Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was a little hard to write, particularly the en, but some inspiration came from it thanks to one my reviewers SoraRules who expressed disappointment with the sour tone this story has taken and rightfully so considering this is a fic based on a Disney movie. So a scene in this chapter helps alleviate some of that, or going into more detail with Elsa's feelings toward Ranger.
Please enjoy!
Ivar, his cold gaze filled with nothing but vengeance, gazed at the kingdom of Arendelle in the distance. The sun was setting, illuminating the sky with a brilliant red light, no doubt a prelude to the war that Ivar was looking to instigate. The journey had been long, but the young King had no desire to stop now. He would draw his father's murderer out by taking what he loved by force.
His army had set up camp near the base of the north mountain, on the side opposite to that of Arendelle. It would take no more than a few hours to reach the border of Arendelle and even then, that would only be a formality. It wouldn't even take that long to conquer Arendelle, much less claim it as a subsidiary of Ridgefell. Elsa might have her powers but she lacked the skill and conviction to successfully repel in invading army. Once she had surrendered to him, he would kill her supposed Fiancé and satisfy the bloodlust that fueled him
Ranger had humiliated him in battle several weeks before and Ivar was looking forward to repaying him in kind. After his recovery, he began training harder pushing his limits to the point where he felt he could take on the King of Asgard himself.
As Ivar sat in his tent looking in the distance, one of his most trusted generals, General Tor, entered the tent with a perplexed look on his face. "My King" he began, a slightly fearful edge to hi tone, likely to what he feared the young King would do, yet there was also a sense of relief, an accomplishment to his tone.
Glancing at his commander, Ivar growled out "what is it General?" almost spitefully as if he was annoyed with the interruption.
Clearing his throat, the aged general quickly responded, "Your Majesty, several scouts have returned from their missions, and they have reported to seeing a lone figure heading directly for our location. The scouts report that he was wearing Arendellian armor.
Ivar stood up so fast the general was shocked that he hadn't had whiplash, or even stranger wasn't already running out of the tent like an Asgardian evading Ragnarok. "Where is he!" Ivar roared, no doubt letting his eagerness for battle get the better of him in the moment.
Tor flinched ever so slightly, unnerved by his King's demeanor. Having known Ivar since he was a child, it alarmed Tor that the young newfound king was being "The scouts report that he is less than a days walk away from here sir; he should be here by…"
No" Ivar interrupted "This is a man with the power to wipe out an entire city within minutes with the powers of hell alone." Ivar growled, knowing full well what could happen. If Ranger fought with his entire Army, Ivar would lose the only advantage he had. By facing him alone in combat, Ivar would not only be able to distract Ranger, but also break him. That was the key to Ivar's victory.
"Lead your army around the North mountain and take Arendelle by surprise" Ivar commanded Tor "I will deal with the lone assassin my self."
Tor's eyes widened, and he immediately began to argue "but my King!" he started "surely you can't go alone!" he told his King, worried for his safety (and secretly, his sanity)
Ivar walked right up to his General and backhanded him across the face "THAT IS AN ORDER GENERAL!" he roared with authority, before turning to the table where the map of the region lay before him. He pulled out his dagger "I will take ARENDELLE!" he yelled, piercing the part of the map where Arendelle was located. "I will HAVE my REVENGE," he howled with rage, before ripping the dagger off of the table. Without another word he stormed out of the tent and left the camp alone to confront his nemesis
General Tor on the other hand was not quite as unconcerned. Secretly he had a few of his troops follow the paranoid and obsessed King. Ivar might be a great warrior, but it was Tor's duty to protect the king, regardless of any orders that the King gave him.
Meanwhile, not far from the shores of Arendelle, the Midnight Aurora was on it way out to sea, barely a few miles away from the once populated town that made up the heart of Arendelle. As one could expect from this scenario, it left most of the passengers on this rather dull 'vacation' in a rather depressed and pessimistic view particularly about the future of Arendele itself.
At the center of it all was Elsa, who couldn't help but stand on the deck of the ship, gazing wistfully at her former home as it shrank in the distance with each passing moment. She honestly didn't know what was worse. The fact that she was abandoning her home, or the fact that it all could have been avoided, if she just hadn't been blinded by her love for the person responsible for it all.
She wouldn't have minded abandoning Arendelle to protect other by going into exile, having done so when her powers were revealed, but not at the expense of leaving Arendelle a ghost town and monarch less, let alone defenseless against the inevitable takeover it would now be facing. The only good thing to come out of it was that most if not all of her people were escaping the carnage with the assistance of the few guards that were helping in the evacuation or the guards that would be arriving by the end of the day to defend Arendelle, courtesy of the Corononan monarchs. If anything she was happy that her people, and most of all, her family was safe.
