Chapter 8: Condensation

"Be careful. It's teeming with magic, I can feel it in my core. We should all take our distances." Advised Elsa.

"We don't risk anything, relax." Smiled Anna. "Besides, this can't possibly be Mjöllnir, right? I mean... Those are stories..." She added nervously.

The others didn't know what to respond and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah, it can't be." Scoffed Kristoff. "Eydis, give the hammer to Papa."

The little girl hesitated, looking down at her new tool. She stretched her arm and put the shaft in his hand. But suddenly, it was like Kristoff was handed an anvil and that it had entirely dropped in his palm.

With a yelp, he fell to the floor in a fast and heavy move, his arm twirling with the uncanny weight of the hammer which made his shoulder slam the parquet, dragging him flat down with his head knocking it as well.

"Kristoff!"

"Holy f..."

"Wow, Papa, are you okay?"

The man groaned from his posture, taking his fingers off the shaft. The hammer calmly stayed on the floor where it was, its metal part down, almost sarcastically staring at them.

"M' fine." Muttered Kristoff.

He massaged his shoulder after the twist it endured. The two sisters looked at him speechlessly, not able to decide either to laugh out loud at his fail or find the situation scary.

"What the heck was that?"

They all slowly realized that if Kristoff, a tall muscular man who had enough force to lift blocks of ice, was unable to take a hammer that a little girl was making twirl in her hand just before, then it could only mean one thing: they indeed were in the presence of Mjöllnir.

Anna slowly turned from her husband to the hammer. "Okay... I remember reading in books that it's a magic hammer, and it's impossible to lift it. Except maybe by exceptional people..."

"Those who are worthy." Recited Elsa, as she naturally had read the same books.

The redhead helped Kristoff sit up, and they now were all seating on the hall's floor around the strange object.

Elsa brushed her fingers along the metal of the hammer and the wood shaft. A vibration seemed to come out of it, and she could feel that magic was emanating from the whole object, in a similar manner than the element crystals.

She gulped in apprehension, then dared to circle her fingers around the shaft. Her azure blue eyes fixed the hammer and she tried to lift it as well.

It was an odd sensation. It both weighed nothing, feeling like a simple piece of cork, and at the same time she could feel all the magic of the universe maintaining it down to the floor with a supernatural gravity. Her fascinated expression soon turned to a frown and a clenched jaw, and she had to use both hands to lift it, leaning on her knees. Elsa used all her force, her muscles tight, but nothing much happened; Mjöllnir slightly tilted up, but then down, slipping in her hands.

She exhaled loudly, her shoulders dropped. "Never mind. This is impossible."

Anna had been mesmerized by the scene, and she blinked, then smirked. "'Impossible' is not in my vocabulary. Let me try."

Kristoff and Elsa stopped her immediately when she approached both her hands, and they each grabbed one arm. The Queen looked at them with frustration.

"What?"

"The magic." Said Elsa.

"The floor." Said Kristoff at the same time.

They looked down because his observation was new compared to Elsa's. In fact, the floor around the hammer had been cracked. Fissures distorted the wood of the parquet, and it hadn't been only due to when the hammer dropped with Kristoff's hand, but also when Elsa had lifted it and applied a pressure on the edge of the metal.

"If we keep going like this, we're going to break the whole floor."

Elsa nodded, and looked at her younger. "It also emanates a phenomenal quantity of magic. I'd prefer it if you don't touch it."

Anna puffed. "I admire your care for the castle and my health."

Her eyes went down. "There truly is no way for us to move it away?"

Eydis didn't understand where the problem was.

"Why you don't lift it? It's easy. I'm gonna show you!" Smiled the girl.

"No, Eydis!"

Anna made a barrier with her arm in front of her daughter before she could reach the hammer.

"But I wanna—"

"I know, sweetie." Came in Kristoff. "However, it's better if you don't touch it anymore. We have to be safe. Let the adults deal with it."

Eydis pouted.

"But it's my hammer."

"You're right, yet—"

"Well, technically, it's not her hammer, it's—"

"Don't interrupt me!"

"Then explain to your daughter that—"

"Stop!" Grumbled the little girl. "Why can't I keep it?"

Anna bent to her daughter and put a hand on her shoulder. "We're not taking it from you, love. It's just that we need to be certain that it's not dangerous first. Do you understand?"

The girl continued to pout for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah..."

"Good." Smiled the Queen, and she kissed her head, which lifted the corner of Eydis' lips for a smile too.

