Your land shall be cursed with unending winter.

"Haven't seen him," Bulda shook her head. She was, on the whole, unfazed by the entire council cornering her and asking her the whereabouts of her newly-adopted son. Sons.

They had searched Elsa and Pabbie's practice field, the edge of the forest where Pabbie knew Elsa to visit at sunset, and now they had flagged down Bulda, thinking perhaps she was with Kristoff.

"Any idea where they might be?" Pabbie pressed, feeling the eyes and judgement of the group behind him.

Something about the desperate look on Pabbie's face caught her eye. "Why? What's the hurry?"

She could see Pabbie did not want to tell her, but it was his turn to shake his head. "I'll tell you later," he muttered.

Bulda raised an eyebrow, but didn't push. "Sometimes they're playing by the geysers."

Pabbie nodded. "Thank you, Bulda." The group rolled up and away. Bulda watched, musing on what would bring the whole council out to see the human girl.

—-

"So you stand here—" Kristoff clambered into the goal basket. It was little more than sticks tied together with long grasses, and stood about the height of a young troll. Elsa and Kristoff were both taller than it. "—and you stop the other team from hitting the ball into the goal."

Elsa looked down at her arms and the tree bark protectors that Kristoff had leant her. He didn't play goalie very often, so they had seen little use, but he assured her they would protect her. Elsa was doubtful.

"That's it?" she asked. Kristoff nodded. One of the trolls rolled up behind him, uncurled, and started to shove him away from the goal.

"She gets it! Let's play!" the small troll demanded. Kristoff relented, taking his place farther ahead - the trolls had at least consented to let Elsa and Kristoff stay on the same team, though Kristoff had to put his foot down. Literally.

Elsa watched the trolls and Kristoff spread out in practiced formations across the stone field. Sven trotted out holding the ball in his mouth. Kristoff and a bulky troll nearly as tall as him hunched over the spot where Sven was waiting to drop the ball. But no one moved. Elsa wondered why no one was moving when a geyser hissed next to her. Sven dropped the ball, and Kristoff and the bulky troll lunged for it. Sven bounded away, and Elsa found herself unable to follow anything else.

They flew around the stone field, eyes trained on the ground, presumably on the ball. Elsa couldn't follow it at all. She could barely keep the trolls on her team straight. The action left her side as Kristoff surged towards the other team's goal. She saw him stop suddenly, wind up, and swing his stick as hard as he could. The opposing goalkeeper leapt into the air. There was a resounding crash of stone on stone, and the ball bounced harmlessly off the troll's stone belly.

Elsa looked down at herself, at the oversized gloves. Somehow, she didn't think they would offer the same protection as being made out of stone!

The trolls thundered across the rink, Kristoff at the back of the pack struggling to catch up. There were two in front, passing the ball between each other and wearing identical grins. They passed the lone sleepy defender on Elsa's team.

Now nothing stood between Elsa and the troll twins. The ball slipped back and forth between them, too fast for Elsa to follow. She planted her feet and raised her arms in front of her. The bark guards on her wrists were her only protection. The trolls were close enough that she could almost tell them apart. The one on her left raised its stick and swung as Kristoff had done. Elsa tried to follow the ball, but she couldn't help it - she flinched at the sudden attack. The ice surged through her veins.

There was a splash of light, a crackle of newly-formed ice, and the ball bounced harmlessly off the head-high wall now planted in front of Elsa.

The trolls stopped running. All of them. Kristoff was staring at her, awestruck. The twins, only paces away, approached the iceberg. It was smooth and crystal-clear. Elsa watched their distorted faces from her side of it.

One of the twins raised a fist and knocked on it. The pair looked from the ice wall to the stone ball lying at their feet. Elsa held her breath. She imagined her parents' reaction. How many times have we told you… you have to control your magic… this is getting out of hand!

She waited for the others to scold, to run away, to—

"No fair," one whined.

"You can't make a wall," the other chimed. "We get a penalty shot!"

Elsa blinked in surprise. The other trolls had gathered around and an impressed murmur went around them as they took turns touching the ice wall, examining her craftsmanship. The two pouting at her seemed to care little about the magic and more about their interrupted game.

"Okay," Elsa agreed tentatively. "What does that mean?"

"I means," the first twin rolled his eyes. "I get a free shot. Just you and me. No one else."

"And no ice!" the other twin added. "This has to go."

Elsa stared at her creation.

