Alkazarian Emperor's note:
So as all, or most as I have no way of knowing if you know me in real life or not, may not know, I kinda sorta maybe coerced Umbra into writing this crossover. Now I say kinda sorta maybe because he easily could have told me to go fuck off. He enjoys writing this, mostly because I let him take the kid gloves off from time to time. Especially when I let him write Elsa's first kill. I have a feeling he enjoyed that a bit too much. So don't flame unnecessarily or I'll have to point him on your direction. Just note, I have authorized Exterminatus and I am about a year away from my space cruiser, which I will get as soon as I'm able to start playing Star Citizen, so don't piss me off 'Kay? ^-^ That's about all I have for now, so imma let Umbra say what he wants to before we kick off the fanfiction.
Legatus Umbra's Note:
I do not own Frozen. If I owned Frozen, I wouldn't have over thirty thousand in student loans, Elsanna would be canon, and y'all would love me forever. Likewise, I do not own Skyrim, outside of my copy of the game. If I did, I would be pulling a Scrooge McDuck and diving into my pool of gold on a regular basis. Seeing as I lack gold, and a pool, I figure we can move on.
So, this is my first fanfiction, and Alkazarian Emperor is the reason. Damn the Emperor if you want. Note: Doing so will cause me to declare Exterminatus upon you. This is, obviously, a Frozen/Skyrim crossover, despite the fact I abhor crossovers for the most part. So, warnings. There will be the following: Swearing, blood and violence, lovingly detailed descriptions of gore, eventual character death, depression, anxiety, spoilers for both Skyrim and Frozen (Do not whine and bitch!), dark themes, probable Elsanna, rape, probable lemons, possible self-harm, and a general tearing down of all happiness. There will not be: Mary Sue self-inserts, any appearance of anyone you request unless it works within the story, and possibly any happy endings for anyone. This fic is rated M for a reason, so scurry on away little kiddies.
Trigger warnings: Any or all of the following will show up in this story: Rape, depression, suicide, self-harm, abuse, and torture. You have been warned, and I have an army of badger attorneys to protect myself.
Constructive criticism is welcome, reviews are welcome, and donations of firstborns are welcome, just don't expect to get them back in one piece. Flames are not welcome, and I will laugh my ass off all the way to Hell if you don't like what happens. The back button is right up there, feel free to use it. And now, on to the main event!
FANFICTION START!
She ran, fleeing across the vast, empty space, away from those who feared her. She ran blindly into the unknown, breath hitching in her throat, coming out in great, tearing gasps. And where she ran, the icy, howling wind followed, swirling and dancing chaotically as she unknowingly fed it.
Elsa, newly crowned queen of Arendelle, fled her city and the people she had revealed her secret to, not willingly, but torn from her in anguish and anger. As she ran, far, far into the mountains, her emotions spun out of control. Were she in a state to notice, she would have been able to identify fear, anger, shame, worry, guilt and other, stranger emotions, all mixing and churning inside her, lending her feet speed and strength for long after she should have had to stop out of exhaustion. But her muscles were not the only things her feelings fed.
Her powers, that of the ice and snow and cold, usually kept repressed, if barely, now roared inside her, struggling against the iron bonds of her will. But even the willpower of a sorceress queen has its limits, especially when it is weakened by the very emotions giving strength to that which it contained. And so her control snapped, and power flooded out of her, fueling the wind that now became a tempest. But the unleashed fury did not stop there. It flooded behind and in front of Elsa, summoning forth an unnatural winter in the depths of summer. Born of emotions no longer contained and power without limit, a storm blanketed the land, frigid winds and endless snow appearing in the night.
Run. Runrunrunrunrunrun, her mind screamed at her, driving her onward even as the physical exertion pushed her body to its limits. And so she ran, past the North Mountain, to the border between her small kingdom and the far greater land of Skyrim. As she neared the border though, her strength fled her completely, drained by her panicked flight and the flood of power that froze her country. And so the Queen of Arendelle collapsed without warning, falling forward into the snow, vision going black as she slipped away into unconsciousness.
