Chronicles of Stormblade
Chapter Two, Into the Mist
It was dark, and she was standing in her little blue nightgown. She clutched onto her father's leg, terrified—terrified that she had hurt her sister beyond repair and terrified that she damaged the relationship she had with her parents. Still, she couldn't help but hold onto the man whom she called papa.
"Your Majesty," A round-faced stone troll bowed before her father while taking ahold of her own hand. "Born with the powers? Or cursed?"
"B-born," The King stuttered. "And they're getting stronger."
The worried Queen kneeled. She held onto her little daughter tightly, but presented her before the trolls.
Grand Pabbie placed his hand on Anna's forehead and soon, he worked his magic—reshaping Anna's memories to know about Elsa's magic no more.
Elsa's little heart sunk even further, if it were possible. The one thing that Anna seemed to love the most about her would be gone. No more freezing over the great hall, no more snowball fights in the summer, no more skating down the hallways, and no more snowmen. "But she won't remember I have powers?" Elsa spoke up.
"It's for the best," The King said, gently, placing a reassuring hand on his daughter's shoulder.
Grand Pabbie turned slowly, sighing heavily. "Listen to me, Elsa. Your power will only grow." Is hands rose to the sky and swirls of color and light begun to dance from his hands.
The young girl's eyes melded into the images. While the others saw swirls and outlines of a story taking place, Elsa saw the future. She saw herself, older and more mature, using her powers to create such beautiful works of art.
"There is beauty in it…" The old troll said. "But there is also great danger."
The swirling hues of blues, greens, and whites turned into violent shades of purple and red. Suddenly, she was surrounded by hostile forces wishing to seek her life.
"You must learn to control it. Fear will be your enemy."
The dark colors swarmed around her and overtook her.
Elsa let out a gasp and tucked her head into her father's embrace.
The images were gone for everyone else, but they still burned in Elsa's eyes. Grey mists swirled in her mind's eye. Far away in the darkness was a pair of glowing eyes—eyes that glowed the most beautiful but unnatural blue. The owner of the eyes approached with heavy footsteps towards her.
"Beware the frozen heart," The mist whispered to her.
"No!" The King exclaimed. "We'll protect her." She can learn to control it, I'm sure." Elsa jolted back into reality from hearing her father's strong and determined voice.
"Til then, we lock the gates."
Beware the Frozen Heart—those words echoed in Elsa's heart as she stirred in bed. She then noticed the gentle rocking back and forth of the ocean. Her eyes flew open, glancing around the room. The Captain's quarters were dark and quiet, save for the crashing waves. It was a small, but cozy room, filled with trunks and storage containers, books, a globe, a small couch and some push chairs to meet with guests, and even a grand writing desk where the Captain spent most of his time pouring over ledgers, maps, and documents. The bed in the corner where she lay was small as well but warm and comfortable. Even though it was her second night in the Captain's cabin, it still felt strange to wake up there. Captain Algren was so kind to let her stay here during the trip, but it never quite felt like home to her.
Elsa continued to lay in bed, just staring at the wood cross-work ceiling above her. Had she not come full circle? Had she not, for the most part, beside the occasional accident or two, learn to control her powers? Her mind replayed that horrible night as a child over and over again. Grand Pabbie told her the future—two destinies that could possibly happen: one of her learning to her control her powers and to harness its beauty and the other letting fear overtake her. Pabbie wove his magic to show her the future, but she remembered how visions continued to burn in her sight even after closing her eyes. She saw things that night even after no one else did.
Elsa closed her eyes again. She concentrated, trying to remember what she saw after she closed her eyes those many years ago. What was it exactly that she saw that nobody else did? It was difficult to remember—almost like a fog or a mist had clouded her brain. Soon, a pair of glowing eyes appeared. How could anything be that blue? It reminded her of her own magic—a beautiful glow that would light up the night. Footsteps echoed through the mist of her memory as the pair of glowing eyes seemed to come closer. Soon, a dark silhouette appeared in the mist—tall, large, and imposing.
That was all she saw before she gasped in fear and jolted fully awake. Moments later, as Elsa's heart was still pounding, one of the sailors on deck hollered "full sails, lads!" from above. She flopped her hands to her sides and figured she better get out of bed and start the day instead of dwelling on the past.
