As Kristoff gave Anna a hand to climbed up onto her mare, Bulda's weak smile morphed into a frown and she turned her head slightly, studying the flower in the distance, an unknown force drawing her attention. She then smiled, returning her gaze to the two humans who were now galloping away as the yellow rosebud opened very slightly, growing a little more towards the sun.
The flower shone in the light, and a small aurora flickering above the butter-yellow rose. And, not for the first time, the sense of magic that surrounded Grand Pabbie spread throughout the valley.
"Anna..." Elsa whispered, looking to her sister and backing away from the door to the announcement platform slowly. "I'm not sure I can do this..."
Anna smiled at her sister, shoving her shoulder gently and grinning. "C'mon, Elsa, I managed it!" she urged, pushing against her sister but not able to move her. "Most of the kingdom knows you're pregnant by now anyway, so don't worry. Gossip spreads like wildfire around here, you know!"
"I... I suppose." Elsa frowned before then smiling again, clenching her trembling fists. "Well, it's now or never, I guess," she said quietly, looking out of the window and thinning her lips. "Considering I'll be off to the Southern Isles this time tomorrow."
Anna paused in her urging, recoiling as her eyes began to shine very slightly.
"Oh, Anna. You know I'm sorry," she whispered, turning around and brushing a stray lock of fiery red hair behind the princess' ear. "But I have to go. I can't just let the soldiers go alone. I'd feel awfully guilty, and I can help protect them."
"But you can't protect yourself!" Anna moaned, her eyes beseeching Elsa to change her mind and then plummetting to her feet when she made no attempt to reconsider.
"I'll be fine, Anna," Elsa assured, trying to believe it herself as well. "And I'll make sure my baby's okay, too. I promise." She took her sister's hand, squeezing it softly and trying to adopt her most confident grin. "I'll get Odd back, and I'll get Mia back too. But I can only do that if you stay strong, and help our people. Many will have family or friends going off to war... You have to be their hope while I'm away, their motivation to get up in the morning and keep working until their families return. It's your job to keep them strong, and if you can't then the kingdom will be attacked. If our kingdom falls weak then we'll be easy prey. You've got to guide them, but if you can't be strong yourself then how can they b
"Many will have family or friends going off to war... You have to be their hope while I'm away, their motivation to get up in the morning and keep working until their families return. It's your job to keep them strong, and if you can't do that then the kingdom will be attacked. If our kingdom falls weak then we'll be easy prey. You've got to guide them, to be their guiding star, but if you can't be strong yourself then how can you expect them to be?"
The princess looked away, fiddling with her fingers, but she nodded slowly nevertheless. "I suppose you're right," she whispered, but then a thought occurred to her and she smiled. "But, hey. We can brood later; now we'd better get out there, right? The people are waiting for us, and we can't leave them waiting forever in the cold."
Elsa, caught by surprise, recoiled slightly before sparing a glance towards the door, hanging her head and sighing before she nodded slowly.
"You're right, of course. But please, stay with me? I've never done anything like this before."
Anna smiled at her sympathetically. "Don't worry. Like I said, most people know anyway. But they'll be thrilled to hear it confirmed!"
Elsa smiled, a little more confident with the little ray of sunshine at her side. Stepping over to the door, she then paused before beckoning to her sister and placing her handle on the handle. "Let's go."
Bulda looked out across the valley, sighing as she watched the lacklustre clouds drifting above, languishing over her situation. She didn't want to be the troll queen; she had always been perfectly happy before. Now, the weight of responsibility that rested upon her shoulders was great, the troll community's very survival reliant on her ability to maintain the magic which defined their lives.
With her new magic, a gift reserved to only the leader of the trolls, she had a deep connection with both the earth and sky, two forces so very different and yet both equally necessary. But the link only hurt her core, the separate forces so strong and conflicting that, most of the time, she only ever felt confused or disheartened.
Spinning to her left, some peculiar force urging her to do so, a small ball of faint light—not unlike that of the aurora—flickered nearby, and Bulda couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of it. Rolling closer towards it, she then waved her hand slowly as Pabbie before her had done so often and the ball zoomed towards her, connecting with her palm and exploding out into a large scene.
A small town, in a kingdom similar to Arendelle. Smoke filled the air, hanging over the villages like a cape of despair, gloom radiating from every street, every building. Flames flickered against the wreckage of wooden houses, and cobblestones were torn up and smashed, debris scattered across the roads. Horses trapped in fallen down stables thrashed about, trying to escape, while their owners lay on the ground, slumped over the wreckage, unmoving, staring at the few surviving creatures with wide, glassy eyes that were devoid of any life, trails of blood dribbling from their mouths. Sea spray battered the lifeless town, and a low chuckle reached the troll Queen's ears.
Gasping, Bulda drew her hand back, rushing away from the light as the vision ended. The curling up into a ball, she immediately began to cascade down the slope from her 'look-out point', heading towards the castle.
