Hello everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! This little thing was written for a very special someone who requested this a long time ago and who I am so beyond thankful for. So here it is TypicalHyphen24, made with love, hope you like it.
The world. Finite. Terribly, terribly finite.
Only so big with so little space and resources, there is bound to be conflict. And where there is conflict, there is fighting, and fighting often leads to war. A war between species, that of ghosts and humans. Some believed they could coexist, while others argued harshly that one or the other did not belong.
There was, in the battlefield of chaos and bloodshed, a peaceful land where ghosts and humans could live in harmony. Amitia, where your neighbor might be living, dead… or undecided.
But, even in a paradise like this, there were rules. Rules that kept more conservative sides happy, rules that let peace hang in the balance, but rules that ranked people by how they were born instead of how they chose to be.
A male ghost was the highest rank you could be born, or… die, into. Complete with powers and historical advantage, these were the types of people who were given offices of power, the best jobs, military priority. Human males were places in trade jobs or agricultural responsibilities, but could, in theory, work their way up to a higher ranking. A female ghost would be at the same level as a human male, but also be expected to do whatever job that could be offered. A female human was the lowest caste you could be born into. All that was left for they were the roles of mothers and wives.
This system worked for generations, but not all humans agreed that ghosts should be treated as equals. A group of twisted people crossed into the borders of Amitia one night and were on the move towards the Emperor's Palace, mobilizing the military's forces.
Life was not much different in a small village not too far from the capitol city. A young woman sat outside her house, a book in one hand and a pen in the other.
"Quiet and demure," she recited, looking at the old text, "Graceful, polite, delicate," she squinted at a few words before moving to write them on her left forearm, "Refined, poised… punctual," she froze, "Punctual," she glanced up at the sun that was already far too high in the sky, "Oh no."
She dropped the book to the floor before turning and rushing off her home's front porch into the stables. Quickly mounting her horse, she rode out into the street as fast as she could.
Weaving through the hustle and bustle of the town's main street, she finally can to a stop and lept off the horse at the entrance to the town's salon. "I'm here," she declared with a smile, meeting her mother's eyes. Her mother, who had been waiting for her at the salon for a long time, just gave her a disapproving glare, taking in the young woman's tousled hair and wind swept clothes. The younger one just gave her a shrug, "What?"
"Elsa, of all the days to be late," her mother shook her head at her daughter and took her arm, leading her into the salon. Once inside, the owner made quick work of striping the girl down and shoving her into a bath.
Elsa gasped and shivered immediately, "It's freezing."
"It would've been warm if you were on time," her mother, Iduna, chided with a teasing smile before the salon owner moved between them and other women began to wash the girl's long blonde hair. Iduna furrowed her brow when she saw the ink on her daughter's arm, "Elsa, what's this?"
"Notes," she answered quickly, pulling her arm away, "In case I forget something."
The shop owner took Elsa's face between her fingers and stared at it closely, turning it side to side and examining it. "Hm," she huffed, "I've seen worse."
After letting go of her, the blonde was rinsed off and taken to have her hair pulled back into an elegant bun that twisted in curls on top of her head. Elsa grimaced at the style as they began to paint her face with lip stains and rouges. She had never loved having to pull back all her hair in a tight and unmoving bun that made her scalp hurt. Noticing a curly bang that was beginning to come loose, Elsa used her finger to twist the piece of hair to frame her face nicely.
She was then shoved towards a dressing room. Her waist was squeezed into a tight corset and a bright red ballgown was placed over top, being cinched in many places.
Hearing a small excited squeal, Elsa turned to find her sister standing with her mother. "Look at you!" Anna gaped before smiling proudly, "You're going to be a hit with a matchmaker."
"Let's hope she chooses my lifelong husband well," Elsa joked, but deep down, she sent a small prayer to the ancestors that watched over her that her match would be good, not only for her family, but for her as well.
Anna, however, did not understand and just laughed it off, before producing a string of pearls and moving to clip them around her sister's neck. "They're supposed to bring good luck," she stated before she leaned in and whispered, "I just think they make your neck look pretty."
Elsa shared a laugh with her, treasuring the time she had with her little sister before being shipped off to a stranger.
Her mother stepped forward, "Are you ready?"
She took a deep breath, "I suppose I have to be." With a small smile to her family, she turned and made her way out of the salon, into the small procession of women headed to the matchmaker's home. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she found Anna handing the traditional fan that she had forgotten to her. Snatching it quickly, Elsa mouthed a quick "thank you" before moving to catch up with the line, finally coming to a stop at the front of the house.
"Elsa Arendal."
Her name was called out to the small group of a dozen young women just as Elsa reached them, huffing as she dropped the hem of her skirt. "Hello," she smiled to the older woman, slightly out of breath as she stepped forward.
The matchmaker narrowed her eyes and tapped her fountain pen on her clipboard. "Speaking without permission," she scolded, turning to return to the house.
Elsa sighed in defeat and hung her head before she moved to follow the woman into the house. After being led to the parlor, the matchmaker hummed and she circled Elsa. After a little while, she shook her head in disapproval and moved to write on her clipboard as she spoke, "Too skinny. Not good for bearing sons." She turned back to Elsa, "Recite the Final Admonitions."
The blonde nodded before opening her fan and moving it to where it should sit in front of her face, "Fulfill your duties calmly and respectfully. Um, reflect before you…" she glanced down at the smeared ink on her arm before rushing out, "Act. This shall bring you honor and glory." She let out a small sigh of relief as she fanned herself lightly.
The matchmaker hummed and raised a brow at her, grabbing the arm that held both the fan and the ink. The stout older woman took the fan and examined it, making sure it didn't have any writing on it. When she was satisfied, she handed it back to Elsa and pulled her by her arm, "This way."
She led her to a small table by a fireplace, taking her hand off of Elsa's arm and revealing the ink that remained on the old woman's palm. "Now," she gestured to the china tea set on the table, "Pour the tea."
Elsa nodded obediently as she reached for the tea pot. The matchmaker, however, continued to ramble on, "To please your future in-laws, ghost or human, you must demonstrate a sense of dignity." The woman itched her nose, leaving a small ink mustache, "And refinement."
The younger woman stared and blinked at the sight before catching herself almost overflowing the cup. She jumped slightly when suddenly, a cricket jumped into the tea. She glanced behind her to find an open window and cursed her luck.
"You must also be poised," the matchmaker said as she took the cup of tea.
Elsa swallowed her gasp, "Um, pardon me-"
"And silent," the woman cut her off harshly, forcing Elsa to close her mouth.
She just blinked and moved to reach for it. "Could I just… take that back?" She semi-asked, reaching for the cup.
The woman moved back to avoid getting her tea taken and spilled it on herself. She gasped and stumbled back, "You clumsy little-"
But Elsa couldn't catch the insult. Her eyes were on the back of the woman's dress as it caught on fire. The woman followed her gaze and yelped, running around to try and put it out before moving towards the entrance and bursting out the doors. Elsa followed, snatching the teapot as she went. Thinking quick, she poured all the tea onto the woman, successfully putting out the fire, making messes of her clothes and makeup.
The blonde stared for a moment before handing her the teapot, giving a small, very quick, curtsy and leaving down the front steps to rejoin the crowd.
Elsa turned around when she heard the huffing and puffing of the woman before the pot was thrown and smashed on the ground. "You are a disgrace!" she called out as Elsa's mother came to her side, along with her sister, "You may look like a bride but you will never bring your family honor!"
