Chapter 25.
We have been riding for hours now, and there's still no sign of the wall anywhere nearby. Maybe because the forest is so dense we can't see anything through the trees' branches. At least there's a small road, so we can bring our horses; otherwise we would have had to walk, and let me tell you, I would not want to do that.
It's a good thing this morning I realized I actually know how to ride a horse; or else I would have had to ride on the back of Sven, which would have made me smell like Kristoff, so no thank you. Sure, it was difficult at first because it probably has been months since I last rode a horse, but I picked it back up soon enough and now here I am: surrounded by eight guards and going to the Northern Lands. To my home. My kingdom.
I honestly still don't know how to feel about it. I mean, sure, I should feel reassured after remembering my coronation, knowing I'm the ruler of that place, and the most powerful ice-wielder alive, so what could possible go wrong? Plus, I'll get to see my family; Bulda, Olaf, Marshall, Hans and… Helen. Gosh, I know I told Anna she has nothing to worry about, and I really meant it when I said it, but… just thinking about her makes my heart skip a bit and my hands start to feel clammy. I'm nervous about seeing her again. I guess because it'll be weird, knowing she was the person I was in love with for so many years, and now… now I have someone else. I bet that'll change our relationship at least a little bit.
Just as I'm getting lost in my thoughts, remembering small disconnected fragments of my past, we exit the forest. Suddenly, all I see is white, and I have to close my eyes because of just how blinding it all is. I shield my eyes from the sun and slowly get accustomed to the light, and eventually I realize now we're on a plain, extending about half a mile until it finally stops at the wall, still encased in ice and with big menacing icicles sprouting out of it. But… it's almost twice as large as I remember, and it's also covered in a thick layer of snow.
The wind picks up as soon as we leave the last of the trees behind, and I bet if I wasn't immune to cold, I'd be shivering alongside my guards. And they are wearing thick capes over their armor, while I simply have a thin ice dress I made myself, hoping it'll make it easier for the Northerners to recognize me.
"Damn storm!" Kristoff says, placing his reindeer next to my horse. "It's so cold even Sven is trembling, right buddy?" He pats the reindeer's back and Sven nods, oddly enough. "I hope the Ice Queen isn't as bad as they say she is, or this might get pretty ugly."
Oh, right. I forgot he doesn't know it yet, but… should I tell him? I guess that'd be the right thing to do, and he's been a lot friendlier as of lately. I still have my doubts regarding Kristoff, but I don't think he'd ever hurt me on purpose, so…
"Well, I don't know. Do you think I'm evil?" I say nonchalantly, trying not to be too serious about this subject.
"No, but what does that…?" He starts asking, but then his eyes widen, as if realizing what I just implied. "Wait… are you the Ice Queen? Did you remember?"
"Yes. Just yesterday." I answer.
"Huh. Well… then I think we don't have anything to worry about." He chuckles before smiling gently at me.
"I hope so." I say feeling optimistic, more so seeing how well Kristoff took it. He sure has changed a lot; not so long ago he would have freaked out after learning of my true identity. I guess Anna helped a little; I bet she's been rambling about me and how wonderful I am (her words) at every opportunity.
After that little conversation, we remain quiet until we arrive to the wall. It's not awkward though, because we're both naturally silent. Him even more so than me, I think.
The wall is more impressive up close, and I see that, effectively, its lower half is made of stone encased in ice, while its upper half is made completely of thick white ice, with a rough surface, unlike the icicles, which are blue and transparent. I wonder if I also made it taller… I only remember having encased it in ice.
"Halt. Who goes there?" A masculine voice coming from above the wall stops us in our tracks. I can't distinguish his exact features from all the way down here, but I can see he has red hair. Not an ice-wielder then.
I signal my guards to stay behind as I descend my horse. Then, I step forward and walk until I'm standing right under the wall's shadow, reading myself and remembering what I'm supposed to say.
"Greetings, fellow Northerner." I begin. "My name is Elsa, elected Queen of the Northern Lands, and Arendelle's ambassador. I wish to speak with whoever is in charge right now."
"You are Elsa?!" He exclaims, genuinely surprised. "The Queen Elsa?!"
