A/N New story? Let me explain - I wanted to post this after I finish my main fic, Marionette, but I couldn't help it. Being a huge fan of the Fate series by TYPE-MOON, I've been playing with this idea in my head for a longest time. It's an AU that I think works well with the RoTGxFrozen crossover universe. Not only that, but I do want to write some "less dark" Jelsa fics that will appeal to a younger audience, but still appeal to an older audience as well.
This is a Modern AU (the first chapter will not be in the modern setting, but history/backstory is needed, yes?) featuring Elsa with powers, magic universe in general, familiars, and a human Jackson Overland, along with 'Jack Frost.' Main pairing will be Jelsa, but side pairings will include Kristoff x Anna, Eugene x Rapunzel, and Hiccup x Astrid. Characters from RoTG, Frozen, HttyD, and Tangled will be present in this story.
I hope this will be entertaining as hell because I'm honestly going to have so much fun writing this. I really hope you guys will enjoy this!
Cheers! I'll be listening to the Fate OST as well as the opening songs, which could be found on Youtube, while writing this entire fic. I suggest that you guys give them a listen while reading if you'd like!
Cover credit goes to Kai Shizimi; found on Zerochan; original character is Saber (King Arthur Pendragon) from Fate/Prototype
Oath Of Kings And Knights
Summary: In order to preserve magecraft and balance in the world, Queen Elsa sacrificed herself to The Moon. All went well for the next several hundred years until a series of cataclysmic events triggered the start of the Lunar Night Wars. Seven mages are selected by The Moon and are allowed to summon a Guardian spirit in order to protect them.
Pairings - Jack x Elsa, Kristoff x Anna, Eugene x Rapnuzel, Hiccup x Astrid
Rated T - Violence, mild sexual themes, language
Chapter 1 - A Noble Sacrifice
The moon glowed with an ethereal blue light, creating a slight halo around its glorious body. A pair of icy blue eyes gazed upon it for the longest time, before tearing themselves away in distress. The half-crown made of ice rested upon the back of his head, catching the moonlight's beams beautifully as he turned to face his beloved queen.
"There is a war on the horizon," he informed her as she slowly approached him. His voice was dim and downtrodden, very much unlike him.
The platinum blond queen approached him, her beauty stunning as she was bathed in the warm moonlight glow. "It would appear so," she muttered under her breath, holding her hands neatly in front of her. She moved closer to the edge of the balcony that overlooked the immediate town beneath her. Beyond the castle gates, she could see the townspeople scrambling to pack their belongings and leave before the impending war dawned on their homeland.
"Are you not going to stop them?" the white haired man that stood beside her asked, looking out over the chaos that had befallen the once glorious kingdom. "Even some members of the royal court are leaving."
"No...let them, for I do not blame them for their actions." A befallen sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes as soon as an icy wind blew past her. "They shouldn't pay for the stubborn foolishness of their queen."
"Stubborn foolishness? Your Majesty - "
She chuckled softly, facing her loyal knight. "Didn't I tell you that it's okay to call me by my name, Sir Frost?"
The young man smiled ardently at her, responding back astutely, "and you as well - Elsa." His heart swelled with affection for the young queen that he served when she giggled delicately into her hand. She truly was the personification of the word 'beauty.' With a forlorn sigh, he suddenly, gently, brought her into his arms.
"Jack…?" Her eyes widened at the sudden display of affection given to her.
"You did all you could do as the Queen of Arendelle."
"Did I?" she said with a wry laugh. Elsa pulled away from him, resting her hands on his long, arm length fingerless gloves. The soft silky texture ran smoothly underneath the delicate tips of her fingers as she held them there. "I refused the help of the kingdom of Burgess just because its king wanted my hand in marriage. I should have swallowed my pride and accepted - "
She stopped when Jack pulled her in for a breathless kiss. Her sapphire blue eyes went wide for a moment, completely caught off-guard by the act of dominance, but relaxed into a glazed, half-lidded stare as she enjoyed the romantic gesture. A lovely blush decorated her face as he pulled away slowly.
Jack smiled a little at the sight of her adorable expression. It was a look that was reserved only for him and to think that if she had gotten married to the King of Burgess, she would show that face to him as well and that was completely unacceptable. "I apologize," he murmured, scattering random kisses all over her heart-shaped face.
"...F - For what?" Elsa asked in a daze, closing her eyes and thoroughly enjoying the butterfly kisses her gentle knight provided.
"If I ever gave off the feeling that I didn't want you to marry the king."
