Author's Note – WOW, what a doozy of an update.
Thanks for reading. Like, seriously. All you who've been reading my stories and giving me support, thanks again. It's been too long since I said it.
Thanks to the rest of you as well.
BY THE WAY THIS IMPORTANT READ THIS – I made modification to the first few chapters, mainly 1-5. I suggest re-reading them for better understanding of what is to come. The biggest change is that Ignus' full name is actually Ignatius. He just prefers Ignus since it's easier to say.
Enjoy the chapter.
-TSE
Chapter 12
"I didn't expect it to smell so…good."
Ignus gave her a befuddled look. "You like the smell? I can barely stand it."
"Really? I'd have thought that you…well, with the fire and all…"
He smirked. "I wish. Every time I come to visit Rysiir I have to trudge through this stench."
The particular scent Ignus was referring to was actually brimstone. It filled Elsa's nostrils as she and her red-eyed friend hiked up the Baruda Volcano, which had been inactive for the last two hundred years. It was strange to Elsa. If the volcano was inactive, there shouldn't have been the smell of brimstone in the air…
However, this did little to dissuade her liking of it. She had never smelled anything so crisp and pungent. It was exciting to her. She simply had to take care not to inhale too quickly.
The volcano itself had garnered a white snowcap over the years, while the rest of it was oddly lush with vegetation. Had she not known better, Elsa would have sworn that this was not a volcano but a merely a visually stunning mountain.
"Why would your master wish to hide inside the volcano? It's so beautiful out here." She asked Ignus, marveling at the sight.
"You'll see." Ignus responded, maintaining the expression that Elsa had come to call the 'I-know-something-you-don't-and-it-makes-me-giggle' face.
But the fact that she could see Ignus' face at all made up for it. His hood was still down, and the fact that he trusted her with something he'd hidden so much made Elsa flush when she thought too much about it.
Knowing she was most likely in for more surprises, Elsa sighed and decided to change the subject a bit.
"So you call Rysiir your 'master'. What exactly did he teach you?"
"How to survive." Ignus answered as he hopped over a tree root. "He taught me how to fight, how to cook, hunting, languages-"
"You can speak other languages?" Elsa asked at once. "Which ones?"
"Je parle François. También puedo hablar español. Latine loqui parum scio. Nihonjin wa kon'nandeatta."
Four different languages reached Elsa's ears. She was able to identify them as French, Spanish, Latin and Japanese, respectively.
"C'est incroyable! Je ne savais pas que tu pouvais parler français!" She replied, flaunting her own fluent French.
Ignus grinned in surprise. "Well, look at that! I didn't know you could, either."
"It was part of my tutoring. We had plenty of French trade and dignitaries, so it was expected of us to learn the language." Elsa responded. "But it took me almost three years to become fully fluent. And here you are speaking four languages perfectly! How long did it take you to learn them?"
The question seemed to make Ignus nervous.
"You…probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Yes. Because everything else that's happened in recent weeks has been so utterly believable." Came her sardonic response.
Ignus laughed a bit at that.
"I guess so. Well…about two months."
A bit ironic how Elsa now found Ignus' answer completely unbelievable…
"Two months." Elsa repeated, not being able to resist clarifying.
Ignus nodded.
"Four languages in two months?!"
"Eight languages, actually."
For a moment, Elsa simply stared at him, dumbfounded. Then she shook her head, simply unable to find truth in his words.
"I don't believe you."
"Mmm-hmm." Ignus nodded in agreement, like he had been expecting that. "Rysiir can prove it."
"And how exactly will he do that?" Elsa argued. "Is he going to teach me how to-"
"No!" Ignus stated at once, almost forcefully. Elsa started at his sudden outburst. After a moment, Ignus seemed to notice, and abashedly put a hand through his hair.
"I mean..." Ignus sighed in embarrassment. "Sorry. He doesn't really do that with…new people."
Elsa once again felt like Ignus wasn't telling her the whole truth, but she decided to drop the matter.
"Okay…I'm sorry if I-"
"No, don't apologize. That was rude of me." Ignus replied.
Elsa nodded, smiling a bit.
After another few minutes of silent hiking, Elsa looked upon a small crevice in the side of the volcano. It was small and very inconspicuous.
And completely uninviting.
"Please tell me that's not the entrance…" Elsa whimpered, staring at the crack.
Ignus looked apologetic. "I asked him many times to build a door…"
The prospect of meeting Ignus' "master" was beginning to be outweighed by having to clamber through that maw for god knows how long. Elsa was about to protest further when Ignus took a step closer to her.
"I know it's frightening, and I'm sorry this is the only entrance, but I promise it's worth it."
Elsa regarded this, staring at him with wary and probably frightened eyes.
"I'll be right there, every step." Ignus added.
His words soothed Elsa, but her pride wasn't about to display that.
"I'll be okay." She stated.
He led her into the crevice and began to sidle in. Elsa followed suit, taking care not to get her jacket caught on the edges.
"Small steps." Ignus advised, beginning to edge into the volcano.
Elsa nodded, though Ignus wasn't able to see it as his head was facing away from her and down the narrow crevice.
About a minute passed of walking down the narrow entrance. And Elsa was beginning to notice something.
This was awful.
This was worse than anything she had anticipated.
She felt like she couldn't breathe…the walls were so close to her. Too close. They could smash together and kill her at any moment, or at least if felt like they could.
She was back in her room, all alone…four walls closing in on her as life outside began to dissipate from memory…
The air seemed to become thinner around her, making it hard to breathe. Sweat formed at her brow as she shivered.
What was happening?!
Elsa desperately searched for the cause of this terrible feeling, this terrible, crushing, awful sensation. Why did she ever step foot in this thing?! Why the hell couldn't she have just stayed outside!?
Her stream of consciousness became polluted with more and more profanity as her body began to seize up. She couldn't think straight. Her grip tightened on Ignus' hand, most likely to a painful degree.
