Hello people, and welcome back to Frozen: Lords of Storm and Stone. Let's pick up where we left off shall we?
When the family returned to Sigmund's fortress, he was seen in his war room, looking over the valley.
"Sigmund? We're back." Anna asked.
"I...was expecting you at nightfall." Sigmund said.
"Yeah, Sven didn't want to run around that much, and it was going to be dark before too long so we came back early." Kristoff said.
"I see..." Sigmund said before he continued looking over the valley.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" Anna asked, then Sigmund sighed.
"When I first came here, this valley was nothing more than an endless field without people or even animals, now it's a haven for people from all walks of life. Farmers, miners, hunters, soldiers, even monks, all of whom are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons...and I rule it all." Sigmund said seriously.
"That is quite a jump from being a common soldier isn't it?" Kristoff asked.
"Yes...and in the last two months alone, this valley became what is likely the greatest fiefdom Norway has ever known, with and without our help." Sigmund said.
"Well, on behalf of everyone here, I'm glad we could help out." Anna said while smiling, and Sigmund remained focused on the valley.
"If I had known where fate would lead me, would I have still joined Denmark's army? Would I have protested my involvement in Captain Lars' campaign? Would I have been one of the few who abandoned the campaign if given the choice? I truly do not know..." He trailed off.
"Do you regret becoming the Lord of Stone?" Elsa asked, then Sigmund shook his head.
"No...but I am also not fond of it, at least, not in regards to my second thoughts.." He said.
"Hey, you put your people before yourself at every turn, and called for us the moment you figured you would need a hand, that's what a real ruler does." Anna said seriously before Sigmund turned to her.
"Have you been in my position?" He asked.
"Well...not like this, but remember when we told you about the time Elsa ran from home, or we had to help the Enchanted Forest?" Anna asked.
"Yes...I remember." Sigmund said.
"Alright then, helping people is what we do; it's practically our job." Anna said.
"And at this point, it's likely that all of Norway could hang in the balance..." Sigmund trailed off.
"And those storms?" Elsa asked, then Anna, Kristoff, and Sigmund widened their eyes.
"We didn't talk about them in ages!" Kristoff exclaimed.
"That is very true..." Sigmund said seriously.
"The spirits never sent any distress signals of any sort either." Elsa said.
"Could the storms have stopped?" Anna asked.
"Not likely." Elsa said.
"Maybe someone else is looking into them." Kristoff said.
"Like Saint William?" Anna asked.
"I...didn't even think about him, but I guess." Kristoff said.
"Are his flames that powerful?" Sigmund asked.
"I don't know, restoring wrecks is one thing...stopping storms is another." Elsa said seriously.
"Agreed...unless Saint William has been growing stronger, like I have." Sigmund said and Elsa smiled.
"Well, with any luck, if those storms do appear again, we'll have something to hit them back with." Anna said.
"Right, but until then...I wish you all a good night." Sigmund said.
"Wait, aren't you hungry?" Anna asked.
"Ive already eaten; the rest of the food is still waiting for all of you." Sigmund said.
"Oh...o.k., good night." Anna said before Sigmund entered his room, then the family went to the dinning room to eat, then went to their own rooms for the night.
In the morning before dawn, Sigmund made a trip to the orchards to pick a basket full of apples, and was on his way to his fortress when Lisa spotted him.
"Lord Sigmund! Good morning." She said.
"Good morning Lisa." Sigmund said.
"Are those apples for Anna and her family?" Lisa asked.
"They are indeed, and you are welcome to join us." Sigmund said.
"Thank you my liege." Lisa said while bowing.
"Tend to the goats first; you can join us at a later time." Sigmund said seriously.
"My plan exactly my liege." Lisa said.
"I will see you then." Sigmund said before Lisa went to the goat pen, and Sigmund continued his trek to his fortress.
Later, Elsa woke up before everyone else, then saw Sigmund in his war room reading a book.
"Sigmund?" Elsa asked.
"Good morning Elsa." Sigmund said.
"I...didn't know you read." Elsa said.
"I rarely have time to do so." Sigmund said before closing the book and setting it down.
"I don't want to bother you." Elsa said.
"I read this book countless times before; I was merely refreshing my memory of it." Sigmund said.
"I see..." Elsa said.
