Sorry! Fixed the mistake and here is the actual chapter 11! Also, special thank you to Sanchen Masta, Mangaartsfan, Cheshirecat, greenfairy25, timelord, guest and ShdwFire for their comments and to everyone that followed/favorited. I am officially done with finals so I should be posting more frequently over the next couple weeks so be prepared! I hope you all enjoy the next chapter.
"That bastard has been lying to us this entire time. He's his son, Elsa. He is Fenrir's son!"
Elsa felt her entire body and mind go numb. What did he say? Elsa lowered her hands from blocking Kristoff and slowly turned back to Raiden. Kristoff's gaze had never wavered with its intensity as both sets of eyes, one of disbelief and one of rage, watched Raiden as he struggled back to his feet.
"Elsa. Kristoff. I can explain you just – " Kristoff was back on Raiden in moments and grabbed Raiden by his shirt as he slammed him into the wall again. His voice crackled with intensity.
"No! You don't get to explain! We trusted you! She trusted you. Just tell me where they took Pabbi. Tell me where they took Anna!" Elsa was taking in the sight before her in shock and found herself with her hands on Kristoff's arm, looking between Kristoff and Raiden, still trying to make sense of what was happening.
"Anna? What do you mean they have Anna? Kristoff stop it!" But Kristoff and Raiden were locked in a struggle with Kristoff seemingly attempting to strangle Raiden and Raiden doing his best to remove Kristoff without actually hurting him. Frustrated, Elsa took a step back.
"ENOUGH!" Raiden and Kristoff flew apart from the force of Elsa's burst of power. Kristoff looked ready to resume his attempts at strangulation but another burst of Elsa's power was enough for Kristoff to settle for seething instead. Satisfied that another outburst was not about to happen, Elsa turned her icy glare to Raiden, who was looking at Elsa with great trepidation. He knew everything hinged on getting Elsa to listen to him and actually believe what he had to say.
"Elsa I - " Elsa cut him off with a look.
"No. You will answer my questions first. And for your sake, they better be the truth." Raiden silently nodded his head and Elsa lowered her hands again, but the temperature in the room was quickly dropping and it looked like a storm was ready to break at any moment outside the castle windows. As much as Elsa attempted to keep her exterior in check, the raging storm of emotions broiling inside her felt like it ready to explode. Anna...
"Is it true?"
"Elsa I -"
"Is it true!" The dark grey clouds were rumbling outside the castle and Raiden took note of the storm ready to break. And it was directed at him.
"No!" Elsa looked at Kristoff questioningly but Kristoff was already back in Raiden's face.
"Liar! He told me the truth. I know what you are." Kristoff could barely contain himself.
"You saw him? Did you see the wolf? Was it with him?" Raiden sounded almost desperate and Kristoff was slightly taken aback by Raiden now demanding answers.
"I don't know about any wolf. It was a man. A giant of a man with red eyes. It had to be Fenrir. He told me that you were his son." Kristoff was passed listening to anymore lies out of Raiden. I need to get to Anna.
"You told me that your father was dead." Elsa took a step closer to Kristoff and in turn a step further away from Raiden.
"The man that you saw was not my father. My father is dead. Fenrir killed him." Elsa noticed the mixture of pain and anger in Raiden's voice.
"I don't much care who your father is. But he has Anna and you are going to tell me where I can find her." Kristoff demanded.
"He doesn't want Anna." Now the truth is coming out. But not like this, why did it have to be like this?
"What does he want?" Elsa was desperate to know the truth. Finding Anna and finally understanding what had caused all of this to happen was the only thing Elsa cared about.
"An army. He wants an army." Raiden could not look at Elsa anymore. He knew that hearing what came next would only lead to her hating him.
"What are you talking about?" Elsa was now even more confused than before.
"Please, just let me start from the beginning." Elsa nodded her head and placed a calming hand on Kristoff's shoulder who seemed more interested in beating the answers out of Raiden instead of listening to a story. Sharing a look, Kristoff tossed up his hands and went to the far wall of the study. Taking a deep breath, Raiden started talking.
"Like I told you, my father was the leader of my village. He would often talk of our proud history of warriors and the battles we used to have in protecting Arendelle from their enemies of the north. But that was a long time ago. Our people had fallen on hard times. There were no more battles. No more glory. Just struggle. But that did not matter to my father. He kept our village and the neighboring towns together. Reminded us of the legends and of our place in Arendelle's history. Even when my mother died, he remained strong. I was always proud to call myself his son."