"The one and only." I smirk. But my smile disappears when he gulps and looks around, as if afraid someone might listen.
"But… they said you were dead!" He finally speaks, sounding both afraid and confused.
"… they?" I ask, but he just nods.
"You have to go before the Ice Queen sees you!"
"But I am the Ice Queen… right?" I ask. I'm starting to have my doubts; after all, he seems to be very scared for me.
"No, of course not." He answers, confused. "Do you not remember?"
"Remember what?"
He opens the mouth to speak but before he can say a word, a cold wind blows from behind the wall, carrying with it a strong blizzard. It's sudden and violent. Like magic.
"She musts already know you're here!" He says, panicked. "Run, now!"
I take a small step back, debating between running away and staying to try and find out what's happening. However, just then the man I was talking to blows a horn, the clear sound resonating throughout the valley.
"Elsa, we have to go!" Kristoff yells.
"But…" I still protest, wondering what to do. I'm the strongest ice-wielder alive, surely I can deal with some usurper, right?
"Elsa!" He yells again, now sounding even more panicked, clearly looking at something behind me.
I turn around and see… ice moving. Almost like it's alive. At first it looks like some long crystals put together, but soon it gains form. It's a giant, taller than the wall even; the size of the tallest three. It kinda looks like a skeleton made of ice, but it has large spikes protuberating from its articulations, and horns on its head. Its eyes are hollow, but they emit a purple light.
I can just stare in shock at it as it rises from the snow and starts walking in my general direction. I'm paralyzed by fear. My limbs can't stop shaking, my breath comes out quickly and erratically, and my heart feels like it's inside my ears. I don't think I've ever felt like this before… or have I?
"Elsa!" I hear Kristoff's voice before I feel a hard shove on my right side and fall to the ground. In the spot where I previously was there's now a giant icicle… partially embedded in my guard's leg.
"Kristoff!" I call to him as I rush to his side, planning on getting the icicle out of his leg. He just moans in pain and grips a handful of snow as I get said object out of him. We don't have time to do anything else, however, as the other soldiers are now firing arrows at the ice monster, in a vain attempt to stop it.
The giant gets furious, even though the arrows don't seem to do any damage, and opens its mouth to release a burst of snow and icicles that wipe out the soldiers in an instant, leaving only pools of blood and corpses instead. I'm able to react just when it reaches us, fortunately, and shield both Kristoff and myself with a thick shield of ice.
The smell of blood is so intense I feel nauseous, and though I try not to think about their sudden deaths and all the ways I could have saved them, I still feel very guilty. But I know feeling guilty will take me nowhere. There's still someone here I can save.
"Can you walk?" I ask my guard.
"I-I think so." He answers, grimacing when he moves his leg. "Okay, I'll call Sven." He replies at my skeptic look.
"Alright. Go to the forest and hide there. I'll distract this thing." I say, already formulating a plan in my head.
"But I'm your guard! I'm supposed to…"
"You can't protect me in that state. Now go!" I reason before getting up and facing this monster. It's still as terrifying as a minute ago, but I try not be too intimidated by it, and instead think rationally. After all, whatever this creation is, the one who conjured it probably isn't nearly as powerful as me, meaning I should be able to defeat it without a problem.
At least… I hope so.
As expected, the Ice Skeleton doesn't follow Kristoff, and instead keeps its concentration solely on me. First it tries sending a burst of snow and icicles in my direction again, but just as last time, I raise my hand and stop them with a shield of ice. However, the strength surprises me this time, and I end up jumping to the side just as my shield explodes in a million pieces and the icicles bury themselves deep into the snowy ground.
That was close. Okay, calm down heart, stop racing. I just need to be more careful.
Before I have time to think on a strategy though, the giant swings its large arms in an attempt to hit me, and I drop to the ground to (barely) avoid them. Trying to get some space between myself and this beast, I raise my hands and conjure a large block of ice, which I throw at it to make it stumble backwards. Meanwhile, I get up and get ready to fight; turning my ice skirt into something more practical: pants.
A loud shriek resonates throughout the whole of the wall, and I have to cover my ears in hopes they won't burst just because of this horrible sound. It's like the scraping of metal, the roaring of a lion and the cry of a pig in the slaughterhouse, all at the same time.
