Hey everyone! I know it's been like three weeks since I last updated this story, and I know it isn't really THAT long, but let me just say that I'm still really, really sorry. I've had such a busy summer that I almost forgot. I'll try and do better from now on; please stick with me :).
Anyway, before you start reading you really need to look something up. I can't put a link, but it's a drawing on a website called deviantart. It was made by ComickerGirl and is entitled 'Frozen Knights.' What it shows is these three, absolutely amazing armor-designs for Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff. I tried to describe them in my story, but I really didn't do a good job of it, so you should try and search it up to see what it is the characters are wearing in my fanfic. Trust me, you won't regret it; the designs are just the coolest things ever.
So, this chapter is about two weeks after the first, and it jumps to the final preparations before the 'battle'. I hope you enjoy it :).
Chapter Two: The Preparations
"Are you ready, Your Majesty?"
Ready? Ready was a strong word. Here she was, about to lead her first—and hopefully, only—war against possibly the most evil creatures on the face of the earth. How in the world could she know if she was ready or not? She had no idea what to expect. All she knew was that she had to, needed to, defend her kingdom. She was the queen, after all. If she didn't clean this mess up, then she didn't know who would.
"Call me Elsa, please."
Why couldn't Dustin just remember that? He'd been her assistant for years now, and it really was such a simple command. Sure, maybe it shouldn't have been her prime concern at the moment, but she still felt the right to comment on it.
"Yes, sorry… Elsa. Are you ready?"
She merely shrugged at the boy. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."
That answer seemed to be about as honest as she could get it. She had prepared non-stop for two weeks for this invasion, for this full-out species war that was bound to end in absolute wreckage for at least one unfortunate group of people. If she hadn't done everything in her ability to assure victory for her small kingdom, then may her father rise from his watery grave to haunt her.
Dustin nodded at her statement, his black curls bouncing slightly as he did so.
"We'll win," he assured her, as if sensing her apprehension. "With you leading us, we're sure to win."
Elsa just shook her head, feeling the way her ice-incrusted braid jumped from her back to rest on her protected shoulder. Being that she was the commander in this certain war, Anna had decided that she needed an outfit to fit the name, and Elsa begrudgingly had to agree. Her dresses, as formal as they were, were not likely to assist her on the battlefield. She had very little practical clothing on hand, of course, so she'd just been forced to get creative and sew one of her own.
She'd used her original coronation dress as a starting point, figuring that she was never going to wear it again anyway. Though she kept the bodice the same, she'd known that the actual hem would prove to be quite the tripping-hazard, and had compensated by snipping the dress to rest somewhere on her upper-thigh. She kept a large strip of the fabric longer than the rest, however, so that it could hang between her legs in the front and back, reaching her knees in length and preserving modesty. To cover her now-exposed legs, she'd shoved on a pair of thin, black pants and stuffed both feet into metal boots. The full-lengths of her arms were already covered by the black fabric of the dress, but she decided it would be useful to put in some extra supports. On one hand, she wore a metal glove designed for fighting. Above that, she had a shoulder-plate made completely of ice, which jutted sharply down her arm to create an air of danger. On the other arm, she had the same jutting ice used for a second glove, and to keep up with the pattern her second shoulder-plate was made completely out of metal. In all honestly, the mishmashing really didn't have any practicality to it… she just liked the style.
Anyway, as luck would have it, Elsa came across the matching cape for her coronation dress when she'd been climbing up the mountain side just a week ago. In nostalgia, she decided to include it in her outfit, cutting it off just above her ankles so as not to cause any hinderance. Add to that the brown belt that strapped a sword to her hip, and another that held a smaller, hidden blade against her back, and no one could accuse her of physical vulnerability of any kind. All in all, the outfit had ended up fairly well-done, and Anna had fawned over it for days.
"You'll do fine," Dustin repeated after his previous words didn't get a response. Elsa raised her head at him, pulling herself out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, yeah… I really hope you're right."
There was a long, heavy silence before reality truly caught up with her, and she remembered what had been on her mind before the boy had so-politely interrupted.
"Where's Anna? I need to speak with her before the invasion."
"I-In your ice palace, I think," he stuttered. "She's getting ready on the second floor. S-She seems really excited for some reason."
