A/N: A little bonding time between Elsa and Emily, and a glimpse into their past and also personality. A little short, yeah, I know, but I hope it's good enough for you folks. Also, I wrote a new ending. You guys should give it a look.
About the next update, Gale (Tempest's brother) and I will try to post it as soon as possible. Tempest is currently grounded and won't be able to continue writing until two weeks later.
- Storm
"For the last time, I will not go back to the Pole!"
Jack rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh as he listened to the two women arguing with each other over who should go where and who should do what. How long had the two been like this? Jack didn't even remember; he'd probably lost track of time at some point. He just knew that they had been down here in this underground secret meeting room for a while, yet Elsa and Emily still couldn't reach an agreement.
Dinner that night had been rather… tense. He scarcely said a word – Emily did most of the talking – and tried to focus in his food, though he recalled almost throwing up once or twice when they served him lutefisk. Elsa, however, was silent throughout the meal. She seemed to be mulling over something in her mind. The girl looked troubled. So Jack decided it was best not to ask. After that, Elsa had taken them here. She had used her power to transport them into this secret meeting room. Apparently, she didn't want anyone to know how to sneak into this 'sanctuary' of hers and wouldn't trust anyone with her secrets, not even Emily.
It was an underground hideout that was a shelter-pit built during the First World War converted into a secret lair with an almost impregnable security system and equipped with the most advanced technology. Jack noticed that there was even a training room, with all kinds of weapons ranging from the traditional swords or daggers to machine guns; a laboratory through the glass wall of which he could see chemicals and bottles lining up in several cupboards against the wall, a few scrolls of blueprints on the table in the center of the room, and some kinds of robots and machinery he'd never seen before… Jack nearly died when he saw all of those – even Emily was beyond astonished – it was amazing.
That was at first, anyway. Once they were secured in this small meeting chamber, Jack was cast aside and left forgotten in the corner of the room while the two women discussed, then debated and argued over something in various languages. First, they spoke in English – he listened as they talked about the lost city of Arendelle, now a port city in the south of Norway, and something about the Sword of Moon, the Luna Kingdom. Then, they changed into French – apparently that was where Emily was shipped off to when she was a child, from what he could vaguely make of their conversation; his French stank. After that? Gods knew what kind of language they were using.
And now, they were back to English again, which Jack was quite grateful for. At least he would know what was going on around him.
"Sometimes you act like a child, you know that?" Emily scolded the younger woman.
"I am a child still," Elsa deadpanned. She had a point in that, Jack thought. Despite her age of nearly three hundred years, Elsa looked barely sixteen. And from what little he'd learned about the people and her family back in her home land, three hundred years was nothing to them. Hell, Emily was nearly a millennium old, and she was still considered as young!
Emily groaned and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers. "I don't have the time to argue with you over such ridiculous things or pit my wits with you right now. You – both of you," she looked in Jack's direction, "need to get back to the Pole and tell the others what's going on, what Pitch is up to, and what your next move ought to be. Grandfather has instructed you to work together, meaning you, Jack and the other guardians will work as a team, whether you like it or not. This isn't a mere joke, for God's sakes. Stop being so stubborn!"
"I know that the king has ordered me to assist the guardians in this mission and let them assist me in return, but having this man trailing after me is enough of a burden. I won't have four others slowing me down! Although I can tolerate Sandy – he can make a pleasant companion and can take care of himself."
"You overestimate yourself sometimes, Elsa. Pride will be your downfall. Look, your father-"
"The king," Elsa snarled.
"Your father will let you handle this alone if he knows you can. He trusts you more than anyone else – why do you think he came to you? – but he is a father first and a king second, and he can't bear to see you harmed."
Elsa turned her back to Emily, mumbling, "I have not needed a family for a while. What makes you think – what makes he think I need one now?" Then, before Emily could come up with a reply, she continued with a sigh, "Fine, I'll go back to the Pole. And I will try my best to work with the guardians. But I'm only doing it because of you."
Emily knew better than that. Elsa would never do this simply just for her – they'd been close, yes, but not that close, not as much as she had been to her father. But she was glad that her aunt finally came around. "Thank you, Elsa," she cracked a small smile.
"Save your thanks for later. Now, how do we get to the Pole? I cannot transport Jack and myself to the northernmost of the world. I still haven't fully recovered my powers from the trip from Burgess." Jack felt a pang of guilt when he heard her say that. He knew it had worn her out to carry him all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea in order to help him.
