Chapter 35

Everyone had stayed outside, waiting for their return. Elsa looked horrible when M teleported back with her. Elsa was broken and empty, but at least she wasn't crying or creating a snow storm anymore. Concerned for their friend, everyone gathered around her at a safe distance, asking if she was alright and showing their support. Elsa may have been emotionally exhausted, but she tried to be composed and graceful as she said, "I'll be alright. Anna, what is the Northuldra's current situation?"

Anna signaled for the others to back a step back just in case. "I saw the survivors. They're still in the Enchanted Forest, but the only women among them were Yelena and Honeymaren which means they can't repopulate."

Elsa nodded, understandingly. After swallowing hard, Elsa said as professionally as she could, "There should be room enough in Arendelle for eleven more people."

"Are they going to be able to adjust to that?"

"I'll figure out how to make it work for them. Don't worry, Anna, I'll take care of this . . . as the reinstated queen." For her sister's sake, Elsa put on a weak smile. Her lips may have been trying to smile, but her eyes were lifeless. "Thank you all for your concern, but I'm going to be alright. If the rest of you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Jack . . . alone."

Elsa and Jack sat on the beach, gazing into the ocean. They sat at a safe distance so they wouldn't cover the beach in dark blue ice. After remaining silent for a time, Elsa said, "I spent seven years around those people. Now, most of them are gone. I feel for them; really, I do. But . . . you want to know why I feel guilty?"

"You shouldn't feel guilty," Jack insisted. "Anna was right; this isn't your fault."

"I know. That's not what I meant. I know it wasn't my fault they died. I feel guilty because I should feel worse."

It took Jack a moment to understand. But eventually he figured it out. "You're not going to miss them, are you?"

Elsa hesitated to answer. But she knew she could tell Jack anything. "I'm not. And I feel like I should. But, as I said earlier, 'I'll be alright.' Please understand, I am sad that they're gone, but I keep thinking to myself, 'I'm going back to my castle in Arendelle and I'll be much happier there than I was in a forest with them.' I know it's terrible, but I keep thinking, 'It could have been worse. It could've been people who I care more about.' And I shouldn't think that way."

Jack replied, "Elsa, what you're doing now is enough. It would be enough to empathize with people you barely like. It's going above and beyond to give the survivors a new place to live. It's okay that you're not going to miss them. Since we're being honest, I'm not going to miss them either."

Elsa still didn't think she should touch Jack, but she figured she could move a little closer.

Elsa and Jack didn't want to say it for fear of being disrespectful, but the Northuldra could be a frustrating people. Elsa never truly liked living in a forest. She didn't like sleeping in a tent or being so far away from the conveniences that Arendelle had to offer. Purple eyeshadow does not grow on trees. She missed Arendelle with its proper housing, brick streets, plethora of shops, and, most of all, people who didn't call themselves beneath the spirits. At first, the only real saving grace of living with the Northuldra had been Elsa's relationship with Honeymaren. But once they broke up, Elsa was left wonder what she liked about her life.

Elsa wouldn't even say it out loud as a joke, but the truth was, Elsa and Anna would benefit from the tragedy. Anna wouldn't have wanted to live in the Enchanted Forest either and with the Northuldra needing to leave, there was no reason she had to. After the war's end, Anna would be able to take the spirits to distant lands, but she would primarily live in Arendelle between her travels. That was exactly what Elsa wanted; for them both to live in the same place again; that place being Arendelle, their true home.

"So, you're going back to Arendelle to be queen," Jack recapped.

"I am."

"Yeah, I figured you were too fancy to live in a forest forever. You know what this means, right? When we get married, that will make me the king," Jack said with a smirk.

Elsa gave him a warm look, loving how he said "when" not "if."

Elsa said, "Kristof never really did much with the title. He wasn't interested in being king. But I'm sure someone who's lived as long as you has some wisdom to bring to the table."

"A little," Jack replied.

"And I'm sure a Guardian of Children will have insight for our laws concerning little ones."

"I have a few ideas. I won't be as good at all the royal stuff as you, though. And I'll still need to go on missions here and there with the other Guardians."

"Don't worry, I'll do all the ruling. You can be my glorified adviser."

"An adviser who gets to order everyone else around, right?" Jack asked.

Elsa rolled her eyes with a light chuckle. "Within reason, yes."

After the fairies magically made their repairs to the city, most the group prepared to leave through a portal. The only problem was that the earth giants were too big to fit through said portals, so Anna would have to lead them all the way while riding on the Nokk. Anna had asked M if she could teleport them, but she said that they were too big for her to do that. While the royals were staying in Atlantica, Ariel's husband, Eric had been in hiding. With Ariel about to leave, she asked him to return to the castle and handle matters in her absence.

Before Anna departed, it occurred to Merida to ask Anna, "Hang on. How did ya know to find us in Atlantica?"

While climbing onto the Nokk's back, Anna said, "I knew you went to Stephan's castle, so that's where we went first. Of course, all of you were gone, but Flora was there and she told me where to find you."

Snow White stepped forward and asked, "How was she doing? Flora was left in charge of Stephan and Hubert's kingdoms; is she managing well?"

