Elsa was heading to her room with varying documents and letters piled in her arms and her mind racing. She was still trying to get everything for the festival in order before the rest of the nobles arrived, how much she'd have to increase security with the werewolves on her doorstep and worrying about Mikael on top of that.
She knew he still had something eating away at him, he could hide it all he wanted to, but she could see it better than anyone. "At least he's getting along with Rapunzel and uncle Harknir so far." She said contently, laughing when she remembered the conversation he had with Flynn.
"I wish he'd just tell me what's wrong. It can't be that bad..." She frowns a little before she heard something. What she could actually tell from where she was, it sounded like music, a lute to be exact and it sounded like it was coming from where her room was.
"Hmm." She raised her eyebrow curiously and kept walking, thinking she'd find out what it was when she made it to her room. The closer she got, the louder the music was, it was clearly a more subtle tune with a slow to medium pace and something about it just made her relax, almost to the point of falling asleep where she was.
It wasn't long before she suddenly stops, the alluring tune echoing through her ears when she turns to find herself in front of Mikael's room, which was apparently the source of the music. She raises her eyebrow curiously then carefully cracks the door to peek inside, almost dropping everything when she does.
She could see Mikael's shadow on the edge of the bed, a simple, but elegantly made lute in his hands and his fingers dancing across it like it was simply second nature to him. A gentle smile creeps across her lips as she listened to him play, the rest of the world almost vanishing around them while the song hypnotizes her, making her forget she was still carrying a pile of documents before simply dropping them.
"Sh..." She slammed the door, the sudden crash and the door slamming making him miss a note and quickly turn around. He raised his eyebrow curiously before laying the lute to the side then approaching the door, quietly opening it to see Elsa on her hands and knees frantically collecting documents.
He tilted his head a little then gets down on the floor with her, quickly snatching up any she may have missed. She kept gathering the documents, not even aware that he was there until she suddenly grabs his hand, their eyes meeting in the middle when she does and both of them blushing madly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." She started nervously until he gently laced his fingers around her hand. "Nah, it's fine." He smiles a little before they look back down at the mess. "Let's make this a little easier. I'll be right back." He says calmly before returning to his room. After a few moments, he comes out with a blanket and lays it out before piling the documents up in it.
She watched him for a minute before getting back on the floor and helping him. "You're just now going to bed?" He asked a little surprised, which made her frown a little and nod her head. "Yeah, I'm used to it, though. I'm actually surprised I'm actually calling it this early." She said softly, almost sounding like she'd fall asleep right there.
"Damn, you're as bad as I am." He shakes his head a little, making her look at him. "I don't have night terrors, though. I just have too much to do." She said with a light yawn. He watched her for a minute, not missing a beat as he tossed papers into the blanket.
"They really put that much on you, huh?" He asked softly, obvious concern in his tone. She didn't answer; not really wanting to get him riled up this late at night, but still nods a little bit. "That ain't fair; the council should at least try and help you with maybe half of this." He said simply before she met his gaze.
"Most of them do, it's just the few like William that neglect to. Besides, there's still matters that the council aren't permitted to deal with." She said softly, watching his head drop a little. "Poor thing, no wonder she looks so exhausted all the time..." He thinks to himself before meeting her gaze again.
"Well, I'll help ya with this mess. If you'll let me." He said calmly, her face brightening up a little when she heard his offer, but she still had a bit of hesitation in her eyes. "I couldn't ask you to do that, you're a guest." She says gently, watching him shake his head.
"So? That doesn't mean I can't help a friend when she needs it." He says, a light smile crossing her face as they finish picking up the documents. "Thanks. You don't have to, though." She said shyly, stroking a lock of hair behind her ear as she stands.
"Just like I didn't have to run that thug out of Oaken's and buy your sister a box of chocolate." He smirks before tying the blanket up into a sack and draping it over his shoulder, which made her smile grow more.
"Where did you learn to play like that?" She asks with an enthused voice, making him blush a little. "I found it on a raid, took it then just started playing with it until I started hearing music." He answers simply, grasping her attention even more. "You taught yourself? Bravo." She says sweetly, making him shake his head a little.
"It was either learn to play music or burn the camp to the ground. At the time, I wasn't really in the mood to exterminate my clan." He says calmly, making her frown a little. "I wish you'd quit being so hard on yourself, you're nowhere near as bad as you say you are." She says softly.