I think my little attack angered it.
Sure enough, the monster is soon grabbing my block of ice and throwing it at me. I'm only able to avoid it by jumping to the side and casting magic at it, to deviate its trajectory away from me. The attacks are relentless however, and soon I'm running from icicles, giant feet and random bursts of magic without managing to get a second to breathe. My blood is pumping fast in my veins, giving me a constant but finite supply of energy; I can already feel my limbs getting tired with the workout, making my movements slower as a result. Maybe I shouldn't have spent all that time sitting on the library; then I'd probably be in a better shape.
The only reliable source of energy I have an abundance of, on the other hand, is… unstable. It keeps being fueled by fear, which by this point is so intense, the magic is actually escaping out of my fingertips, creating a great snowstorm. Plus, I can't really stop for a second to try and concentrate enough to create something useful, instead of just quick and random bursts of magic pointed to the general direction of my opponent.
Damn! If only I knew who is controlling the skeleton I could take them down. But they are probably far beyond the other side of the wall, out of my reach, so I'll have to deal with this thing first. Fuck. It's proving to be more difficult than I thought. If only I could get a few seconds to concentrate! Just enough to conjure enough magic to disintegrate it with a powerful blast. I'm sure I could manage that.
But… how? If only someone could fight it in my stead. Just for a moment.
Wait… this skeleton is alive, right? Does that mean that ice-wielders can create living things then? If so… could I do it too?
Barely avoiding being impaled by yet another giant icicle, I concentrate on my fear. I let it fill me until I can sense every inch of my body vibrating with dread and panic. I let my head imagine the worst case scenario and fuel my fear even more. Once it's all done (and it doesn't take long; I'm definitely terrified), I release a blast of magic as I wish for someone to protect poor little fragile me.
Sure enough, what started as a small snow monticule soon turns into a giant made of snow. It's half the stature of the skeleton, more robust and less terrifying. But his eyes have a blue glint, indicating it's alive, and it soon starts attacking the other giant, preventing any of its attacks from reaching me.
I don't know how long he'll manage to handle the skeleton on his own though, so I take a deep breath and close my eyes, concentrating solely on the magic inside my veins. I visualize it inside my head; vast and deep as an ocean, and almost just as infinite… but right now it's chaotic and dangerous like a storm. I need to placate it.
I start trying to imagine Anna. Her cute freckled face, always smiling, always being all cheery and optimistic. I imagine her soft, warm lips caressing mine, her wonderful smell surrounding me and making me feel at home. I imagine she's next to me right now, giving me all the strength I need to calm down the storm inside of me. When I look into my magic again, it's calmed down considerably, almost like there never was a storm to begin with.
Channeling my love for Anna, I pull as much magic as I can out of my body. I ready myself, opening my eyes and aiming at the ice skeleton that is now massacring my own creation with pure brute force. Then, once I feel like I can't keep it in any longer, I release the full extension of my power, concentrated in a single icy beam.
I hear a shriek before there's a big explosion of ice and snow that sends me flying backwards several feet before I fall into the ground, getting all air knocked out of me. I take a few moments to catch my breath, unable to move, and then I realize my whole body hurts because of small ice fragments that are now embedded in my skin.
At least I'm alive. And that thing, whatever it was, is dead.
I slowly get up and look at the place where the ice skeleton was… wait… where the ice skeleton is.
What just happened? How can it still be alive? That was like half of my magical power concentrated solely in one blast! It should have worked! But it didn't. By the looks of it, all I managed to do was to blow away some of its ribs, which are now being rapidly reconstructed. I have to get out of here!
Quickly, I release yet more magic and make a horse made of snow appear. I mount it and urge it to run away, faster and faster towards the forest. The magic that created it, however, is unstable because of the haste with which I used it. It feels like this horse will disintegrate at any second.
Just then, as if things couldn't get any worse, I hear a loud crash, and when I turn around I see the skeleton fighting against my snow golem in order to get to me. My warrior is only able to hold it back for a few seconds though, and soon it's thrown away and disappears in a cloud of mist and snow. I urge my horse to go faster, but it refuses; I don't think it can.