Anna shrugged, uncertainly. "Everyone looked well enough to me; all things considered. I wasn't there long, but after what happened, I guess I'm surprised everyone was doing as well as they were."

Snow White took this as good news. "Perhaps King Stephan will have a worthy successor after all."

"I'll see you all in Corona. Don't have too much fun without me . . . again."

For such a small kingdom, Corona had a very large castle. It was easily bigger than the castles in Arendelle, Dunbroch, and the human section of Atlantica combined. The placement of this castle made it look even bigger than it actually was. It was at the highest point of an island connected to an outside land by a very long bridge. The castle was also surrounded by smaller houses of varying height, but all below the castle. The whole place, not just the castle was absolutely beautiful. The kingdom was bright and radiant. There was plenty of lush green around the houses. All around, there was an atmosphere of sunshine.

Rapunzel, Eugene, Elsa, Jack, Merida, Phillip, Fauna, Merryweather, Ariel, Snow White, and M arrived through a portal within the throne room. There, they found Rapunzel's parents, King Fredric and Queen Arianna. "Rapunzel!" her parents explained, rushing to her, concern in their eyes.

"We received Anna's letter. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mom."

Eugene stepped in and said, "The real question is, 'What are you two still doing here?' Didn't you read that the Enchantress is sending beasts to kill all royals? That includes you!"

King Fredric explained, "We are aware of the danger. That's why we have reinforced the guard and kept up a vigilant watch."

"That's your excuse? You'll just have the guards protect you?" Eugene asked. He pointed to himself and said, "Need I remind you that your captain of the guard has been away this whole time?!"

"Yes, well, in your absence, Lance has taken up much of your responsibilities."

"You put Lance in charge?! How has this place not burned down by now?!"

Merida gave Elsa a nudge to get her attention and whispered, "Who's Lance?"

"Eugene's best friend. They used to be partners in crime before they both reformed. He has since helped Rapunzel and Eugene in various adventures."

"Gotcha."

Rapunzel asked her parents, "Have there been any attacks here?"

"Not . . . really," Arianna replied uncertain of that statement's accuracy.

Fredric explained, "This might sound strange, but there were a few dead beasts found in the woods. Most of them matched the description given by Anna's letter. But whoever killed them never came forward to claim credit.

Rapunzel furrowed her eyebrows, intrigued. "They were killed before they even reacted the castle? Who would even know they were coming?"

"It sounds like you have a guardian angel out there," said Snow White.

"Did you get any clues from the bodies?" Phillip asked.

Arianna explained, "The bodies were . . . unusually damaged. They didn't look like they been stabbed with weapons. Their broken bones and torn skin had been hit with blunt force. One of their necks was snapped. A few of them had severed limbs, but they weren't cut off; they were ripped off. It seems as though whoever did this was using their bare hands." Many a jaw was dropped by this recount.

Eugene asked with amazement, "We have a guardian angel with super strength?!"

"Could this have been Red?" Rapunzel theorized.

Fredric said, "We asked and it wasn't her.

"Who's Red?" Merida whispered to Elsa.

"She's a werewolf."

"Got . . . huh?"

Rapunzel suggested that they wait until Anna arrived to take the grand tour of the castle. Surprisingly, Anna was there within the hour. Those spirits could move extremely fast. Once Anna arrived, Rapunzel showed the group around the castle. Unlike Ariel's castle, there were enough guest rooms for everyone to have their own. They had a few things to talk about before the hour became late. During this time, Elsa told Anna about the rest of the events she had missed. Elsa told her about the Undoing Relic, the events that reshaped Atlantica, who else had been turned into an emerald statue, and so on. Anna nearly exploded when she heard that Phillip and Merida had feelings for each other. Eventually, most of the group wanted to get some sleep a little earlier than usual; which was understandable considering they had been rudely awaken early by the Enchantress's attack and they had fought so many enemies.

Not too far away from Dunbroch, a young man put the latest mark on the wall, keeping track of how long he had been in his personal prison. He had been there for two solid weeks. At least it wasn't under the worst of conditions. His jailers they gave him three meals a day, a supply of books, (not that he read them) a comfy bed to sleep on, and, as long as he had a leash on his wrist, he got to go outside from time to time. The real hard part was thinking about his clan; especially his father. "They must all think I'm dead," he had thought countless times. The young man had no idea why his captors hadn't killed him. All he knew was that some Enchantress sent a Fergus-lookalike to kidnap him, hoping it would make clan Macintosh attack the royal family of Dunbroch. Why they needed him alive was beyond him. But he spent more thought wondering whether or not the scheme worked. It broke his heart to image his father leading an attack on their friends, thinking it was for his sake.

He was surprised to find a beast unlocked his door at a different time a day than they had up until this point. He hadn't called them to help with any kind of need he had, so their opening of the door was quit unexpected. "Has outdoors time been rescheduled?" Young Macintosh asked, no longer freighted by the beasts' appearance.

"No," the beast replied. "You are being released."

Young Macintosh couldn't believe his ears. "Released?" he repeated, daring to dream that he heard it right.