As the woman turned away, hushed whispers filled the crowd as Iduna placed arms around her daughter, Anna soon joining in. Their looks of pity never faded on the way back to their home. When Elsa entered the property to see her father smiling expectantly at her from the front porch, she could only look away and venture into her family's garden, shame clouding her heart as her mother and sister were sure to tell him the news of her failure.
She gazed out into the gardens that were just beginning to bloom in spring. She moved to cross the small and simple white bridge over the small pond filled with lily pads and fish. She paused when she caught sight of her reflection. She sighed, reached down to pool some water in her hands and splash it onto her face, washing away the morning's hard work.
Her hair was pulled out of her bun and fell into her usual messy braid. Looking at her reflection once more, she decided that this was what she was, and she noted how different it was from how the woman at the salon tried to make her look. She shook her head at herself before venturing further into the garden and finding a seat on the small white bench under a cherry blossom tree.
She was a lone with her thoughts for a few moments before the clearing of a throat made her look to see her father, Agnarr, standing above her. Playing with the braid on her shoulder, she looked away from him, embarrassed and upset about what had happened an hour prior.
Without saying anything, he sat beside her. They were left in silence before he finally broke it. "We have beautiful blossoms this year," he said with a smile, staring up at the tree around them and admiring its pink flowers. He paused and pointed up to a branch, "But look." Elsa turned as her father continued speaking. "This one's late," he looked into his daughter's eyes with fondness and pride as he reached up and brushed away a stray hair, "But I'll bet when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all."
A small smile crept onto Elsa's face as she stared lovingly at her father. He returned the smile before the sounds of horses and a drum floated over the garden wall. Her and her father locked eyes before they moved towards the front of their property.
Her mother stopped her at the gates. "Stay inside Elsa," she said, dread evident in her voice as she followed Agnarr out into the street.
Elsa turned when her sister cleared her throat from behind her. The redhead nodded up towards the stack of crates by the stables that lead up the wall. Moving quickly, Elsa climbed the side of the wall to peer over it, finding a small battalion of soldiers following the Emperor's counselman, an observant.
"Citizens!" he called out to the crowd, "I bring a proclamation from the Imperial city. Invaders have breached our borders with violent intentions. By order of the Emperor, all family names must produce a warrior that will join the Imperial Ghost Army," he opened a scroll and began to read off the names on the list. "The Nokken Family, The Fossegrim family," the ghost peered at the next name on the list, "The Arendal Family."
Elsa gasped as all heads turned to her father, who stood proudly on the street. They couldn't send him to a ghost army. He'll be dead within the first week of battle. He won't be able to keep up with his ghostly companions. This was bad. If the Emperor was this desperate for troops that he would mix castes to fill his ranks, the danger may be greater then anyone may believe.
The young woman lept down from the crates and rushed around through the door. "Papa, you can't go," she called as she shoved through the crowd and moved in front of her father, facing the soldier about to give him his assignment, "Please sir, you-"
"Silence!" the observant yelled before glaring at Agnarr, "You would do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man's presence."
"Elsa," her father addressed her without looking away from the man handing him his assignment, "You dishonor me."
The blonde stepped back, her heart sinking and throat closing at those words. She didn't look at him as he turned to return to the house and he didn't spare her a glace.
Later in the night, before supper, she caught him trying to use his sword, practicing strikes and moves, but his old age caught up with him. At one point, his back stiffened and the sword clattered to the floor, out of his hand and he grunted in pain as he tried to regain his balance.
Supper itself was unbearably silent, though everyone knew what everyone else was thinking. Elsa was done being upset with the situation, now she was angry. She slammed her teacup down on the table, breaking the silence. "You shouldn't have to go!" she said as she stood, "There are plenty of young men to fight for Amitia."
"Elsa," her mother chided.
Agnarr barely batted an eye to her outburst, "It's an honor to protect my country and my family."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "So, you'll die for honor?"
"I'll die doing what's right," he responded, standing.
"But, if you-"
"I know my place," he cut her off harshly before glaring down at her, "It is time you learn yours."
There it was, that same pang in her heart as she felt him rip her heart to shreds with a few words. Her mother and sister offered no defense so she turned and rushed through the house, out the back porch to lean on a pillar. Her breathing was heavy as her eyes watered, and she moved through the garden to sit on the bridge, the wind around her seeming to feel her pain as a storm started to blow through.
She barely noticed as the rain began to pelt down from the clouds, dampening her clothes and her mood even more. She brushed her wet hair from her face as her father's words would not leave her head.
Her place? What place? She felt like she had no place. She certainly was not meant to be a bride, that much was proven today. So what could she do?
Time passed and soon the house fell silent. Once it did, an idea formed in Elsa's head. It was stupid and it might get her killed, but at this point, she would be willing to do it for her father.
Sending a quick prayer up to her ancestors, she moved into the house swiftly and quietly. Swiping her father's assignment from his room, she then went to dress herself in his armor. Luckily, with some padding and in order to hide her feminine figure, it fit her well. After sheathing his sword at her hip, she tied her hair up expertly into a bun, using some makeup to thicken her brows and sharpen her jawline.
She quickly packed a few things before rushing out into the stables. Mounting her horse, Sven, she then rode out into the night towards the Phantom Army Camp.
When her family woke the next morning, they found her gone along with Agnarr's assignment and they knew what had happened.
There was no turning back now.
"How do ghosts even greet each other?"
Elsa, now dressed as a man, was hidden in the trees just outside of Phantom Camp. Sven was calmly resting after the night's journey while he watched Elsa pace in front of him. She wrung her hands as she rambled on.
"Should I mention the sword? Strike up a conversation." Elsa shook her head, "No stupid, they have powers. What if I just ask where I should report? Keep it simple."
"Oh yeah sure, that sounds like a great plan."
"Yeah, maybe I should just keep my head dow-" she stopped mid sentence and turned to her right, where the voice had come from. There, smiling up at her was a small snowman.
"Aah!" she screamed, quickly slipping off her shoe and throwing it at the snowman. It hit him dead on and he soon fell to pieces. Elsa panted heavily as she watched the crumbling snow carefully. She gasped and Sven neighed in protest when a swirl of snowflakes whirled around the pile of snow, reassembling it back into the snowman.
It shook its head before smiling up at Elsa. "You're funny, Elsa. I'm Olaf and I'm here to help!"
"Olaf…" Elsa raised a brow at the talking piece of snow that was standing directly under the sun, "How… how are you not melting?" She shook be asking why a pile of frost was talking to her but right now she was beyond that.
"Ancient magic silly," he laughed it off goofily as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Your ancestors sent me to help you. So here I am."
She raised a brow, "My ancestors sent a little snowman to help me?"
"I can change size. That's something I can do."
"Um, no thanks," she just stared at the strange creature. It was beyond weird, but then again, she lived in a world where the dead walked the earth, and she was about to impersonate one no less.
Olaf jumped up excitedly, "Well, then let's go!"
After stuffing the snowman into her backpack, Elsa took the reigns of her horse and turned to conquer the camp. She tried to puff out her chest and mind her own business, but as she got further into the camp, she wrinkled her nose. "Ew."
"Ah, the small of ghostly men," Olaf sighed, "Isn't it the best?"
Elsa rolled her eyes, "I thought regular men smelled bad. This is a whole different level."
"Well, you're not gonna be able to wear perfume if you wanna stay hidden," the snowman deadpanned before he gasped, "Look! Watch and learn, maybe you can figure out how to blend in."
Elsa stopped walking when she reached a small group of three ghosts. One of them was showing off a tattoo, claiming it protected him from harm. The young ghost with greasy blonde hair smirked at the older man with white hair. The blonde punched the tattooed ghost, making the older one laugh. "I hope you can get your money back!" the old one cackled, his black beady eyes closing from laughter.