Then, I see the ice giant running towards me so quickly it's crossed half the distance between the wall and the line of trees in just a few seconds. Its steps shake the ground, making everything vibrate with the force of impact, and I grip my horse's neck tighter, hoping this will somehow make it move even faster. And it does. Miraculously, it does. And the magic also starts dissolving faster, making it seem like now I'm riding a beast half made of snow and half of mist.
And soon enough, it fades and I fall to the ground, sliding in the snow until I hit a very hard trunk headfirst. I taste blood in my mouth, and feel waves of pain emanating from my forehead, but I realize there's no time for crying. I quickly stand up on shaky legs before turning to see where my chaser is now.
It's still a few feet away, and I'm already in the forest. I have to find a shelter quick before it finds me!
I start running as fast as my tired and battered body can carry me, looking around to find some sort of shelter; maybe an empty trunk or a small cave, but before I can do so, something pulls my left foot and I end up falling into a trench I hadn't seen. I immediately try to get up and see what's going on, but a strong arm holds me back and a hand prevents me from uttering a sound. I glare at whoever is holding me, concentrating my magic in order to attack, but… it's Kristoff!
Seeing this, I relax and he finally lets go of me, signaling me to keep quiet and kneel down on the trench, so the skeleton won't find us. I do so and we wait in tense anticipation for that monster to pass, hearing his heavy steps as it enters the forest, shaking the land with every movement it makes. It sounds like it's getting closer to our little hideout too. Oh gods! What if it finds us? Kristoff can't run; his leg is still all bloody, and Sven is nowhere to be seen, probably because he wouldn't fit in here. And I won't be able to defeat this thing on my own!
Suddenly, I feel Kristoff's hand in mine, and look at him in surprise. He just points out to the quickly spreading ice that's formed around me, and I do my best to control it, but my magic just won't obey me when my mind is still filled with fears, and so it keeps expanding, cracking so loudly it makes me flinch.
Fuck! Come on, stop it! The monster will hear it.
And sure enough, its steps grow louder, and we even jump a little with every one of them. Then, we see its face appear just above our heads, partially obscured by the trees' branches. Our only hope now is that they're enough to cover us.
We hold our breath as that thing turns its head, searching for us. My chest is actually beating so loudly, I fear the skeleton may hear it, and my powers are so agitated, it starts snowing above our heads. Well… that's it. We're dead. I close my eyes, not wanting to see the moment I die, and I silently hope Anna won't be too sad about my death. My last thoughts are of how much I love her and how much I wish we could have spent more time together.
Then… I hear a sudden wind blowing through the trees, and open my eyes to see the skeleton dissolving into snow above our heads. And as quickly as it appeared, it's gone. Finally, I'm able to breathe and get up in shaky legs, still fearing it will materialize once more. But a few seconds pass and it all remains calm and quiet. The monster doesn't appear again. We're safe.
"It must have lost you." Kristoff says, trying to stand up, and I rush to help him.
"I hope so." I answer. "Where's Sven? We need to get back to the town."
"I'll call him." He says, before whistling loudly just one clear note.
As we wait for him to come back, I can't help but thinking just how lucky we are to be alive.
We arrive to the town many hours later, just when the sun is about to set on the horizon. The way back here was slow and painful; given how injured Kristoff was, he couldn't ride a reindeer very well, so Sven and I had to help him limp all the way here (which was very difficult, considering how heavy he is). Thankfully, we didn't encounter any more ice monsters; just a pack a wolves that I easily scared away with my powers.
The first thing we do upon arriving to Nordfkerk is going to the doctor, who immediately starts tending Kristoff's leg. I let him work and go outside, hoping to find Anna and tell her what happened… though I dread telling her about the soldiers' deaths. I still feel guilty about that.
"Elsa!" I hear her yell as soon as I step into the snow street. A second later, I'm being crushed by her arms, as she hugs me almost desperately.
"Anna." I say, hugging her back and relishing in her comforting warmth and wonderful scent. This is just what I needed after such a hard day.
"Some horses came back here, but their riders were nowhere to be found!" She says worriedly as she lets go just enough to look me in the eyes. "What happened? Are they with the doctor?"