"Fenrir is a monster." Kristoff said coldly from the other side of the room.
"No! That - that thing that you saw; the man with the red eyes, that is not Fenrir and that is not my father. Or at least not anymore." Elsa's look made it clear that Kristoff was not going to interupt again and she returned her attention back to Raiden who continued his story. It seemed from the look on his face that he was not even aware of Elsa and Kristoff anymore.
"My father's name was Korin. But the man that you saw Kristoff - that is no longer my father. He was corrupted by Fenrir and became that monster. As far as I am concerned, my father is dead."
"What do you mean? What does this have to do with his attack on Arendelle? Who is Fenrir?" Elsa was enraptured by Raiden's story but was still anxious to see how any of this got them closer to Anna. Raiden heaved a great sigh as he continued.
"Elsa, I want you to know that none of this was your fault. I don't blame you for anything that happened." The look he gave Elsa was of such sorrow but Elsa simply nodded for him to continue. My fault?
"Like I was saying, life was hard, but we always got through it. My father made sure to keep our village together. But none of us were ready - no one could have been prepared." Raiden looked at Elsa as if she should know what was coming next.
"Prepared for what Raiden?" Elsa felt a deep dread enter her and she feared she knew what Raiden would say next.
"The Great Freeze. Our crops died. People were out hunting or simply enjoying the summer. Me and my father went out looking for them but most we did not find. At least, not until the snow disappeared." Elsa's brow furrowed in confusion until she realized what Raiden was saying.
"Are you saying that - that I killed those people?" Kristoff was back at Elsa's side. He was not sure what he was supposed to do but he saw that Elsa needed him without Anna here and hoped he could keep Elsa together. He had always suspected fallout from Elsa's storm, but never something like this.
"Elsa when it happened we - we weren't even sure there was someone to blame. A blizzard in the middle of summer? My father suspected sorcery but it had been so long since any real magic had been seen that we were not certain of anything. But the one thing we were certain of, was that the storm had spread from the North Mountain. I remembered the legends from our history and said that we should venture to the North Mountain and destroy the source of the storm. My father and I, along with men from our village, armed ourselves and made our way up the mountain. When we came upon an ice palace, we did not know what to make of it. The only thing we knew was that the storm was indeed an act of sorcery and we thought whomever was to blame must still be residing in the castle. But when we got close, something attacked us." Raiden now gave Kristoff and Elsa another knowing look.
"Snowflake." They responded together.
"Yes, your giant Yosin. We fought it but we were unprepared for such a creature. In the end, it tossed us over the side of the mountain. Only me and my father survived. I had never seen my father in so much anguish. You need to understand, our village was facing starvation, we had just lost more of the men my father was entrusted to lead and now we were faced with the threat of a sorcerer whose powers we could not match." Raiden sounded like he was desperate to explain his father. But Elsa still did not see how this led to the attack on Arendelle or Fenrir. If Korin was Raiden's father and not the wolf, what had she seen and heard outside the walls?
"Me and my father wandered the deep crevices and caverns of the North Mountain for days. Although it may have been summer, it is forever winter on that cursed peek. Soon my father began hallucinating. He claimed he heard a voice on the wind, calling his name. I tried to stop him but after hours of attempting to pull him through the snow he broke free and began chasing after this voice he claimed to hear. I went after him but thought I had lost him. I screamed his name but with the snow and winds... I finally found him but he was almost frozen solid. I thought we were both lost, that is, until I saw a light coming from a cave in the side of the mountain. I assumed thought we had found survivors and so I entered the cave. But what I saw...what I saw was something from legends - and nightmares."
"Fenrir." Elsa said quietly.
"Fenrir. It was massive, darker than the shadows of the cave and seemingly made of dark fur, muscle and smoke, the edges of its form constantly shifting. And those eyes...Kristoff knows about those red eyes. I was drawn into the cave and found myself standing before the monster. Fenrir was told me that ancient magic had reentered the realm and had awoken him. He told me that he knew my father was dying and that if I would free him, Fenrir could save him. And more, he would grant us the power to regain our people's honor and to protect our villages. All I had to do was set Fenrir free. I panicked when he told me that my father was dying and so I took my sword and struck the chains that bound Fenrir. A huge force blew me out of the cave and when I opened my eyes the form of my father stood before me...but I would later find out that my father had died in that cave. My father told me that he knew what needed to be done and that we would soon have an army capable of destroying the Ice Queen. The sorcerer that had destroyed our village." Raiden took a deep breath, not meeting either Elsa or Kristoff's eyes as he continued.