Given the large amount of troops that Frederic had sent, it would make sense that they were a bit behind the king in order to get time to mobilize the forces necessary for war, but Elsa felt angry with herself tat she couldn't do more to help, even with the ice creatures that she created to assist the townspeople (a couple dozen Marshmallow copies were sure to help, but in the grand scheme of things, she wasn't sure that would stop an army the size or Ridgefell.) she wanted to stay and fight, but in the end Anna's and the children's safety was more important. Hell even Kristoff wanted to fight, but he was no warrior. He as well as Olaf Sven and Stella were waiting with Anna, helping her through the day with the twins, until they arrived in Corona where they would be safe until the battle was over, for however long it would take.
Suffice to say it disgusted Elsa that she was abandoning her home to be left in the hands of troops that she would not even be able to command.
Her hands tightly gripped the railing of the ship her anger and anxiety freezing the wood almost to the point where if Elsa just clenched her fists, they would break.
"Did the wood do something to offend you dear?" a soft motherly voice cooed slightly behind Elsa, causing the young woman to jumped and whirl around to see the Coronan Queen standing behind a sad smile on her face.
Elsa blushed, realizing that what she was doing wasn't really befitting of a Queen, but of course no one could blame her. Then again she wasn't really a Queen anymore was she?
Elsa sighed, waving her hand to remove the ice from the wood, before she let her shoulders fall and she curled her hands into fists forcing her head up so she could look Arianna in the eye. "How did you do it?" she asked her voice cracking with sadness.
Arianna blinked, surprised by the question. "Do what?" she asked, taking a step towards Elsa.
Elsa folded her arms, in an effort to seem stoic and composed, despite the fact that internally, she was breaking. "How did you deal with the fact you lost the most precious thing in the world to you?" she asked, her voice coming out slightly spiteful, because while Arianna knew Elsa's plight, Arianna also had hope where Elsa had none.
The light in Arianna's eyes darkened slightly as she recalled the loss of her daughter, an event that only recently was healed "I didn't." she whispered, stepping closer to Elsa once again. "I broke down every day just hoping and praying. I tried to move on in my life, but not day went by where I didn't think of my daughter…." She told Elsa.
"Hope" Elsa echoed, before looking down.
Arianna on the other hand placed a finger under Elsa's chin and raised the younger woman's head up so that she could look at her in the eye "Elsa…" she said "talk" the command came out more like a suggestion and it was with that one simple word that Elsa broke down. She threw her arms around the Queen and started sobbing like a baby. Arianna just held the young woman, trying her best to comfort her like a mother to her child. Ironic considering Idun had been such a good friend in her youth. Even more so since Ingrid was currently back in Arendelle, covertly using her powers to aid her kingdom, instead of here being the family to Elsa that she could be
"I just don't understand… This is my entire fault. If I hadn't." Elsa wailed, her words hampered by her sobs.
"Elsa" Arianna chided gently, running her hand down Elsa's back "you saved your family, that's what's important here."
Did I?" Elsa spat sadistically, surprising even herself at the venom in her tone. "If I hadn't… fallen for… HIM" she explained "I wouldn't be running from my home."
Arianna pulled away from Elsa, slightly confused at first, but then she realized what Elsa was talking about. Arianna had heard what happened to Anna, as Elsa had told her what had happened during the initial evacuation. Arianna knew it wasn't her place to question what happened in Elsa's kingdom, but it was clear that it was eating away at Elsa's conscious.
Elsa pulled away from the elder queen and turned around, wiping her tears before she continued. "I loved him Arianna, and he betrayed me." She couldn't hide the bitterness in her tone, no matter how much she wanted to. She gazed down at the ring on her finger, the only reminder of her lover she had left, save for their children.
"How can I forgive myself for what I've done?" she asked "its my fault that this is happening" she sad wrapping her arms around herself as she normally did when under stress.
She turned back to the Queen, expecting an answer. The one she received however was not the one she was expecting.
"Is this about forgiving yourself, or about forgiving Brandr?" she asked, seeing right through Elsa's denial. Arianna had never forgiven herself for being unable to save Rapunzel, but she learned to live with it in time. Elsa had a different dilemma all together. Not only did she have to forgive herself, but she also had to forgive Brandr for what he had done and in both cases, it was a wound that would never heal.
Elsa looked down ashamed "how can I" she asked, "he raped my sister, and he never told me. He couldn't even give me an explanation. How can I forgive an action so cruel and so close to home?"
"Did you let him give you one?" Arianna asked gently. When Elsa didn't respond, Arianna continued "Elsa, from what you told me about him, Brandr seems to be a morally upstanding person. Damaged for sure, but not an immoral one. Did you not think that he is suffering for what he had done?"