Elsa rolled her eyes at the thought, but still with a slight smile stretched across her face. It was so like Anna to treat something as serious as this as a game. Somehow, despite all logic, Elsa found herself loving that little quirk of hers.
"Keep the soldiers in line," she instructed Dustin, waiting for his vigorous nod before continuing. "I'll be back before sunset."
She turned to walk away, but after a moment, thought better of it. Coming to a halt, she brought her hand out in front of her face, and in one sweep of her wrist had created a smooth, icy dove in the palm of her hand. It was so perfectly carved, every little intricate detail accounted for, that it could have been mistaken for an actual bird had the creature's crystal feathers not been glistening so noticeably in the sunlight.
"Watch from above," Elsa whispered to the dove, cupping it in both hands. "Warn me when you see their approach."
At that, she threw the bird into the air, and it began flapping away as fast as it's hollow wings could carry it. She watched it for a second, created two more out of second thought, and then continued on her way.
Before long, Elsa found herself trudging through the fresh layer of snow on the North Mountain, heading towards the both beautiful and intimidating palace of ice that jutted out into the sky. It wasn't a long walk, really—Elsa and Dustin had only just been at the base of the sloping hill, waiting with the first line of defensive soldiers—but the mountain was steep, and by the end of her climb, Elsa's legs were screaming for a break.
The staircase to her castle was lined with guards, but they all moved aside at the mere sight on her, and soon she stood still and watched as the large, icy doors swung open to let her in.
The general life of the place still surprised her. The first time she had created her palace, it had been completely empty. Admittedly beautiful, but just as much lifeless, barren, and cold. Much like herself, actually. It still felt strange to see it nearly bursting to the brims with Arendelle citizens. Mothers and fathers and children: all scared, but relatively happy. It was just so strange.
It had been Anna's idea to use this place as a shelter for the citizens, and her own to use it as headquarters for the war preparation. Not like they had much choice, really. The trolls had only warned them of the change two days before the actual invasion—though they'd originally thought that the mysterious creatures were months away from arriving, it turned out that that 'information' had somehow been falsified by the enemy—and Pabbie had claimed it was not possible to defend her kingdom from the beasts in such little time. So, lacking in much choice, Elsa had spent a chaotic twenty-four period carrying out a full-on evacuation of her beloved city, uprooting all people from their homes and moving them to the still-surviving palace on the North Mountains. Here, as the trolls claimed, would take the monsters at least a week longer to reach, which gave the queen just enough time to prepare adequately.
As quick-thinking as always, Elsa had even create a huge, ice-brick wall to surround the mountain and provide some extra protection, but as the trolls had claimed, this would only buy them an hour or two. The creatures had magic of their own. Maybe not as strong as Elsa's, but with the number of them arriving, they'd be able to combine and melt her barrier in no time. Eventually, the battle would have to begin. And Elsa was determined to make it a short one… for, as she believed, the quicker the battle, the less chance of it becoming a full-fledged war. As she was perfectly aware of by now, war was never really a good thing.
"Queen Elsa! Look everyone! It's Queen Elsa!"
The cries began as soon as the woman stepped into the main court of her palace, loud and wild and excited. The people—huddled in blankets with their children, drinking mugs of hot chocolate, warming themselves with hand-made fires—cheered her on with every step, holding out their hands as if begging for her to touch them.
Though their enemies hadn't shown up yet, the trolls had predicted that they would be here by sunset today. The people were getting restless with wait… and yet, they still had complete faith in her. Everywhere she went, now, people were cheering her on and hailing her a hero, as if victory was already guaranteed. She had been thanked more times this week than she could count. She always smiled politely to her admirers, of course, but secretly she wished they'd just wait until she actually won the battle to apply their generous praise. She was starting to feel the pressure a little stronger than she liked.
"Thank you, thank you," Elsa said, gesturing her people to be quiet. "I'd love to stay and chat... but do any of you know where Princess Anna is?"
A few men and women pointed in a general direction, and so Elsa trudged onwards, responding appropriately to the many goodbyes and farewells that people blew in her path.
Elsa found her sister playing a rousing game of kickball with some of the kingdom's smaller children. Kristoff and Sven stood somewhere nearby, leaning against an icy wall and smirking (with carrot crumbs on their mouths, of course), while Olaf's forever-smiling head was currently being used as the ball itself. Figures. Those were her friends, if she ever knew them. She loved them all so much.