"Uh… actually… Only Kristoff is in there." I say reluctantly, looking down in shame. "I'm sorry, Anna. I couldn't… I couldn't save them." Tears form in my eyes as I remember their bodies, probably still laying on the snow, covered in blood and ice. They were wiped out in an instant, and I couldn't even save one! I'm not the most powerful ice-wielder. I'm not the Ice Queen. Not anymore.
"W-what?" Anna says in shock as she reaches to catch my tears with her fingers. "Elsa, please tell me what happened."
I'm about to do just that when, suddenly, I hear a loud scream. We turn to the direction it came from, the forest, and see… Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening! We lost it! It dissipated in snow!… Or so we thought. Now, that horrible ice monster is here in Nordfkerk, no doubt planning to kill everyone.
"Elsa, what's that?" Anna's scared voice finally makes me react.
"Anna, there's no time to explain. Go to the inn and hide in there; tell everyone else to do the same. I'll take care of that thing." I try to appear more confident than I am, but it's difficult when my voice is trembling with fear.
"Elsa, no! We have to run away." She says, pulling me in attempt to escape, but I take her hands and make her let go of my clothes.
"If we run, it'll follow us; I need to kill it." I give her what I hope looks like a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm the most powerful ice-wielder, what's the worst that could happen?"
Before she can react, I run away from her and towards the icy monster. I don't want to do this, but the last thing I want is for it to kill Anna and everyone else in this town. I'll protect them! I won't let them die like I let the soldiers.
"I'm here!" I shout, waving my hands in the air to get its attention, but it's already focusing on the nearby people, who are now running for their lives. It tries to crush them with its enormous hands and feet, but thankfully they manage to get into the buildings just in time.
Angry, the monster destroys the upper floor of the inn with just one movement of its hand, since that's where most people went to. The owner was still outside though, since he had opened the door for people to take refuge in there, and he screams in frustration upon seeing his establishment destroyed.
"You! How dare you!" He yells at the thing before grabbing an axe he had out there in a trunk for cutting wood, and he charges to the monster with only that. I don't know if to face palm myself or save him, since after all he was pretty mean to me, but… well, I can't just let him die so stupidly.
Before the monster can step on him, I release a burst of magic and hit the skeleton's head, effectively making it aware of my presence. It turns around and shrieks, my blood running cold at the horrible sound and the memories it evokes. However, I stay firm. This isn't just about my survival; it's about saving everyone here.
I raise my hands and conjure a huge blizzard, directing it towards the monster and forcing it back, pushing it towards the forest again, so our fight won't endanger anyone's life. However, before we even get near the border of the town, it plants its feet firmly on the ground and raises its hands, resisting being pushed back. I try making the wind blow stronger, even closing my eyes to be able to concentrate better. But it just won't relent; it's too strong. I start sweating because of the effort, and I clench my teeth when I feel myself getting pushed back by the wind. It's redirecting my own magic! I resist for about ten seconds, using all my strength to hold it back, but… just as my resistance wavers, I'm thrown back and land on the hard cobblestones of the road.
First I hit my shoulder, and then I roll, hitting my back and my right arm before finally landing on my stomach. I fight to breathe as tears appear on my eyes because of the pain, but I know I'm very vulnerable, so I try to ignore it and get up before that thing kills me. However, before I can do anything, the skeleton's hand grabs me and lifts me off the ground. I struggle, but as expected, I'm too weak to move its fingers even an inch, much less liberate myself from its strong grip.
Once I'm eye-level with this monster, it starts squishing harder, and I can't help screaming and crying in pain. And fear; I'm pretty sure this thing wants to crush me to death. I attempt liberating myself with my magic, but it's difficult to concentrate when it feels like my ribs and arms are seconds away from breaking. Actually, I can't even breathe anymore, so I bet I'm seconds away from fainting too.
It only gets worse when a layer of ice appears between me and this monster's hand, becoming thicker and thicker until I'm completely surrounded by it, except my head. At least I can breathe now; the pressure having diminished considerably. It looks like the skeleton doesn't want to kill me, but rather… capture me?
