FROZEN HEART ━━ 030

( LOST AND FOUND )

          "WE NEED TO SPLIT UP AND LOOK FOR AUDREY," Mal said while Ellie noticed something was off with one of the shields and swords displayed on the wall.

          She tried to pull the sword out but it wouldn't budge. When she pushed it instead, that was when something happened. All the knights that were sitting on the platform fell on the floor as it opened and revealed a hidden staircase. The voice became louder and Ellie knew that it was leading her down the hidden passage.

          "Do you really think Audrey is down there?" Uma asked.

          "Audrey isn't down there but there still might be something that can help us end this," Ellie replied. "For good."

          "What could possibly be down there to help us defeat Audrey?" Uma questioned with her arms crossed.

          "Not sure yet but we can't afford to pass this up. Look, we all need to split up into groups if we're gonna find the others and stop Audrey. One group needs to go out and look for Ben, Marisa, Kaia and Jane. Another one should look around the castle and see if there are any clues to help find Audrey and I'll look down here," Ellie said as she looked at all the VK's.

          "It sounds like we're going with my plan," Uma deadpanned.

          "It just seems like the obvious plan," Mal said.

          "It doesn't matter whose plan it was. The point is we find the others, we look for clues and we end this thing once and for all," Ellie said sternly.

          "You can't go down there alone. What if Audrey has something waiting for you?" Carlos asked as he grabbed her arm.

          "I can take care of myself. Go find the others," Ellie said with a small but crooked smile.

          "Meet us at Evie's in two hours. That should give you enough time to look down there and see if you can find anything," Mal said and the blonde nodded.

          The VK's left the room, even though Carlos was hesitant to leave Ellie alone to go down the secret passage nobody even knew existed. Ellie took a deep breath as she stared into the darkness and descended down the stairs. There was only one path to follow and she kept her guard up as she walked down the hallway, her fingers slightly moving as ice fell from her fingertips. At the end of the hallway, the only thing there was a full length mirror with golden edges. She looked behind her but since she was far away from the entrance to the passage, the hallway was dark and the only light was the golden aura surrounding the mirror. She looked at her reflection in the glass and lifted her hand to touch the surface. She inhaled sharply as her her hand went straight through the glass and pulled her hand back as if she had been burned and swallowed the lump in her throat when she heard the voice again.

          A million thoughts were running through her mind but the most important one was the fact that if she didn't go through with this, all of Auradon could fall to the ground and other kingdoms would follow, including her home. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before stepping right through the mirror. When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the dark hallway. Instead, she was in a huge empty space. She looked behind her and instead of a mirror like the one in the hallway, it was just a patch of ice that was very reflective and big enough for a person to walk through. She tried to put her hand through but it was like a door that was closed and locked. There was no turning back now and she had no choice but to keep moving forward. She realized that the walls were purely ice and the voice seemed to get closer as she took her shoes and jacket off.

          "I hear you," she whispered as she started walking forward, the cooling ice under her feet giving her a soothing and comforting feeling. "Every inch of me is trembling, but not from the cold. Something is familiar like a dream I can reach but not quite hold. I can sense you there like a friend I've always known. I'm arriving and it feels like I am home."

          As she kept moving forward, she realized that being surrounded by ice meant that there was no such thing as going too far with her magic. "I have always been a fortress, cold secrets deep inside. You have secrets too, but you don't have to hide. Show yourself. I'm dying to meet you. Show yourself. It's your turn. Are you the one I've been looking for all of my life? Show yourself. I'm ready to learn." Ellie said as she looked around. "Ah ah, ah ah."

          "Ah ah, ah ah," the voice said and Ellie smiled as she followed the sound down another passage.

          "I've never felt so certain. All my life, I've been torn. But I'm here for a reason. Could it be the reason I was born?" she asked as she created a bridge out of ice to get across a huge ravine. "I have always been so different. Normal rules did not apply. Is this the day? Are you the way I finally find out why?"

          Once she was on the other side, she was able to keep going. "Show yourself! I'm no longer trembling. Here I am, I've come so far. You are the answer I've waited for all of my life. Oh, show yourself! Let me see who you are," she said as she walked into an empty room. "Come to me now. Open your door. Don't make me wait one moment more. Oh, come to me now. Open your door. Don't make me wait one moment more."

