Chapter Twenty Six

Secrets of the Snow Queen Part II

TALYA

Quietly, Talya followed Elsa. It was apparent that the Snow Queen was harbouring a lot of deep seated trauma and pain, and that this was probably the first time in so many decades that she was able to share it with someone. As she passed by even more memories, in the corner, a particular set of sculptures caught Talya's eye. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she ventured over to study them.

There were ten sculptures, with all of them bearing the features of young men and women. They were gathered in a loose circle, and they appeared to be talking and laughing, with mugs in hand. Two of them in particular stood out. Leaning in closer, Talya could see that one of the sculptures looked like a younger version of Elsa. It was the Snow Queen in her prime, there was no doubt about that. And by her side was the unmistakable Queen Anna, a youthful young woman with braided pigtails dressed in a simple nightgown, engaged in playful banter with her sister and the rest of their friends. One of Elsa's happiest moments frozen in time.

So this was what it was like. Talya couldn't help but be transfixed by this scene. Her ancestresses with their friends, known only to history as the Warriors. The legendary group of heroes who helped to turn the tide of war during the conquest of the Exonian Empire. Here they were, seated in a circle and enjoying each other's company. And the Snow Queen - Elsa - she looked so…happy. Cheerful. Warm. Kind.

"What are you doing?" Elsa's cold voice made Talya jump and whirl round in a hurry, careful not to knock over any of the sculptures.

"Sorry. I-I was just looking. I couldn't help but-"

"I didn't bring you here to sightsee." There was distinct anger in Elsa's voice, and for a moment Talya was alarmed to see tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. It's just-are these-"

"My friends. My family." Elsa blinked away her tears.

"The Warriors who dismantled the Empire."

"We were much more than that." Elsa's voice cracked. "They were everything to me."

"Look at you," Talya didn't know where the boldness was coming from, but she decided to capitalise on it. She gestured at the sculpture of the younger Elsa who was laughing alongside her sister. "You were so happy then. So full of life and hope, with no sign of that cold, detached harshness. What happened to you?"

Elsa's face was clouded, her expression unreadable. She too stared at the sculptures, though Talya could tell she wasn't looking at herself. She was looking at her sister.

"I lost everyone." The words came out as a whisper, the severity gone and replaced by vulnerability. "Everyone I ever cared about. I watched them die in battle or from old age. Anna, Janus, Kristoff, Melody, Tracy, Maui…and so many others. They all faded away, leaving me to live out this curse of immortality alone." Elsa took Talya to the other side of the circle, stopping before the sculpture of a man whose features had evidently been devoted more attention to during the carving process.

"My husband. Janus De Vesques." Elsa said. "He was a former mercenary and assassin turned war hero. He helped us to destroy the Empire and saved me on countless occasions. And most importantly, he won my heart."

"He must have been a great man."

"The best." There was a thickness in Elsa's voice. "After the end of the War with Exon, Janus formed his own mercenary brigade and helped to bring an end to many of the other smaller conflicts across the continent. I'm actually surprised he lived as long as he did." A rueful smile formed across Elsa's face. "Janus was always leading from the front, charging into battle at the head of his brigade, ignoring my warnings and getting into the thick of the fighting. I never thought he would actually live past the age of sixty, given the kind of lives we'd been living."

Elsa stopped to suck in a deep, shuddering breath. "He would often go off on cloak and dagger missions by himself as a spy. He was always more of a lone mercenary. I would always plead with him not to go, but near the tail end of the war for Talonsworth independence, there was this one time he tricked me into drinking a mixture that left me unconscious for hours. He left by himself to assassinate the general of the enemy army. He succeeded but he…he was killed in the process. When I awoke, I was brought reports of his death." She choked back tears. "We won the war that day, all because of his sacrifice. His bravery helped bring independence to a young nation that has flourished ever since, if I am not mistaken."

"Yes, Talonsworth is a beautiful, free country with amazing culture." Talya lowered her voice. "I'm sorry about your husband."

