Chapter 10: Dead End
Author's Note: I would just like to point out that the world this fictional work takes place in is inspired by our own, but does not resemble it closely. Thank you for your support, it's been greatly appreciated. Please Review. All comments and criticisms are welcome.
"Fire. Ice. Earth. Air. These are the foundations of our great city. Take away one, and the rest will crumble. Valhalla was built on harmony, and in harmony it must continue to exist."
- Sage Hakem, on the disappearance of Grand Pabbie
Castle Arendelle - Present Day
Father-
He burst forth from his bed, gasping for breath as he awoke, and gulped air desperately as he clutched the sheets in panic. The pain in his lungs soon began to subside, and Arthur calmed down. He slid his legs off the side and sat on the edge of the bed, breathing slowly. The fireplace had died.
Another dream, it was nothing, he thought to himself. It was nothing. He glanced out the window. The night was still late.
His face and hands glistened with sweat; his linen nightclothes were soaked; his red hair a matted mess. He rose shakily from the bedframe and shuffled toward the dressing table. His knees felt weak.
He had been plagued with nightmares ever since the execution. Arthur had hoped that things would have changed once he arrived in Arendelle; the past two nights here for him had been peaceful. But tonight, the dreaded dreams had made their return.
And Arthur did not know why.
"Damn it!" He slammed his palm down on the table with gritted teeth. The ruby dragon his father had given him wobbled from the impact, making a quiet rattle. Arthur turned his attention to it.
It was something his father had given him on his tenth birthday. A family heirloom.
"You're halfway a man now," Gareth had slapped him on the shoulder, "you deserve this."
Arthur had asked his father why it was a dragon.
"Dragons are tenacious beasts. They will never give up, never submit to man," his father had answered. "When our ancestor slew the terrible drake of the West, he showed that he was stronger than even the dragons. This ruby is for us to remember that no matter what, we will have the strength to prevail."
Arthur picked up the dragon and rubbed it tenderly with his fingers. "What strength do I have, father?" he said quietly. "I'm just a child in the world of men, faltering in the darkness."
Then his legs buckled, and he had to grab onto the dressing table to keep standing. His chest hurt.
It's the air, he told himself, I need to go outside.
He pushed himself away from the table and stumbled out of the room, not bothering to close the door behind him. Frosted glass lamps lit the hallway as he blundered his way through the palace. There was supposed to be a balcony on this floor.
Arthur found it, a translucent door with crisscrossed patterns of cloth. It was already open, but Arthur did not care. He staggered past the doorway, coughing violently, and fell to his knees, sucking in the cool Northern air with closed eyes. He pressed his hands to the stone floor and hung his head, feeling his energy returning.
A high-pitched yell made him give a start. Arthur snapped his head up to see a young woman pushed up against the banister. He recognized her immediately.
"Princess Anna," he said in surprise. "Forgive me." He glanced down at his tussled and sweat-drenched clothes. "I realize I'm not... presentable."
The princess was dressed in a nightgown shaded green, which seemed to be her favorite color, for the silken cloak on her shoulders was dyed verdant as well. "Sorry," she said apologetically, and released her hold on the railing, "I didn't expect you to be here."
"I just needed some fresh air." Arthur adjusted his collar and stood up. She looked at him up and down.
"You don't look too good."
"I had a rough time sleeping," he answered as offhandedly as he could. The agony in his chest had faded away. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"
The princess smiled, but he could tell that his presence was making her slightly uncomfortable. She pointed skyward, and Arthur's gaze followed her finger to see a brilliant array of blue-green shimmers in the air.
He realized that they had been there the entire night. It was only now that he was fully aware of them.
"The Northern Lights," Anna told him. "I can never sleep when they're out."
"They're beautiful," Arthur said in wonder. He watched the light shift back and forth between colors. In all his life, he had never seen something so simple, yet so stunning at the same time. "What in the world could make such a thing?"
"There used to be a story my mother told me at bedtime," said Anna. "About how a spirit gave them to us because it was so dark up North." She shrugged. "Of course, Kristoff doesn't believe any of that. He thinks it's the changing of seasons that makes it happen, even though it's the middle of summer."
Arthur finally turned his mind away from the Northern Lights.
"And what about you?" he looked at Anna.
She gave another shrug, though this time with a timid laugh. "I don't know, maybe it's got something to do with the moon."
"Hm." Arthur stared back at the sky thoughtfully. In Valhalla, he had been taught that the spirits had bestowed onto mankind many things as gifts. But was this one of them?
His speculations were interrupted when Anna cleared her throat. She spoke cautiously.
"Look, my sister never meant you any harm when she had you arrested."