"I don't think I can do this," Elsa stated, glancing between the ghosts.
Olaf shook his head, "You just have to make some friends. Watch," Olaf turned and smacked the blonde upside the head, hiding in the backpack, knocking the man into a large wolf-like creature.
The thing leaned down to the ghost and growled out, "Johnny make a friend."
"Yeah?" the ghost rolled up his leather sleeve, "Well Johnny's about to pummel a little twerp."
The wolf then rested its chin on the top of Johnny's head. "Calm," he growled out, closing his eyes.
The ghost seemed to be softened by this before narrowing his eyes at Elsa, "Eh… you're not worth my time, chicken boy."
Elsa turned to take her leave, but stopped when a voice sounded from her backpack, "Chicken boy?! That's not very nice, meanie!"
Johnny whipped around a growled, grabbing Elsa's arm, "What'd you call me?" He swung his fist but Elsa ducked and he hit the other ghost instead. "Oops," he shrugged, "Sorry Technus."
As Elsa make a break for a it, Technus yelled, "There he goes!" They ran towards her, but she was quick enough to avoid them, sending them barreling into the rations line.
The observant rolled its eye at the shenanigans before turning to enter the Captain's tent.
"Armies have struck here, here and here," a giant polar bear ghost spoke in a booming voice, pointing to spots on a map on the table before him, "I will take the main troops up to the Vortex Pass and destroy Vlad Masters and his army before he destroys that village."
The observant nodded, "Excellent strategy, sir."
The ghost just raised a brow at the other before turning to the man in front of him, "You, Daniel, will stay here and train the new recruits," the ghost reached down to retrieve a sword, "When the Observant believes you are ready, you will join us," the bear smirked, "Captain."
The man in front of him blinked green eyes in disbelief before taking the sword into his hands. "Captain?" he repeated, mostly to himself.
"This is an enormous responsibility, Frostbite," the observant stated, "Perhaps a soldier with more experience-"
"I have complete faith in Danny to complete his mission no matter what," Frostbite stated.
The young man smile brightly before nodding, "I will, I'll," he paused when he caught the observant's eye. Clearing his throat, he gave a strong nod, "Yes, sir."
Frostbite smiled at his friend before turning to leave the tent, "Very well then, I'll expect a report in three weeks."
"I won't leave anything out," the observant promised to Frostbite, but threatened to Danny.
The ghost boy just narrowed his eyes before moving to step out of the tent after the general, determined to train the best troops in all of Amitia.
That was, before he saw them all fighting a pile of rations.
Frostbite gave Danny an amused look before continuing to his battalion. Mounting his large horse, he saluted to the young ghost before turning and leading his army into the mountains. Danny just smiled slightly and saluted him back, watching him go with a fond gaze.
He huffed as he turned back to the troops. The observant looked straight at him, "Day one."
Danny just rolled his eyes before approaching the rioting crowd. "Soldiers!" he called out, making the whole group freeze at once.
They all immediately stepped to the side to reveal a huddled bunch on the floor. They all pointed and yelled, "He started it!"
Elsa peeked out from behind her hands when she noticed the fighting had stopped, she noticed a man with a green cloak, signifying his rank as their captain. She immediately sprung to her feet, brushing herself off a bit, before she froze in her spot.
Now, she didn't think she was the typical male-driven kind of girl. But when she came face to face with her commanding officer, she knew she had yet another problem to deal with. She'd hoped her captain would be older and maybe not have great eyesight if she was lucky. No, her captain had to be young and strapping with bright white hair and glowing green eyes.
Danny raised a brow at the boy before him. Scrawny, blonde, and pale with wide eyes. But he couldn't be seen being lenient on the first day, he needed to assert himself. "I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp," he spoke harshly.
"Sorry," She responded automatically, before realizing her mistake. She coughed to cover it up before trying again in a deeper voice, "Sorry, sir."
"What's your name?" he asked immediately.
"Um," Elsa faltered. A name? A name?! How could she forget to think of a name?!
"A name?" Olaf sounded from her backpack, "What about Kristoff? No, that's too northern. Sven? No, that's the name of your horse. Hans? No, that's the name of a guy who stole my nose once-"
Elsa stopped him by elbowing her bag. "Hans."
"Hans?" Danny repeated with a questionable gaze. Before he glanced around at the snickering crowd. He narrowed his eyes before addressing them, "Okay, gentlemen, thanks to your friend Hans, you're gonna spent tonight picking up every scrap of food. And tomorrow, the real work begins." Satisfied with the response of groans from the crowd and the seriousness in their faces, he turned and left the sight.
Elsa just sighed as she noticed all the glares being sent her way.
The next morning came when the sun streamed through Elsa's poorly pitched tent, due to the fact that no one would help her.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!"
Elsa sat up at the shout, startled from her sleep as she met Olaf's gaze. "Now remember," he wagged a stick arm at her as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "It's your first day of training so listen to you teacher, don't fight, and play nice with the other kids. The troops just left-"
"They what?!"
She grabbed all her stuff and threw it on as quickly as she could, adjusting and fixing herself as she moved towards the center of camp. She approached the group of men and noticed how their laughter fell silent when she approached.
"Hello Hans," Technus cooed as Elsa came to a stop next to him, "Are you hungry?"
"Yeah," Johnny mused from beside him before grabbing her shirt, "Cause I owe you a knuckle sandwich."
"Soldiers!"
The captains sharp yell halted Johnny's fist midair as Elsa flinched away. They all moved to fall in line as Danny approached them, tall and proud. He gave them all a look before turning away from them, moving to untie his shirt, "You will assemble swiftly and silently every morning."
Elsa blinked as she watched the fabric fall to the ground, his tanned and muscled back in full view before he turned to his troops. She shook her head, telling herself to focus and cursing her luck.
"I have a surprise for you," he smirked at his men. They grow excited for a moment before some men dropped a machine to the ground. It was white with green and was very oddly shaped. "This is a cortex disruptor," he gestured as he moved towards it, "The entire human army has them. They inhibit ghost powers. So from now on," he switched it on, causing it to hum before it lit up, "We will train to fight like humans."
A collective sigh was heard from the group, but Elsa was beyond relieved. Danny swiftly picked up a bow, slung and arrow and aimed it for the top of a giant wooden post in the center of camp. He shot it, successfully wedging it into the top of the post.
"Johnny," he called, not even looking back at the ghost, "Thank you for volunteering." He turned to the blonde, "Retrieve the arrow."
Johnny sent him a glare before cracking his knuckles. "Just watch me, pretty boy," he muttered to himself, stalking over to the bottom of the post.
"Wait," Danny called, smirking as he followed Johnny, two new items in his hands. Weights, to be exact. "You're forgetting something," he placed on into Johnny's hand and held it up, "This will represent discipline," he let go, causing the weight to drop to the ground before placing the other into Johnny's other hand, "And this represents strength." He dropped it once more, sending Johnny to the ground. "You need both to reach the arrow."
The troops watched eagerly for Johnny's next move. The blonde ghost just scoffed before beginning to climb the wooden pole. He got a little off the ground fairly easily before he began to slide back down due to the weights. It was then that every troop was required to try. None got further than Johnny. Elsa was the last to go, landing promptly on her butt as she fell back to the ground.
Danny sighed as he watched her get back in line, "We've got a long way to go." Turning to the barrel of staffs he grabbed a bunch and threw them to his men, the scrawny blonde not quite catching his, "Let's get down to business."
And thus began their training. Their not-so-successful training. They'd begun with staff techniques, which had been okay, before moving on to archery the next day, a dodging projectiles the next, hand to hand combat, and more.
