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Later that night, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf sat together in a hall, playing charades. The fire at the hearth roared, lighting up the place. They all cushioned themselves snugly on a couch. Sven kept the scores in the game, armed with a bell held firmly between his teeth and a basket of chits that hung from his antlers. Anna’s turn came around; she was showing some pretty vengeful expressions. The others made their guesses.

“Um… Okay… Um… Lion!” started Kristoff.

“Grizzly bear!” Olaf shouted.

Anna stamped her foot and made still more awkward expressions with her hands. Elsa watched in disbelief, confused as Anna continued to make vague movements and faces.

“Uh, monster!” Kristoff tried again.

“Brown bear,” suggested Olaf.

“Angry face?” said Kristoff.

“Black bear.” Olaf tried. Then he made one last guess, “Hans!”

Anna eagerly prompted at Olaf, suggesting that he was close.

“Unredeemable monster!” Elsa started.

“The biggest mistake of your life!” Kristoff guessed.

“Who didn’t even kiss you!” cried Olaf. The time was up, and Sven rang the bell. Anna was frustrated.

“Villain!” she complained, as though it was obvious.

“Oh!” all of them realized. “We all kind of got it.” accepted Olaf.

“Okay, okay. It’s your turn.” Kristoff notified the snowman.

“Okay,” he went up to the center of the hall and took a chit from the bucket. “So much easier now that I can read,” he drew out a long list with many words. “Lightning round, boys against girls.” Olaf declared.

“Okay, I’m ready, I’m ready,” Kristoff informed eagerly. Sven rang the bell, and Olaf began to act out the words. He rearranged his body in so many different ways; it was almost impossible to get the terms wrong.

“Go! Unicorn. Ice cream. Castle. Oaken! Teapot! Mouse! Ooh, Elsa!” Kristoff answered rapidly as Olaf shape-shifted over and over. Every answer was correct!

Elsa complied with a nod that her imitation was perfect. Kristoff laughed in delight over his victory but stopped when Anna did not look impressed.

“I don’t think Olaf should get to rearrange,” she suggested with a dirty look. Elsa got up as it was her turn.

“Doesn’t matter, this is going to be a cinch. Two sisters, one mind.” Anna declared with confidence. It did not look like Elsa wanted to play. She still held a pillow in her hand; Sven pulled it out with his mouth. “Thank you.” Elsa took a chit from the bucket hanging from Sven’s antlers, stiff with visible discomfort. She struggled with the word, making incognisable actions and movements.

“Okay, here we go. You got this, Elsa. Anytime. Just do it with your body. Nothing. Air. Tree. People. Treeple. Oh, that’s not a word… Shovel boy. Teeth?” guessed Anna when she saw Elsa gritting her teeth nervously. “Oh, doing the dishes!” Anna tried again, but she seemed nowhere close. Although it wasn’t his turn, Olaf guessed, “Polar bear!”

“Hey!” yelled Anna. He immediately apologized, “Sorry.”

Suddenly, Elsa heard the mysterious voice once again. She was alarmed and looking away from them, she listened to it, worried.

“You gotta give me something.” Anna continued to make her guesses, “Uhm, alarmed? Distracted? Worried? Panicking? Disturbed, oh, come on. You definitely look disturbed.”

The bell rang, and the time was up. Kristoff celebrated, “We won!”

Anna pressed her lips into a tight line and asked expectantly, “Rematch?”

Just then, Alex burst into the room. His arrival suggested something urgent. Surprised, everyone looked at him.

“My Queen, may I have a word with you… in person?” His tone was soft, yet exigent.

“Yes,” she responded.

“What’s the matter, Alex?” Anna asked, perturbed.

The sergeant cleared his throat and declared, “It is a matter of state security, and I wish to discuss it in private with Her Majesty.”

Reaching beside Alex, Elsa was ready to leave the room. He looked at Elsa and then at the rest of them, “Now, if you will excuse us.”

Saying so, he left the room with Elsa, closing the door behind them. Anna asked, “Kristoff, do you think something is wrong?”