"Right," Emily said. "My winds are strong, but they can't carry more than one. Most of my power of wind now lies in Jack."
An idea suddenly hit him. "Maybe I can take the three of us there."
"Three? Oh, no, Jack. I'm sorry but I'm afraid I won't be joining you in this quest – I have other matters to attend to at hand," Emily said sadly. "Although that is a great idea. And with only one extra person, you will get to the North Pole easily within no time."
Elsa paled a little, but she agreed with Jack's idea, though quite reluctantly. "Fine. We'll leave at dawn," she declared.
"Jack's not so bad, you know. At least from what North told me last time I visited his workshop." Daintily, Emily crossed her right leg over her right one and gingerly lifted the glass of wine to her lips, sighing as she felt the warm liquor coat her tongue before it was swallowed down her throat, filling her chest and abdomen with a tingling warmth.
Elsa looked at the black-haired woman incredulously. "From what North told you?" They were in her quarters now. Elsa's bedchambers were located in the south wing of the castle, at the top of the highest tower, overlooking the fjords and the forest below. It was always cold in this area, the wind never stopped howling and screaming and the ground was scarcely left without any snow, but her chambers were always filled with a comforting warmness from the fires in her hearth. There was no need for central heating or even electricity here or in the castle, the traditional methods were enough, (of course save for her secret underground hideout); besides, the cold never really bothered her.
Tonight, however, there was no fire in her chambers, and she had opened every window, allowing the bright moonlight to come into the room and letting the soft caress of the crisp winter wind grace her skin. Elsa preferred the warm of the golden sun to the cold, lonely nights of winter, but the beauty of this evening was irresistible. The sky was glittered with bright, tiny stars, and the faint hint of the clouds seemed to glow silver in the moonlight. Suddenly, it reminded her of home – her real home, one she had left behind.
"You still don't trust him?" Emily asked, pulling her back to reality. "Or you won't?"
"Both," Elsa answered honestly. She knew better than to lie to Emily – the woman knew her like the back of her own hand – and besides, what did she have to hide anyway? Exhaling deeply, Elsa sipped her wine. She had never been one for alcohol, but at this moment, it was soothing. "I don't think I'll be able to trust any of them at all after what they did to me." The memories of nearly three hundred years ago rushed back to her, and she felt the terror and grief gripping her heart tightly.
Emily shook her head gravely. "You are an intelligent woman, Elsa, but you are also a blind, foolish girl. You have let your anger and hatred cloud your mind. North has changed, and so have Bunny and Tooth. They're no longer the people you think they are."
"You expect me to just forget and forgive them for what they've done?"
"No, I don't ask you to forget, nor do I ask you to forgive – that is for you to decide. But I implore you to look past their sins and see them as your partners, if not friends."
"It's going to be a very difficult task for me."
"Difficult, yes, but not impossible."
Elsa had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, although Emily did have some point in there. "Enough of this, we've talked enough about me; you are family and we haven't met for years. Tell me, how have you been doing?"
"Same old, same old. Earth is becoming more and more boring and dull to me. Unless they do something about the black that is plaguing this planet, I fear I have to flee to Caelum or even to Mars." Elsa knew that Emily was complaining about the pollution that was increasing rapidly on earth again. Humans had taken on some countermeasures in order to somehow suppress it, but they had only done so little and caused so much trouble.
"Is there anything you can do about it?" Elsa asked.
"My dear Elsa, I can help nature grow if men destroy it, but I cannot cleanse it if it's tainted," Emily replied. She rarely called Elsa aunt – the word sounded awkward and foreign to her tongue, and Elsa felt the same, so they had always been on the first name basis. "I fear that men will have to handle this issue themselves. I cannot help them in this part." She sipped her wine again. "Maybe Mars is a good choice – I should start packing. Last time when I came to Caelum, I met the prince of Mars and he offered me quite a tempting invitation to be his – how did he put it? – mate, soul and body."
Elsa stared at her for a while, then she started chuckling, and her chuckles quickly turned into laughter. Before she knew it, the blonde woman was doubling over and laughing hysterically, Emily soon joining her.
"Stars, he proposed to you?" Elsa managed to choke out.
"If you can call it propose!" Emily sniggered.
"Wait, but isn't Linus a little old for you?"
"You've been on Earth for too long, Little Sparks. He's hardly much older than me, only two hundred years or so my senior."
