"Oh…!" Iduna's screams caught in her throat as the dagger pierced through the specter's core and a little into her back, before unconsciousness at last claimed her and her head hit the floor.

"Iduna! No, no…." A horrified Agnarr hurriedly pulled the dagger out (with the black sphere still stuck on it) to check on her. Fortunately the wound wasn't deep, but the fact that he just made her bleed like this made him want to stab himself.

Then the most horrid shriek he had ever heard slapped his eardrums, and his gaze turned upwards to see the Nightmare Spirit, cut off from its host and its core impaled, literally thrash about in the air as its form began to crumple and dissipate in smoke. At the same time all the soldiers around them crumpled to the floor as banshees rose out of them, screaming in terror as their bodies began to vanish as well.

"I… what? Your Majesty!" To his credit, it was the Captain of the Guard who first regained its senses, hurriedly rushing over to the King as he sat dazed beside an unconscious Iduna. "What had just happened? We saw the Nightmare Spirit bewitching you and… this girl…?"

"Spare your questions for later, Captain; get her to the infirmary first!" Ordered Agnarr, forcing the King voice into him again as he shakily rose up again. In truth he was drowning in exhaustion and grief, and would have wanted nothing more than to sit right there by Iduna's side, but it was time for him to be a King again.

He was getting better at putting up a show, somewhat to his chagrin.

The Captain looked as if he wanted to argue, but then the Nightmare Spirit let out yet another agonizing scream. Everyone looked up in time to see the specter's form completely melt into the air, finally defeated for good.

"Your Majesty!"

"Kai! Gerda!" Cried Agnarr as he saw the two young servants all but rolling into the throne room.

"By heavens, that girl really did it!" Exclaimed Kai as he beheld his King with wonder and joy evident on his face. Then his gaze fell to Iduna as a soldier hurriedly carried her limp body to the infirmary. "What happened, your Majesty? Is she alright?"

"I hope so," whispered Agnarr, meaning his words more than he ever did in life. "… what about the kingdom, Kai? How long was I… in this state?"

"For a couple of days," replied Kai with a frown. "And as for what's been going on… you might want to see for yourself."

CLANG!

The Mist Knight let out a furious hiss as his sword clashed against the Drowned Wraith's anchor yet again, the shock of the impact almost throwing him off his horse. The heavyweight water creature proved itself a formidable enemy, but he was a Knight and refused to lose against a brainless brute without a shred of dignity. The ferocity of their duals was such that no citizen of Arendelle, who were busy fighting for their freedom against the other magical creatures, dared to intrude.

The Mist Knight was a peculiar brand of spirit; he hadn't always been a personified natural phenomenon, and even now, after he had left his mortal days far behind, there were some human values he still stubbornly clung onto: chivalry and honor.

Chivalry was what made him answer to Iduna's calls at the Dark Sea, for how could a knight turn away a lady's plight? And it helped that she was a friend of kind spirits, on top of being brave, respectable and warm-hearted; if he still had a face, it would have smiled at the thought of her.

While it bothered the Mist Knight greatly that she was to face the Nightmare Spirit alone, he respected her wishes, instead volunteering to create the right amount of distraction for her quest to succeed. The gargoyles were the more senseless and volatile of spirits, but they were also easy to inspire and provided just what they all needed.

"…!" The Drowned Wraith bellowed as it threw its anchor at the air spirit again. With a grunt of irritation the Mist Knight raised his sword to parry it again – only to hiss in confusion as the weapon passed straight through his body as if it was made out of smoke.

The creature seemed just as baffled as he was, until it looked down on itself and noticed that its entire body was rapidly fading. Looking around the Mist Knight saw that the same was happening to the harpies and the Tunnelers summoned by the Nightmare Spirit, which could only mean one thing: Iduna had succeeded in her mission.

He was too much of a spirit now to feel intense emotions, but he still felt a rush of pride for the young lady. She had braved the stormy seas to find her destiny, and now had overcome an army of magic beyond her powers to save the ones she loved. He was a knight, but she was a greater hero than he could ever hope to be.

By now the Arendellians had realized that their harassers were gone, and were cheering and celebrating and hugging each other – except the ones who were eyeing the Mist Knight, the gargoyles and the Morphling warily.

The air spirit's steed let out a snort at the dubious gazes, but he understood. These people were not used to have spirits meddling with their affairs, and sometimes it was just best to leave the humanfolk settle things for themselves.

As the Mist Knight turned around to face his fellow spirits, he briefly glanced back to see the rising sun washing its light over the Arendelle castle, and thought of the girl who had brought him here. He felt a little unruly for leaving now without bidding the lady farewell, but she would know that her friends, including himself, would be there for her whenever she called upon them.

"…!" Noticing the Sylph and the Will O' Wisp slipping out of the castle to join him, the Mist Knight let out a shriek of triumph as he raised his sword high in the air. The gargoyles followed suit as they took to the air, while the Morphling simply dove into the nearest pool and disappeared.

The other spirits took to the air as well, leaving the citizens to wonder why they had helped them in the first place – with no idea that it was the wit and courage of a small Northuldra girl that had saved the kingdom of Arendelle that day.

"Am I supposed to feel a sense of déjà vu here?" Complained Agnarr as he lay on the infirmary bed, having servants and nurses fretting over him as if he'd just gone through a fit.

"With all due respect, your Majesty, you haven't eaten or slept for three days," deadpanned Kai from his side. "Even counting out the fact that you've been haunted by that wretched ghost during the whole time, you're in a terrible shape. Rest is what you need."

"More than someone who'd just been stabbed in the back?" Retorted Agnarr as he shot a glance at the bunk next to him where Iduna lay sleeping, topless except for the bandages wrapped around her torso. Though it was necessary at the time, Agnarr felt pain ripping through his every fiber every time he was reminded that he did that to her.

"Of course we'll do everything we can for her as well," replied Gerda with an understanding smile, though it was tainted later by a hint of worry in her voice: "Except… well."

"Except?" Asked Agnarr with one eyebrow raised, prompting her to elaborate.

"It's… you know everyone had been wondering about why Iduna disappeared," spoke up Kai with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Most of the kingdom already knows that she's back, and are mostly happy to have her back… but there are some who'd been making… well, bad connections about her and the trouble with the spirits."

Agnarr understood the hidden implications in his words a little too quickly, feeling a surge of anger course through his blood in a roar.

"They're accusing Iduna for what happened?" Snarled the young King, with such venom in his voice that Gerda flinched in surprise. "Are they mad? She's the one who SAVED everyone, including me! That doesn't make any sense!"

"Sometimes people listen to gossip more than logic," replied Kai gravely.

"Then I'll show them logic," fumed Agnarr as he turned to look at Iduna's face again. While sleeping her strong will and outgoing nature were briefly hidden underneath, replaced by a sense of tranquility and content that made him want to stare at it forever.

"In fact…" added the young King, as a crazy idea began formulating in his head. "I'll show them gossip too, if that's what they want."

Kai and Gerda only exchanged a glance at each other in confusion. Afterwards, however, after Agnarr explained to them what he would do, they left the infirmary smiling.