Author's Note: Prompt:
"Elsa is forced to use her powers in a violent manner in order to defend someone (probably Anna, or maybe the kingdom itself)."
I'm taking a small liberty with how I'm choosing to define "violent" here (and even with how I'm choosing to define "defend"), and I'm borrowing a few ideas from other works that will help facilitate the story I want to tell.
Elsa had feared something like this would happen. Honestly, she was a little surprised it hadn't happened sooner. War had been declared on Arendelle.
Most nations tried to stay on the Ice Queen's good side, fearing what she might do if they offended her, while the rest did what they could to not have to interact with Arendelle at all. Of course, none of them knew her true nature; Queen Elsa would never hurt anyone on purpose. She was a benevolent ruler to her own people and showed nothing but kindness to all those who visited her, but that didn't change the fact that people were afraid of her – afraid of what she could do.
But the Southern Isles hadn't forgiven Arendelle for the humiliation that had been brought down upon one of its own. Apparently, what Hans's twelve big brothers thought of his behavior is that he was doing the world a favor by trying to rid it of a monster and they admired the ambition he had shown in trying to become the ruler of Arendelle.
So they had sent a messenger to Queen Elsa, explaining to her that if she did not come to the Southern Isles for justice that they would take her by force.
Queen Elsa lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How many more ships do they have?" She asked with a low voice.
Admiral Forsberg replied, "They have three times our navy. We have word that they commissioned thirteen new ships in the past year."
Elsa looked at the admiral. "If we had more ships, could you man them? I might be able to sway the odds in our favor."
Forsberg thought for a moment before answering, "... I believe we could man an additional seven galleons, if we had them. The crews would be a bit thin, but we could do it. What are you thinking, your majesty?"
"Meet me at the docks in the morning. Have our best ship ready for my inspection; I intend to spend most of the day on it. Dismissed." The Queen rose and strode out of the room, returning to her bedchambers to think and leaving her councilors wondering.
Elsa stepped through to door to her room and slammed it behind her, a bit more forcefully than she had intended, leaving jagged crystals of ice where she touched it. A small gasp of surprise came from her bed. Elsa whipped her head in the direction of the noise, seeing her sister groggily raise herself with on one arm and wiping the sleep out of her eyes with the other.
"Ugh... I didn't mean to fall asleep. How long was your meeting?" asked Anna.
With a sigh, the Queen replied, "Longer than I would have liked. Were you waiting for me in here the whole time?"
Anna shook her head, "No, I was playing out in the garden with Olaf until it started to get dark. Then I came in here to surprise you when you got back. I wasn't supposed to fall asleep..." With a gesture towards a book on the bed by her side, she added, "I started reading but it was boring and I kept thinking about your meeting and then I got worried about what's going to happen and..."
"Slow down, Anna," her older sister said as she moved to sit next to her on the bed. "You don't have to worry. Nothing bad is going to happen. Not to Arendelle, and not to you. I'll protect us." Elsa brought her younger sister into a protective embrace and began to run a hand through her long red hair.
Anna looked up at Elsa with her big eyes beginning to water. "I know you will, but that's part of what I'm worried about. I don't want you to hurt anyone again."
Elsa met her sister's eyes, a pained look on her face, "I know. I don't want to hurt anyone, either." She brought Anna closer. "I've never wanted to hurt anyone. I'll figure something out."
Admiral Forsberg stood at attention in front of the Ormen Isen, the finest ship in Arendelle's navy and the ship he personally captained, as he watched his Queen approach. "Your majesty, the ship has been cleared of all crew. I hope you find it to your liking."
"Would you be so kind as to give me the full tour? I would like to learn every detail I can about this ship."
The admiral was happy to oblige. He loved to talk about his ship and its history. They spent a few hours aboard the Ormen Isen before the Queen asked the admiral to leave her alone for a while to finish her preparations. Another few hours had passed before she emerged, satisfied with her results.
She moved to the edge of the dock, the admiral and the other officers that had gathered watching with curiosity towards what the Ice Queen was going to do with her newly found interest in ships. It took all of Elsa's concentration to remember every detail about the Ormen Isen as she started to swirl her arms and let the magic flow out. Slowly, an exact duplicate of the ship started to materialize out of opaque blue ice in the waters off the docks. The admiral looked on with astonishment. When Elsa was finished, he walked closer to her and said, "I didn't know you could do that! Is there no limit to your powers, my Queen?"
Elsa chuckled, "I created a palace once. I figured a ship shouldn't be much more difficult. I should show it to you some time. You had said you could man seven new ships, is that right?"
Forsberg didn't take his eyes off the new ship, its form glittering in the sunlight, as he replied softly, "Yes... That's right." Suddenly understanding what the Queen meant, he looked at her. "You're going to make another six of these?"
The Queen had already started on the second by the time he finished his query. The second was easier than the first, and the third easier still. She kept going until she had made six frozen simulacrums of the Ormen Isen, hesitating for a moment before starting on the seventh. She made the final ship larger and grander than the others, and from warmer purple ice befitting her royalty rather than the cool blue she had used on the rest. Turning to Admiral Forsberg, she said "This is the Drage Isen. You may name the others as you like. Hmm... They still need sails. I'll trust you to outfit them as needed. I will cover the expense. Be ready to sail in a week."