The first thing she noticed was that she was moving, which confused her to no end. The second thing she became aware of was a rough material that seemed to be binding her wrists, though her mind was still working through everything, so she could be wrong. The final thing she noticed was that it felt like something was stuffed in her mouth, silencing her. Once her exhaustion-addled brain came to grips with these facts, she opened her eyes.
Groggily, she shook her head and looked around. She was on a cart being pulled by a horse, with a handful of guards walking alongside and behind. In the cart with her sat three men. She noted that of them, only one other man was gagged, although all three had their hands bound as hers, which she confirmed by flexing her arms and feeling the coarse rope dig into her skin. Two of them were dressed in blue armor, while the last was dressed in simple cloth. One of the men noticed she was awake and spoke to her.
"Ah, you've finally woken up lass. Divines only know how long you were out before we stumbled upon you. Not that it matters though, we'll all be in Sovngarde before too long. Best make peace with yourself while you can."
Elsa twisted her wrists, trying to free herself. The man shook his head at her, blond hair swinging as he opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the male sitting next to her.
"W-w-what do you mean? Where are we going?"
"Isn't it obvious friend? There are only a couple places the Imperials would take the likes of us," the first man responded.
"Why? I-I'm just a horsethief. I don't know any of you. Stealing a horse isn't worthy of execution!" The man paused, eyes darting between everyone else in the cart, before landing on the gagged man. "What's with him anyway? And her for that matter. Why gag those two? Afraid they would scream for help?"
"Watch your tongue thief!" The blond man growled at him, anger evident in his voice and furrowed brow. "You address Ulfric Stormcloak, the rightful High King of Skyrim. Show some respect!"
"Jarl Ulfric? Y-you're Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm, the leader of the rebellion? Oh by the Eight Divines..." The man next to Elsa moaned in fear, before hanging his head in resignation.
Elsa's brow furrowed in thought as her mind raced to recall the information she had learned about Skyrim. She vaguely remembered hearing about the ongoing rebellion, but as Arendelle wasn't involved, and wouldn't be dragged into it, she hadn't paid terribly much attention to it. She shook her head at herself before tuning back in to what her fellows had to say.
"Where are you from horsethief?"
"Why do you want to know?" He responded harshly, fear choking his voice.
"A Nord's last thoughts should always be of home," the first said simply.
"... Rorikstead. I'm from Rorikstead."
"Keep it in your mind and heart horsethief. I believe we have arrived."
Elsa looked in front of the cart, noticing that the Stormcloak was correct, they were driving through a village. At that point, she noticed there was another cart ahead of them. She heard a child speak.
"Dad, who are they? Where are they going?"
"Get in the house son, never you mind. Go," the boy's father replied earnestly, casting frightened eyes at the convoy.
"Aww, but I want to watch the soldiers!" The young one replied petulantly.
His father was clearly not listening to any arguments. "Go. Now."
"Okay, fine." And with that, the boy and his father went into their house and Elsa lost sight of them.
As they passed through the village, Elsa heard several shouts directed at the carts, none friendly, all wishing death upon the occupants. Her eyes teared up a bit, but she shook them away. At that point, they rounded what appeared to be the final bend, and the Stormcloak across from her spoke in a different tone than he had been musing in while Elsa hadn't been paying attention.
"General Tulius, the Emperor's lapdog." He snarled with contempt and hatred. "Of course he would be here, Gods forbid he missed this. Bastard."
He then looked beyond him, and straightened his spine. "Look alive friends, we shall be in Sovngarde soon."
Elsa felt a swirling of butterflies in her abdomen as she looked where he did, and beheld a headsman's block, but reassured herself that she would have the chance to explain who she was, and she would be free to leave. Her inner musings were interrupted, rather rudely she thought for a fraction of a second, by a gruff female voice barking at them.
"Prisoners, exit the carts NOW! And if you even THINK of running, my men will not hesitate to shoot you down like the mad dogs you are."
Elsa and the others left the cart, with Elsa wobbling a bit due to the unfamiliar sensation of hopping down from something without being able to use her hands for balance. She followed the others as they formed a line, and watched an impressively built soldier approach them, holding what looked like several papers. She then heard the same female voice yell out again, and this time saw the owner, a dark-skinned female, dressed in armor more ornate than the man standing before them, but less so than the man near her.