"The fool," Elsa's voice took an angry turn. "If only he'd listened, maybe he would've lived to see our grandchildren." She shook her head as if to cast off the thought, and walked over to another sculpture of a tall, muscular man with a kind face.

"This was Kristoff. My sister's husband." Elsa told her. "He was everything to us. A humble ice harvester before he saved my sister, he ended up becoming a Prince and the most important man in Arendelle."

"Field Marshal of the Arendellian Field Army." Talya had read the undisputed accounts of how the famed Prince had bravely led the army in the war against the kingdom of Xerflorn decades after the Empire had fallen.

"He died with his officers on the battlefield that day, but he ended the war and finally brought peace to Arendelle." Elsa finished with melancholy. "Anna…she was never the same again after hearing the news. I was there that day when she collapsed. She never really recovered from that day, and I watched as she grew older without her husband. That was eleven years before Anna herself passed away."

Elsa blinked away furious tears, bringing Talya to the sculpture of Anna. "And my own sister. She was everything to me. The last person who tethered me to this world. She was always there to remind me of my own humanity. That I was still human, in spite of my inability to age or die. Anna, she-"

Choking up, tears streamed freely down Elsa's face. "She was the last piece of my hope. My conscience. After I watched her die, I became a recluse, shutting myself away here on Ahtohallan to be alone. The closest I came was training new sorcerers, but with a cold, detached mindset. I couldn't bear to form any more human connections because eventually they would all die, and I would be left to grief again."

"I'm so sorry." Talya whispered after a hushed silence. "But your own descendants. You came out of hiding to heal your great grandson, Jakob."

"That was a one time exception." Elsa's voice steadied, and Talya could hear the cold harshness creeping back into her voice. "I did what I had to do for my family, but no more. They were all better off without my presence. And I was better off without having to watch them all die."

"But human connections are what define who we are." Talya protested gently. "We can't isolate ourselves. I know, because that's what I tried to do. It didn't work."

"You think I haven't been down this route? I grew up alone in Arendelle castle too. I learnt to open up, loved and then lost everything. Everyone."

"But that's all part of life. It's all part of existence. Life is meaningless without love and loss. It's what makes us human."

"Who are you calling human?" Elsa's tone was strained. "Try living for two centuries before lecturing me about humanity."

"You're right. I'm sorry." Talya apologised. "Obviously, I don't know everything you've been through. I can't claim to know how much pain you've endured either. But I do know that this…" she motioned at the walls around her. "…this isn't the way."

"And who are you to tell me that?"

"Your descendant. Your kin." Talya drew herself up. "Your successor."

Elsa managed to bark a laugh. "Successor? My dear girl, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you think it was coincidence that I have the same powers you do? That we were both queens of Arendelle, thrust into positions where we could do real good and save our people? No," Talya set her jaw. "I believe it was fate. Destiny. My mother once told me how I was given these powers for a reason. And I think you believe that too."

Elsa paused. "It doesn't matter what I believe. Not anymore."

"Of course it does!" Talya cried. "I'm here to succeed you as the new Snow Queen. Hasn't it become apparent to you that it's time to pass the torch?"

"You must be joking."

"I am not." Talya said indignantly, feeling her hands grow cold and suppressing the sorcery. "I'm here to learn how to harness my abilities so that I can stop Bjorn. But I'm also here because I believe destiny brought us together. After two hundred years, don't you want to pass the torch to someone who can carry your mantle?"

"You know," Elsa said after a long pause. "This reminds me of a time in my own youth. When I was a young woman and I was fighting against the Pilgrim. My predecessor. Only, I never wanted to inherit her curse of responsibility. Of leading a new generation of sorcerers. It's funny-" she scoffed. "How I've ended up training multiple generations of sorcerers and getting them all killed in battle. I promised myself that I would never do that to another young sorceress, least of all my own kin." She regarded Talya. "But here I am, training you to take on a Blood Mage."

"But I'm not just any sorceress. Don't you see?" Talya pleaded. "I have the potential of being a new Snow Queen."

"You have no idea what you're asking for."

"Then come with me. Help me stop General Bjorn and the Southern Isles once and for all. Only you have the power to make that happen."

