Chapter Twenty Nine

Elsa's Last Crusade

TALYA

The sun was on their left, beginning to set on a cloudless sky, casting a warm orange glow across the sea. As they rode the Nokk across the Dark Sea, Talya found herself divided. Half of her mind swirled with anxiety, while the other half swirled with excitement. Anxiety that something terrible was going to happen to Val and Peggy and that she would be too late to save them, and of course, anxiety that her training wasn't going to be enough against the fearsome General Bjorn and his army.

On the flip side, she was excited because here she was, riding across the Dark Sea on the water spirit Elsa called the Nokk, and Elsa had agreed to come out of her self-imposed exile to help her free Arendelle. Inhaling deeply, Talya felt infinitely more confident that they could win this battle against Bjorn and the Southern Isles. After all, Talya now had the famed veteran sorceress of the War of the Exonian Empire by her side. The Fifth Spirit. The Pilgrim of the League of Sorcerers. The Snow Queen. She could hardly contain her fever-pitched exhilaration, but she kept bringing her focus back to the present. They had to first make it back to the forest first.

"How much further?" Talya asked loudly, the wind in her face as the Nokk galloped on the waves. She clung to Elsa's waist as the creature surged forward at breakneck speed, faster than even the jet had been.

"Five more minutes, at most." Elsa answered without turning her head, leaning forward expertly on her mount. Her graceful expertise in riding and mastery of the supernatural horse was beyond impressive, and she evidently had a connection to the "elemental spirit", as Elsa had called it.

The horse brayed loudly as it rocketed across the surface of the waves.

"Nokk's telling me that he took Val and Peggy to the part of the coast where the Northuldra settlement is near." Elsa told Talya.

"Then should we stop by the Northuldra? In case they know something we don't."

Elsa didn't respond, but Talya knew that she must have been feeling hesitant. After all, she hadn't seen another soul for what must have been close to a century.

"I know it's going to be hard reintegrating with humanity." Talya said. "But we're going to need all the help we can get."

Elsa nodded silently. It took a few moments before she spoke again. "There will be no reintegration with humanity."

"What do you mean?"

"I believe that this last mission will be the end of my journey."

Her cryptic explanation just made Talya even more confused. "I don't understand."

Finally, Elsa glanced over her shoulder, though her hands were still firmly on Nokk's reins. "Remember how I told you about Anna's theory? How when I've passed on the mantle to my successor, my time here in this world will be over?"

It took Talya a moment to put two and two together. Her heart sank slightly. "You think you're going to die on this mission?"

"I don't know." Elsa looked pensive. "But I do know that after tonight, I will no longer be the Snow Queen. That mantle will fall upon you."

Talya felt as though a whole new weight had been added onto her shoulders. All she had in mind was to save Val, Peggy and her kingdom from the Southern Isles. She hadn't really given thought to the idea that she would really take over Elsa's mantle as the new Snow Queen. What did that even mean? What responsibilities did taking over the mantle entail?

"You're serious, aren't you?" Talya asked.

"I am. As you said, it was destiny that brought us together. And I believe that I have one final mission to fulfil before I'm done."

"Damn." Talya muttered under her breath. She couldn't imagine the Snow Queen dying in battle, not when she had only just found her after all this time. One thing was for sure, Elsa seemed dead set on this idea and there was no use of convincing her out of it. Nonetheless, Talya was going to try anyway. "Are you sure you want to do this? If it means you might die?"

"I've waited a long time for an opportunity such as this one." Elsa said firmly. "If it means I'm finally freed of this curse of immortality and that I can see my friends and family again in the afterlife, then this is the way. All journeys must come to an end, and if this is to be my last crusade, then so be it. Ah." Elsa pointed at the coast which was coming up fast. "Here we are."

Nokk skidded gracefully, kicking up a spray of water as he drifted across the surface of the Dark Sea, coming to a well timed halt right at the edge of the coast. Then, he trotted daintily inland, allowing Talya and Elsa to disembark on dry ground.

As soon as Talya had dismounted, Elsa placed both hands on Nokk's head. Ice began to coat the horse, turning water into a solid, pure sheet of beautiful white which glistened with a warm hue, reflecting light from the setting sun. In seconds, the entire horse which had once been made up of water was now trotting about on solid ground, a magnificent living sculpture of ice.

"I didn't know you could do that." Talya whispered in awe as Elsa took the reins of Nokk on foot.

"We're going to need him on the way to Arendelle." Elsa pulled the hood over her head, masking her eyes in shadows.

"We're not taking a car?" Talya trailed off. That made sense in a way. She just couldn't picture the Snow Queen and herself bundling into a car and driving down the highway back to Arendelle. No, that didn't feel right. They needed a faster and more covert way, and Nokk was their best option.

