Regret
"Batten down the main sail!" the captain bellowed over the sound of the howling wind, "We've got to ride out this storm!"
"Look out! The main mast is breaking!" one of the crew called out in warning.
"No, it's not!" Elsa replied defiantly as she fired an ice blast at it, causing a brace to form over the splintering wood, righting the upper portion and securely holding the two halves together again.
"Thanks, Your Highness, but I fear that will not be enough," the captain told her, "This ship is in rough shape, and this storm is showing no signs of letting up. I regret to say that this may be my last voyage. It would probably be best if you let us behind and saved yourself, Your Majesty. I'm sorry."
"No, there will be none of that talk here, captain. No one here is dying today!" Elsa shouted back at him, "You just focus on find a way out of this storm, I will hold this ship together until then!"
The Captain's eyes looked doubtful, but he simply bowed his head and said, "As you command, my Queen."
As Elsa looked around, trying to spot any other potential trouble areas, she could not fault the captain for doubting their ability to make it out of here alive. With the numerous ice patches in the hull and deck, the braces holding together the mizzenmasts and now the main mast, this ship already looked like a shipwreck which was one step away from being as bad as the one Julian had sailed into Arendelle what now seems like a lifetime ago. She had considered wrapping the whole ship in an ice armor, but with as bad as these waves were the extra weight would likely cause the ship to capsize and sink right to the bottom. The smart thing now would probably be to seek safety on her own, but she would not leave these men to their deaths. She couldn't!
As she frantically thought of a way out of this impossible situation, Elsa found herself reflecting on how she came to be here in the first place….
Earlier that day, in Arendelle…
As Elsa entered the throne room, she saw her father looking with concern at a scroll that was just handed to him by a messenger who was now passing by her on his way out. "What is it, father?" Elsa asked him.
"It would seem that our allies in the Southern Isles are in a bit of a bind," her father replied, "Their community has just been devastated by a series of typhoons. Their crops are gone, their buildings are a shambles…"
"Are they needing us to send them aid?" Elsa asked in concern, remembering how they had aided her kingdom when the now former Duke of Weselton invaded.
"Not of that sort," her father explained, "This wasn't the first storm they've ever endured, so they had food stored away in the event this ever occurred, and they've already started the rebuilding. However, that rebuilding is proving to be rather costly, and as a result they're not able to afford the shipping levy charged by our sailors."
"But our sailors have to charge the levy," Elsa said, realizing the issue that was troubling her father, "They don't buy or sell the goods they transport, they merely transport the goods from the ones who harvest or manufacture them who the merchants who sell them, then they transport the funds back, and they risk the dangerous seas and dangerous pirates to do so. That levy is how they pay their crews and maintain their ships, so they can't simply not charge it."
"Yes, and our friends are quite aware of this and have accepted it for the longest while," Elsa's father acknowledged, "However, this disaster has created a situation in which they need to seek a compromise. Therefore, they're wishing to meet in order to discuss possible alternate means of compensation that could be employed temporarily, at least until their recovery is over."
"I see," Elsa responded, "When will they be coming?"
"Unfortunately, their entire fleet was lost during the first of the typhoons that struck. This message was delivered by one of ours that managed to land there once the storms abated," Elsa's father told her, "They're working on getting their ships replaced, but that'll take time they may not have to wait. If this situation is to be resolved in time for it to be of help, then we'll need to go there."
"I understand, father," Elsa said decisively, "I'll get ready to depart right away."
Elsa's father and mother looked at one another before her father asked, "You, Elsa?"
"Of course," Elsa replied, wondering why they would be questioning her like this, especially since he was the one who brought this matter to her attention, "I'm the queen here, and the people of the Southern Isles have proven themselves to be loyal allies many times, especially most recently following your return. This is far too important a matter to leave in the hands of some treasurer that sees numbers rather than people, and should none of their proposed ideas be sufficiently adequate, as queen I can make decisions on my end that would make one of them work."
"I understand where you're coming from, but you need not have to go yourself," Elsa's father reasoned, "As your royal advisor, I could go in your stead. I know just as well as you what options we're able to handle, and I'm already familiar with the people over there, so we should be able to reach an agreement that'll work out for both parties quickly."
