Chapter Eight: The Serpent's Siege
Anna lunged at Kal, her swordplay instructor, striking with power that belied her lithe frame. Her instructor grunted under the force of her blows and counterattacked, forcing the princess back. But Anna remained undeterred and fought on.
After the Eternal Winter, in addition to helping Elsa reorganize the Castle Guards into a more effective force, Anna had resolved to improve herself as well. She had requested that the guards teach her swordsmanship. Anna had taken to it like a fish to water, her boundless energy and surprising strength making her an ideal student. Besides, it had always been easier for Anna to master physical skills, ones she could learn by doing.
After weathering a series of strikes, Anna twisted her sword blade around her instructor's and forced his blade down and away, disarming him. With a quick wrist movement, her swordpoint was at his throat and he was at her mercy. Anna panted lightly, a thin film of sweat coating her brow and a huge smile spread across her face. Kal grinned and held up his hands, a sign of surrender.
"Well done, Your Highness. As always." He rubbed his shoulder, one that had taken a bad hit in the draugr invasion. She had asked about it before they began, but he had shrugged it off and claimed it was minor. "I have to say, Princess, I do believe you are my best student." He grinned wider, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening, and turned away. "I believe that is enough for today. Good day, Princess."
Anna smiled at Kal's back and wished him well, but the smile faded quickly as her thoughts returned to her dream the previous night. The rush of adrenaline and frenzy of fighting had given her a reprieve, but without that those thoughts and questions returned full-force. Anna sighed in discontent. She wasn't one to simply brood on things - that was Elsa's thing - she was one to act, to seek answers. And as far as she knew, there was only one place she could get answers.
"You are really good, Princess." Anna whirled around to find the focus of her thoughts at the edge of the training yard, leaning on his staff. Alphonse had his hood down, allowing his hair to fall to his shoulders, and a wry grin on his face. Somehow that expression seemed familiar … then she realized she had seen the same expression on Elsa when she came to watch her learn.
"You should see me on a good day," Anna replied, "I can take on two of these guys and still win." Alphonse lifted an eyebrow and doffed his cloak and staff before taking up a wooden practice sword from one of the weapon racks. He circled around Anna with a mischievous glint in his eye, that grin unchanged.
"Let's see how you do against someone who-" he broke off and lunged, quick as lightning. Anna, caught by surprise, swung her own practice sword into place to block the strike. Alphonse disengaged and spun around to gain momentum and slashed again, but was once again blocked. Anna pushed and forced him away to get some room. Alphonse's grin was more muted, but still there. He was testing her out!
Anna smiled at the thought of a challenge and charged with a war cry.
Elsa hummed in thought as she read over the letter in her hands, a missive to King Frederic of Corona, her uncle-by-marriage. After Elsa had severed trade with Weselton, Frederic had been her life-line in trade as she gathered new trade partners. Not only that, but her cousin Rapunzel had become quite close with both Anna (not surprising given their shared energy and bubbly natures) and Elsa herself. As such, Elsa had felt that her uncle and aunt, as well as her cousin, should be informed of the strange happenings in Arendelle of late.
As Elsa signed her name and placed her seal on the envelope, she picked up on a familiar battle cry coming from outside. Anna? Elsa placed the letter down and strode to her balcony, opening the doors to look out. Anna rarely gave that shout when training, focusing instead on learning from her teachers. Why was she-?
Elsa stumbled back and bit down a shriek as a huge shape flew up past the balcony, circling around to dart back. It looked like a massive black eagle and it shot down and toward Anna with a piercing cry. "Hey, no fair!" Anna shouted, though a laugh made the claim seem less viable. The eagle rippled into Alphonse, who rolled across the ground and onto his feet, wooden sword at the ready.
"'Fair' is a meaningless word in a fight, Princess," Alphonse shouted back, "someone who wants you dead will never fight fair. And neither should you!" He darted forward and struck at Anna, who ducked with a graceful spin and swung at his legs. Alphonse hopped backward to avoid and Anna rushed him with a flurry of attacks.
Elsa watched with bated breath as the two combatants, her sister and their guest, continued to spar. Anna was good, Elsa might even say great, but Alphonse was clearly more experienced. Elsa briefly wondered where he had learned swordsmanship. After several minutes and a few close-calls, Alphonse blocked a slash and grabbed Anna's wrist before flinging her over his back and onto hers. Anna laughed as he helped her up.
Elsa narrowed her eyes in thought, curiosity burning. Who was this man? she wondered. Her thoughts were interrupted by muffled shouting and the door to her study flying open, a haggard-looking guardsman bursting in.
"Apologies for the interruption, Your Majesty," he said frantically, "but there is something you need to hear."