Arthur's mouth curled into a smile. "Didn't she?"
"No," Anna insisted. "Elsa never wanted anyone to get hurt; she was just scared for the kingdom. After Prince Hans tried to take over-"
"I understand," replied Arthur. "What's done is done. I don't hold grudges." It was the first time he had ever said something like that. He wondered if it were true.
But the princess seemed to believe his words.
"Thanks," she said in a relieved tone.
"She believed my claim, after all," Arthur continued, "and let me stay in your palace for nothing in return. Judging from her past history with foreigners, she's been very generous."
"Well, you are teaching her how to use her magic," reasoned Anna.
Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the palace was plunged into complete darkness. Only the glimmer of the moon and the Northern Lights illuminated the balcony. Anna twisted her head toward the door in confusion.
"What's going on?" she said in panic.
Arthur scanned the blackened windows alongside the balcony. "Is this supposed to happen?" he asked.
"I don't think so," the princess replied.
Then something echoed through the halls and out into the open. A scream.
Anna gasped. "That's Elsa!"
Arthur's senses started to rouse as he became alert. "Where is she?"
"In her room, down there," said Anna, pointing. "It's the only one in that corridor."
"Go find the guards," he instructed her. "I'll go see what's wrong."
"No, I'm coming with you," Anna demanded.
Arthur didn't feel like arguing. "Come then." He strode into the palace quickly, waving his hand to respark the lamps on the walls, filling the corridor with light. The screams had stopped, but now the hallways were filled with disorganized shouting and calls as the castle staff began to wake. As they turned the corner, Anna broke into a run and dashed past Arthur.
"Elsa!" she cried as she reached the bedroom door and pushed herself against it.
The Queen's voice came from behind the thick wood, frantic and muffled. "Anna!"
"Open the door!" shouted Anna. She leaned her full body's weight forward.
"It might be unlocked," Arthur said, grasping the silver handle.
"Oh right," said Anna sheepishly, "I forgot about that."
True enough, the door swung open, and the two of them rushed inside. The light from the hallway poured in through the entrance to reveal Elsa sitting up on her bed, her back shoved against the headboard. She looked at them with fear-filled eyes.
"Don't come in here!" she shouted.
But their attention was already on something else.
"What is that!?" Anna said.
Arthur was not sure either. On the other side of the room stood a freakish creature, the size of a man and made of frost and snow, with huge white claws on each hand and foot. A spike of ice was embedded in its shoulder, but the ice monster seemed unfazed by the wound. It leveled its eyes at the two newcomers and roared, exposing a row of razor-sharp teeth.
No, Arthur thought, it can't be.
"I can't control it!" Elsa called to them from her bed, her voice shaking.
Arthur could see the hysteria on her face. "Calm down," he said. "Did you make this thing?"
The Queen nodded. Arthur kept his eyes on the vicious snowman. It snarled at Elsa and inched toward her.
She drew back in fright and tried to down it with another shard of ice to its chest, but to no effect.
"That's not going to work," Arthur said urgently, "you need to remember what I told you earlier today - command it with your will."
"I can't do it," said Elsa wildly, almost to the point of tears. "It's not working!"
"It will work, I promise that," Arthur told her. "Focus your mind on being your element."
He watched the creature move closer towards the Queen, readying itself in a pouncing position.
Anna saw it as well. "Elsa!" she shrieked and ran for her sister.
"Leave her alone!" she cried and placed herself between the Queen and the monster.
The creature bounded forward, with claws extended and fangs bared, but Arthur jumped and intercepted it with a swift flaming kick. The blow plowed through the monster's side, and disintegrated it into a cloud of snow.
Arthur brought his foot down as Anna scooped her sister into her arms.
"Are you hurt?" she asked with concern.
The Queen's eyes were filled with tears. "No, I'm not," she said and hugged her sister back. "I'm... I'm so sorry."
"What's all this?" A new voice appeared in the room.
They turned to see Kristoff at the door, standing with two guardsmen who had their weapons drawn. He looked questioningly at Elsa and Anna, then diverted his gaze to Arthur, and finally at the snowy mess on the floor.
The red-head regarded Kristoff. "There was some trouble," he said quietly. "But... I took care of it."
"We heard screams," said the Ice-Master. "And then the lights went out."
"The screams were Her Majesty's," Arthur informed him. "The darkness was the result of chaotic magic."
Two elderly women of the castle staff appeared at the entrance and pushed past the guards. They looked distressed at the scene before them.
"Girls, what on earth happened?" One of them asked anxiously in a shrill voice, holding her hand to her chest.