"Jack," her gaze softened as she pulled back slightly to cup his face. "I refused to marry him on my own terms - not because of you."
"But - "
She quickly shushed him gently. "I also, fell in love with you on my own terms."
Jack laughed mirthlessly as he took her hand in his. "You spoiled this knight too much, my Queen. What will the people say when they find out you rejected the king of Burgess' offer and made love to your knight on that very same evening?" he chuckled, bringing her hand up to kiss her smooth knuckles.
"They will know no such vulgar thing, Jack," she fired back pointedly, eventually breaking her stern expression into a lighthearted laugh. Elsa smiled calmly as she looked out over her kingdom once more. "...I figured that I'm perfectly fine ruling my kingdom alone. I have no need for a king or to enter a loveless marriage simply for the sake of uniting two kingdoms. Arendelle is strong and its people are ready to fight if necessary," she stated in a clear voice.
"That is true," he commented with a slight chuckle. Jack turned to look out at the town, watching the frenzy of people evacuating. "While the humans are running away - " A faint glow of blue emitted from Jack's right hand, growing brighter. In a dazzling shimmer of electrifying blue light, a long shepherd's staff found its way into his hands. He held it, resting it on the ground, with confidence. " - The mages that your kingdom has taken in will defend our queen, no matter what the stakes are." He stepped close to the young woman and took her slender hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze.
Elsa gave a loving smile towards her loyal knight and bowed her head in modest gratitude. "I am eternally grateful for your servitude, Jack."
The white haired man gave her lips a little peck before he let her go. In a hushed voice, he whispered with confidence, "I will make sure that your mage knights are at the ready. We will protect your kingdom from theTrinity no matter what - Queen Elsa."
She knew the situation was becoming dire. Her coalition of mage knights had fallen victim to much of the Trinity's armies over the course of just a mere week, according to Jack. While her kingdom had the power of utilizing mana to cast devastating spells, the Trinity far outnumbered them. Her kingdom was in grave danger of falling and at this point, it was too late to do anything - except…
"Elsa," Jack drew in a quiet breath, looking on worriedly as he watched her slowly drawing out an arcane circle that was reminiscent of an intricate snowflake. However, despite its pretty design, Jack knew exactly what it was.
A sacrificial magic circle.
She used her own magic for the preparations, holding out her hand as she formed the permanently cold ice lines on the stone grounds of her throne room. After a short while, she gasped sharply in pain and cried out as she drew back her hand. Elsa stumbled back, prompting Jack to dive for her.
"Elsa - !" He stopped when he saw the tell-tale signs that the sacrificial ritual had begun by the markings that were beginning to take form on her right hand. Jack drew in a shuddering breath at the sight of the bright red marks on the back of her hand and scolded her. "Why are you doing this!? There is no need for you to go so far - !"
The blond grit her teeth and struggled in his arms, trying to get back up on her feet. "I took...on...an oath when I took the throne," she said with a strangled grunt as she pushed herself up onto her feet. Setting her blue eyes in a fierce glare, she stepped back into the incomplete magic circle and held out her hand. Elsa stifled down a cry of pain as she forced herself to resume her work.
"Please stop this!" Jack urged her, standing back up onto his feet, the heavy soles of his brown leather riding boots falling short of the outside perimeter of the massive ice circle. "We can come back to fight another day! Your cousins in Corona have offered their kingdom as a sanctuary for the mages, including yourself."
"Retreat and then what…? Put their lives and kingdom in danger as well?" Elsa argued with a sharp tongue, causing her knight to take a step back. "The Trinity made it clear that they want to eradicate magecraft from the world and Arendelle is the final safe haven for us mages. I refuse to submit to them and show that they can do whatever it is that they want - !"
"And sacrificing yourself is the answer!?"
Elsa brought down her hand weakly, gasping for air as she weakly stood in the middle of the incomplete magic circle. She could feel the warmth of her blood running down the length of her slender fingers, from the sacrificial seal that was painfully carved into her hand due to the ritual. The blood dripped onto the gray stone ground and for a while, she stood there silently, increasing Jack's worry for her.
Finally, she spoke, breaking the deafening silence. "Jack…" she whispered, straightening out her back. She tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. "It may not make sense to you as to why I am doing this. You are a knight serving a queen and your duty is to protect her at all costs. However...I am a queen - someone who swears an oath that she must protect her people and her kingdom at all costs."
Jack saw her turn around and he stood there awestruck at how serene she appeared despite being her disheveled appearance. She smiled slightly at him, hiding her pain cleverly.
