A/N:
*A Choir in the Clouds appear* *Beautiful sunlight is shining through the fluffy sky cotton* *The Angelic Choir begin to sing happily (and somewhat annoyed because of how long it took)*
O-O
Heeeeeeeeeey friends...heh. It's been a long time hasn't it? "YES!" *Someone shouts and throws spanish rice at my face* (My least favorite food XD)
Me: WHO THREW THAT?!...Okay maybe I deserve it...BUT I did promise that I wouldn't abandon it! SO HA!
Disclaimer!: I don't own anything, just my Characters and this story line!
Anyways thank you to those who are still reading! If you wanna know why it took so long to get out, read the A/N at the bottom! But for now….the long awaited...CHAPTER 13!
Pairing: Elsa x Sesshomaru
Chapter 13: Persuasion
Third Person POV:
Kristoff didn't want to open that door. He could feel the dread settling in. He didn't mean to tell Anna of Elsa's arrangements. But Anna wouldn't stop her relentless questioning, and he was already in a state of disarray. One question lead to another, and the truth was spoken. At least not all of it. Before Kristoff could realize what he had done, Anna left the room in a buzz of excitement.
So Kristoff had a faint idea of who was behind that door. Either Elsa, or even worse...the Demon Lord.
"This one's patience is running thin ningen." The muffled voice replied as if it read his thoughts. Kristoff internally screamed in frustration.
Now he really, really didn't want that door open.
"This one did not know cowardice was a trait of a prince." The jab did its job like Sesshomaru hoped.
In moments the door was opened, the idiot looking somewhat offended.
Sesshomaru arrogantly stared down at the human with a glare. Without further ado, Sesshomaru entered, pushing past the human. Kristoff was immediately unsettled.
Kristoff watched this imposing figure cross into the room stopping to look out the window.
"This one suggests closing the door."
Elsa ran through the corridors, eventually finding a secluded area where she could crouch into the shadows. She stared at her hands, an inkling of past fear haunting her.
'I lost control.' This thought repeated in her head over and over again. 'I could've hurt him.' Was the following phrase. The air around her turned crisp, she could see her breath fogging the air. Elsa brought her knees to her chin, her dress inched up her calves.
Slowly, tears started to leak from her eyes. Only to freeze and clink unto the carpet. Brief flashbacks from months before startled her.
"Monster! Sorcerer!"
"She's trying to kill us all!" The Duke of Weselton's nasally voice had never bothered her so much before. The fact that she remembered it so vividly just rose the suspicion that those words really troubled her.
Her hands clenched her head.
"Kristoff told me! I can't believe it! A double wedding!'"
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. 'I'm not ready for such responsibility!' Elsa thought.
Meanwhile, a passing servant noticed her crouched form. The maid's uniform and the duster in her right hand gave her away. The maid seemed to freeze where she was... 'This is unexpected.' Thought the maid. She began to feel sheepish. But she studied her Queen nonetheless. Elsa didn't notice a thing, her head was still bowed, and her eyes were still filled with tears that clinked on the floor.
The maid drank in her form, remembering a time from long ago...When Elsa was just a small child, perfectly in wonder of the guest that now resides in the palace. Slowly, the servant began to shudder. It was a traumatising experience after all.
The housemaid reflected on that fateful night, eighteen years before. And how her life was in the hands of Commander Brolin. Oh she would never forget that night. Even if everyone else in the castle had. Lori Ann found it increasingly peculiar that everyone had managed to forget such a night. She knew of Lord Sesshomaru, in fact she felt all alone in her suspicions.
It was odd...And now, Lori Ann found her Queen crouched in the shadows...Was she crying? She felt embarrassed, and quite in shock. She had avoided the royal family up until now. If anything, that night had given her a timid and cautious nature. She once had a very bubbly personality, but that all changed when she thought she was grasping death's door. Lori Ann, didn't trust many people anymore. Only the new Commander...At that thought she blushed...The maid was getting sidetracked now.
But Lori Ann was also grateful to the late Queen, she traded the life of her daughter for herself. Words could not express her gratitude. Lori could still remember the sting of the blade cutting across her skin all those years ago. But now her current Queen, was crying...And she knew exactly why.
