Sorry it took so long guys. I'm sick and I've had work all night. BLARG.
Thanks to all the reviewers: emilyparrish, Livia Toric, lovinglovexx, Lord Edric, RawrrIt'sMe, Breezy2319, Cassy, Steadymouth. Wildmind, freezeon98, Allliiiyyya, and EmiliaKyuchi.
"Unbelievable." Jack murmured in shock. Rizpah's face shifted rapidly in between shock, to worry, to anger, and finally to uncertainty. She took a shuddering breath.
"So this isn't normal?" She asked, wincing hard.
Jack and Elsa shared looks.
"Honey, nothing's 'normal'. We've only ever had a couple to test theories, but all of the times were different. We didn't see Hiemdall's powers until he was two!" Elsa chuckled, looking at her eldest son.
"But, on the flip side on either side, Azura was making frost patterns on her crib five months or so after she was born. Then we had Berlio, and we feared that we we wrong about the hair because he didn't show a smidgen of powers until he was six." Jack reassured, "But this...is...hmm..." He studied the child with calculating eyes.
"We were so confused with his hair. Bright, bright orange!" Rizpah murmured, "Now, I suppose...Well? Do you think he'll injure himself with this? It's different than winter magic!"
"Unlikely." Elsa assured, patting her niece's back, "We are immune to the most freezing of temperatures, and never have we given ourselves or others like us frostbite. I understand your concern though, but to be honest, this is new for all of us. These are only guesses of course." She added hastily.
Jack was at the eye level of the three week old. "Hey, Raiden? Wanna show Uncle Jackie your fire?" He asked, and Rizpah winced.
"Should you encourage him?" She hissed.
"He can't hear me." Jack rolled his eyes. There was a knock on the door.
"Must be Hugo. He's unaware; I just sent for him after it happened." Rizpah sighed, "Mother will be with him."
THe door opened without waiting for anyone to let them in, and two people rushed inside. Jack still glared at Hugo distrustfully, and Elsa tried not to as well, but was clearly failing as Rizpah grunted and nudged her. She touched Jack's shoulder, and he grumbled, retreating his gaze.
Yet, Anna seemed comfortable around him, and she was the most likely to have hated him. If Anna trusted him, then they must, Elsa had told Jack at Rizpah's wedding.
"He's still the son of that no good coward Hans." Jack growled, "Who knows what lies he's been fed his whole life?"
The first thing that Hugo had said was sincere, when he had been introduced a little over two years ago as the man Rizpah had been hiding (and clearly for good reason), "I am not my father." The finality of his voice had at least paused the pair from making hasty assumptions.
So far, he had done nothing to prove it wrong otherwise. In fact he had almost totally severed connections to his family back home, as his father greatly disapproved of the marriage.
Elsa also had to say she'd never seen Rizpah so pacified. The blush that crept up her cheeks whenever he was around was unusual. "Who would have thought the girl who broke my nose as children would be my wife?" He had said casually one night after the wedding, when he was taking time with the family, "Then again, I was unhealthily obsessed with her after that! Mortified, really. My uncle was no help. I began working out and in my mind, I was going to punch her right back the next time I saw her." Rizpah giggled.
"You wouldn't have been able to, even if I had given you the chance." She teased.
"Quite right. She threatened me again, and knocked me on my butt. I realized in that moment perhaps it was better to be friends than enemies, frankly I was getting tired of the bruises that appeared every time I visited Aredelle, so that's what happened. And then friends turned into...this." He said finally, his fingers linking with Rizpah's.
Elsa had to admit she was very happy with the people her family were marrying, as she heard Hugo talk. Five couples sat around the table, all young and joyful with no pressing issues other than young children and delicious wine, and she yearned for those days. Those had been happy days with Jack, the nights they spent with Kristoff and Anna near a roaring fire. Sure, there had only been four instead of ten, yet it was comforting. Now, she felt strange watching the new generation do the same thing in the same room, and took her leave, so she never heard Rizpah's side of the story.
Now, not long later, Jack and Elsa were explaining Raiden's condition the best the could to the grandmother and father.
"We only know ice magic, and we feel we know it personally." Jack was saying with an edge of arrogance, "Yet fire magic? I've never come across a summer spirit. Heard of them, but we run in different circles. Had it been earth or water, the two season spirits I have upset on occasion, it may be different."
"He won't hurt himself, will he?" Hugo asked the same thing Rizpah did.
"We are doubtful of that. Yet, I would watch him. He very likely will not hurt others if he is not taught to controll it. The best way, we have learned through experience, is by teaching him not to be afraid of it." Elsa said gently.
"Afraid? It's fire! It's dangerous." Hugo exclaimed.
"As is ice. Both can kill and neither is a comfortable way to leave this earth." Jack said icily.
Hugo sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "I just...why us?"
"Why Elsa?" Anna spoke for the first time, "As far as we know, which is very little, Elsa was the first one in the family tree ever to be born as she is, but now has passed it on." She said logically, and Elsa nodded to her in agreement.
