Alright here's the next chapter. It surprises me just how many people didn't recognize the hint that I dropped about adding DC. I had Riley fight the Green Lantern for goodness sake. Maybe I just wasn't clear enough, regardless, I do plan on adding Raven, but given the nature of the Teen Titans show and my current plans, she won't be a part of this story until much later. In fact, she won't even be in this book at all. I intend for Raven and her arc to play a significant part in the sequel I write after this one. So it'll still be a while.
Anyway, I know some people are getting bored of the war, don't worry, now that I've hit several significant points, I can start to speed through the remainder of it, and get to the juicy parts. I still have two more women to add to the harem, and I've already got stories ready for both of them. Anyway, here's the chapter, hope you enjoy this darker take on the Frozen tale, with my twist on it. Thanks to everyone that helped me out with this idea, you're all the best!
Broken Angel
Chapter 80
"This place seems almost storybook," Daphne noted as the two made their way through the seaside city.
"It's weird. There is powerful magic here. Demonic magic. I can feel it in the storm." Riley replied as her eyes turned skyward towards the falling snow.
To Riley's eyes, she could see magic coursing through the atmosphere. While not dense, it was wide-spread, and the magic itself held traces of demonic Youki. Whatever had caused this; it was definitely a half-demon of some sort.
"Do you think it could be ours?" Daphne inquired.
"It's very likely. I highly doubt there's more than one demonic creature running around here. Then again, I am feeling some strange magic in the air." Riley responded as the two made it to the center of town.
While the town itself was almost story-book in aesthetic, the people were acting approximately how you'd expect them to if it started snowing in July. They were uneasy, and some were even downright terrified. The children ran about and played in the fresh snowfall, and you could see the adults watching them with smiles, but those smiles never met their eyes. The people were scared.
"Where to first?" Daphne asked as she glanced around.
"Well, we should probably ask around, see if anyone has any idea about this storm," Riley replied, earning a nod of agreement from Daphne. Despite the raw magic that flooded through the air, Riley could detect something else. It was almost like a form of Nature energy, and it seemed to be radiating off of the people in small amounts. Riley didn't know what to make of it, and neither did Kurama or the Darkness. She kept an eye on it, but there wasn't much more to go off of so they continued.
From there, the two women set about moving through the various shops and speaking to the merchants and patrons gathered there. Not a lot of people knew what was going on, but a few did whisper that they'd heard a rumor that the Queen of this little kingdom was a witch, and she was the cause of the snowstorm.
This gave Daphne and Riley their first significant clue into where to begin their search, so they both headed for the castle. Riley used her Byakugan to scan the edges of the castle, she then Apparated inside along with Daphne.
Once inside the castle, the two began to scout around, avoiding the guards as they did. The first thing they came across was the ballroom, where massive icicles jutted out of the ground.
The ice seemed immune to heat and radiated with magic. Riley couldn't help but grin at Daphne when they found that.
"Don't say anything," Daphne muttered.
"Looks like our Ice Queen has her own little Ice Queen." Riley teased with a giggle.
"How long have you been waiting to use that one?" Daphne inquired with a roll of her eyes.
"Since we got here. I needed to wait until the timing was right. It seemed so perfect." Riley replied with a shit-eating grin.
Daphne couldn't help but let out a sigh. She merely shook her head and refocused on the task at hand. The two women quickly tracked down a lone guard and ambushed him. He was placed under Imperious, and Riley questioned him about what happened and where the Queen was.
He explained that the Queen had unleashed her ice powers in a fit of anger and fled the castle on the day of her inauguration. He went on to explain that the guardsmen were ordered to track her down and that the princess had also left the castle in search of her older sister.
After hearing that, Riley quickly scrubbed the man's mind of the encounter and released him from her control. The two women promptly secluded themselves to discuss what they had learned.
"Sounds more and more like this Queen is the one we're looking for," Daphne noted, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
Riley agreed, and the first course of action that came to mind was to head out in search of their wayward daughter; however, something about the castle was bugging her. There was magic here, seeped into the walls. Whatever it was, it was prevalent and was unlike any magic Riley had ever seen.
She was quick to activate her Byakugan and scan the castle. Her search led her towards what could only be the central office for the acting ruler of the kingdom. Riley and Daphne headed that way first and were quickly able to slip into the office without the guards noticing.
While Daphne scanned the office finding little of interest other than a large painting of two people that were probably the previous King and Queen. The room itself, while clean, felt vacant, almost like no one had entered it for it's intended purpose, in a long time. It was an odd feeling, and difficult to describe what made it that way, perhaps it was how stuffy it felt. Regardless, it was evident that this was the monarch's office.
While Daphne continued to scan the office, Riley meanwhile focused on a bookcase. She could see the magic behind it and decided to investigate. Using her Intangibility, Riley poked her head through the bookshelf, revealing a hidden room behind it. She quickly grabbed Daphne and pulled her into the secret room.