          Her breath was taken away when she saw images everywhere and it was like she was looking into someone else's memories. She saw Elsa and Anna when they were kids among other things as well. She inhaled sharply when she saw an image of her mother looking right at her. "Come, my darling, homeward bound."

          "I am found!" Ellie said as she felt tears in her eyes. "Show yourself. Step into the power. Grow yourself into something new."

          Ellie's long sleeved shirt changed from pastel blue to a tight jumpsuit that was white from the top but slowly blended into pastel blue beneath her knees. The material stopped at her ankles and a pair of light blue boots that went halfway of her calves appeared on her feet. The top of the jumpsuit was off the shoulder and the sleeves stopped at her wrists. There was a thin layer of fabric that flowed around her waist and reached the back of her knees. Her hair was now longer and sleeker as it cascaded down her back like golden waves.

          "You are the one you've been waiting for all of your life," her mother said with a smile.

          Ellie smiled back as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, not realizing how much she missed her mom. "All of my life, oh, show yourself. Ah ah, ah ah. Ah ah, ah ah. Ah ah, ah ah!"

          When Ellie looked around, all the images were gone and she was on her own. The only thing left were the voices leading her down another path. At this point, all she could do was follow them because she still hadn't discovered the truth but she was getting close. She had no choice but to keep moving. When she reached the end, it was like watching a 3D movie. She laughed as she watched a younger version of herself playing a game of tag with Anna and Kristoff. She remembered that day very clearly. Her mother was out taking care of some tasks she had as the Queen of Arendelle so her aunt and uncle were left to watch over her until Elsa was done.

          When she turned around, she was watching another memory except it wasn't hers. She recognized the infamous Hans Westergaard, who tried to take over her family's kingdom and she recognized Hayes, but a much younger version of him.

          "You're a pathetic excuse for a son!" Hans shouted and all Hayes could do was look at his feet.

          "Please, Father! Tell me what I can do to make it better!" the younger version of Hayes cried as he begged for his father's approval and Ellie felt a sharp pang in her chest.

          "You never should've been born!" Hans said as he raised his hand.

          Forgetting that it was only a memory and not actually happening, Ellie raised her hand out of impulse and shot at Hans with ice and he shattered to pieces. It wasn't until Hayes faded away that she remembered it wasn't real but it was still the reality for Hayes as he was growing up on the Isle. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him but she still needed to keep moving. Audrey still needed to be stopped and so far Ellie hadn't found anything to help defeat her. That was until she saw Maleficent but this time she had her hair out and was wearing regular clothing. She was sitting next to a man and she recognized him as King Stefan, Audrey's grandfather. In this memory, he looked like a simple boy and Ellie figured it was before he was crowned king.

          "I love you," Maleficent said with a lovesick smile and Stefan returned the sentiment.

          Ellie was shocked to see that Maleficent and King Stefan were once in a relationship before he became the king and before she became evil. She even noticed that Maleficent used to have wings and she wondered what happened to them. She saw another memory of a sick man lying in bed and Stefan standing right next to him.

          "Kill the winged creature, and you shall marry my daughter Leah and become king," the old man said weakly and Ellie realized he was Leah's father and Audrey's great grandfather.

          Ellie looked back at the other memory with Maleficent and Stefan and noticed that the fairy was dead asleep. She saw Stefan raising a knife but he wouldn't kill her. Instead, what he did was much more cruel and inhumane. He pulled out some chains and wrapped them around her wings and Ellie could hear the sizzling sound and realized the chains were made of iron, used to burn fairies like Maleficent. When the chains cut right through her wings, Ellie gasped as she covered her mouth and her eyes welled up with tears even though Maleficent was unconscious. And even when she did wake up and realized that her wings were gone, the sound of her pained cries made Ellie's heart clench even more.

          Maleficent wasn't always the villain, she was once a victim. After that, Stefan was crowned king and then he and Leah had Aurora and then Maleficent showed up and cursed her. And this whole time, Leah had no idea what Stefan did to Maleficent and neither did Aurora, Phillip or Audrey and yet they still had this burning hatred for her. Stefan betrayed her and mutilated her and kept the truth hidden from everyone.