"Anna!" Elsa called, and caught off-guard by the sudden use of her name, Anna tripped on Olaf and ran head-on into a few of the children. They all tumbled to the ground, giggling madly, and even Elsa couldn't stop the smirk from playing her lips.
"Hi Elsa!" Anna called out as she pulled herself from the icy floor, cheeks pink from a mix of cold and excitement. "What's up? They here yet?"
Elsa shook her head, and Anna shrugged, a ridiculous smile still stretched across her face.
"Soon, though," Elsa continued, trying to observe the strange tint in her sister's eyes. "Are you still sure you want to go into battle?"
To keep up morale, Elsa had promised her people that she would be fighting right up there beside them. It was a logical decision—not only with her being queen, but the fact that her ice powers were sure to help them all in battle—and yet, it also gave Anna a perfect argument for why she deserved to fight, too.
If Elsa could go, then so could she, for it would look selfish for royalty to send their people out to die without sacrificing as much as they could themselves. At least, that was what Anna had claimed, and Elsa knew deep down that she was all-too right. A part of her would always want to protect Anna, she knew—the girl was her only family, her only sister, her only friend—but she understood that in situations such as this, she had to let her make her own choices. The girl was a grown woman, after all, and it was only fair.
Unfortunately, however, that mindset was just one of those things that was much easier said than done.
"Heck yeah!" Anna yelled in response to Elsa's previous question, eyes ablaze with excitement. "I'll defend you 'til the end, you know that!"
The words were sweet, but Elsa merely shook her head, disappointment on her features. "I was hoping you might reconsider, but I guess that was too much to ask for."
Anna's powerful expression became one of sympathy, and soon she had stepped a bit closer, pulling her sister into a weird sort of half-hug.
"Don't worry about it, Elsa. We'll all be perfectly fine. I've never seen anybody work as hard as you have this past week… you're probably the best military planner ever! There's no possible way we could lose!"
Elsa rolled her eyes at the girl's blatant optimism, but a part of her felt a bit better at the warm words. Surely, if fate was as fair as it had proven itself to be, nobody as innocent and kind as her little sister would ever be harmed.
"Well…" she began, lengthening her words as they teetered at the edge of awkwardness, "Are you ready, then?"
Anna nodded eagerly, and this time, so did Kristoff, who had been listening quietly from his spot on the wall.
"Of course!," the girl exclaimed, "You should see how great I am with my bow, and Kristoff has been practicing with his little thingy-ma-jigger all week now! Those demons don't stand a chance against us!"
Just as Elsa had gotten a new outfit for the fighting, Anna had demanded she get the same. She had insisted it be made from her own coronation dress—to match her sister's, of course—and that it be cut around the legs in exactly the same way. There were a few modifications, but it still came out much to the girl's satisfaction.
The bottom, green part of Anna's original dress had faded over the years and become stained by some mysterious, muddy substance that the girl swore she had nothing to do with, and so of course Elsa had be forced to hide it by dying the whole skirt a midnight black. To compensate for the lack of color, Anna wore a long-sleeved, light-green shirt beneath the bodice of her dress, and then a matching green cape that was similar to the winter one she owned and wore often, covering her shoulders and buttoning in the front. Her gloves were a light, brownish-green color, as were the pants she wore under her outfit, and there was a belt around her waist that held an entire pack of arrows to her side.
Anna now pulled out her hand-carved wooden bow from where it hid behind her back, and in an instant had shown off her archery skills by firing one of those arrows into an empty spot on the wall, creating a huge, jagged crack in the ice. She grinned at her accomplishment, and Elsa made a mental note to fix the hole later.
"Great, Anna. But that's only good for long-reigned attacks. What if you get attacked close up? Do you have anything for fighting melee?"
At this, Anna shook her head, suddenly looking a little sheepish. The bow had been Anna's weapon of choice, much as a sword had been Elsa's, but like most decisions the girl tended to make, it didn't seem as if she had quite thought it through. Already knowing her answer, Elsa glanced around, spotting an unused sword leaning against the wall.
"Try that," she told her sister, "It should be enough to defend yourself if you're cornered."