He didn’t find anything concerning. Besides, he wanted to spend some time with his fiancée. “I… think not? Perhaps we could sneak out of here and go somewhere tonight!” he planned, thrilled. Anna wasn’t paying attention. She reached for the chit Elsa had got.

“Huh? Wait a second. It wasn’t this one… Got it!” A look at the chit made her gravely concerned. “What?!” she exclaimed. “Ice? She couldn’t act out ice? Something is definitely wrong.” Preparing to leave, she told Kristoff, “I should go and check on her.”

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“I’ll come too,” Olaf told, tagging along with Anna as she walked out the room. Kristoff didn’t want to intrude on Alex, as he had said that he wanted to keep the discussion private.

Away, Alex and Elsa walked through the hallway.

“What’s wrong, Alex?” asked a concerned Elsa.

“Well, my Queen, the matter is--”

“You don’t have to keep calling me that!” Elsa interrupted immediately.

Alex acknowledged, “Okay. Elsa, it’s just that…” He looked around once more and ensured that there was nobody. “You were looking really distressed today. Something has been bothering you; I know it. What did we do? Where did we go wrong?”

Elsa came to a halt, “No, it isn’t any of you. The gala went great… It’s about me.”

“About you? Are you fine, Elsa? I know, you must be tired.”

Elsa interrupted, “No, it’s not that. I’m fine. It’s that I’ve been… I don’t know how to put this; you may think I’m insane.”

Alex exclaimed, “Don’t be ridiculous, Elsa! For the time I’ve known you, I can bet on anything that you are not insane.” He insisted they walked on, putting a hand forward. When Elsa looked a little lesser protective, he began, “It’s okay, Elsa. You can tell me.”

“I’ve been hearing this… voice,” Elsa confessed, still not sure about it.

“A voice? Tell me more.”

Elsa was amused to see how Alex took it in so readily. Seeing that he trusted her so, she didn’t hesitate to carry on, “I don’t know much more, Alex. It calls out to me, singing an enchanting tune, but says nothing.”

Alex thought and replied, “Hmm… says nothing? I’m afraid there’s not much I can do there. But I completely trust you. And we’ll figure it out, don’t worry. Is there anything I can do to help, Elsa?”

“Thank you so much for your support, Alex. But please don’t tell Anna about this now. I don’t want her worrying about me and ruining the day she got engaged.”

Alex understood the queen’s concern. “I certainly won’t. It’s her big day today, right? Look how quickly things happen!”

Elsa smiled, “Yeah. I’m so happy for her.”

As they walked past a series of windows, Elsa asked, “Where do you think the voice is coming from?”

“I don’t know, Elsa.”

Elsa asked without thinking, “Do you think it is coming from Ahtohallan?”

Something snapped in Alex’s mind, “Yes, Ahtohallan! The fabled river that is said to hold all the answers about the past.”

“Wait, did Mother tell you about that?” she asked, baffled.

“No… but the Exploration Corps took me a lot of places.” Both of them stopped at a window and looked into the fjord. Alex went on, “If you think the call is from Ahtohallan, I think I am aware of the direction it is coming from…”

Elsa looked at the open sea below, illuminated by the moon.

“The north.”

She seemed disturbed as she stared into the ocean. To ease her out of her worry, Alex commented, “The moon looks beautiful today, doesn’t it?”

Shifting her attention to the moon and admiring it, she replied, “Yeah.”

Unfortunately, that is precisely when Anna popped up from underneath the window and yelled, “Aha!”

This startled them both—a burst of ice power flew out of Elsa’s hand and froze Alex’s right boot in its place. “Argh!” he exclaimed.

Elsa gasped, “Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to--” After a try or two, Alex managed to free his boot from the frost.

“No, no. It’s fine, Elsa. It’s just a little ice… It will melt.”