He apparently noticed, as his alarmed voice reached her ears.
"What is it?"
Elsa managed to wrench her eyes away from the volcanic rock that had to have been getting closer to stare at Ignus in terror.
"I...I…" She tried to describe what was happening, but she herself had not a clue. The only thing she knew was that it was about to break her. Everything was too close, pushing her down into some hellish pit, all by herself. She'd never see the sun again, she'd never marvel at the constellations…
The harrowing thoughts continued to gnaw at her mind even as Ignus pulled her closer to him and held her against him. She couldn't even register that her hands were around him as he gently steered her to the end of the trail. She simply accepted whatever small flotation was thrown to her to keep her afloat this River Styx she was drowning in.
Hours passed. For all Elsa knew, at least.
"Elsa."
Ignus' concerned voice beguiled Elsa to open her eyes once again. The first thing she noticed was that they were in an open space. The walls no longer threatened her.
As relief coursed through her body, she noticed a second thing. Her head was pressed against Ignus' shoulder and her arms were around his body.
"N-no!" Elsa squeaked, rushing away from him.
Her eyes scanned Ignus in desperation, but to her immense relief there was only a thin layer of frost on his clothing where she had touched him. For a moment she had been worried that he had fallen victim to her powers.
Ignus apologized at once. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It-it's alright." Elsa answered awkwardly, still shaken. "I just…I was frightened and…when I get frightened things tend to freeze."
Ignus understood at once.
"I'm okay. No need to worry."
Elsa nodded at that, but inwardly couldn't agree. What happened at the bookstore in Dezertis could not happen again. And it absolutely could not happen to Ignus. She was lucky enough to have his company. But she couldn't delude herself into thinking physical closeness could ever happen. Not with her powers.
"It's okay." Ignus repeated calmly. If he was at all offended, he certainly didn't show it. "Do you feel better now?"
"I…yes." Elsa whispered. But the experience still haunted her memory.
"I didn't realize you were claustrophobic." Ignus continued, a look of regret in his eyes.
The medical term struck Elsa.
"I'm not." She stated, evenly. And yet even as she said it, Elsa found an inkling of doubt in her denial. What was it she had truly been afraid of? The walls closing in on her…the tightness…
"I was afraid I'd never be outside again, never be-"
"Never be free again." Ignus finished for her.
She nodded. "I…being out in the world with you has been so amazing just in the first few weeks. I felt like...like being in that tight a space would keep me there forever, that I'd be right back where I began…alone and encased behind closed doors."
"So you have a strong aversion to tight spaces because they make you extremely uncomfortable." Ignus asked in a slow and articulate voice.
Elsa knew where he was going.
"Alright, alright, I might have…developed something similar to claustrophobia."
"Because you think you'll be alone again?"
A slow nod was Elsa's only response. How ironic. The fear she grew up with had still managed to find a way to claw itself back into Elsa's life, this time by cursing her with a new phobia.
"Well…we're out of the entrance. You're not encased, and you're most certainly not alone. Okay?" He asked, giving Elsa a serious look.
Elsa found comfort in his care and smiled. "Aye, captain."
Ignus smirked at her chide. He then turned and motioned toward the path in front of them, which Elsa had only just began to look at clearly. To her amazement, it led to a large stone wall, which in itself was nothing to marvel at, but within the wall was an expertly carved oak tree.
"Wow…" Elsa breathed.
Ignus walked up to the carving and smiled at her. He looked very excited, as his grin had plenty of teeth in it.
"Ready? This is going to be…astounding." Ignus asked.
Elsa tried to imagine the most ludicrously impossible sight in the world. She came up with a mountain balanced on top of another mountain.
With that little figment in mind, she nodded at him.
Ignus placed his hand against the carving, and to Elsa's surprise the branch he pressed against fell backwards into the carving like a trigger. He then pushed in several others until finally a loud creaking noise was heard. With a groaning noise, the entire wall shifted, sending gravel falling from the ceiling as Elsa looked around in alarm and amazement.
Then the wall began to lower. Ever so slightly the floor absorbed the oak tree carving, and a bright light sprang from whatever was behind it. It took a moment for Elsa's eyes to adjust…
Then she looked out upon the sight in front of her.
There was a palpable five minutes of silence.
"You are the worst tour guide in the world." Elsa whispered to Ignus.
Those were certainly not the first words he expected to hear.
"…Because?" Ignus asked in honest confusion.
"You can't show the most spectacular sight first on the tour…" Elsa continued in quiet amazement.
Ignus understood and chuckled. "Well, I never claimed to be the best."
Elsa gingerly took a few steps out into the room before her.
No, room wasn't the right word.
More like planet.
The entire inside of the volcano was hollowed out. From where Elsa stood she could see the entire outline of the rock walls around them, encircling them in a diameter that must have been at least four miles in size. She and Ignus must have been about 800 feet off the ground from where they stood on the little plateau, and still the peak of the volcano towered above them. Elsa could find no scale to estimate how high up exactly. She could have fit at least twenty thousand ice castles in this space.
But if the sheer size of the cavern wasn't enough, there were trees, plants, flowers and orchids of every size, shape and color imaginable growing everywhere in sight. Elsa could see birch trees, pine trees, oaks, and to her utter bewilderment, a tall and mighty redwood towering above them all.
In the middle of it all were two more astounding sights. There was a sparkling lake smack dab in the middle of the cavern, which reflected the light from what appeared to be…
"Ignus, is that fire up there?!"
Ignus smiled as he followed Elsa's gaze to the enormous glowing light above them.
"It is. It's actually a very special type of fire, one that replicates the sun's rays and allows the plants to grow."
Elsa would not have been able to believe this had she not been witnessing the proof with her own eyes. She couldn't even bring herself to ask how this was possible yet. The sheer power of the mesmerizing sight was easily burying her critical thinking in a landslide of astonishment.
This was, in every sense of the word, a lost paradise.