"You really think so, huh? Even after learning about the things I've done?" He asks calmly before Elsa takes his hand. "Well, I haven't seen that side of you come out yet, so that tells me you're a good person." She smiles a little, his heart dropping when he heard the statement.
"Yes you have. You just don't recognize me." He thinks before looking in her eyes, the icy blue gems steadily trying to figure out what's really bothering him. "What's really bothering you?" She whispers gently, her chilly breath tickling his skin and making him tremble a bit. "I can't tell you...I wish I could, but I can't. Arendelle would be in even more danger if I did..." He says quietly, making her raise her eyebrow a little.
"What could he be hiding that would put us in worse danger?" She asked herself until they reach her room, Mikael quietly opening the door for her when they do. "Thank you." She smiles softly. "No problem." He said with a light smile before hesitantly following her inside.
"Wow, clean." He said calmly when he walked in, making Elsa laugh when he does. "Hey, just because I'm busy all the time doesn't mean I don't take time to clean my room." She said wittily before looking up at him.
"Well, come on. Make yourself at home." She smiles warmly and motions him to a table with two chairs at the back of it. He nods a little then sat in the chair closest to the end, dropping the sack of documents beside him looking up when Elsa disappears behind a blind to change into her night gown.
He raised his eyebrow a little, his curiosity almost possessing him and making him want to peek behind it, but he was trying to talk himself out of it. "She seems pretty comfortable around me, though...besides, why would she change with me in here unless..." He shakes his head like a bug got stuck in his ear in an attempt to get the thought out of his head and looks out the window.
Before he knew it, his mind went back to her and he started discreetly peeking around the blind, managing to catch a brief glance at her when she slides her arm through one of the sleeves of her night gown until...
"Nuh uh. Still disrespectful." He shakes his head then turns his attention to the door as he pulls out a coin and starts flicking it in the air, catching it before it hits the floor. She came out from behind the blind and watched him flip the coin through the air from one hand to another, his attention locked on the door.
A light blush decorates her cheeks while a mischievous smile crosses her lips before she quietly walks up behind him, gently running her hand across his shoulders when she gets to him. He trembled a bit when he felt her touch, but it didn't bother him, he had gotten so used to her now that it was almost strange when she wasn't around.
"See something you like?" She asks playfully, making him blush a little. "Maybe..." He answers simply while she sits down next to him, her fingers stroking down his arm when she does and making him tremble more. He starts shyly studying her until he felt her slowly pulling him and the chair closer to him, lacing her arms around him as she did.
His body shuttered when it pressed against hers and he embraced her comfortably, carefully caressing her back when he does. She smiles cutely then rests her head on his shoulder when she felt his fingertips stroking across her somewhat exposed shoulder and probably would have drifted off right there if she didn't remember they had work to do.
"Um, Mikael...we need to..." She says sleepily. "Yeah. What can wait?" He asks calmly, feeling her shrug lightly in his arms. "Well, I don't know, I haven't been through any of it yet." She said simply, her body slowly going limp as she started drifting off again.
"Still pre-occupied with the festival?" He asked softly before she nods a little. "I never thought it'd be this hard to come up with a theme for a party." She sighs a little. Mikael thinks for a minute, he sure as hell knew how to party, but his problem was he had to come up with something that wouldn't be considered "unsavory".
"Hmmm. Moon's full tomorrow night, ain't it?" He asks curiously, making her raise an eyebrow. "I think so, why?" She asks calmly. "What's the biggest fire Arendelle's put together?" He smirks lightly. "I don't know." She says softly, making him smirk a little more.
"How bold would it be for me to suggest maybe having a bon fire under the full moon? Drinks, dancing, you know, everything that makes a party a party?" He asked wittily, a light smile crossing her face. She wasn't too fond of fire, but she liked the idea and of course, if it started bothering her too much she could always come inside.
"I think we can do that." She says sweetly before meeting his eyes, neither of them letting the other go when he felt her hand carefully reach behind his head and coax him forward. They tremble shyly as their lips grew closer together then barely meeting before they hear a tap on the window. Their eyes shot towards the window.