(0.0)
"Prisoners, you will step forward as your name is called, and then approach the block. Anyone failing to do so will not regret their decision for long."
The man before them readied his papers and called out. "Ulfric Stormcloak of Windhelm."
The gagged man next to Elsa stood tall and proud as he walked towards the block, head held high.
"It has been an honor Jarl Ulfric," the blond Stormcloak said as he watched his leader walk.
"Ralof of Riverwood," came the next name.
The blond man strode forth, looking everyone in the eye without a trace of fear.
Well, Elsa thought, at least I know his name now, even though we're probably going to both die. Wait, shouldn't they be leery of executing the ruler of another country? But you did abandon your throne and your country. And your sister. And they really don't look like the caring type. She cast a nervous glance at the woman and the man – General Tulius her mind supplied, recalling Ralof's comment- beside her. She agreed with her inner monologue that they didn't look overly generous.
"Lokir of Rorikstead."
The horsethief – Lokir, Elsa's mind pointedly reminded her- started to walk towards the block, but then broke off, running for the trees while yelling.
"You aren't going to kill me! I'm not with them! I'm just a thief."
The female officer barked at her men. "Archers! Take him out!"
Elsa watched wordlessly as five men drew their pre-nocked bowstrings back, sighted on the fleeing Lokir, and let fly. All five arrows hit their target with the wet thuds of projectiles impacting flesh. As his body fell to the ground, Elsa fought the sudden tears in her eyes and bile in her throat. Her throat contracted several times as she fought to force the vomit down, turning her gaze back the the expressionless man before her.
Wait, she thought as she looked closer, focusing on him more to drive Lokir from her mind. He looks... almost sad. Not obviously so, but it's there if you pay attention. His voice jarred her from her thoughts as someone behind her cut the gag from her mouth.
"Wait now. Who are you?" He asked her, frowning slightly, looking between her and his papers.
Elsa spat out the gag, making a face before standing tall before him, the Queenly mask she had worked on slipping over her features. She smirked inwardly as he noticed her change in demeanor and straightened his spine in accordance with the change.
"I am Elsa Arendelle, queen of the neighboring country of Arendelle. Unless you wish to risk a diplomatic situation, I request that you release me and return me to my home."
There, she thought. That didn't sound too bad, did it? I'm still new to this whole actually being queen thing. Anna would probably know what to say. She felt a flash of pain go through her heart at the thought of her beloved sister. Oh Anna...
The soldier before her looked at her warily, then turned to the officer. "Ma'am, what should I do? She's not on the list and she claims to be royalty."
"I heard her, idiot. Queen of Arendelle, a likely story. More probably a criminal. Not that it matters. Everyone captured goes to the headsman. No exceptions Hadvar. Move!"
Hadvar looked again at Elsa, this time sorrow clear on his face. "I am sorry Milady. I do not believe you are lying, but the captain has given her order, and I must obey. I will make sure your remains are returned to Arendelle, no matter what." With that he gestured to the line of prisoners and stepped back.
Elsa drew a breath like she had been punched in the gut, then released it in a quavering exhale. Despite this, she walked to the line and took her place. She noted that her heart was beating faster and faster in fear of her death. Conceal, don't feel, she thought. Now at least, I won't hurt Anna ever again. Perhaps... this is what I deserve. I deserve to die here, far from my home, away from her. I'm sorry Anna... But now, you're safe forever. With that thought, she shook the tears from her eyes, regained control of her heartbeat, and listened to General Tulius, who she noted was speaking to Ulfric.
"-But a true ruler would not use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne."
The Voice, Elsa thought. I wonder what that is. Something important, judging from his emphasis on it. And murder? I mean, yes, Ulfric looks intimidating, but outright murder? Once again, she wrestled herself from her thoughts with some difficulty.
"And may the blessings of the Eight Divines watch ov-" A priestess was saying.
"For the love of Talos, let's get this over with," an unknown Stormcloak said harshly, striding over the headsman's block.
"As you wish," the priestess retorted, clearly greatly insulted by having her service interrupted.
