Sorry for the long wait. Life has been and write know, because I'm trying to study for a test, but its been hard to do for one reason or another.
On the bright side, after this chapter things will start going down hill after this. Though to be honest, i'm not to sure how much I will be delving into a battle. I know where I want to go with it, but my writing skills may not be appropriate for a long scale battle, so I'll probably try small bits and pieces of such a thing when the time comes for it.
We also delve a bit into Ingrid's past so hopefully you'll like that!
Enjoy!
Elsa sat in her study, feeling exhausted from her days work, despite being cooped up in the room since this morning. After tending to the needs of Elise and Luka, then making sure Anna was ok, Elsa had been dealing with paperwork, agreements for assistance from neighboring Kingdoms, should War actually come to Arendelle. Negotiations with Ridgefell had all but led to a standstill, so now the only thing she could do was wait for Ivar's arrival. He was scheduled to arrive later today, but now that it was nearing Lunchtime, Elsa wondered if he would arrive.
The thought of war only filled Elsa with dread. She couldn't bear the thought of her home being invaded or conquered by another Kingdom. Her people would suffer or die. As a Queen, she was bound by honor to defend her kingdom and all those who lived in it. As a Person however, she couldn't help that she had failed. Only a year into her reign as Queen and Elsa's world was falling apart. She had been forced to banish her love, endure the fact that her sister was raped, and could do nothing but pray that her children would not suffer the atrocities of war.
The safety of Elise and Luka were Elsa's top priority. She had almost lost Anna because of her powers. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her children because of her mistakes. They were her whole world.
Elsa sighed, rubbing a hand over her face, before she placed her arms on the desk and laid her head down. She just needed to close her eyes for a few moments….
"Hell! NO!" Guinevere responded with venom dripping from her lips "you come into my life, attack me. Bound and gag me to a tree like you're some desperate-!" Ranger glared at her, effectively shutting her up as his eyes flared angrily.
"Don't even finish that sentence." Ranger warned her holding up the bucket of water for emphasis.
Guinevere huffed before continuing on her tirade " After all that! You expect me to help you, just like that. JUST LIKE THAT?!"
Ranger looked at her before asking "do you have anything better to do?" when Guinevere didn't respond Ranger continued "Besides, if you help me, I can guarantee you a generous payment, And I'll even let you do whatever you want to me for revenge."
Guinevere cocked her head in confusion, "What?"
Ranger grinned, before walking around the tree and undoing the bonds that kept the blonde in place. As he undid the ropes, he continued "you can do whatever you want to me after our deal is complete. One free shot, no retaliation."
Guinevere couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this guy an idiot? Or was he going to let her kill him afterwards? One part of her didn't like the sound of that at all, but the other part desperately wanted to sooth her wounded pride.
The ropes fell, finally allowing Guinevere to stand. She stood up, before stretching her limbs.
As she was doing so, Ranger went over to his camp and grabbed the staff Guinevere had used to attack him with, looking it over. It was by no means a cheap weapon, but he had seen better on his journey's and quite frankly, this one was old and in desperate need of an upgrade. Twirling it for a bit, he then turned to Guinevere and tossed it at her.
Guinevere looked up to see her staff coming towards her and with the flawless grace of a warrior, stopped her stretching and caught the long weapon elegantly. She gave it a twirl, before attaching it to her belt.
"This doesn't make us friends," she told Ranger with a scowl "you better guarantee me payment after this." she wasn't going to do anything without the proper compensation. Hell, she might not do this at all depending on how petty it was. But considering the lengths Luka went to procure her assistance, this had to be good.
"I told you I would, didn't I?" Ranger responded with an infuriating grin, but his grin quickly vanished as his thoughts turned to what needed to be done "tell me, how fast can we get to Arendelle from here?"
Guinevere let out a grin before walking up to Ranger and rubbing his shoulder "hold on tight." She said with a wink, before lightning surrounded them both and Guinevere took off in a flash of light.
Ingrid gazed at the horizon, looking longingly in the direction that the ship was taking her.
After explaining the situation to King Frederic, Ingrid, the corona monarchs, and a handful of soldiers had made immediate haste to the port, with ships sending messages to allies of Corona and Arendelle imploring their help against the Ridgefellian empire, while Ingrid herself was on the ship with the monarchs making there way to Arendelle.
Above all else, that was by far the scariest thing that Ingrid had to deal with right now.
She hadn't been to the kingdom she once called home since she was still a child, almost 4 decades ago. When she was young, she and her sister Idun were simply playing in the grounds. Ingrid was about 8 years old, while Idun was barely learning to speak full sentences. While Idun had been under the careful watch of their Nanny, Ingrid was a little more danger prone and loved to get away from her caretakers. Thus she did, making her ways to the edge of the castle grounds where her favorite flowers were growing. As she was looking for the perfect one to bring to her mother, Gerda, when someone grabbed her.
