A Journey of Two

Chapter 8

"Woah," said Anna as her jaw dropped to the floor.

The sisters had arrived at Ahtohallan and were now standing in a large and spacious ice cavern. It was like nothing Anna had ever laid her eyes on. Elsa had described the place to her before, but this was way better than she'd imagined. Everywhere she looked, light was constantly being refracted by the icy walls, radiating a familiar blueish glow which gave the cavern a serene feel to it. Elsa smiled as she watched Anna dash around the cavern like a child, commenting on every little thing she saw.

"Look at these cool patterns! They look just like the elemental symbols!" exclaimed Anna.

"They do," chuckled Elsa. "You know, I'm actually quite surprised that you never asked to come along to Ahtohallan before."

Anna gave Elsa a nervous glance. "Yeah, well, I've always wanted to, but I was always too afraid. It felt like I would be intruding in your sacred place, or something like that."

Elsa raised her eyebrows and gave Anna a soft expression. "Anna, Ahtohallan doesn't belong to me. I don't own the place. You have every right to come here just as I do. If only you hadn't kept this from me and had told me instead."

"I guess that's something I learned from you, huh?" joked Anna, who immediately received a friendly punch on the arm from her elder sister. They both laughed and continued to make their way further into Ahtohallan. As they were walking through a narrow ice tunnel, something odd caught Anna's eye.

"Elsa, you're shivering!"

"I ne-never realised how c-cold this place was," Elsa chattered through her teeth as she hugged her sides, but nevertheless she gave Anna a reassuring smile to let her know that she would be okay.

Anna frowned at her sister. There had to be something she could do. "Ooh! Here, put this over yourself," said Anna as she pulled out their mother's purple scarf from her travel bag. She threw it over Elsa and wrapped her tightly in it. "This will have to do for now, I guess. You feel any better?"

"Yeah. Thank you," said Elsa gratefully. The scarf didn't really do much to keep the cold out, but just the thought being close to something that had once belonged to her mother made Elsa feel warm inside.

After passing a series of tunnels and caverns, all of which Anna gasped in awe at, they finally arrived at a huge, frosted dome – the place where Ahtohallan kept her memories. The dome was made up of an arrangement of complex geometrical shapes, and within each of those shapes, Anna could see different moments from the past being played out before her. But what really captured Anna's attention was the fact that she was now standing in a room filled with people that were made from snow. These people were spread out in little groups, and they seemed oblivious to the fact that there were other people around them. Upon having a closer look, Anna saw that most of these little groups contained either herself, Elsa, or someone else that they knew.

"These are all separate events that have occurred in the past," said Elsa.

"Wow, you know, if we didn't have this whole curse thing to undo, I think I could be here for hours," said Anna. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice.

"Prince Hans, of the Southern Isles."

"Hans," muttered Anna. She turned her head in the direction of the voice, and saw that unredeemable monster bowing in front of a younger Anna, the first time that they met each other. Anna was filled with a sudden rage from the sight of Hans. She marched on over, and, with a murderous look on her face, she gave the snow statue the exact same sucker punch she had given the real Hans during their last encounter. "Take that! And that!" yelled Anna as she continued kicking at the pile of rubble which only seconds ago had resembled Hans.