"Has she been hurt?" The other hurried over to Elsa and placed the back of her fingers on the Queen's forehead.
Elsa, still cradled by her younger sister, shook her head firmly, but she seemed exhausted. "No, I haven't been, thanks to Arthur."
Kristoff walked further into the room and knelt by Anna. "So what happened?" he asked.
Arthur was silent. He had bent down to sift his hand through the white snow on the ground. Seeing that he was giving no answer, Anna decided to reply.
"I'm not sure," she said truthfully, "I was on one of the balconies and I heard her scream, and the lights went out. When I got here, there was some sort of thing... some snowman."
"Olaf?" said Kristoff. She shook her head.
"No," she replied, "this one looked like it was ready to kill someone. Like a smaller, angrier, Marshmallow." She glanced at Elsa, looking to see if she could provide more.
"I didn't mean for it to happen," Elsa said dejectedly. "It's never been like this before. I'm sorry, everyone."
Anna realized that Kristoff and the others were still confused. "Arthur had come out of his room too," she explained. "He arrived here the same time as I did. The snowman tried to attack Elsa, but he knocked it out."
"We are indebted to you, Arthur," one of the servant women told the squatting figure. The rest of the people around her looked at him gratefully, but he did not accept their thanks.
"No, you aren't," he said softly, rising from his crouch.
"But you just saved Elsa," replied Anna.
Arthur looked into his open palm, where a smattering of snow still remained. "You don't understand." He clenched his fist, and the snow puffed out from his hand and drifted to the ground, as every soul in the room watched him in bewilderment.
Castle Arendelle - Present Day
Pabbie nestled comfortably in his chair next to the dining room's fireplace, with a silken blanket draped over him. Arthur had not chosen to seat himself so luxuriously, instead resting on a wooden bench. The Queen reclined on a chair like Pabbie's, beside Anna and Kristoff.
"Are you sure we should be here?" asked Kristoff, with his hand around Anna's shoulder.
Arthur glanced at Pabbie for his reply. The troll gave a nod of affirmation. "I am sure. It is best that you and Anna are also aware of what we mean to tell the Queen now."
"So what is it you wish to tell us?" said Elsa. She had recovered from tonight's ordeal through the comfort of her sister and friends, but she was still embarrassed by her actions.
Arthur responded, turning his eyes to her. "Pabbie and I are concerned whether you want to continue training or not."
The Queen opened her mouth to speak, but she dropped her gaze from his in shame. "I'm sorry. I've failed you."
"You misunderstand," Arthur shook his head and got up from his seat. "You didn't fail me at all. What happened tonight was a result of me being the fool that I am."
Seeing their befuddled faces, Pabbie spoke up. "What he is saying, is that your enraged snowman was his fault."
But this served only to increase their bafflement. Anna blinked in confusion. "What?" she said. Next to her, Elsa frowned.
"I don't understand."
"When you started to channel your magic through willpower," Arthur said, starting to pace the room, "you began to be able to unwillingly create replicas of your dreams and thoughts. Since ice has the special ability to create life, the snowman became an animate creature. And in this case, you must have had a nightmare of some sort."
Elsa lifted up her head. "Yes, I did," she said quietly.
"I knew that this issue was to come," said Arthur, "but I hadn't realized that it would happen so soon. Or that anyone could have gotten hurt." He sighed, and looked at Elsa remorsefully. "I should have warned you, and for that, I apologize, to you," his eyes darted to Kristoff and Anna, "and everyone else."
"I'm fine, actually," Kristoff raised his hands in atonement.
Anna nodded in agreement.
"You don't need to apologize," said Elsa, "you saved my life."
"It would not have needed saving had I acted more sensibly," replied Arthur.
The Queen smiled.
"There is nothing to forgive," she told him.
They were words he had told her before. But Arthur sighed and touched the bridge of his nose. "You might not say that if you knew what I was going to tell you next."
Elsa was puzzled again. "Why is that?"
He looked at her. "The fact is, I did not agree to teach you out of friendship or benevolence."
"I never assumed-"
"You read my letter, did you not?"
"Yes, but-"
Arthur folded his arms. "Then you should know that I'm not on vacation here."
"Your friend said something about armies and enemies," said Elsa, still trying to understand.
"And what do armies and enemies mean?" Arthur asked. Elsa did not know what to say.
Grand Pabbie saved her, pushing his blanket aside and sliding off his chair. "He means to say that the he and I at war with Valhalla," he spoke. Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff looked at him with surprise.
"War?" repeated Elsa in alarm.
"Not yet," said Arthur, "but close to it."
"But... what need would you have to come here?" she asked.