Elsa sat on her throne, straight-backed and regal, looking upon a single man flanked by two guardsmen. The young man, barely more than a child, looked like a sailor, judging by his tar-stained clothes and sunburnt face and arms. The boy seemed scared half-to-death, feet tapping and hands wringing the cap in his hands to a shapeless mass of cloth.
"State your name for the record," Elsa's chief clerk stated, quill scratching over a long scroll. The man flinched and nodded.
"M'name's Buri Jorson, milady," he said in a rough voice, his voice seeming strained from shouting. "I was part a'da crew a'da Whitecrest, a shippin' vessel from here ta Corona." Elsa remembered that the ship was due in several days past and nodded for him to continue. "We was makin' good time, milady, 'fore …" The man swallowed thickly, his eyes taking on a panicked cast. "'Til Death a'came for us …" The man trembled and gave a cough that sounded almost like a sob. "The Long Death, it was. And it's a'comin'!" Jorson began to panic, to hyperventilate.
Elsa stood and descended the steps to stand before the frightened man. "Mister Jorson, whatever you say, you will be believed. What happened to your crew?"
Jorson nodded and sighed before continuing. "The Long Death, Your Majesty. The Great Serpent of legend that eats its own tail." he lifted his hands to try and explain. "Twas just a calm wind, few days from port."
Buri hummed a quiet sea song as he scrubbed the deck, the sun warming his back as the wind cooled it off. He looked up at the sound of heavy footfalls on the planks to find another sailor looking over the water. Whale was his name, the only name he responded to, named for his massive size and grey skin. He was old for a sailor, but tough as nails and with more know-how than the captain himself.
Buri paused in his work and stood, taking a spot beside Whale. The massive old sailor was looking over the water, eyes darting around as if looking for something in particular on the flat horizon. That in itself was odd. Whale was never one to be distracted and always drilled focus into the young sailors that crossed his path, buri included. But the man also had impeccable instincts.
"Something wrong, Whale?" Buri asked. Whale stayed silent, gazing over the waves for a few more moments.
"Don't know, boy. Just not sure." Buri stared at the man for a few more moments before shrugging and turning back to his scrub brush. Not two steps in, the deck lurched forward, sending Buri tumbling. He grimaced at a bruised hip and looked back. Whale had caught himself by grabbing at a rope, staring again. The crew began to mutter, not quietly at all, in fear. The ship had gone from a good speed to a sudden stop.
Buri winced at the sound of creaking wood, followed by shattering planks. The ship lurched and the crew began to shout or pray. Buri stumbled to Whale's side and started at the man's coloring: he was white as a bone. "Tis here," he whispered. "Long Death."
Before Buri could ask, the water before them exploded, a massive shape rising from the depths. Buri screamed in fear as the thing looked down and lunged-
Buri was trembling as he continued. "The thing attacked, had wrapped 'round the ship. Was crushin' the ship like an egg, slow and steady. It began snatchin' up men like a big cat with mice, flingin' 'em up and snatchin' 'em outta da air. Whale tackled me and held me down, told me ta stay quiet. Thing must'a gotten bored, 'cas da ship fell 'part and Whale n' I wid it. Whale pushed me up onto a plank and told me what he knew, like he always knew stuffs.
"He said to me, 'Long Death, is a'gunnin' fer home. Wants da queen real bad, hate in its eyes fer da queen. Warn da queen, boy, warn'er!' Then he cried out, ain't never heard Whale cry out like that, like a cat boiling in da stew pot, and he drifted of while the water itself turned green n'steamin'."
The young man looked Elsa right in the eye. "I floated two days, milady. Da Long Death'll be here right soon! It wants ye, milady, wants ye bad!" The boy started panicking again and lurched away. The guards caught him and held him still, trying to calm the boy down. "Run, milady!" he shouted, "Run away!" And with that the guards gently took him away.
Elsa sat back on her throne, eyes wide. The boy had been scared out of his wits, and a part of her wanted to believe that that was just it. He was frightened and had found a way to cope by conjuring up some sea monster. But the larger part of her believed him, instincts she didn't know she had screaming at her that he was completely right. A hand on her shoulder brought the queen from her trance.
Anna looked down on her with wide eyes, fear and courage warring it out behind those blue irises so like her own. "Do you think it's true?" she asked. Elsa thought it over before a voice cut through the audience chamber.
"It's true," Alphonse said, and lifted a string of polished stones. "If he had been lying, in any way, these would have been glowing. He's telling the truth." Alphonse approached the royals, his expression grim. So unlike the vibrant warrior from before or the kind soul from last night. Now, he was … the ter Grimnir came to mind.
"Maybe we should start a lookout?" Anna suggested. Alphonse nodded before the castlee seemed to shake. Like an arrow from a bow, Alphonse darted for the door, followed closely by the queen and princess. They ran out to look at the fjord, the waters still as usual.