Late morning proved to be more enjoyable with fair weather and good breakfast. Some flatbrød settled her stomach from the nerves and seasickness she had earlier that morning. After getting her bearings, Elsa made her way up to the quarterdeck to join Captain Algren for morning tea.
Captain Algren stood at the helm, grasping onto the large ship wheel gently. "Good morning, your Majesty!" He called happily then continued to hum to himself a common sea shanty.
"Good morning, Captain Algren." Elsa pulled up her skirt a bit as she walked up the stairs. "How are we fairing?"
"Excellent, your Majesty, just excellent. We've got a nice, steady tailwind giving us a push this morning."
Elsa then noticed that the ship did indeed seem to be traveling faster than usual.
"If we have winds like this all the way through, we'll reach Albion by tomorrow night I'd say." The Captain said.
"You know that means that the men will be asking for liberty then," The First Mate of the ship, Rolf, chimed into the conversation. He had been studying maps nearby, but his attention turned to the Queen and the Captain.
Elsa looked back and forth trying for a moment, trying to guess what he meant by liberty. "Do you mean that they'll want to go off-duty for a while in Albion?"
Rolf nodded. "Yes, your Majesty, that's the sum of it."
The Captain laughed at his First Mate's serious demeanor. "Oh, Rolf, they're good lads!"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not them I'm worried about. It's that cesspool of a capital were going to in Albion."
Elsa had heard stories before. "Is it really that bad?"
The Captain thought for a moment before answering. "Parts of it, I suppose. Albion is a small country like Arendelle but with a large population and a whole lot of influence in the world." He turned the ship wheel a bit. "They say that the sun never sets on the Albion Empire."
Elsa pondered on the information for a moment. "It sounds like you're a well-traveled man, Captain Algren."
"Indeed, your Majesty." He agreed. "Albion, Volterra, Stormhold, Weaslton, Balta, Corona, the Southern Isles, you name it. All in service to the crown." He gentled nodded in her direction.
"What's been your favorite place so far, Captain?"
"Arendelle," He smiled. The Queen smiled too. "There's no place like the fjords of Arendelle— coming across the bends into the bay, seeing the smoke from the chimney of my home as I approach the docks, having my wife, children, and grandchildren waiting for me after a long journey at sea…" He trailed off wistfully.
"That sounds wonderful, Captain." Talking like this made Elsa think of her own home—her sister, Kai and Gerda, Olaf, and even Kristoff and Sven. She had barely been two days out to sea, but she missed them already. She turned forward as the conversation lulled and looked out into the open waters.
Elsa spent all of the afternoon in the Captain's quarters at the desk. Just as she would in Arendelle, the Queen spent a lot of time at desks pouring over documents that pertained to matters of state. She used the time to revise the new trade agreements she hoped could be struck with Albion on this trip. After taking a hit last year by cutting off Weselton, new agreements needed to be pursued earnestly, and brokering a freer trade alliance between Albion and Arendelle might be what was needed to finally put Arendelle ahead.
Maybe it was better that she was going on this trip instead of Anna. Elsa frowned at the thought of her sister needing to be sick to make that happen though. Not that Anna couldn't have handled the assignment and relayed the Queen's message well, but the more she thought of it, more aggressive negotiations may be in order—a specialty of Elsa's. It didn't hurt that her ice powers made other nations think twice before double-crossing her or Arendelle. She smirked at the thought. At least her powers were good for something productive.
Her thoughts were disrupted by a loudly chiming bell from above. Usually, the bell went off when storms were approaching. Elsa looked around the cabin for a moment. The Captain's inkwell slowly slid across the desk. The room did indeed seem to be rocking back and forth. Elsa put down the quill in her hand and headed to the door.
A cool, watery gush of wind struck her in the face immediately after opening the door to the deck. The sailors aboard scurried about trying to position the sails and anchor down loose objects on deck.
"Captain Algren?" Elsa called out. She headed up the small stairs to get a look at the helm. He was busy along with his First Mate, Rolf, giving quick orders to the crew. Thunder rumbled through the skies. Elsa turned back, looking towards the bow out into the open sea before them. A fast storm was approaching on the horizon.
As another bolt of lightning struck the distant waters, the memory of her parents flashed before her. She headed up to the quarterdeck quickly, grabbing onto the railing leading up. It frosted over. She quickly pulled her hand off it.
