Scene 17
The trolls were in the middle of a celebration when Donovan crash-landed. The first trolls that went to investigate didn't believe their eyes. Out of a smoking crater walked Donovan, clothes burned and ripped, carrying something covered by his greatcoat. The trolls muttered in confusion and fear. He walked past them with a single-minded determination. He staggered into the small hollow they used as a gathering ground, and demanded.
"Where is the patriarch? I need to see him, now." The ancient troll rolled forward, face grim.
"What is it you seek, my lord?" He asked softly. Donovan set the bundle on a slightly raised platform in the center of the clearing, and removed his cloak. The assembled trolls gasped in surprise as Elsa's face was revealed.
"Heal her. That is all I seek." The old troll stepped forward. He placed a hand on her forehead, and his expression hardened.
"I am sorry, Lord Donovan. She is dead, and there is nothing I can do." Donovan's head jerked up. He grabbed the old troll and lifted him into the air as if he weighed nothing. Donovan screamed at him,
"HEAL HER!" His eyes were ablaze, and his expression was beyond reason. As he looked into Donovan's eyes, Grandpabbie saw the rage leave him. He collapsed to his knees and set him down.
"Please. I will do anything." The old troll nodded, unperturbed, moving next to Elsa. He lifted his arms into the air and began to chant in an unknown language. Strange energies curled from the earth and entered Elsa's body. Donovan was distracted by the sound of hoof beats. He turned and made a sword of pure fire energy, and readied himself to destroy whatever came over that hill. So he was vaguely surprised to see Anna and Kristoff, Iy'ate, and Elsa's Honor Guard riding at top speed over the hill. As they approached he dissipated the sword, and Anna leapt from her horse to run to Elsa, followed closely by Kristoff. Donovan stopped her.
"Let me pass!" She demanded, eyes red from crying, and then she saw what Grandpabbie was doing. The Arradians also dismounted, dressed in full armor. He put his arm down, and they all watched the old troll work his magic. Tendrils of color rose out of the ground and wrapped around Elsa, white the strongest. They began to pulse with unearthly light, but it seemed to have no effect. The troll's face was strained in concentration, and water ran down his face. Aurora burst alight above them, bathing the clearing in ghostly light. Donovan knelt next to him and gave the old troll his own power. Grandpabbie accepted the help without speaking, and the bands of red increased in strength. One of the aurorae dropped out of the sky to alight in Grandpabbie's upraised hand. The six bands exponentially increased in power, blinding all. Elsa was no longer visible beneath the roiling energies. The old troll yelled, and the bands sank into Elsa's body, disappearing. The Aurorae faded, and left them in darkness. Elsa remained the same. Anna knelt next to Donovan and put her hand on her sister's forehead. She looked at Donovan, and asked hesitantly.
"Is she… really…" Donvoan replied abruptly.
"Yes. She is dead." Anna began to cry, and Kristoff stepped forward and drew her close. Donovan looked up at the aged troll. "Thank you for trying." The Arradians began to sing the Song of Mourning, and Donovan joined them. Surprisingly, the trolls also joined after listening for only a couple of seconds. Above them all, Sirili's voice echoed against the mountain slopes, traveling for untold miles.
Later-
Anna kissed Elsa's forehead softly, and stood slowly. The trolls had long since departed to give them privacy. She turned, and the Honor Guard knelt. Sirili stated, loud and clear.
"All hail, Queen Anna of Arendelle." Anna bowed her head and wiped away the last tears. When she raised her head again, resolve was clear in her eyes.
"Return to Arendelle. Give the people the news, and gather the Army and Navy. Tell them to prepare to meet the Mjolgir on the field of battle. I will return shortly." The commander bowed and began shouting orders, and Anna pulled Kristoff aside. "I want you to go with them." Kristoff began to refuse, but she put a finger to his lips. "Please." She asked wide-eyed, and he couldn't refuse. They rode off and soon they were out of sight, Iy'ate having remained behind. She walked to Donovan, and he could see the worry disappear from her eyes.