"Th-this is…" Elsa couldn't even come close to finding the right words. She turned to look at Ignus, who seemed to be immensely enjoying her reaction.
But she noticed to her alarm that he had still not yet dropped the slyness in his face. Which meant there was more.
"I guess I should call for Rysiir, then." He suggested, in a tone that reminded Elsa of a twisted narrator about to reveal some grand plot twist.
Ignus turned and walked to the edge of the cliff they stood upon. He raised his arm and let loose a bolt of fire, which traveled high up into the cave and exploded into a brilliant brightness.
Elsa waited with nervous breath. She could feel the ground around her begin to freeze from her emotions.
Then a sound pierced the silence. A loud, groaning, utterly terrifying sound that rocked Elsa's eardrums and nearly stopped her heart.
"What's happening?!" Elsa half-shouted.
Ignus gave her no response, instead staring at the roof of the volcano. Elsa followed his gaze.
She saw nothing but solid rock. Brown rock. That's all it was, she was certain.
So why…and how…was it moving?
A part of the rock the size of a continent was moving, breaking away from the wall of the cavern. It did so in an unbelievably slow and graceful fashion. No rocks fell from where the massive living stone separated itself from the wall. Not even a pebble fell out of place.
The massive rock then destroyed the last bit of belief in Elsa's mind.
Four limbs extended from the rock, breaking out from the center of it like an overgrown lizard emerging from a shell. They extended outward from the rock in a slow, magnificent fashion, and she could see that each of the limbs had…were those feet? Or talons? Elsa couldn't tell, but what she did know was that each of those paws was as big as the castle in Arendelle.
"What…what…"
The rock descended to the ground, landing on it's four feet with immense dignity. Elsa admonished herself for describing the rock as dignified and majestic, but the way it moved so slowly and purposefully could only be described with such words.
Her thoughts ceased at that moment, however, for the rock had begun to shift again.
Two more limbs broke away from the back of the rock and extended into the open air of the cavern. They were much different than the other limbs, they were long and thin and had a flap of skin connecting it to-
Wings.
Those were wings.
And that was a head.
And that was a tail.
The rock was no longer a brown rock.
It stood up to it's full form, towering above Elsa and Ignus, like the North Mountain itself.
And then it moved. The head of the beast, long and narrow and at the end of a long, scaled neck slowly closed in one Elsa and Ignus' location. The sound of the air rolling off of it's head as it extended made a rumbling noise.
Running was not an option at this point. Elsa was paralyzed with fear, shock, wonder and disbelief.
Finally, the large, brown head stopped it's motion, about 100 feet from where she stood. It gazed upon the two of them with yellow slits. A gentle breath from it's snout nearly blew Elsa a foot back.
"Elsa." Ignus said with an affectionate smile. "Meet my master. Rysiir the Dragon."
"H-he's…th-th…"
First, an exploding man.
Second, a disastrous display of her powers.
Third, a Dragon.
Just another addition to the rapidly-growing list of things that sent Elsa into the sweet, comforting embrace of unconsciousness.
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"We only ask that you give the matter more consideration, your majesty!"
"I've given it plenty of consideration, thanks, and the answer is still no! I am not fit to be a Queen! I'm a Princess! Immature! Carefree! Freckley! I can't run a kingdom!"
What colossal dolt thought it was a good idea to hire a council for Arendelle, anyway?
Anna was once again in her absolute favorite place in the castle, the east conservatorium. Everything about the place made her squirm with discomfort. The stark brown paint on the walls, the lack of art, the stiff, wooden tables and chairs. Even the name.
Eest-kon-serve-a-toree-yum.
Yuck.
Her hatred of this room was most likely in no small part to the fact that the Arendellian Council met here. And her opinion of them was no secret.
The Council consisted of four members of Arendelle's royal service. There was Gregor, a tall, weedy man with gray, balding hair; Reginald, who was a bald and powerfully built yet somewhat simple-minded man; Bartholomew, who looked as dorky as his name implied with his short stature, bowl-cut hair and chubby face; and James, the youngest and most intelligent of the four of them. He was handsome and had dark brown hair with deceitfully warm eyes. He was also the sort-of leader. Mention it around any of the other four, however, and you'd have a massive debate on your hands.
It was actually James who was grilling her right now.
"The situation is…unfavorable for everyone, to be certain." James said in a tried tone. "We never wished to thrust the throne upon you in such a manner. But desperate times call for-"
"The times are not desperate! Elsa is still out there!" Anna argued. "What we should be concentrating on now, as I've told you AT LEAST FIFTY-SIX THOUSAND TIMES, is finding her!"
"And where exactly do you propose we look?!" Gregor interrupted. He looked frail, but man, he had a strong voice. "We've received no information from any Kingdom anywhere in the world! She could at this point be in the arctic ocean, for all we know!"
"She'd most likely want to go there with all that ice." Bartholomew said with a snicker.
Anna felt a rush of indignance and frustration at this little joke.
"You watch yourself, pudge-face!"
"Excuse me?!"
"You heard me! What, too much cake in your ears?!"
"You little-"
"Bartholomew, please." James interrupted, holding a stern hand in front of his colleague, whose face was now matching Anna in terms of redness. "This is no time to jest about the Queen, especially not in front of her sister."
Anna scowled. James could sound nice, but he always had a motive. Selflessness was a foreign concept to him.
"The search for Queen Elsa will continue." Gregor rumbled in a deep voice. "But we cannot sit dawdling on our hands while we wait."
Anna ground her teeth. "Which is why I want to help look for her…"
"We can have any member of the guard, hell, any peasant sent to look for Queen Elsa with as much effectiveness as you could. You are a Princess. Your duties lie here." Bartholomew chided.
"My duties lie with my sister! With family!" Anna cried passionately.
Her words ushered in a silence among the council. James sighed deeply, clenching his hands together in front of his face.