Weeks of exercises started to pass and Danny was beginning to lose hope in some of the men. They did what they were told, mostly, but their spirit was lacking, they weren't motivated. One troop in particular was lagging behind throughout all training.
It was the skinny kid collapsing in an endurance exercise up that mountain that was the last straw. When the blonde was walking back from the mountains, Danny approached him. "Hans," he stated, grabbing the young man's attention, "We need to talk."
The boy just blinked up at him. Elsa's heart dropped in her chest when she heard him say that.
"You're unsuited for war," Danny shook his head, "Pack your things and get yourself home."
Her eyes widened before she shook her head, "Captain, I-"
"That's an order," he glared at her refusal.
"I-I can't. I'll work harder. I'll-"
"I will not send you to the front lines to be killed," he glared at her before sighing, "Go home Hans."
With that, the captain turned away from her to retreat to his tent for the night. With the moon high in the sky, Elsa felt lost. She couldn't go home, she'd already risked so much. She sat there in the grass, trying to think her way out of this situation as the moon sunk through the night, casting a shadow on her face. The shadow made her look up, noticing the arrow still wedged in the post.
As a last resort, Elsa moved towards the training supplies and tied the weights to her wrists once more. She tried desperately to climb the pole with just as much luck as she'd had the first time. She just wasn't strong enough. She sighed, staring up at the pole for a moment before she got an idea.
She stood once more before swinging her arms around the pole, letting the weights tangle into each other. Using that as leverage, she began to climb the wooden post with success. As she made it up further up the post, her arms aching from the effort and sweat building on her brow, the sun began to rise, bringing with it the troops waking in their tents and coming out to see her working towards the arrow.
When Danny woke that morning and stepped out for training, the arrow was thrown to his feet. Looking up at the post he spotted none other then Hans sitting there with a smile as the men below him cheered. "Heh, what'd ya know?" he smirked as he picked up the arrow, "He's got some tricks up his sleeve."
That was the turning point for the troops. Seeing the weakest prevail motivated them to improve. They marched with more purpose, worked harder during training sessions and accepted each other as a team, strengthening them as an army.
"Elsa, are you sure this is a good idea? What if someone sees you?"
Olaf paced around the side of the lake nervously before glancing up at the girl. "Just because I have to look like a man doesn't mean I need to smell like one," she said, letting her hair down as she placed the tie with the rest of her clothes. Looking around the area, she quickly jumped into the lake.
She sighed in relief as she came up for air, the water washing away days of training.
"Um Elsa?"
She barely had time to react to Olaf's soft voice before the yelling of men caught her attention. "Oh no," she muttered, ducking low in the water. As they all jumped in, Elsa grabbed a lilypad and used it to cover her as she swam to her behind a rock.
The three ghosts were just splashing around, before Johnny's voice called out to her. "Hey! Hans!"
She grumbled, annoyed that she'd been caught. "Oh, hi guys," she smiled, deepening her voice before placing the lilypad in front of her, "I didn't know you were here. I was just washing, but now I'm clean and I'm gonna go. Bye!" She ducked behind the rock.
"Oh come on," Johnny grumbled swimming over to her, causing her to scrunch away from him, "I know we were jerks to you before so let's start over. Hi, I'm Johnny."
She nodded at him, grateful for this change of attitude but really cursing the timing of it. She moved to back away but instead backed into a furry body. She looked up to find a toothy smile. "Me Wulf."
"Heh, hello Wulf," she smiled sheepishly, before averting her eyes from a certain very naked someone who was standing on the rock.
"And I'm Technus! The all powerful! I am king of the rock!" he laughed, before smirking down at them, "And there's nothing you can do about it."
Johnny raised a brow with a smirk, "Oh yeah? Well, I think Hans and I can take you," he gave her a little nudge.
Elsa shook her head, still averting her eyes, and moving away from them, "I don't really wanna take him anywhere."
Johnny followed her, "Hans, we have to fight!"
"No," she shook her head again, "We don't. We… We could just close our eyes and… swim around."
"Come on," he smiled, grabbing her arm which was dangerously close to something else, "Don't be a-Argh! Cold! Cold!"
He jumped out of the water before the others followed suit, finding refuge on the rock. In the panic, Elsa made her escape, ducking into the tall grass. She quickly wrapped herself in a towel. "That was close."
Olaf followed her, somehow appearing wet. "Yeah, a little too close," he grumbled.
Elsa combed through her wet hair with her fingers, "I never want to see a naked man again."
Just then, to her annoyance, a stampede of naked men passed her to go to the lake.
When she was dressed again, she returned to camp, one that was mostly empty. As she passed by the commander's tent, she heard the observant's voice, "You think your troops are ready to fight? They wouldn't last a minute."
"They completed their training," Danny's voice followed.
"They are not fit to be soldiers just as you are not fit to be captain. When the general reads my report, your troops will never see battle."
There was a bit more squabbling in softer tones that she couldn't hear before she heard a "You're dismissed," and Danny stormed out of the tent.
As he walked past her she smirked. "Hey, I'll hold him, and you punch," she tried to joke, finding violence to be the way most men like to interact. When he didn't even respond and kept walking, she sighed.
"For what it's worth," she shrugged with a soft smile, "I think you're a great captain."
He slowed his steps, looking back at her for a moment, before smiling and continuing on his way.
She smiled after him. After all, she of all people knows what it feels like when people tell you you don't belong or you can't do something right.
"You liiiiiiiike him."
"Ah!" Elsa jumped when Olaf's voice appeared from beside her, "Olaf, don't sneak up on me like that!"
He shrugged with a bright smile, "Not my fault you were daydreaming about your commanding officer."
"Olaf," she scolded, before she turned to go back to her tent, a smile coming on her face.
Once she was gone, the snowman noticed the observant leave his tent. "Well, Elsa won't mind if I help the troops along, would she? No, I mean, it's for the good of Amitia."
That night, Olaf returned to the tent with ink on his sticks.
The next morning, the troops set off for the Vortex Pass to join the rest of the imperial army. Dressed in full armor, they thundered down the their path like cattle. Days and days passed of travel and the men began to grow weary
Technus was the one to sigh and shake his head, "This is beyond boring. I can't ignore my aching feet. And we're not allowed to fly."
"Flying will give away our position," Elsa reminded him, though she was glad she didn't find herself in that predicament.
Johnny smirked before elbowing his friend, "Think of a girl."
"Huh?" Elsa raised a brow, "A girl?"
He shrugged, "That's what I said. A girl worth fighting for." He mused for a second before smirking, "My girl would be paler than the moon with eyes that shine like stars. Not to mention she's got to be a little wild, a ride or die."
"My girl would know her way around technology," Technus shrieked before shrugging, "But I have other priorities."
Wulf shook his head, "No girl, just friends."
"What about you Hans?" Johnny piped up, turning to Elsa.
Technus smirked, "Yeah. If I recall, the women in the grain fields took quite the liking to you."
Elsa blushed at the reminder. All the women were smiling and waving at her from their places at work. Had she not been undercover, she wouldn't have turned beet red and hid her face away, something the women laughed at.
The suddenly, putting a stop to their conversation, they stopped, greeted with the sight of the Vortex Pass village reduced to nothing but ash and rubble. The men were frozen for a good while, taking in the horror of the scene, before carefully continuing through the villages crumbling entrance.
Some fires still crackled on charred wood and smoke swirled into the sky, turning it an ugly red color. "Search for survivors," Danny's voice sounded from the front of the battalion, though with not harshness or bite to it which was unusual.