A silence passed.

"Now what do we do?"

"Nothing much. It's stuck here for now." Sighed Kristoff.

Elsa bent to have a better look at it. "I wonder what those runes stand for. Maybe we can get answers from them."

Anna lifted a curious eyebrow. She usually had a good sense of observation, how did she miss the ancient letters on the hammer?

"Where are they?"

Elsa scoffed. "Right here. The big engravings, all along the metal part. It's kind of obvious."

A silence followed.

"Elsa, what are you talking about?" Asked Anna.

"What engravings?" Frowned Kristoff too.

They now were bending close to Mjöllnir, not daring to touch but attentively watching. Elsa looked at them like they were idiots.

"...You two are pranking me, right? This is not really the time for jokes."

Anna stared at her elder's eyes. "...You can see runes on it?"

The Snow Queen switched between the two. "What, you don't see it? Is it because of the dim light outside? They're enormous! Right here!"

She pointed at the runes with her fingers.

To Anna's and Kristoff's eyes, there was nothing but smooth grey metal.

"There's nothing, Elsa." Murmured Anna.

"I can see them too." Intervened an innocent voice.

They all turned to the beaming child.

"Eydis...?"

The little princess dropped her elbows on her knees and put her face in her hands, admiring the hammer. "I like the decorations on it. It has pretty drawings. And those are letters, right? So I wanted to know what they are."

Elsa widened her eyes at her curiosity and cleverness. Anna widened her eyes for a different reason.

"Wait... This is why you had come to my study the other day... Is this why you asked for the runes glossary?"

"The what?"

"The book about runes." Explained Kristoff.

"Yeah! That one!"

Elsa was captivated. "Did you get to know what those inscriptions mean, then?"

Eydis pouted a bit. "No. Mama was about to bring me the book from the library, but then she talked loud with Auntie all the afternoon."

The sisters exchanged a gaze. It was indeed on the day they had argued against each other, before Anna left for Hitiheimr.

"Oh dear, I had completely forgotten... I'm so sorry."

Eydis smiled in the warm hug her mother gave her. "It's okay. I played parcheesi with Papa instead."

Anna smiled above the princess' head, her chin in her hair. She looked at her sister.

"So only you and Elsa can see them. I suppose that it's due to magic then."

"Wow, wow, wow... Wait... Is Eydis magic too? Does she have magical powers? Did I miss something?" Panicked Kristoff, his voice rising a bit.

Anna lifted her hands, parting from the hug. "No. She isn't. Right?" Her panic rose as well. "No, no no no. Can't be. Right, Elsa?"

The latter blinked. "What, I'm the judge in this? How would I know?"

Eydis had all eyes turned to her again, and she blinked with a confused expression.

Elsa frowned, then smiled and chuckled. "No, I'd have felt it."

She then realized that she couldn't really, because the magic emanating from Mjöllnir on the floor was covering the whole hall and even the whole castle with its power range, and it skewed her measurement. As she was thinking about that fact, she made a scrunching thinking face, and Anna stared at her.

"Elsa? What is it?"

The Snow Queen fidgeted with her fingers as she was lost in thoughts. "It's just... Speaking of magic... Mjöllnir's power is so big, I think I was able to feel it from the other end of the castle when Eydis had it stored in her toolkit in her room."

Kristoff snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "So that's why you had all those weird behaviors!"

He quickly cleared his throat. "No, wait, I didn't mean it that way..."

Elsa smirked. "No offense taken."

"I'm talking about your magic boosts. They kind of came from nowhere, no? And yet, they only happened when you were in the castle."

Anna and Elsa exchanged a stunned gaze. "He's right. I didn't happen when we were out of Arendelle."

The redhead put the pieces together. "It only was in presence of Mjöllnir."

"In the living room, in her bedroom..."

"And when you were happy."

Elsa let out an amazed smile. She then couldn't help but stare at the hammer again, like she was attracted by it. Why was this charm so familiar?

"Its power... I've never felt an object exhaling this much magic since..."

"Since what?"

Elsa winced. "Well, it's not really an object, but... Since Ahtohallan."

Anna and Kristoff stared at her.

"The last time I had this sensation was on my last visit to Ahtohallan."

"Another magic source?" Murmured her sister.

The blonde nodded. Anna was so dumbfounded that she fell back on her ankles, her shoulders slumped.

"Damn, magic is wild."

It then led to another realization. "Hold on... So that's why you said you felt like it was regenerating you. Like you were resourcing, or refreshing your magic."