"…it seems, once again, we are unable to reach an agreement."
"You're the ones who keep bringing it up." Anna grumbled.
"We do not bring it up, we are addressing a critical regal emergency!" Bartholomew screeched.
"Well guess what? Here's another emergency for you! 'Princess Of Arendelle Abandons Pointless Meeting'!" Anna snarled, standing to her feet and storming from the room, leaving a rage-faced Bartholomew to quiver with silent anger.
Slamming the door behind her, Anna gave herself a good three hallways before letting loose.
"Aaaaaagh!" She shouted. "Stupid, lousy, blockheaded, greedy sons of bit…those pieces of shhh…lousy fff…"
Anna had been raised right, and therefore had a rather hard time pushing herself to use strong profanity. A bit of an inconvenience when you're going ballistic with frustration. She had long since learned to improvise.
"Biscuit-sucking, fat-faced, REINDEER-KISSING-"
"Whoa, whoa, what?!"
Kristoff's offended voice broke through Anna's angry rant. She whirled around in a panic to see his furrowed eyebrows directed at her, right above his delicious chocolate brown eyes. She felt her heart switch from enraged to embarrassed in less than a second. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.
"Now, you listen here, Princess Anna of Arendelle."
Anna blanched. "Oh, n-no no! I didn't mean y-"
"I may have sucked my share of biscuits, and I've been told my face is a bit large, but I have never, and you can check with Sven on this, NEVER kissed a reindeer in all my days!"
It was only when Kristoff gave an exaggerated 'harrumph' and crossed his arms that Anna realized he was messing with her.
She immediately burst into a fit of giggles. "You jerk! You sounded so angry!"
"Angry? Why I'm scandalized! Never in my life have I heard such a slanderous and indecent stream of profanity come from one of such noble background!" Kristoff continued in a mockingly regal tone. To top it all off, he threw his head to the side and gave a great, "Well, I NEVER!"
Anna was now gasping for breath with the force of her laughs.
Kristoff laughed along with her. His laughs died down a bit when Anna began to hack and cough from the lack of breath.
"Whoa, whoa, you okay?"
Anna managed to catch her breath. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. I….HOO…bet that was unattractive…."
Kristoff smirked. "Not entirely."
The words lingered in the air as both of them carefully analyzed those words.
Anna's face went even redder as an insane spark of hope began to fry her insides like bacon. Kristoff suddenly was emulating Anna's coughing.
"S-so, uh…how'd the meeting with the council go?"
OOF.
That squelched the little feeling. Going from a tall, blonde and handsome guy, possibly finding her not completely unattractive, to four weasels in a cramped room telling her what and what not to do. God, it was like an elephant sat on a chocolate éclair.
She tried not to show her distaste of the change in subject. "Terrible. They keep hounding me to be the Queen. I tell them no. Two days later they do it again. I tell them no. Two freaking days later-!"
"I see the issue."
"They…gah!" Anna vented. "It's like they've already accepted that Elsa's not coming back! That she's either a slave somewhere or d-d…"
Shouting her deepest, darkest fears for her sister did not help her composure. The idea of Elsa either suffering or dying had grown more caustic with each passing day without news. Now every time she even thought of Elsa, a stab of panic and anxiety pierced her.
So one could imagine what actually saying it out loud did.
She could feel tears trying to escape her eyes. Hastily she wiped them away, trying to hold in her sob. Last thing she needed right now was to break down in front of Kristoff.
He wasn't stupid, however. "You alright?" he asked with honest concern.
My sister is missing and/or dead, I'm being pressured into a position I've never wanted and have never trained for my whole life, and I'm falling in love with a troll-raised knucklehead instead of my royal ex-fiancé.
"I'm fine." Anna muttered sullenly.
Kristoff stared at her, and for a moment Anna thought he was going to offer her advice, which was really the lastthing she needed right now. She had enough people telling her what to do. Even Hans had put in his two cents, though had done so caringly.
Instead Kristoff sniffed and looked at the window.
"It's a nice day. Want to do something?"
Anna blinked.
"Er…come again?"
Kristoff shrugged a shoulder, looking nonchalant. "You know, get your mind off of things. I always like taking my frustrations out on the ice when I'm out harvesting. Maybe I could show you the ropes?"
Spending time alone with Kristoff while smashing things?
It was more than a bit tempting.
Anna tried not to speak to quickly as she said, "I guess it'd help distract me for a bit."
Kristoff had an expression on his face like, "Wait, did that really just work?". Then he grinned, sending a little flutter through Anna.
"Excellent. Although the prospect of you with any sort of blunt tool is pretty terrifying."
Anna pouted her lip at the jibe.
"I'm not always such a klutz, you know."
"Well, I did see you almost kill a wolf with a lute. Sort of sticks in your memory. I hate to see what you could do with a pickaxe."
"I for one can't wait to find out. Let's go before Baron von Buttface decides to discuss another 'regal emergency'."
Kristoff mouthed the words 'Baron von Buttface' to himself in disbelieving amusement as he walked out of the castle with Anna.
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"The nerve of that little bitch!"
"Careful, Bartholomew. You won't always get away with insults like that."
"Well I can damn well get away with it now, can't I?!"
James rubbed his forehead. He had hoped that perhaps the repetitiveness of the situation would somehow dull the headaches he received. Instead they only sharpened them.
"The Princess will not succeed to Queen. And I doubt we could ever force her to do so. She would make a fool of herself in front of the whole kingdom if it meant maintaining her current rank." He muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
"And where does that leave us?" Gregor asked.
James felt another pulse from his headache. "One Queen shy of a Kingdom. The people will begin to get unruly if we continue without a ruler."
"Perhaps then we should-"
"Succeed to rule? No, they won't accept that. We've always been advisors to the royal bloodline. They'll only ever see us as such." James stated coldly. Indeed, it didn't matter how wise or experienced the council was. They'd always be overlooked as advisors to a higher power, a bitter fact James had to swallow many times.