As he knelt, the Stormcloak looked at the headsman and spat on his feet, defiantly stating "My ancestors are watching over me Imperials. Can you say the same? I shall see them in Sovn-"
In the middle of his speech, the executioner swung his ax, separating the Stormcloak's head from his body as it fell into the basket. Elsa stared in revulsion, fighting back a growing tide of bile as she struggled not to be sick. Through her struggle she heard Ralof murmur a few words.
"As fearless in death as he was in life. Go on now to Sovngarde my friend."
Elsa started as she heard the captain yell out "Next, the 'queen,'" a sneer of sarcasm dripping from her words. As Elsa was about to step towards her death, an inhuman roar sounded from the sky.
"What was that?!" One of the soldiers exclaimed, looking around for the source of the noise.
"It doesn't matter! I said NEXT PRISONER!" The captain bellowed, eyes flashing dangerously.
Hadvar looked to Elsa. "Let's go Milady, nice and easy."
Elsa walked towards the block and knelt, being sure not to touch the dead Stormcloak. She fought down another wave of nausea as she laid her neck upon the chopping block, looking at the executioner and the tower behind him. As he raised his bloodstained ax, still dripping from the Stormcloak Elsa was doing everything in her power not to think about, she exhaled slowly and gave a small smile.
Right as the ax was about to descend, another, much louder roar sounded, and Elsa saw a huge black thing in the sky.
"What in Oblivion is that?!" A soldier yelled. From his voice, Elsa identified him as the soldier who previously exclaimed something similar.
The captain called out, "Sentries, what do you see?"
All of a sudden, that black shape landed on the tower, shaking the stones themselves and let loose another roar. Elsa's mind went blank with fear as she beheld a figure out of old legends. In some small corner of her mind, a panicked voice told her It couldn't be. They died centuries ago. But the next words uttered confirmed her fears.
"DRAGON!" The captain shouted. And suddenly everyone had a great deal more to worry about than some prisoners, even if one was Ulfric Stormcloak himself.
Elsa staggered to her feet, using her still-bound hands to push off of the chopping block. She looked around, and saw Ulfric and Ralof running by her, some of the other Stormcloaks right behind them.
Ralof spotted her and shouted at her. "Come prisoner, no use waiting around her to be eaten."
Wordlessly, Elsa followed him, lurching sideways and almost falling as the wind from the dragon's wings buffeted her. She managed to keep her feet and followed Ralof to a tower, where they paused for a moment, breathing a touch hard.
"Jarl Ulfric, was that really a dragon? From the old legends?"
"Legends don't burn down villages," came a deep and trained voice. It was then that Elsa noticed that not only were the others unbound, but Ulfric was no longer gagged. A good voice, for a man who would be king, she noted. Clearly used to giving commands and having them obeyed. His voice reminded Elsa of the endless hours of learning to enunciate each word so as to be heard from any possible location of even a great hall.
Jarl Ulfric turned to look at Elsa. "I heard what you claimed to the Imperials. There is not enough time now to discuss it. But should we get out of here alive, meet us in Windhelm, and we will discuss your future."
Elsa nodded her head, acknowledging his words, "Thank you, Jarl Ulfric," she said. "But I believe that may be a greater 'should' than you let on. Unless, that is," she said with a slightly impish grin, "you have experience in killing creatures from ancient myths."
He looked at her for a moment before tipping his head back and giving a deep laugh that seemed to almost shake the air. "Fair enough," he said. "But now is not the time."
"Indeed Jarl Ulfric. I suggest we delay no longer. Up the stairs, hurry," came Ralof's reply.
Without another word, everyone hurried up the stairs Ralof mentioned. As they climbed them however, the tower shuddered and without another warning, the dragon's head burst through the wall, crushing a Stormcloak soldier and sending another flying off the staircase. The sound of him hitting the floor below was drowned out by a cry from the dragon, which almost seemed to Elsa to be words from an unknown language. It almost sounded like YOL TOOR SHUL. Immediately afterward however, everything she was just thinking about flew from her mind as the dragon breathed fire, and suddenly she was too busy scurrying out of the way and into a hiding place against the wall.