"What-?" Anna was interrupted by an explosion of water, just as the sailor had described. The water fell to reveal what they were up against.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding!" Alphonse shouted.
The creature before them was a massive serpent, dull green and red stripes snaking along its massive form, spines curling from the back of its head. The head itself had to be as large as the greatest ship in Arendelle's harbour, it's body just as thick. The monster's eyes were blazing red, like blood set on fire. The monster opened wide and let loose a deafening high-pitched roar, interspersed with the hissing of a thousand snakes. And with the roar came a noxious-looking green fog. The thing stopped roaring and its tongue flickered out to taste the air. It turned toward the castle, and Elsa felt a chill run down her spine. She knew, without knowing how, that it was looking at her.
Elsa instinctively reached for her the power within her, delving into it and channeling the wave of icy magic into the fjord. The surface froze solid, trapping the beast, and spikes shot out from the ice's surface, further restricting its movement. The serpent hissed again in vexation before twisting its body, shattering Elsa's work like glass. Undeterred, Elsa redoubled her efforts. There was no way she would let this thing attack her people.
"Al? What is that thing?" Anna asked, face pale. Alphonse glanced at her in response to calling him "Al", then refocused on the situation.
"That is no ordinary sea serpent. It's a Kjempeslange. A Great Serpent. There were only four spawned, hatched from the eggs within Jormungandr during Ragnarok. They're not as big, thankfully, but still far bigger than any other sea serpent." Alphonse took a deep breath, readying himself for the coming fight. He had fought dozens of sea serpents before, and each had been a tough battle. This was going to be difficult.
Alphonse removed his horse figurine from his satchel and tossed it up into the air. The figurine shattered, releasing his eight-legged steed that landed solidly, cracking the stones beneath its feet. The horse nickered a greeting and Alphonse nodded. "Askvader," he greeted, using the name he had chosen for the horse, an old word meaning "thunderstorm". He mounted and flicked the reins, Askvader leaping forward and off the castle wall.
Askvader landed solidly and bolted forward and over the water. The great thing about a supernatural horse - it has unique abilities. In addition to impossible speed and stamina, Askvader could run up sheer cliffs, across water, and even across open air for short bursts. Alphonse gripped his staff and prepared to use magic as Askvader approached the Serpent. Askvader didn't even pause when he started running up, across the monster's belly.
Alphonse reached into his mind for the runes buried deep within, the essences of magic seared into his soul. He focused on one in particular, the rune for fire, heat, and light. Easily his favorite. Alphonse conjured a handful of blue flames and hurled them at the Kjempeslange to explode against the side of its head. The beast roared in irritation and turned to face where he had just been with a lightning-fast bite.
During the creature's cry, Alphonse leapt from Askvader and Shifted into an eagle, wheeling away from the serpent as it struck at nothing. The serpent roared at him and struck again, Alphonse barely able to dodge its lunging bites. Alphonse flew toward his horse, now back on the water, and Shifted back to land in the saddle with a grunt. He grabbed the reins and wheeled Askvader around to charge again.
What he really needed was a plan. Any plan to take down this monstrosity. But his greater duty was to people, to innocents in Arendelle and its castle. He had to keep this thing distracted; prevent it from attacking the town.
Elsa watched in horror and fascination as Alphonse fought the Serpent, zipping along the water and across the serpent's body on that obviously-unnatural horse. Elsa had given the order to evacuate the city as soon as possible, to lead the people into the mountains. Elsa had developed plans to do so in case of invasion should it ever be necessary. Now definitely counted.
Anna whooped as another ball of light exploded against the Serpent's head. Anna may think Alphonse was winning, but Elsa saw differently. The mage's attacks were barely doing anything, like bee stings on a bear. And worse, the creature's thrashing was raising waves that crashed against the wharf, wrecking ships and dousing the town with water, even with the icy barricades Elsa had wrought with her powers.
Watching how this thing so casually assaulted her home, Elsa felt something she rarely allowed herself to acknowledge: anger. Rage, fury, ire, whatever you called it it burned within her gut just as it had when the draugr attacked. And just as they did then, Elsa's powers seemed to act on their own accord, swirling from her fingers in an almost-frantic pattern. Acting on instinct, Elsa flicked her wrist and let them out.
Anna yelped and hopped back as frost and chunks of ice swirled in a thick cloud beside her sister, coalescing into a great shape. It reminded her of when Elsa had created Marshmallow. The ice settled into the shape of a great bird of prey formed from ice. The bird, a great hawk, turned its glowing blue eyes to look at her. The bird trilled and nodded, turning toward its maker, in essence its mother. Elsa's dress changed again into the war-dress she had made during the draugr attack and she mounted the hawk, freezing her feet to stay on.
