor, she seemed embarrassed to be in a nightgown in front of him. She crossed her arms over her chest before throwing a tired tone at him:

"Do you also think that the spirit of fire has disappeared?"

"Uh... I don't know... I heard noise so I... I got up to see what it was about," replied the young man.

"Yes, well, it was me."

"And what were you doing standing up?" asked my sister, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

"I was hungry."

"Why did I ask the question..." she mumbled and dropped a smirk.

I looked up at the sky before continuing:

"Now that this mystery has been solved, follow me and I must show you something."

We went to the Grand Salon. There I looked for a new box of matches, and when I finally had what I was looking for, I walked towards the large candlestick on the chimney. Despite all my attempts, the candles remained extinguished. Kristoff, surprised, approached and tried in turn.

"Maybe you're doing it wrong," he said, rubbing the little piece of wood against the scraper.

"I thank you..." I groaned.

The young man resumed several times but no flame erupted, as I had planned.

"I see that King of Fire can't do it either..." I teased him.

Kristoff smiled bitterly. He sighed before dropping the pack of matches, understanding that it was useless to continue. I turned to Elsa. My sister had stayed behind us and seemed to watch the scene impassively. Despite the darkness, I managed to see that her whole body was tense. Her fists were firmly clenched and her face looked horrified at my sad discovery. I knew what she was thinking. All the spirits disappeared one by one. If nothing changed, her turn could come as well. That was what we all feared.

"It is impossible that Bruni has disappeared...He is so close to the Northuldras that anyone would have noticed him leaving. He could not vanish into the wild..." my sister whispered, distraught.

I didn't know what to say to her. She and I knew that she was just not accepting reality.

"All I want is for you to stay here," I said to her in a firm tone. "You can't go back to the enchanted forest, it's too risky. The spirits are gone... You are certainly safer in Arendelle and... at least I am with you."

Elsa looked sadly at me.

"Anna, you know it's not possible...They're counting on me and..."

She sighed before finishing her sentence:

"And Honeymaren is counting on me too."