"I appreciate that, Dad. Really," Elsa told him gratefully, "But I need to start doing this stuff sometime. If you were in my position now, would you send an advisor instead of going yourself, even you were as close to them and trusted them as much as I am to you?"
Elsa's mother and father looked at each other for confirmation, but Elsa could already see the answer in their eyes. "Exactly," Elsa answered for them, "So I need to do this myself."
Elsa's father cleared his throat uncertainly as he said, "It's just…"
"Just what, Dad!?" Elsa exclaimed, her nerves drawn taut from her parents' insistence on this matter.
When it looked as though her father wasn't going to be able to answer, her mom responded in a concerned tone, "It's just that the last time we went on a diplomatic mission ourselves….well, you remember."
So that's what they're worried about, Elsa thought to herself. "You're afraid that what happened to you will happen to me," Elsa stated aloud, "You think that if I sail out I won't be able to come back."
"The typhoons are no longer pounding the Isles, but they may be still stirring things up in the seas between here and there," Elsa's father reasoned, "It wasn't all that long ago when we ourselves were lost in conditions like those, and when those pirates grabbed you we were afraid that we may have lost you forever. If we….if our people had lost you to the sea the way they had lost us, I don't think that any of us will be able to recover from that."
Elsa gave her parents reassuring hugs as she said, "Don't worry, guys. This isn't like your last mission as King and Queen. After all, let's not forget what I can do. I'd covered all of Arendelle in an early winter: I make storms! There's nothing some typhoon can throw at me that I can't throw right back at it."
"This isn't some joke, Elsa!" Elsa's mom retorted, concern making her tone sharp.
Her mother's worry sobered Elsa up as she said, "I know, Mom. I'm just saying I can take care of myself, and it's not like we're going to go look for trouble. If it looks like we may end up heading into some bad weather, then we'll just plot a course around it, even it that adds some time to the trip. I'll be there and back before you know it."
Elsa's mother looked at her husband, but he kept his gaze fixed on Elsa as he said in a resigned voice, "Your mind is made up on this."
Elsa nodded as she said, "Even if we didn't have a debt to repay, this is still the right thing to do, so I need to do it." Elsa then hugged her parents again as she said, "Don't worry, if worst comes to worst, I'll create myself a boat out of ice to sail back in. Absolutely nothing will keep me from returning home."
Famous last words, Elsa thought to herself as the waves battered their vessel back and forth before she shook it off, I can't let myself think like that. I will make it back home! Then she caught sight of a wave rising up close to one side of the ship that, if it landed, could cause the ship to capsize. Thinking quickly, she fired an ice blast at it, converting the upper portion into a strangely salty snow. Although the broken wave settled and allowed the ship to right itself again, the snowy portion still hit with enough force to knock her off balance and sweep even some of the secured cargo off the deck.
Fortunately, most of the crew had seen the wave coming and managed to secure themselves before it hit. However, just as she thought that the worst of it was over, she heard someone call out, "Man overboard!" Looking in the direction the speaker was pointing, she saw a deck hand that had been swept off with the cargo struggling to stay afloat. Getting a running start, she thought she heard someone calling out her name, but whoever cried out was too late to stop her from leaping over the railing just as the deck hand went under.
Even though her dive was perfectly executed, the cold water still slapped in the face with the force of a bludgeon, and she inadvertently swallowed some water. Confused and disoriented, Elsa forced her eyes to open and focus as she looked around the darkened water until she located the sinking crewman. Then she fought against the strong tides and her own exhaustion until she caught up to him, wrapping her arms under his armpits as she called upon her power, causing an icicle to form under her feet with such speed and force that it launched her past the water's surface and through the air back towards the ship. The trajectory landed her on the deck perfectly, but the momentum was such that some of the crew had to catch her before she toppled off the other side.
As Elsa retched out the seawater, the captain approached her and said, "Milady, out of all the monarchs that's presided over Arendelle you are, by far, the craziest, most noble one we've ever had!"
Elsa managed to reply with a weak smile, but the peaceful moment was short lived as yet another consequence of the snow wave made itself known. The masts, barely held together by Elsa's ice braces began to creak and break. Before she could gather the strength again to reinforce them, the masts snapped altogether and fell into the water, sinking quickly into the waves.
As Elsa prepared to board the ship, she heard the sounds of someone quickly running on the pier behind her and she turned around to see Anna stumbling to a stop, out of breath and carrying a number of bags.
