A/N: I promised this chapter would be even more intense than before, so here you go. Enjoy!
The darkening clouds had completely blotted out the sun by now.
The deluge was boon to the Snow Queen and punishment for the Warlock; the jet of fire shooting from his arms dissipated little by little, until nothing remained to oppose the cold blast sent forth by the Snow Queen. In a flash, the Warlock was frozen solid in his place; first his torso, then his limbs and extremities.
Even the fire giant did not last long; it let out a deafening howl and was extinguished. Its remains crumbled like mud in a flood.
Cheers erupted from the side of the Southern Isles, who witnessed the absolute advantage now held by the Snow Queen.
Elsa let out a gasp and gulped a few breaths of fresh air. She waved a hand and the snow golems slowly dematerialized. Taking slow, cautious steps closer towards the Warlock, the Snow Queen inspected the icy bindings that were now pinning him in his place. The rain was relentless, but the ice would endure.
She did not freeze his head; she had no reason to, now that the battle had been won. She was no murderer.
"Magister Ghish," Elsa called, "our battle is over. You have lost." Her azure eyes met his, detecting defiance still in it. "Surrender now and leave this land with your soldiers, and never return. Then I shall spare you."
There was almost sympathy in her voice. After all, it was not solely because of her power that he was defeated. Nature itself defeated him.
But what surprised her was his reply.
"You? Defeated me?" Ghish laughed. "A mere human, claiming to have conquered me? That is nothing but a pitiful cry of a creature made of conceit."
Elsa kept silent, and secretly reinforced the frost bindings that restrained the Warlock. His figure was all but helpless, but what was this uneasiness that kept gnawing at her? It felt as if she couldn't rest easy so long as he still drew breath.
"You know nothing. If you had known, then you would not dare speak to me with such a tone," Ghish spat, the icy chain still holding him in place.
"Am I to take this as your refusal to surrender, Magister?" Elsa asked, her steely eyes baring into the Warlock's.
"Indeed. I shall-"
The Warlock could not finish his sentence; he was now fully frozen from head to toe.
Elsa summoned cold particles onto her right hand and blew them with a kiss. The icy particles scattered into the storm and seemed to amplify her voice.
"Soldiers of Nordgard, the battle is over!" she announced. "Magister Ghish is defeated. Take him and withdraw now, and you will still have a chance to save him."
There was a stir in the Nordgardian ranks. Elsa knew she just needed one more push before this is all over.
"I repeat, the battle is over. Withdraw now or-"
This time, it was Elsa who did not get to finish her words. The icy prison that held the Warlock in place was shattered. There stood again the man of flames, with intense heat surrounding him even in the downpour.
But he was not standing.
No, he was levitating. His features now changed as well, what was a head full of fiery golden hair now set ablaze. Literal flames engulfed his eyes, scalp, brows, and hands. Even his clothes now seemed on fire.
"Pitiful child," The Warlock laughed, his voice now seemed to echo in every direction. "You think a mere drizzle could stop me? You will see… now."
The heat surrounding the Warlock was unlike anything Elsa had just experienced. A colossal pillar of fire erupted from where he floated.
Such was the intensity of the towering inferno that it reached the heavens and split it apart.
The darkened clouds that brought the torrential rain shattered, and a rain that was supposed to last for hours perished.
Elsa's eyes dilated with fear and confusion.
"I shall enlighten you what it means to oppose me. You will suffer… and… die."
With a flick of The Warlock's hand, the ground erupted from below Elsa's feet, launching her high into the air. Disoriented, the Snow Queen quickly regained composure. The impact has sent her hundreds of meters, nay, kilometers through the air from her previous position. A fall from this height and speed would mean certain death.
Calm down, Elsa, and think…!
A flash of brilliance, or perhaps madness. Maybe it was the near-death situation that made memory from early childhood resurface. Before the "accident". The one time she and Anna were playing with snow in the castle. When Anna climbed up her snow so high… and jumped. The act nearly made her collapse from the shock. But she was in time at that time, materializing a slide that caught Anna's body and drifted her harmlessly.
Instinctively, her mind began to draw on her geometrical knowledge to construct an image of a slide. The shape, the angle, they all formed easily in her conscious.
Elsa curled and twisted her body in mid-air so that she was facing upwards. The construct of ice manifested from below and caught her. Slowly but surely, she began to lose momentum. The gigantic slide of ice gently brought her back onto the ground.
Before she could draw a breath of relief, however, a bolt of fire struck from behind, very nearly hitting her.
The Warlock was already upon her, raining bolts of fire that she deflected with an icy shield. In response, The Warlock clenched his fist and brought it down. A gigantic flaming fist emerged through thin air and smashed Elsa's shield to pieces, sending her tumbling backwards.
Elsa tried to steady herself, but her strength was failing. Her head was dizzy. Her arms and legs were numb. And her breaths were painful.
The Warlock landed right before her. His features blazed, scorching the Snow Queen's skin as he took steps towards her. Dread crept up on her; with every step he took forward, her legs moved backwards unconsciously.