Gesturing for Elsa to follow her, Talya trekked deeper into the forest, looking for the Northuldra settlement. It wasn't far from the coast, and they took about ten minutes to reach the village's edge. The Northuldra villagers were out and about, some cooking dinner while others gathered wood.

As Talya and Elsa entered the village, they were greeted by gasps and murmurs. Evidently, all the Northuldra recognised Talya who'd helped them fend off the soldiers during the recent ambush. But no, it wasn't Talya they were mesmerised by.

"It's her!" Someone whispered a little too loudly in the Northuldra dialect.

"Sølaka Turâhno?"

"Is that?"

"It's the Woman in White!"

"Like from the fairytales?"

"Can it really be her?"

"I don't think it's her. How can it be?"

"Is that Sølaka Turâhno?"

Talya glanced over her shoulder at Elsa who remained expressionless under the hood. It wasn't a stretch that they knew exactly who she was. The long, grey robes and that unmistakable loose strands of platinum blonde-grey hair were dead giveaways of her identity. "Evidently they know who you are."

Up ahead, Aslak came shuffling up to them as quickly as he could, accompanied by a couple of the other tribe leaders. Behind them followed even more villagers.

"Queen Talya," Aslak greeted tiredly, his face looking more weathered than usual but his eyes were wide. "Is that-"

"Chieftain Aslak, I would like you to meet Elsa, better known as the Snow Queen." Talya introduced her famed companion.

"Sølaka Turâhno. The Woman in White." The words came out as a whisper but there was no mistaking the awe in the old man's voice. "You are real."

"I am." Elsa confirmed stoically.

"So the legends are true." Aslak bowed low. "Chieftain Aslak of the Northuldra, at your service."

"Aslak, I'm sorry but we have no time for the pleasantries. We need your help." Talya said apologetically. "My brother Val and Peggy have been captured by the same enemies who ambushed your village. Did the two of them pass through here?"

"They did." There was sorrow in Aslak's eyes. "I sent my grandson to show them the way to the edge of the forest. We found Gárral shot dead and left to rot against a tree." He choked. "My grandson."

"Hell." Talya muttered under her breath. "I'm sorry for your loss." She said audibly, putting a gentle hand on the old man's shoulder, feeling it tremble with grief. "I had no idea."

"These enemies who killed him and took your friends. They are the Southern Isles, correct?"

"Yes." Talya could feel the rage boiling within her. Not only had Bjorn's men captured Val and Peggy, but they had also slaughtered the chieftain's grandson. She so badly wanted justice for the Northuldra, feeling horrible that they had gotten entangled in the conflict between Arendelle and the Southern Isles.

"Good. It is time that the Northuldra show the Southern Isles that we are not to be trifled with." Aslak clenched his fist and shook it. "This General Bjorn will regret having sent his soldiers against our people."

"Hold on," Talya was taken aback. She hadn't expected this. "I thought you wanted no part in our fight."

"It is our fight too now. They killed my grandson and attacked our people." Aslak growled. "The Northuldra will not tolerate this insult." He thumped his chest. "We are with you in this conflict. You may count on the Northuldra."

Talya nodded. "I understand. But the Southern Isles must have dug in securely by now and have all the entry points of the city well defended. Sadly, I'm no war tactician. I really don't know what role an army can play in this conflict. "

"I do." Elsa said. "But first, gather up your weapons and whoever you are willing to spare."

Aslak looked renewed in his purpose. He sniffled and nodded, bowed and excused himself to rally the rest of the Northuldra.

"What do you want them to do?" Talya asked.

"When I fought alongside the Northuldra during the Exon Campaign, they were the best skirmishers in the entire Coalition." Elsa glanced at the village where the tribe leaders had begun to gather the people. "If tradition still holds up, we could have a major force in our corner. All we need to do is point them in the right direction."

"We need to free our own army. The Arendellian Field Army is being trapped within their own bases by Bjorn's troops. If we can free our own soldiers, they can flush out the occupiers."

"There'll be fighting from street to street." Elsa looked deep in thought. "Exactly the kind of battle that favours the Northuldra. Where are the military bases?"

"They're near the sea ports, south of the city. They were strategically built there to mobilise in case of war. But the Southern Isles took that advantage and turned it against us when they attacked from the sky."

"I don't know anything about modern technology in war, so we're going to have to stick to basics." Elsa said. "Textbook infiltration and liberation techniques. The Northuldra will storm the bases, while we perform the cloak and dagger parts of the mission."

"We have to strike fast before Bjorn knows what we're doing," Talya agreed. "But how do you plan on getting the Northuldra into the kingdom?"

"You said that the military bases were near the sea ports. Has the harbour's infrastructure ever been modified?"

"Not since the eighteenth century, according to local history."

"Good," Elsa said. "Then I have a plan."

Author's Commentary:

Stay with me, we're swinging into the third act of the story. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me on my journey thus far :) Leave a review if you'd like to let me know how I'm doing!