Lori assumed the Queen had just now, heard of the deal...In fact everyone in the castle is buzzing with excitement because of the marriage. There was nothing a mere servant could do...But maybe, she could...comfort her? Lori was in fact there when the deal was made...She was watching from afar, behind Aaron at the time...She witnessed it all…
"M-my Queen?" Lori tried, her voice soft and timid. She was older now, in her late thirties.
Elsa sniffled caught off guard once again. She hurriedly tried to erase any form of sadness and expression from her face.
"Yes…?" Elsa said, her meager attempt at acting serious caused the maid to wince.
The maid shook her head to clear her thoughts. 'Well the Queen recovers quickly...even so...I have to know.'
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Elsa replied firmly and seriously. On the inside Elsa was abashed. She had gotten caught by one of her servants in one of her vulnerable moments. 'Maybe I should have done this in my room….' Elsa thought in embarrassment.
The maid shook her head in denial, the Queen was obviously not fine. With that, some of her backbone from years before resurfaced.
Lori clutched her duster close to her heart and sat next to the Queen on the floor. She scooted as close to her Queen as she dared, this was all….inappropriate to say the least. But she knew her Queen was different from the other royals.
"My Queen…" Lori began quietly, "I'm sorry to say that I don't believe you at all." She finished timidly. Lori looked at her Queen inquiringly, trying to see if she could find a shred of memory reflecting in those orbs.
Lori sighed, there was nothing...She was a child after all when it happened…
All the while Elsa was pretty shocked by these turn of events. Never in a billion years would she have thought a servant would have such audacity...But Elsa appreciated it nonetheless.
Elsa bowed her head and sighed, "I'm sorry you have to see me in such a state...I am supposed to be a strong Queen after all…" Elsa mumbled.
Without thinking Lori grabbed her Queen's hand gently. Lori's eyes widened but decided to continue nonetheless.
"My Queen….we all have our weak moments….but those moments don't define who you are…" Elsa sighed...angrily….frustrated.
"You have no idea…" Elsa hissed to herself…. 'How can this servant comfort a Queen? We live in two different worlds…Nobody knows that I don't want this! Nobody knows what it's like to be accused in such a demeaning way! I'm not a monster!' Elsa's thoughts were spiralling out of control.
But Lori heard her...And fire lit in her eyes.
"Do you not remember anything?!" Lori raised her voice. Lori was suddenly up close and personal...Apparently she was done being afraid of her own shadow.
"What?" Elsa said confused, she wasn't expecting her servant to be so passionate…
"You don't…" Lori sneered.
The Maid shook her head. "Nobody remembers anything in this palace after all…" The maid said softly. Lori stood up. She stared down at the shocked Queen.
"My Queen, I tried comforting you in the best way that I could. But I can't contain what happened eighteen years ago."
'Eighteen years ago?' Elsa thought, her eyes widened…'Is that when the deal was made?'
Lori knew she was pushing her luck, she wouldn't tell Esla of Sesshomaru's nature….at least not yet. Not until Elsa witnessed it herself...She would be called out for being crazy...And she did not want that.
"Queen Elsa, Lord Sesshomaru was here before many years ago….to request your hand in marriage…."
'There…' Lori thought. 'That must rise some suspicion. The Queen must figure him out for herself.'
Lori wasn't opposed to Elsa marrying the demon….she had witnessed it with her own two eyes...how the Lord comforted her and stopped Elsa's storms. There was something about them being together that eased her heart.
"H-he was?"
'So it wasn't his parents who arranged this? It was him himself?' Elsa thought in puzzlement.
"Indeed Your Majesty. Not only that, you were very fond of him. One could say you loved his fluffy boa with a passion."
Elsa's mind blanked….she didn't remember any of this...but the thought of herself as a child clinging to Sesshomaru's 'fluff' made her blush tremendously.
"I..I did?!" Now this story was quite a distraction from Elsa's raging emotions.
"Your Majesty I implore you to give him a chance, as a witness myself….he really isn't all that bad. In fact I myself think his cold manner is just a pretense…"
Elsa was very suspicious of the Lord now…
"Did he send you to me to speak on his behalf?" Elsa questioned coldly. Lori's eyes widened.