"No," Elsa said quietly but firmly. "I will train you. Hard enough so that you will be prepared for the devices of a Blood Mage. But I will not leave this place. I swore never to interfere again with the affairs of the world."

Talya sighed. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to convince Elsa to return to the mainland with her. The Snow Queen had already made up her mind decades ago.

"But I do believe," Elsa continued in a low voice. "That you may be right."

Hope sparking to life, Talya raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Some day, you might make an even more powerful Snow Queen than I can ever be. But I doubt that I will be around long enough to see it."

"I thought you were immortal?"

"Maybe. But not permanently."

"But you've lived for over two hundred years! How do you explain that?"

"I don't claim to know exactly how. I've conferred with the spirits of the forest, and till today I have yet to find an answer." Elsa said. "But something you said sparked my memory. Something I used to believe."

"What is it?"

"Before my sister died, she told me that she had a theory. That to break this curse of immortality, I would need to find someone. A worthy successor who could take up my mantle as the Fifth Spirit of the forest to protect the land and as the Pilgrim of the League of Sorcerers. To be the new Snow Queen of this era." Elsa stopped, her gaze faraway in a fashion that Talya hadn't seen before. "I used to believe it once, seeking and training sorcerers in the hopes that one day, one of my students would succeed me and allow me to finally depart from this mortal plane. But over the years, I lost hope. And then the Blood Mages struck."

"And since then, you gave up hope of ever finding a successor." Talya concluded.

"I believed it to be rubbish. A dying wish of an old queen." Elsa added. "But your presence here…"

"Destiny." Talya finished, a smile forming across her face. "You need me as much as I need you. I believe it was destiny that brought us together. I'm destined to free you from your curse."

"To become the new Snow Queen. My successor." A glimmer of hope shone through Elsa's eyes for the first time since Talya had met her. "You might be the answer. When this is done, I can finally be reunited with my family in the afterlife."

"Then let's get started, shall we?" Talya said, unable to contain the excitement in her voice. "We have a kingdom to save and a curse to break."

###

"Good." Elsa's voice echoed deep in her ears as Talya tried her best to focus. "Focus on that spark within you. Reach out with your senses. Embrace the spark with your feelings. Let your positive emotions trump the fear, the anger and the hate. Feel your emotions washing over you like waves lapping the shores of a beach. And make yourself one with the waves. Feel yourself reaching out to that spark."

Forehead creased, Talya's eyebrows furrowed in immense concentration. She tried her hardest to push down every negative emotion, letting the positive dominate her being. The spark of sorcery was inside, and she could feel it growing gradually stronger.

"Reach out." Elsa's voice went on. "Take control, and don't let go. Feel your waves lapping the beach and reach further. There is something further inland that you need, so stretch out with your waves. Feel the spark within your reach."

That's it! Talya could sense the sorcery within her grasp, almost as if it had been making itself scarce this whole time. It was finally growing brighter, and stronger.

"Do you feel it?"

"Yes."

"Take hold of that spark and don't let go."

Talya stretched out with her mind as far as she dared, and went further. She grabbed hold of that spark.

"I have it." She said triumphantly.

"Good. Now you are one with your sorcery. Focus. There is no more Talya, and there is no more spark. It is just sorcery in its purest form now. Bask yourself in that energy."

Talya did as Elsa instructed and felt the sorcery suddenly turn from a spark into the sun. The wave of energy washed over her, engulfing her entire being and she felt the sorcery flow through her like never before. Ice shot out of her hands with such ferocity that it cracked one of the pillars in the training temple.

Opening her eyes, Talya was horrified at the sight of the damage her powers were doing, but the ice did not stop.

"Focus." Elsa commanded. "Don't let the fear rise up. Quell it. Focus on the control. Close your eyes."

Closing her eyes, Talya focused hard. The sorcery still engulfed her, but she could feel as if she was in control of the beast now. With all her willpower, she forced the ice to stop gushing from her hands.

