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As Elsa ventured further in, she was greeted by memories from a time before her.

“I love you,” confessed King Agnarr to Iduna, holding her in his arms.

“I need to tell you about my past… and where I’m from.” Iduna began. She seemed worried.

“I’m listening.” Agnarr delicately gripped her face. She only smiled, sinking into his palm. Elsa heard an excited giggle from yet another memory—young Iduna hung from a tree like a bat. “Iduna!” cried an amazed Agnarr in his teens.

“What are you reading, Your Majesty?” she inquired. Agnarr spoke casually,

“Some new Danish author.”

At once, a breeze blew past her—Gale. The wind spirit flew young Iduna and an unconscious Agnarr over to an Arendellian wagon. Hearing the hustle of soldiers nearby, Iduna wrapped Agnarr up in a blanket and hid under a cloak. “Get the prince out of here!” ordered a sergeant in the ranks.

“Yes, sarge!” complied the wagon’s driver as he took off. Elsa noted this and moved to the far end of the dome, where the oldest memories were portrayed.

“King Runeard, I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” The memory of a man who walked after the former king expressed.

“Grandfather!” Elsa quietly exclaimed to herself and moved closer to both the ice figures.

“We bring Arendelle’s full guard.” commanded the king in a deep, assertive voice. The other man, presumably the king’s attaché, argued politely,

“But they have given us no reason not to trust them.”

King Runeard was not impressed. He halted, sending out a terrifying vibe radiating about his presence. The attaché gulped visibly and set his eyes down in submission. “The Northuldra follow magic.” began the king. “Which means we can never trust them.”

“Grandfather?” Elsa was taken aback. In disbelief, she continued to listen.

“Magic makes people too powerful.” proclaimed King Runeard. Elsa gasped. “Too entitled: it makes them think they can defy the will of a king.”

“That is not what magic does.” Elsa differed. “That’s just your fear. Fear is what can’t be trusted.” But the two men were nothing more than memories from the past. They walked on, and unlike other memories, they walked into the wall of the giant dome. Elsa had to find out what happened: she opened up a path right behind the two and followed. King Runeard explained,

“You see, the dam will weaken their lands, so they will have to turn to me.” As Elsa kept up with their pace desperately, her mother’s lullaby was heard as a warning.

“Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far, or you’ll be drowned…”

Reaching an ice cliff, Elsa stared into a haunting abyss. The dam was seen as an image. Several images of Northuldra and Arendellian soldiers marched toward it from both sides. The air turned unnaturally cold—even for Elsa: her breath vapourised as she breathed heavily. The voice of King Runeard echoed, “They will come in celebration. And then we will know their size and strength.”

Elsa was ready—even to jump off the cliff to discover the truth. It was so close, yet so far. The king’s voice now announced to the Northuldra, “As you have welcomed us, we have welcomed you. Our neighbors; our friends!”

Elsa prepared herself and jumped, falling downward and outward into space.

She landed on a solid ice floor, surprisingly unscathed. As she stood up, she felt an excruciating chill run all over her body: the Snow Queen was cold. She sensed something was terribly wrong. She slowly realized she could not feel her fingers anymore. She assumed it was the cold, but as she looked down, her eyes widened. The tips of her fingers were practically ice, and it was spreading. Still desperate to learn the truth, the queen frantically looked around.

In the Enchanted Forest’s recreated memory, Elsa witnessed Arendellian soldiers and the Northuldra making merry, riding reindeer round and round. As the ice crept up her neck, Elsa heard the conversation between the Northuldra leader and the king.

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“King Runeard, the dam isn’t strengthening our waters; it’s hurting the forest.” complained the leader of the Northuldra. “It’s cutting off the north!”

Placing a warm hand on his shoulder, King Runeard suggested, “Let’s not discuss this here; let’s meet on the fjord. Have tea. Find a solution.”

By now, ice had worked its way up Elsa’s face, sparing only her mouth, eyes, and hair. A memory of the Northuldra leader peacefully sipped tea, sitting on both his knees. King Runeard approached him stealthily from right behind Elsa, weapon at the ready. Elsa’s horrified expression was evident. She’d already guessed what was coming. As the king charged in at the last moment, Elsa cried, “NO!”

She tried sprinting forward when she realized that her lower body had frozen to solid ice. Elsa ran through everything she’d seen so far in her head.

She realized she’d gone too far.

Elsa looked up longingly at the fading light above, her vision blurry. She wished for the others to know the truth too. With last of her strength, the Snow Queen sent a burst of magic toward the light. The light seemed to be the last of her hope. “Anna.” She stood motionless as she let out one final, sighed breath.