The men, though slumped and devastated, began to split up and search for anyone they could find. As they searched, Elsa stopped at the sight of a small ragdoll lying in the snow of the mountain. She gingerly picked it up as she heard a horse ride up next to her and someone drop down to the ground. "I don't understand," Danny said as he took the sight of the doll, "Frostbite should've been here."
"Captain!"
They both turned to find the observant standing at the crest of a hill. His eye was wide, looking to be horrified before a sickly green finger stretched out and pointed.
Danny moved to where the ghost was before he stopped short. There, laid across the snow, was Frostbite's entire Imperial army. They all lay unmoving as his troops searched for anyone who might be alive. The snow was turned green from the ectoplasm everywhere, showing that the humans they were dealing with showed no mercy in their attack, and they had ways of fully killing a ghost, a task that is usually hard to do.
Wulf then approached him, Frostbite's cape in hand. "The general," was all he said, handing it to Danny, who merely stared at the fabric before turning and walking off alone.
The others came a moment later, staring in horror at the carnage. Elsa could barely look at it for very long before her eye caught a flash of blue to her right. She turned to find Danny taking the sword at his side, stabbing it into the ground, and placing the cap around it, creating a shrine of sorts.
Her feet moved on their own accord and once she was behind him she heard herself offer a solemn, "I'm sorry."
He got to his feet and turn away from the battle field and almost passed Elsa before he stopped. He locked eyes with her before placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a reassuring squeeze, a thank you of sorts.
He walked passed all his men, tall and proud as they stared at him with sympathy. He stopped when he reached his horse, taking a small, tense moment for himself and all who were lost before saddling his horse. "The army is moving quickly," he announced, reeling his green animal, "We'll make better time for the Imperial City through the Vortex Pass," he took a deep breath before meeting his men with a softer gaze, "We're the only hope for the Emperor now," he turned away from them, "Move out."
The men followed him, but Elsa stayed behind for a moment. She stared at Frostbite's small shrine before moving over to it and placing the small doll at the base of the sword that was embedded into the ground.
The troops moved dutifully through the snow, a heavy silence hanging over them all but no one dared to break it. There was no more whistling, or soft singing, or talk of women, only silence.
Until a cannon shot from the wagon up into the air with what seemed to be a deafening explosion that cut through the air and caught everyone's attention.
Elsa, unfortunately, was closest to the cart and Danny rode up to her. "What happened?" he demanded. When she floundered, unable to explain it, he growled, "That just gave away our position. Now we're-"
He was then knocked off his horse when an arrow struck his shoulder, causing him to land with a thud in the snow.
The troops gasped before looking up to find and shower of arrows raining down from the sky upon them, the yells of men filling the air. Danny growled as he sat up and ripped the arrow out of his shoulder. If a normal arrow could hurt him, that meant a cortex disrupter was nearby and active. "Get out of range!" he yelled to his men.
They followed orders, rushing to take cover behind mounds of snow and rock. The normal arrows changed to flaming ones, one landing on the cart with the cannons. Sven, who'd been hauling the cart, neighed in protest before Danny commanded the troops to save their firepower. As they saved the cannons, Elsa unsheathed her sword and cut Sven free. She mounted him and tried to get away but the cart exploded, sending her off the horse.
Olaf landed in the snow next to her and she quickly grabbed him before shoving him into Sven's scorched saddlebag. She took the horse's reigns and retreated back to join her troop. She ducked into cover with them as they fired at the opposing army at Danny's command. She joined in, lighting cannons and firing them at the men in the mountains.
When all seemed to go quiet, Danny held out his hand, "Hold the last cannon."
Then, there at the crest of the valley as the smoke cleared, he sat on his horse, smirking at them. Vladimir Masters, the leader of the anti-ghost army that was taking their land by storm. His long grey hair matched the malevolent mountains, his midnight blue eyes in a piercing stare, and his grin erie and unsettling.
And then there were more. So many more. All armed and on horses, ready to charge at Vlad's command. As the shouts reached the air, outnumbering their troop by hundred's Danny's gaze hardened.
"Prepare to fight," he said turning to his men, "If we die, we die with honor."
All the men unsheathed their swords, but all of them looked terrified of using it.
Vlad began to charge, leading the army down the hill towards them. "Johnny," Danny addressed the ghost that held the last cannon, "Aim the cannon at Vlad."
The ghost did as he was told but Elsa knew that would never be enough. Even without their leader, the humans could still continue their mission. They needed to get as much out of that last cannon as they could. Her eye suddenly caught the mountainside that leered over the valley. But she needed to act fast.
She sheathed her sword and elbowed Johnny out of her way, snatching up the cannon as Johnny yelped in protest.
"Hans! Come back!" Danny yelled with wide eyes as he watched the scrawny kid who, could barely lift weights before this, charge head first at their enemy.
But Elsa's face was set and determined as she ran towards the screaming army. When she thought she was close enough, she planted the canon into the snow and aimed. Trying to balance it between her legs, she grabbed the starter stones to light the fuse. But in this cold and high altitude, it was difficult for her to get enough friction to do so.
It wasn't until Vlad almost ran her over that the cannon was lit and shot up towards the mountainside, stopping Vlad short. "You missed!" Technus's shrill voice screamed, "How could you miss?! He was three feet in front of you!"
The cannon exploded on the rock, shaking it lose of snow and ice and letting it fall into the valley. Elsa sent a smirk up to Vlad as he looked up in horror as it began to fall towards his army, leaving no escape.
He shouted in fury and rose his swords as Elsa rose to her feet. With a menacing glare, he swung his sword at her, slashing at her midsection. She cried out and fell to the ground, but the adrenaline washed the pain away as she scrambled to get to her feet and get out of there, going back towards cover.
She approached Danny as she ran back to her battalion, who was staring at the avalanche, dumbfounded. She just grabbed his arm and without stopping and dragged him back to cover with her.
They ran together as the snow was beginning to catch up to them. A sudden neigh filled the air as Elsa noticed Sven coming to her rescue. She expertly mounted the horse in one foul swoop once he go close enough. She then reached out and grabbed Danny's hand. But the snow was too strong and soon swept over both of them.
It took a few moments, but she reemerged for the snow, gasping for air. "Olaf?" she asked as she opened the saddlebag.
"I'm okay!"
She left out a relieved sigh at his cheery response before she noticed a head of white shining hair among the snow. "Danny!" she called out as she turn Sven to ride towards him.
The current of rushing snow was carrying him and the human army away and over a cliff. Once she was close enough, she heaved him up onto the horse as Sven pivoted against the current of the snow. Unfortunately, Danny was knocked unconscious, making him dead weight as she struggled to settle him on the horse.
An arrow and rope the appeared out of the debris. She sntached it up as Sven continued to struggle against the avalanche and tied the rope to the arrow. They were getting too close to the cliff. She tied the other end of the rope to Sven's midsection. All she needed was a bow.
She searched the snow for one as they got closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Finally, at the last minute, she found one and ripped it off the human that carried it. As they were driven off the cliff, she shop the arrow over to her men.
She clunge to Danny and Sven for dear life as they fell for a few moments before being pulled taunt. They were motionless for a moment before they were slowly, but surely, pulled to safety.
"Elsa, you're the man!" Olaf praised, popping his head out to look up at her before shrugging "Well, not really but, you know." The avalanche was coming to an end as they almost reached the top and Danny was regaining consciousness.
Sven clobbered away from the edge as soon as his hooves touched solid ground. Elsa helped Danny off the horse and they both fell into the snow. Danny huffed as he shook his head to clear his mind, his troops surrounding him and looking at him with concern. "Hans," he turned to the blonde boy, "You are the craziest man I've ever met," he shook his head, panting, a small amused smile on his face, "And the most brilliant. I owe you my trust and my life… well, afterlife."