"I brought some apples from the orchards if you and your family are interested." Sigmund said, and Elsa smiled.
"That was kind of you." She said.
"Not as kind as the number of times you all assisted me, directly or indirectly." Sigmund said before Elsa sat down, and Sigmund went to the cabinet.
"What's the matter?" Elsa asked, then Sigmund removed a bottle of wine.
"The last of a bottle of strawberry wine, which I saved for personal use." He said.
"You saved a bottle for yourself?" Elsa asked.
"I haven't drunk from it often, but...the flavor has grown on me since your last birthday." Sigmund said while looking the bottle over.
"I'm glad to hear it." Elsa said before Sigmund drank from the bottle, then threw it across the room into a wall.
"I will clean that later." Sigmund said.
"You could have offered me a glass too." Elsa said casually.
"There are five full bottles, and that one was empty." Sigmund said.
"Nevermind, the apples will do." Elsa said.
"Suit yourself." Sigmund said before Elsa froze an apple, made it float towards her, thawed it, conjured a knife out of ice, then sliced the apple in half before biting into it.
"Your orchard farmers really know what they're doing." She said.
"As they should, when they joined my fiefdom, they claim to have been growing apple trees since childhood." Sigmund said.
"Then no wonder these apples are so good." Elsa said before biting an apple piece again.
"On my way back, Lisa said she's going to join us." Sigmund said.
"Well...Anna's going to be happy." Elsa said.
"I can imagine." Sigmund said before sighing.
"Sigmund?" Elsa asked.
"Truth-be-told...sometimes I envy that woman, madly." Sigmund said.
"Why?" Elsa asked.
"Because...I used to be like her, when I was a boy." Sigmund said.
"What?" Elsa asked.
"Hard to believe isn't it...?" Sigmund asked seriously.
"Sort of, I can't remember the last time I could compare the two of you. In fact, I once asked Anna what she thought about you shortly after we first met and...she actually told me that you don't seem very happy. In fact, you still don't." Elsa said softly.
"I cannot say she's wrong, as proud as I am of my role as the Lord of Stone...it's nothing if not costly, and that's not counting what I went through during and before my time in Denmark." Sigmund said.
"Don't tell me it was all miserable." Elsa said.
"Of course not, if it was, I never would've have become the Lord of Stone in the first place." Sigmund said.
"Fair enough." Elsa said, and Sigmund looked away before sighing.
"Did I ever tell you I have a brother?" Sigmund asked, then Elsa widened her eyes.
"No...you haven't." She said.
"A twin, Siegfried. It's been...years, since I last saw him." Sigmund said.
"Do you know where he is?" Elsa asked.
"He's still in Denmark, we...took different paths shortly after I joined the Danish army. Beforehand, we did everything together, read, play in the mud, even play together with wooden swords and planks of wood our father attached handles to so we could use them as shields. So I guess war really has been in my life since the beginning." Sigmund said.
"And playing with the earth...like with mud." Elsa said, and Sigmund smiled.
"That too...but nowadays, he's the one who grew his hair long, while I kept it short. I don't cut my hair anymore so I can honor him." Sigmund said.
"Why not just contact him, or can you?" Elsa asked.
"If I could...if I could get back in touch with him I would have done so by now. I sure could use him..." Sigmund trailed off.
"Well, when this war is over, you can try to contact him again." Elsa said.
"I guess so." Sigmund said, before Anna and Kristoff entered the war room.
"Good morning." Anna said.
"Good morning Anna." Sigmund said.
"He brought apples this morning." Elsa said.
"Oh, what's the occasion?" Kristoff asked as Anna took a pair of apples, then gave one to Kristoff.
"Nothing, I just woke up early and wanted to give something to all of you." Sigmund said.
"Well, thank you very much." Anna said before biting her apple.
"You are quite welcome." Sigmund said before Olaf leaned to the side from behind Kristoff.
"Surprise!" Olaf exclaimed.
"I knew you were there." Sigmund said.
"And I knew that you knew I was there." Olaf said.
"And you still-" Sigmund stops talking when Ingmar enters.
"My liege? Your scouts have brought it." He said.
"Then bring it in." Sigmund said.
"Brought what in?" Anna asked then a pair of stone troops brought in a massive broken mirror.
"That." Sigmund said.
"That's the mirror that showed me Dietrich's past." Elsa said.