She noticed right away that she hadn't managed to pull her skirt in fast enough, as it was being greedily consumed by the fire. In a slight panic, she struggled to free herself from her dress, with little success, partly due to her hands still being bound. Without a word, Jarl Ulfric pulled out a dagger he had taken from a fallen soldier and sliced through her dress, and then sliced through the ropes binding her hands. As her dress and bindings fell to the ground, Elsa blushed furiously as he had cut a bit too deeply, neatly slicing through her undergarments as well. After a moment, she chided herself for being silly. After all, there was no place for modesty when a creature from the depths of old legends is currently wrecking the village you happen to be in. So she let her hands fall, but then turned to Ulfric and punched him hard enough to rock him back a bit. He looked at her, then his eyes slowly tracked up and down her body, before he spoke. "I probably deserved that. My apologies for cutting so deeply."
While this was going on, the dragon had left and Ralof peaked out the hole in the wall.
"Not to cut this charming banter short," he said, "but I believe lass that you should be able to jump to the ruined building over there, and hopefully make it to the ground in one piece." He glanced back at Elsa, looked back through the hole in the wall, and then his eyes wandered immediately back to Elsa, where they lingered at her breasts and the apex of her thighs.
"I, for one, am not sorry my Jarl," he said with a smirk, the intensity of his eyes sending small shivers down Elsa's spine, in a notably uncomfortable manner.
Elsa huffed a bit, but decided not to say anything, instead opting to peer out the hole. Right away she noticed the building Ralof mentioned. She gauged the distance, backed up and took a running leap, making it without any issues, but falling forward as her momentum didn't let her stop. She hissed as she scraped her hands on the roughened floor, then turned them over to examine them. Her skin was broken and a small amount of blood trickled from the wounds, but she decided it wasn't a big deal, especially compared to the dragon. She left the building right as Hadvar ran past. He spotted her and skidded to a halt, turning to her. At that point he noticed her state of undress and averted his eyes.
"Pardon me Milady. If you follow me, I can keep you safe." With that he ran off, trusting Elsa to follow, which she did with little hesitation.
"Soldiers, protect the children and civilians," he shouted before scooping a child up out of the way of a burning beam that was about to fall. As he deposited him safely, he looked down at the boy.
"Run lad, find your family and leave Helgan. It is too late to save the town."
He turned to Elsa again, keeping his eyes on her face. "Follow me Milady." And he once again took off.
Elsa sighed but followed him closely, obeying every order he gave. As she noticed the dragon approaching them, she pressed herself against a stone wall, and was momentarily surprised at how warm it was. Then she mentally berated herself for her surprise. Of course it's warm, idiot. The entire fucking town's on FIRE. With that thought out of the way, she continued onward, dogging Hadvar's heels until suddenly he stopped and growled. As he did so, Elsa noticed that Ralof and Ulfric were nearby and had also stopped.
"Ralof, you damn traitor! I should have your head!"
"You can't stop us Hadvar," came the response. "We are leaving, and you have more important things to do."
Hadvar's jaw clenched and his eyes flashed dangerously, but then he sighed.
"Fine then. Get out of here Ralof. I hope the dragon gets you and sends you to Oblivion!"
He turned to Elsa. "Follow me Milady, do not trust yourself to these flea-ridden traitors."
Ralof looked at her as well. "Follow us lass, we are the true sons of Skyrim."
Without another word, both men started leaving. Elsa froze for a split second, but on a whim followed Hadvar, reasoning that he had been polite and caring thus far. As she followed him through the door into what looked like part of a fort, he glanced back and smiled at her.
"Glad to see you made the right decision Milady," he said. He looked at her and blushed, then gestured to a chest. "You might be able to find something to wear in there. The armor probably will not fit you, but there should be a shirt of some kind. Even that would be better than nothing, yes?"
Elsa nodded emphatically, then went to the chest and rooted around in it. She let out a small cry of triumph as she found a shirt that she immediately put on. Once she was wearing it, she felt enormously better, especially since it must have belonged to a tall man, as the shirt fell to mid-thigh on her. She turned back towards Hadvar, and was surprised to see him holding a mace out to her.
"I believe you should take this Milady. You never know when you'll need it. Although I suppose you don't really know how to use one, do you?"
Elsa shook her head mutely, but took the mace and belt that she just noticed was attached to it. As she put the belt on and tightened it around her waist, Hadvar spoke to her again.
