The Storm Rages On

Chapter Twenty-Four

Crumbling

"Why, Elsa? Why are you so certain he'll be there?"

Alúvelin, Elenórathem, and Arberish rushed to keep pace with Elsa, Arberish carrying the still-unconscious Elenóreweth in his arms.

"Because," Elsa said, not stopping for anything, fighting the wind and rain as she opened the palace door. "Hans is arrogant and obsessed with revenge. What better place to witness Arendelle's destruction than from the throne room?"

"But . . . But he would die as well," Arberish said, panting slightly as he struggled to stay with the group.

Elsa turned, looking Arberish in the eye. "Precisely. He doesn't care if he lives or dies anymore. You saw him back there. All he wants is vengeance, at any cost."

The group rushed through the corridors, finally reaching the throne room. Without hesitation, they burst through the door, Elsa and Alúvelin's hands glowing with power.

"So . . . You've come to witness the end of the world with me, have you?"

Hans sat in the throne, the Tritastónende pulsating at his feet. In the darkness of the unlighted room, the glow from the Jewels gave Hans an eerie countenance. His eyes seemed to radiate energy, his lips curled in a disturbing grin.

Elenórathem stepped forward, her eyes dark. "Release my sister!" she commanded, gesturing to the lifeless spirit in Arberish's arms. "Free her from your control."

Hans laughed. "I think not, Water Spirit," he said. He glanced down at the Jewels. "Vinderdrómethen, I believe you need to remind her of just how powerful you truly are. Go ahead. I give you my permission."

The green Jewel throbbed as a gleeful voice emerged from its smooth surface. "Yes!" the Jewel cackled. "Yes indeed, half-sister of mine!"

Elenórathem looked at the Jewel, her eyes full of worry. "Vinderdrómethen, do not listen to him! He is using you! Do not—"

The Water Spirit cried out as a strong burst of wind hurled her backwards, pinning her to the wall. She screamed in pain and anger as she fought to move, desperately struggling to escape the stranglehold the wind had on her.

"NO!" Not taking the time to think, allowing herself to react entirely on instinct, Elsa unleashed a wave of ice upon the green Jewel. The ice reflected harmlessly off the Jewel, cascading wildly about the room. Her attack, however, was enough to disrupt the wind holding Elenórathem in place. The Water Spirit fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

Hans's eyes grew dark. Rising, he moved toward Elsa. "That was very, very foolish of you, Elsa." He pointed to the Tritastónende. "Do you realize just how limited your power truly is against them? Not even you have the strength to stop them. They are completely beyond your ability to fight against them!"

"You are wrong," Alúvelin murmured, her blue eyes boring into Hans. Swiftly, she leaped over the Jewels, hands glowing blue and red. She landed, grasping Hans by the collar. "I have lost my patience with your act, Hans," she snarled. "Release the Jewels from your control! Let them be free once more!"

Hans stared at her incredulously. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed, not stopping, pausing momentarily only to take a breath. Finally, he calmed down enough to speak. "You still don't understand, do you? I am not controlling the Jewels at all. I have merely brought them together, allowing their full power to be unleashed. They work with me not because I order them to do so, but because they want to!" He glared at Alúvelin, his face defiant. "I have already told you: I do not care if I live or die. Nothing you can threaten me with can intimidate me. The Jewels have spoken. What they desire is the complete annihilation of Arendelle forever!"

"Not her!" Arberish held Elenóreweth in his arms, gently cradling the unconscious Spirit of the Water Jewel. "This is not what she wants! You may have corrupted her brothers, but she . . . She wanted nothing to do with you!"

"She had to be forced to do my bidding!" Hans snarled, moving forward, stopping only when Alúvelin thrust a glowing red hand in his face once more. "She was confused by your lies!" He pointed to the Eden-stone on Elsa's hand. "You may have swayed her sister, Elsa, but I know what this one truly desires! She is like her brothers. She has been imprisoned for far too long." His face twisted in anger. "How dare you try to contain her, when she has been restrained for all this time!"

Elsa carefully moved forward, ignoring Hans's ravings. She looked directly at the Tritastónende. "Valdránavish! Vinderdrómethen! I know you can hear me! Please, listen!"

Except the words flowing from her lips were not spoken in the Common Tongue. Rather, she was speaking in the ancient language of Arendelle, the language of the Maíreth, the language of Almighty Vandrínereth Himself: "Valdránavish! Vinderdrómethen! Si undástende heáren me! Unheáren me, selle!"

Alúvelin turned to her younger sister, her eyes wide. "The gift of tongues!" she murmured, not believing what she was hearing.

Hans's eyes widened, his face paling. "Impossible!" he whispered. "No living man speaks this language! It has been dead for centuries!"

Elsa ignored him, continuing, her tongue continuing to translate her thoughts into the language of the Jewels. "This man has lied to you! He does not want you to be free! He is using you to take his unjustified revenge against Arendelle!"

