A/N: For number three!
Chapter Three: "Shock" and Awesome
I woke in a soft, heavenly bed. I guess it says a lot about someone that waking up comfortable puts you into a combat stance, huh? Anyway, I barely restrain the urge to unleash a thunderclap in the large, nearly opulent bedroom. Looking around, I see that the furnishings are just as I like them; spare and nearly Spartan, but not so sparse it looks like nobody lives there. It looks like what it is; a place to sleep and get ready for the day, and nothing more. A smile creeps onto my lips- I guess that either Anna or Elsa had seen my preference in my memories and accommodated me. As I stretch, I get up and perform my daily regimen as best as I can, only lacking the room for my acrobatics and the... ahem, 'durability' of my surroundings to train my powers. As I move through the last set of strikes and counter strikes at half speed, a knock sounds at the door, and Anna bursts in, already talking.
"Good morning, Raiken! I heard that you were up from a passing servant. She said you were thumping around and stuff, but oh well, we need to get you to- OH GOD YOU'RE NAKED I'M SO SORRY!"
That last part was said as she dashed out of the room in utter humiliation. I blink and shrug. I was brought up in an orphanage- no privacy to speak of, and the Dojo was setup more like a monastery, and everyone- even the women- took baths together in the hot springs, so nakedness wasn't a big deal. I guess Pabbie skipped that in his show, huh? Anyway, I quickly dress in the outfit left for me- identical to my old one, but in dark brown leather with a coat of dark blue for the weather. Of course, the mask was missing, but I was okay with that- I was going to try to start over, after all. After deeming myself presentable, I open the door to a still-mortified Anna, who quickly started babbling apologies at me. To cut off the babble that was embarrassing her even more, I let my power out a bit and shaped it into words, moving them in front of her.
They said; 'Hey, don't worry. If you say nothing, I can't! Get it?' accompanied with a goofy smiley face. This caused her to laugh and regain her sunny disposition. Good humor regained, we head down to breakfast, Anna giving me little details as we go. As we arrive, I am surprised to see that the royals dine with the rest of the staff, no seclusion. The table was large and bustling, with laughter and conversation abounding. Elsa waves me over to sit across from her, and Anna and Kristoff sit together. A servant comes up to me and asks; "What would you like today, sir? We have scrambled eggs, French toast, muffins of all sorts, bagels, pancakes, hash browns…" The man continues on, never looking up from his order pad until he notices Elsa sniggering in her seat. He glances up, annoyed, and sees that it's me he is talking to. His face goes white, and I take pity on him and hold up two fingers. It takes him a second before he stammers out... "French toast, then?" I give him a sunny smile and a nod, and he goes on his way, relieved. I turn back to the table to see Anna giving Elsa a mock glare while Elsa giggles at the poor waiter's reaction.
Looks like small pranks are on the menu, too huh? I get a slightly sinister smile that immediately takes the grin off Elsa's face, and puts it firmly on Anna's.
"Ooh, looks like he's on to you! He's gonna getcha!"
I favor her with the same look, with similar results.
Our food arrives, and I motion for the waiter to stand there for a moment as I taste my food. He starts sweating, probably expecting me to fry him if I am displeased. I make a show of taking a bite, and then stare at him for a moment, chewing. The royal sisters are having a very hard time containing their laughter, and Kristoff has given up even trying. Finally, I give the poor man a hearty slap on the back and a grinning thumbs up that nearly makes him faint with relief. As he walks away, weaving a bit, I look at the two royals with a sly grin, and then snap my fingers. The small sparks I had hidden underneath their silverware zap the forks as they pick them up, producing spectacular nimbuses of floating hair that the sisters don't notice for a minute. In fact, they only notice from my shit-eating grin and Kristoff falling out of his chair from laughing so hard.
When they see each other…
"OH GOD ELSA! YOUR HAIR!"
"OH GOD ANNA! YOUR HAIR!"
At this, I finally break out laughing myself. My near inaudible wheezes somehow attract their attention, and suddenly, I stiffen and jump straight up, startled from a very cold situation.
Elsa had just iced my pants!
I dance around madly, trying to get away from the sensation, but can't. This sends the entire room into hysterics, and people that laugh like that means that they've seen it before. Admitting defeat, I restore their hair, and after a second, Elsa finally dispels my… situation. Suitably calmed, we finish breakfast in light conversation, my replies hanging in the air as small letters of lightning. Near the end, Elsa makes an interesting proposition;
"As I have the day off from court, Raiken, would you like to show me your powers? I would show mine to you as well, if you wish." As soon as she speaks, she flushes, as if embarrassed, and verbally backpedals.
