The Six Stones of Karabraxos
By MySoapBox
With Anna dead and her kingdom under attack, Elsa goes on a quest for artifacts that will drive the threat away, but will that power be her undoing? 20 years post Frozen. Rated T for violence.
Note: This is a work of fanfiction. I get no compensation for my work other than reviews and self satisfaction.
xxooOOooxx
"Picture the thing you want most in the universe and decide how badly you want it." -The Doctor
Elsa
Oh, how she wanted to sink into the ground where she knelt, just sink in and become one with the earth that now wrapped Anna's casket. She had been beautiful; Elsa would always try to remember her as beautiful. But how would Elsa move on from this? She had no idea how, and no will, really, to keep breathing, or to keep her heart beating strong in her chest. Why did she have the right to live while precious Anna was dead? Wasn't she Anna's older sister? Wasn't she Anna's protector? Wasn't she the one responsible? She jerked away when she felt the tug on her arm. It was time to go, past time really, she knew. She heard the church bells ringing, looked up to see the sun hung low, starting to dip into the horizon, but she did not want to go.
Elsa looked down at her hands, filthy from clutching raw earth, leaving behinds trails of frost that branched out in all directions; what good were those hands if they could not save the one person that meant the most to her in the world? What good were her powers if they brought only destruction?
For twenty years she had been the Queen of Arendelle; twenty long, difficult years. But Elsa was strong, and Elsa was powerful, and through her might, and the support of her family, Anna, Kristoff and their children, she had overcome. When the raiders from the north country came she had not just defeated them, but had negotiated out of their surrender a strong treaty that had served them well all these years. When the Zygonite raiders from the east landed on their shores near Volderhaven, she had crushed their ships in the harbor and, though the battle had been fierce, not a single Arendellian soldier had been lost. Many had come to steal from prosperous Arendelle, for indeed Arendelle had prospered under Elsa's reign. Her control of the climate had made Arendelle a rich trading partner, and the source of jealousy. Some had come for Arendelle's riches, and some had come for Elsa herself. These she hated most of all because though she used all her powers to defend herself and protect her land, soldiers had unavoidably died in her protection. She felt their lives heavily.
Elsa felt the pull on her arm again. "Leave me alone," she growled.
"My Queen," the man replied, "You hear the alarm; the howling has been heard to the east. We must get you inside the walls."
"You go, Captain Ismund, and take your men; I will be along shortly."
"I am sorry, My Queen, but that's not possible. You will come with us now."
Elsa felt anger rise in her chest. "I said go!" she shouted waving her arm and spraying ice spikes on the ground between her and the soldiers.
They stepped back in fright, only the Captain stood his ground. Elsa turned from them and began to weep.
"Ready the horses," he commanded his men, and then she heard the shuffling of footsteps and the clank armor and spears. Good. They should leave her here on this hillside. She should be with Anna. This is where she belonged. This is what she deserved after all the pain and anguish she had caused her perfect sister; Elsa deserved to die at her side. Elsa dug her fingers once again into the dirt.
She felt him approach before he spoke. "My Queen," his voice was low in her ear, "You'll come with me - now."
"No," Elsa said through her tears.
"You will come with me," he repeated.
"I said no, Captain. That's an order."
"Sorry, but my duty is to the Queen, to protect her at all costs, even against herself." His voice was not cruel but firm. He reached down and offered his gloved hand.
Elsa did not take his hand.
"Don't make me bodily grab you and throw you on the back of my horse," he growled in a voice so low that no one would hear but her. Elsa's eyes darkened and he added with a little bow of his head, "My Queen."
Elsa met his steely gaze for a moment, his grey eyes catching the low light of the setting sun. Captain Ismund reached down, took her arm and lifted her to her feet. Elsa felt light headed, and almost fell, but the Captain wrapped a strong arm around her waist and guided her to her carriage. The instant she was safely stowed, he barked out the command to his men to double time. They must reach the gates of the castle before the death dogs reached them.
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Ismund
The carriage bumped and swayed violently behind the cantering horses. The church bells had stopped a few minutes ago but they were just now approaching the city. As they progressed Ismund couldn't help but keep checking the horizon for shadows of the dogs. He judged the distance between the castle and their rate of travel, secretly willing the horses to go faster, but knowing they were going as fast as they safely could.