"Good," Elsa said in an emotionless tone. "You know how to unleash your sorcery and how to stop it. But that's just the beginning. It's not enough to know when to turn on the tap, but how to control the flow of water."

"Metaphors. Great." Talya managed breathlessly. The amount of focus she had used had drained her considerably. It was like tensing a muscle or exerting an enormous amount of strength which left her extremely tired.

"You're tired now," Elsa noted. "It feels like it takes your entire willpower and physical strength. But in time you will learn to control it all with just a thought, leaving your body and mind for the more physical parts of the battle."

"More physical parts?" Talya echoed, hands against her knees.

"There is more to sorcery than just learning to manipulate it. You've told me how you fought squads of assassins. From the sorcery I sense in you, you have the potential to take on entire armies."

"Like you did, back in the day?"

Her mentor nodded. "Your sorcery is stronger than anything I've seen in a long time. Rivalling even the Blood Mages. Perhaps even stronger than I was, in my prime. I can teach you to tear through entire field armies in time, but for now you must master the basics." Elsa instructed, hands clasped behind her back. "To master your sorcery, you must become one with it, and let it be one with you."

Talya sighed. "I will try."

"No. Trying will get you killed in battle. Either you do, or you do not. There is no 'try'." Elsa said sternly. "There's no room for second chances in this business."

"Geez. Alright." Talya drew herself up, mentally preparing herself for yet another round of physicality. "Okay. So what's next?"

"For you?" Elsa glanced at her. "You evidently need a rest."

"Good idea." Talya sank to the ground, feeling relief wash over her as she sat on the ice, leaning back and resting her hands on the ground.

"Your brother and friend are slobs, aren't they?" Elsa asked. "Sleeping in this late."

"Hold on." Talya checked her watch. One o'clock in the afternoon? "No, no. Val's no pig. And Peggy neither. Something…something's not right." Frowning, she got to her feet. "They should've been up and about by now. I should go check on them. Wait here."

Ignoring the fatigue, Talya rushed out of the training hall. She realised belatedly that she was in no place to command the Snow Queen in her own sanctuary, but it was too late for that. Sprinting up the stairs to the second level of the sanctuary, Talya willed herself down the corridors of the ice fortress to find the guest rooms where the three of them had slept the night before.

She passed by the first room, and found the rooms that Val and Peggy were occupying. Without knocking, she burst into Val's room, expecting to find him still asleep on the thick, elevated slab of ice which passed as a bed with a thick layer of cloth which acted as a mattress. Instead, the room was…empty.

Brows furrowed, Talya tilted her head to a side, scanning the room. The sheets had been cast aside as though he had left in a hurry - which was strange because she knew he was an organised, neat person by nature. His bag and tablet were gone too. It was clear that he had vacated the premises. But to where?

Hurrying to Peggy's room, Talya threw open the door as well, to find that Peggy too had disappeared. Her room, in contrast, looked neat and tidy. There was no trace of any of Peggy's possessions either, as if it'd been made to appear like no one had ever been there. However, there was a single item that came to Talya's attention. A small device was laid on the bed.

Crouching down to pick it up, Talya examined it. A silver sphere with only one button at its core which had a slight indent in it. It was definitely not something one could simply get from the local supply store, that was for sure. Taking a closer look, Talya found no symbols or branding that would label it definitively, and surmised that it was probably a device from Peggy's spy arsenal.

"They're gone."

Spinning round with catlike reflexes, Talya found Elsa waiting outside the door, having approached noiselessly.

"Did you know about this?" Talya asked in a tone more accusing than she had intended.

"No." Elsa's monosyllabic answer was neutral but truthful. "What's that in your hand?"

Talya hefted it and got to her feet. "I think it's a hologram projector."

"A what?"

"Oh, right." Talya rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten that Elsa wasn't privy to the technology of the modern era, having literally lived as a recluse for the past century and more. "It's a….something where you can see a moving image of someone that's recorded and stored."

"And this device can show you a moving image?"

"Yeah." She wasn't entirely sure herself, since Val was always the tech expert among them and he obviously wasn't around.