"That's right. Come this way."

The beasts lead him outside where he found the Enchantress. She turned to him and told Young Macintosh, "When I first brought you here, you remained alive so that I would have options of what to do with you. For a time, I considered coercing you into dismantling your clan. Or perhaps I would interrogate you for information I may have found useful. . . . But now you remain alive so that you can send a message for me."

Young Macintosh felt a sting of fear, but he didn't let that keep him from his defiance. "And why would I do any favors for the woman who turned my clan against Dunbroch?"

"You need not be so bitter about the state of Macintosh and Dunbroch. They have seen through my deceptions."

Young Macintosh would have been overjoyed, but he wasn't sure if she was telling the truth.

The Enchantress continued, "As for your motivation; you will do as you're told because you're afraid of my dragon."

"What dragon?" he wondered.

The Enchantress turned around, lifted her hand high, and beckoned for something to come near.

And then Macintosh saw it. A great, mighty dragon flew toward them. And when it landed, its wings blasted them with so much wind that Young Macintosh fell over. From the dirt, he looked up fearfully at the horrible creature. He had thought he'd become numb to the sight of monsters, but this was beyond any courage he could summon. The Dragon was large enough to swallow him whole. Its black scaled and long wings stretching far in either direction made it like the moon in an eclipse. Or at least it would have if not for the glow of its soulless green eyes and the yellow light spelling out of it mouth. Its curved horns and long tail gave it the appearance of a thing pulled from Hell.

"What is your bedding, my Enchantress?" asked the Dragon without moving its lips.

"You will take the boy to Corona after I've given him my message."

The Enchantress approached the whimpering Young Macintosh and held out a rolled up piece of paper. He took it and read it to himself. He asked, "You want to let them live, but only if they surrender and let you kill Queen Ariel?"

"That is correct. And you will deliver this message to Merida and her friends . . . because you're afraid of my dragon."

It was the day after their arrival in Corona and Phillip thought a walk might help his troubled mind. It was early enough to get away with it. Rapunzel had told everyone she would show them around the kingdom at noon; that was plenty of time and he could never get lost with the castle being visible where ever he would go. Phillip made it out the entrance and half way to the gate, but he was stopped when he heard that voice say, "Tryin to escape, are ya?"

Trying to act like nothing was bothering him, Phillip replied, "I wouldn't dream of abandoning the war."

"Wasn't takin about the war," she said, stepping closer. "Ya haven't been as comfy around me as ya used to be. I get feelin you let Aurora get in yer help the other day."

Phillip was shaken by the fact that they were actually going to talk about it. All he could manage to say was, "Well . . . its just . . . I don't . . ."

"Phillip, it alright. You didn't mean to pulverize me. It wasn't your fault."

"But still . . . You're . . . young . . . like Aurora is."

"Oi! I'm not the same as her!" Merida insisted.

"I know you're not. And I don't want you to end up like her."

"I won't."

"I don't want to hurt you," Phillip said, almost sobbing.

"You think you being with me would hurt?" Merida asked. "You're a good lad, Phillip. You wouldn't hurt me."

"I wouldn't try to hurt you. But I wasn't trying to hurt Aurora either."

"You didn't! I told ya it wasn't you're fault. Phillip, I understand the hesitation. I get that I'm technically a teenager. And I know, and I agree with you that there's certain things someone who's seventeen isn't ready to do with someone your age. But . . ." Merida cleared her throat. "But I'm turnin eighteen tomorrow. Besides, kissin isn't one of those things . . . . Holdin hands and sweet talkin each other aren't one of them either."

Phillip still wasn't sure this was good for her. "Merida, I might want to kiss you, hold your hand, and tell you that you're the most amazing woman I've ever seen and I never dreamed I'd meet someone like. But I have to think about what's best for you."

"You're what's best for me! Do ya know the real reason Aurora went berserk? Her problem was that she didn't have a choice. But I do! No one ordered me to love you; I just do!" Merida stared nervously at Phillip, her racing heart forcing her to breathe heavily.

Merida, being more cavalier, was ready to kiss him then and there. Phillip wanted that too, but he wanted to do what he believed was right. "Merida . . . will you still love me tomorrow?"

For a split second, Merida was almost upset. But she quickly chose to respect his need for caution. She remembered being almost forced into a rushed marriage and she didn't want to rush Phillip. She replied, "I will. We can be together . . . in our own time."

For an unmeasured amount of time, Phillip and Merida just stood there and smiled at each other. It lasted until Merida noticed someone running toward the open gates. "No way," she breathed.

"Merida!" shouted Young Macintosh breathlessly.

"Who is this?" Phillip asked.

"A friend of muh family. But we thought he was dead."

Author's Note: When I started this story, I thought there would be more Jelsa scenes like the one in this chapter. There was just a lot of other things going on this whole time. I'd like to think I might write a spinoff starring Elsa and Jack. But, honestly, the potential of this story getting a sequel or spinoff depends on me being able to convince the readers of my other stories to this one. Maybe someday I'll convince myself to do in spite of the low readership.

Don't forget to read Star Wars: The Unending.

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