The platinum blond drew in a deep breath through her nose, silently, and turned around, facing away from him. She clenched her fists loosely, as her eyes rested upon her throne several feet away from where she stood. "I must do all I can to protect the people of Arendelle - as their queen. That is my role," she whispered gently.
The sound of a low bellow of the war horn could be heard in the distance, a clear sign of the Trinity's army closing in on Arendelle. At this, Elsa bowed her head somberly, knowing the impending doom that was to befall her kingdom. It eased her mind slightly knowing that much of the mages and citizens had fled to nearby kingdoms willing to take in refugees. Not to mention, her sister and her fiance had fled for refuge in Corona days ago. She had no doubt that they were safe and out of harm's way, and that thought alone brought her comfort.
"Elsa," Jack said cautiously, hearing the sound of the battle horn once more. "It's not too late to back out now. We can still run - "
"No," she responded in a firm voice, holding out her hand again and conjuring up the last bit of mana left in her body. Elsa fought through the intense pain that wracked her body, holding her injured arm with her other hand. The arcane circle crackled with the intense cold that she produced. The entire throne room was submerged in a deep freeze, a layer of frost covering the walls and all the furniture. While the cold would have bothered a normal human, it hardly bothered either of the ice mages that stood in the subzero temperatures with ease.
Jack looked on helplessly, wishing that he could help her, but any proficient mage knew that a sacrificial ritual would be corrupted if two different mana sources were used. He clenched his fists tightly, his blunt nails digging into the white silk of his fingerless gloves."If you wanted to do all that you can for your kingdom...you should have accepted the King of Burgess' hand in marriage. He did tell you that he would offer aid to Arendelle upon your union - "
"Don't say such foolish things, Jack," Elsa said, trying to keep her voice steady as she pumped large amounts of her mana into the ritual. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the pain she endured. Her mouth gaped open, panting heavily as the circle neared completion. "...I may love my people and my kingdom, but...I love you more. I cannot possibly enter something as sacred as a marriage when I've already committed myself to you."
His icy blue eyes widened at her words. "...Elsa," he breathed out.
The sacrificial circle underneath her feet was encrusted in a thick layer of unmeltable ice. She finally lowered both her arms, gasping for air as she finished the preparations for the ritual. The temperature in the room began to rise once more, the ice thawing ever so slightly. She fell to her knees, feeling faint. Her ice encrusted train billowed out slightly behind her as she placed both hands on the ground for support.
Jack rushed to her side, kneeling down beside her and offering her support as he helped her back onto her feet. He worriedly looked on after her, seeing that she was completely pale in the face. A sacrificial ritual was not an easy one to set-up. To his knowledge, it drained a mage's mana immensely and Jack knew that if Elsa had been just an ordinary mage, she would be rendered unconscious from the lack of mana. However, she managed to stand back up onto her own two feet and soon after, he saw the color in her face returning.
"...Thank you...Jack," she breathed out, smiling as she rested her head against his chest. Elsa looked up at him and locked eyes with his. "It is not too late to go," she murmured, clutching at the soft dark blue fabric of his cape tied loosely around his shoulders.
Jack gently kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes. "It is not for a knight to abandon his queen…" he paused and looked down at her, tilting her head up slightly by the chin. "...and it certainly is unbecoming for a husband to leave his wife for death."
Elsa felt the gentlest of kisses placed on her lips. She relished the feeling of his soft lips on top of hers until she snickered softly against him. "Husband and wife?" she remarked softly, "we have yet to complete a proper wedding ceremony, Jack."
"Is a ceremony really necessary to validate our relationship?" He smiled handsomely at her and held the young queen close. Burying his face in her soft blond locks, he whispered, "...I love you, Elsa."
She felt a wetness develop in her eyes as she heard the war horn bellow again in the distance. A single tear fell from her cheeks and she whispered back, "I love you too, Jack..."
Not too long after her declaration, she could have sworn that she felt a tear drop on her head followed by a soft sound of comforted agreement by her knight.
"I highly disagree with His Majesty's ruling. His presence is not required here and he has no business in Arendelle after Queen Elsa rejected his hand in marriage," the black haired man scoffed as he rode alongside one of the king's respected generals.
His green eyes narrowed slightly. "Lord Pitch, I believe the only presence unneeded here is yours."
The lanky tall man snorted, the nostrils of his hooked nose flaring in irritated anger. "General Night, you certainly have a sharp tongue. Favoritism with the king has inflated your ego." His gold-hazel eyes flashed dangerously as he tightly held the reigns on his midnight black horse. He matched Night's deathly glare and eventually his thin lips curled into a sneer. "Or are you supporting His Majesty's decision simply because you are a mage as well and you wish to help your brethren in Arendelle?"