Away, in the Lost Caverns, Anna and Olaf continued to move through the cave. A diversion was seen ahead. Both of them wondered where to go next. “Which lucky tunnel do we choose?” asked Olaf, in his ‘bright-side’ tone. Before Anna could decide, a flurry of magical power rushed in from one of the tunnels—Elsa’s message. In an icy discharge, it revealed a disturbing memory from the past. Anna drew closer and carefully observed the ice statue. It was precisely what Elsa wanted her to know. Anna could hardly believe her eyes.

“… Elsa’s found it.” she declared.

“What?”

“The truth about the past. That’s my grandfather… attacking the Northuldra leader… who wields no weapon.” Anna closed her eyes in sorrow, “The dam wasn’t a gift of peace.” She looked at King Runeard’s ice statue, “It was a trick.”

Olaf was shocked. “But that goes against everything Arendelle stands for.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Anna sat down on a rock. “I know how to free the forest—I know what we have to do, to set things right,” she said with growing despair.

“Why do you say that so sadly?”

Anna confessed, “We have to break the dam.”

“But Arendelle will be flooded!” cried Olaf, distraught.

“That’s why everyone was forced out… to protect them… from what has to be done. Alex was right.”

Olaf cuddled close to Anna and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I could really use a bright side, Olaf.”

Olaf thought quickly and began, “Bright side? Um… er… Turtles can breathe through their butts?”

“Huh?”

Olaf looked in another direction, paused, and celebrated, “An… and, I see a way out!” He pointed his fingers to a bright opening high above. Although it was distant, Anna commended him,

“I knew I could count on you.” She got up with a start and torch in hand, moved toward it, “Come on, Olaf. Elsa’s probably on her way back right now. We can meet her and--” She noticed particles of snow drifting in the air around her and stopped. Fearing the worst, she turned back, “Olaf?” Noticing the snow powdering away into the air around him, Olaf pondered,

“What’s this…?”

Anna asked with grave concern, “Are you okay?”

“I’m flurrying? Wait, that’s… that’s not it. I’m flurrying… away? The magic in me is f… fading!”

Anna gasped, “What?” She knelt beside him, uncertain and scared.

“I don’t think Elsa’s okay. I think… she may have gone too far!” he warned as the energy in his voice began to fade. Anna wasn’t ready to accept that.

“No… no.”

“Anna?” called Olaf. “I’m sorry: you’re gonna have to do this next part on your own. Okay?”

“Wait, come here.” She picked him up and placed him on her lap. The snow fluttered away from his body as he grew feeble.

“I’ve got you.”

“That’s good.” Olaf returned a bittersweet smile. Anna’s eyes brimmed with tears.

“Hey, Anna. I just thought of something that’s permanent.”

“What’s that?”

“Love!”

“Warm hugs?”

Olaf nodded, and Anna hugged him tight as she could. It felt like this was going to be the last time. Olaf’s voice was now barely a whisper.

“I like warm hugs…” His smile faded, turning lifeless. Anna began to sob as Olaf’s body lost its shine and began to disintegrate.

“I love you.”

The snow rushed out the opening and spread across the sky. Both Gale and Bruni, the spirits, witnessed the same. Bruni seemed to understand what that meant as it rested on a rock, downcast. The flurry of snow rushed toward a waterfall and settled at the base. Crocuses drifted down and settled on the mound of snow, cherishing Olaf’s memory. Hours later, Anna curled up on the ground, her head against a rock. She was devastated.

“Olaf, Elsa… what do I do now?” she asked, not expecting an answer. Tears streamed down her tired eyes, which looked devoid of hope. The darkness was consuming her will to go on. She hugged her handbag tightly under her crossed arms, unable to find the strength to get to her feet. A tiny voice whispered to her—it wasn’t magic, but it called to her from within, persuading her to go on. Evoked by it, Anna got up with a start but stumbled. Doubting whether she could do all that was expected of her alone, she took the support of a rock face. Reinforcing her stance, Anna took another unsure step forward… And then another; another, yet another.

Soon, she was taking bold steps and arrived at a cliff face. Without worrying about how far the dam was or how high up was the distant opening, she focused on her next move, her next pace.

She scaled the cliff, only to face one more obstacle: a chasm lay wide open before her. Letting go of all her fears, she gave it all she had and ran right toward it. She took a giant leap, floating over the chasm for a few seconds. She made it. Now, the mouth of the cave was near. But at a short stretch from the opening, she dropped to her knees.

She knew what had to be done but wondered how she would do it and whether she had what it takes. Thinking of her home that would be destroyed, Anna sobbed. A tear dripped down her cheek.