"Anna? What are you doing?" Elsa asked her, though from the state of her it was pretty obvious what she thought she was doing.
"I'm coming with you, of course!" Anna said with a smile.
"No, Anna, you're not," Elsa told her firmly. As Anna's face fell, it looked like she was going to get into some argument she'd prepared for this event. However, before Anna could say anything, Elsa heard a whoosh and a thump, followed by a commotion from the ship behind her, prompting her to turn to see Aurora perched on the bow of the rocking vessel. Ignoring Anna's snickers behind her, Elsa told Aurora just as firmly, "And you, girl, are most definitely not coming."
When Aurora let out a soft whimper, Elsa added in a softer tone, "Look, I'm sorry, but there's just not enough room on this ship for a dragon, and I can't have you flying alongside us the whole way." When Aurora whimpered again, Elsa sighed and said, "Yes, I know it would probably be faster if I rode you instead, but considering that our Southern Isles friends have probably never seen anything like you before it'll probably be best if I take the ship for this mission." As Aurora leaned her head over the side, Elsa patted it as she said, "I know. I'll miss you too, but I'll be back before you know it. So behave, okay?"
Aurora gave Elsa a quick lick, then with a powerful flap that had the ship rocking again she took off in the direction of the North Mountain. Releasing a sigh of longing, wishing that she had the luxury of flying to the Southern Isles, Elsa turned around to see Anna, still standing there with a stubborn set to her face as she said, "Well none of that applies to me. There's easily enough room for me here on the ship, and the princes of the Southern Isles have met me before. I can help."
"You'll be helping the most by remaining here," Elsa tried to reason with her.
"You mean in case you don't return?" Anna retorted.
"No!" Elsa exclaimed, shocked she had come to that conclusion, "It's just, you know, after our country being invaded, my pirate abduction, and the attack by that Death Eater, our people need a sense of comforting stability , and you've always been the more social of us, so the people can relate to you."
"Come on, Elsa, you're just not thinking clearly," Anna pleaded with her, "I mean, it's only been, what, a couple weeks since….you know, Michael's funeral?"
"Three," Elsa corrected her, and as she had she felt somewhat introspective. It was true that, for a while after the service was held, she hadn't felt much like remaining in the castle's halls. They just seemed too full of the memories of him. Going outside wasn't much better, as the people's efforts to comfort and console her only made her feel worse. Although she never had one before, Elsa wondered if this was what losing a brother felt like.
She hadn't even felt up to visiting Michael's family, as she was afraid to see the accusatory look in their eyes. Not that they blamed her for his death, just the opposite in fact, but Elsa felt that they should and that it was only a matter of time before they realized that too.
However, this last week Elsa started to feel the pain lessen. It was still there, of course, but at least walking the castle's halls didn't bother her as much, nor did her people's words of comfort. Elsa even almost went to visit Michael's family, only chickening out at the last second. When this request for a meeting came in from the Southern Isles came in, Elsa had felt it the perfect opportunity to get her life back to normal, or at least as normal as she'd ever felt. "Look, I'm going on this mission because our friends need a hand and for no other reason, and I'll be back before the snow begins to thaw. Okay?" When Anna started to smile, Elsa drew her into an warm embrace as she said, "Take care, sister. I'll see you in two weeks."
When Elsa felt Anna stiffen in her arms, she pulled back to see Anna's eyes fill with tears as she whispered, "That's just what Mom and Dad said." Then she broke from Elsa's grip and ran the other direction, sobbing openly as she rushed past her parents.
"Anna!" Elsa called out to her, but Anna had turned a corner and disappeared into the gathering crowd.
"We'll talk to her," Elsa's father assured her as he hugged her, and her mother did the same as she asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes. Just one thing, though: can you make sure that nobody bothers Aurora while I'm gone?" Elsa asked them, "I think she's just as upset as Anna about not being allowed to go, and I don't need anyone provoking her."
"Of course," her father assured her, "Just make it back to us, okay?"
"Always," Elsa agreed with one last hug, then she turned and climbed the gangplank as she prepared to get herself settled below decks before launch.