She paused, allowing her words to sink in. "Did he not tell you? He tried to overthrow this land once before. He tried to execute me unjustly. He tried to murder the Princess. Is this really the type of man you give your allegiance to? I thought you were holy relics, created to aid Men, not slaughter them!"

The red and green Jewels glowed brilliantly, making the darkness of the throne room resemble day itself. As the light faded, two figures stood before Elsa and her companions. One was an older man, his entire body red, draped in maroon robes. The other was a young man, his face still carrying the innocence of youth, his body and clothing green as purest jade.

The man in red approached Elsa slowly, his face grim with anger. "I have already told you, Your Majesty," he snarled. "I serve no Man. I am my own Master! You presume too much in lecturing me!"

Elsa knew she should be terrified in the presence of this Spirit with the power to destroy the earth on a whim if that truly was his desire. Yet, she felt strangely calm. The Eden-stone pulsed with its familiar blue light. Elsa could feel something flowing through her soul, calming her, giving her strength. Elenórathem, she thought.

"Really?" Elsa replied, moving so her face was mere inches from the Earth Sprit's. "Look at what you have done!" She gestured about the throne room, toward the windows and door. "You have allowed this man to abuse your power, to blind you to the truth with his lies! You may think that what you have done has been your own doing, but he has manipulated both of you! You have done nothing more than serve his purpose for you. And for that, you call yourself your own master?" She pointed at Elenóreweth. "Look at what you have done to your own sister!"

Valdránavish's eyes flared with fire. He raised his hand, prepared to cause the earth to swallow the impudent Queen, when his younger brother cried out.

"No!" The Spirit of Vinderdrómethen looked to his older brother, his face contorted in anguish. "Look at her! LOOK AT HER!"

Valdránavish turned to Arberish, the rage vanishing from his face, replaced with disbelief. He quickly crossed the room, gently lifting Elenóreweth's body from the brann wielder's arms. "Sister?" he whispered, bringing her unmoving face before his own. He held her tightly, as if expecting her to return to consciousness at his presence alone. Nothing changed. He turned back to Elsa, his face lined with confusion, with anger. "What is wrong with her? Why will she not awaken?"

Alúvelin spoke, her voice dripping with fury. "Now do you see? This is what you have done by giving your allegiance to this man!" She pressed down upon Hans's shoulder with her flaming red hand. Crying out in pain, Hans fell to his knees.

"She resisted. She did not want to help him," the Empress continued. "But he used your power to force her to do his bidding. She tried to resist, but she couldn't. And now . . . Now, look at what has become of her! You have brought this upon your own sister by being so eager to use your power once more that you forgot to consider whether or not it was justified!"

Vinderdrómethen's hands were shaking, his eyes fixed upon his brother. "She is hardly breathing, Brother. We . . . We have done this to her!"

Valdránavish looked back upon the unconscious Spirit in his arms. He glanced at Elenórathem, his body quaking. "You know this mortal better than anyone, half-sister. Does she speak . . . the truth?!"

Elenórathem forced herself to her feet, pain raging throughout her limbs. "Yes," she replied. "You have allowed yourselves . . . to be . . . manipulated. What you have done . . . has been done only to serve his selfish ends!" She felt tears forming in her eyes. "Our . . . Our sister's fate . . . falls upon you alone."

The Earth Spirit gently laid Elenóreweth upon the floor. Closing his eyes, he let out a roar of fury, his entire body shaking. Elsa, Alúvelin, and Arberish cried out, diving to the floor, as the entire palace shook. Large pieces of stone and plaster fell from the ceiling, crashing about them.

Valdránavish whirled about, advancing upon Hans, his eyes consumed with malice.

Hans rose, slowly backing away. "Do not listen to them!" he commanded. "I saved you from your imprisonment! I freed you when no one else would! You owe me!"

Hans's protests were cut off as Valdránavish's fingers closed around his throat. "You . . . You lied to us! You told us they deserved this fate!" With a violent cry, the Spirit hurled Hans across the throne room, watching as he crashed into the wall.

The Spirit was upon Hans before he had a chance to rise. Valdránavish lifted Hans high in the air, holding him above his body.

"Wait!" Hans cried. "I still command you! I brought the three of you together! You must obey me! The legends say—"

"You forgot to read the entire scroll!" the Earth Spirit roared. "Only one who is worthy of wielding us may have complete command over us once we have been assembled! You. Are. Unworthy!"

Hans screamed as he was thrown through the air once more. The entire palace shook once more as Valdránavish pressed forward, oblivious to Elsa's and Alúvelin's cries for calm, bent upon one task only: avenging the injuries sustained by his sister.

"Anna! Anna, can you hear me?"

The Princess slowly opened her eyes, moaning in pain as she realized just how sore her entire body was. Every limb, every muscle, every nerve throbbed as though it had been set upon with a thousand needles. Slowly, carefully, she shifted her weight on the bed, forcing herself to sit up.

