[https://i.postimg.cc/J0hFJyqs/Final-Cover-Part-2.jpg]

Alex caught up to Elsa, admiring the crystals. Never in his life had he seen Elsa do something so enchanting with her magic. He clapped aloud, standing below the frozen cliff she had made. Hearing the applause, Elsa was slightly startled. At the sight of Alex standing there, she reckoned he had heard and seen more or less everything. She instantly blushed, smiling nevertheless.

“I said you would make an amazing artist, didn’t I?” Alex reminded her as she walked down the ice cliff and stood before him. “They’re wonderful, Elsa.” he looked at the crystalline symbols and said.

“Thank you.” she simpered. “They represent the four magical spirits if you noticed.”

Alex studied the symbols and agreed, “Yeah… Yes, I did.”

All the crystals fell to the ground like the clatter of shattering glass. In the distance, both of them could see the lights in the town being blown off.

“The town… What’s happening, Alex?” Elsa asked, discomfited at the scene.

“I don’t know… We should go and check it out,” Alex suggested.

They ran toward the walls of the castle. Running was easy on the grass, but as they crossed into the frozen fjord, Alex began to slip and slide. Eventually, he lost balance and toppled over. On the other hand, Elsa didn’t share his difficulty—she moved on the ice without losing speed or direction. However, when she noticed Alex, she stopped, concerned.

“A little help here, Elsa?” asked Alex, sliding slowly on the ground with several crystals sticking onto his uniform. Smirking briefly, she moved her hands and created skates of ice on his feet. She did the same for herself, and they skated swiftly toward the castle wall.

Although they didn’t openly declare it, they were having quite a race; Elsa was on the lead, but Alex wasn’t far behind. As they neared the wall, both of them accelerated at top speed—Alex took the lead. Overtaking Elsa, he turned to look back at her with a challenging smile. Elsa did just the same, but moments later, she looked frightened and alarmed.

“No. Alex, look out! Stop!”

Alex turned to see the wall right in front of him—he was dangerously close. He gasped as he reached the wall and closed his eyes. Quickly, Elsa made his ice skates disappear and created a huge, fluffy cloud against the wall. Alex braced for impact as he came rapidly into the cloud. Elsa made her magical skates vanish, too, and slowed down. She walked onto the bank by the castle wall and looked at her cloud expectantly. Fortunately, it caught Alex, and he gently landed on his knees.

“Are you alright?” Elsa asked with grave worriment as Alex got up and dusted the crystals off his uniform.

“Fortunately, I am.” he accepted. He stood before her and righted his uniform, looking straight ahead like a soldier was supposed to.

Elsa noticed a crystal stuck between the buttons of his tunic. She removed it gradually and chuckled to herself. Alex looked at her, smiling, “Thank you, my Queen.” They were lost in each other’s eyes for a moment. Then, Alex broke away from the gaze and reminded her urgently, “Elsa, the town.”

“The… you’re right!” she snapped out of it and agreed, “Let’s not waste time.” They hurried back into town.

Back at the castle, Kristoff walked with quick steps beside Sergeant Major Emil. He asked the senior enlisted man, “What is happening?”

With a start, the lights in the hallway were blown off by an inexplicable force. Luckily, they were not far from the doors that led to the courtyard. The glint of moonlight dimly illuminated the way.

“The lights all over Arendelle have been blowing off mysteriously, my Lord. The water too seems to have been absurdly seeping into the sea from the town.” reported the sergeant major. While walking briskly, Kristoff gave it a bit of thinking and counseled, “What good is a kingdom without warmth and water for the people? I strongly advise evacuating the people to higher ground… Maybe a mountain or something.”

Sergeant Major Emil considered and replied, “Your Lordship is right.” Turning to two of his men, he directed, “Evacuate the town to the nearest hill.” Both the men, presumably lower-ranking officers, complied synonymously with a click of their heels.

As they reached the doors to the courtyard, they saw Anna standing along with a few royal attendants. “What is happening?” she wondered aloud.

“The water!” exclaimed an attendant as the fountains stopped abruptly. The waterfalls beside the bridge also stopped pouring. Kai frantically informed the sergeant major at the courtyard, “We need to evacuate the people.”

