Alright guys, here's a new chapter for ya! A special thanks to Grimlock King Of Arendelle and dark wolf in the night for helping me out with getting inspired for this chapter. As always, if you enjoyed, a follow is much appreciated, and if you have some constructive criticism, don't hesitate to leave a review. Have a good weekend you guys!
The storm hit us, and it hit us hard.
"Get in the cabin Elsa!" I shouted, pulling at the ropes to raise the sails. Sheets of rain pelleted me from all sides. It was all I could do to stay standing, between the howling wind and the monstrous waves that pummeled our hull, nearly capsizing us each time we were barraged with the masses of water. I had to raise the sails. If they tore off, we'd be stranded at sea.
"I can help!" She yelled back. Her hair was in a frenzy, getting pulled every which way by the wind. Hey eyes were squinted, trying to keep the rain from hitting them. I saw her feet freeze to the deck of the ship, anchoring her so she wouldn't fall down. She started tugging at the main sail..
I wrapped my scarf around my head, trying to ease the pain of the stinging water that was hammering away at my skin. I looked over the side of the ship. I saw the black, churning water coming towards us, ready to swallow Elsa, the ship, and me. For a moment, I froze in fear. I knew that if I fell in that that would be it for me, no matter how much magic I possessed. This was the first time I felt...mortal.
I shook off the fear, trying to put Elsa's needs before mine. I hoisted the sail up into a dense, furled package, then moved over to help her.
I worked my way across the deck, struggling against the wind which seemed to be coming from random directions. Together, we brought the canvas up, safe from tearing. I grabbed her waist, pulling her towards the door to the cabin. "Come on, we need to get inside!" I bellowed. She came along, but when we were in the doorway, a bolt of lightning flashed before our eyes, striking the main mast. It splintered and charred right in the middle, but before it could fall, a thick bond of ice encased it. I looked next to me to see Elsa, arms outstretched at the sky, casting the magic. "Nice work!" I said once we had gotten into the cabin. We could still hear the roar of the storm clearly from the outside. The boat rocked violently.
"Thanks. Somehow, I just thought that that was going to happen." She said with a fake grin, trying to lighten up the dark situation. I walked over to the navigation desk and sat down, trying to decide where in the ocean this storm would put us. We hadn't laid anchor, for fear of the storm ripping the anchor off completely. So, we were drifting, going as far as the wind would take us.
I looked up from my map, over to Elsa. She was sitting up on the bed, arms wrapped around her legs with her chin resting on her knees. Her eyes were staring intently on the floor. She was worried, and I could see why, but it was more than just scared-she seemed terrified.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
She looked up from the floorboards and up to me. "It's nothing."
I stood up from my desk. "It's obviously something. What is it?" I walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. Her gaze had returned to the floor, as if something extremely interesting was going on down there and she had to see it.
"It's stupid."
"Stupid or not, why don't you tell me?"
I saw her lips quiver as she breathed heavily in and out. "It's just- my parents died at sea in a storm like this. I'm just scared that we'll be next." She looked really distraught. I know that losing a parent isn't easy, and I can't imagine losing two at once like she did. That probably was what led up to her going berserk and making the Great Freeze.
I tenderly wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Hey, look at me." She glanced over at me. I put my hand under her chin, lifting her face up to mine. "We aren't going to end up like that."
"You promise?"
Thunder clapped outside, making us both jump, but I soon regained my calm composure.
"I promise."
...
After a fitful night of sleeping on the hardwood floor of the cabin, I awoke with many splinters, but more importantly with the realization that the boat wasn't rocking from side to side. I looked up to the bed, where Elsa lay. She looked comfortable and peaceful. I don't know why, but it always calmed me to see her sleep. Of course, then I remember that watching girls while they sleep is really creepy, so I turn away and head out the door.