“You guys seriously need to tell me how the moon is a ‘matter of state security’.” Anna demanded, frustrated. Both Elsa and Alex looked away from each other, slightly embarrassed under the circumstances they were found in. Flustered, Alex told,

“I… I need to report to the barracks for duty.” As he walked away into the hallway, Anna noticed tiny ice particles falling off his boot with each step. She looked both confused and irritated. Turning to her sister, Anna started, “Elsa--”

“And I have some paperwork to finish.” the queen declared with a mild rebuke for her sister. She walked out an adjacent corridor. Anna threw her arms in the air and exclaimed, “What is wrong with both of them?!”

Olaf caught up to her, “I dunno, but…” He lifted his head off his body and gazed at the moon. “The moon sure looks like a giant piece of cheese today.”

Later, wearing her mother’s scarf, Elsa stood disquieted in her room. Anna’s distinct knock in the distance broke the silence. Elsa instantly recognized it. “Come in,” she told her sister.

At the sight of her sister wrapped in their mother’s scarf, Anna confirmed, “Yup, something’s wrong.” Although she had just been mad at her sister, Anna quickly parted with emotions, especially anger.

“With you?” asked Elsa. She still didn’t want to discuss it with Anna. Anna didn’t give in, “No, with you. You’re wearing Mother’s scarf; you do that when something’s wrong.”

Anna remembered something, growing concerned, “Oh, did we hurt your feelings? I’m sorry if we did. You know, there are a few people that are actually good at playing family games. That’s just a fact.”

“No, that’s not it,” Elsa said. Anna returned eagerly, “Then what is it?” Elsa started reluctantly, sitting on her bed, “There’s this… I just don’t want to mess everything up.”

Anna slowly approached her sister, “What things? You’re doing great! Oh, Elsa, when are you going to see yourself the way I see you?”

Elsa looked slightly relieved, “What would I do without you?”

Smiling, Anna moved over to the pillow. “You’ll always have me. I know what you need. Come on, come here.”

“What?” asked Elsa, coming closer. Cuddling closer to her, Anna told, “It’s Mama’s words, cuddle close, scooch in.” Anna began to sing their mother’s lullaby, “Where the north wind meets the sea, there’s a river…”

Elsa joined in, “Full of memory… I know what you’re doing.” They both laughed lightly, continuing to sing the lullaby, and gradually drifted off to sleep.

At midnight, Anna was fast asleep, drooling. Elsa, too, was sleeping: only to be disturbed by the voice’s call. She tried hard to ignore it and stirred in her sleep. Very unusually, the voice was heard for a second time. Her eyes flung open in distress. In his quarters, Alex too lay in his bed with his eyes wide open—he knew Elsa wasn’t alright. As the voice continued to echo, Elsa tried to close her ears with her pillow, but the voice didn’t stop.

Giving in to the call, she got up and began to worriedly roam the castle. She told herself that she wasn’t looking for trouble and wished it just stopped. Within his room, Alex stood in his linen shirt and breeches, looking worriedly in the mirror. Elsa told the voice that everyone she loved was right here, and she had already had her adventure and didn’t want something new. By now, Alex had gotten into his navy-blue temperate uniform and stored the royal sword in its scabbard.

Elsa exited the castle and reached the water’s edge—she guessed whoever or whatever was calling her was someone like her. She accepted that her powers were growing and needed answers but didn’t want to risk everything. Elsa was attracted by the voice; she followed it, freezing the river beneath her feet. As she sang along with the voice, her powers began to show her several visualizations: a swirling wind full of leaves, a salamander, a water horse, and rock giants.

Elsa stared at these images, enthralled. She followed the voice further north. Using her powers, she created a cliff of ice that extended out over the embankment and ran up its length—she wanted to follow the voice into the unknown. At the edge of the ice cliff, she stopped and threw her arms to the sides, releasing a wave of magic. With a flash, small crystal symbols hung suspended in the air. Elsa was dumbfounded. She examined the characters and seemed to recognize them.

“Air, fire, water, earth…” she said to herself. Anna woke up, disturbed. She opened the balcony doors and gasped at the sight of the suspended crystals.