"It's the Mirror of Recollection, I sent those troops to my previous fortress to retrieve what was left of it." Sigmund said.
"Why?" Anna asked.
"Because I want to see if I can fix it, and if I can, well...we'll see." Sigmund said.
"Chef Gunjar has also prepared your breakfasts." Ingmar said.
"Then lets eat." Anna said.
"And afterwards, we should give Sven some time out." Kristoff said.
"And I'll work on this mirror in the meantime." Sigmund said.
"You know we might run into Lisa on the way to Sven." Elsa said.
"All the better." Anna said before she lead the group to the dining room.
After breakfast, and true to their word, Kristoff lead the group to Sven's stable, where Lisa was seen feeding carrots to Sven. They then harnessed Sven to their cart, and began their trek to the fields. On the way, Lisa ate some of the apples leftover from the family's breakfast, and saved the rest for later.
Elsa however was too busy thinking to be involved in the rest of the group's affairs.
"You alright Elsa? You're awfully quiet." Lisa asked.
"I just had a talk with Sigmund this morning...one that was pretty involved." Elsa said.
"May I ask?" Lisa asked.
"That's the thing...I don't know if I should tell all of you or not." Elsa said.
"He should know by know that we don't keep secrets from each other." Anna said seriously.
"That is true..." Elsa breathed out.
"Unless he told you he doesn't want it shared." Anna said.
"No he didn't, in fact, before he told me, he seemed quite involved in his thoughts." Elsa said.
"Well...that answers that question." Lisa said, then Elsa sighed.
"He told me he has a twin brother in Denmark." She said.
"Really?" Lisa asked.
"Why didn't he tell us that sooner?" Kristoff asked.
"They haven't seen each other in years apparently, and Sigmund really misses him from the look of it." Elsa said.
"Who can blame him..." Lisa said seriously.
"Yeah, if I didn't see Elsa in years, and with this kind of distance between us, I'd be torn up as well." Anna said.
"Torn up?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah, something is seriously bothering that man, and Elsa's been talking about it quite often." Anna said.
"Why's that?" Lisa asked.
"Because it reminds me too much of how I used to be...and I wouldn't wish it on Hans, much less Sigmund." Elsa said.
"Hans? You mean that prince you mentioned?" Lisa asked.
"The same one." Elsa said.
"Yikes..." Lisa breathed out.
"Yikes indeed." Elsa said.
"Well, we can keep helping Sigmund through it later, for now, Sven has some exercise to get." Kristoff said.
"He's gotten his fair share over the past couple of months, heck, I can't remember a time he wasn't down there." Lisa said.
"He still needs to get out as much as possible. The only reason I wasn't taking him out as much as before is because he needed his rest." Kristoff said.
"Point taken." Lisa said, and with that, the group continued their ride.
When they returned, Sigmund was still reading his book, and closed it before the group reached him.
"Welcome back Lisa." Sigmund said.
"Good to be back my liege." Lisa said.
"Are you here for more training?" Sigmund asked.
"Not this time." Lisa said.
"Then to what do I know this visit?" Sigmund asked.
"Nothing, I just wanted to see you." Lisa said, and Sigmund smiled.
"Fair enough." He said.
"Do you have anything planned for today, with or without us?" Anna asked.
"I cannot say I do, why?" Sigmund asked.
"Because me and Kristoff want a rematch." Anna said, then Lisa looked at her and Kristouff curiously.
"A what?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah, me and Anna fought Sigmund yesterday two-on-one." Kristoff said, and Lisa widened her eyes.
"Without telling me?!" She asked seriously.
"To be fair, it was exhausting for both of us. We went at it for almost a minute straight, which is not normal." Anna said.
"But now we can do so knowing what not to do." Kristoff said.
"Well, I want to see it this time." Lisa said.
"You don't want to make it a three-against-one fight do you?" Kristoff asked.
"Of course not! I may not be as versed as all of you, but that's not at all fair." Lisa said seriously.
"It is still a viable option in the future." Sigmund said.
"But...my liege..." Lisa trailed off.
"Fighting alone is one thing, but fighting in a team is crucial in the grand scope of things." Sigmund said.
"But not today." Elsa said.
"Right..." Sigmund said.
"I still want to see it." Lisa said seriously, before Sigmund stood up.