"Era'ti." She murmured as she pulled him close. Against his will, he began to weep again, great heaving sobs as he sank to the ground. She held him silently.
"Will everything I love be taken from me?" He asked her in between breaths. She stroked his hair, and answered him softly.
"I am here. Vordahn is here. Not quite everything, era'ti." He looked up at her, pain and anger both visible in his dark eyes.
"I failed. I failed Elsa, and now she is dead. He killed her with fire, Iy'ate." She held him until his sobs subsided.
Anna was kneeling next to the body of her sister. She was praying. Donovan kissed Iy'ate on the forehead, then stood, tears gone. He gestured to her, and Iy'ate nodded at him and ran off down the hill back to Arendelle. She would probably beat the horsemen. He knelt next to Anna, and waited for her to finish her prayer. It was for Elsa to find her way safely to heaven, and when she was finished, Donovan said amen with her.
Anna looked to him, and stated softly. "You loved her, didn't you." Donovan nodded.
"I didn't realize how much until she was gone. I had hoped..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small. Anna couldn't see what it was.
"Well, it was a foolish dream anyway." He set the object on the rock platform next to Elsa's body. Anna finally caught a solid look at it. A ring. A band of steel, with a tiny diamond shaped like a snowflake. Anna covered her mouth in shock. He had been planning to… Donovan's face was hard.
"The only thing left to do now is avenge her." He turned and began walking, but a voice called him back. Wait, was that?
"It is Skahdi. She survived." Vordahn stated.
"How is that possible? She died with Elsa! Unless…" Donovan spun around, and there, hovering above Elsa's body, visible to both of them, was Skahdi. She looked much the same, full-sized, but her expression was one of someone more experienced.
"Miss me?" She stated with a small smile. Donovan walked back and stood next to Anna.
Anna did not answer her question, but instead asked, "How?" Skahdi lowered herself to the ground and knelt above the ground. She touched Elsa's face tenderly, and replied.
"Skahdi does not remember what it was like to not have a host. In the days when Elsa did not know me, Skahdi wished to be free of her, to fly where I liked, do what I wanted. I was a selfish being then." Donovan caught the change in her language, and realized that she was no longer speaking English, but Elmenti. Tears began dripping down her face, and she looked to Anna.
"When you sacrificed your life to save Elsa, I learned something about humans. I did not realize how strongly you loved. Elmenti are more cautious with their effections, and it took me a long time to truly love Elsa. But there, at the end, I was willing to sacrifice myself to save her, and she goes and does it first!" Donovan looked at her in confusion, but let her continue. She lowered her head. "She sent me away. She knew that if I left, she would die. But she ordered me to leave, killed herself, because she loved me." She was silent for several minutes.
"Why are you here?" Donovan asked slowly. Skahdi looked up at him, a bittersweet smile on her face. She stood and reached out to him.
"Poor Donovan. Poor, poor Donovan. You were the first man, besides her father, that she let herself love. When you arrived from your deserts, you threw her world upside down. I hope you realized how much she loved you." She pulled away and sat next to Elsa. She looked up suddenly, and smiled mischievously.
"Wait. Correction. Still loves you." That grabbed their attention real fast. "One perk about being a spirit, is that Elmenti are in touch with the Great Ones. The beings that control life and death. When I told them about Elsa, and how she sacrificed herself to save me, they came to the physical world to see her love for themselves. They witnessed the people of Arendelle and their respect for their ruler. They saw the Arradians devotion to her when she saved their hope. They saw you, Donovan, flying hundreds of miles, near death, for the slightest chance to save her. They saw you, Anna, sacrificing yourself to save Elsa's life, even as you were cursed by her power. They measured the amount of love people had for her when she lived." She reached into a fold of her dress. She pulled out a small ball of white light. "They deemed it sufficient."