She called upon the cold element, sending a blast of cold and snow upon the Warlock. But it did little to slow down his approach. Her ice that could freeze any men solid in mere seconds was but a cool breeze to this monster.
"Ah… stay away… STAY AWAY!" Elsa shrieked, summoning another bolt of cold. But the Warlock swatted her hand and seized her neck. As soon as his skin touched hers, her insides burned. Elsa gasped for air, her consciousness wavering…
"Olaf!?" Anna shrieked. Before her, the snowman's body shimmered, snowflakes gently emanating from it.
"Huh? What is it, Anna?" Olaf looked up at Anna quizzically, apparently unaware of his predicament.
"Your body…!"
"Huh? …Oh! Oh… no…" Olaf sighed, finally understanding what was happening.
"What's happening?" Anna hurried over to Olaf and pulled him into a hug.
"It's Elsa, Anna," Olaf breathed heavily, forlorn. "I think… she's in danger…"
Anna cupped a hand onto her mouth, holding back a shriek. Tears threatened to fall down her eyes.
God, please, not Elsa… Please, God, don't let anything happen to her…
The burning sensation slowly dissipated, replaced by a jolt of pain as she landed on her sides.
Elsa coughed and gasped for air, clutching her neck. Tears of pain blinded her eyes, and her strength was very nearly exhausted.
"Merely human. Petulant mortal flesh," The Warlock spat. "Cursed… the moment you were born into this world."
The Warlock crouched before the now ragged Snow Queen and yanked her hair, bringing her face close to his.
"Who… what are you…?" Elsa whispered weakly. Her arms clasped on her abdomen, as if shielding it.
"It sickens me that you and I used to be mentioned in the same sentence. That you were one of us," Ghish growled.
"What… are you talking about…?"
"Looks like you have already forgotten. I expected as much." Ghish said, jerking Elsa's head by her hair. Elsa winced and slowly opened her eyes. Between her tears, she saw the flaming features of the Warlock were gone, reverted to his more humane one. "Very well, I shall humor you. It displeases me to harm one of us too, even when you are assuming this miserable form."
Ghish let go of Elsa's hair and turned his back on her.
"I have a confession you might be already aware of. I am not of Nordgard. Nor is my allegiance to them."
Elsa stared silently at Ghish's back, composing herself. The Warlock continued his monologue.
"They are merely a means to an end. A vessel to carry our true goal: the destruction of Arendelle."
The more ramblings that came out of the Warlock's mouth, the more incoherent the whole situation seemed to Elsa.
"Wait, our…? You mean, there are more of you? And what did Arendelle ever do to you?"
"A part of a past I'd rather forget, yet I cannot," Ghish hissed. "Yes, there are more of us. And you, Snow Queen, you used to be one of us. Our brethren."
Elsa's eyes widened.
"I was…? One of you?"
"Yes. Before all these mishaps happened. Ones that made you stuck in this pitiful shell." Ghish paused. "But I suppose this is too much for you right now."
The Warlock extended a hand towards Elsa.
"Join me," he said. Elsa stared at him in disbelief, but his expression was determined. "Join me and I shall tell you everything. What heavy sins Arendelle had committed against us. Even how to unlock your full potential once more. Join me, Snow Queen. Together, we shall destroy Arendelle, and reclaim what is ours."
Elsa needn't even think about it. The answer was clear.
"Never," she spat defiantly.
The Warlock slapped her, sending her reeling. Blood trickled from the side of her lip.
"I will ask a final time as a former comrade. Join me, or you will die right here, right now."
"No," Elsa said quietly, glaring into The Warlock's eyes. "I would never join the likes of you, who hold no regards for human life. No, I am the Queen of Arendelle and I am sworn to protect it. And I will do so… or die trying."
The next thing Elsa saw was the Warlock's face, its expression ever impasse, now distorted by pure rage. Swift as lightning, a kick came towards the direction of Elsa's stomach, whom reflexively defended with her arms.
"Looks like… I have to KILL...YOUR! BABY! FIRST!" Ghish screamed, raining down kicks upon Elsa's helpless body. "THIS! DISGUSTING! MORTAL! CREATURE! THAT IS! TAINTING! YOUR! EXISTENCE!" he punctuated each word with a kick.
Elsa kept her body curled in a fetal position as her limbs, back and sides absorbed the brunt of the blow meant for her child.
"It's okay… Mother… will protect you…" she whispered in her mind as her consciousness was dimming. She tightened her clutch on her stomach, as if reassuring the one inside that it was all going to be fine.
"Ah… how unbecoming of me… to be blinded by rage like a… human! Fine then… FINE!" Ghish yelled. "How about this? If you agree to follow me, I will spare Hans."
The Warlock smirked as Elsa once again opened her eyes to look at him. "Yes, your pathetic prince of a husband."
"What did… you do to him…?" Elsa breathed weakly.
"Nothing. He agreed on his own volition to serve us. All just to protect you."
"Protect… me…?"