Suffering? Of course he was suffering Elsa banished him herself. An act so cruel to him, that it was worse than death. It was an act Elsa could not bring herself to take because she still loved him. But she couldn't forgive him for what he had done.
"He has suffered enough in his life" Elsa responded finally, thinking of what Ranger had told her the night his powers were first revealed. "But what could I do?" she whispered
"Listen." Arianna began "and understand that perhaps what happened was not his fault. You know him, don't you? Could he really be so cruel as to hurt someone he loved, let alone the way he did?"
Elsa knew the answer to that question without needing to think. Of course he wasn't. But that didn't explain why he done what he did.
"You may not know it now Elsa." Arianna began before she turned away "but one day, you'll find it in you to forgive him, because I know wherever he is, he will forgive you as well." she said before walking away, leaving Elsa alone with her thoughts.
Guinevere had seen many things over the course of her journey since she began the trek from Greece many years ago, but she knew very little in preparing for the worst day in the history of a young kingdoms life that was threatened to be wiped from the history books because of the actions of one man. It was going to be a challenge to be sure, and while She was doing this as a favor to Ranger (and indirectly Ingrid, who was also running around the town) she couldn't help but feel a little sense of pity, not at the hopelessness at the situation, but at the fact that she was stuck outside of the action by helping others instead of tasting the thrill of battle that she longed for. Sure, she was getting paid wonderfully for this (or would once she got back to Corona) but her body was craving battle and no amount of gold could make up for that.
As Guinevere walked around the town looking for Ingrid to make sure she was ok, she looked up towards the north mountain almost shining brilliantly in the evening air like a beacon of light in the darkness.
As she stared at it though, she got a sickening feeling within the pit of her stomach. Ranger was still out there somewhere, and to her everlasting shame it bothered her. She had always lived by her strength alone but doing this, a service to help those les fortunate than her, left a bit of a bad taste in her mouth that she felt she just couldn't shake off.
"You want to go out there and help him, don't you?" said a voice behind her. Guinevere jumped, slightly startled by Ingrid, but turned to her with a slight scowl on her face "I hate it when you do that." she whined, but couldn't help but grin when she saw Ingrid smile "who do you think taught you dear?" Ingrid teased, causing both of them to laugh for a moment at the early days they had spent together.
But they quickly went back to being serious and Ingrid looked at the North mountain "Luka has always been determined, but even I don't know if he can save the world alone." Slightly fearful at what was going on in the distance. It seemed quiet, but they both knew that Ranger was doing something on that mountain at it wasn't bound to be good at all.
Guinevere looked at Ingrid, slightly surprised by the maternal instinct present in the elder woman's voice. Of course she was familiar with it, having known the woman for years but that didn't change the fact that she was surprised to find out that the woman acted like a mother to someone she had abandoned
"So why not help him instead of staying here? You're pretty handy in a fight you know." Guinevere asked folding her arms expectantly, as she also gazed at the North Mountain. Damn just looking at it made her tense.
Ingrid let out a soft chuckle as she stared at Guinevere "I'm to old to be fighting in a battle " she croaked with a bit of humor in her voice "why else do you think I brought you too help Luka?" she asked, giving the younger woman a knowing look.
Guinevere stiffened as she thought about Ingrid's words then her mouth curled into a rather evil grin "you manipulative witch" How could she not see it before? Ingrid wanted Guinevere to stay here, to help in the fight if she could. Which was exactly what she was asking for. Of course whether or not she would stay was a good question, but at the moment Guinevere couldn't be happier at the chance to be able to fight when the time came for it.
But right now Ingrid wanted her to get the people of this rather abandoned town to safety. Most were already gone, but there were still a few stragglers
"What are you going to do?" Guinevere asked Ingrid.
Before Ingrid could answer, there was a sudden deafening boom, followed by a strong wind, knocking them over from the force as the wind suddenly picked up from the explosion. The two women fell to the ground, startled. After a moment, Guinevere sat up, rubbing her head to dull the pain from landing on the cobblestone and happened to glance up at the North Mountain again and when she did her eyes widened in shock "uhhh Ingrid." She said slightly panicked. Ingrid pushed herself off the ground and sat on her knees, groaning out a harsh "what, before lifting her head to see what Guinevere was seeing. When she did, her jaw dropped
At the top of the north mountain, a large pillar of green light was towering above the horizon, reaching the sky and covering the sky in what appeared to be dark an ominous looking clouds.
A moment later a loud inhuman roar was heard from the epicenter and a large black hand reached out from the pillar of flames.
The next chapter will explain what happened before going into a rather fun chapter that I have been wanted to write or a while. Until then!