Emil declared, “The order has already been passed down, thanks to Lord Kristoff.”

Kai breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at Kristoff. In the distance, Bell, now an ensign in the army, encouraged her comrades, “You heard him, soldiers? Get a move on!”

The wind began to blow—it was forcing people out of the town. Sven was pushed out of his stable by a gust. Alex and Elsa took cover from the strong gales on arriving in the town.

“The air rages. No fire, no water…” started Elsa.

“The earth is next,” Alex predicted, and just as expected, the earth rumbled and moved. The guards noticed their job was being done by the moving earth. They thus directed the people and prevented them from fanning out like bewildered sheep.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Kai, Kristoff, and the sergeant major stood at the gates of the castle.

“The castle has been evacuated,” Kai confirmed.

“I think our work here is done. Gentlemen, let’s save ourselves!” Emil declared with sanguine laughter, which was a testament to his bravery. They didn’t even have to move an inch: the moving earth pushed them out to the bridge that led to the castle, closing the gates behind them. They were then pushed on with the crowd rushing out of the kingdom.

“It’ll be okay,” Elsa reassured as she helped lead people out. “Evacuate to the cliffs!” she directed. This caught the attention of a guard.

“It’s not safe here, Your Majesty! You should move ahead,” he recommended.

“Do the people know where they’re going?” asked Elsa.

“Yes, they do, my Queen. The orders are to evacuate them to the nearest hill, and we are doing just that. You are not safe, Your Majesty. Please move with the others immediately!” the soldier enjoined. Elsa was impressed by the speed at which the leadership responded to the situation. She gave an affirmative nod and joined in with the people.

Alex wanted to ensure that nobody was left behind; he directed every last person to be sure. “This way, sir! Ma’am, leave with everyone else through that exit over there.” He told, pointing to the entrance of the town.

“Thank you,” the woman returned as she ran toward it. That’s right, everyone was rushing to the exit—all except one man struggling to part with his cart.

“Get out! Leave the cart alone; your life is more important!” shouted Alex.

“No! I’m not going anywhere!” the man persisted. Alex darted up to him. He threw the man down and away from the cart with one pull of his arm.

“Hey! What are you doing… Aaah!” exclaimed the man as he tumbled to the ground.

“Look out!” Alex warned, landing on the man and shielding him. With a mighty rattle, the moving earth toppled the cart and broke it to bits. The man watched in disbelief as his beloved vehicle fell apart.

“You’re welcome. Now MOVE!” commanded Alex. The man stared at the sergeant in awe as he scuttled along with the rest of the people. Kristoff soon caught up with Sven and Olaf.

“Oh, no! I’m gonna blow!” cried Olaf. Kristoff picked him up and continued to run. “I’ve got you,” he told the snowman.

Anna helped an attendant while advancing up the hill. She struggled to see but got a glimpse of an Arendellian flag being ripped off its staff by the wind. She watched sorrowfully and soon continued to move along.

At the hill, there was finally some order out of the chaos. The air was pleasant, and the earth stopped rumbling. The people looked longingly at their kingdom.

“Yes, everyone’s out and safe,” Kristoff told himself. Then, he handed out a blanket to a lady as he walked with Sven. “Here, have one of these.”

“Thank you, my Lord.” she curtsied and left with the blanket.

“You okay there, Olaf?” he asked, looking at the children’s center of attention. Olaf was being decorated by little children with crystals.

“Oh, yeah,” he began. “We’re calling this ‘controlling what you can when things feel out of control’.”

Alex found his way to Kristoff and congratulated him, “Hey, I heard you gave the instruction to evacuate the kingdom? Well done!”

“Ha! That was nothing. I just guessed what the right thing to do was.”

Alex declared, “That’s good! Caring for the people and making the right decisions for them when they need it—that’s what people who are responsible do.” Smiling, Alex looked at Kristoff and continued, “You’re a reliable man, Kristoff.”

“Hehe. There was nothing to it. But if you say so, then I guess I am. Thank you, Alex.”