"O-only if you want to, of course, and I didn't mean to sound-" I cut her off with a smile and nod, indication that I would, indeed, be up to showing off a bit. Elsa favors me with a glowing smile, and that's enough reward for me.
Soon, we're outside the castle in a large clearing just outside of Arendelle proper. A cadre of guards is with us, and more than a few commoners who tagged along to see what was going on. Elsa motions me to begin, and so I do.
I start off simple, pulling my power into streamers and arcs of snapping power, flowing from one finger to the next. I up the size of each arc until I can't be seen behind the glowing, crackling cocoon of violet energy. As my next part, I mentally lock said cocoon in place and zap out of it near silently, the sound masked by the constant drone of the energy shell. I appear behind Elsa, and let her watch the oval for a moment before she frowns, and mutter to herself. "I wonder what he's doing in there…"
Can't pass up an opportunity like that, now can I? I dispel it in a deafening crack, sending it straight upwards at the same time I repeat the hair trick on her, this time letting her feel it.
At an indignant shriek, she turns to me, and before she can say a word, I undo the spark and her hair re-braids itself with the help from my power. After I zap back to my former place, I begin the next part of my show. I crouch and focus, my lightning arcing across my back in growing, shaking currents, becoming denser and denser, until in a thunderous boom-
It solidifies… into two jagged, glowing wings.
The looks of the crowd were priceless, and Elsa's even more so.
I grin, and crouch low, draping my crackling feathers around me.
The crowd erupts into applause as I launch myself skyward with a beat of my new wings. I fly around for a moment, getting re-acquainted with them after years of non-use. Comfortable with them again, I land and dispel them. The crowd seems to think that my demonstration is over, but I put up a hand to stop them. They quiet, and I put words into the air:
"I am going to draw a circle on the ground. I need everyone to stay behind that line for the next part. Yes, EVERYONE Anna."
Elsa giggles and Kristoff guffaws, with Elsa replying cheekily; "He certainly has your number, Anna!"
Huffing, Anna joins the others.
Slowly, steadily, I draw the line just outside of the radius I can feel in my powers. Once everyone is in the safe zone, I take the one thing I snagged from my room before we came. It had gotten strange looks from everyone, as it appeared to simply be a sharpened disc of steel, with a circular hole cut out of the middle. First, I form a small, nearly unpowered ball of violet lightning and place it on the ground at the exact center of the clearing. Then, carefully, almost reverently, I charge my magic into my arm holding the steel circlet. Arcs of pure white electricity flow across my arms languidly, until the bones are visible from the other side, and then until only the power was visible. With my other hand, I draw the disc down my arm until it rests against the crook of my elbow. Then, concentrating even more, I section off the power into small blocks, with a bit of space in between, and each stronger than its predecessor. As I go, I add a bit of power into the ring-blade, making sure it is of the same magnetic alignment so it doesn't move. Yet.
Then, as I complete my preparations, I form my wings again and take off, straight up. I fly higher and higher, until the clearing is hardly a spec. Then, maintaining my highest level of control, I charge the ring more and more until it is as powerful as the sum total of energy in my arm. Then I move it to just before the first block… and reverse the charge, while creating a link to the ball of power I left on the ground.
!*THRAK-AK-AK-A-BOOM*!
After the aftershock of the sound faded, I winged down to view the devastation left by my second most powerful ability. The crater is as deep as I am tall, and just to the edge of my line. I knew the force would vaporize any debris, so I wasn't worried about shrapnel. What made this different than your run-of-the-mill impact crater was the fact that the crater was pure, glittering glass.
The discharge of my magic from the disc had vaporized it on impact, and my power had fused the solid earth into glittering blue-violet glass for yards down and across. It was a beautiful sight, and the people who had recovered from the frankly ridiculous shockwave had already come closer to admire it. Hardy people, those Arendelleians.
Kristoff was still gaping; Anna was ooh-ing and aah-ing over the glass, and Elsa was giving me this look that I somehow KNEW meant "Showoff."
I shrug, and gesture her forward, giving her a cheeky grin.
She gives me a grin in return that is decidedly devious- I even feel a bit afraid.
She starts odd simply, creating ice sculptures and snow flurries with nary a twitch of her wrist, and then moves slowly bigger with her creations. After creating a monstrous block of ice that fills in the crater I made, she then… stops?
I'm thoroughly confused as she strides onto the middle of the ice and closes her eyes. Then, with a simple but powerful stomp, the ice… becomes.
There was truly no other word for it; the ice changed into what she wanted; it moved, warped and flowed beautifully into a structure taller that the highest tower of Arendelle castle, and then… arced over?!
