Scene Nine -that night

Donovan

Donovan was reading. It was one of his favorite pastimes, and Elsa had a huge library. He had found, in one dusty corner, a book of fairy tales, and was now searching for anything that might help him in his quest to find the truth. He turned a page with an armored finger, and sneezed as dust billowed up around him. He read the title and couldn't believe his eyes. It read, The Fire King. He settled back in the huge chair in front of the gently burning fireplace. There was no wood. He began reading with single-minded purpose. The great oak doors of the library opened, and in walked Elsa. He continued reading.

He stated quietly. "You have an amazing library. If I could, I would spend all my time in my library back home, though it doesn't have anything on yours."

She was silent, and the doors closed with a muffled thud. Ice shot out of the floor and slammed him into the far wall, which was devoid of books. The impact drove the breath out of him and sent pain shooting through his new wounds. She stalked up to him. The ice moved to make way for her, until there was only a layer sticking him to the wall. She looked up at him, and her eyes were full of pain. The pain of twenty-three years of believing herself alone. She pulled him down, the ice moving until they were at eye level. "Why?" She asked, eyes full of pleading pain. He knew exactly what she meant. Why did you not tell me? Why did you lie to me? A single tear emerged from her beautiful eyes. He moved a hand, melting the ice around it as he did so. He brushed her cheek softly, wiping away the tear, and found it was frozen to her cheek. He looked away from her. "Because I was scared. I was scared of what you'd think, what I would do, how that would impact your life. At first I was excited to meet another like me, but then I realized I had no idea how. But most of all, I was scared of you."

She laughed, a sound with no humor. "You? Mighty Warlord Donovan of Arradia, scared of me? Why?" He finally met her eyes. He dissolved her ice with precise bursts of intense heat. "When I walked into that room, I had no idea what to expect. I thought I had every possibility mapped out. I was prepared for everything. And then I saw… you."

She looked down and asked softly. "What did you see?" He answered without hesitation. "I saw many things. First of all, I saw a Queen, completely in control of herself, experienced and formidable. And then I saw something else."

She turned around and took single step away. "What?" she asked softly. He moved around to face her. He removed a gauntlet, and touched her face, lifting her eyes to meet his.

Elsa

Elsa raised her head carefully, and looked into his eyes. The hardness there was gone as if it had never been, and replaced by the child. "I saw the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Nothing could compare." Against her will, she began to cry, great shoulder-shaking sobs, and as she put her head on his shoulder Donovan put his arms around her and drew her close. He said or did nothing else. Just held her. He was warm.

Anna

Anna opened the door to the library as slowly and as quietly as she could. Iy'ate and Anna looked in, and just as quickly closed it. They looked at each other with wide eyes, and ran down the corridor to make sure they were out of hearing before jumping and yelling with joy.

Elsa

Hours seemed to pass, and eventually the sobs subsided. Elsa looked up at him again, and he put his hands on her shoulders, and smiled that roguish smile. "You all right?" She smiled back and nodded, wiping away the frozen remnants of her tears. "Are you ready to learn about how our powers work?" It took her a second to realize what he'd said.

"What? You know…" He let go of her and strode back and set a chair in front of another across a small table. With a wave of his unarmored hand, he relit the fire. "Yep! I know how our powers work! Or at least, I think I do." He offered her the softer chair, and she took it gratefully. She hadn't realized how long they'd been standing there, but her legs did. She tried to shake off the intoxicating effects of him, but failed. He leaned forward, face tired but excited. "So, we both know there is magic in the world." He softly took her hand and spread her fingers wide. He opened his own hand. Red sparks danced on his palm, and Elsa responded by releasing white sparkling motes of light resembling tiny snowflakes. He looked into her eyes, and they were full of childlike enthusiasm. She couldn't help but smile back.

"I have researched fairy tales, legends, and rumors so much they have become as much fact to me. I have heard of dragons in the high northwest, flowers that give everlasting life, and ancient weapons of enormous power passed down from the ancients. I have seen figments of legend and myth with my own eyes, and one of them is the source of our power." She leaned closer, taken in by his excitement. He took a small piece of paper out of his pocket and began to draw. "It is like this." He explained as he drew. He drew a crude figure of a man. "This is us. Human beings. But we are not alone. There are the Elmenti. Beings created by the forces of nature itself, given life. The weaker race dictates the seasons; they are everywhere, the air we breathe, and the fire we make. They have no physical form, and we cannot see them. They are not intelligent like humans are, and do not want to be." He drew a small globe, a pair of lines resembling wind, and a small flame. He caught her eye to make sure she understood, and she nodded. She didn't know what to think. He continued, "And then there is the stronger race." He drew a figure, larger than the man, vague and dark in form. "They control the elements themselves, creating natural disaster when needed, great fires, earthquakes, and floods. They are as intelligent as humans. But sometimes, a being is created, that is weaker than its brethren." He then drew another figure, lighter and weaker than the first. "It will not live long, so it makes a decision. It can either die, slowly and painfully, or it can take a human host." He drew the figure of an elemental overlapping the human figure. Elsa looked on, doubtful. "It must choose a human child that is born weak, one that would not survive otherwise. It is a code of honor among them. When you were born, were you healthy?"

