I do not own Frozen
Chapter 20 – Homecoming
The Arendellian army had ridden for about two hours before they arrived at Arendelle. Ignus was at the front, once again on a horse, to his chagrin. He wished he could have ridden Marshmallow, who was once again in one piece, trudging alongside the army.
The upside was that Elsa rode with him.
She had since fallen asleep leaning against his chest, her beautiful silver-blonde hair tickling his neck, her hands hugging herself. She had put her gloves back on. The other soldiers couldn't help but laugh at the goofy smile on Ignus' shy face.
He didn't care what they thought. He could have smiled for the rest of his life. The River was gone.
He felt like he could breathe again, that he didn't need to look around every corner trying to anticipate enemies. It was a new feeling, and somewhat unwelcome to his hyper-sensitive body.
I'll get used to it, Ignus thought, contently.
They entered the town square, the townspeople around them applauding the arrival of the victorious army and it's Queen.
He gently nudged Elsa awake, her eyes blinking as she stretched, rather un-regally.
"Ignus…are we back?"
Ignus nodded towards the crowd around them. "Maybe."
Elsa's eyes opened fully as she looked at the crowd around them. She smiled broadly and waved back at the cheering citizens. Then her hand shrunk back and she looked timidly at Ignus.
"They saw me sleeping against you, didn't they?"
Ignus' face went red. "Uh…yeah. They might have."
Ignus expected her to shyly scoot away. He did not expect her to smile in surrender and lean back against him.
Ignus checked to make sure his face wasn't literally on fire.
They broke away from the army and rode towards the castle, where they stopped and dismounted, Ignus taking a few awkward steps as he tried to get blood moving through his legs again after riding the horse.
The general rode up to Elsa "M'lady, might we quickly discuss the prisoners' fates? We also must address the public about the outcome of the battle."
Elsa's face fell. Ignus knew she wanted to see Anna as soon as possible.
"Tell you what," Ignus said to her, "I'll go in and tell them your back, then come back out and help you with all this."
Elsa smiled at him gratefully. "I'd appreciate it a lot."
Ignus shrugged one shoulder. "Nah, no problem. Really. Back in a flash."
He headed up into the castle.
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Ignus wasn't sure where to begin with Kristoff and Anna.
Maybe start with assuring Anna that Elsa was fine and then discuss the battle? Or maybe talk about the Duke? He felt he should explain his past a little bit to them, as it was partly his fault that the Duke came after them.
Ignus' spirits sunk as he thought about what he had just contemplated. He had caused the Duke to attack them…
He shook himself. Elsa would never blame him for that and wouldn't want him to blame himself. He straightened up and walked towards the room where Kristoff was resting. He figured Anna would be there as well.
Suddenly a pang of anxiety coursed through him.
What if the River had attacked while they were away?
What If this was just another of the Duke's plans?
Panic welled within him as he walked faster.
Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down! Ignus thought to himself. How paranoid can you get? He slowed his breathing, trying to calm down his heart.
Then he heard Anna scream.
Ignus moved so fast he could have left an afterimage.
He rocketed through the halls of the castle, his clothes catching fire out of sheer terror.
No, no, no, no, nooooo….
How could I have been so stupid?!
Elsa will never forgive me!
Please, please let me be in time!
He ran towards the final door and slammed through it, drawing his sword. "GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU-"
He took a minute to contemplate what he was seeing.
Kristoff, appearing fully healed, was sitting In his hospital bed, holding out a small box towards Anna, who had both hands on her mouth, a look of pure elation in her eyes. The box had a ring inside it.
Ignus' insides flew through the center of the Earth, went for a round trip, and came right back up.
For a minute, the most agonizing silence Ignus had ever experienced lingered.
Then Ignus sheathed his sword, coughed once and said, "Uh…congrats!"
Kristoff looked like his brain had just imploded. "She…uh…she didn't answer yet."
"Oh."
Ignus looked at Anna. Then he gestured towards Kristoff, hastily.
Anna whirled between the two. Her poor mind must have been completely overwhelmed.