"Leave her alone!" I hear Anna's voice surprisingly near. I turn my head and look down and, effectively, there's the redhead, holding a sword like she would be able to kill this monster with it.
"Anna, no!" I yell, just before I feel myself falling. I hit the ground with force, but thankfully the ice is still around me, protecting me. The skeleton must have dropped me, but why?
Well, looks like he cares more about Anna than me, because now it's following her, probably trying to kill her, if the way he constantly launches giant ice spikes at her are any indication. Thankfully, she's quick and agile enough to evade its attacks… for the moment. Now, I have to get out of here and save her.
As expected, Anna can't keep evading it forever, and soon, she ends up slipping on the ice and falling. She quickly gets up but the skeleton doesn't waste time and quickly throws ice at her feet, effectively preventing her from running away. Desperately, I keep struggling with the ice, conjuring magic in order to liberate myself. But it isn't enough.
The skeleton smiles maliciously before opening its mouth, ready to release its power and kill my beloved. I can't fail now! I can't just not save her! I have to be strong enough. I have to…!
The fear of losing Anna fuels my magic, making it stronger than ever. I forget about how tired I am, or how much everything hurts. I don't care how strong this ice is; I'm going to break it! I have to save Anna!
I feel a great amount of energy leaving my body as my icy bounds explode in a million pieces. Once I'm free, I don't waste a second before running towards the ice monster, placing myself between it and Anna. Then, I raise my hands and push it back with a gust of wind, not caring that I'm almost at the verge of fainting from exhaustion.
"Elsa!" Anna screams, but I realize too late that she wanted to warn me. The monster's hand makes contact with me and sends me flying several feet away. I should be used to this by now, but I still have to take a moment to recover my breath and try to get up despite the pain. But before I can even sit up, I'm pushed back into the ground by something very strong.
I fight to open my eyes despite the pain I feel on my chest and abdomen, and see that the monster is now above me, crushing me under its foot. However, it's not applying enough pressure to kill me; just to stop me. It's still enough for one of its giant claws to perforate my chest, drawing blood, but not going deep enough to damage anything vital.
I scream in pain as I try to get it off of me, gripping at its toes and pushing them despite knowing it's useless. At least its attention is on me now, and not in Anna. But I'm sure that, as soon as I faint or it manages to permanently incapacitate me in any other way, it'll kill her. But what can I do to stop it? It's practically immortal! What kind of magic is this anyways?
Wait… what magic is it, indeed? Maybe I could try and feel its source.
Granted, I'm not good at these sorts of things, but being in contact with this monster helps, and so I close my eyes and concentrate on the flow of magic inside this ice beast. I start by feeling the energy at its toes, and in my mind it looks like a dark purple liquid that comes from above. I follow it until its knees, then its chest, shoulders, neck and… there it is! The source! A great pool inside its head, being fueled drop by drop by someone far, far away.
But… all this magic, it feels familiar, yet different somehow. It's almost like I could… control it? To an extent at least. It's corrupted, mixed with other energies, but I'm still able to identify the small part of it that resembles my own magic, and use it to attack the monster from its core.
First, I disintegrate its source of magic, making it leave its original place and flow chaotically throughout the skeleton's body. Now, instead of keeping the shape of its icy bones, it starts making them crumble, and I even feel the toes I'm grabbing turn into millions of small fragments of ice. But it's not like when it turned into snow before; no, now I'm ripping the magic out of its body, making it just a bunch of useless pieces of ice with no life or soul.
Granted, I can't absorb the magic inside myself, since it's not mine. It's very similar, but even then, I can't pull my own magic inside myself once I release it, so I don't even try. Hopefully, making it float away in the wind in many different directions will be enough.
Now… gosh, I'm too exhausted. Everything hurts. I think I could sleep for all eternity and still be tired.
My eyelids get heavy rather quickly, and I can't keep myself from drifting off to sleep. The last thing I see is a very worried freckled face, and a voice asking me to stay with her. I would, but I really am too tired, and I can't stay awake.
A/N: So... what do you think? I bet you weren't expecting that! Then again, this fic is just full of surprises, if I do say so myself. Anyways, tanks for reading, and if you liked this chapter, please review. I'm very eager to know your thoughts and theories about this, after all! :D
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.