Anna walked over to it and moved to lift the blade, but almost instantly she put it down, grunting as the metal banged to the floor.
"Ugh, heavier than I expected. Let me try again…"
Pulling together all her strength, Anna threw her hands on the un-sharpened end of the sword and tugged fiercely. It lifted a good two feet above the ground, but stopped there. Again, it fell, and again, Anna insisted on one more try.
The third time, Anna lifted it all the way to her waist line, but the blade had wiggled so much in her hands that she nearly ended up cutting off Kristoff's leg. At this, Elsa figured she'd done enough. Slowly, she put her hand on the sword's flat edge and lowered it to the floor.
"Hey!" Anna protested, pouting again. "Why'd you do that? I could have done it!"
Elsa just shook her head.
"Let's try something a little lighter. It'll be easier to wield."
With much precision—standing the object up on the ground so as not to have to lift it—Elsa grabbed the handle of the sword, jiggling it around until it became loose. Then she pulled it off with one fierce tug, and the entire sharp, metal edge clattered to the ground.
"What was that?" Anna asked, bewildered, "You just broke it!"
"No, no… you'll see."
In an instant—the handle still resting complacently in her hand—Elsa build out from the end of it. A long sheath of ice suddenly grew directly where the blade had existed before, and as she took in the beautiful work, Anna squealed in delight.
"The ice is hollow, but unbreakable" Elsa explained, gesturing towards the new knife in her hand, "It'll be stronger and lighter this way, but I kept the metal handle, so your fingers won't get cold. Admittedly, it's a little shorter and skinner than it was before—more of a dagger than a sword, really—but it'll do. What do you thi—"
"IT'S AMAZING!" shrieked Anna before she could finish, and without even a hint of warning, she had thrown her arms around a surprised and stiff Elsa.
"I'll go practice!" she yelled, and in an instant she had run off to God-knows-where to do just that. With a grunt, Kristoff pulled himself up from the wall, intent on going to follow her.
"You ready, Kristoff?" Elsa asked him before he left, wanting to leave no pieces of her puzzle unaccounted for. He, too, was now wearing his own set of armor, though the cheap leather and fur it consisted of was obviously less complex than both of the their own fabrics.
Kristoff looked at her and nodded, leaning his weapon of choice—a large, simple axe—over his shoulder. He gestured towards the bulky object in his hand and smiled.
"I can't go wrong with this. Anna's right, Elsa. We'll do fine. Don't worry about it."
And then he too exited, Sven followed suit, and the queen was left to drown in silence.
She didn't know what it was, she didn't know why it was there, but in that single horrible moment, Elsa just knew that it existed. Buried deep within the confines of her soul, swirling mercilessly in the acid of her stomach, this untouchable thing lived and thrived, immune to all her efforts to remove it. In many phycology books, it might've been referred to as intuition, but in everyday language, it was more often than not called a simple 'gut-feeling.'
She'd had these so-called gut-feelings quite a few times throughout her life, actually—the days before she found Benson in the dungeon, the week before her parent's big ocean-trip, the very hour before her coronation—and as she now knew, every one of those situations had ended up in a complete and utter disaster. So of course it was quite troubling to her that she felt that same, familiar gut-feeling right before the first and most-dangerous battle she had ever, and ever would, face in her entire lifetime.
Yes, it was quite a troubling thought indeed.
"Hiya Elsa!" said an unexpected voice from somewhere behind her, breaking her out of her thoughts. "What'cha thinkin' about?"
Elsa turned to see a very familiar face lolling hopelessly on the icy floor. Though all the children Anna had been playing with before had long since scurried away, this little guy, now being headless, didn't really have the option. Lacking a brain, his body walked around in circles and repeatedly banged itself into the walls, looking for its missing part. It must have been quite unpleasant experience, but for some reason, he didn't seem to mind it.
"Oh, hi Olaf," Elsa breathed out, the adrenaline slowly seeping out of her veins after such a sharp surprise. "Nothing really."
As had become habit whenever she saw the snowman looking like this, she strolled over to his headless body and tucked it under her arm, swiftly grabbing the important object it was so desperately searching for.
"I know you're nervous," Olaf said matter-of-factly as she plopped his head right back on his body, watching as he stretched his snow-made legs. "I can feel it."