"Uh…wait…oh! Oh, right! Yes! Yes! Sorry, I just…yes, Kristoff! Of course I will!" She finally managed to squeak out as she ran forward and hugged Kristoff madly.
Kristoff breathed out heavily. "Well, that's one way to remember a proposal…"
Ignus winced. "Sorry…"
Anna whirled around at him. "Don't apologize! This is wonderful! You're okay! You won!" Then her face went panicky. "Where's Elsa?"
Ignus suddenly remembered his mental checklist of what to tell Anna.
"She's fine! She's totally fine! She…she actually saved my life." Ignus shrugged sheepishly. "Again. She'll be up soon, she just had to address the Kingdom about the battle."
Anna breathed with relief. She walked back over to Kristoff and sat next to him, her arms around him, looking completely content, like everything she ever wanted had come true.
Kristoff exhaled heavily and looked at Ignus. "I guess you did win, then?"
Ignus grinned. "Oh yeah. We won."
Kristoff sat back a bit, closing his eyes, leaning his head against Anna's. "Haaaa….sweet relief. No more crazy bombermen or whatever."
Ignus felt a bite of guilt. "I'm…I'm sorry, Kris. I couldn't stop that bomb and-"
Kris cut him off. "Ig, you just fought a war to keep me and Anna safe. I'd say you have nothing to apologize for." He smiled.
"Jeez, can you just let me apologize for something for once?"
"Not a chance."
Ignus laughed and put a hand to his head. A sense of euphoria coursed through him.
"But never mind me! Or the now-defunct River! You're getting married!" Ignus jumped like a child. "I can't believe it! Congratulations!" He ran towards Anna, hugging her and spinning her around, laughing.
"I, oh man, I need to get Elsa! Hold on, I'll be right back! Don't move!"
"Hey!"
Kristoff had called out to him. Ignus turned around.
"If you really want to apologize…" Kristoff gave him a look. "Then do me a favor. Go tell the Queen of Arendelle that you love her, okay?"
Ignus looked at him, not believing how unfair Kristoff was being. "That's…you can't do that!"
"Sure I can! Who says I can't?"
"Common decency!"
"I'm a mountain man, remember? I'm not common or decent. Now go tell her!"
Anna simply smiled radiantly at Ignus. "I think she'll be happy to hear you say it."
Ignus said nothing, his mind racing.
Then a slow smile spread across his face.
"Okay."
And he raced out of the room, leaving Kristoff and Anna alone as they kissed.
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I love you.
I love you more than anything I've ever known.
I need you. You mean everything to me.
It sounded stupid no matter how Ignus worded it.
And yet, his feet did not slow down as he ran towards the town square, trying to find Elsa.
After everything he had been through, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He didn't care what she said, he just needed to tell her everything, how his life would still have been a shadow without her, how he would have cowered beneath his hood for a long time had she not given him the courage to move on.
He needed her.
It's a simple as that. Ignus remembered Kristoff's words.
He sprinted into the square, where the crowd was dissipating back to their homes and saw the general standing next to a stand. Ignus quickly ran up to him.
"General! Where's Elsa?"
The General turned around. "Ah! Hello…uh…"
He looked unsure as to how to address Ignus.
"Just Ignus is fine. Happens all the time."
"Very well…Ignus. The Queen went to the stables to hitch her horse."
Ignus took off without another word, leaving the General quite confused.
He ran through the streets, excitement causing small wisps of fire to fly out behind him.
He arrived at the stables and stopped. He gathered himself, trying as hard as he could to brace himself for what he was about to do.
He opened the door.
"Elsa?"
He looked around. He didn't see her.
Ignus walked in a little further, finding nothing but horses and a few sheep.
"Elsa? Hello?"
He walked towards the end of the stable.
Then he stopped.
He stood still for about a minute.
Then he walked towards a chair at the end of the stable very slowly, like he was sleepwalking.
He picked up the small piece of paper lying on top of it.
It read, "Harbor".
Three lines were beneath it. One wavy. The symbol of the River.
Elsa's glove lay on the chair, beside where the note was.
End Chapter 20