"Let's here it for Hans!" Technus cheered, "King of the mountain!"
As they cheered her on, Elsa couldn't help her small laugh as she moved to stand. Once up, she fell back to the ground, grunting in pain as she clutched her stomach. The adrenaline had faded and now the pain was coming back with a vengeance.
"He's wounded!" Danny's shout was fuzzy in her mind that was quickly becoming clouded, "Get help!" He vision began to fade and she felt herself being held in a pair of arms. The last thing she could hear was his voice.
"Hold on Hans, just hold on."
They troops waited anxiously outside the medical tent they'd quickly pitched. Danny was pacing in the snow, lost deep in thought as time ticked by.
Johnny slowly pet a whimpering Wulf as an attempt to calm him while Technus sighed, never taking his eyes off the tent. When the physician came out and moved to talk to Danny, they all perked up, hoping for good news. Instead, they just saw Danny look at the doctor with surprise and enter the tent.
He was greeted with the sight of the blonde stirring in his sleep. He blinked a few times, stretching under the blanket, before opening his eyes. He smiled when he saw Danny and sat up to greet his captain, letting the blanket fall to his waist.
Danny's eyes widened at the sight before him as the very clear curve of the blonde's chest was shown dressed in bandages that expanded down to her hips, and it was red blood that was staining the dressings.
Not only was she a woman, she was human.
She curiously cocked a brow at him before glancing down where he was looking. She gasped and took the covers to hide herself. "I-I can explain."
In shock and unable to believe his eyes, he turned to leave the tent, not paying any mind to the observant that passed him on his way out. He felt mislead, foolish, betrayed, even that he'd been tricked. He marched away from the front of the tent before the observant burst through its entrance, roughly dragging her with him as she clutched to the blanket.
"I knew there was something wrong with you," he accused before pulling her close and roughly ripping her hair out of its bun, causing it to fall into a braid, "A woman," he shoved her to the ground and she grunted as she landed in the snow, "And a human, the treacherous snake."
She moved to pick herself up, resting on her knees. "My name is Elsa," she said as she faced the shocked faces of her troops, but she turned to Danny's still turned back as she continued, "I did it to save my father."
"High treason!" the observant accused.
She narrowed her eyes, "I didn't mean for it to go this far."
The observant yelled in her face, "Ultimate dishonor."
"It was the only way," she stated before she met Danny's eyes, "Please believe me."
Danny stared at her as she gazed up at him from her meek position in the snow. She was curled into herself, huddled in the blanket she'd had before as the observant probably didn't even let her dress herself. Yet he still saw the boy that was so unsure of himself the first day of training, the scrawny pale blonde that worked harder than anyone to earn their keep.
"Captain," the observant said from beside him, offering him a sword.
And he took it.
Wulf growled in defense as Johnny and Technus moved towards her. But the observant stopped them with a wave of his hand. "You know the law," he chided them, halting them all in their tracks.
All they could do was watch in despair as Danny approached Elsa with the weapon. Elsa could only stare up at him before he stopped in front of her. Residing to her fate, she bowed her head to him.
A pang ran through his heart. She looked as if she'd accepted her end. But there was no groveling, no begging for life, no tears, only dignity and majesty as she sat there and waited.
Shutting his eyes tightly, he gripped his sword before throwing it to the side.
Everyone flinched, including her. But when she heard the disturbance in the snow, she opened her eyes to find the metal shining back at her. Then she looked up to find green eyes shining as well.
"Move out!"
He turned away from her and the observant rushed to him. "But you can't just-"
"I said. Move. Out," he cut the ghost off, biting out the words as he eyes flared a brighter green.
Clinks of metal and footsteps in the snow soon faded as what was left of Elsa's battalion left her in the snow with her horse.
The sun began to set against the mountains. Elsa had dressed herself and salvaged the blanket as she sat in the cold against her horse, the animal's body providing some heat.
It was then that Olaf decided to pop out of the saddle bag. He clobbled down to the ground and sat beside Elsa. There were a few moments of silence, before he broke it, "Well that didn't go so well."
"I shouldn't have left home," Elsa chided, more to herself than to Olaf.
The snowman shrugged, "You wanted to help your father. Who'da known you'd end up disgracing him and losing all your friends?"
She furrowed her brow, "Maybe I didn't go for my father. Maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right," she glanced to her side and picked up her helmet, looking into it, "So when I looked in the mirror, I'd see someone worthwhile."
She squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered the look her friends' faces as they found out, the look of disappointment and betrayal in Danny's eyes. She shook her head, trying to get the image to go away. "But I was wrong," she said through her brewing tears, "I see nothing."
Tossing the helmet to the side, she pulled the blanket closer to herself. Olaf stared at her sadly before picking up the helmet. He smiled softly as he looked at it. "It just needs a little shine, that's all." He took the helmet and wiped it on his snow, shining it up the slightest. He smiled at his work and help it up to her, "Look at you, you look so pretty."
Elsa just turned her head away, not acknowledging his efforts. His smile went away as he set the helmet down. "Sometimes, we do things that are dangerous or stupid to protect the ones we love most," Olaf said, "Whether that includes yourself is dependent on what you need."
Elsa looked down at the snowman hopefully as he smiled at her. "That and I've never seen anyone without powers take down an entire army single handedly."
She couldn't help it, she smiled down at him. After a breath of reprieve she stood and began to saddle Sven. "I'll have to face my father sooner or later," she resided, "Let's go home."
"Things'll work out," Olaf promised before moving to stand, "We started this thing together, and we'll finish it."
Elsa smiled fondly down at the snowman before a war cry sounded across the mountains. Eyeing the area warily, she moved to the edge of the cliff, looking down into the snow graves below. Her eyes widened when she saw Vlad and his six most trusted and strongest men grinning at each other before advancing down the slope towards the imperial city.
Gasping, she turned and grabbed the sword that was left in the snow. She sheathed it and quickly mounted her horse.
"Home is that way," Olaf said, pointing opposite of where Elsa was turned.
She shook her head at him and picked him up and put him in her saddle bag once more. "I have to do something," she said matter-of-factly.
"Those men just popped out of the ground, like daisies!" Olaf reasoned.
"Are we in this together or not?" she asked as she stared at him.
He stared right back and nodded his head, "Let's do this."
It took her until past sundown to reach the Imperial City. It was lit with lanterns and paper kites that flew in the air, the streets were filled with people, no doubt celebrating Amitia's victory. She road through the streets, searching for her friends as she called for people to get out of her way. Then she heard, "Make way for the heros of Amitia!" she moved in that direction.
She found a parade of dancers and a green glowing paper dragon winding through the streets. In front were her friends marching in time to the drums. "Danny!" she rode passed the line of spectators and trotted beside her captain and his horse.
He turned at the call of his name and his eyes widened at the side of her, "Elsa?"
"The armies are alive," she warned him, "They're in the city."
His expression turned cold, seemingly not hearing what she just said, "You don't belong here Elsa, go home." He nudged his horse to trot a bit faster.
Elsa narrowed her eyes as she caught up with him, "Danny, I saw them in the mountains. You have to believe me."
"Why should I?" he glared at her. In truth, he was still hurt, feeling lied to by someone he considered a friend.
Her eyes narrowed before the rode her horse in front of his, stopping him in his tracks. "Why else would I come back? You said you trust Hans," she challenged him, "Why is Elsa any different?"
He didn't look at her as he slowly moved around her to continue towards the palace.