"What's the status on the cargo balance?" Rolf hollered out to one of the sailors.
"All good! Everything's in place!"
"Are the sails tied down yet?"
"Almost, sir!"
Captain Algren turned the wheel back and forth to account for the high waves that were coming at them. He noticed the Queen approaching but continued to steer. "Your Majesty, the weather has taken a turn for the worse. You would be safest if you remain in your quarters for now." He pulled hard right to counter steer.
"How dangerous is this storm coming?"
The Captain took a moment to answer. "She's a big one, but I've seen worse."
Lightning flashed in the not too far distance and shortly after came the pounding of thunder. Elsa clutched her cold hands together.
"Rolf." The Captain noted the unusually pale look on the Queen's face. "Please escort the Queen back to the Captain's quarters and make her comfortable." He gently smiled, trying to put Elsa at ease.
"Aye, Captain." Rolf stopped his immediate task and gently placed his hand on the Queen's arm. "If you would come with me, your Majesty."
"Yes," She nodded, careful not to touch Rolf with her nervous icy hands. "Thank you."
Rolf did as he was ordered and took the Queen back to the Captain's quarters. It was much safer down there than being on deck with the crashing waves frapping against the hull of the ship or the sudden gusts of wind that could nearly carry a man off into the sky. She kept one lantern lit and secured it to a hanging mechanism from the ceiling. It would probably be best to take her mind of the storm outside by reading one of the books off the Captain's shelf. Robinson Crusoe—perhaps a little too close to home. Don Quixote—it'd have to do. She began the tale of the self-proclaimed Knight of La Mancha. It did indeed seem to take her mind off what was happening outside, but sometimes she'd have to stop reading for a moment, just to her bearings from the rocking of the boat. It seemed like hours passed before Elsa drifted off to sleep in the bed with an open book at her side.
When Elsa woke the next morning, still in yesterday's clothes and with an open book under her arm. It was still somewhat dark in the room, but it appeared that some light was pouring into the room through the windows. Elsa sat up in bed and rubbed her head. It was a restless sleep that left her feeling just as tired as before. One thing she had noticed though is that the boat wasn't rocking anymore.
Perhaps the proper royal would freshen herself up and change first, but Elsa decided to head up to the deck to see what was happening. It felt like she had slept forever, and perhaps the storm was over now. She tucked her out of place strands of hair behind her ear and immediately headed out the door.
There was nothing but fog. It was thick and heavy—almost oppressive feeling—and it instantly chilled to the bone. How odd, Elsa noticed. By virtue of who she was, the cold never bothered her. She could walk into the middle of a blizzard in a summer dress and not feel the slightest bit of a chill. This, however, was different. It wasn't that it was cold, per say, but it made her heart beat with trepidation. It was eerily quiet, save for the bell that swung back and forth with the waves. As she moved onto the deck level, she began to see the sailors.
They were red-eyed, pale-faced, and chilled to the bone, yet they continued to man their posts on the ship diligently. Their icy exhales poured out of their nostrils and filled the air, but their faces lit up with smiles at the sight of their Queen. She greeted and thanked them all before making her away up to the quarterdeck to see the Captain.
"Hello, your Majesty." He said, clearly just as tired and worn down as his men. Still, he put on good spirits for his Queen.
"Captain Algren," Elsa said, a note of worry in her voice, while taking a seat. "Is everything alright?"
"We've been out of the storm for a few hours now." That should have been happy news, but he didn't look happy. "It's been this fog ever since, and we have no way to tell just how far off-course the storm took us."
"I see," Elsa felt a lump in her throat.
"Never mind the danger trying to sail through this fog."
Elsa nodded. "Well, Captain, we're in no rush. Take your time and sail carefully. Albion will just have to wait for us a little longer."
"Aye, your Majesty." He nodded in agreement. "Would you care to join me for a cup of tea?" He asked as one of the sailors came up to the quarterdeck with a tea tray.
"That'd be lovely."
The Captain turned his attention to the nearest sailor in his sight. "Joakim, bring Anders down from Crow's Nest and get a fresh pair of eyes up there."
"Aye, Sir." Joakim made up a cup of tea for the Queen and passed to her. "Who shall I have replace Anders up in the Crow's Nest?" He then put two lumps of sugar into the next cup of tea and handed it to the Captain.
