Chapter Thirty Six

Elsa vs Bjorn

TALYA

A mix of emotions overwhelmed Talya. Shock that Val was still in the city. Anger that Elsa hadn't gotten him out. And relief that he was still alive.

Nokk slowed to a trot as he reached the centre of the bridge, and both Val and Elsa dismounted.

"You-" Bjorn growled in confusion. "What…what is this?"

Elsa remained silent as Nokk disintegrated back into water. Her hood and dark cloak obscured her features and true identity from the masses, excess fabric flapping in the warm, summer morning breeze. The sun was at her back, casting long shadows and making her appear mostly as a silhouette, a mysterious figure of darkness.

"It's over, Bjorn. We know what you've been up to." Val tossed something at the general's feet.

It was a mechanism of some sort, wires cut and protruding every which way. In a split second, Talya connected the dots and a wave of relief washed over her, a weight instantly lifted off her shoulders.

"We know about Operation Røyk." Val went on in a triumphant tone, though the bags under his eyes and his slumped shoulders spoke volumes. "Cunning. We almost didn't catch it."

Eyes bulging, Bjorn stared angrily at the contraption at his feet. "My bombs."

"They were bombs." Val agreed. "But now they're just really ugly modern art."

"My wards," he growled. "I made sure it was impossible to break them."

"No, not impossible." Val jerked a finger over his shoulder at Elsa. "Not for her, at least."

"You-" Bjorn turned his attention to Elsa, a mixture of fury and fear crossing his features. "You're-you're…"

"Yes." Elsa finally spoke, her voice calm and composed.

"The Snow Queen." Bjorn back-pedalled a step. "I didn't think…I didn't know…"

"That I was real?" Elsa asked, her voice quiet but being carried eerily across the morning air. "Or that I would return to purge the Southern Isles from Arendelle once again?"

Something hardened within Bjorn, and resolve formed on his face. "It doesn't matter." He snarled. "Snow Queen or not, you cannot destroy me. No one can. I'm a goddamn Blood Mage. I'll kill you first, then Talya, and then I'll slaughter the rest. No one can stop me."

Silently, Elsa slowly pulled back the hood of her dark grey cloak. The harsh morning sunlight shone on her hair, highlighting the hints of blonde between the grey that showed everyone that though she was past her prime, she was still a force to be reckoned with. In the sunlight, Talya could see the crow's feet at the corner of her weathered eyes as she narrowed them.

"Elsa," Talya said in a low voice, feeling dread fill her. "You don't have to do this. This is my fight."

"You're not strong enough yet to defeat a Blood Mage," Elsa replied sincerely, putting a hand on Talya's arm. "But one day you will be. I wish for you to live long enough to see that day."

"But this," Talya's voice cracked, clutching Elsa's arm in return. "This is not how your journey is supposed to end."

"Maybe it is." Elsa's face was set in resolve, no trace of fear or passion in her eyes. "Maybe it isn't."

"I can't let you sacrifice yourself for me." Talya said desperately. She looked to Peggy who was dumbfounded, and turned back to Elsa. "I can't just watch you die." This time, she turned to Val. "Val, tell her!"

Val looked on helplessly for a few moments before assuming an apologetic tone. "It's the only way."

"If this is how destiny wills my final journey to end, then so be it. I am prepared. I will no longer stand by in the shadows and watch my people suffer at the hands of a tyrant." Elsa nodded reassuringly at her, Peggy and Val. "And I will fight for my family."

Before Talya could protest further, Elsa stepped forward, moving towards Bjorn with no trace of fear on her face. As she closed the gap, she shed her dark grey cloak to reveal a stunningly majestic white dress. One that Talya recognised from history's descriptions of the legendary Snow Queen. This…this was her true form.

"Come on." Val firmly tugged at Talya's uninjured arm, pulling her back up the slope and away from the coming conflict.

Talya back-pedalled, unable to tear her eyes away from Elsa, who'd closed the distance with Bjorn. Her head was pounding, her blood was up, and every inch of her body was trembling in fear for Elsa's fate.

"Snow Queen or not, you won't survive blood sorcery," Bjorn's growl could still be audibly heard from where Talya and the others were standing at the edge of the bridge at the bottom of the sloping road. "I will slay you,"

"You will try." Elsa's voice was clear as crystal as the morning air carried hers and Bjorn's words for everyone to hear. "I've fought tyrants, cultists and gods. Witnessed many of them rise and fall over the decades. Seen many of your kind try to conquer kingdoms, only to be stopped." Clasping her hands behind her back, she sized him up calmly. "You don't even come close to the average warlord."