Pushing the heavy oak door aside, I stepped out, surprised that the sun still wasn't up. I must not have slept as well as I had thought, because the stars still brightly shone, and the full moon wasn't even close to setting. It was surreal, where we were. I quickly let down the sails and corrected our course, then stood for a moment, taking in all of the beauty around me. The air was warm and salty, but not humid. I leaned on one of the banisters of the boat. I lifted my head towards the heavens, observing the glistening dots in the sky. In the water, there was this strange bluish-green glow, which I could only conclude to being some sort of magic. I inhaled, smiling as I let the breath out. It was times like these that the world really was a spectacular place. It was strange to think that just a few short hours ago I was terrified of the sea, but now it seemed almost alive. Beautiful.
My thought were soon interrupted by a voice across the water. No, not one voice, but a whole slur of voices. Looking across the glowing navy ocean, I saw craggy rocks in the moonlight. On top of them, I saw silhouettes of people, dancing and lounging upon them. It was a strange place for people to be partying, for sure, but I saw no harm in checking it out, maybe they needed help and were signaling for us to rescue them. I adjusted the boat towards the shale-like islands that were jutting up from the surface. As I got closer, their voices sharpened into focus. They were beautiful, melodic, female voices. All of them. I found myself enjoying their lulling song, a stupid grin forming on my face. I peered over the edge to get a better look.
Seeing them more clearly, I saw that there were no men amongst the crowd of women. Not just women, but attractive women. They had beauty to rival that of Elsa. I noticed something else. Even though the darkness made them hard to see, I was pretty sure that they were all naked. Wanting to maintain the little decency I had left, I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to snap myself out of this fog that I had let my mind fall into. But, just as soon as I brought myself out of this phase, the soothing song pulled me right back in.
I tried everything to stay alert, slapping myself, closing my eyes and ears, banging my head against one of the masts, but it was no good. Eventually, I was always back at the railing of the boat, staring at these gorgeous girls that danced and sang, not twenty yards away from me. They noticed me, and I could hear a pause in their song, giving way to giggles and waves, gesturing me to come and join them. Yeah, that was a good idea. I'll just go over and say hello. What's the harm? They're just girls, after all. What could happen? I wanted to go and see them. I had to go and see them.
Still in a daze, I jumped into the air, planning on diving overboard, when something stopped me. I looked at my legs, which were now restrained mid-air, with a inch-thick layer of ice, connecting down all the way to the deck. I saw Elsa on the deck, eyebrows forming a mad expression. Her mouth curled into a tight scowl.
"And WHAT do you think YOU'RE doing?!" She asked loudly, placing her hands on her hips. I was about to answer her, but all I could think about were those girls on the rocks. I looked back towards them. Elsa's voice persisted. "WELL?!"
I looked back at her, annoyed. What right did she have, telling me what to do all the time? If I want to look at some girls, then I will. I growled back angrily. "Let me go! I gotta go see these people-"
I was about to say more, but then the high pitched lullaby they were singing took me away. I leaned my head back, swooning. While I continued my staring, I felt Elsa's hands on my ears, and then ice clogging up my hearing. I whipped my head back, infuriated at first, but then, once the music had faded, I saw what I was doing. I saw Elsa grin once my face had gone back from its numbed state. The ice anchoring me to the boat melted, and I followed her below deck, keeping the ice in my ears. I closed the door snuggly behind us, which Elsa then froze for good measure, keeping as much noise out as possibly.
I plugged my nose and shut my mouth, then breathed real hard. The ice popped out of my ears, followed by some flames. I heard Elsa laugh at my trick.
My expression turned serious. "What were those things? And what did they do to me?"
We both sat down on the bed. I was shivering. She wrapped a blanket around me, seeing that her ice bonds had really brought my body temperature down. "They were sirens. My sister and I learned about them when we were younger. Men fall under their song's spell and usually drown trying to get to them."
I thought about the water and shuddered. The one thing that I couldn't defend against was water. And to think I was about to dub it beautiful. "And they almost succeeded." I said. "But you were there for me. Thanks."
She smiled at my gratitude. "You would've done the same for me."