Algren took a sip of hot tea first before answering. "See if Christian is up to the task."
Joakim saluted his Captain. "Aye, Sir!" Suddenly, the boat crashed and Joakim flew sidewards over the railing of the quarterdeck and onto the main deck. Elsa fell out of her seat, her cup falling out of her hand. Hot tea split all over the deck and onto Elsa's hands. Captain Algren flew forward into the wheel, smacked his head, and crumpled to the ground.
"Shallow ground! Left side!" One of the sailors hollered.
Elsa scrambled over to the Captain and helped him to his feet. He held his throbbing head with his hand and tried to sturdy himself with the other. "Your Majesty, are you alright?" He asked.
"I'm fine," She said. Besides a little burn to her hands, she was alright.
"Captain!" One of the sailors ran towards the quarterdeck. "We've seem to hit shore, but I can't see a thing!"
It was then that orange lights appeared in the fog on their right side. At first, just one, but more came, mere seconds after the other until there were at least twenty or thirty of them.
"What is that?" Elsa wondered aloud, still clutching onto the Captain.
"It can't be," He uttered.
Suddenly, one of the orange lights came flying closer towards them. Before they could recognize it for what it was, the sails were punctured with the flaming arrow and were starting to kindle.
"Privateers?" The Captain said in disbelief. "In these waters?"
A frightening calamity of howls, screams, and cheering arose from the mist. It grew louder and closer. A large dragon figurehead, standing tall and proud with snarling teeth, appeared from the mist and crashed into the HMS Falken. It seemed to be some sort of ship, but it was ship unlike any of them had ever seen on the waters before.
Out of the mysterious ship, a large man, burly and wild, leap from the other ship with an ax above his head. As he came down, he cleaved his ax into one of the sailors and instantly killed him. His mangled cry only lasted a moment before collapsing on the deck dead. Elsa stood horrified at the sight, frozen in place.
Bloodlust and battle cries filled the air. More men, wild and brutish poured from their dragon boat onto the deck of the Falken. Her Majesty's sailors grabbed their sabers and rifles and began the counterattack.
Captain Algren pushed Elsa behind him and whipped out his officer sword. "Your Majesty, you need to hide!"
The push knocked some sense into her and she found her words. "Captain, I can't! I can't just leave you and your men!"
"You can and you will!" He shoved her to the ground and leapt over the railing of the quarterdeck to join the skirmish.
Elsa smacked into the deck floor, hitting her head. She blinked furiously as it seemed like she was seeing stars. She picked up her head, vision a little dizzy for a moment, to see a side wards picture of Arendelle sailors being torn apart by wild men dressed in furs, leathers, and wrappings while flames danced in the air. Once she gained her bearings, she scrambled to her feet.
One of the masts of the ship started to crack as the flames weakened it. It fell within moments, raining down fire with it. Elsa's hands went up before she could even think and a cold blast shot out of them. It didn't stop the mast from crashing down onto the deck and into the water, but it at least stopped the flames from burning anyone on the deck.
Somehow, the attackers hadn't seemed to notice her yet. She looked up and saw one of them run his sword through one of her sailors. She clasped her hand over her mouth and fought to keep tears from coming to her eyes. The sailor looked barely a day out of training—probably around Anna's age or even a little younger.
After the attacker stabbed the boy, he pulled his sword out and held it up in the air while he roared savagely. His attention then turned to Elsa.
She gasped as the man stared her down. His face though wearing a smile looked cruel and sinister. He took a step forward while keeping his bloodthirsty eyes upon her. Frightened, she took a small step back, but he continued to approach at a fast pace. Before she knew it, he was fast upon her. A hard ball of ice formed in her hand and without thinking much about it, she threw it at the man charging toward her. It did the trick. It cracked him across the forehead, right above the brow, and he dubbed over grabbing his head.
She nearly tripped over broken pieces of the mast, but she managed to flee back towards the Captain's quarters. She quickly opened the door and locked herself inside. She looked around the room for anything that might resemble a weapon. She only managed to see a dagger on the Captain's desk, more ceremonial than anything else. Next, she went over to the window and opened it. Soon, she began throwing out maps, papers, and documents that pertained to her purposes here. If Captain Algren was right about these men being privateers—pirates—then she'd give them no satisfaction of any useful information.