"To gather up the rest of those who could use magic," replied Arthur.
Kristoff was the first to understand what he was saying. But he did not like what he was hearing.
"Wait, you say that like there's more of you in Arendelle than Queen Elsa."
Grand Pabbie smiled. "You're a bright boy, Kristoff. Tell me you haven't figured it out yet."
Kristoff studied his face. "I'm not sure if I have."
"You're on the right track," said Arthur. Kristoff looked at him. Then back at Pabbie. He gave a derisive laugh.
"I don't believe it. First you tell me you're at war. And now you tell me you're one of them?"
"It's true," Grand Pabbie said sincerely.
The Ice Deliverer dropped his mocking grin, and stepped back and frowned.
"You mean... all this time...?"
"All this time."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Grand Pabbie walked to Kristoff and patted his hand. "You didn't need to know."
"But I'm-"
"Family?" said Pabbie, shaking his head. "No one else in our tribe knows of this except for Bulda."
"Why?"
"She's my daughter."
Kristoff froze. "Wait a minute... Does that mean..." His voice faltered. "No," he said firmly. "That's just... no."
"HANG on a sec!" yelled Anna. "What is going on? You guys sound crazy!"
Kristoff turned to her. "He's one of them."
She shrugged skeptically. "Like... Elsa and Arthur?"
"Yeah, like them," nodded Kristoff.
Anna stared at Pabbie in thought. Then her face lit up. "Oh, that make's perfect sense! That's why Arthur came here to find him!"
"I didn't come here just to find Grand Pabbie," said Arthur.
He turned to Elsa, who had been silent all this while. She looked back at him. "So you were training me," she said softly, "because you wanted me to help you fight your war?"
Arthur stared directly into her eyes. Kristoff and Anna stopped talking and watched the two of them.
"Will you?" he asked her. But he already knew her answer.
Elsa glimpsed at her hands. "No..." she said, appalled by the idea, "I can't. I've tried all my life not to hurt anybody. How could I ever fight someone?"
"It's for a good cause," Arthur said gently. "Valhalla has become so corrupted it's a problem for the entire world. It will affect Arendelle too, you would be helping your own kingdom."
Elsa turned away. "I've been nothing but trouble for my kingdom."
"No, you haven't been," Arthur insisted, "your people love you. You've opened your gates for them, you bring them joy, you bring them comfort."
"And I'll be bringing them war if I help you," said Elsa, with pain in her voice. "I've hurt my people enough already."
"Thousands, tens of thousands of people will die in poverty and disgrace across the world if we don't act. And we need all the help we can get. Please," Arthur implored her. "Please consider this."
Elsa closed her eyes. "I have to protect my kingdom. I can't do this. I'm sorry."
Arthur took a peek at Pabbie, who shook his head sadly. The Sentinel of Fire's shoulders slumped.
"I can't force you," he told her. "I understand your reasons."
The Queen looked at him remorsefully. "You and Pabbie are still welcome to stay here as long as you want. You've been very good to us, both of you." She folded her hands and bit her lip. "But I can't help you with this," she said shakily. "You'll have to find someone else. Good night."
She stood from her chair and started to leave the room.
"Elsa," Anna called after her sister, but the Queen ignored her and exited the dining area.
When she was gone, Anna walked up to Arthur. She wrung her hands humbly.
"I'm sorry Elsa won't help you," she said, "but I just wanted to thank you for what you said to her, about how much she's done for us. She's a good person, I hope you know that."
Arthur was still disappointed, but he nodded in response. "What you did to protect your sister earlier tonight was brave."
"And stupid," she quipped. "I just couldn't let her get attacked by that... monster thing."
Kristoff strode up to Anna's side. The Ice-Master shrugged at Arthur. "Well, I think I'm still kinda in shock." He laughed. "A lot of things happened tonight." He quietened down and looked at Pabbie. "So... if you're all magical and stuff... which one are you?"
Pabbie chuckled. "You still haven't figured it out?"
"You mind showing me a bit of earth-making, then?" asked Kristoff.
"Not inside. Maybe tomorrow."
Kristoff sighed. "All right." He placed his arm around Anna again. "And um, I'm sorry things didn't work out for you guys."
"Thanks," Arthur said dejectedly.
"Well," said Anna, trying to sound cheerful, "good night. Maybe you guys could show us some stuff about fire, huh?"
Arthur shook his head. "Perhaps some other time." Pabbie bade them a good night's rest as the couple walked out of the dining room slowly, leaving the two Sentinels alone. Grand Pabbie looked at Arthur.
The young man collapsed into a chair. "Damn," he said wearily, "damn. What do we do now?"