"Um…"

—-

Pabbie felt the chill through the earth. He rolled faster, too fast for all of the older trolls to keep up. He stopped at the edge of the playing field, out of sight, hidden behind a stone pillar. Verdand and Edda unrolled next to him. They watched the young trolls approach Elsa and the icy wall. Pabbie remembered her earlier attempt to thaw and couldn't help feeling apprehensive.

Elsa was shaking her head. The young trolls gestured to the ice. Thaw it. But Elsa stepped away from them. I can't.

"What's going on?" Edda asked. "She can't thaw it?"

"Possibly… not," Pabbie admitted.

"It's only been two weeks," Verdand said comfortingly. "She will learn."

But as Pabbie watched the nervous girl, he was unsure. What would his announcement do to her? If she couldn't thaw anything when no one expected anything of her, what would happen when they added the fates of an entire kingdom.

Pabbie felt the others roll up to join them, but kept his eyes on Elsa. Kristoff had approached her now. They were speaking.

"Pabbie," Orm prompted, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Now is the time. Let us tell her."

Elsa had approached the crag of ice. "Wait," Pabbie held up a hand. "Let's watch first."

—-

"I don't know if I can," Elsa admitted. The trolls stared.

"But you made it. Can't you just un-make it?"

Elsa thought of the boulder, turned into a miniature iceberg. "It doesn't work like that." She thought of a ballroom covered in ice.

"Can't you give it a try?" Kristoff asked tentatively. But Elsa's face was drawn with worry, so he added quickly, "If it doesn't work, Sven and I can always clear the ice!" Sven bleated and ran forward, past Kristoff to Elsa. He butted her hand again, and she found herself scratching his soft head.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll try."

She raised her hands, glaring at the hunk of ice. She felt the cold in her veins and the warmth of the earth under her feet. Pabbie's lessons rang in her head - trace the cold. Breathe in. Take it back in. The cold is your magic, your magic belongs to you. Take it back in. Breathe out. Release the tension. Your magic is part of the earth. Feel the earth. Let it take your magic back.

Elsa felt the vein of ice running through her, through the earth, shooting into the air, like an extension of herself. She drew it back in. The cold snaked its way around her. But it didn't chill her - it felt like someone grasping her arm. It wasn't good or bad, it just was. She pulled it around her. The ice shrunk. Breathe in. The ice receded into the ground. Elsa felt the cold fill her up - up - breathe out - and she shrugged it off of her, felt it dissipate into the air and trickle into the earth. She took another deep breath to steady herself and nearly fell over, light-headed and dizzy. The stone at her feet was damp, but bare.

"Wow," Kristoff broke the silence. "That was so cool!" Elsa glanced up at his grinning face and felt herself smiling too.

The trolls cheered, and for one beautiful moment, Elsa forgot about disapproving parents and losing control. She felt like a person again and not a monster.

"Alright, let's get back to the game!" one of the twins - Elsa noticed he had green crystals - shouted. Sven fetched the ball and dropped it at the troll's feet, ten paces from Elsa's goal. Sven bounded away, bleating at the others to clear them out as well. Elsa faced down her opponent. He gripped his stick tightly, waiting for the signal.

Elsa held her arms up, only to see the flimsy bark still covering them. Her eyes traveled to the now empty patch of ground where the ice wall was. She looked at her arms again and took a deep breath. The magic slid through her arms, through her hand, into her fingers. She waved a hand over her wrist and pushed the magic at the air. When she pulled her hand back, the tree bark was covered in an inch of solid ice. With a grin, she repeated the process on the protectors on her other arm, legs and torso.

Elsa crouched low in the goal like Kristoff had shown her, now covered in icy armor. Everyone stared at her in awe. The green-crystaled troll looked nervous, but steeled himself.

Sven bellowed.

There was a thwack of wood on stone, and the ball flew at Elsa. She wrestled the instinct to duck, to jump away, but instead swung her ice-covered arms. There was another thwack as she struck the stone ball, then a crack of ice. The ball flew back into the court and Elsa tumbled backwards into the goal. The ice had splintered, but she'd hardly felt the impact.

Kristoff and the rest cheered as Elsa got back to her feet. She was beaming, elated from the newfound control and the freedom that came with it. Everyone was taking their places on the field again.

Elsa waved her hand over her arm again to re-form the ice shield, but before they could start, half a dozen trolls emerged from the bushes.

—

"Pabbie," Nori grumbled. "Why are we waiting. Go tell her!"

"Wait," Pabbie insisted, and even Nori quieted his grumbling as they all felt the magic in the air. They watched, mesmerized, as the ice pulled back into the earth, leaving nothing behind. The crowd around Elsa cheered.