"Take it as luck and be proud." Jack said, "Perhaps, we should leave them with him." He said, "Anna?" He asked when his sister-in-law didn't move.
"I'm coming." Anna said after a moment of breaking from a daze, "Wine? Please?" She asked her elder sister pleading.
"Wine would be...helpful." Elsa agreed, wandering in front of both of them to the kitchens.
"I should get Kristoff. No reason to leave him out. He'd be furious if he found we opened a bottle and didn't invite him." Anna said, turning down a corridor with a laugh.
"Same with Gavner. He needs to get away from the papers, and have some fun for once." Jack decided.
"He did when he was younger, or do you not recall?" Elsa asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Since he turned old, he turned boring." Jack said, scrunching his nose in disgust.
This promptly left Elsa alone to sit in the kitchens. Since it seemed to be turning into quite the affair, and hardly into the afternoon as it was, she pulled out a gift wine from a trading country along with some cheese and crackers and a bushel of grapes. She popped one into her mouth. She took out the nice wine glasses and set them at the table, and kindled the fire.
"This is quite a show." Gavner said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"It's quite needed." Elsa said, and Jack twined his arm around her waist, and kissed her cheek like he had when they were young.
"Agreed. I'll be first to take a glass," Jack says with a grand gesture, un-popping the cork, "Ah Gavner? Half glass, like usual?" He asked with a turn.
"I know it's the good stuff, Jack. Don't be stingy." He lectured his friend, and let out a wheezing laugh. Kristoff and Anna came in a moment later, and Anna took controll of the bottle seeing that Kristoff and Jack were having a 'man battle' to see who got the most. Anna's eyes were sharp and even as she dolled out each glass.
"To be fair." She said when Kristoff grumbled at her.
Jack was about to drink when Gavner stopped him. "A toast! A toast!" He cried.
"We have to." Anna agreed, "To..." She thought.
"To those we have gained," Kristoff said with a small smile, looking at everyone and out the door, as if to the husbands, wives, and children of their once small family. Gavner finished.
"And to those we have lost." His voice hitched, and Elsa stifled a sobbed sigh.
Of course, there was Eira and Nevada. Eria was at least now on good terms, and she was happy for her daughter, even if she had to go through all the trouble to achieve it. With Nevada, she had a large falling out with Neela shortly after she returned from the trip, no matter how hard she tried to make it work, yet it had to be accepted that she may never see Jack again, because she had lost every faith. A year after her return, she had left with her fiancee to his home, and was married.
Of course, Elsa didn't expect all her children to stay in the castle their whole lives, although she half-hoped the would. There was more than enough space for privacy and to raise families, and she loved having them around. She had lost two? How many more would she lose?
Gavner's shoulders heaved and she realized he had it worse. While he had lost Kai like they had lost Eira, Elsa was lucky enough to not have to bear a death. It had been Elira, who had hidden the pregnancy so well. Heimdall seemed to have known, and was greatly troubled by it, even though the circumstances of the conception were still a great mystery. No one had known until she'd gone into labor, and it had been bad. Yet her daughter was unharmed, and seemingly so was Elira until that night when she had passed due to complications unseen quietly. She had left a note, as if feeling her demise coming, saying that Heimdall and Aoife were the godparents, and not to expect the father to show himself. That wasn't for lack of try around the village, but Gavner was left raising Andica alone after that, when no one came forward.
It was a drifter maybe, or a married man, Jack had guessed. Either way it had left the whole castle in a state of black clothing for many months, and Gavner's hair grew more silver.
"Yes. To those lost and found." Anna agreed, pulling Elsa from her memories. She smiled and five glasses clinked.
If only everything was so simply summed up with a toast.
So there was a shorter little attack of what everyone's been doing, mostly around two of the characters you all seem to dislike and wonder about the most. Mah prom's tomorrow, so I'll probably be updating rather early in the day instead of late at night, since it goes until 3 AM. Yay!
Names:
Raiden (REHE-den): Japansese. Means thunder and lightning. Raiden is the god of thunder and lightning in Japanese mythology. His name comes from rai (thunder), and den (lightning) or jin (god).
Andica (an-Dee-kah): Greek. Means warrior. A Hungerian nickname for Andrea.
Also, here's Eira's final and fourth child- a girl with ice powers. Thankfully she had her last, because by the time there was white hair, Eira has grown up and has accepted that it's part of her family, and that her daughter will be beautiful. Here's her name.
Ainra (ah-EEN-rah): Swahili. Means eternal power.
In other news, I'm watching a TV show called Misfits and there's Future Simon and Alisha and I literally just fangirled all over and ALKASFJLKAJFLKSJSALKFJASH! Seriously, if you can stand all the sexual jokes and swearing, it's been a while since I've met such deep and complicated characters and I just MOAR! But I'm sick...so I should really go to bed...yeah...
Read and Review y'all.