Wait! What—? She shot up, panicking. "Something's wrong!" she cried, trying to speak, but finding it difficult to fill her lungs with enough air to do so. "I . . . I can't feel them! Where are they?! Where are my babies?!" She placed her hands on her abdomen, crying out in horror as she realized it was no longer swollen, that her womb had begun to recede.

"Anna! It's all right!" Kristoff was beside her, holding . . . something in his arms. Anna struggled to make out what it was, but she couldn't see in her terror. "Look! Don't you remember? It's over! You did it! Look!"

Kristoff handed her the small bundle he had cradled in his arms. Anna's face turned white, her hands trembling. "Is this . . .? Is this . . .?!"

She pulled the blanket away from the top of the bundle, tears of joy streaming down her face. In her arms, she held an infant boy . . . her son. She stared in amazement at the sleeping child, absorbing every detail into her mind. A wave of emotion suddenly washed over her, consuming her every thought. She felt an irresistible urge to hold him close, to bring him to her breast, to cradle him, shelter him, keep him safe and warm.

"Here, Anna. Take her!"

Dazed, Anna turned to Valanda. The brann wielder smiled as she handed another bundle to Anna, gently resting it in her other arm. Anna's lip trembled as she held her daughter. The same protective instincts ran through her once more as she brought the infant girl to the flesh of her chest, allowing the warmth from her body to fill her children, to give them strength.

"I . . . I . . ." She looked at Kristoff, unable to speak. Tears streamed down her face as she allowed her husband to wrap his arms around her, to hold her close, to wordlessly congratulate her for delivering his children into the world.

"It's . . . It's real, now," Anna whispered, gazing upon her children. She looked at Valanda, a worried look crossing her face. "Are they . . . Are they healthy? They were born so early! Are they all right?!"

Valanda laid her hand on Anna's shoulder. "They are better than healthy, Anna. I have never seen newborn adameren as strong as yours. They . . . They have all of their weight. They cry like I have never heard crying before." She laughed. "They are perfect."

Anna turned to Kristoff. "And . . . And can they . . . I mean, have you seen—"

Kristoff brought his finger to her lips, silencing her. "If somehow, someway, they have powers of some kind . . . If the power Isarn used to help your mother conceive Elsa somehow passed its way to them . . ." He smiled. "It doesn't matter at all." He gently placed two fingers on each of his children's foreheads, feeling the blood rush through their veins. "I couldn't possibly love them any more or less than I do now. They are ours, Anna, and that is all that matters."

Anna laughed, leaning in to Kristoff, kissing him for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity. A thought flashed through her mind. "Ohmygosh!" she cried. "Their names! In all this craziness, we . . . we never settled on their names!"

Kristoff ran his hand through Anna's hair. "I like the ones you came up with before all of this happened. I think . . . I think they suit them nicely."

Anna nodded. "I . . . agree. I wasn't sure, but now that I see them, I think so, too." She turned to Valanda, smiling. "Meet your . . . I guess they're your great niece and great nephew, right? Anyway, meet—"

A loud rumbling sound tore through the infirmary. Anna looked up in terror as she saw cracks forming in the ceiling. Her heart fell into her stomach as, without warning, a large piece of stone fell directly toward her bed. She screamed, realizing she could never possibly move fast enough to get out of the way, she was too weak, her babies would be crushed—

She found herself on the infirmary floor, lying on her back, her newborns somehow still asleep. Kristoff was kneeling next to her, his eyes wide with terror.

"Are you all right?!" he asked, his voice trembling.

"Yes," she gasped. Frantically, she looked down at the babies, stunned that they were still perfectly fine and sleeping. "What . . . What happened? How did I—"

Realization dawned upon her. "Valanda!" she cried, forcing herself to stand, Kristoff helping her to her feet. She looked at the bed, shrieking in disbelief. "No! NO!"

Valanda lay unconscious upon the bed, her breathing shallow, her torso trapped beneath a large piece of rock. Somehow, impossibly, the young woman had pulled Anna from the bed before the rock came crashing down.

"NO!" Anna cried once more, carefully handing the babies to Kristoff. She stumbled toward the bed, fighting the pain in her muscles. Screaming in anguish, she somehow managed to pull the rock to the floor, freeing the brann wielder princess. Anna knelt beside the bed, gently placing her hands on the young woman's temple, realizing that her breathing was becoming shallower by the moment. "Valanda, no! Don't do this! Stay with me! You're going to be all right! Valanda? VALANDA!"

AN: Things have been very busy lately, so I haven't been able to update as much as I would like. I have been inspired to work on a completely new project, one that is entirely original, set in a world of my own creation. What started as a short story has grown into something much more complicated. I will be working on that project, as well as finishing up this story and, hopefully, working on Part Five. I didn't intend to have multiple writing projects come upon me at once, but that is how my muse seems to be working. More to come!