She shook her head. "No, I very sick when I was born." He nodded his head, and smiled at the confirmation. "See? Proof!" She shook her head amusedly.

He continued. "So, it saves the life of the child, thus saving itself. In exchange for giving it life, the Elmenti grants the host its own powers." He made a small flame appear on the tip of his finger. "We get their powers, they get a longer life. It's mutually beneficial."

Elsa stated wryly. "They don't take into account that their host will be marked as different and feared."

He shrugged. "They don't seem to care. Once they inhabit their human, they lose individual consciousness. Until the Unleashing."

She looked up, confused. "When their host uses their powers to their greatest extent. When you froze Arendelle. When I… well, I'll tell you later."

He sat back up again. "And that's it! That's all I've managed to gather about our powers! Besides the fact that trolls have some sort of connection to the Elmenti, which I don't know about." She sat up and shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Wait, first of all, how do you know all this?"

He scooted his chair closer. Donovan leaned in and whispered. "I've seen them. The Elmenti." She gasped and leaned forward.

"I hiked up a mountain with a core of fire, and at the top, looking down into the flames; I saw beings of fire diving among the liquid rock. And other proof, has your ice ever done something without you directly willing it to?" She tapped her fingers on the table between them, pondering his question. Then all of a sudden, one particular event rushed to the forefront of her thoughts. "One time, during the first attempt on my life, ice blocked a crossbow bolt without me willing it to."

He snapped his fingers and leaned back. "Your Elmenti was protecting you. They need their hosts to stay alive, because if they die, the Elmenti will die with them. Other proof, of course, is that I have one in me. Once you use your power enough, they reveal themselves to you."

"Wait, are you saying you've talked with yours?"

He leaned back with a smug expression. "Yes. I expect you should be hearing from your own sooner or later."

She struggled to accept this. "How… how do I speak to it?"

He replied confidently. "You talk to yourself." She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "If this is all a big joke, I'm going to freeze you to the wall again."

"Believe me, if it was all a big joke, I would have told you earlier, because I love jokes. Try it. Speak in your head, address your Elmenti by title. It may respond. If it doesn't, you have full permission to think me insane."

Elsa looked at Donovan doubtfully and he gestured for her to proceed. She reasoned that she might as well try. She closed her eyes and concentrated. "Elmenti, if you are there… please reveal yourself to me." She waited, but nothing. And then, out of an unknown part of her mind, came, "Took you long enough." Elsa fell out of her chair.

Donovan laughed. "I expect you found her?" Elsa sat up, breathing hard. She searched for the voice, but it had disappeared along with her concentration. Elsa got up and sat back in her chair, holding her head in her hands. "Yes, I think I did." She said distractedly.

He leaned forward again. "What did she say?"

"Wait, she?" she replied briskly. "Yes, they always pick people of their own gender. What did she say?"

Elsa looked down and bit her lip. "Um, took you long enough."

Donovan laughed. "Well, at least yours has a sense of humor. Mine is the strong, silent type. She probably won't speak to you again today, she's probably not very happy that you've ignored her for so long. Oh, and one last thing. The Elmenti and their host, together, are called an Elemental." He stood, picked up the paper and put it in his pocket. He held out his hand, and she took it. She stood, legs unsteady. He gestured to the door and bowed to her. "You should rest, milady. Let me escort you to your rooms." She rolled her eyes but exited, and before he left, he retrieved his other gauntlet and put the book of fairy tales back on the shelf. He put out the fire with a wave of his hand, then laced on the gauntlet again.