"What was that?" She asks softly, Mikael rolling his eyes a little when he picked up a familiar scent. "I have a pretty good idea..." He grumbles a little before reluctantly letting her go and opening her curtains, Mercer trying to peek in with a black leather bound book in his hand.
"Dammit Mercer..." He says under his breath before cracking the window. "I need to talk to ya. Now." Mercer says urgently, noticing the irritated look in his eyes. "What?" He asks quickly, Elsa studying them quietly before Mercer tries to look around Mikael.
"Can I come in, I ain't quite got used to the blood and all these different smells are driving me fucking nuts." He states somewhat irritably before Mikael turns towards Elsa, a curious look on his face. "Is he friendly?" She mouthed to him before he noticed him hesitantly nod.
It wasn't really convincing, but she nods to let him know Mercer could come in. He turns back towards his friend then opens the window enough for him to slide in. "Fine, just don't make a mess." He says bluntly as Mercer slid in through the window.
"Easy 'nuff." He says simply before laying the book on the table and sitting across from Elsa, who was studying him nervously. "Queen Elsa, Mercer. Mercer, Queen Elsa." Mikael says casually as he takes his seat next to Elsa, hoping to ease the sudden tension a little.
"Your majesty." Mercer bows his head a little as Elsa tries to manage a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you." She says nervously, noticing a golden shimmer in the man's eyes. "Mikael... is he...?" She started quietly before Mercer interrupts.
"A werewolf? Yeah, don't remind me. Bastard sent one to bite me since I wouldn't take part in his little "initiation" then I wake up this morning buck ass naked and smelling like blood, well more than usual anyway. It ain't nothing nice, I can tell ya that much, but I think some people can handle it better than others. And don't get me started on the actual change, that shit's so fucking painful it makes you wanna..." He ranted somewhat irritably until...
"Mercer!" Mikael snapped quickly, catching their attention.
"Right, sorry. The mother fucker's gone so far off the deep end it ain't even funny." He said quickly, sliding Mikael the book. "Page two hundred ninety six." He says, making Mikael raise his eyebrow before opening the book, recognizing the drawings in it.
"Wait, where did you get this?" He asked quickly. "Robert found it after Selena died. Then I took the liberty of "borrowing" it." Mercer answers bluntly, Elsa looking between them. "Who's Selena?" She asks curiously, noticing Mikael tense up a little when she did.
"Mikael's mentor, probably the closest thing he had to a parent if you want a more specific answer." Mercer answered calmly, Elsa's gaze moving to Mikael who simply flipped through pages to find the one Mercer mentioned. "What happened to her?" She asks hesitantly, making him briefly cut his eyes to her, but he didn't answer.
"Robert. When he left, she left. Then Robert tracked them down and..." Mercer explained, stopping at the end so he wouldn't piss Mikael off. Tears started forming in Elsa's eyes when he told her, her gaze not leaving Mikael as she slowly moves her hand towards his. "How old were you...?" She asked quietly, his tormented eyes briefly meeting hers when she asks.
"I was eight..." He answers quietly before turning his attention back to the book, her fingers lacing around his hand when he told her. Mercer watched them quietly, shaking his head a little. "Never thought I'd see that firebrand of a werewolf could actually look this vulnerable." He thinks to himself until they heard Mikael's knuckles on his free hand crackle when he found what he was looking for.
"Mercer...what the fuck is he up to." He demanded with a light snarl, his at the moment cold gaze locking on his old friend. "You tell me, she didn't trust anybody else with shit like this." Mercer said simply, making him shake his head irritably. "I should have torn him to pieces when I had the fucking chance..." He grumbled quietly, Elsa barely able to make out what he said, but judging by the way Mercer was eyeing him, it couldn't have been good.
"What's wrong?" She asks carefully, not wanting to provoke him anymore than he already was. "He's going to invoke a wild hunt so he can take over Arendelle." He answers with a light snarl, making a terrified look cross her face. "How do you..." She started before he turns the book towards her, showing her a drawing of a blood red moon and numerous wolf like shadows beneath it.
"The blood moon. It's the time when the power of a werewolf reaches it's peak, but at the same time, their hunger grows to a point where it's almost completely insatiable." He explains, Mercer pulling his pipe out as he does and was about to light it until he felt their eyes on him.
"Oh, no smoking in the castle? My bad." He said calmly before putting it away. She looks back at Mikael with a concerned look in her eyes. "What does that have to do with this "hunt"?" She asks, pretty sure she already knew the answer.