She sighed heavily. Often she forgot the strong connection that she had with her living creations... creatures that included both cheery little Olaf, and the more-intimidating yet just-as-friendly Marshmallow. It was almost as if there was an invisible string between her soul and theirs, something nearly impossible to break, that tied their minds and hearts together. The story of how and why both Olaf and Marshmallow came to be was really a rather long and complicated one, and though she mulled over it quite often in her free time, she still had not come up with a conclusion that fully satisfied her. Still, though, the connection was always there, as was proven by the fact that Olaf currently knew her exact feelings.
"Yeah," she said slowly, shaking her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just being paranoid. I don't know what's wrong with me; I'm sure Anna and Kristoff are right. Everything will be fine."
"Oh, no," said Olaf surely, and suddenly her eyes flashed down at him, confused. "I can feel it, too; your gut is right. The battle is going to end really badly. I might even get impaled again!"
And then he smiled at her with that cheerful, oblivious Olaf-smile and waddled carelessly on his way, humming a tune with every step. This time, when he left, Elsa really was alone, and somehow she was feeling even worse than when she had started.
...
About an hour later, the anxious queen stood at the bottom of the mountain with her first line of defensive soldiers, watching with the rest as the long-awaited enemy finally crossed over from the horizon. The first ice-dove she'd sent out now tittered noisily on her shoulder, ruffling it's transparent feathers after a long, tiring journey; after such an accurate report on the enemy's whereabouts, Elsa figured she deserved it. Aside from the bird, however, Elsa was currently surrounded by two of her closest advisers. Dustin stood on one side of her, looking jittery and terrified, while Anna stood on the other, a wide, excited grin stretched across her face. Two very-different expressions on two very-different people. It was almost sort-of funny.
"Ready everyone?" Elsa called to all her soldiers, trying to read their blank faces.
"Yes, Your Majesty," they all chorussed at once. Not every one of the men and women beside her was technically 'trained', but they did all have courage and valor, and that was all she needed from them at the moment. A week ago, when Elsa realized her kingdom's army size was severely lacking, she'd had to result to desperate and somewhat-illogical measures to pump it up. Crazy as it was, though, Anna had still loved it.
"Everyone man or woman who stands here today," Elsa had called out in the ice palace full of Arendelle citizens, her sword held high above her head, "Who is willing and/or capable of bearing arms for their country, please kneel down at my feet."
A very large handful of adults knelt down, as did a number of wryly children. After kindly prodding the younger one's upwards, Elsa began her short speech.
"Now tell me, heroes… is this something you really want?"
Most everyone nodded, and she'd taken that as a good sign. Clearing her throat, she began to recite the memorized oath that her father used to on very rare, special occasions. She did a make a few adjustments to it, however, in order to save some precious training-time. And by that, she meant that she pretty much cut off half of the unnecessary words.
"Do you, citizens of Arendelle, swear to show bravery, courage, and most-of-all honor on the battlefield for whenever you may find yourself within it?"
"I swear," they chanted.
"Do you swear to hold your country before yourself? To put the needs of your people, your friends, and your family before your very own?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear to show pure loyalty to Arendelle? To never betray your beloved country for the enemy?"
"I swear."
She'd done a few more of these simple recitations before she got to the final one.
"And now, swear to me before I end this, that no matter what happens, you will fight for one reason and one reason only. You will not do it because you hate those before you, but because you love those behind you, and that's that. As long as you do this, you will always remember to put mercy before vengeance, and that's the most important thing of all. Understand? Do you swear?"
The many voices that replied this time were so deeply intertwined that they almost seemed like one, deep rumbling of a giant. "I swear."
That last part of the oath was her own creation, made completely on the spot, but she found herself quite fond of it. Upon hearing them agree, Elsa raised her sword in the air again and brought it down in a swift arc, making sure it hit nothing but pure air.
"Well then, you have all proven yourselves worthy. I now pronounce each and every one of you an official knight of the great kingdom of Arendelle."
The joy and cheers that had followed that certain pronunciation had been ecstatic. As had been the entire point of the exercise, the soldiers had not lost their motivation since, their shiny titles of 'knight' being too much for their human hearts to resist. But now, as they stood on the brink of battle, each one refusing to show fear on their expression-less faces, she wondered if they would take it all back if they could.