In response, Ingrid had frozen him when she screamed in terror.
Needless to say, upon realizing what she had done, Ingrid fled in terror, fearing what she had become.
She went beyond the borders of Arendelle, avoiding any kingdoms that might have been asked to find her, going from kingdom to kingdom, until she found herself in France, alone and hungry, wandering the streets as an orphan and eventually met a solider by the name of Giovanni and his son, a young boy by the name of Alessandro.
They had been traveling through France, but were trying to barter passage to Rome. She had been wondering the docks when she saw a ship. Having been tired and hungry, she stowed away on bored, able to hide for a while until she bumped into Alessandro. Needless to say, he was surprised and called for his father.
Half expecting to be kidnapped again, she was surprised when Giovanni took pity on her and allowed her to come with him to his home, treating her like a daughter.
While Ingrid didn't exactly grow up in the lap of luxury like she had in the palace, the wilderness outside of Rome provided her with a wide-open enclosure for which she could practice with her powers, somewhere where she wouldn't hurt anybody.
Ingrid sighed, that had been so long ago, and it took her quite a while to get over her fear of her powers, and even longer to get them under control. Giovanni had never known about Ingrid's powers, but on her 18th birthday, she revealed her secret to her adopted brother, feeling confident enough to tell him.
Alessandro, surprisingly accepted her regardless and even encouraged her to continue her training, telling her that even though she had ice powers, he still loved her.
Touched, Ingrid left her home not long after (partially to avoid any suitors she had been acquainted with) building her own home with her powers, but occasionally returned to see Alessandro from time to time, particularly after Giovanni had died of old age and after he married his wife, Aurora.
Ingrid wasn't sure if she was ready to return home, particularly since she had abandoned her sister, whose daughter was now the reigning monarch but regardless she knew that she needed to.
Ingrid was shaken out of her reverie when a tender hand landed on her shoulder. Startled, Ingrid turned to see Arianna, who had a smile on her face, but the blonde could see the worry in her eyes.
"Are you ready?" Arianna asked Ingrid.
Ingrid didn't respond at first. Instead she looked back to the horizon, gazing at the setting sun. "Lets find out." She muttered.
Elsa stood underneath a ruined building, tired, aching and above all, broken this war had gone on for far too long, Arendelle was on the brink of destruction and only a few pockets of resistance remained against the overwhelming regime her kingdom had become.
She and Anna had tried to evacuate the city before the war began, but it had been too late. It was a slaughter. Thousands had been killed and the few that survived began a rebellion, of which Elsa was the leader. But ultimately, there simply weren't enough of them to take back the kingdom
Dressed in a tight flexible ice suit, with a shawl and a hood to hide her identity, Elsa glared at her former home, the castle of Arendelle, where Ivar held what was most dear to her.
During the early days of the war, Anna had been kidnapped by Ivar, along with the twins. It had been almost a season and despite Anna's tenacity and Elsa's best efforts, Anna had been trapped in that castle, or at the very least not able to get away because she was concerned for the twins.
Elsa knew that a full-scale attack, even with her powers and with the little troops she had left, her family would be caught in the crossfire. Kristoff had tried, and well… lets just say he served as an example.
Elsa lowered her hood, revealing her war torn appearance. Her hair had been cut short, in a simple bob style, while she had a scar over her right eye. Her eyes, once full of optimism and hope, now reflected her rage and sadness.
Making her way to the rendezvous point just outside the remains of the city, the former Queen hid among the trees where her best solider, a former citizen who made it his life's work to break into buildings was waiting for her.
As she waited, she heard someone nearby. Turning she saw her contact.
"Did you find a way in?" she asked him.
The man nodded "yeah…" She said, before suddenly lifted a crossbow and aimed it at her "I'm sorry."
Elsa gaped at him shocked. She had been double crossed but had no time to worry about that, for an arrow, went right past her, slicing her cheek. turning, Elsa waved her hand, sending ice daggers towards soldiers who were approaching her, killing them all, before turning back to her betrayer, and quickly froze him to a nearby tree.
Another soldier then grabbed Elsa from behind, but Elsa elbowed him in the gut, before turning and head butting him, and then kneed him in the face, letting him fall to the ground. She then turned and ran from her spot, only to find herself surrounded by a group of Ridgefellian soldiers.
Elsa readied herself, glaring at every solider, who had a weapon, whether it being a sword or crossbow, aimed towards her.
Giving them no time to react, Elsa fired icicles at several, preventing them from being able to fire arrows at her, before turning and blocking a sword being swung at her by grabbing it with her hands, freezing it, she snapped the blade clean off the hilt, before kicking the guard down, then throwing it at one of the remaining guards, skewering him.
Before she could run, one guard abandoned his weapons and charged at Elsa, and punched her clean across the face, but Elsa responded by turning and kicking him in his solar plexus, while at the same time sent a patch of ice towards another guard, striking him in the face.
