This Love is Difficult, but it's Real

Chapter 18

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Darkness. Darkness was all she saw. She was lost, scared, frightened, and swimming a never ending abyss of black.

"Elsa?"

She could hear her name being called out, yet she couldn't answer back.

"Elsa? Are you there? Please, talk to me."

She heard soft crying. All she wanted to do was to escape from this place and console the poor soul.

"Elsa? Wake up...please."

So this is a dream?  she thought to herself. Then surely she could make herself wake up. She tried pinching herself, a method she heard that worked almost all the time. It didn't work. She tried calling back again. That didn't work either. She even tried to find an object that she could hit herself with. No such luck.

Come on, come on, she thought anxiously. There has to be a way to get out of here.

Then all of a sudden, a pocket of light appeared. Elsa gasped. She tried touching it, but the light backed away, keeping a safe distance from her. It started to swim away from her before turning in her direction again. It seemed to be beckoning her to follow it.

Well, I have no other options, Elsa thought to herself, and this is the only other thing that I've encountered.

With no other ideas whatsoever, she complied and trailed behind it.

..~..

For quite some time, the two swam along, neither making a sound. Then abruptly, the little light stopped. Elsa looked confusedly at it. It didn't look like they were anywhere near an escape. Well, to begin with, it didn't look like there was anything, save for the darkness surrounding them. The light nudged her on the shoulder. She looked at it, waiting for it to signal on what to do next. The light bobbed up and down as if trying to make her notice something. She looked around her.

"There's nothing!" she shouted in frustration and hopelessness. "Nothing is here and most likely never will be! There's just an endless horizon of darkness everywhere!" she sunk to the ground, sobbing. "There's nothing to save me."

The light nudged her gently once again. She looked up, exasperated. "What is it now?"

The light bobbed up and down again, gesturing to look ahead. Elsa sighed and glanced at the direction the light was bobbing. She drew in a sharp breath. In the distance, she could see a small light, smaller than the one with her. She quickly got up, swimming quickly to the light up ahead, the other light following close behind. It didn't take long before the distance closed between her and the light. As she neared the light, it gradually increased in size. When she finally reached it, it was now the size of the ocean, lighting up everything with its radiant glow. It was just above her now, waiting for her to go through. She looked back at the little light that followed her and waved goodbye to it. The little light bobbed up and down in response. She then took a deep breath in and swam to the shore.

..~..

Elsa gasped, sitting up in bed.

"Elsa!" a male voice exclaimed. Her father had been sitting by her bedside, visible tear stains on his cheeks. "Elsa, darling, you're awake!" he hugged her gently. All around her were servants exhaling breaths in relief, telling her how glad they were that she was all right.

"How are you feeling?" her father looked at her in concern.

"I've had better days," Elsa smiled weakly. She felt a pain strike her chest. She clutched it in agony. Her father placed a protective hand on her back.   

"Yes, the wound was very deep. The doctor was so frightened that you wouldn't make it," her father explained.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Elsa asked, the pain subsiding for now.

"Elsa, darling," her father looked at her gently,  "you've been in a coma for a month."

Elsa stared at him in shock. She had been asleep for a month? What had happened since then? 

"How are your men?" Elsa asked quickly. "When Pitch attacked the castle? And after?"

Her father sighed. "It was a long fight. Lots of men lost their lives. When you got hurt, Pitch had mocked and taunted us with his words and soldiers before vanishing.

"After that, I swore I would get my revenge, for both you and the kingdom," her father said, "I made an even tighter security around Arendelle.

"But our luck turned for the better when we got an ally," her father said.

"Father, that's great news!" Elsa exclaimed. "Who was it?"

Her father sighed, then chuckled. "You wouldn't believe who."

"Oh, don't be silly, Father," Elsa laughed. "Now tell me!"

"It was the Overland kingdom," her father said quietly. Elsa stopped smiling and looked at him in surprise. Her father sighed again. "After you shielded... Jack from Pitch, Jack had contacted his kingdom to help us. I imagine that it took some great persuading on his part to get them to aid us. They came in no time, with replenishments of weapons and aid. After that, it seemed that the odds were in our favor. We defeated Pitch and his army. It seems a bit ironic to me - it may not to you - but it was the boy who dealt the final blow on Pitch that ultimate battle. Since then, we've been fixing Arendelle.

"And waiting for you to wake up," her father smiled gently at her.

"So, the war's over?" Elsa asked, a big smile on her lips, happiness bubbling inside of her.

Her father chuckled. "Yes, Elsa, the war is over."

Elsa laughed blissfully and hugged her father, tears of happiness falling down her cheeks onto his shoulder. This was most definitely a good thing to wake up to.

"There's nothing to be afraid of anymore, Elsa," her father said. "This is it. We're safe."

AN: Thanks for reading and hope to see you in the next chapter!