Elsa's mouth dropped. "It's true. Like I said, that's the same feeling than when I step out of Ahtohallan... Every time, it gives me that feeling."

She once more passed her fingers along Mjöllnir without touching it. Anna admired her fascination.

"And the boosts happened when you were sensing the source. It refilled your magic, and you had a burst of power. You suddenly had strong reactions. Just like when I drink a lot of coffee and the energy kicks in."

Elsa snorted at her comparison. "It's the equivalent, yes." She then held her chin as she thought. "Actually, I'd say it's more like when you have a sugar rush."

"Oh, does it taste like chocolate?" Understood Anna.

"What?"

"Magic."

Elsa frowned, and gave her a sarcastic eyebrow lift. "Are you saying that I taste magic when it's coming to me?"

Anna shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me. Doesn't it leave a sensation on your tongue? Or flicker in your body, like coffee or sugar?"

The Snow Queen snorted. "It's an emotion, Anna. Not something I actually have on my skin. It's like instinct, or an ancestral feeling, as old as the glacier up the Dark Sea. I just... Know it. It calls to a part of me that makes me whole."

Anna smiled fondly.

"And how did it feel when you had the first boost?"

Elsa looked down with a small smile.

"It's hard to put it in words... What did you feel when you entered my ice palace for the first time?"

"Other than amazement? I don't know, it was cold, but like cool cold, I mean, cool in the awesome sense of the term. Not like, cold cold."

Elsa grinned. Anna's slips when she was complimenting her magic were just precious.

"Well, the thrill, the excitement when I build it... I'd say that I experience a longer version of it when I get those magic boosts."

"So is it like, a sugar rush that you get after eating a treat you love, or after discovering a treat you never tried before?"

"Girls, can we please get back to it?" Laughed Kristoff as they rambled.

"Sorry." Echoed the two sisters.

He eyerolled, and bent to Mjöllnir. "I wouldn't be surprised that it's a magic source. It's a legendary hammer, after all."

Anna remembered the tales she used to read during Elsa's isolation. As far as she recalled, only one being was able to hold it...

"Then... Why does Eydis have it in her possession?"

Kristoff then realized that, too fascinated by the hammer, they had forgotten to ask again for a crucial question.

"Eydis... Did you find this hammer, or someone gave it to you?"

"It was offered to me!" Smiled the girl, happy to help.

Anna dove her teal blue eyes in hers. "Eydis, this is really important... Who gave it to you? And when?"

"A Giant! Last summer."

Elsa's brain cogs turned quickly. "You mean, the first time you met the Earth Spirit in the Forest?"

"Yes!" Chirped her niece.

The Snow Queen looked down as she mumbled. "I remember that they had felt pride to know her, because they saw great capacities in her. They said... I mean, they conveyed... That she would grow to deserve all the trust of the Spirits..."

Anna took that in, and murmured as well. "That Eydis would become... Worthy?"

Too impressed to actually confirm that out loud, Elsa nodded. Eydis looked at them with adorable blinking eyes, only wondering why they all turned to her again, and also when would dinner be served.

"So... The Giant handed it to you?" Asked the Queen.

The girl shrugged. "Yeah."

Anna was stunned. "And they were holding it? And then you held it as well? Just like that?"

Eydis frowned. "What? Like it's hard?"

The redhead scoffed a laughter, both nervous and proud. Eydis once more got confused by a new sudden hug from her.

"My baby girl... You'll never cease to amaze me."

She smiled in her embrace despite being lost about the situation.

"Which Giant was it?" Wondered Elsa.

"Maybe we should stop with the questions..." Gently advised Kristoff.

His daughter however was happy to answer. "A big one!"

That gave the Snow Queen an interesting clue. "Was it the biggest one you saw during your whole stay?"

"I dunno." Murmured Eydis.

Elsa couldn't blame her. With their hive mind, the Earth Spirit was composed of numerous Giants, and it was possible that she hadn't seen them all.

"What did they look like?"

"It was made or rocks."

Anna giggled above her daughter's head. Elsa had to restrain a giggle too.

"I meant physically. Did they have, for example, a big nose, or a long chin, or very large shoulders?"

"A square body!"

"A square?" Repeated Kristoff.

"Yes, perfect square!"

Eydis' recent passion for geometry and handiwork allowed them to make sure that she was saying the truth. Elsa grinned.

"That narrows it to three possible Giants."