"Very well, I will give you a quick rundown on how to hold and care for it. But it will have to be short, and we have to move soon."
Elsa again nodded, and listened intently as Hadvar ran through the use and maintenance of the major types of weaponry and as much as he knew about armor. While he was teaching her, they slowly made their way through the fort. All of a sudden Hadvar stopped talking and gestured at her to keep silent. He slowly made his way up to an iron gate and peered in. He then crept back to Elsa and whispered to her.
"There are three Stormcloaks in the room ahead. If we are lucky, we will get through without bloodshed. Just in case, be prepared to use what I just taught you."
Elsa nodded nervously, throat bobbing a bit as she swallowed. On the plus side, she thought, it really doesn't get simpler than "hit them with the heavy bit." With that piece of encouragement, she followed Hadvar as he approached the room. When he entered, all three Stormcloaks turned to them, and as one raised their weapons.
"Death to the Empire and its dogs!" One cried out, charging at Elsa.
Without thinking, Elsa took her mace in both hands and swung it at the charging Stormcloak. Surprised at the actions of the shrimp of a girl, the Stormcloak did not block the blow in time. As the mace hit his arm, the bone snapped like so much kindling. The Stormcloak screamed in agony as his arm bent and the bone erupted from under the skin, jagged flakes flying off. Without hesitation, Elsa swung again, just as the Stormcloak began to cradle his arm to his chest. This time, the mace impacted his ribs, and although the blow was negated somewhat by his armor, it was not intended to stop such a weapon completely.
Rather than dying instantly, the Stormcloak was knocked back, ribs cracking under the blow as he suddenly had difficulty breathing. He stared down at his ruined arm and chest, before looking up at Elsa and meeting her eyes just as she swung one final time, hitting him on his unarmored head. With a sickening crunch, the mace embedded itself in his face, blood and brain matter oozing from the wound as the bones gave way unwilling, splintering and deforming his face. Elsa ripped the mace from his head and swung at him again, breath coming out in sobbing gasps as tears flew from her eyes. Again and again she beat at the dead Stormcloak, until she let the mace fall from her nerveless, rubbery hands and collapsed in front of him, sobbing.
As she fell to her knees, she noticed what she had done to the man she never knew, and the stench of blood and death hit her full force. She turned to the side and fell forward until she was on her hands and knees. With that, all the bile she had been holding in since Lokir's death came flying up, and she was powerless to stop it. She vomited next to the corpse of the first person, first thing she had killed. And she kept throwing up, until long after her stomach had emptied itself, and she was just heaving and crying.
When Elsa eventually regained control of herself, she sat up and wiped her mouth, and noticed Hadvar a distance away, leaning against the wall, giving her some space. She also saw the bodies of the two other Stormcloaks, blood pooling from their wounds. She got up and stood on shaky legs.
"S-s-sorry," she stuttered awkwardly.
"Think nothing of it," he replied. "The first kill is always the hardest. Some think it is better to never lose the feeling of horror. But now we should probably get moving."
Elsa nodded and bent to retrieve her mace. When she saw the blood, bone and bits of hair stuck to it however, she reeled back and almost started heaving again. Hadvar noticed her reaction, walked over and wordlessly handed her an ax from a fallen Stormcloak.
"Thank you," she whispered.
In response, he gave her a small smile and walked over to the other door, checking beyond it before gesturing to her. Wordlessly, they went down the stairs the found beyond the door. After a few minutes of walking, Hadvar cursed and turned towards another doorway. Looking up from her feet, Elsa saw why. The way ahead had collapsed, probably due to the dragon's relentless assault. They walked quietly through a series of side rooms and as they approached yet more stairs, Elsa heard a strange crackling and the less strange sound of metal striking metal.
With a glance at Hadvar, they both rushed down the stairs and into the fray they had heard. Three more Stormcloaks were fighting two robed men, one of whom was shooting lightning from his hands. Elsa marveled at the sight for a second, and then got behind a Stormcloak who had yet to notice her entrance. With nary a sound she swung her ax at his neck, closing her eyes just before impact. Sadly, this did not stop the sound from reaching her ears, or the impact from traveling up her arms. She opened her eyes upon hearing a thud, and found that she had mostly definitely slain the man, as her blow had bitten into his vertebrae, likely killing him instantly. She pulled the ax out and turned to the next foe.