"We're ready," Dustin said to bring her back to reality. Once again he tried to assure her, but his words were almost completely drowned out when Anna screamed at the very top of her lungs, "PREPARE TO FACE THE WRATH OF THE ICE QUEEN!"
Aside from the fact that the enemy creatures were too far away to hear her anyway, Anna also managed to nearly deafen half of Elsa's previously fully-capable soldiers, so despite her obviously good intentions, that fiercesome battle-cry couldn't exactly be considered helpful.
Soon, far too soon, the enemy was right up to Elsa's protective wall, conversing amongst themselves in words too muffled to comprehend. She could, however, see them through the transparent ice, and though Pabbie had warned her of their dark and gruesome appearance, she still couldn't help but cringe at their very presence.
Short, stubby bodies. Fat, round noses. Skin completely gray and gritty. They looked almost exactly like the trolls themselves, except for the fact that they were almost the exact opposite.
Even as far away as she was, separated by a semitransparent boundary, Elsa could still see the deformed, grotesque features of each and every one of their faces, seeming to almost glare back at her from outside her self-made prison. Their eyes were a glowing, glistening red… the kind of evil color people were only supposed to see in fairly tales. And their teeth, too. Oh, their teeth. Giant, pink fangs hanging out of their mouth, biting and gnashing and drooling and laughing with such high, cold voices. She couldn't hear the laughs just yet, but somehow she knew that they would be very, very cold. Enough to send chills even down even her spine.
Different from the normal trolls, these certain one's had hair almost completely blackened by soot, hanging long and drab from every mushy skull. But worst of all, of course, was their skin. Sickly, brittle, decaying… they looked as if they had been buried underground for weeks, eaten away by the bugs and decomposers in the soil before finally being allowed to come back to the surface. She was sure they must've smelled just the same.
When Pabbie had first told her that their enemies were 'evil trolls,' she had been originally quite shocked, and then afterwards completely disbelieving. The only trolls she'd ever heard about were the crazy, nature-loving, slightly-eccentric one's that lived in the woods some miles off from her kingdom. Were they wild? Yes. But evil? Not in the slightest. Trolls couldn't be evil! They just… couldn't.
But yes, apparently they could. Pabbie had gone on and on about the dangers these certain enemies possessed, and how it was necessary that Elsa be as careful as humanly possibly when interacting with them. Concerned as he seemed to be, however, when she asked him for more information on these so-called 'evil trolls,' and why on earth they would be after her of all people, his lips were immediately sealed.
"They are our darker cousins," he explained. "Like us, but corrupted by the evil of the world. Do not underestimate them; that is all I can say."
"But, wait!" Elsa began, frantic to find out more, "How am I supposed to—?"
"That is all I can say," he'd repeated firmly. "I'm sorry, my queen, but you'll just have to figure out the rest on your own."
It really hadn't been too helpful, and standing here now, right in front of what felt like thousands upon thousands of those horrible creatures all around, she couldn't help but think that it would've been quite useful had he actually bothered to tell her something. But no, she disciplined her, he'd had his reasons. If he didn't want her to question him, then she wouldn't question. He was a smart creature, and she had to respect him as much as she was able.
A few hours later, however, this self-discipline left her mind as the last of a certain-structure's supports crumbled down, the troll's combined forces having proven too much for it. Elsa had listened, gulp in her throat, as a large, ear-splitting crack rang out all around her and her people. A surge of ice-dust suddenly began to pour into the mountain air, filling it with a foggy white-mist that was impossible to see through, and by the time everyone's vision was finally cleared, they could all see quite clearly that the wall that had once protected them so effectively from the world was now completely and utterly gone. Reduced to a mere pile of crumbling ice shards all around them, stretching for miles in both directions.
Elsa was not sure what kind of powerful magic would be able to cause such horrible destruction to such a previously strong structure, but as she saw the leader of the evil-trolls smile at her with his pinkened, bloodied fangs, what she did know was this:
From here on out, things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.
Well, what did you think? Not great, I know, but I promise you that the next few chapters are going to be a LOT more exciting than these first two. I'm just setting the stage right now, the real stuff is yet to come. Trust me when I say it will soon get VERY intense and emotional (or at least I hope it will).
Thanks for reading! Please review and give me your opinions!