"N-no! Of course not My Queen. I honestly found you here, you could ask the head housemaid yourself. I'm on dusting duty!" With that Lori waved her duster around for emphasis.
"Barely anyone comes back into this part of the palace...It's my duty to dust around this area…." Lori quickly explained.
Elsa nodded slowly, grudgingly accepting her excuse.
"You were truly there the day the deal was made?" Elsa asked in clarification…
"Yes My Lady. " Lori replied earnestly. "And my advice is to give him a second chance….I know for a fact that he….is...strange." Lori answered nervously.
"How many others are you….." Lori was perplexed, it showed on her face.
"What do you mean My Queen?"
Elsa elaborated. "Are there others...other than yourself, that were also witness to that day?"
'Uh oh...here's the tricky part.' Lori sweatdropped…
"Well...you see...My Queen…" Lori began slowly.
"What is it…?" Elsa stated impatiently, getting worried.
"Nobody remembers...Not even Commander Aaron who was appointed because of this incident…" Lori finished.
Elsa stared at the floor… 'That makes me wonder how the council knew about this…'
"My Queen, I swear that I'm telling the truth...I'm just not sure why everyone forgot something so important. It's like there was a spell cast upon the palace…"
'Spell?' Elsa thought… 'Why does this meddling sound so familiar?'
Lori bowed. "My Queen that is all I can relay at the moment...The rest you should figure out for yourself." Lori prodded.
"You mean there's more to this story?" Elsa inquired aghast.
"Yes. Much more….more than I'd like to remember…" Lori said quietly, her timidness making a comeback.
Elsa's shoulders sagged. 'There's more to this Lord than I know huh?'
'Something is definitely going on here...but that means...I'll have to interact with him more...And go along with these wedding plans…' Elsa's heart panged, slight excitement bubbling up in her.
"Why would I be excited?" Elsa mumbled.
Elsa shook her head.
"I'm so confused by all of this. One minute I want to avoid him as much as possible...the next I want to learn everything about him...What is wrong with me?" Elsa questioned herself...Almost forgetting the presence of her maid.
"My Queen…" Lori began, she inched closer. The maid quickly crouched and grabbed the Queen's hand and brought her to her feet.
Elsa was unsure of all this, but the suddenly she felt feather light touches fixing her attire and straightening out the wrinkles.
"You must keep your head up My Queen...or your crown might fall off." Lori said with a small smile. Tilting Elsa's chin upwards so she looked like the strong Queen she wanted to be.
Elsa stared at this remarkable maid. "Tell...me...why do you put so much trust in Lord Sesshomaru?" Elsa finally asked. She felt so small inside, was it really okay to go along with this wedding...at least for the time being?
Lori glanced at her Queen, "I was there that day...and witnessed something truly memorable." Lori began.
"What was it?" Elsa asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer.
"He was so gentle the way he handled you, like you were a delicate flower...You were scared if I remember correctly. About to conjure up a powerful storm…" Lori said warmly.
Elsa listened, 'Back then people knew of my powers? And they weren't afraid?' Elsa thought in wonder.
"But he stopped you somehow...in someway, he pet your head and you fell asleep in his arms...You seemed so content."
Elsa could feel that dastardly blush begin to rise again.
"And when he left...when you woke up the next day you said you wished to see Fluffy…" At this Lori chuckled fondly. "But seeing as he wasn't there you began to cry and cry...the King had to…" At this Lori stopped abruptly.
"I shouldn't say anymore, the rest you should hear from himself My Queen." Lori backed away, finishing up her adjustments to Elsa's appearance.
Elsa needed to think on this for a while...all that Lori had said...Her ruffled emotions slowly but surely melting away.
"Thank you." Elsa said sincerely.
Lori bowed graciously, happy that the Queen listened to her. "It is my duty, to look after this palace and all occupants living in it."
"Tell me what's your name?" Elsa demanded kindly.
"Oh uh…It's Lori, Lori Ann…" She said a little bit embarrassed.
"Truly Lori you have my thanks, I have much to think on now…" At that Queen Elsa gathered herself and confidently walked down the hallway. Disappearing from Lori's sight.
'I do hope Lord Sesshomaru knows what he's doing…" Lori thought.