This one was aware of the new threats and sized them up while his companion continued to engage the two robed men. His eyes focused on Elsa and he came at her, swinging his ax in a blow that would have cut her stomach wide open. Desperately, she blocked, the sound of the impact ringing in her ears, and the force of it traveling up her arms, numbing them for a second. She swung at him, but he danced back while grinning at her. His eyes then darted to Hadvar, keeping note of his position. They exchanged a couple more blows, and Elsa was noticeably flagging, her inexperience showing. With a wolfish grin, the Stormcloak began battering at her defenses furiously, driving her back until she hit a wall. Looking at him, she knew that her time was at an end, she could not defeat this man.
Just as he was about to swing one last time and kill her, his eyes widened and a sword erupted from his chest. As he dropped his ax and grasped at the sword for a second or two before his strength and life fled, Hadvar kicked him off his sword and spat on the corpse.
"Never focus entirely on one enemy," he said. "Amateur mistakes like that will cost you dearly."
He grinned at Elsa and offered her a small bow.
"Milady, that was the last of them."
He gestured beyond himself, and she saw that he was right. Hadvar then strode towards the older of the two robed men and began conversing with him. Elsa looked around, and could immediately tell this was not a nice room. Sharp, cruel instruments lined the walls, and the cages she just noticed had dead men in them. Upon inspection, she saw that one of them was wearing a robe, and another had what looked like a faintly glowing book. She walked over and gave the door a tug, but it was locked tight.
Elsa felt a tap on her shoulder, and whirled around, raising her ax instinctively. She blushed in embarrassment as she saw it was just the younger man, probably a torturer she thought. He fell back a step and then, after seeing she wasn't going to strike him down, handed her a few small bits of metal. She looked at them curiously, and arched a questioning eyebrow at him.
"They're lockpicks," he explained. "Here, let me show you how to use them.
Elsa paid close attention as he demonstrated how to use them, on the cage with nothing of use inside, Elsa noted absently. He then gave them to her and told her to try it. Elsa noted that although he wasn't being too obvious about it, his gaze definitely fell to her legs regularly. It was then that she noticed that her shirt was covered in blood, although surprisingly, none of it was hers.
With that in mind, Elsa strode over to the cage with the robed man in it, and knelt in front of the door. With awkward movements, she pulled out a lockpick and set to work. To her immense surprise, the lock clicked open without too much fuss. She pulled the door open after putting the lockpick away and went to the figure inside. Pushing down her revulsion at what she was about to do, she stripped the robe off the man and pulled off her shirt, the partially dried blood making it stick to her a bit. She made sure to be facing the wall. No need to give him a show, she thought, before thinking ruefully, of course there's not much I can do about my back. Spurred by her thoughts, Elsa quickly threw the shirt away, noticing that some blood had leaked through, and she would have to clean herself at some point. Filing that thought away for later, she hurriedly pulled on the robe and was pleasantly surprised that it was quite soft. She left the cage and went to the last one. As she again pulled out the lockpicks and managed to open the door, the young torturer sighed sadly.
Elsa smirked and giggled to herself, then focused back on her task. With a click, the lock disengaged and she pulled the door open. She bent and picked up the book, a small shock of energy rushed up her arms as she touched it. Curiously, she examined the cover, which was only adorned with a strange symbol, almost like a stylized fire. She opened the book and saw writing in a language she was not familiar with. But as she looked at it, the words appeared to shift and move, the faint glow about the book focusing into the words, growing brighter and brighter. Just before it reached painful levels, the glow reached towards Elsa, still in the shape of the words. She threw her head back as they touched her and her mind was filled with knowledge and strange power. After all the glowing words had reached her, the aura faded completely and she dropped the book, looking at her hands. A thrumming power coursed down her arms and she extended her hands to the wall, and watched in awe as lightning blasted from her palms, striking the wall and charring it a bit. She then noticed that upon leaving her hands, the book had turned to ash.
