Epilogue

Three years later.

It was almost noon when their royal procession reached the troll glade. The Westergaard royals had arrived before them, and stood grandly, lining the entrance of the glade for the momentous occasion. Each brother bowing deeply as Anna and Hans passed them by, even Lennart, albeit, begrudgingly and in his monk's robes.

Anna felt Hans squeeze her hand a little tighter, and looked up at her husband with a reassuring smile. Being back on the Southern Isles was difficult for him, and he was unaccustomed to the respect his brothers were now showing him. He'd been overly nervous all morning, and Anna had done her best to calm him. He returned her smile with a less confident one, and all Anna wanted to do was take him aside and kiss him silly until he relaxed.

Hans had chosen to return to Arendelle with Anna and marry her there as per Arendelle customs. Once he'd left the Southern Isles, he had no intention of ever living in his homeland again. The curse had been lifted, but hearts did not change so easily. They needed catalysts, and time. Saving the Westergaards had never been Anna's task, but saving Hans was. Off the Isles, away from his family and into Anna's, he thrived.

It didn't mean that things were perfect between them, and that everything was a happily-ever-after-fairy-tale ending like they had both naively wished for upon their first meeting, but they were happy and they were in love. True love.

Anna knew that she could never change Hans, but that didn't mean she didn't help Hans change himself. His love for Anna had made him want to be a better person, a man worthy of love, and the man he wanted to be. Together they had both become better people—better versions of themselves through their love, and in time, they had found that place where they could meet in the middle without it feeling like so much work and effort. Being together came naturally.

King Vilhelm and Queen Grete were waiting for them at the end of the procession line, smiling. Their daughter, Princess Belinda, broke rank and ran on her chubby, little legs up to Elsa jubilantly.

"Auntie Elsa!" The child flung herself into Elsa's waiting arms. Elsa caught the dear girl with a grin.

"Hello, Belinda. Behaving, I hope?"

The girl stuck out her tongue and shook her head 'no'.

"That's my girl." Elsa grinned.

Elsa had spent a great deal of time between Arendelle and the Southern Isles since the witch had been defeated. She visited with Liesel almost as much as she visited Grete. With the threat of the trolls still looming over the Westergaards, it had been imperative that Elsa meet Liesel and learn how to keep Belinda safe.

But that wasn't the only reason Elsa went to visit with Liesel as often as she did.

Elsa had finally met someone who could wield ice magic, and not just learned troll ice magic, but true ice magic that she'd been born with. It turned out that Liesel understood Elsa far more than she had let on to Anna, revealing to Anna's sister that the reason she had wanted to learn magics with the trolls in the first place and become a Troll Wife was because she too, had been born with the power to conjure ice and snow. In Liesel, Elsa had finally found a kindred spirit, someone just like her, and learned a great deal more about her powers.

Elsa had also been made godmother to Belinda, and often chuckled when she was addressed as 'fairy godmother' since it was Elsa's magic that protected Belinda from the Southern Isles trolls until the time came for Hans and Anna to present their child to the troll glade.

And finally, after three years of everyone waiting, Hans and Anna had conceived a child on their own terms, and at their own pace. It had been a strain on their relationship at times, knowing what was expected of them from the Southern Isles, and knowing that in the blink of an eye things could change if they weren't careful and honest with each other. It was half the reason Hans had stayed away from his homeland as much as he had. Being in Arendelle alleviated some of the pressure that had been placed on their shoulders.

Elsa had been very diplomatic in that regard as well, often fielding persistent questions from the overly anxious Westergaards, who were obviously keen on having their legacy and homeland restored. Anna knew that they meant well, but she and Hans had been more than thankful to let Elsa deal with it.

"Little brother," Vilhelm greeted with a bow as they approached. "and Princess Anna."

Grete was less formal, embracing both Hans and Anna. "It's so good to see you both again."

"Are you ready?" Elsa asked after all the pleasantries and formalities had been exchanged.

Anna nodded and looked to Hans. He cradled their energetic baby in one arm while holding Anna's hand in the other, tightly. They entered the troll glade together.

In the very centre of the glade stood Liesel, dressed in an elegant and ethereal gown. She curtseyed. "Crown Princess Anna Westergaard of Arendelle, and Prince Hans Westergaard of Arendelle, it is so lovely to see you both again. I daresay, the two of you have never looked better."