"She did it!" Pabbie exclaimed. The others looked at him. "That's… er… the first time she's been able to thaw anything since she came here," he explained.

"All the more reason to tell her why she's got to get better at it," Nori grunted, and without another word, he clambered out of their hiding spot.

"Nori— wait—" Pabbie jumped out after him, and the whole group followed.

—

Elsa knew something was wrong by the way the loud group was suddenly silent. Even Kristoff looked uncomfortable. The trolls approaching them were older than most she'd seen, and covered in more crystals than most, too.

A burly, disgruntled-looking one led the pack. Pabbie followed close behind him.

Elsa was instantly on guard. Pabbie could feel her magic harden.

"Elsa," Pabbie took charge before anyone else could speak. "This is—these are some of the, ah, council members."

"We don't have royals like you humans," Orm, the eldest of them, explained.

"Because we don't need them," Nori added quietly. The others threw him shushing looks.

"We offer advice and settle disputes. But we do not order, we do not command."

Elsa nodded diplomatically, but Pabbie knew she was on edge. Why are these important trolls talking to me? Why now? A cold breeze rustled his grassy hair.

The others noticed Elsa staring apprehensively. "We came here—" Nori began gruffly.

"—first, to introduce ourselves," Pabbie blurted, stalling for time. Nori glared. No, Pabbie pleaded silently. The two stared each other down as the group began introducing themselves to the princess, but Nori kept silent. They all glanced at each other as they spoke their names, unwilling to voice what they were all thinking—

Then all will perish in snow and ice

"…and I'm Nori," the old troll grumbled, still playing along with Pabbie's stalling. Elsa nodded, silent and apprehensive. Pabbie could sense her unease in the wind.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Elsa curtsied, ever her parents' daughter, ever the diplomat, the future Queen of Arendelle. The trolls inclined their heads back at her. "Is there something I can do for you?" she queried out of habit and training, and not out of any desire to hear their answer.

"Yes," Nori huffed, staring into her anxious face. Even his gruff expression softened at the sight of this innocent girl with the weight of a kingdom on her shoulders. Nori sighed, and looked to Pabbie. "But I think you'd best hear it from Pabbie."

Pabbie raised an eyebrow. The others looked to him as well. Now what? Tell her, which the council had agreed they would do, or lie to her? Pabbie looked to the oldest, to Orm. What do I do? he pleaded silently. Pabbie knew the wisdom in the council's decision. He knew it was largely his own selfishness that kept him from telling Elsa the truth.

Orm shook his mossy bearded head. It's up to you. The crystals on Pabbie's chest flashed once as he came to his decision.

"The council had wanted to see your progress in training," Pabbie felt a twist of guilt at the ready lie. "But I think we have already seen enough for tonight, haven't we?"

They nodded, starting with Orm and Verdand, followed swiftly by Edda and Tera.

"I don't know," Nori said, stroking his chin. Pabbie threw him a panicked glance. Don't do this. Not now.

"I think I want to see the rest of this game."

"Finally," the twins chorused, grabbing their teammates and literally dragging them back to the court. Elsa raised her head to Pabbie, questioning, but Pabbie just smiled and nodded to the court. Uncertainly, she followed the rest of the trolls back to the game. Sven fetched the ball and they took their starting positions and resumed as they had been.

The council of trolls stood in silence for a full minute. At last, Nori said, "I see why you don't want to tell her."

Pabbie continued watching the game and said nothing. The closing of the prophecy echoed in his head. Unless you are saved…

"With a sword sacrifice," Orm murmured, voicing the grim truth none of them wanted to face. "If we do not tell her the prophecy, Pabbie, that doesn't make it any less likely to come true."

"It does," Pabbie insisted. "Our prophecies are old and unreliable—"

"Pabbie," a voice interrupted, and to their surprise it was quiet Verdand. "Open your mind. You are biased by your past."

Pabbie said nothing. Orm continued.

"Whether you choose to believe it or not, the prophecy tells of one with powers over ice and snow, and if that one loses their way—freezes their heart—the only way to save us all…"

"Is to kill her," Nori finished, his grouchy expression troubled and guilty.

"It will not come to that," Pabbie insisted, almost to himself. "I won't let it."

—

A/N: Updates won't be very often, clearly. I actually posted this on tumblr in March and, uh, just forgot to upload it here. Whoops. I won't do that next time! But hopefully I can get them out sometime. I do love this idea and would love to finish it.