Elsa smiled, turning her hands over and looking at them. She then frowned a bit. Just with that single blast, she could tell that her innate powers were vastly different from the spell she now had. However, she could not quite put her finger on exactly how it was different, and that bugged her. She shrugged, filing the thought away, and walked over to Hadvar. As she approached, he threw up his hands and stalked away from the older torturer. He spotted Elsa and gestured with his head at the man behind him.
"He insists on staying put. Looks like we are on our own still Milady. Come, there's a series of caverns we should be able to enter. With any luck, there will be a way out."
Elsa nodded, making sure her ax was ready. This time, however, she only held it in one hand, keeping the other free in case she saw an opportunity to use her magic. She thought for a moment about letting her power go, but quickly discarded that idea, as she still had little control over it. As she walked, she realized that despite her fear and the struggles she had been in, her ice magic had not manifested itself since before the cart ride. As if just thinking about it brought it to the fore, her ax handle glistened as ice started creeping up it. Right away, she pushed all thoughts of ice from her mind.
"Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel," she repeated quietly enough so Hadvar wouldn't hear.
Down a hallway they went, and as they approached the door at the end, they heard rough voices. Hadvar gave Elsa a look and she nodded, readying her weapon. They charged into the room, Hadvar bellowing a challenge. Their sudden appearance shocked the group of Stormcloaks, who had barely enough time to register their arrival before Elsa and Hadvar were upon them.
Hadvar swung and sliced deeply into the chest of the nearest Stormcloak, sharpened sword easily parting the leather that protected him. Elsa swung her ax at another, who jerked back instinctively. In response, Elsa extended her left hand, and called forth her newfound magic. Lightning once again crackled from her palm, striking the female Stormcloak in the face. She spasmed and shrieked in pain as the concentrated electricity danced over her skin. Elsa scowled in concentration as she kept up the assault. As lightning continued to dance over the Stormcloak, her skin began to bubble and her eyes soon popped like rotten grapes. Elsa turned her head, fighting down another bout of heaving, then strode forward and swung her ax, ending the woman's suffering.
All this had happened in the space of barely a few seconds. As both Hadvar and Elsa turned to the remaining two Stormcloaks, both finally managed to overcome the shock of two of their comrades being cut down, and drew their weapons. Hadvar and Elsa once again charged their foes, only this time the enemy met them head-on. Elsa let her focus on Hadvar dwindle as her foe, a hulking brute of a man, wielding a massive greatsword charged at her. She waited until he committed to a swing, then danced back, then dropped her ax in favor of shooting lightning from both her hands, snarling silently as it danced over the man, who arched his back as the power slammed into him, eyes and mouth wide-open in a silent scream. Elsa continued to shock him until she could no longer sustain the spell, dropping her hands and watching her former foe drop to the ground the instant his muscles unlocked. She then picked up her ax, and saw that Hadvar could not get past his foe's defense. She thought for a second, then yelled at the Stormcloak.
"Watch out!"
He turned to look at her and cursed as he saw her ax flying towards him. He just barely got his sword in place to deflect it, but in the process forgot Hadvar, who darted in and swung at his neck, his sword biting deeply before he wrenched it out. In the same motion, Hadvar circled the sword around his head and cleaved into the Stormcloak's neck again. This time, the combination of the momentum of the sword and the previous wound was enough to let Hadvar take his head off completely. The severed head fell to the ground, followed by the body.
Hadvar panted a bit, before walking over to Elsa's ax and handing it to her.
"Thanks," he said simply.
Elsa smiled at him and nodded. Hadvar jerked his head to the entrance to the caverns and silently they walked towards it. Elsa saw that there was a raised bridge blocking the path, and in the same instant she saw a lever that probably controlled the bridge. She went over and pulled on it. It gave way slowly, unwillingly, but it did give way. The bridge fell with a crash and Hadvar and Elsa strode across it, into a natural cavern.
They continued walking without any inconvenience, aside from Elsa slipping and almost falling a few times. They reached another tunnel, this one sloping downward. Without a word, they went through it, around a bend. As soon as they rounded the bend, Hadvar staggered and clutched at his ear as Elsa let out a scream of pure, undiluted horror at what lay before them.
Her second greatest fear was between her and freedom.