Kristoff flinched. "You know…." Sesshomaru declared in bored semblance. Kristoff's eyes flashed in another direction, nervous with the proximity of the Foreign Lord. But Kristoff nodded none the less.
"I suspected as much…" The Demon Lord affirmed. Staring at the nearby vanity. His image flickered, almost as if responding to his annoyance. The flickering itself, was reflecting in the mirror.
"I have many questions ningen." Throughout this Sesshomaru stood by the window…Silently contemplating many….methods. Kristoff, however, was as silent as death.
Kristoff shuffled his feet nervously, "What questions may those be My Lord?" Kristoff finally broke the ice. He might as well get it over with…and be as polite as possible.
"This One is curious…." He began, his voice monotonous and calculating. Kristoff could feel the sweat accumulating on his brow. As well as thinking, 'Third person…?'
"Where did you get such information? It was under this one's assumption that this castle was under a spell of amnesia…"
'Go big or go home..' Kristoff thought…
"I…." Kristoff started unsurely, only to be cut off an instant later.
"It would be prudent not to lie to This One…." Sesshomaru said coldly. Kristoff, took this into consideration...All the while he could feel the Lord haunting him with his firm stare. His brown eyes held no hesitation. A subtle movement and Kristoff's gaze was drawn down to his hands, they twitched every now and then. As if repressing a strong urge.
'He can tell if I lie can't he?' Kristoff theorized. 'It wouldn't do me any good anyway…'
"I learned of your nature from Elsa's Council of Advisers. They speak regularly on this topic behind her back."
"Hn…" Sesshomaru replied indifferently, sorting this information in his head.
Sesshomaru's expression took on a sinister inquisitiveness.
"They are the previous King's councilmen are they not?"
"Uh...yes…" Kristoff answered uncertainly. "I am the only new member as of yet."
"Hn." Sesshomaru said, once again not revealing any of his thoughts. Sesshomaru's eyes were narrowing, which Kristoff took as a bad sign.
'This idiot might not be the problem after all.' Sesshomaru discerned.
The Demon Lord decided to leave this human be for the time being.
But before he left…
"Human." Sesshomaru growled slowly.
Kristoff froze, hearing the demon's agitation for the first time.
"Your interference in matters you do not understand has caused hindrance to This One's plans." Sesshomaru's booted feet thudded faintly on the floor as he made his way to the shrinking man.
His form towered over Kristoff, his image shimmering, like unsettled water.
"Learn your place." Sesshomaru said eerily. All at once, the erratic illusion of shimmering water paused. And Sesshomaru's form pulsed twice, as if settling itself. Kristoff stood paralyzed, his eyes gawking as the true face of the Inu Lord was revealed ever so slowly.
The sharp edges of the blood red markings, and the amber eyes glared into his soul.
"You will tell no one." He said in soft violence.
Kristoff's lips were irrevocably sealed.
A/N: First and Foremost. SHOUT OUT TO MY BFF ANGELA. HERE IT IS. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH ME NOW!? :D lol...I love ya :3 I hope you guys like the extra long chapter to make up for all that waiting.
Okay….here are my excuses to those who are curious. This chapter was hard to write. LIKE really, really hard. The conversation with the maid and Elsa, her emotions….it was all hard to sort through. I think it came out alright….hopefully… :P Also, wrapping up the school year….attending summer school….(I'll be done with it this week! yay!) A vacae that I got back from a week ago. Birthdays….deaths...in fact I'll be leaving for a funeral soon. And then after that I'll be going down to Florida! My Summer is really packed to the brim! Finding time to write these scenes in between is difficult! (But that doesn't mean I don't like a challenge) Not to mention I started up my BB Fanfic again. That needs some TLC if ya know what I mean.
So all these months that I've been absent...I've just been living my life. Not to forget improving my skills as an artist. And Collabing with my BFF Angela about stories. (I literally have ten other stories on Google Drive that I work on at the same time….I'm crazy!) I'm just full of ideas! But not to fear! In my head I pretty much have the layout of this story figured out. And I started writing it down a few days ago.
SO Sorry for the long wait guys, and tell me what you think of this chapter!
As always….READ AND REVIEW!
Until the next Update...
~Feline Predator