Snarling, Bjorn stretched out his hand and clenched a fist.

Bits of rock on the parapets of the bridge cracked and dislodged themselves at Bjorn's control. The general pulled his hand back in a jerking motion, forcing the rocks to converge and fly towards Elsa.

Without turning her head, Elsa simply lifted a hand gently, and the rocks and debris froze long before they could get near her. In mid air, they lost all their momentum and crumbled to the ground in a pile of dirt and stone. All the while, she kept her eyes on the Blood Mage, her expression neutral and poised.

In contrast, this seemed to make Bjorn all the angrier. Snarling, Bjorn lifted both hands and tensed them, raising them slowly to eye level. Elsa was levitated off the ground and pulled towards the Blood Mage. This, however, didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. In mid air, she closed her eyes and extended her own hands, slightly bent inwards at the wrists and fingers moving in an unreadable combination.

Translucent ice tendrils materialised from her being, floating like ethereal beings to intercept the blood sorcery that was invisibly drawing Elsa towards Bjorn. The ice tendrils wrapped around the space between the two sorcerers, and the dark red energy waves suddenly became visible as Elsa's sorcery overpowered Bjorn's. Just like that, the telekinesis was halted and Elsa was released from the blood sorcery, landing on her feet gingerly.

"No," Bjorn looked taken aback, staring wide eyed at Elsa. "This can't be."

Making a subtle gesture of dusting off her shoulder, Elsa's lips curled upwards slightly in a mocking smile.

Enraged, Bjorn charged towards Elsa, arms outstretched like a hungry animal. But apparently, Elsa was not only a master of sorcery, but versatile in close quarter combat as well. She neatly sidestepped Bjorn's mad charge, hand moving like lightning as he cleanly passed her by.

A surge of ice slammed into Bjorn's back where Peggy's knife had struck the night before, and sent the Blood Mage staggering.

He whirled round, crouched low like a tiger, and shot his hands out towards Elsa. Constant dark red waves of blood sorcery emanated out from his hands, threatening to engulf and suffocate her. Swiftly, Elsa raised a barrier of ice in front of her, thick and sturdy. The energy waves struck her barrier, chipping off bits of ice and cracking the entire barrier.

Laughing sinisterly, Bjorn began to round on Elsa, limping as he kept his arms outstretched and the sorcery flowing. Part of Elsa's ice barrier crumbled under the pressure of Bjorn's sorcery, and the rest looked like it was about to cave at any moment.

"That's it!" Bjorn shouted with malice. "You're finished! There's nowhere to hide!"

Crouched, Elsa suddenly got to her feet and as she did, she threw her hands forward. What remained of the ice barrier flew at Bjorn, forcing him to cease his attack and scramble out of the way. She took that split second of opportunity to freeze his legs to the ground in a thick, reinforced block of ice.

Unable to move, Bjorn smashed a fist against the ice and found it too strong to shatter. Coating his fist in dark red energy waves of sorcery, he brought his hand down against the ice again with an angry bellow, but made nothing more than a tiny crack.

"You think that just because you're a Blood Mage, you're unstoppable?" Elsa walked slowly towards Bjorn as he repeatedly struck the ice with all his might. She shot another two, short streams of ice which encased both of the general's hands in thick blocks of ice as well. "I used to train Blood Mages long before you were born, son."

Talya's heart leapt in her chest. Elsa had overpowered Bjorn easily, for everyone present to see. Arendellians, Northuldra, and even the Southern Isles soldiers. Everyone had witnessed the Snow Queen defeat the Blood Mage. It was barely even a contest. Could it really be this easy?

"I don't believe it." Val said breathlessly. "She just stopped him."

Peggy pointed at the bridge. "It's not over yet."

Bjorn had stopped striking the ice and was breathing heavily. His face was redder than ever before, and veins bulged in his neck and on his arms. His tense breathing intensified, teeth bared like a wild beast.

"You may have the raw power of a Blood Mage," Elsa continued as though she were delivering another lesson. "But you have no control, no focus."

"I don't need a lecture, you old hag." Bjorn snarled, his body stiffening. "You want to see real power?" The ice began to glow red and the blocks of ice around his hands and feet formed large cracks. His body became engulfed by the red aura, emanating a coruscation of crimson light which grew as bright as the sun, painting the immediate vicinity in a dangerous red glow.

Backpedaling, Elsa raised both arms to shield her face. Multiple shields of ice grew from the ground to protect her from the fallout of the explosion of blood sorcery.