The sergeant noticed Elsa and Anna when he looked through the crowd. “I’ll go and see Elsa and Anna. Carry on, my Lord!” he exclaimed humorously as he began to move around the public and toward the sisters. As he walked, he noticed a little girl staring at him, admiring his uniform. He briefly went up to her and, gripping her chin, he gently lifted her head.

“Hey there!” he smiled. The little girl gazed at him with her big, brown eyes and smirked expectantly. Letting go of her chin, he patted her head and left to see the queen and princess. The little girl beamed for as long as she could see him.

At a distance from the people, Anna argued with her sister, “We made a promise not to shut each other out! Just tell me what’s going on!” Not long after, Alex caught up and spoke, defending Elsa,

“Calm down, Anna! She just didn’t want you worried.”

Anna wasn’t impressed. “And Alex, I need to talk to you too. Just what were you discussing so confidentially with my sister back at the castle?”

Alex and Elsa looked at each other, worried. Elsa considered for a moment and told her sister, “I’ve been hearing a voice. It ha--”

“Okay, I don’t understand.” Anna interrupted her. “You’ve been hearing a voice, and you didn’t think you would tell me?” she asked, feeling let down.

“We didn’t want to trouble you.” started Alex. “Today was a big day for you and Kristoff, and we didn’t want to ruin it.”

Anna’s irritation vanished, seeing how much they both cared for her. Turning to Elsa, she asked, “What else have you been keeping from me?”

Elsa took a deep breath and hesitatingly confessed, “I woke the magical spirits at the Enchanted Forest.”

Anna was surprised, “Okay, that is definitely not what I thought you were going to say.”

“I saw that coming.” Alex slyly accepted. Anna wondered,

“Wait, the Enchanted Forest? The one Father warned us about?”

Elsa accepted, “Yes.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because of the voice… I know it sounds crazy, but I believe whoever is calling me is good.”

“How can you say that?” protested Anna. “Look at our kingdom!”

“Oh, what about our kingdom, Anna?” started Alex, disliking her comment. “All our people are together and safe. The spirits did not hurt anyone.”

Looking a little more at ease, Elsa placed her hand on her sister’s shoulder and assured, “Anna, it’s also because I know. It’s just that my magic can feel it. I can feel it.”

“Okay.” Anna felt convinced but was still concerned.

Something began to move: no, vibrate—it was the earth. Wasn’t the earth spirit done with them already? Soon, the ground beneath them started to rumble. “Oh no, what now?” wondered Anna, troubled. To Kristoff, it was no earth spirit.

“The Trolls?” he guessed instinctively. And just as expected, they came rolling in. Bulda jumped out of the roll and hugged Kristoff tight, pinning him down with her weight.

“Kristoff! We missed you!” she exclaimed. Grand Pabbie halted upon a rock before Elsa and Anna.

“Pabbie!” Anna recognized.

“There was never a dull moment with you two. I hope you’re prepared for what you’ve done, Elsa. Angry magical spirits are not for the faint of heart.” he warned.

Nearby, Alex stood baffled at the sight of moving, talking rocks. “What in the world are these?” he wondered aloud.

“They call us trolls, my dearie,” Bulda told him.

“… Okay?” Alex replied, slightly disturbed. He retreated a few steps closer to Elsa and Anna.

“… Why are they still angry? What does all this have to do with Arendelle?” Anna quizzed the elderly troll.

Grand Pabbie moved his hands, controlling the Northern Lights. He created an image of a mighty dam. With intent, Elsa and Anna listened.

“Let me see what I can see. The past is not what it seems.” Pabbie declared. Alex watched in amazement, his mouth wide open.

“What?!” he exclaimed, captivated by the sight of it. The sisters had seen Grand Pabbie do it before; Alex had not. Then, an image of two peoples meeting was created.

“A wrong demands to be righted.” Pabbie continued as images of weapons clashing emerged from the Auroras. “Arendelle is not safe. The truth must be found. Without it…” Pabbie cast an image of the royal castle, which faded away as he said, “I see no future.”

Anna grew worried. “No future?” she asked. Grand Pabbie proclaimed,

“When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing.”