"There's also a higher chance of humans being turned if their attacked during a blood moon. He's been raising an army, sending enforcers to bite anybody that wouldn't accept his offer willingly in preparation for it. As many wolves as he's gathered since he discovered the power, he could kill everyone here and the survivors would turn instantly. He'd have his own kingdom like he always wanted." He answers, making her almost freeze the entire room when he does.
"How long do we have?" She squeaks a little.
He stood up and went to the window, looking up at the moon, which was obviously full, but something was different about tonight compared to any other full moon.
The moment he looked up, he felt his blood festering in a much different way than usual, the call was stronger and the urge to hunt was steadily growing to the point where he probably would have been forced to change right there if he wasn't so focused on protecting Elsa from himself and Robert. "Not long..." He said quietly before rejoining them.
"Day after tomorrow if we're lucky." He answers, making her eyes drop. "The festival's tomorrow..." She says quietly before he carefully took her hand. "Which would probably give Robert a good excuse to do some last minute recruiting..." Mercer grumbles quietly as he looks between them.
"Hey, if it helps ya feel any better, you couldn't ask for anybody better to fight him off." He says, motioning to Mikael. "Ain't been anybody that's left the clan and lived to talk about it." He explains simply, her eyes looking up at Mikael who was still looking down.
"Yeah, and you see what price I had to pay the first time..." He grumbled a little until she gently embraces him, trying to help him feel better. "Yeah, I do. But, apparently you gained something else along the way..." Mercer said bluntly, his eyes cutting to Elsa when he did.
"Well, I think I'm gonna leave you two love birds to your business before Robert tries to track me down and kills everybody here. Y'all have a good night." He said before standing up and going towards the window. "Thank you for..." Elsa starts before he raised his hand.
"Thank Mikael; he's the one who told me to find out Robert's plan. My new instincts just took care of the rest." He said bluntly before leaping out the window and disappearing. She studies Mikael for a minute after hearing that, noticing him stare at that one page in his mentor's book before slowly closing it.
"I better call it too so you can get some rest." He said softly before standing up only for her to grasp his hand tightly and stop him in his tracks. "Please don't..." She said with a gentle whisper, giving him her best puppy dog eyes when he turned to face her. "I don't wanna get you in any trouble..." He said quietly before noticing her shake her head.
"They're going to talk about us anyway and besides, you're not going to get me in trouble. Most of the council likes you, they've told me. It's just William and the others like him that aren't fond of you, everyone else thinks..." She stops at the end, not really sure how he'd react to hearing the last part. He didn't say anything, but he already knew what she was referring to and his mind starts racing.
"Has the rest of the council really talked to her about that?" He asked himself, a little stunned by the possibility, as much as he'd love to do it, he couldn't help but wonder if they'd have the same response when they learned he was an animal or if Elsa would still care about him as much as she does when she found out.
"Okay, if you insist." He said calmly, her face lighting up when he did before she hugs him tightly and making him grunt a little before hugging her back. "We'll...worry with that mess tomorrow if you still wanna help." She says with a light, sleepy giggle as she motioned to the improvised sack.
"Of course. You deserve some Elsa-time, I just hate it ain't more." He smiles a little, making her giggle lightly before she carefully pulls him to her bed. He hesitated a little when she did, which made her study him curiously. "Are you sure you're...okay with..." He tried to ask until he felt her slowly coaxing him to sit on the edge of the bed then lovingly snuggle up to him.
"I wouldn't ask you to if I wasn't." She whispers gently, making him shutter a little as he tried to block out certain "pesky" thoughts that he knew would ruin his chances with her. "You're nervous..." She says softly as he pulls his boots off.
"I've...never really let anybody get this close to me before I met you, much less..." He said quietly hesitating at the end until he felt his body slowly sinking down to the bed with her on top of him before their lips meet for a moment then parting again. "It's not like we're about to do anything like that. It's a little too soon to think about it if you ask me." She says in a soothing tone, hoping to calm his nerves a little.
"But, I trust you enough to let you sleep in here with me. I feel like I can relax around you and honestly, I feel like I've actually been able to rest knowing you're around." She continued, her voice drifting a little as she lays her head on his chest and starts listening to his heartbeat.