She dropped the orb onto Elsa, and just before it reached her, it became a ghostly doppelganger of Elsa, hovering above her body. It slowly sank, and entered her body. A massive beam of golden light erupted, throwing them both back. It soared into the night sky, illuminating the land for miles around. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. Donovan struggled to sit up, and saw Skahdi. She waved goodbye, then disappeared. Then what he saw next made his breath catch in his throat. Elsa's chest began to rise and fall regularly. He could see her breath in the night air. He scrambled to get closer. He tried to run but fell.
Elsa
Heaven was more boring than Elsa had expected. Well, at least she had thought it was heaven. A big white space. That was pretty much it. She hadn't even gotten to see if Donovan had escaped, or not! She expected him to. He was Arendelle's greatest hope of survival, and she hoped he was strong enough to deal with her death. Suddenly something tugged on her spirit, as it had when she had died. She tried to resist for a second but gave it up as futile. The white space fled as though it had never existed, and she was suddenly, inexplicably back on earth.
She opened her eyes, slowly and painfully. The burns dotting her body pained her every move, but she managed to sit up. She was lying on a black garment, and she rubbed her back with one hand, wincing. But then she realized exactly what it was. Then she saw Donovan. And then it hit her, all of a sudden. She was alive. And so was he. His expression was one of pure wonder. She felt Skahdi within her again, but she departed Elsa's thoughts before she could say anything. Donovan unsteadily got to his feet and staggered closer, but he fell forward and barely caught himself. He looked terrible, his clothes reduced to charred rags, his face drawn and exhausted. He knelt about two feet from her. She slid her legs off the platform, and she felt something jagged tear her shift. She reached down and lifted it up to examine it. She almost had a heart attack. The ring shone in the dim light, and she grasped its meaning immediately. She looked to Donovan, and he looked uncharacteristically abashed, not meeting her eyes. She leaned forward, and touched his face. He looked at her, and his eyes, oh his beautiful eyes; they shone with tears of joy.
Donovan
She smiled at him, and his heart leapt. He had thought he would never see it again. Oh, heavenly light, she was beautiful! He held her hand on his cheek, never wanting her to let go. She pulled his hand down, and held it palm up. She opened it, and set the ring in the center. He looked at her, confused. She let go of his hands, and confusion reigned for a brief second. She held out her left hand, fingers splayed, and the confusion left. He bowed his head reverently, and slipped the small band onto her ring finger. It lit with internal light, and the simple iron band was incased in brilliant ice.
She said softly, "Was there ever any reason for doubt?" He shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. She was alive again. And everything he had thought impossible… Her eyes gazed into his, her ice the warmest thing he had ever seen. The floodgates opened, and they pulled each other close, her lips finding his. A huge blast of energy, red and black, white and blue, rising into the night. Donovan felt their power returning, exhaustion fading, and wounds healing, but he really didn't care right then. They separated, slowly, and Elsa buried her head in his wide chest. They enjoyed each other's presence, and Donovan didn't intend to let anything, even Hehl himself, get in their way. They stood together, and she looked up at him again.
He touched her face, and said firmly. "Elsa. Just promise me this. Don't you. Ever. Scare me like that again." Elsa laughed giddily, and he joined her.
She replied, "I'm afraid I can't do that. Life's just a little bit dangerous right now." Elsa's dress flowed around her, and she realized that it had not been there beforehand. She blushed, and he laughed. He let go of her, and they walked hand in hand, until Donovan noticed Anna lying on the ground.
"Anna!?" Elsa and Donovan ran to her, and she stirred, opening her eyes slowly.
She murmured drowsily, "Oh, no, that can't be Elsa. If it is Elsa, I hit my head wayyy too hard." Elsa couldn't hold back a laugh, as she helped her sister up.
"Thank, Donovan. Something hit me-" She almost fell and hit her head again when she realized who was helping her up. She stared in horrified awe at Elsa's living-ness, and Elsa smiled.
"Hello, Anna." Anna threw her arms around her sister, and began to weep tears of joy.