Hans bowed and Anna curtseyed.

"May we present our daughter, Princess Liesel Iduna Westergaard, a child born of love." Hans held their daughter out for Liesel and she took the now giggling baby into her arms.

"What a dear, sweet girl," she murmured, fawning over the baby. "She has her father's eyes, and her mother's smile, and is truly a child born of love. Many congratulations to the two of you on the start of your rather large family."

"Wait, what?" the startled pair asked in unison.

Liesel only grinned that trollish grin of hers, turning away from them to face the centre of the glade with their baby. She held the little princess up in the sunlight. "Let the Westergaard curse born of selfish love finally come to an end with the Westergaard child born of true love."

Sunlight spilled forth into the glade as though the trees themselves had moved their shadowy canopy away to let the light in. The glade sparkled in bright, white light, flashing so brilliantly that Anna had to shield her eyes.

When the light dimmed to that of plain daylight, the glade looked brand new, and very much the way Anna knew a troll glade should look. Before her she saw a safe, homey place, resonating with kindness and warmth. The air smelled crisp and dry, sunlight seeped in from above, chasing all the harsh darkness and shadows away, replaced with muted, dappled shadows of the tree leaves above.

Gone were the piles upon piles of broken man-made garbage, and gone were the sharp, awful rocks covered in sludge; replaced now by cozy, round boulders covered in soft moss and sparkling crystals. When the trolls awoke tonight, everything would be different. They would be themselves again.

"Everything is as it should be," Liesel announced with a tone of finality. She brought the baby back to Hans's waiting arms, and he took his daughter back gently. Liesel stood before Anna, grasping both her hands in her own frail, age-worn hands. "And now, my dear, it is time for us to say good-bye. The way of the Troll Wife ends today with me, the last of a dead tradition. There will be no more girls brought to the glade, no more Westergaards making vows or bargains. No more relationship between human and trolls on the Southern Isles. The trolls have been restored to their former selves, but with all things that have been badly broken, time is the thing that mends the best. Once you leave this glade today, it will never be found again, at least, not in your lifetimes."

Anna felt Hans tense beside her. "Auntie," he said, apprehension in his voice. Liesel was the only member of his family who had ever truly loved him, and as Anna looked up at her husband, she could see that he wasn't ready to let her go.

"Dear, sweet, little Hans," Liesel began, cupping his face softly. "I could not be more proud of you, my boy. You have grown into everything a Westergaard once was and should be, and you did it without seeking magic or making bargains, but by finding who you were meant to be and where it is you belong. You know where it is you belong, just as you know who your real family is. Sometimes your real family is not the one you are born into, but the one you make yourself. It doesn't mean those birth bonds are severed, only changed, and given time, maybe transformed into something brand new." She looped her arm through his. "Come, let us leave the glade and this forest together." Liesel held out her other arm for Anna to take, and Anna looped her arm through Liesel's, grasping the woman's hand. The three walked out of the glade together, side by side, hand in hand.

And with all things strange about the eastern woods, the exit to the woods suddenly appeared just past the last of the Westergaard brothers that had flanked the path to the troll glade. With one final breath and a smile on her face, Liesel stepped out of the eastern woods and disappeared, vanishing to nothing in the sunlight.

In Anna's hand where Liesel's had been, Anna found Hans's little carved princess. She looked to Hans, who was now holding a rather large chunk of cake in his hand, with his little carved prince, good as new, sitting as a cake topper.

"I'm going to need some milk for this," Hans said wryly, and no sooner had he said the words than a tall glass of milk appeared before him in the grass. Anna laughed, and leaned into him, mindful of the cake as she stood on her tippy toes to steal a kiss.

"That's chocolate cake, so you'd better be sharing," she whispered in his ear, and he snickered.

Just then Elsa was heard behind them, exiting the woods. "Is that chocolate I smell? Wait…is my dear brother hoarding chocolate cake from me? He'd better be sharing."

Anna grinned up at Hans. "Told you."

The End.

Author's Note: Whew! Done and done! Many thanks and much obliged to everyone who read my story and enjoyed it—whether you were a vocal reader with the lovely reviews and messages or a silent one. Your support is very much appreciated and very encouraging. I'm happy to have written a story you felt was worth your time to read until the very end. I look forward to seeing you all again with the next story! —As always, Tam