"Then we are left with no choice but to pray for her majesty's safe return?"
"If we wait that long they'll storm the castle and tear down everything we have built! Our livelihoods included!" Bartholomew interjected. "I will not allow our way of life to be destroyed by a redheaded wench!"
"These are loyal and rational people." Reginald said in an emotionless voice. "Will they truly raze the castle in such a way?"
"It is unknown." James said. "We cannot predict what they will and won't do, but we cannot underestimate the effect anarchy has on the common mind."
The other three nodded grimly.
"Although in some cases, Anarchy can be a blessing."
James looked up in confusion. The voice that had reached his ears was not of his companions.
A man strode into the conservatorium with a white jacket and prominent sideburns. He gave the four councilors a cold smile.
"Gentlemen."
"Prince Hans." James said evenly. "Do you require something? We were in the middle of discussing rather important business."
"Oddly enough, what I require is to discuss your business." Hans replied, smirking. He then closed the doors behind them and locked them.
Gregor narrowed his wiry eyebrows. "What are you playing at, boy?"
"Prince Hans, Councilor Gregor. If we were to refer to each other by age, I'd have the unfortunate duty of calling you 'old man'."
"We are not interested in what you have to say." James stated as Gregor bristled.
"Not yet. But that's because I haven't divulged my intentions." Came Hans' slick reply.
James frowned. The Prince was acting quite differently than he was at the coronation. He spoke with a darker, more confident tone.
Hans settled himself into a seat. "Gentlemen, as I understand it, the Princess hasn't been very cooperative as of late."
He received four glares.
"Mmm-hmm. This leaves us in a state of Anarchy, as you said before. But as you recall, in my opinion, this is in fact a great opportunity."
Gregor snorted. "How so?"
Hans smiled politely, like a snake saying grace before eating a mouse. "Build a better kingdom."
James raised his head a bit. The boy had managed to get their attention, though whether he deserved it had yet to be seen.
"But let's not get ahead of ourselves." Hans said, sitting up straight. "The first priority is to put someone on the throne, correct?"
"Our first priority is to put Princess Anna on the throne." Reginald corrected.
Hans sighed. "Indeed, that'd be the obvious solution. But, and feel free to be honest, doesn't she strike you as a bit…naïve?"
There was no response.
"Certainly not someone I'd want on the throne. I'd hope for someone determined, intelligent, cunning, mature, and certainly of a royal bloodline-"
"Your self-flattery is quite impressive." James interrupted. "But you have no right to the throne of Arendelle."
And yet, James said this not to deter the young Prince, only to see what his true plan was. Surely he knew he could not simply walk in and stake his claim to a kingdom…
"You're absolutely right, Councilman. Which is why I will marry Princess Anna."
Bartholomew choked on his tea. Gregor nearly gasped. Reginald's eyebrows twitched.
James stared on.
"And what makes you think she'd court you?"
"Have you not heard, Councilman? We agreed to be married nearly a month ago."
"R-ridiculous! Why weren't we told?" Bartholomew spluttered.
"With the ensuing chaos the Queen's kidnapping brought, we felt it wouldn't be wise to reveal this to the public. But I can assure you, we will be married."
The way he said it, James knew that he was not concerned with whether or not it would be consensual.
"And you believe you should rise to be King of Arendelle?"
"I do." Hans said seriously. "And my first act will be to increase both the wages and influence of the Arendellian Council."
And just like that, the other three councilmen were all ears.
James, however, was not about to lose his senses.
"So you want us to aid you in your rise to power, and in return you will increase our standing?"
"I know how wealthy Arendelle trade is. You shall each have your own castle." Hans promised.
Bartholomew appeared to be drooling over how much food he could fit into his own castle.
"Your succession of the throne…are we to expect illegal activity?" James asked again.
Hans' face went dead serious. "If it comes to it, yes."
"Then you realize that should you ever be caught in your illicit actions, the Council will deny and incriminate you for your offenses?"
"I do not intend to be caught."
"Answer the question."
Hans' face darkened. "Yes."
James sat straight, pondering this little deal.
A new, capable ruler for Arendelle. The respect and standing he deserved. A nice little cash bonus.
The man drove a hard bargain.
James stood up.
"We have given Princess Anna enough chances to succeed her sister. She has spited and mocked us."
The other councilman stood up as well. Gregor tweaked his mustache with a confident smile. Bartholomew's grin produced many lines on his chubby face. Reginald remained still, but there was a new spark in his eyes.
It was unanimous.
"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, you shall have your throne."
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The last two times Elsa had passed out, she had awoken to find Ignus sitting beside her somewhere, ready to offer her a hand up from her brief flight with darkness.
So it was a bit of anxiety that Elsa awoke to find herself alone. She had not missed the loneliness that had left her life for the last month.
Peering around, her nervousness multiplied when she realized she wasn't in the cavern within the Volcano. She was in some dark room, and to her horror, she saw that it was covered in ice.
Oh, god, she'd done it again. She'd lost control, just like in the bookstore. And now another room fell victim to her curse, and-
Elsa looked down suddenly. A blush scorched her cheeks as she saw that she was utterly naked.
Making a shrill squeak, Elsa covered what little of herself she could with her arms and whirled around in horror. What had happened?!
She quickly began to panic, conjuring some insane theories to how this situation arose. Most of them shamefully involved Ignus.
Elsa shook herself. Ignus was not that kind of man. He earned her trust that day by the lake.
But that only served to confuse her more. She was lying naked in a dark, iced room where previously she had been inside a volcanic paradise seeing a dra-
Elsa nearly collapsed again. Rysiir the Dragon. Of all the things Elsa could have imagined Ignus was about to show her, a dragon?! Dragons were myth! Legend! The only dragons she had ever studied had been in the nursery books she and Anna had read as children!
Then again, I'm not exactly in a position to deny the existence of magical beings. Elsa thought to herself.