The red aura expanded outwards rapidly as though a great amount of tension had just been released. A deep, bassy boom erupted, and even from where Talya was standing, she could hear it throb in her eardrums.

Ice splintered and shattered like glass, flying in every direction. Even Elsa's shields of ice were broken into large pieces, sending droplets of ice and cold mist into the air. With ferocious speed, Bjorn leapt at Elsa like a tiger, slamming into her before she could safely get out of the way. She took the full force of his body weight and was sent flying a good few yards back.

Watching as Elsa's back slam into the parapet, Talya drew in a very sharp breath. Her heart froze as she saw the Snow Queen teeter, almost falling off the side of the bridge. Elsa coughed up blood and shook her head to clear the cobwebs.

"Come on, come on."

Talya spared her brother a quick glance from the side of her eye. Fists clenched tensely, Val was muttering under his breath with his eyes glued to the fight on the bridge. Everyone was invested in the fight, for it would determine their fate going forward. Would Arendelle crumble at the hands of the tyrant General Bjorn, or would the Snow Queen best him in combat?

Unable to resist any longer, Talya turned her attention back to the fight, just in time to see Elsa finally regain her balance, this time diving out of the way neatly as a malicious bolt of sorcerous energy erupted off the parapet, sending rock and cement crumbling over a sixty foot drop into the waters below. Bending over, Bjorn slammed his fists against the ground with a thunderous roar. The cement and rocks cracked, some bits falling away to reveal holes in the base of the bridge. The cracks continued, snaking their way towards Elsa who gingerly skidded sideways and threw a strong stream of ice at the general.

A hand went up to defend himself, and Bjorn pushed back against Elsa's sorcery, slowly advancing towards her with the ice still trying to halt him. He was laughing menacingly now, hair wild and eyes filled with nothing but evil intentions. The madness brought on by the bloodlust had only intensified, fuelling his rage and sorcerous power.

"You see?" Yelling, he spread his other arm as he slowly pushed back her ice. "You can't stop me! I will destroy you, your friends and your precious army!"

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "No." Suddenly, she withdrew her hands, rolling to one side as Bjorn charged her again. As he grabbed for her and missed, Elsa took the precious few seconds to back away from him.

"There's nowhere to run!" He screamed angrily. "Face me and fight!"

Ignoring the Blood Mage, Elsa knelt on the ground and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Talya whispered in horror as she watched Elsa adopt a meditating position, with both hands slowly raised over her head.

Bjorn too, seemed taken aback by this sudden change in strategy. He watched in befuddlement as mist began to form in the air, being pulled straight towards Elsa.

Wind swirled around Elsa's kneeling form, gaining speed and intensity. Particles of snow materialised, joining the whirlwind of cold mist that now resembled a storm.

"What's she doing?" Val stared hard at the scene.

"I don't know." Peggy answered. She looked at Talya.

Talya returned her a confused glance. The spy had been hoping she had some sort of clue as to what kind of sorcery Elsa was performing. But truth be told, she was just as clueless. Turning back to the bridge, she witnessed the storm gather speed and through even more particles of snow, Elsa was barely visible at the epicentre of it all, still kneeling in a meditative state.

The angry Blood Mage fired a potent blast of blood sorcery at Elsa, but it glanced off the snow storm as if it were nothing.

"Fight me!" Bjorn bellowed.

Finally, Elsa stood up. In the midst of the snow storm, she jerked her hands out towards the sky. Millions of water droplets began to rise from the sea below the bridge, floating and levitating towards the snow storm. As it came within a few feet, all the water droplets turned to ice and snow, joining the whirlwind of ice sorcery.

From where Talya and the others were standing a good distance away, she could feel a draught of cold wind blowing against her skin. What was Elsa trying to do?

The snow storm had turned into a controlled blizzard, and at long last, Elsa's eyes shot open. She pulled the entire snow storm into her being, absorbing every last bit of the elements. For a moment, there was nothing but tranquil. Then, she jerked a hand in Bjorn's direction.

A flood tide of ice, so deadly and quick, rocketed towards the Blood Mage. He was barely able to bring up both arms in a crossed formation, emanating dark red waves of blood sorcery in a feeble attempt to stop the onslaught of ice.

But Elsa's sorcery was too strong for him now. Stone cracked beneath Bjorn's feet as he was forced backwards by the attack, and finally his blood sorcery gave up on him. The amalgamation of sorcery exploded, the ice claiming victory in a coruscation of sorcerous light. The dark red waves vanished, his arms dropping limply as the ice slammed into him at such speed that he had absolutely no defence.