The troops followed, staring at her curiously. "Keep your eyes open," she told them as they passed her, "I know they're here." With that she rode into the crowd and slid off her horse once she was inside the gates of the Imperial Palace.
"Where are you going?" Olaf asked as he peeked his head out of the bag.
"To find someone who will believe me," she stated as fireworks exploded above the palace. As she hopelessly tried to get people's attention, all of which were ignoring her, the troops along with the parade members reached the steps of the palace, where the emperor stood to greet them.
The observant handed Danny Vladimir's sword to present to the emperor. As he took it, he couldn't help but hear Elsa's warning in his head, keeping alert of everything around him. A ghost with a long staff with a clock on top, as well as a shifting form, came to a stop in front of the young ghost.
At the sound of a gong, the entire crowd silenced. "My people!" the emperor spoke, "Amitia will sleep safe tonight thanks to our warriors."
Danny bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Your majesty, I present to you the sword of Vladimir Masters," he held out the sword for him to take.
The ghost look curiously at him, "I know how much this means to you Danny," he offered a small smile to the young man, "Frostbite would've been very proud."
Danny look up at the emperor and returned the smile, "Thank you, Clockwork."
But the sword was snatched from both of their hands by a hook of some sort. Following the line up to the roof of the palace, one of the gargoyles caught it and moved into the light, revealing it to be none other than Vlad.
As Danny went to reach for his sword, the green dragon behind him ripped open to reveal a few of Vlad's men. They knocked him down quickly and when Danny was finally on his feet, he saw Clockwork being taken into the palace.
Without a even word to his men, they all instant charged up after them but the giant doors shut before they could enter. All of them went to turn intangible and go through the door but found that they couldn't.
Vlad's maniacal laughter ran out from the roof and that's when they noticed it. A cortex disrupter.
Having witnessed the scene, Elsa pushed through the crowd as fast as she could. Running up the palace steps, she found her friends had taken one of the statues were using it as a ramming horn. "They'll never reach the emperor in time," she muttered. Glancing up to one of the balconies, she got an idea.
Running up to them, she shouted, "Hey guys!" catching their attention. "I've got an idea."
The trio exchanged looks before dropping the statue and following her. In a matter of minutes Technus, Johnny, and Wulf were all stripped of their armor, instead wearing fine dresses with painted faces. Elsa set aside their weapons and dressed herself as well. Reaching a few columns that line up with each other, they all took their belts and wrapped them around the painted wood.
Then there was a tap on her shoulder and she turned to find Danny smiling at her. He followed her lead and removed his belt from his armor to use to climb the column. She smiled back at him and a brief moment of understanding passed between them.
They climbed up and into the balcony, maneuvering through the halls and finally finding a heavily guarded door that led up into another balcony, no doubt where Clockwork was being held.
"Aright, any questions?" Elsa asked.
"Does this dress make me look fat?" Johnny asked, earning a glare from the group, "What?"
Handing them each a fan to hide their face, they all went out in a group, leaving Danny behind to wait for the right moment. They all giggled as they passed the men.
"Who's there?" one asked.
"Courtesans," another answered.
"Ugly courtesans," came a third.
Just then, an apple had fallen from Technus's dress, having been used to mimic a feminine figure. Danny facepalmed as he watched the ghost just fan himself to hide a literal missing boob.
One man picked up the apple and kindly offered it back, to which the three of them took out the fruit from all their dresses. Using them to catch the men off guard, Wulf took the two big guards, Technus knocked out a tall lanky man, and Johnny threw one over his shoulder. Elsa took down the archer, using his own bow to hold him down in a choke hold. "Danny go!" she called.
He sprung out from his place around the corner and ran passed the subdued army, bursting through the doors and running up the steps to reach the emperor. He caught him just as Vlad raised his sword to strike Clockwork, blocking the attack and kicking the human back into a column.
As they fought hand to hand, Elsa and Wulf reached the balcony. "Wulf, get the emperor," Elsa called to her friend.
The big fury ghost bowed to Clockwork before grabbing him and carrying him to the side of the balcony. Using his silk belt once more, he ziplined down to the ground on a string of paper lanterns, causing the lanterns to fall off the cord as they went.
Elsa was about to follow them when he heard a grunt from the fight behind her. While Danny had had a hold on Vlad, the man then knocked the ghost off of himself, harshly knocking the ghost to the ground in a way that made Elsa wince. Vlad then took Danny and threw him across the balcony towards her.
"Come on!" Johnny called from the ground, having escaped with Technus.
She looked back at Danny, who lay practically unmoving on the ground, and then met Vlad's glare. He breathing heavily, his eye trained on her escape route. Thinking quickly, she grabbed Danny's sword that had been left on the ground and slashed the line, ducking away just as Vlad reached for it.
She rushed to Danny's side, helping him sit up as he finally came around. He blinked as he locked eyes with her before looking behind her and shoving her out of the way. She fell back just as Vlad grabbed him by the collar. "You!" he sneered, raised his sword and aiming it at Danny's neck, "You took away my victory."
"No."
A shoe promptly hit Vlad in the back of the head, making him turn to find Elsa standing proud. "I did," she grabbed her hair and twisted it into a tight bun before glaring definitely at him.
Recognition flashed in Vlad's eyes. "The soldier from the mountain," he muttered. He dropped Danny to the ground as he slowly approached her.
After putting her shoe back on, she turned and ran down the stairs, his echoing war cry following her. She slammed the doors shut just in time, locking them with a bar through it's handles.
"Hi Elsa!"
She opened her eyes as the door was rammed into. "Olaf?" she stared at the smiling snowman before her, "How did you- … What are you doing here?"
Just then, a fist broke through the wood of the door, causing her to begin running through the halls with Olaf at her side. "I'm here to help with your plan silly," he said, "What's the plan?"
"Um…"
His eyes widened, "You don't have a plan?!"
"Hey, I'm making this up as I…" she stopped as she passed a window that gave her a full view of the fireworks tower, "Go," coming up with an idea, she turned to the snowman as she leaned out the window, "Olaf-"
"On it!" he cheered before jumping out the window, only to rise back up in the sky, flying on the back of a large kite.
Elsa smiled after him, but Vlad coming around the corner snapped her out of it. She ducked behind a column as Vlad sliced at her with his sword, slashing the wood in half. She started to climb up the next one only to have him chop it down while she was on it. She yelped as the column fell through the wall of the palace and out over the heads of the crowd. The people and ghosts below gasped in surprise as Vlad stepped onto the column as well.
Thinking fast, she leaped up into the air, grabbing the edge of the roof. She came face to face with the cortex disrupter, having to push in off the roof in order to get up onto it quickly. She noticed Olaf flying around and turned to see what the angle was to the tower. When she backed up to get a better view, Vlad burst through the roof behind her. She gasped and jumped back.
He climbed up onto the roof, smirking victoriously. Elsa searched her person, looking for anything she could use to stall him and only coming up with a white fan, opening it in disappointment to find nothing else.
Vlad laughed, "It looks like you're out of ideas." He draw back and thrusted his sword towards her.
She dodged, letting the sword stab through her open fan. She closed it, twisted the sword out of his hand, and caught it, discarding the ruined fan. "Not quite," she smirked at him before noticing the figure behind him, "Ready Olaf?"
"I am ready!" he called back from behind a large firework that was aimed at Vlad.
Vlad just growled as he tried to charge at Elsa. She stabbed the sword into the wood of the roof and blocked his attack before dropping down and swiping his feet from underneath him. He landed on the roof tiles with a sickening crack. She then took the sword and stabbed through his pant leg, pinning him to the roof as Olaf lit the firework.