"Nope. Definitely not."
Elsa would have certainly jumped at the voice, but the familiarity of it overpowered it's suddenness. Whirling around (and kneeling to the ground in an effort to conceal herself), Elsa eyes shot open.
"A-Anna?!"
She spoke only to the darkness in the room, but a little laugh rung out. Anna's laugh.
"Sorry, not exactly."
Elsa scanned the room, searching for Anna. Wherever she was, if she was in this room, there was a good chance she might be in danger of freezing-
"Oh, relax! You're not gonna freeze anyone in here." Anna's voice echoed again. "And stand up, for goodness' sake! It's nothing I haven't seen before."
This did little to dissuade Elsa.
"Anna, where are you?" She asked in desperation.
"I told you, I'm not Anna!"
"You sound just like her!"
"Of course I do! That doesn't mean I am her."
"Y-what?" Elsa exclaimed in bafflement. "What's going on?! Where am I, who are you, why in god's name am I naked?!"
"Whoa, whoa, okay! Yeesh, don't blow a vein. Hang on…"
Elsa waited in agonizing silence as the voice died out. She stared around the room again waiting for something to happen.
Then she heard the padding of feet. Looking at the source of the sound, Elsa beheld a beautiful, white she-wolf. It's fur was glistening ever-so-slightly, and it's eyes were startlingly blue, the exact same color as Elsa's own eyes. Or Anna's.
Amazement won out over fear as Elsa stared at the magnificent beast.
Then it's tongue rolled out it's mouth as it crouched down, wiggling it's tail like a happy puppy.
It was quite a shift in character.
The wolf then pounced at Elsa, who gasped in fear and stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. But rather than, say, tearing out her throat, the wolf immediately began to nuzzle her face warmly.
Elsa was now thoroughly baffled.
"It's so nice to finally meet you!"
Anna's voice rang out again, but this time it was much closer, almost like it was spoken into Elsa's ear. Almost like it came from-
"You?!"
The wolf panted happily.
"Me!"
It's snout made no movement as Anna's voice appeared again, but Elsa somehow knew it was coming from the beast before her.
"How on…what on earth are you? And please don't be coy." Elsa added despite herself. "I've had enough of anonymity."
"Rightfully so." The Anna-wolf agreed. "Ignus is quite the shadowy character, huh? It's like he jumped right out of a shadow! Which would make him shadowy. Get it?"
The wolf's ears flattened as it realized Elsa did not find it funny.
"Right…sorry."
"How do you know about Ignus?" Elsa whispered. "How do you know his name?" She didn't want to admit it, but she enjoyed knowing something about Ignus no one else did.
"I know because you know, boopsy." The Anna-wolf laughed. It's ears flicked playfully. "Let me ask you something. Have you ever wondered how the whole bringing snowmen to life thing works?"
Elsa blinked. "Well…no. I um…listen, are there clothes here?"
Her face must've been red as a beet when she asked this. The Anna-wolf snorted.
"Are you really that uncomfortable with your body?"
"Wh-I'm standing in front of a complete stranger, who just happens to be a wolf and sound like my sister, naked! I'm uncomfortable with the whole situation!"
Anna-wolf looked at her for a minute, then dipped it's head, almost like it was sighing.
"Fine. Use that."
It pointed with it's snout at something next to Elsa. Looking at it, Elsa saw it was a simple white dress.
"When did that get there?" She muttered to herself. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to waste the chance. As she quickly picked up the dress, she couldn't help but notice the wolf staring intently at her.
It wasn't making her feel any less self-conscious.
"Is there a problem?" She asked the wolf.
"Yeah, there's a problem! How on earth do you get hips like that?"
Elsa was pretty sure she set a new world record for fastest donned dress.
"Do you mind?!"
"Yeah, I mind! You have the most bang-spankin' body ever and you keep trying to cover it up! Some of us would love to have those curves!"
This wolf was really sounding like Anna now.
"Where am I?!" Elsa demanded again. Her face felt like it was stuck to a hot grill.
"Changing the subject, hmm? Fine, fine." The Anna-wolf huffed. "Well, you're actually still in that spectacular cave you passed out in."
"Clearly I'm not!" Elsa argued through clenched teeth. Hadn't she already told the wolf not to be coy?!
She wondered if anyone else in history would ever use that previous sentence to literal context.
"You are, I promise!" The Anna-wolf insisted. "But we're chatting inside your head right now!"
The icy room fell silent.
"My head."
The wolf nodded once.
"I'm having a conversation with my sister in my head."
"I'm not your sister." The wolf reminded.
Elsa looked around. To be honest, it made a bit of sense. The inside of her head would probably look like this. A dark room, iced over and cramped. It spoke volumes about her life.
"It would also explain why you woke up naked. Just be glad it wasn't one of those dreams where you're doing a speech or something..." The Anna-wolf interjected.
Elsa whirled around. "How are you doing that? Reading my-"
"Thoughts? Because I am your thoughts. Now cool your rear before you permanently turn a darker shade of red." The Anna-wolf chided.
Elsa could have spit with all the questions she had, but she heeded the wolf.
"As I was saying before, you ever think about how the snowman thing works? The snowmen you make are alive. They have souls, thoughts and opinions. To bring something like that to life, you need to put life into it, like a piece of..." The wolf waited for Elsa's guess.
"What...A piece of myself?" Elsa asked incredulously.
"Bingo! For example, that lovable little runt Olaf that you created on the mountainside is an embodiment of your childlike innocence."
Elsa raised an eyebrow.
"Er…yeah…I was a bit surprised to see you had some as well. What with the whole isolation thing and…" The Anna-wolf trailed off as it realized this wasn't helping. "He is pretty small…"
"But moving on, the big hulking marshmallow you created came from your desire to protect those around you!"
"Wh-I used him to push others away!" Elsa objected.