"And so you shall..." He breathed out.
The group then went to the arena, and both Kristoff and Anna were on the defensive this time, with Sigmund attacking them without pause or restraint. Elsa in particular was awe-struck; last time Sigmund held his ground against the pair, but now the tables were turned. Just how much he was holding back last time became more and more obvious as the match went on.
Kristoff's sword swings were not only blocked or deflected, but also countered with quick thrusts to his abdomen that even his shield couldn't prevent; Sigmund was too quick and too precise for him. Anna didn't fair any better; her defenses were overpowered, and her swings barely caused Sigmund to stagger, even when she struck him with the edge of her shield. Kristoff tried to attack Sigmund from behind, but Sigmund's rhythm stopped for nothing; he continued attacking both of them one at a time, and each of their attacks were either blocked, deflected, or even redirected into the ground, or each other.
Sigmund eventually retreated, with good reason: like his two opponents, he had trouble breathing.
"Sheesh...you really were going easy on us last time!" Kristoff said seriously.
"Even still...you both continue to impress..." Sigmund breathed out.
"I'll say." Lisa said, and Elsa shared a smile with her.
"Would you like to continue?" Sigmund asked.
"Oh yeah, keep it coming." Anna said while flexing, and stretching herself before raising her shield. Kristoff then moved to the side and pointed his spear at Sigmund, who engaged them yet again. Kristoff tried to thrust at Sigmund, but he deflected the thrust with a half-sword motion, before blocking Anna's sword directly afterwards. Kristoff then pushed Sigmund back with his shield, then Sigmund regained his footing just in time to block a series of sword swings from Kristoff.
Anna then stood back and watched her husband engage the Lord of Stone on his own, with Lisa on the sides shaking and smiling from the thrill she was experiencing. Sigmund then locked swords with Kristoff, and struggled for a moment to get past it, then Sigmund pushed Kristoff's sword upward with his crossguard, then tried to put his sword on Kristoff's neck, but at the last possible moment, Kristoff leaned to the side and put the edge of his shield in the way, before pushing Sigmund back once again.
Kristoff then stood where he was gasping for air, then Anna walked next to him.
"Are you alright honey?" Anna asked.
"I'll be fine." Kristoff breathed out before Anna looked at Sigmund.
"My turn." She said seriously before charging at Sigmund, who raised his sword, and moved forward as Anna swung at him. Sigmund thrusted at Anna, but her shield deflected his attack, then he took a quick strike to the side of his head, before pushing Anna to the side. She quickly regained her balance, then Sigmund engaged her with a series of sword swings, all of which were deflected or blocked.
"Alright, I'm good now..." Kristoff said before he charged at Sigmund from the other side, and Sigmund moved to the side and blocked a sword swing from Kristoff. Sigmund's two opponents took turns swinging at Sigmund, and he barely kept up with both of them. One of them struck Sigmund from one side, then the other struck him from the other side, one struck him in one way, the other struck him in another way. Sigmund continued to defend himself, but was forced to retreat from the onslaught his opponents wouldn't stop engaging him with.
He then levitated to the other side of the room, removed his helmet, dropped his sword, and looked his two opponents over.
"Impressive...now let's see how well you can adapt." He said while pointing his finger at them, then Anna and Kristoff each sucked in a breath. Sigmund then had his sword levitate, then fly around Anna and Kristoff, and swing at them both one at a time. Both of them kept their shields raised to deflect strikes from the gravity-defying weapon, and Sigmund wisely had it fly around them in a way that prevented them from engaging him, and protecting themselves at the same time.
"Well that hardly seems fair..." Lisa said casually, and Sigmund continued to have his sword attack the pair before him. Anna eventually swatted the sword to the side with her shield, then charged at Sigmund while Kristoff stood between her and the sword. Before Anna could get in range, Sigmund raised a piece of the ground up to stop her, and Anna stopped just before she could slam into it at full speed.
"A sword with no wielder at your back, a wall you cannot breach at your front. Only your wisdom will save you now." Sigmund said seriously, then Kristoff continued pressing his attack against Sigmund's sword. He shared a glance with Anna before he continued bashing the sword away as it continued swinging at him. Anna then nodded and tried to climb over Sigmund's wall...only for it to turn into dust under her feet.