To his credit, the captain had tried to avoid the storm, making such a huge detour it would have added several days to the trip had they made it far. However, the storm had swept over them too fast, covered them too completely for them to avoid it, and it wasn't long before Elsa had regretted not taking Aurora instead of risking these men's lives. Now they were stuck in the worst possible situation: no mast and sail, on a ship that'll likely fall apart if it receives too much more of a beating, and in the middle of the worst storm she'd seen since she'd frozen Arendelle.
"This ship is lost, your Majesty!" the captain bellowed at her, "You have to go now!"
"Not without you!" Elsa hollered back over the wind.
"You've already done all you can!" the captain countered, "If you stay, then you'll die too!"
"No!" Elsa bellowed, "I already told you I'm not letting anyone…"
Elsa trailed off when she felt the ship begin to list again. Looking in the direction of the upslope she gasped as she saw the largest wave yet beginning to tower over them, and she knew then there was nothing she could do about this wave. Even if she turned it to snow like the last wave, the massive amount of snow would crash down on them like an avalanche, crushing this ship just as easily as it would in its natural form. Turning back towards the crew, all of whom had the same look of hopelessness in their eyes, and she tried to find the words to tell them all just how sorry she was.
As she drew in a breath, however, she saw something in the water behind them. Focusing her gaze, she saw that it was some of the cargo that had washed off earlier, more specifically the ones in the barrels. She wondered for a second why those were still floating when everything else had sank, then it came to her. They're hollow! Elsa thought in realization, That makes them more buoyant than the rest! Acting quickly on her desperate idea, Elsa began firing blasts at each and every crew member on deck, encasing them in a hollow sphere of ice.
"Queen Elsa, what are you doing!?" the captain asked her.
"Saving your lives!" Elsa replied as she encased him in his own ice sphere.
As the ship's list became more severe, the ice spheres rolled off the deck and into the water, bobbing on the waves without sinking, and Elsa found herself hard-pressed to climb over the railing to stand on the ship's side so she wouldn't end up in the water as well. As she looked at the crest of the wave looming over them, the rest of her plan came to her. Replicating the trick she performed while rescuing the crewmember, she would use an ice pillar to launch herself up into the sky, hopefully high enough to get where the winds were a bit more stable. There she would create her ice glider to rise above the storm, where hopefully her powers would be better able to shut the storm down. Finally, she would gather and release the crewmen from their ice spheres, making for them an ice ship they could use to complete their journey.
Before she could act on her plan, however, Elsa heard a high-pitched scream. Looking down at the source, Elsa's heart froze at what she saw: there, hanging from the handle of the door leading to below decks, was Anna! How is this possible!? We'd left her back in Arendelle! Elsa thought in desperate disbelief, then the answer quickly came to her, She must have stowed away while our attentions were elsewhere!
"Elsa! Help me!" Anna called desperately as her hands slid down the handle.
"Hang on, Anna! Hang on!" Elsa called down to her, just as frantic. However, the handle was too slick with rain and ocean spray, and Anna screamed as she started to fall. Wasting no time, Elsa leapt down from the railing, angling herself to minimize wind resistance. When she'd caught up to Anna, Elsa formed an ice sphere around them both. Just before she could finish, however, the sphere struck the water's surface, causing Elsa to hit her head hard on the inner surface and black out.
When sensation returned to her, Elsa felt warm sun on her face again and the sensation of grass under her back. When she felt the gentle motion of rocking on the waves, Elsa concluded that she must have hit her head harder than she'd thought, because she'd have to be on a boat to be on the water, and who in their right mind would cover a ship's deck with grass? Still, the combination of the sensations was oddly comforting, making it seem as though the nightmare she'd just been through was just that, so she was content to let herself wake up as slowly as possible.
Her peaceful moment didn't last, however, as she felt something hard and dully pointed jabbing her in the face, accompanied by a rough voice gruffly asking, "Eh? You awake yet?"
"Cut that out, Moss Head!" another voice, which sounded rather suave despite the fact it was practically yelling, "That is no way to treat a beautiful lady!"
"And what do you know of how to treat a lady, you shitty cook?" the gruff voice retorted. Then she heard the sound of growling, followed shortly by the sharp metallic clangs she recognized as the sounds of a swordfight. Over the harsh cacophony, Elsa heard a higher-pitched voice, almost like that of a little boy, complaining, "Will you guys stop that? You're disturbing my patients!"