"Because you thought you'd be protecting them, and protecting yourself! You see what I mean?" The wolf asked, cocking it's head to the right in a slightly adorable fashion.
Elsa's eyes widened a bit.
"Even if this were true…what does that make you?"
The Anna-wolf showed it's teeth, almost like a grin.
"Take a wild guess."
"…the love I feel for Anna."
"I'd say 'bingo' again, but I don't wanna get repetitive."
Elsa stared at the Anna-wolf in increasing bemusement.
"Why are you a wolf, then? And does that mean you too are snow?"
"One, because wolves make excellent companions, and two, yes."
Elsa processed this. Then she realized something.
"Wait, companion?"
The Anna-wolf padded closer to Elsa and leaned against her affectionately.
"Whenever you need an ear, I'm right here. And we both know you can't talk to Ignus about everything. Sometimes you need a girl-to-girl, know what I mean?"
Considering this Anna-wolf was so fixated on Elsa's "curves" she was not very excited to learn what it's idea of a girl-to-girl talk was.
"Hey, just because I envy your natural gifts doesn't mean it's all I talk about!"
Elsa swore in her head. She forgot the wolf could hear her thinking. Or, that she could hear herself thinking. Christ, this was confusing.
"Language!"
"Alright!" Elsa exclaimed in frustration. "Sorry!"
The wolf huffed once, seeming content.
"But…I mean won't I technically be talking to myself, then?" Elsa asked. Putting it like that, Elsa once again realized how completely bizarre and somewhat sad this situation was.
"If you want to look at it like that." The Anna-wolf replied. "But also consider this. Your powers aren't always trying to hurt you, Elsa."
The words rang deep. Elsa stared into the blue eyes of the wolf.
"You mean you're-?"
The Anna-wolf chuffed in affection again.
Before Elsa could react further, a bright light appeared above her.
"Ah! Wakey-time!" The Anna-wolf exclaimed.
"Wait!" Elsa shouted as the light enveloped her. "How do I speak to you again, Anna?!"
"I'm not Anna! And don't worry, Elsie, you'll see me again! Till then, Ta-ta! Try not to faint again from the dragon!" The Anna-wolf replied as it sat on it's haunches and watched her.
Dragon? What is she…
Oh yeah.
Elsa groaned as she realized that upon waking up, she'd still be in a surreal place with a magical creature to welcome her.
Except this one would be the size of a mountain.
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Funny how eyes could sometimes make such a creaking noise.
Elsa pried her eyes open slowly, hearing the aforementioned sound. This time, rather than an icy room and a snow wolf that happened to sound exactly like her sister, Elsa saw her black-haired friend Ignatius smile warmly at her, red eyes glowing with relief.
"Welcome back." He said, extending a hand.
It wasn't the worse way to regain consciousness.
"Thanks, Ignus." She replied sarcastically, using her friend's preferred moniker. God knows she probably couldn't handle big words right now…
Elsa slowly pulled herself up, accepting his assistance. "This unconscious thing is going to cause problems eventually, I just know it…" she muttered.
Ignus' eyes dropped a bit in shame. "I'm sorry about that…I shouldn't have sprung it all on you at once."
"No use moping now. Lighten up." Elsa replied, smirking. Upon seeing Ignus' raised eyebrows, she continued. "Yes, yes, ring the bells. The Ice Queen just told someone to lighten up."
Ignus laughed once. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I also fainted when I first met him."
Elsa's brain didn't quite make it in time. "When you met who-"
A gust of wind blew Elsa's braid from her shoulder. Turning to see it's source, Elsa was once again met with the petrifying sight of a giant brown snout.
A noise that sounded a lot like "eep" came from Elsa's mouth.
Rysiir was even more terrifying up close, if that were possible. She now saw that he wasn't completely brown. Like Ignus, he had a streak of red around his eyes, almost like war paint. His claws were as black as the night. It would have taken three people on each other's shoulders to measure just the size of his eye. The dragon was the definition of massive.
And yet the yellow slits held no ill intent. It was no wonder he was Ignus' mentor, he had the same uncanny ability to communicate so much with just his gaze.
Then a very faint murmuring echoed throughout the cave, like a voice on the wind.
"Rysiir would like to welcome you to his garden." Ignus said.
It took Elsa a moment to process what he meant.
"The voice just now…that was him?!"
Ignus smiled and nodded. "Dragons are usually very quiet, speaking only when necessary."
"Goodness, he really is your mentor."
"Har-har. Dragons have voices that, at full volume, could literally destroy your mind. So Rysiir has to whisper in order for us to hear him without flat-out dying."
"But I couldn't understand what he said."
"Dragonspeak." Ignus replied, tapping a finger to his throat. "One of the first languages Rysiir taught me."
"So you can translate?" Elsa asked. Ignus nodded again.
Turning (with some hesitation) back to the grand beast, Elsa knelt and bowed her head. "I thank you for allowing me into this extraordinary place."
Another whisper in the wind.
"He said that he's not certain why people always bow in his presence." Ignus translated. "But he certainly appreciates the courtesy. He was surprised to see me bring someone here, since I usually travel alone."
Elsa stood again. "Your protégé saved my life on multiple occasions. I owe him a great deal, and you to an extent for training him."
The dragon closed it's eyes, it's head shaking ever-so-slightly. It was almost like it was chuckling. The quiet rumble returned again, but this time Ignus narrowed his eyes at the dragon.
"Don't."
Another rumble.
"…he says that you must have questions for him."
Rysiir turned his eyes to Ignus, almost in a questioning way. Ignus stared at the dragon again, communicating a clear "drop it". After a moment, Rysiir turned his yellow eyes back to Elsa.
Elsa had the distinct impression Rysiir had asked something Ignus did not wish to communicate…
"Are you purposefully mistranslating?" She asked him.
Ignus crossed his arms, almost in a pouting manner. "I'm translating all that needs to be said."
"Ignus…"
"I'll explain later."
"You say that all the time!"
Ignus said nothing.