"Hey!" Anna yelled, then Sigmund made Anna roll along the ground by raising the dust into the air, then he had it float around him.
"Not all walls are solid..." Sigmund trailed off, then Anna began to swing at Sigmund, and the dust protected him at every turn. Kristoff continued to keep Sigmund's sword occupied, and Sigmund himself continued to wave his arms to keep both of his opponents engaged. He eventually pushed Anna back with the dust, and had his sword go over Kristoff's head, and fly towards Anna.
Elsa and Lisa both sucked in a breath before Anna deflected the sword with her shield, then Kristoff engaged Sigmund, and he was stopped by the dust like Anna was.
"This is just getting more and more intense..." Lisa breathed out, then Sigmund repeated the process with both Anna and Kristoff trying to defeat Sigmund on two different fronts.
He also had his sword fly around and attack them, and had a cloud of dirt fly around and stopped them from approaching him. He then stood there continuing to use his magic until one of them could reach him, then called it off if or when they did. Sigmund then pushed Kristoff back with the dirt, but Kristoff held his ground, and even started to push back, but eventually lost ground as Sigmund's focus on the dirt increased.
Anna then bashed Sigmund's sword to the side with her shield, then Sigmund looked at her just in time to see the tip of Anna's sword at his throat.
"And that's a wrap..." Anna breathed out, then Sigmund merged the dirt into the ground and summoned his sword back to his hand.
"The synergy between the two of you never fails to impress me." Sigmund said softly before sheathing his sword.
"That was the single most intense match we've ever had..." Kristoff said seriously before Sigmund stepped backward and bowed to them.
"All the more reason for me to concede to you both. Victory is yours." Sigmund said, then Lisa started clapping.
"Nice going all of you!" She exclaimed, then Anna, Kristoff, Elsa, and Sigmund shared her smile.
After the match, Ingmar was waiting in the war room.
"Ingmar?" Sigmund asked.
"I have witnessed your match my liege. I must say all of you continue to amaze." Ingmar said.
"Thank you very much." Anna said.
"I trust all five of you will be involved at some point in the future?" Ingmar asked.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves..." Lisa said seriously.
"Quite right my good lady." Ingmar said.
"Is there something that requires my attention?" Sigmund asked.
"Not this time sire, I merely wished to extend my heartfelt compliments and congratulations." Ingmar said.
"And they are welcome Ingmar." Elsa said.
"I also wished to inform you all that dinner will come before long." Ingmar said.
"Good, I could use a meal." Anna said casually.
"Me too." Kristoff said.
"I shall inform you when Chef Gunjar's delicacies are ready for your enjoyment." Ingmar said before rolling out of the room.
"Also, where's Olaf? I haven't seen him all day." Lisa asked.
"Oh I'm sure he's busy exploring the place." Elsa said.
"And he probably kept Ingmar entertained." Anna said casually.
"Shouldn't we go looking for him?" Kristoff asked.
"That shouldn't be necessary." Sigmund said before he pointed at the hallway leading to the family's rooms, then Olaf was seen waddling into view and looking around.
"Olaf! Where have you been?" Anna asked.
"Oh me? I just like looking around at this place...well, as much as always I guess." Olaf said casually.
"You spent all day wandering this fortress, again?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah...I always look around in new places." Olaf said.
"He even does this at home." Anna said.
"I trust you haven't been interfering with Ingmar's duties anymore than you did in the past?" Sigmund asked.
"Oh you mean the little stone man who keeps rolling around this place like a ball? Oh no, he's been doing that as much as always. Why doesn't he just walk like I do?" Olaf said.
"Probably for the same reason the rock trolls do, it's faster." Kristoff said.
"Oh...right..." Olaf trailed off.
"Anyway, I'm beat, so let's wait until dinner." Anna said.
"I'm beat from just watching the three of you go at it." Lisa said seriously before sitting down.
Well get used to it Lisa, because that's going to be you at some point. As for my audience? Well, I'm pretty sure I've proven that me saying what's going to happen doesn't do actually reading about it justice. I do what I can to make these moments as clear-cut and intense as I can afterall. But until next time, be sure to Rate, Review, and Share...and stay tuned.
P.S. Sigmund's backstory isn't coming out like I hoped, but it's probably better than I had expected...that tends to be my luck.