"Fascinating." Elsa looked mildly intrigued. "So your friends left you a message."

"I don't know. I think so?" Talya pushed the button at the core of the device, and it began to purr quietly like a cat, booting up. A blue-light projection popped out of the device's side, and she rolled it so that she got the orientation right. So it really is a hologram projector.

Elsa watched in curiosity as the blue light projection formed the image of Peggy, who appeared to be fiddling with the settings on the device.

"I'm assuming this is on. I myself haven't actually used this before." Peggy's voice echoed clearly from the device. "But yes. If you're watching this then you know we've already left. I'm sorry that Val and I weren't able to explain it to you in person. We're leaving to reach out to Arendelle's allies for the coming fight. Bjorn's threat grows larger by the hour, and we have to do something in case your training with Elsa somehow doesn't…work out the way we'd hoped."

Talya cast a glance over her shoulder at Elsa, who didn't seem in the least offended.

"Val was sure that if you knew we were going, you would've insisted on coming along. And…" Peggy paused, looking uncomfortable. "I think you should really hear this from your own brother." The device was lifted off the bed, following Peggy into the next room where Val could be seen hastily packing what few possessions he had with him. He looked mildly annoyed when Peggy prodded him, and he turned to face the device, taking it from Peggy's hands.

"I'm sorry, Talya. I guess maybe I'm a coward for not wanting to do this face to face. I'd hoped that you were right. That after all this effort, you'd have proven me wrong. I genuinely want to believe that this was our best chance. I want to believe that Elsa can complete your training so that you can stand up to Bjorn. But you know that I have to form contingencies.

Val sighed, averting his eyes away from the device's camera. "I can't just sit around and watch you train. I have to rally our allies. It's the only thing I can do to help. The only thing that makes sense to me. Arendelle is my home too, and I can't just stand by idly. I'll call you when I've succeeded in getting the Einsfeltai army mobilised. I'm sorry. We have to go now."

The hologram disappeared, and the room was quiet as Talya and Elsa stood in silent contemplation.

"I have to go after them." Talya concluded, turning to leave.

"Stop," Elsa said strictly. "Your brother's right."

Talya whirled round. "How so?"

"He knew you would react this way. That's why the both of them chose to leave without saying a word."

"I can't leave them out there by themselves!" Talya raised her voice in exasperation. Particles of ice swirled around her hands and she made an effort to suppress it. "Bjorn's sorcerers and soldiers are still out there trying to hunt us down! If they find Peggy and Val, they'll kill them!" Her exasperation began to turn into panic. "I have to help. I'm sorry, I can't-"

"Listen to me." Elsa said firmly. "Your friends will be alright. They've proven that they can take care of themselves, with or without your help."

"They don't have powers."

"They don't need powers. I fought alongside my husband and the Queen of Denmark during the Exon Campaign, and neither of them had sorcery of their own. And yet they saved us sorcerers time and again."

"But Val and Peggy, they're…they're not Warriors like you all were."

"No, they're not. But they are resourceful and more than capable of holding their own. If there's one thing I learnt about my time fighting amongst regular humans, they are far more resilient and capable than we've given them credit for. You have to trust them." Elsa fixed Talya with a sincere look. "Just as they trusted you enough to follow you across the Dark Sea to find me. You have to have faith in your loved ones."

Talya sighed and contemplated her options. Elsa was right. She had to trust that Val and Peggy would make it. Besides, even if she went after them, she would have no idea where to begin looking for them. They could've been halfway through the forest by this time. No, the best thing she could do was to continue her training and hope to be ready enough to face Bjorn and reclaim her kingdom as soon as possible.

"Alright." Broodingly, Talya relented.

"Good." Elsa motioned for Talya to follow her. "Come. You still have a long way to go."

Author's Commentary:

As I was writing this, I liked to think of Elsa as a "Yoda" type of figure; an old, weathered mentor who has to train this young, inexperienced sorceress who's a descendant of her long dead sister. It does make for a pretty interesting dynamic especially since we still see Elsa as a young sorceress in her prime (in the other stories set in this world).