As her friendship had begun to cultivate with Ignus, she had appreciated his acts of anonymity less and less. Thus it was with an annoyed glare that Elsa turned back to Rysiir.
"Well…I suppose my first question is about you. Who are you? I know you're a dragon…something I still almost can't believe…but nothing else."
Rysiir regarded her with interested eyes. His answer came through Ignus' voice.
"Dragons, since the birth of the Earth, have always led solitary lives. Some lean towards nomadic lifestyles, silently traveling from one place to another, slowly and carefully-"
"But how can you accomplish that with your size?"
"Some dragons disguise themselves as icebergs, traveling across the frozen seas. Others travel as clouds for years upon years. Some travel deep beneath the surface of our oceans, far beyond the sight of men."
Elsa made a note to never go swimming again…
"But most dragons, such as myself, establish homes in isolated places to live in peace and meditation. As you can see, I myself have a fondness for the flora of this world."
Elsa nodded, staring once again at the kingdom-sized garden.
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Rysiir snorted gently, sending a warm rush of air over Elsa.
"That means thank you." Ignus said.
Elsa beamed. "So…I don't know where to begin. Tell me more about dragons."
Ignus once again began translating.
"We were born centuries ago. Dragons are the eldest and most powerful beings in this world. We grew from the rocks of the earth, the light of the sun, the clouds above, even the foam of the sea. We watched the earth rise and evolve, and we will most likely see it end."
Elsa began to realize that she was standing before perhaps the closest thing to a god she'd ever meet.
"Dragons typically keep to themselves, as I said before. But we occasionally seek company, as I found with your friend, Viiria."
Before Elsa could ask, Ignus said, "That's my name in dragonspeak."
"And now I meet another unique human." Rysiir continued as Ignus translated.
Elsa felt a wave of humbleness at these words. Before such a creature, Elsa felt nothing short of insignificant.
"I-I'm nothing special-"
Ignus coughed loudly.
"Okay, I am a bit special, but…"
"Tell him about yourself." Ignus interjected.
"What?"
"Dragons treasure knowledge over all else. They remember everything they learn, and they always seek to learn more. When you speak to a dragon, it's really an exchange of knowledge, or at least that's how they see it. He told you something you don't know, now you tell me something he doesn't know."
Elsa swallowed, seeing this as quite a daunting task.
"I-uh…I'm Elsa. I'm 21 years old, I'm left-handed…I enjoy reading…"
Rysiir seemed unsatisfied.
"The more personal you are the better, Elsa. It shows respect." Ignus advised.
Maybe there's nothing personal I want to share. Elsa thought to herself. But she also didn't think skimping out on a colossal centuries-old beast was the best course of action.
"Fine…since I was a little girl I was cursed with the ability to create ice and snow. But I never gained control of this power…it caused me to remain isolated for my childhood. It ruined my relationship with my sister…and it is what eventually caused me to leave my kingdom."
Rysiir gazed upon Elsa silently.
Feeling like she needed to do something else, Elsa produced a small burst of snow that flew from her hand and upwards into the air. Rysiir's gaze lingered on the snow.
Then he whispered again.
"He says that he is sorry for your isolation." Ignus recited. "And that he has newfound respect for you. He says not many can handle the power over nature like you do."
"Including me. I can't control it…every time I'm nervous or upset I lose it. Ignus is the one who has total control."
Ignus looked at her with sympathy as Rysiir gently snorted.
"There is much he wants to talk to you about, but first he says we should both get some rest." Ignus repeated. He glanced at Elsa. "Something I'm not entirely opposed to."
Elsa looked from Rysiir to Ignus. There was so much more she wanted to ask. But she wasn't sure that Ignus would give her truthful translations…
A plan formed.
"Alright." She agreed.
Ignus nodded curtly, then walked towards Rysiir, who to Elsa's alarm moved closer and closer, until his snout came inches from the cliff where they stood.
To make things even more alarming, Ignus leaped onto Rysiir like he was a ferry leaving from the dock.
"What are you-?!"
"Elsa, it's alright. This is how we get around in here."
"We get around by riding a dragon?!"
Ignus extended a hand. "When else are you going to get to do that?"
Elsa exhaled sharply. But she nonetheless took Ignus' hand and climbed aboard the S.S. Giant Dragon.
"Hold on." Ignus advised.
"To what?!"
And Rysiir began to move across the cave, sending wind flying in the face of a smiling, red-eyed man and a rapidly-paling Queen.
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Night had fallen.
To dragons, time meant almost nothing, as months could pass by in the blink of an eye. Such were the consequences of living since the birth of the world.
But it was easier to keep track of time with the return of his young ikarro…his protégé.
He and his female friend were currently sleeping in a small shelter by the lake. Rysiir had been quite surprised to see him bring a friend. More so, a female friend. And he didn't even don the strange cloth over his head to conceal himself. Most intriguing indeed.
Rysiir pondered what exactly had occurred with the young humans as he gently traveled through his garden. His fruit orchid was coming along quite nicely.
Upon closer inspection of the foliage, however, Rysiir realized that they'd require another half-inch or so of rainwater to reach peak form.
Making a mental note, he continued on to inspect how the oak trees were growing.
Then he heard the female stand up.
Rysiir turned his head slowly towards the small shelter he had made for the two humans by the redwood tree. He could hear the woman stand and walk out.
He then heard her whisper his name.
A minute later, he stood before the white-haired woman, and she looked no less comfortable than she had previously, especially without Viiria by her side.
Then she spoke again.
"I don't mean to disturb you."
She was certainly courteous. Rysiir gazed at her gently.
"I just…I want to know more."
Understandable. He himself always sought more knowledge, as Viiria had explained. And the fact that she had waited until he was asleep told Rysiir that she wanted to know more about a certain someone rather than something.
The white-haired woman stared at him with determination.
"Please tell me about Ignus."
9,000 freakin' words. New record.