Finally, Elsa felt she had to open her eyes. Through her blurred vision, Elsa saw the last thing she'd expected. With his brown fur, pointed snout and rack of antlers it looked as though Sven was leaning over her. Elsa just attributed it to her head injury that she saw him with a blue nose and wearing some sort of oversized cap, as well as when he opened his mouth and said in that same little-boy voice, "Oh good, you're awake."
Rubbing her eyes to clear them, hoping to get better clarity, Elsa mumbled, "Sven?"
"Huh? What's a 'Sven'?" Elsa heard the voice say again, so she opened her eyes to look once more to see that creature still leaning over her. Taking stock of his appearance, Elsa felt that "creature" was the best-fitting descriptor of him. While he did have characteristics similar to that of a reindeer, he was far smaller than Sven or any other reindeer she'd ever seen, not to mention that he was standing on his hind legs and wearing clothes.
Looking away from this strange apparition, the sights that met her gaze convinced her that she must either be seeing things or still dreaming. It appeared to her that she was indeed on the deck of a ship, but this ship in fact did have a bed of grass covering it. Furthermore, moving across that deck in a deadly dance of blades was a pair of young men. One had a black bandana covering a head of hair so green it indeed did look as though it could have been moss, a vicious scar over his left eye, a white button-down shirt, black pants, and some sort of green scarf tied around his waist. The other man was had blond hair, one of those cigarette things she'd seen in New York clamped in his teeth, and he wore a black suit over a blue shirt and black tie. However, despite the serious nature of this fight, it appeared to be just as strange and unusual as everything else she'd seen thus far. For one thing, the man with the scar on his eye was wielding not one or two swords but three! One in each hand, and a third clamped in between his teeth! As for the dapper young man, he wasn't using any swords at all! All of his attacks and blocks were done entirely with his legs and feet! And even though such a one-sided battle ought to have been dangerous, even foolhardy, the swordsman didn't seem to be inflicting any injuries on the gentleman at all!
The fight, though intense, didn't seem to last very long at all. Once the gentleman saw Elsa sitting up, he broke off the battle with the swordsman, dancing his way over towards her as he called out in a sing-songy voice, "K3 Beautiful lady! K3" Before he could reach her, however, someone cut across his path and struck him down. Squinting her eyes to see who intervened, Elsa saw that the one who knocked the gentleman down was a beautiful young woman. With her wavy red-orange hair, fair complexion, and ample figure, this young woman would have been stunning even if her scant clothing didn't leave little to the imagination. The expression on her face, however, wasn't so beautiful as her fist, still clenched from striking the gentleman, trembled as she said in an irritated voice, "Didn't you just hear Chopper say to cut it out, you pair of idiots!?"
Elsa then heard the sound of fabric flapping in the wind, and when she looked up to see her heart sank into her stomach. What she saw on the mast was a flag, and even though she'd only seen a flag like that once before, in Elsa's book that was once too many. "No, not again!" Elsa said fretfully, her terrified gaze transfixed on the skull and crossbones set in the black field as she scrambled backwards in a crab-walk fashion.
When her scrambling hands fell on something soft and warm, Elsa looked and her heart froze over again. Lying there on the grassy deck behind her was Anna! Although her chest was rising and falling normally, her lips appeared to be an unnatural shade of blue. Gathering Anna into her arms, Elsa asked frantically, "Anna!? What's wrong!?" When Anna didn't respond, Elsa turned her glare at those around her and demanded, "What did you people do to her!?"
"It's okay miss, she just got a little too cold, but Chopper already treated her," Another young woman, this one with jet-black hair, ample figure and far too little clothing assured her. However, for some strange reason, the kindness Elsa saw in her eyes calmed her as, with a long nosed man wearing a strange cap looked over her shoulder, the young woman continued, "All she needs now is some rest and she'll be fine. Don't worry, no one here will harm you."
" 'She'll be fine'?" Elsa asked in disbelief as she looked around at this eclectic gathering of characters, "Just where are we? Who are you people?"
As if in response to her inquiry, a young man leapt from the upper wheel-deck and swung from a rope dangling from a mast….no, it wasn't a rope: it was that his arm stretched an unnatural length and grabbed the mast. Then, when the young man landed, his arm snapped back in shape as he smiled proudly and pointed at his scar-crossed chest and said, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"