"When we returned to our village it did not take long for my father to convince the remaining warriors to follow him. He told us that the Ice Queen had caused all of their suffering and that her own powers would be her undoing. For she would be the one to provide them with the army to control Arendelle."
"The Yosin..." Raiden nodded.
"At first, I was as avid a follower as anyone. My father was going to lead us back to glory and avenge our people. I took up my arms and rallied the men. But when we began recruiting from other towns and villages, I realized that something was wrong with what we were doing as the men began to change. They became darker and surly. Easily provoked and prone to violence. Something was corrupting them."
"I tried to reason with my father and the men but it was as if my father's words were poison. Soon, they were prepared to march on the other villages for them to join in his campaign or - or be destroyed. It was at that moment that I knew my father was dead and that whatever stood in his place was merely an extension of the monster from the cave. The night before the men were set to leave, I left the village in search of Fenrir. I knew he had to be close by and I thought that if I killed the beast, I could avoid the destruction it had planned."
"I found Fenrir in the woods outside of our village. It called me a fool for not following like my father and we fought, but I might as well have been attacking the night. He was too fast and too strong. He struck me and where his claws slashed me I felt the evil that had corrupted my father begin to take hold. Fenrir left me for dead. But - but something happened. I was able to escape and make it out of there barely alive. I struggled to make it to the other villages to warn them but it was already too late. That was when I began my journey to find you, Elsa and came upon Kristoff." Raiden turned his gaze towards Kristoff now.
"Those men were not there for you Kristoff. That ambush was meant for me. I never meant to put any of you in danger. I am so sorry Elsa." Raiden finished his story and leaned against the wall, as if the weight of what he had just said forced him to depend on the wall for support.
"So it was you that set Fenrir free?" Kristoff demanded to know.
"What do you mean something happened?" Elsa questioned.
"I - I don't remember." Elsa knew he was lying.
"Don't lie to me!" Elsa's powers began to surge.
"Elsa please - " But Elsa was beyond reasoning.
"Tell me!"
"I can't." Raiden knew he needed to tell Elsa the truth but he just could not bring himself to do it. How could she ever believe me?
"Get out." Elsa's voice was low and frigid. Kristoff slowly backed away and Raiden raised his hands as if to try and calm Elsa down. The storm outside was now a thunder and snow began lashing at the windows.
"GET OUT!" Elsa's blast of icy rage threw Raiden against of the window, the glass shattering as he fell to the ground below. Elsa screamed in torment, the room drowned in darkness and the storm outside raged. My fault. I killed all those people. I awoke Fenrir. I put all of Arendelle in danger and now Anna is gone because of me. Because I trusted Raiden and let him into our lives. My fault. Elsa felt like her entire world was breaking, she could not see, she could not feel. But as she felt herself descending into darkness, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her, as if an anchor. Soon, Elsa found herself gripping Kristoff as if letting go would be drowning. Her cries of betrayal and sorrow echoing over the wind.
Raiden heard those cries of anguish as he ran from the city and they tore at his very soul. It was as if each wail was a knife in his chest, an ache he could not outrun. I never meant for any of this happen. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Raiden felt his feet propelling him far from Arendelle - far from Elsa. Finally, Raiden found himself deep in the woods around Arendelle. The storm raged around him, an embodiment of the pain he had inflicted onto Elsa. The sound of something approaching registered with Raiden, but he chose to ignore it. As the sounds got closer, he recognized the soft footfalls of a predator. Let Fenrir find me then. Finally I can do something right. Raiden got to his feet prepared to fight. But as the other wolf appeared, Raiden dropped to his knees, his head in his hands.
"This is your fault. You lied to me. You told me I could make it right. You told me I could protect her." Raiden raised his eyes but it was not the black form of Fenrir that stood before him. Standing regal and holding Raiden's gaze with amber eyes stood an ice blue and white wolf.
Sorry again for the mix up. What? The wolf is not Raiden? T I played with the idea of the wolves for a long time and am interested in your comments on how I decided to go. Not to worry, more will be explained next chapter. Please review!