She counted on her fingers. "Tetra, Ruckus, and Thwomp."

"Thwomp?" Repeated Kristoff, taken aback. "Wait, did you name the Giants?"

Anna grinned. "I'd love to have that conversation now, but we'll save it for later."

As Elsa eyerolled, her gaze passed by the window, and she saw an intriguing change in the weather outside. The wind had calmed down, yet it wasn't replaced by rain.

"What the..."

"Your Highnesses?" Echoed Kai's voice in the hall. "Why are the four of you kneeling on the floor like this?"

They all turned to the servant who had stepped back into the room after discarding the broken armors with the rest of the staff.

"We're talking about my hammer, Kai!" Exclaimed Eydis.

"Oh, really?" Smiled the man, happy to see her enthusiasm about her tools. "Which one?"

"This one!"

She grabbed the shaft of Mjöllnir and, not thinking about the consequences of her actions like any child, she naturally lifted the hammer in one quick move and high up so that Kai could see it from the other end of the room.

Anna, Elsa and Kristoff hadn't finished screaming and flipping around that an enormous lightning bolt erupted from Mjöllnir, jolting to the ceiling and exploding the roof vertically in a hole. It sent tiles flying in the air above the castle, and the lightning reached the sky in a direct line.

The bright light invaded the room, its flash reflecting on Eydis and Kai's surprised wide eyes, and underlining the others' terrified expressions. The strike disappeared as fast as it emerged, but all, in that short moment, had different reactions.

Kristoff jumped out of dread and fell to the floor on his elbows; Elsa stood still, transfixed by the sheer power of magic that had escaped from the hammer, similar to one of her outbursts; Anna screamed and ran with all her might to grab her daughter and hold her close as she rolled on the floor with the girl in her arms, to prevent her from getting hurt by the falling pieces of the ceiling.

Soon, Kristoff and Elsa shook out of their stupor and ran to Eydis to check her state, for it really had looked like she got electrocuted. The princess was alright, despite being stunned by the crazy situation.

Outside, thunder started to rumble. Other typical cracking noises snapped above their heads in the sky, reverberating in trembling sounds which were so strong that the windows of the halls vibrated.

Eydis whimpered in Anna's arms as Mjöllnir, still in her hands, started to shake. She gasped and released it, yet actually didn't have much choice as it suddenly slipped off her fingers and flew up to the sky as swiftly as an arrow, and the girl watched it dash away with wide eyes.

Anna held her closer, and everyone stared at the sky through the hole in the roof where the magic hammer suddenly had disappeared.

A flash of light appeared in the sky, and they winced. Something seemed to descend, and Elsa realized with horror that it was going down very, very fast.

"Everyone, step away!"

When they all looked at her instead of moving, she yelled with force.

"STEP AWAY, NOW!"

They all stumbled from where they were, the Queen urging to stand up and run as far as possible from under the hole, Eydis in her arms.

It was just in time, for one second later, something heavy smashed down and exploded the parquet, splitting it and sending bits around. They all yelped in terror at the deafening sound it made, and they protected their eyes from the splinters and pieces of beams and tiles that had fell along and shattered on the floor.

The entire hall was filled with dust, and wood squeaked still as the thunder continued to rumble outside.

Kristoff put his arm down after shielding himself from the floating dust, and squinted. Whatever had landed wasn't something, but someone.

A very tall, very muscular man, with long blond hair braided at parts, and a beard that reached the torso part of his shining armor, straightened up. He was covered from shoulders to toes with plaques of dark grey metal, and had a crimson red long cape which floated behind him after the move of his impact to the floor.

Elsa watched as well, stunned by the presence of the stranger. The storm had been replaced by flashing thunder, and it lit the man's armor in a bright way, which gave him a sort of magical aura. Unless he actually had one...

The man chuckled a bit, and dusted its armor and belt. He sheathed Mjöllnir there in a leather loop that seemed tailor-made for the shaft, and looked at the people present in the room.

"Hello everyone. Let's make the presentations. I guess that you know me already, but I prefer to make things polite. I'm Thor."

He waved, and everyone stared at him, paralyzed by his arrival. He smiled widely.

"Nice to meet you."

Author's Note:

*DUN DUN DUNNN echoes in the distance* guess who's joining the partyyyyy

Let's get mythological, y'all. (Oh and don't worry it won't be heavy, I intend to make that encounter just as funny in Marvel's style.)

2 chapters to go, and the next one will make you laugh!

Cheers - oh and don't forget to comment and share! :D