Soon someone started pounding at came to the door. Elsa continued furiously to throw documents out the window as fast as she could. The door pounded again. And again. By the fourth time, she heard a crack in the wood. She turned back, seeing that the ax blade had made it through. She closed the window and tried to put things back in order, making it look like she hadn't just been purging the ship. Three more heavy pounds came. Elsa closed her eyes, steeling herself for what was coming.
The bolts of the door gave way, and the door flew open. Elsa held up the knife as the strange men poured into the doorway. Leading the pack was the man she escaped from minutes ago by throwing a chunk of ice at him. He did seem to be bleeding a little bit over his left brow. This time, he approached slowly into the room carrying his ax at his side. "The fight's over, woman. Put the blade down."
Elsa didn't lower her blade, trying not to show fear, but her throat tightened.
Another man came into the room holding an ax to Captain Algren's neck. The Captain was weak and barely standing, clutching a bloody wound at his side.
"Don't hurt him!" Elsa cried out, dropping the knife to the floor. She raised her hands up, showing her open palms to the men. "Please, don't hurt him or anyone else! You can have anything you want just don't hurt anyone! Please! I beg of you!"
The man who stood before her was much taller and thicker than she could ever imagine a man to be. His black beard was long, thick, coarse, and tied with a small knot at the end. His eyes were a dark red color, almost like thickened dried blood. If Elsa thought his face was ugly, then the sight of his crooked, yellowed teeth baring at her made it even worse. He approached her, clutching a piece of tattered purple and green cloth. "What I want, woman, is to know why Arendelle's ships are in these waters?" He shook the flag in her face.
The man before her was speaking her language, and yet, something was unusual about it. He had a thicker and heavier accent, the likes of which she had never quite heard before. It reminded her of some of the elderly population up in the north country of Arendelle, but she couldn't be sure. She hadn't heard it since she was a child. Ironically, whenever her father or mother read stories of old to her, she imagined the heroes of those sagas sounding much like this stranger did before her. "Who are you? Where do you come from?" She uttered curious at first but hardening as she said the words.
"You're in no position to be asking questions," The man growled. In response, the other man who held onto Captain Algren pressed the edge of his ax harder into Algren's neck.
Elsa reached out. "Don't!" She had to stop herself from sending an icy blast out her hand, otherwise she might hurt the Captain in the process. She put her hands to her side in defeat and sighed deeply. "We are a merchant vessel from Arendelle North Trading Company on a routine delivery. We were caught up in a storm for about a day before crashing here…wherever here is."
The Captain looked at his Queen with a small furrow of his brow, but he didn't say anything. If he pointed out Elsa's half-truth, they all could be dead.
The man reached up and stroked his bearded chin. He began to pace around the room, slowing stepping closer to Elsa. Her eyes carefully followed him around the room. He circled around her, growing uncomfortably close. "That may explain someone like him," He nodded towards Captain Algren, who was still bleeding heavily at his side.
"But it doesn't explain you. Embroidered dress." He said as he stood right behind Elsa and tilted his head down, almost smelling her hair as he spoke into her ear. "Tall, proud posture." He reached up from behind and took a hold of her right hand. "Soft hands."
Elsa fought a whole storm of emotions and feelings all at once. Part of her wanted to explode with an icy storm that would blow them all away, but that would hurt Captain Algren. The other part of her wanted to disappear and hide, but her voice was needed. She fought past the fear that knotted in her throat. "My father…he…he…is the Minister of Trade…in Arendelle." That lie would explain her more regal appearance. "As his only child, I'm poised to take his place in our family's service to the Crown."
The man released her hand and made his way back to his companions. He seemed to have bought the lie that Elsa told, but she couldn't be sure. Elsa looked at the Captain again, who clearly was in a lot of pain. "Please take whatever you're looking for and let us go. We've done nothing wrong."
The man grinned like a wolf through his black beard. "That is where you're wrong, woman." He looked at the others and motioned them to continue. "Gather everything you can and tie up the survivors!"
The men roared in excitement and began to follow the orders they were given.
"No, wait! Please!" Elsa yelled out, but it didn't matter. The wild men charged forward and took a hold of her. Before she knew it, her hands were bound in ropes and her face covered in sackcloth.
The whole world went dark.