Night could see that Pitch was eyeing his unnaturally white hair that was caused by the overflow of mana in his body. "...I simply wish to stop the spilling of innocent blood."
Pitch chuckled darkly. "Mages are hardly considered "innocent." Don't you know that magecraft is the center of all the evil in the world? I mean - who are the ones that summon vampires to kill off the humans?"
"Yes, there are those that misuse magecraft for evil, but the same can be said for humans as well. There are mages that are opposed to using their unique gifts against the humans. Have you forgotten that it was because of magecraft that the vampires in Burgess are suppressed?" the green eyed man fired back with a tone that simmered with contempt.
"Yes, but - "
"Lord Pitch," a new voice suddenly interjected, drawing the attention of the two men and breaking their tirade. When their eyes averted from one another, they looked towards their honorable king. He never once looked back when he spoke to them. "If you have such a close-minded view of mages and magecraft, I suggest you align yourself with the Trinity."
"Your Majesty," Pitch said, speaking up as he ushered his horse to pick up the pace so that he was a bit closer to the king he served. Feigning an apologetic tone, he laughed lowly and commented, "I was just trying to lighten the mood with a joke - "
"The fate of Arendelle is no joke. The genocide of mages and the purging of magecraft is not a joke," the king commented, his youthful voice sharp and stern.
"Apologies, Your Majesty, but is it necessary to bring up the glaringly obvious fact that Queen Elsa of Arendelle rejected your hand in marriage? Surely, she is a beautiful, dazzling gem even though she is a mage herself, but why are you trying to help her kingdom?" Pitch inquired, an eyebrow raised as his golden orbs rested on the back of his king's head.
Although Night did not want to admit that Pitch had a point, he too, wished to know why his king wanted to help Queen Elsa when she rejected his offer. He stared at his king's warm brown hair, as he rode behind him. Although waiting for an answer, he widened his eyes when he finally heard what he had to say.
The young king's lips spread into an endearing smile as he looked on into the distance, spotting the pointed towers of Arendelle's brilliant palace. "...I swore an oath as king...that I would protect all those that I hold dear - that includes my people, my kingdom, and the queen that I've fallen in love with."
Night blinked in astonishment. "Your Majesty - " he whispered, surprised that his king had an unrequited love for the Queen of Arendelle. His speech was cut short as the king's army reached the hillside that overlooked Arendelle - or what was left of it.
The gentle king's smile fell sharply and his warm brown eyes took in the sight of the once glorious kingdom of Arendelle being burned down to ashes. Although they could not hear any blood-curdling screams or the sounds of terror, indicating that the entire kingdom was abandoned, they could hear the shouts of the Trinity's army as they stormed the palace.
Night looked on in horror at the burning kingdom. "...We're...too late," he whispered.
"No," the king uttered in a broken whisper. In an act of impulsive action, he slapped down the reigns on his horse and raced down the hillside towards the fiery battlegrounds.
"Your Majesty!" the white haired man called out, chasing after his king.
A bright, blinding light - one that left the entire army of Burgess awestricken, including the king who stopped in his tracks. The celestial body seemed to pulsate as it shone brightly overhead Arendelle. Night looked in amazement and wonder as the moon was briefly shrouded in the most dazzling shade of blue he had seen, before it returned back to its normal icy white color.
"...What in the world was that?" Pitch asked in shock of what he just witnessed.
"A sacrificial ritual," Night breathed out, his lips still parted in awe. "...It must be Queen Elsa. She is the only mage in this region able to perform one enough for the moon to react."
"Sacrificing what exactly at such a dire time? Her entire kingdom has gone to ruins, she has nothing to give," the pale, black haired man commented incredulously.
The general drew out a staggering breath. "...She's sacrificing the only precious thing she has left - her life."
A/N The "Knight"Jack has a design inspired by the Winter Prince illustrations floating around on the internet. :) And yes, there are vampires in this story, but they don't look human at all and are rather dangerous, bloodthirsty creatures that are more towards the horror genre - rather than the "romanticized" vampires that plague this section and the internet in general. They are creatures summoned by "evil" mages that partake in the dark side of magecraft. Anyways -
Reiterating this again - I was inspired by the Fate series (Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Prototype..etc)
I don't want people coming to me and saying, "oh wow, did you copy this idea? It's strangely familiar-" I'd like to say inspired. I will not be following the storyline for any of the Fate series. I'm simply using the concept. :)
'Til next time!
-ZERO-