Elsa turned to look at Anna, cold fury in her eyes. "Anna, help the guardsmen evacuate the city," she said firmly.
"No, Elsa, I want to help!" Anna shouted.
"You can, Anna," Elsa responded. "But what is a sword going to do to that thing?" Anna looked at the battle still raging in the fjord. Now that she mentioned it, a sword did seem pretty small compared to that massive snake. "Anna, help the people get further inland. Then I'll know they're safe. That you are safe." Elsa looked at Anna with wide eyes, silently pleading for her to listen.
Anna hesitated and sighed, then nodded her head. Elsa nodded and the hawk shot up from the wall, a piercing shriek echoing in its wake. Anna rubbed her eyes and watched for a moment before hurrying toward the bridge. Time to do my job, she thought.
Alphonse jerked the reins up, taking Askvader to the air as the Kjempeslange writhed, its massive coils disturbing the waters and raising massive waves. Waves that would crush them like nothing. Alphonse had to give the Serpent credit, it was smarter than it looked. Then again, given its grandfather, that shouldn't be so surprising.
It was time to change tactics.
Alphonse leapt from his mount's back and Shifted, flying above the Serpent and Shifting back. He fell toward the creature and reached within, for the runes of strength and force. Magic surged within him and he channeled its power into his left arm. He landed on the Serpent's snout and struck with all of his enhanced might, sending a shockwave of shattering force through the creature's head.
The recoil sent Alphonse flying away, but he saw a number of teeth fly from the thing's mouth. Alphonse smiled before a wave of fatigue crashed over him, his vision flickering. Perhaps using two runes at once had been a mistake. Within the confines of the effects of magic, Alphonse felt something catch him. Askvader? Wait, why was the horse so … cold?
Alphonse groaned and looked up, finding himself held in the talons of a massive, glittering white hawk. Sweet mercy, this hawk was made of ice! That could only mean … Elsa?! Alphonse felt fear rise in his chest, as well as something else. A desire to protect the queen. He focused on the Serpent, writhing and snapping at a flock of identical ice hawks pestering it. Alphonse glanced at its eyes, those horrifying blazing red eyes, and an idea clicked in his head.
Elsa summoned more ice hawks as the Serpent shattered most of her flock, others melting within its putrid green breath. Poison, it had to be. The telling of Ragnarok came to mind, and she remembered the death of Thor, poisoned by the World Serpent even as he won. Probably best not to get in range of that poison.
"Elsa! Pull me up! I have a plan!" elsa flicked her head to the side, surprised that Alphonse was conscious. She had seen him strike the Serpent, the force of his blow nearly knocking its head to the water's surface, and his limp form as he fell toward death. She had expected him to need quite some time to recover, but apparently he was more enduring than she realized. Elsa focused and shifted her mount's form, drawing Alphonse through it and up next to her. When he emerged, the mage shivered and seemed a touch perturbed.
"That was different," he remarked absently. Elsa snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"Alphonse," she reminded, "your plan?" That seemed to snap him back to reality. He grabbed her from behind and held her close, pointing at the Serpent still plagued by her ice hawks.
"Use your magic. Focus on its eyes and freeze them." Elsa gasped at the thought, revulsion at such cruelty rising in her chest. But upon focusing on the serpent, she shook it away. Not only was this thing a threat to her people, it was a monster, unnatural and destructive. How much more carnage would it cause in its life? Elsa nodded and directed her hawk to dive in close.
The queen held her breath as they approached the Kjempeslange, unwilling to even entertain the notion of breathing in that cloud of poison. She tapped into her magic and unleashed it in a blistering stream, straight at the Serpent's right eye. The monster thrashed and howled in pain as frost coated the right side of its face.
Before Elsa wheeled her hawk away, she felt Alphonse stiffen behind her and grunt. A spear of light shot from his outstretched hand and struck the frozen orb, shattering it into useless pieces. The Serpent shook its head and tasted the air, its remaining hate-filled eye locking on them. It roared at them, sending it poisonous breath in their direction. Elsa grunted as she summoned icy winds to blow the green mist away and forced her power toward the Serpent's last eye. Another spear of light ripped it to shreds, drawing a fearsome cry from their enemy.
With a final shout, the monster submerged, its shadow racing for through the fjord to the open ocean. Elsa laughed in triumph before she felt Alphonse collapse against her. The Snow Queen grunted at his weight and called one of her few remaining ice hawks to carry him.
Elsa called her flock to head for the mountains, resisting her mounting fatigue. The threat was gone, at least for now, and her people could return home.
Anna will get her chance to shine soon enough. How was the fight? What is in store for our favorite royal sisters? Read, review, and find out!