That week had come and gone, and Arendelle's navy departed on schedule. Admiral Forsberg was captaining his Ormen Isen to some protest. He wanted to be aboard the Drage Isen with his Queen, but she wanted him where he was most comfortable. She also wanted him separate from her in case something happened to one of them. So the admiral had left his most experienced officer besides himself as captain of the Drage Isen, ready to do as the Queen bid of him.
They were fortunate in that they intercepted the fleet of the Southern Isles. Queen Elsa had made sure to fly a flag of peace on all Arendelle's ships, hoping to reason with them before needing to resort to anything else. She had kept her seven frozen ships a distance behind the rest of her fleet, hoping they would blend in with the sea and take their enemy by surprise, if necessary.
The flagship of the Southern Isles seemed to respond to the attempt to parley, the rest of their ships hoisted their sails as it continued into the waters between them alone. A signal was sent through Arendelle's fleet, and the Drage Isen sailed forward to meet them. The ships met in the open water between the two fleets.
"This doesn't look like a surrender," came a shout from the flagship. "You truly mean to fight us? Look how outnumbered you are!" The man doing the shouting resembled Hans fiercely, but he was much older. Elsa assumed he was the eldest of the princes of the Southern Isles.
The Queen was haughty with her response, "I have come to accept your surrender. Though we may be outnumbered, you'd be a fool to think us outmatched. Surely you've heard what I can do from your little brother."
"All I've heard from Hans is that you're a monster. A monster that we will put down," came the reply. A moment later, "I'm through talking to you, monster." He made motions to have his ship turn so that the cannons were facing the Queen.
To their horror, the crew found all the ropes completely frosted over, the rudder was frozen stuck to the ship, and the portholes covering the cannons were immovable, as well.
Elsa chuckled as a thick wall of ice erupted from below the surface of the water, completely surrounding the Southern Islanders' ship as it extended higher than the ship's main mast. "That should occupy him for a while," she said to nobody in particular.
The rest of the Southern fleet jolted into action at this display, and began to move to engage. Surprisingly, the only ship from Arendelle that moved was the Queen's. Her plan – which she still wasn't completely sure would work – was only relying on her navy as a backup for if something went wrong. She wanted to do this herself, if she could.
While the Drage Isen moved steadily towards the advancing fleet, Queen Elsa was making her preparations for what came next. Her plan was to repeat what she just did, but on a much larger scale. She wanted to surround the entire Southern fleet in a gargantuan wall of ice. But to do that, she would need a distraction.
Her distraction was to create a golem on each approaching ship. The Queen had practiced this so much it had become almost second nature. They were similar in form to the one she had created that fateful day on the North Mountain, but with different instructions. She willed them to strike only the ship itself and to leave the crews unharmed. They quickly began their rampage, some tearing at masts and sails and some moving belowdecks to cause what chaos they could.
The crews, now too busy fending off these new threats to focus on the Queen, were giving her the time to concentrate on what she needed to do. Of course, she had practiced this as well, but it had proven extraordinarily difficult to produce such a quantity of ice all at once. Slowly but steadily her barrier crawled through the water until it broke the surface and began its ascent into the sky. By the time any of the Southerners noticed, it was too late. The wall was deck-height and growing. She stopped when it was as high as the first.
Content that they would be trapped for a very long time, Elsa created an enormous, marvelous snowflake high in the sky – the signal to her admiral that everything went as planned and to head home. She looked at the captain of the Drage Isen, smiled, and said, "You know what to do next," before collapsing from exhaustion.
The Queen awoke to a knock on her cabin door. "Your majesty? We've arrived," came a voice from beyond the door. She readied herself and headed above.
As she neared the quarterdeck, Elsa asked the captain, "So these are the Southern Isles? I expected... more."
"As did I your majesty; this is my first time in these waters," came his reply.
"Well, let's finish this quickly. I'd rather not stay here any longer than I must. Has the letter been prepared?"
"It has, your majesty. Just as you requested," the captain answered as he produced a small paper and an envelope from his jacket.
Elsa took the letter with one hand and quickly signed it while she created a golem with the other. After sealing the envelope and handing it to the golem, she got to work freezing a path for it over the water to the island housing what she assumed was the castle.
Queen Elsa's final act before the Drage Isen made the return trip to Arendelle was a slight adjustment to the area's climate. The return home was the first time she ever enjoyed traveling on a ship.
Queen Elsa's note to the king of the Southern Isles:
Your navy has been predisposed and will be for quite some time. Don't worry, no bodily harm has come to your sons or anyone else. I hope in the future you will reconsider any further acts of aggression. Winter is coming.
-Queen Elsa, of Arendelle.
Author's note: So that's it. My first work of fiction completed. I wanted to write about how hilariously overpowered Elsa is and I think I captured that pretty well. My favorite section is, interestingly enough, the small interlude between the two sisters in Elsa's bedchamber. I could have fleshed certain parts out a bit more but it was getting longer than I intended. Anyway, I hope this was an enjoyable read and I welcome all criticism (as long as you're not a dick about it).