The Quest For Hope

The Battle: Chapter Fourteen

The tunnels had not been used since before the exile, and sixteen years of disuse had not been kind to them. The air was cold and musty, and rancid smell made Elsa's stomach tighten up. She ducked to avoid a dusty cobweb and nearly tripped over broken cobblestones. It wasn't an inviting path, but she knew they needed to take it.

They moved quietly as if breaking the silence might shatter the magic. Elsa's thoughts raced back and forth between her visions of Prince Hans leering up at her, the woman and the child 'left cold and homeless in the castle square and the dark vastness before her.

The cobblestones only lasted for a short distance in the tunnels. Soon, the pathways turned into a rock floor, littered with large boulders and haunted by dark shadows that seemed to reach out to her. Her heart beat a little faster. She had never been enclosed like this before and didn't like it. Not at all. The weight of the tunnel seemed to constrict her throat.

Sparing a quick glance around her, Elsa took courage. She had anticipated having company, but Kristoff and his brother and sister, proved helpful companions, moving rocks that had fallen into the main path, carrying the torches to light their way, and cheering her up with the jovial spirit that they exuded.

Her heart kept pace with her toes: the further they stepped, the faster it pounded. She walked on the balls of her feet, leaving the smallest of footprints, almost as if to hides their tracks.

What was she doing? Worry snuck into her mind. She was a princess. Never before had she been into battle, let alone tried to devise a strategy. What if she was endangering herself and her friends needlessly? She bit her lower lips as she stole a glance at the men and girl helping her through the tunnel. She pushed the thoughts to the side and wiped the hair and sweat from her face.

There was no room for those thoughts now. The four of them were on the move, and if she stopped to think about it, she might turn around and return to her father. She felt in the pit of her stomach that this was the right path. It was time to move forward.

As they rounded the corner, their feet stopped in their tracks. Princess Elsa lifted her hands to her chest, taking a deep breath as something clicked in place. The two brothers and sister stood to the side, mouths agape.

"Kristoff," Princess Elsa squealed. "Look at this, all around!" She twirled in awe, looking at the openings before them. They had entered what seemed to be the main chamber, a circular room with at least ten entrances evenly spaced along the edge of the room. The cobblestones that made up the floor were arranged in a circular pattern around the room, spiralling in toward the centre. The walls were smooth, and there were marble markers outside each opening.

Princess Elsa ran to an entrance and stroked her fingertips on the smooth face of one of the placards. All at once the dust disappeared, and the sheen of the marble sparked in the torchlight. Magic filled the air, waiting to be enchanted again.

Kristoff pointed to the placard in front of him. "This one looks like a tree, Princess, come look!" He waved her over with his arms. His brother dashed from doorway to doorway, awakening each slab of marble with his touch.

"This must take us farther into the forest," Princess Elsa said. She ran to the next, "Look! This one has an arch; it must be the path to Dragons Gate. And here, the symbol for water. This must go down south to the bay! We've found them!"

"Which one do we take?" Asked the sister of the three family members.

"Follow me!" She lifted the hem of her dress and took off down the path marked by the tree.

The three siblings could barely keep up as Elsa ran ahead, her heat now pumping more with anticipation than fear.

They wandered down the new tunnel for hours until they noticed the path around them starting to get lighter. They were approaching the end of the tunnel and saw the forest in the early morning light.

Princess Elsa approached the edge of the tunnel cautiously, listening for any noises as she peeked outside its rocky edge. The cool breeze blew against her face, bringing the sweet smell of pine and fresh dirt and listing her hair. Her stomach tightened. They were here.

"Princess," Kristoff said, breaking her thoughts. "What now?" His hands and face were covered in dirt and soot. His attempts to wipe them only smeared the grime into his robes.

Princess Elsa looked from him to his siblings and took a deep breath. "Wait here," she said, smoothing out her dress as she stepped forward. The linen dress was now more brown than white, and her braid had fallen out some time ago, leaving her hair cascading in loose waves down her back. Her cheeks were smudged with dirt. But in spite of the journey, she stood with her back straight and tall. Kristoff thought she looked more like a princess than she ever had before.

Her mind turned with each step she took. Each tree she passed seemed a bit more familiar, each rock more recognisable. A tingling sensation grew in the pit of her stomach, a nagging thought that she had been here before, a whispered memory of dancing around these trees. Looking back over her shoulder, she half-expected to see someone watching her.

As she turned around, her eyes focused on the opening of the tunnel. From this angle, it looked exactly like the cave from her dream. She had been here before, and she was exactly where she needed to be.