Vlad spotted the explosive coming towards him and tried to move away before noticing what was holding him down. It was then that the firework snatched him off the roof, sending him towards the tower.
"Get off the roof, get off the roof, get off the roof," Elsa chanted as she rushed to the other side of the rooftop, snatching up Olaf in the process.
Just as Vlad was sent into the fireworks tower, the roof began to explode. Elsa jumped off seconds before, escaping the fireworks that now flew into the sky, but now she was free falling into the crowd, watching as Olaf fell with her. She shut her eyes and waited for the ground but was suddenly caught by a pair of strong arms.
She opened her eyes to find green ones and a smile waiting for her. "Thanks for taking care of that disrupter," he winked.
Elsa couldn't help but laugh at him. She then looked up and skillfully caught Vlad's sword by the hilt, stopping it from flying through the sky.
Danny then drifted down to the steps of the palace with her in his arms, setting her on the ground as fireworks continued to color the night sky and the crowd cheered. She was then tackled in a hug by Johnny, Technus, and Wulf, making her drop the sword. She laughed and hugged them back before a voice cut through the cheers and celebration.
"Where is she?!"
Danny immediately turned to face the observant that was coming down the steps through the smoke. He stepped in front of Elsa with a glare turned towards the ghost as the three behind him attempted to hide her.
"Now she's done it. What a mess!" the observant yelled, "Stand aside! That creature's not worth protecting."
Danny's eyes flared as he glared at the ghost, "She's a hero."
"She's a human. And a woman. She'll never be worth anything," he said smugly.
Danny gabbed the ghost's collar as his other hand glowed with green energy, "Listen, you pompous-"
"That. Is. Enough."
Everyone looked up to find Clockwork in front of the group.
The observant backed out of his way, but Danny didn't move. "Clockwork," he said, half greeting, half pleading, "I can explain-"
He was cut off with a wave of Clockwork's hand, silently commanding the ghosts to step away. They all shared a look before reluctantly doing so, heads bowed to their emperor, though Danny stayed close, just in case.
Elsa stared up at the ghost of time before remembering her place. She stepped forward and bowed before him.
"I've heard a great deal about you, Elsa Arendal," the ghost spoke in a deep, wise, and echoing voice, "You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated a soldier, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Amitian army, destroyed my palace, and…"
Elsa winced as she waited for his next words.
"You have saved us all."
She blinked as she looked up at the emperor. She watched in awe as he smiled and moved to bow at his waist to her. The observant, who once looked smug, fell to his knees. Her friends shared a proud look at the turn of events and followed suit, bowing on their knees.
Elsa was stunned at sign of respect before she turned to see the whole crowd bowing to her. She gazed at the tops of heads, ghosts, humans, male, and female alike.
She turned back to find the emperor smiling kindly at her once more. He gestured for the observant to come forward and the ghost obeyed as everyone returned to their feet. "Observant," he said, still looking fondly at Elsa, "See to it that this woman is made a member of my counsel."
The observant stuttered as Elsa blinked at the emperor. "I-Uh…" the observant started before finding an excuse, "But there are not counsel positions open."
Clockwork nodded, "Very well," he looked back at Elsa, "You can have his job."
"What?!"
The observant fainted to the ground and Elsa had to cover a small snicker. "With all due respect, your majesty," she met the emperor's gaze once more, "I think I've been away from home long enough."
He smiled at her as he reached around his neck, "Then take this," he removed a medallion with a purple and blue seal of a clock and placed it around her neck, "So your family will know what you have done for me," he picked up Vlad's sword and offered it to her, "And this," he smiled as she took it, "So the world will know what you have done for Amitia."
She beamed at the gifts before stepping forward and hugging the emperor. Clockwork was shocked at first, but couldn't help but smile at the affection.
"Is she allowed to do that?" Johnny asked. They all just shrugged with smiles on their faces.
She let go of the emperor, turning to be met with a hug from Johnny, which was followed by Technus, which was followed by Wulf joining in and lifting them all off the ground, causing nothing but laughter. Once she was set down again, she was face to face with Danny.
Now that he looked at her, Danny couldn't help but notice her big eyes and gentle face as she smiled at him. His heart fluttered and he suddenly wondered why he'd ever thought that she was just a scrawny boy. Battles and fighting he could handle. Talking to pretty, and not to mention strong, girls who had not only just saved him but the whole kingdom? Not so much.
"Um… you," he cleared his throat as a blush came to his cheeks, "You fight good."
Are you kidding me?!
She seemed disheartened by his words. "Oh," she nodded at him, "Thank you." With that, she moved around him to her horse that had somehow made it up the steps on its own. Elsa smiled when she spotted Olaf in the saddlebag once more. She mounted her horse and patted him, "Come on Sven. Let's go home."
The horse neighed and turned around. She trotted down the steps as the crowd cheered for her, parting as she made her way out of the city.
Danny started after her, sighing at his stupidity.
"Ahem." He turned when he heard the emperor clear his throat. "The flower that blooms in adversity is the more rare and beautiful of all."
Danny raised a brow and turned to face the ghost, "Clockwork?"
"You don't meet a girl like that every century," the ghost deadpanned before turning around to return to his palace.
After months and months of being away, Elsa finally returned home. It all looked so strange to her, yet familiar. She walked through the gates and put Sven in the stables. She was going towards her house when she spotted her father in the garden sitting on the white bench under the cherry tree.
Thinking it best to talk to him first, she hesitantly approached him, the wind rustling the tree and making its flower petals fall around them. Agnarr looked up when he heard someone approaching, his eyes widening when he saw his daughter. "Elsa," he whispered in astonishment.
He moved to get up but Elsa was quick to kneel before her father in respect. "Father," she said before handing him the sword in her hands, "I brought you the sword of Vladimir Masters," once he took it, she removed the medallion and placed it on top of the sword, "And the crest of the emperor. They're gifts to honor the Arendal family."
Agnarr looked at the items before tossing them to the side. He got to he knees and hugged his daughter. Elsa was shocked at his affection, but soon felt a sting behind her eyes. She hadn't left him on the best of terms and she'd missed him so much while she was away.
"The greatest gift and honor," he said as he pulled away, reaching up to wipe away a tear from her cheek, "Is having you for a daughter," he shook his head before hugging her again, "I've miss you so much."
"I've missed you too Papa," she said as she hugged him with all her might.
Iduna and Anna had come out when then heard a noise from the stables and stopped when they saw Elsa back home. Iduna's smile went wide as she watched her daughter reunite with her father. "Great," Anna huffed, elbowing her mother with a teasing smile, "She brings home a sword instead of a man."
"Excuse me?"
They both turned to find Danny looking between the two of them. "Does Elsa Arendal live here?" he asked, a helmet in his hands. The two women just pointed into the garden, speechless. "Thank you," he nodded before entering the garden.
"Wow," Anna turned to her mother, "Sign me up for the next war."
Danny spotted the man by the cherry blossom tree and moved towards him. "Sir," he acknowledged, "I-" He stopped when he spotted the blonde behind the man, "Elsa."
She only blinked back at him, surprised he was here.
"Uh," all rational thought suddenly left Danny's mind before he remembered his excuse for coming. "You forgot your helmet," he offered it to her before looking to Agnarr, "Well, actually it's your helmet, but…"
Elsa and her father shared a knowing look before she stepped forward and took the helmet from him. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked sweetly.
"Would you like to stay forever?!"
They both turned as Anna shouted into the garden, Elsa shaking her head at her sister. Danny couldn't help but laugh, "Dinner would be great."
And little did she know, that she was being celebrated by her ancestors and revered as one of the most honorable people in the family.