The guard she kicked however recovered and grabbed her arm, but Elsa struck his leg with ice and swiftly struck it, shattering it, causing the poor fellow to fall to the ground, before Elsa formed an icicle and stabbed him in the stomach
Another guard ran towards her, but Elsa sent a blizzard at him, knocking him back. But before Elsa could get back up, one guard kneed her in the face, causing her to be dazed and fall to the ground. She quickly regained her senses and jumped up, kicking her attacker in the head, but two guards grabbed her from behind, while the guard she kicked recovered and proceeded to punch her in the face.
Elsa responded by stomping her foot in the ground and sending said guard flying and an icicle protruded from just in front of him, but before Elsa could escape one of the guards behind her struck her in the back of the head, knocking her out.
Elsa awoke, hanging from the ceiling, her arms above her head. As she blinked away the remnants of unconsciousness, she began to realize that she was in a cell. Great she was in a cell again! Her head was pounding and her body was sore. "Oh god" she mumbled, as she tried to ignore the pain.
Fortunately, she got a distraction, when the door to her cell opened an in walked Ivar, dressed in gold armor and a dark grey cape. It seemed his time, as the King of Arendelle had been kind to him, not that Elsa cared.
Ivar walked up to Elsa, a grim look on his face "it didn't have to be this way Elsa. If you only told me where he was."
Elsa only glared at him defiantly. Ivar sighed. "I suppose we will have to do this the hard way. He snapped his fingers and guards entered the room, dragging in with them a bruised and bloodied Anna, her stomach protruding more than when Elsa last saw her. She seemed all right, as far as the pregnancy was concerned, but Ivar seemed to be able to torture Anna without causing complications.
"Anna!" Elsa cried, horrified by the state of her sister. However the next thing she heard caused her blood to freeze entirely. Two more guards entered the room, each one of them carrying a screaming baby in their hands, not even treating them gently.
"noooo!" Elsa cried at the sight of her children being held like nothing more than sacks of bread.
Ivar smiled cruelly as he turned to look at his captives, before turning back to Elsa. "You have a choice my dear Elsa." he raised a hand "you can tell me where your dear Fiancé is…"
A guard pulled out a knife as Ivar talked. "Or one of those you care about will die…"
Elsa said nothing looking only at her sister and children, before turning her gaze back to Ivar, her eyes brimming with tears. "I don't know where he is…" she told him, her voice barely above a whisper
Ivar sighed, before snapping his fingers.
The last thing Elsa heard was the sound of steel as it sliced through flesh.
Elsa awoke, sweating. Shivering, she stood up from her desk, before making her way to Anna's room. Timidly knocking on the door, she waited for Anna to respond. The door opened, revealing Anna dressed in a nightgown her hand resting on her stomach.
"Elsa!" Anna gasped, shocked at seeing her normally composed sister shaking, with silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She stepped aside, allowing Elsa to enter her room.
Elsa made her way to the bed, before flopping onto it and getting under the covers, shaking quite wildly.
Anna walked over to the bed and got in the other side, rubbing Elsa's back in an attempt to sooth her "is everything all right?"
Elsa didn't respond instead she turned over and with pleading eyes asked, "hold me…"
Anna was surprised by Elsa's worn broken voice, but nonetheless enveloped her sister in a hung, lying with her, if just to provide her sister with warmth and comfort. With a smile, Elsa began to sing a lullaby, to both sooth her sister and her baby.
In a flash of light, Guinevere and Ranger landed in front of Elsa's ice castle, the closest they could get to Arendelle without being spotted.
Ranger shuttered as he got over the effects of how Guinevere liked to travel. He could fly, but that… That was just too much. After taking a moment. He turned to his new companion "thanks, he told her, before going over to the edge of the cliff.
Miles below, he could see Arendelle, shining like a beacon in the afternoon sun. He didn't know what was going on down there, but he had to stop Ivar before he set foot in the town he once called home.
"Guinevere." He said as the young woman walked next to him. "Go to the castle. Tell Elsa that she is in danger. Get her to evacuate."
Guinevere looked at him, frowning. If she had anything to say she kept it to herself. This fight that Ranger was in, with the Ridgefellian king; it wasn't her fight, but she would help him the best she could "what are you going to do?"
Ranger said nothing instead looking at the horizon. Guinevere had seen that look many times before "you're going to go to war?"
Ranger's face twisted into a snarl, as flames crept up his arms. "That son of a bitch brought the war to us." He said grimly.
After this, everything will start coming together. Guinevere Ingrid and the Coronan monarchs will converge and confer with Elsa, Ranger will go to confront Ivar once again, and war will begin. As well, the REAL villain and the reasons behind Rangers actions will be revealed soon. As always leave your thoughts feelings and ideas. Till then!