Castle Arendelle - Present Day
They sat in silence until morning. Pabbie had fallen asleep in his chair, with his blanket spread over him once again, but this time in the form of a rock. He awoke as sunlight poured into the room and rested on his skin. Mumbling sleepily, he unfurled himself and peered around the room. Arthur was still seated at his bench. The boy had not slept a wink all night after their meeting with the Queen. Pabbie eyed his untidy clothes and his tangled rose-colored hair.
"You look horrible," he said gruffly.
Arthur looked up at Pabbie. Dark rings circled his eyes, making his youthful features look haggard. His face bore the look of defeat, and his hunched shoulders made it seem even more so. When he spoke, his voice was faint.
"What am I doing here, Pabbie?"
The troll gave a sad sigh and joined him on the bench. "You tried your best. We may yet have another chance to convince her."
The boy's laugh was acrimonious. "She's right, you know. Why should she help us? I can't even help her."
Pabbie's knees groaned in protest as he sat down. He observed Arthur. "You cannot possibly believe that she would have warmed to our cause so quickly?"
"I don't know," Arthur admitted. "I thought that she would have at least sympathized with us."
"She did," Pabbie said as he dusted Arthur's habit. The boy squinted back at him.
"Then why didn't she agree to help us?" he whispered.
"The same reason she did not kill you when she read your letter, and let you go so easily afterward," said Pabbie. "She doesn't want to hurt anybody. She said so herself."
"Maybe. But maybe not," Arthur shrugged lightly. "She took me in when I got here for the first time, and I was a complete stranger to her. She's trusting."
"She gave you her hospitality because she was obliged to," said Pabbie.
"Why?" Arthur scoffed. "I'm not nobility."
"You are close to it," Pabbie replied. "Besides, you were a lone foreigner arriving at a quiet time. Queen Elsa did not have the stomach to reject you."
"What does it matter now?" Arthur asked him. "Without her, we cannot defeat Imperius. And if we cannot defeat Imperius, we cannot defeat the Council."
Pabbie thought for a while. "Is there no way to convince Imperius to join us?"
Arthur shook his head silently. "He is too deep into his father's politics to be fooled or persuaded. And now that he has mastered his element, he is a dangerous man." He paused, and an idea struck him. His lips creased into a bitter smile. "I just realized. I'm the only Sentinel alive now who hasn't mastered the final stage of their element."
"Don't think too much of it," Pabbie tried to encourage him, but Arthur was already explaining.
"I've never been able summon lightning once in my life. And here is Queen Elsa of Arendelle, who hasn't had a single day of training, spawning living snowmen in her sleep. Why should I be teaching her?"
"If it makes you feel any better," Pabbie said, "it took me thirty years to master my own element."
Arthur tried to smile, but he sighed and buried his face in his arms. "I've been thinking of a thousands ways that I could have told her better."
Grand Pabbie rubbed the ache out of his ancient knees. "In our lives we often look back on the things we have said and the deeds we have committed. Sometimes we look upon them with regret. But it does us no good to sit there and think of our mistakes in the past."
"So what should I do?" asked Arthur quietly.
"Stay in Arendelle, continue to train the Queen, and earn her trust," said Pabbie. "In time, perhaps she will understand the gravity of our situation."
"We don't. Have. Time." Arthur said slowly.
Pabbie leaned close. "We have no options," he replied strongly. "We are at a dead end. You have to continue to train her and make do with the circumstances, until we can convince her to help us."
"If she will have me train her," Arthur mumbled.
"For some reason I feel as though she may," said Pabbie. But Arthur was not listening. The red-headed youth lifted his chin up and stared into one of the dining room's windows. The colors of the day streamed in through the glass pane.
"Somewhere, far away, my friend is risking his life for us," he muttered. "Out there in the world, our enemies are everywhere, even where we think we are the safest. He could be betrayed at any moment. And here I am, sitting in Arendelle's Royal Palace, prancing around with the Queen."
Pabbie patted him gently on the shoulder. "Your friend is very brave. But we all must make sacrifices."
"Sacrifices." Arthur gave a sore smile. "It seems as though I am the only one who does not have to make any. Does that mean that I am blessed, or does it make me a coward?"
"You have made sacrifices of your own," said Pabbie. "Perhaps some even greater than others will ever do."
"I doubt that, if we are never to convince Queen Elsa to join us," Arthur replied. "We can make no progress if she still refuses to help."
"Give her time," said Pabbie.
"I have power. I have knowledge. But time... Time is what I do not have," Arthur said in fatigue. He continued to look outside the window, and started to doze off as he watched the birds outside sing the first hours of morning away.