Over the clattering of the carriage, he heard the barking of the dogs. "Damn it," he muttered, gripping the hilt of his sword for reassurance, and then shouted, "Eyes open men. We may not make it."
They were in the city proper now and the better roads made travel faster. They raced on without caution. No one would be on the streets; they would have heard the bells. When the death dogs came the only safe place was within the walls of the palace. The pounding hooves on the brick road echoed loudly off of the buildings, a disturbing loud sound in the still stretching shadows of the street. He could smell the salt of the sea in his nose. The castle gate was in sight now, a small square in the distance, and the ocean beyond. The Captain's heart leapt in his chest. They were going to make it.
It was that moment that the last slivers of the sun sunk behind the mountains and an unearthly howl ripped the air.
"The dogs!" one soldier shouted, and they all urged their horses faster towards the safety of the walls, galloping now, faster and faster, while the piercing howl multiplied from one, to two, to many crying voices echoing in the evening air.
With a terrible shriek one of the horses in the rear stumbled; the rider cried out as he tumbled to the pavement.
"Get the Queen to safety!" Ismund yelled out to the carriage driver, and he gestured for the front four of the guard to continue on, while he jerked his own horse around to face the oncoming shadows.
Pulling swords and lowering spears, the remaining guards turned and plunged back into the darkness where they heard the downed guard yelling for aid. Ismund could see the tussling from a distance as he sped forward. A death dog had his man by the leg, while his soldier hacked at it with his sword, but the sword was having little effect; the beast only snarled in protest. Part dog, part skeleton, mostly shadow, the death dogs were a fearsome sight, with blood soaked teeth and tongue and skull where flesh should be, eyes rolling around in skinless sockets.
By the time they arrived the wounded soldier had hacked a paw from the creature, but the dog continued to attack. Ismund heard the high pitched whine of the horse in the darkness beyond, and knew the more death dogs were coming. "Owen! Try to get Pavel onto your horse! The rest of you, circle and protect. " Ismund jumped down from his horse, sword in hand and charged at the beast, swinging with all his might. Experience had taught him that a death dog would not stop until its head was removed from its body, and that is what he intended to do. A solid strike to the shoulder got the dog's attention and it dropped the mangled leg of the soldier and turned its eyes on Ismund. Its missing front foot slowed it down considerably. Ismund stumbled back and raised his sword in defense, ready for the attack. In the corner of his eye he saw Owen pull the crippled Pavel onto the back of his horse.
More howls in the air now and the horse's cries had suddenly ceased. In his mind Ismund knew that this might be the end. He lunged at the beast, at the same time yelling to his men, "Go! All of you! I'll be right behind." His blade sunk into the dog's chest, but the dog pushed forward on the blade and bit down on his wrist, cutting through the leather of his glove. In pain he dropped his blade and yanked his arm from the blood soaked jaws leaving deep gashes. Around him he saw his men, who had not gone as he had ordered, but who were slashing and battling other death dogs that had come. Ismund rolled to the side as the clumsy dog attacked again. As the creature fell forward, Ismund grabbed the hilt of his sward and pulled and twisted it with all his might. The sharp metal connected with bone and with a crunch, Ismund slashed his blade up through the chest and severed the dog's neck. It fell to his feet in a twitching mound of fur and bone and blood. But before he could raise is sword to defend himself again, he was hit from behind, a bone crunching blow that knocked the air out of his lungs. Another dog snarled, his breath foul and hot on his face. The beast opened its jaw and lunged in for a killing blow. Ismund screwed his eyes shut, prepared to meet his end when felt the push of cold air, like a sudden hurricane. He opened his eyes to find the animal fell to the ground, severed in two, a large flat ice blade dug into the earth between the pieces. More ice flew around him, and he saw bone and bloody fur flying in all directions. His men scrambled to their feat, looking around, trying to regain their position.
Ismund turned and saw, sitting on horseback, the Queen, black cloak billowing in the sudden wind, her arms raised, and her eyes glinting in the darkness. "No one dies today," she yelled. "Not anyone. Not anymore!
xxooOOooxx
a/n: I'm looking for a beta reader for this story. I wrote it for NaMoWriMo and it's 55000 words. I hope to be editing and posting a chapter or maybe two a week so it's a commitment. Need help mostly with typos and spelling, need a little help with some plot points in the middle. PM me if interested. Thanks.