With a crunch of displaced air, the end impacts the ground on the other side of me, creating a crater the same size as mine. But that's not all it does; Ice cascades down from the archway in glittering lines, creating flowing streamers of woven frost that flutter in the breeze.
Well, if I ever manage to pick my jaw up off the ground, I will gladly concede defeat.
I hear girlish giggling, and I turn to look. I see the Queen laughing at my expression so hard that she can only remain upright with the aid of Kristoff, who is having trouble breathing through his stifled chuckles, as well.
Anna just looks put out that she can't get to the glass now.
Our performance pieces done, I give soft, polite applause to Elsa, forming the words "I concede, your Majesty. Well played, well played indeed." In the air, making it clear that I knew she had won. The commoners all give applause as well, and then head off to go about their business once more, probably eager to share what they saw with those who didn't come.
On a whim, I clap twice, loudly, and get their attention. I focus, and send streamers of solid lightning into the ground at my feet, digging up a large mound of earth. Ignoring the puzzled looks, I then send a quick focused blast of power through it, turning it into more of the spectacular glass. Then, channeling the power into my hand, I carve off identical pieces and hand them out to those who attended, even the guards. I get looks of awe and smiles of thanks, and they warm my heart. I save the biggest piece for Elsa and Anna, and they notice I have some left over.
Predictably, Anna is the first to speak. "Hey, Rai, are you gonna make us something? Is it gonna be cool? Oh! What did you do with that wristband you made Elsa?" To stop her badgering, I send a streamer of electricity into the air to answer. "Anna, I am going to make you and Elsa something that I designed myself from before my… slavery. I do hope you will like it."
Then, after dispelling my letters, I focus on the glass chunk I have. A bit bigger than my four bunched fingers on one hand, it was in the shape of a prefect quartz crystal, like those of the trolls. Looking at it, I let a ribbon of my power out and carve it into two equal halves in an intricate shape, so that the two pieces fit together flawlessly. Next, I punch a hole in the top of each piece to make room for a chain or leather strip to hang it as a necklace.
As I hand the halves to an enraptured Anna and a curious Elsa, I charge my power into it as they take them from me, creating a small arc between their fingers the crystals, and my hands.
Anna looks at me in question, and Elsa jumps in near alarm. Holding my hand out, I write letters out so only the two of them and Kristoff can read them.
"Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, I give you this perfect fulgurite. When cut in this manner and charged with my power, they glow with an inner light similar to my lightning. When linked to two people who care about each other as much as you do… Well, when they are united, it is spectacular. Try it!"
The two hesitate for a moment, before fitting the two halves together. The result is more beautiful than I could imagine- it outstripped Elsa's performance by a wide margin, not to mention mine.
Soft, violet light illuminated the clearing in shifting, three dimensional visions of fractals of ice and dancing patterns of fire… with a nimbus of lightning crackling over the top. The effect was that of three distinct personalities coming together in harmony- Mine, Elsa's, and Anna's. Kristoff looked slightly envious, but he understood the meaning of the gift, and said nothing. I would have to get him something, as well- he is certainly a good man. Maybe a rechargeable lightning saw? Bah, I'll think on it later.
A hush had come across the clearing at the show, and was broken by the delighted squeals of Anna and Elsa. I was treated to a ferocious bear hug from Anna and a shy shoulder clasp of thanks from Elsa. I had noticed how she seemed to habitually avoid contact with others, so that must have meant as much as Anna's rib creaking gratitude.
"Well, that was certainly one of the best days I have ever had!" Exclaims a delighted Elsa. I nod in agreement, and Anna… is still yammering on about the crystal and this and that and…
Elsa rolls her eyes in a long suffering way, not bothering to hide the smile that accompanies it. To divert Anna's attention, she proposes something; "Anna, what do you say to a cup of hot chocolate at the inn you love? I bet Rai will love it!"
Anna immediately dashes over and drags us off to the next destination, proclaiming that my drink "Will be the best tasting thing you will EVER have!" at the top of her lungs. Only Elsa sees my expression of confusion and shock;
That was the first time that anyone had ever offered to do something so… trivial and mundane with me. That may not seem like a lot, but the orphanage I grew up in was short on everything but the bare necessities, so I never had playdates or anything of the sort; the Dojo and my training were just that: training. I had never, really, had any leisure activity in my life that wasn't fighting or training to fight.
I never notice her slight blush or the soft smile of contentment, as I was too caught up in my own emotions, happiness pouring out of me.
I turn to Elsa, goofy grin in place, and that causes her to start giggling, too.
I couldn't fight down my new, near ear-splitting grin, and Elsa's smile grows.
This was going to be AWESOME!