He carefully wrapped his arms around her and starts gently caressing her back, making her sigh cutely when he did. "I don't even trust myself that much..." He said under his breath as she started going limp in his arms before her eyes stare deep into his.
"That thing you can't tell me without putting Arendelle in danger...exactly how bad is it?" She asks softly, noticing a familiar tortured look in his eye, the same one he had when she met him. "You wouldn't trust me as much as you do now, I'd wager..." He answers dully, making her curiosity grow.
"Will it help us deal with Robert?" She continues gently. "Possibly..." He said. "Then why keep it a secret?" Her voice starts drifting again when she asked as her eyes start drooping sleepily, but she still noticed his drop.
"I think you already know why..." He said quietly, making her remember how Brom acted before Mikael asked to talk to him alone. That's when she started noticing the pattern, Mercer, Brom, Mikael, even though they had completely different mentalities, they have that same look in their eyes, like a wild animal that couldn't rest until it's hunger was sated.
Then she started thinking about the connection as she fell asleep in his warm, comfortable embrace. He watched her drift off, still tenderly caressing her back before gently kissing her forehead then laying his head back, his eyes not leaving her.
"Sleep tight...I hope you'll be able to forgive me should you find out." He said quietly, a lone tear falling from his eye when he did as he starts reluctantly drifting off himself.
He opened his eyes, the morning sun barely peeking through the curtains as he struggled to wake up. Overall, though, he felt relaxed, it had been awhile since
he felt like without some kind of help and he liked it. He smiles a little and was fixing to check on Elsa when he smelled something. "Blood?" He asked himself curiously when he tasted something all too familiar. "No..." He started to panic, even more so when he noticed his hands, which were covered in blood.
"NO!" He roars before looking down at Elsa, a mortified look crossing his face when he saw her mutilated body laying on top of him, a horrified and betrayed look in
her lifeless eyes. His blood boiled and the change started to take him again before he heard a familiar laugh, his now golden eyes turning to the source
where he noticed a tall, rather heavy built man with dirty blonde hair that had a distinct white streak along the bangs, almost black eyes and distinguished canines glaring at him contently.
"Well done, Mikael. You've finally stooped to my level." The man he recognized as Robert said coldly as Mikael started changing then lunging at him until his vision goes black...
His eyes shoot open when the nightmare ended, flashing gold as soon as he did when his body nearly shoots up before he remembered Elsa being asleep on top of him...he hoped. He was almost scared to even look at her after that, but he had to know that she was okay.
His eyes hesitantly move to her and he lets out a relieved sigh when he saw her still peacefully sleeping on his chest, her fingers gently caressing him as his heart started slowing down and he snaps back to reality. "When will it fucking end?" He grumbles to himself as he lays his head back in an attempt to relax a little before noticing Elsa stir a little bit, her drowsy eyes going straight to him.
"What's wrong?" She asks in a concerned tone. "Bad dream..." He says softly before he felt her comforting touch on his cheek. "How bad...?" She asks softly, almost making him just burst into tears when she did.
"Maddening..." He says simply, not really sure how else to describe it. She sighs softly and snuggles closer to him before kissing his cheek. "It's just a dream...I promise." She says in a soothing tone as she felt him slowly relaxing in her arms before noticing the still mortified look in his eyes.
"Mikael...? Look at me..." She said gently, noticing him hesitate at first before he reluctantly meets her gaze. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he looked like he was looking at a ghost. "It's okay...it's not real...whatever it is, it's not real..." She whispers soothingly as she caressed his cheek before his eyes start drooping again.
"Sorry for waking you up..." He says softly before noticing a light smile cross her lips. "Don't worry about it...as long as you're okay." She says sweetly before laying her head down again, Mikael following suit as they both drifted off again...
Figured it was time for a relatively intimate chapter, so here ya go. Now, we know exactly what Robert's up to and how he intends to pull it off.
So, what's next? Well, the festival's just around the corner and the castle's definitely gonna be crowed and things will happen. Some good, some bad, some simply mad, but how chaotic will it really get?
So, anyway, I hope I didn't make this too cheesy, but I wanted to make sure I covered a good bit and worked in some sweet points along the way and boy what a disturbing dream towards the end, huh?
Well, hope y'all like it and thank ya for reading...