They walked through the halls in silence, Elsa pondering what she had learned. As they approached the stairs to her rooms, Elsa heard something echoing through the castle. Donovan smiled and looked in the direction of the sound. "Come with me, there's something you need to see." He began walking towards the sounds. Elsa frowned in confusion and followed him. As they drew near, she deducted the source of the sounds as coming from the medical rooms. They entered the hallway, and through an open door they saw the entire division of Arradians left to defend Arendelle, including the guards that had protected her earlier that day. They were unarmored, standing, sitting on beds, and some kneeling, and they were singing, all of them, in perfect chorus and harmony. Elsa and Donovan stood in the doorway, looking within. They went unnoticed. The Arradians were all facing a row of three beds, and on them rested sheet-covered bodies. Three Arradians had died defending her and Anna. She covered her mouth in shock. She hadn't even known. Their song was haunting, beautiful, but among the saddest melodies she had ever heard. Donovan leaned in, and whispered. "The Song of Mourning." Elsa noticed Iy'ate in the corner singing softy, and Donovan joined in the chorus, voice soft as not to draw attention.

The Song of Mourning continued, for long minutes, until fewer and fewer soldiers were singing, until the last one singing was a lone girl, sitting up in bed, bandages wrapping her lower body. Elsa recognized her as the one she had talked to. Her voice was clear, and sweet. Then she looked directly at Elsa, and smiled. From her lips, another tune began. It was faster, and full of joy and brightness. All at once, the others joined in, singing loud and strong, filling the room, and Elsa's heart, with beautiful music. They all turned to look at her, and their eyes were shining with gratitude. Elsa felt tears welling up in her eyes. Donovan leaned in again. "They sing the Song of Honor. For you." Then he joined in, singing a completely different part than the others. It was obviously the melody, and his strong voice filled her with a strange mix of emotions. The climax rose and ended in a single clear note. The silence was deafening. Then a grizzled senior officer limped up to Elsa and knelt. He stated with a thick accent, "Wur unimaginably grateful to yah. Please accept our gratitude."

Elsa had no idea how to respond, so she nodded a small bow and asked. "You are very welcome, but what exactly did I do?"

A younger soldier answered, stepping forward. "You saved the life of our hopekeeper, Serili Heartvoice." He gestured to the bandaged girl, who blushed and turned her head. "You saved her, and we are in your debt."

Donovan whispered in her ear. "A hopekeeper is the youngest member of a company, usually the singing lead."

Elsa nodded and walked forward and knelt at the girls' side. "Your name is Serili?"

The dark girl nodded, "Yes, Your High-… Elsa." Elsa smiled as she remembered what she had said.

"You have a beautiful voice, Sirili." She flushed and smiled at the praise.

Elsa looked to the row of beds in the corner. "I am sorry for your losses. I did not know, I probably could've done something."

Serili reached for Elsa's hand, grip weak. "Do not blame yourself. They rest in the Silver Halls now, while we struggle down here. I'm actually quite jealous of them." Chuckles moved throughout the room. She continued, struggling for breath now. "Thank you… for making Lord Donovan happy." Elsa looked up at Donovan in surprise. He looked stunned. "He... always wore a mask… but we all knew he needed… someone like you. Thank you." She closed her eyes and her breathing slowed.

Elsa gasped and another soldier moved and checked her pulse. "She'll be fine, Highness. She just needs rest."

Elsa stood, and to her surprise, every person in the room, save Donovan, knelt facing her. "In order to pay our debt to you, we pledge our service as an honor guard to you, Queen Elsa." Elsa again, had no idea what to say. Donovan caught her eye, and nodded. She took a deep breath. "Rise, Honor Guard." They rose and stood at attention.

The younger soldier addressed her formally. "What is your first order, my Queen?" She smiled and stated.

"Get some rest! That's an order! It's what? The third hour of the morning? Go on, go!"

They stood, uncertain, until the grizzled soldier barked. "That's an order, people! To the barracks, on the double!" They filed out the door in an orderly row, all looking at Elsa with either gratitude or confusion, as if they didn't know what to make of her. Once all twenty-six were out the door, only Donovan, Iy'ate, and Elsa remained. Iy'ate smiled at Elsa and strode out without a backward glance.

Donovan shuffled his feet awkwardly, and then cleared his throat. "I think we should get some rest ourselves. Do you mind if I leave you here?" Elsa shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. He bobbed a bow, then exited, leaving Elsa alone with the sleeping girl.

Later, after she was in bed, Elsa thought on all she had experience throughout the day. She had seen people killed, defending her. She had been attacked by assassins, again, Donovan was like her, and she had another spirit inside her body. She tried one more time to speak to her Elmenti. She cleared her mind and spoke into the deepest parts of her. "What is your name, Elmenti?" Nothing. She waited for it. "C'mon, I know you're in there." Still, nothing. She finally resigned herself to a sulking Elmenti. Then a voice spoke in her head, clearer than the first time.

"Skahdi. My name is Skahdi."

I imagine the Song of Honor sung by Donovan and the Arradians in the same style as the song "Nearer My God, to Thee" by Vocal Point. (just look it up, right now) Wasn't that awesome?