"Oh, right. I forgot. I've heard about Prince Linus from his cousin, Archduke Aelius, and women in the court gossip about him and his brothers. They say he's a fine man, but I highly doubt that. Men of Mars are mostly brutal savages who enjoy killing people far more than making them."
Emily nearly choked on her wine. "I see that you still have some sass in you, Lunanoff."
"As do you, Pitchiner." Both women laughed softly with each other. Elsa leaned against the armrest of the divan and lifted her legs from the woven carpet, tucking them beneath her. She was usually very strict about manners and etiquette, but tonight there was no need for courtesies.
"So where do you work now? Do you still work?"
"Yes. I'm working as a veterinarian in a farm in south Australia."
"Not in France anymore?"
"No, not in France anymore. One hundred and thirty-eight years is enough for me to travel to every corner of that country for several dozen times or even more, although I really love it. Et vous?"
Elsa felt the corner of her lips lifting in a smirk. "I'm studying in the University of Connecticut."
"Connecticut? Isn't this the tenth university you've attended already?" Emily raised her eyebrows, although she didn't seem so shocked about that information. She knew how much of a thirst Elsa had for knowledge and studying. "Last time we met, you were a CIA agent. Agent Black, I recall. You took my father's name. So what made you drop out of it? You were one of their top agents."
"Let's just say that I lost my appetite for that cake. Besides, continuing would only mean I have to stand against your father more than once. You know how much I love my family," Elsa said in a flat voice, her eyes deprived of all emotions. Emily had no idea whether she was being sarcastic or honest, and she couldn't decide if it was mockery instead in her tone.
"Frankly to say, Elsa, I had thought you would marry the one who was your best friend back in Philadelphia. You did love him."
"Maybe. Maybe it was only an infatuation," Elsa said, fidgeting with her now empty glass.
"El, you two had known each other for, what, ten years?"
"Eight. And I'd known him about four years before that when he was still my student."
"Exactly. So what happened? Between you and, uh… what was his name again?"
"Harry. Harry Bennett."
"Yeah, so what happened?"
"I left. I… I was scared, I think. I didn't know what to do. He was a friend of mine and I never thought of seeing him as more than just a friend. I never wanted to… get attached to any man after… you know."
"But that was nearly two hundred years ago!"
"The first touch of love a thousand years cannot fade *," Elsa stated quietly.
"Well, you'll have to let go of your past sometimes, Elsa," Emily said.
"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I can forget."
Emily only nodded mutely. The black haired woman absent-mindedly gazed out one of the windows, her amber eyes glued to the alluring glowing light that was the moon on the sky. It was though if that round, ivory orb was whispering something, something quiet and distant, yet intense and haunting... like the echoes of the past.
Somewhere else, in a penthouse in Copenhagen, Denmark…
The sound of the windows clicking open and the rustle of curtains woke him up from his deep slumber. Outside it was pitch black, and the winds were snapping violently. Somehow it made his skin crawl and his heart beat fast. The man had a feeling that something was coming, and there wouldn't be anything good about it.
Still groggy, he walked over to the window and closed the shutters then whirled around to make his way back to bed… but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, as he saw a familiar shadow of a man standing in the middle of his room, grinning wickedly at him.
"Hello, old friend," the shadow said.
"What do you want, Black?" he spat, though his heart was gripped with fear.
Black's eyes smiled at him through the darkness. "Can't I just simply visit an old friend of mine whom I haven't seen in years? Hmm, you look different, my friend. I've seen you in your better days before."
"Unlike you, Black, I like most people age with time."
"Yes, pathetic little creatures you are. Say, old friend, do you still remember my sister?"
The man felt his heart skip a beat and the colours draining from his face. "No," he said curtly.
"Oh, but you do," Black smirked at him, taking another step closer. "You still want the girl? Oh, I know you do. And I can assure you that you'll have her. As long as you agree to help me."
(*) Derived from two lines of a Vietnamese poem: Cái thuở ban đầu lưu luyến ấy/ Ngàn năm chưa dễ đã ai quên - Thế Lữ, Lời than thở của nàng mỹ thuật. Meaning even when a thousand years had passed, one could hardly forget their first love.
A/N: That's it for now, folks. Hope you enjoyed it. Expect another update within a week's time. And remember to check out Storm's story, The Tides of Time, too. Ciaos - Gale.