She had to warn them.
The cheer that met Elsa's statement was deafening, the people overjoyed at the news, but there was more to be delivered; despite the pain it brought her, Elsa knew she had to announce the second update either now, or never.
Nodding to one of the nearby guards, she closed her eyes as the sound of a horn being blown sounded across the courtyard, and the excited, murmuring group of people silenced quickly, glancing up at their queen, waiting patiently, expectantly.
Elsa took a deep breath. She'd thought, at first, that announcing her pregnancy would have been the hardest thing, but now she knew she couldn't have been any more wrong. "Well, I..." She fumbled for words, and took a breath, calming herself. "I am sure you have all heard that the Southern Isles and the kingdom of Westleton have gone to war with our sister Kingdom, Corona. As allies, it is our duty to help them with this war, as they would help us."
The crowd began to murmur again, but this time, it wasn't the excited, enthusiastic voices that had come from Elsa's previous statement. She felt her heart beat faster as some of the people looked up at her in sadness and, occasionally, anger; rumours had been spreading around but nothing had, as of yet, been confirmed. People hardly needed to wait for their Queen to finish her speech to know the truth, however; the ice forming on the balcony edges for those close enough to see it was enough of a sign.
"So, as I was saying..." Elsa continued, trying not to sound too petrified herself. "We need to help Corona. We have a strong navy, one of the strongest in the world, in fact, so we should be able to lend some assistance.
"There is not much time to waste. This will inevitably be hard for everyone, but it is a situation which cannot be avoided. We have been preparing for this for a while now, but we cannot afford to stall any longer; we must leave tomorrow morning. And, I am afraid, we will inevitably be away over Christmas." A murmur of frustration passed through the crowd as Elsa continued, trying her best to ignore the people's displeasure. "All of the men in the navy must come with me to the Southern Isles, where we shall aim to attack and destroy the heart of the enemy's operation. Thus meaning, with many soldiers absent, we will need people to guard and protect Arendelle. No doubt we may be attacked during my absence, so I should hope our kingdom will be prepared if that were the case."
She sighed, looking out at the setting sun as she let her words sink into the minds of her people. Once the displeased murmurs died down slightly, however, she picked up again. "All men in the navy should report back here at tomorrow morning, 9 am. Princess Anna shall take care of the Kingdom in my absence, and she will organise the protection too."
A few wary glances were exchanged, and Elsa couldn't help but smile softly at the nervous looks upon her subjects' faces; though her sister was respected, people were still unsure of her. She'd always been very spirited, and her clumsy nature was almost award-worthy. Behind Elsa, the princess could only blush slightly, her freckled cheeks developing a light red tint.
"I understand this is hard for everyone to accept, but I will do all in my power to bring this all to an end as soon as possible. And, I hope, end this entire fiasco with the Southern Isles once and for all."
Bowing her head, Elsa turned back into the castle, her sister following quickly; once she was out of eyesight she immediately slouched against the wall, her hand on her head as a sigh escaped her lips.
Kristoff and Sven glanced up quickly as the sound of a rock rolling thunderously over cobblestones met their ears. Almost instantaneously their gazes spun to the open gates; there, a large and mossy boulder could be seen hurtling towards them, but neither panicked at the thought of being hit.
Bulda popped out of her disguise before she'd even stopped rolling, tripping from the momentum as she gasped desperately for breath. "Kristoff!" she cried, then stumbling over to him as she continued to gasp, her eyes wide. "Thank God I've found you! I've gotta tell you; Corona is under attack!"
Kristoff frowned as he knelt down, trying to wrap the troll in a hug only to end up pushed away. "Yeah, we know," he said, shrugging slightly as if it were no big deal. "The Southern Isles are trying to attack them—Elsa just announced that they're going to be heading off tomorrow."
Bulda shook her head urgently. "No, no! You're missing the point! They've already destroyed half of the coastline villages—I fear it is only a few days, at this rate, until they reach the castle of Corona itself!"
Kristoff froze immediately, glancing down at the troll warily as if wondering whether —or perhaps hoping that—she was merely telling some sick joke. The expression on her face, though, could not have been forced.
He had to warn them.
The war was really and truly on now.
In response to a Guest review by WildVirus - haha, I agree with you :D and considering I'm the author... you get the idea :P
Anyway, sorry this chapter is late, too. I found it hard to write because I only got a couple of reviews and, as such, not much inspiration. Please review guys; I enjoy writing, but without your help I don't get ideas and my mind just shuts down!
So... yeah, please review :'( I'm having a tough time at home with my family - my Grandmother's really ill and we're all on tenterhooks at the moment. It helps getting reviews, because it makes me feel happier and gives me something to look forward to after school, and it makes me feel like my writing's worth something.
Goodnight.
-SG