Elsa's sorcery froze his entire body solid, encasing him in a block of ice so thick that there was no way he could get out. His angry and shocked expression was frozen on his face, his mouth open in a rage and his eyes filled with murderous hatred behind the thick layer of ice. The threat was over.

Cold mist billowed across the air, partially obscuring Talya's vision. But when it all cleared, it was evident who had emerged victorious in the battle of the sorcerers. Exhausted, Elsa dropped to a knee, her white dress gently flapping in the aftermath breeze of her snow storm.

The harbour was still, the Southern Isles soldiers gazing wordlessly at the bridge. The same could be said for the Arendellians and Northuldra at the top of the sloped road, unable to believe what they'd just witnessed.

Unable to resist anymore, Talya left her spot at the edge of the bridge and bolted towards Elsa. Reaching her mentor, she stooped down to help her up.

"Are you alright?" Talya asked breathlessly, anxious for the answer.

Elsa nodded, breathing heavily. "I haven't had to dig down that deep in a long time. But he's finished. I sensed the fight go out of him."

"Yes!" Talya felt her anxiety dissipate, now replaced by joy and catharsis. "You beat him! I knew you could. The nightmare…it's…it's finally over."

Letting Talya pull her to her feet, Elsa let a smile cross her face. "I guess it is."

"For the Southern Isles!" A loud bellow echoed from the harbour as a row of forty soldiers brought their rifles to bear, training them on Elsa and Talya. "Fire!"

In the split second that Talya heard forty rifles crack in a unified volley, fear seized her. But in that same split second, Elsa's training overrode that fear. Spinning round, she pushed herself in front of Elsa and spread her hands in a wide arc. She felt attuned and in sync with her sorcery like never before, as her sorcery went to work.

All forty bullets froze in mid air as Talya kept them suspended for a moment, before she dropped her hands. The bullets began to rain on the ground like hailstones, useless and shattered.

Overhead, a squadron of fighter jets thundered towards the harbour. They spotted the insignia of the Einsfeltai Republic Air Force. The fighter jets circled round the harbour, and the Southern Isles soldiers began to point and shout, retreating from the edge of the bridge. The soldiers who'd fired at Elsa and Talya also drew back, cowering with the rest of the remaining company.

Peggy and Val were running towards Elsa and Talya now, and Peggy was motioning out to sea. "Look!" Her voice was distant but clear.

Talya and Elsa both looked to their left, where they saw a fleet of submarines breaking the surface. These ones spotted the painted flag of Molcorra on their sides.

"What's…what's this?" Talya was baffled. Too much was going on at once for her to wrap her head around.

Val grinned from ear to ear, looking extremely proud of himself. "The metaphorical cavalry has arrived."

"It worked!" Peggy exclaimed, slapping Val on the back. "You got the message out! Just like you said it would!"

"Of course I did." Val rubbed his back, his grin gone as he scowled at Peggy.

"Reinforcements." Talya gaped as the Einsfeltai jets circled overhead again. She turned to Val and hugged him tightly to his immense discomfort. "Val, you genius!"

"Yes, yes, I know." Val said tensely, patting his sister on the back. "I did what I could to help."

"Soldiers of the Southern Isles," an amplified voice rang out over the first submarine's intercom. "Surrender now or be destroyed."

The Southern Isles soldiers threw down their weapons hastily and the Arendellian Field Army took that as the signal to charge down the bridge to arrest their enemies. Both Arendellians and Northuldra alike cheered as they streamed onto the bridge, rifles, pistols and other melee weapons brandished in the air as a mark of victory.

Talya and the others withdrew to the side of the bridge as the soldiers began to pass them by, moving swiftly to secure their enemies' surrender and to end the war once and for all. The Einsfeltai fighter squadron thundered overhead again and this time zipped off into the distance, their work done. Similarly, the submarines began to pull back slowly as the Arendellians and Northuldra took over.

Elsa took Talya's arm gently, getting her attention. "You saved me."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" Talya found herself speechless and overwhelmed by the sudden tirade of events.

"Thank you," Elsa smiled warmly. "You'll make a fine Snow Queen all by yourself."

Beaming, Talya enveloped her ancestress in a tight hug, ignoring the pain still numbing her shoulder. Tears began to manifest themselves, streaming down her face uncontrollably in welcomed catharsis. "Thank you."

"No. Thank you." Elsa patted her comfortingly on her back. "I suppose I didn't have to be killed to end my journey."

Talya chuckled through her tears, resting her head against her mentor's shoulder. All around her, the cheers continued loudly.