"Yes!" Ghish laughed derisively. "He killed all those people, burned down all those towns and castles, for what? None other than you! How miserable, like a juvenile child having illusions about love!"
Anger started to creep upon Elsa, numbing the pain that was searing all over her. She stared daggers at the Warlock, who happened to catch her glare.
"There it is… Love," he scoffed. "A feeble construct of humanity, who once said to hold great power… yes, even over magic. How laughable." He turned his back on her again.
"A shame you weren't there to witness his visage when I told him about this attack. He was like a toddler that just had his toy taken from him, crying and begging. And when I burned his heart? He crawled upon the ground like the insect he is!"
"You… what…?" Elsa growled. The cold slowly reemerged, embracing her, reinforcing her. Yet the Warlock was too absorbed on his gloating to notice.
"I burned his heart!" Ghish repeated, cackling. "Watching the pathetic miscreant gasping for air was such-"
A spear of ice pierced the Warlock squarely on his heart. And then two. Three. Four, until no fewer than ten had skewered him all over the neck, arms, and legs. His broken figure looked fleetingly like an old, desolate marionette.
Breathing heavily, Elsa squinted at her fallen enemy, her hand still outstretched. As soon as she dropped her hand, violent nausea assaulted her. She coughed furiously and covered her mouth with her hands, trying desperately to hold back the vomit that threatened to gush out of her. She stared at her shaking hands. They were spotless, but to her they looked as if they were coloured in deep, disgusting red.
She just killed a man. Monster or not, he was a living, breathing human being. And she just killed him.
She tried to reassure herself that it was a necessity. That if she didn't end his life, he would end hers. And those she held most dear. Yet the nausea refused to go away. It took a good five minutes of deep inhaling and exhaling and attempting to empty her mind that Elsa finally managed to steady her breath. Slowly, she poured her remaining strength to her feet and stood up.
A foul mixture of emotions swept over her. Relief and panic. Comfort and disgust. All raged on as she continued to stare at Ghish's lifeless body.
This foul feeling, she would carry it on for the rest of her life. But at the very least, it's all over… at last…
"Weak."
Elsa's pupils dilated. The Warlock's body twitched and stirred. Icy spears still protruding, it slowly twisted and turned into an unnatural standing position. The crimson eyes once again bared at her.
"Feeble mortal," Ghish growled, pulling out an ice spear on his chest, his left shoulder, and then his right thigh. "The true power of the elements does not course through your veins."
There was no blood; and in the place of the gaping wounds were… fire. The air scorched. The Warlock's eyes and hair now set ablaze as he approached Elsa.
"Yet, you still try… How DARE YOU STRIKE ME!?" The air kept scorching more and more intensely. The Warlock's hands glowed red. The ground where he treaded, burned. The earth was shaking violently. "You will regret… being born useless… and human! I shall give you despair… and… death!"
Elsa glared at the warlock steadfastly. Escape was not an option. She needed to stand her ground or die. Calling the cold element once again, she readied herself for the last stand.
A titanic blast of flame erupted through the Warlock's fingers. A conflagration so colossal it could probably burn down a mountain.
Against it, Elsa conjured an icy shield. A concentrated defensive power, one far stronger than anything she had ever made. It met the brunt of the Warlock's fire and stood unyielding against it.
Yet the difference between their vitalities was clear. Gradually, the shield of frost started to lose its sturdiness. Bits of flame started to singe Elsa's hair and clothes. Her powers could not maintain the shield for long. Her consciousness wavered.
Hold on!
The voice jolted Elsa back to reality. "Who is that?"
Hold on as long as you can! They're coming!
"Who are you?"
Did you forget? We are one, always and forever!
"Hans…? No, El…sa?"
Yes! Just hold on for a little more!
"I… can't. I'm not strong enough…"
Yes, you are! Arendelle! Anna! Hans! Your baby! They all need you! Be strong, Elsa!"
With renewed vigor, Elsa reinforced the icy dome that was protecting her. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Four. Five…
Finally, her strength gave in. Her vision blurred. Her legs gave away. The frost shield was burned away…
SPLOOSH!
Strange… the fire, it wasn't hot at all. No, it was a slightly wet sensation, followed by a comfortable breeze. Perhaps this was what the afterlife felt like?
"Bruni! … You…! We will not…!"
A woman's voice. Or was it a man's…? She couldn't make out the words. Nor anything else. All was dark…
Hans… Anna…
A/N: Well, sorry. I promised asskicking last chapter, but Ghish was just too strong. Guess we have to wait a while until we can have that payback. :(
Another interesting point in this chapter is how I think Elsa would react to killing, as opposed to Hans. While Hans has already had Elsa's influence, so he's not a complete monster, I think deep down he's still got that sociopathic tendencies. In contrast, I feel that Elsa's more "normal" compared to him. Yay? Or nay?
Speaking of Hans, we will see what happened to him in the next chapter. Stay tuned!
As always, reviews, faves and follows are appreciated. Discussions are welcome; please post it in the reviews and I will respond when I can!