I got up and returned the grin, placing the blanket back down on the bed. "Come on, let's get you back to sleep." I said, turning down the bed so that she could lay down. "We have a full day of sailing tomorrow."
She got underneath the covers, asking, "Are you sure you don't want to come up on the bed? There's plenty of room up here for two."
"Thanks, but I'm fine here on the floor." I blew out the candle, darkening the room. I stretched out on the cold planks of wood, trying to get into a comfortable position. I didn't find one, so I just sat there, staring up at the ceiling, listening to Elsa's breathing start to slow.
I wanted to go outside and observe the stars again, but I was too afraid of the sirens to go back. I would've drowned if it weren't for the young ice sorceress. I hated being here on this boat, surrounded by all this water. The sooner we stopped Hans, the better. I laid there, and by some miracle, I fell asleep, into a deep, dreamless state.
...
"Jeram, wake up!" Elsa sat next to me on the floor, shaking me awake.
I answered with an intelligent "Heh?", and then got up, casting off my drowsiness. "What's going on, Elsa?"
She got up with me. "I was out looking to our heading, and there's some land ahead. Should we stop?"
I went out of the cabin and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Off on the horizon, I saw a small, green spit of land. "Yeah that's a good idea. Let's dock there for a little bit." I just wanted to get on some dry land, get away from all this godforsaken water.
We laid anchor about two hundred yards offshore. I wondered what we were going to do without a rowboat, but apparently Elsa had a plan for that. She attached a rope off the side of the ship and repelled down, and as soon as her petite foot touched the water, a giant blue snowflake expanded from it, leaving the ocean around her frozen solid. "Come on!" She said, gesturing for me to come down. I carefully descended on the rope, making sure that I was always over the ice. I heard Elsa giggle at my caution. "What's the matter fire demon, scared of some water?"
"No, its just- I'm not a huge fan of swimming, alright?" I replied, finally getting my feet on the ice.
Elsa shot a sly, entertained glance at me. "Alright scaredy-pants." She raised her arms, and the ice extended from us, making a bridge all the way to the shore. We walked until we reached the white sand. It felt so good to be back on something that wasn't shifting all the time.
"Okay, how about you stay here and collect some supplies while I go scout ahead for some fresh water?"
"Sounds good, just don't go too far," She replied, a bit concerned.
"Don't worry, I won't." I told her half mindedly, trudging into the treeline. I kept my eyes peeled for any running water, paying attention to the noises around me. It was strange, I didn't hear any birds or animals. Even stranger was that there weren't any bugs, which I would think would flood to a hot and humid environment like this. It place was completely silent, except for the occasional rustle of leaves from the sea breeze. I looked down at the muddy ground, still wet from the storm I guessed. My boots kept on slipping on it, making progress difficult. I leaned heavily on my staff.
Finally, I came to a dry clearing, with what looked like a ravine in it, but it didn't go anywhere. It was like a fifty foot scar in the land. I had a view of the opposite beach of the island, with some menacing-looking white rocks jutting out, in rows.
I sat down on a boulder, taking a rest from my trekking. I ignited my hand, and started entertaining myself with the fire. Putting it into a ball, I threw it up in the air and caught it multiple times. One time, I sneezed just as it was coming down and missed it. It hit the long gash in the earth, leaving a black scorch mark. Thinking nothing of it, I conjured more and started playing with it again. Soon, the ground started to rumble. I looked down at the slash in the the earth, which was expanding with the shaking ground. I stood up, then fought to keep my balance.
Suddenly, the mark opened fully into a white circle, with a brown and black pupil in the center. Freaking out, I looked to the spiky-rock beach, which was now opening into a mouth, revealing that those rocks weren't rocks at all- they were teeth. I started off running back to Elsa. We were dead, oh so very dead.
I burst through the treeline, sprinting at top speed. I saw Elsa, struggling to maintain her footing, looking back at me.
"ELSA!" I shouted. "IT'S A FISH!"