Inside was many bookshelves, a desk, stacks of paper, and on a few pedestals were various objects on display were encased in glass.
"A secret office?" Daphne noted as she glanced around.
"Those objects… there's magic in them. Strong magic." Riley noted as she surveyed some of the magical artifacts. Some were more powerful than others, but they all radiated magic in such a way that signified a powerful connection to it. Magic flowed through a lot of things in the room. On the desk was a set of objects that almost looked like ornamental earrings. They were golden and seemed to nearly wrap around the ear. Riley could see magic flowing off of them, and upon closer inspection, she realized that these earrings were protective measures against sound-based magic.
"What are those?" Daphne inquired when she noticed Riley examining one of the objects.
"I believe they're meant to block out magic from passing into one's ear. Such an item would be useful against creatures like a siren, or something like that, that uses music to manipulate a person's mind." Riley explained.
"I see. They weren't displayed prominently like the other artifacts. They were just sitting out, almost like someone intended to use them." Daphne noted earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
"Well, we should probably keep them, just in case we come across whatever creature they were designed for," Riley stated, earning a nod of agreement from Daphne.
"You're immune to those sorts of things, aren't you?" Daphne inquired as Riley passed her two of the earrings.
"I am, and I would think our bond would be strong enough to assist you in resisting, but I don't wanna take any chances," Riley replied, earning a nod of agreement from her wife.
From there, the two began to look through some of the papers littered about. Daphne was the first to find something of note.
"Riley… these papers… they look like documentation on troop logistics." Daphne stated as she held up several sheets of paper.
Riley made her way over to her wife and scanned the documents she had found. She quickly came to the same conclusion as her mate. The Monarchy of this kingdom appeared to have information on troop gatherings, garrisons, and numbers from a neighboring country.
"This is the kind of information you gather when you're preparing for war," Daphne noted.
"Yeah." Riley agreed as she went through more papers.
"This Kingdom is small. If this is the size of their capital, I doubt they could gather more then a few thousand troops." Daphne stated, turning a curious gaze towards Riley in the process.
"True. But they wouldn't need more then a few thousand troops if they had access to magic of this caliber." Riley responded with a nod towards a nearby window, signifying the winter storm raging outside.
"You think they were using her?" Daphne inquired.
"Wouldn't surprise me. Unless of course, it was our dearest child herself, who intended to wage war on the neighboring kingdoms. Being a half-demon, she'd naturally be more aggressive, though I doubt that's the case. The presence of demon's, even half-demons tends to cause strange effects in humans. Demonic forces amplify negative emotions, so a demon spending time around a greedy person will naturally enhance that greed. It's why the residents of Columbia quickly became so radicalized, all that time around Elizabeth began to enhance their negative feelings and warped many of their minds. The people who lived in Rapture were fucked from the get-go because of Adam, but Eleanor amplified their insanity and made it worse." Riley explained, earning a nod of agreement from Daphne.
"So… this is probably how it'll be for all of our children lost in time. Their mere presence driving the humans around them mad." Daphne noted with a sigh.
"Sadly, that's probably the case. Humans were never meant to interact with demons. Normally half-demons are safer to be around, but they're my children. Being descended from an Archdemon ruins the chances of any normal person around them. Magicals will have a higher resistance to the effects, but any muggle won't be able to resist for more than a few years of continued exposure." Riley replied as she continued to gaze over various documents.
The two continued their search for nearly an hour, and it quickly became apparent that the previous King and Queen were planning to use Elsa, the new Queen, as a weapon. There were references in some of the documents and journal entries of a tribe of beings up in the mountains that were allied with the King and Queen. Those same journals pointed towards a marriage alliance between the princess and a human that had been mind-slaved by these creatures.
The more information the two went into, the angrier they got. Journal entries tucked away in cabinets painted a clear timeline for the events. A one-year-old Elsa was found in the forest by the royal family while they were out for a stroll, the two took her in due to the strange energy she radiated with at the time. The King and Queen were both capable of magic, though given their lives on the island, neither was classically trained at a major school like Hogwarts or Durmstrang.
This Kingdom was located to the northwest of Norway along with a small cluster of other tiny kingdoms. It seemed that the King and Queen had ambitions of grandeur long before they had found Elsa, though, with her discovery and the subsequent reveal of her powers a year later, the two began planning to seize control of the neighboring kingdoms and then invading Norway. Given the style of everything, the two women could guess that this was somewhere in the mid-1800s. Once again, Riley had never heard of this place or any of the smaller Kingdoms which led her to believe that they no longer existed.
Further journal entries revealed systematic isolation and abuse of Elsa, as an attempt to control her. It seems the creatures from the mountain were unable to fully control Elsa through their mind control powers, at most they could make her feel things, but as she grew older she developed more resistance to it. Elsa, it seems had access to her magic, and even seemed to be able to tap into her Youki without training. This, of course, led to those around her becoming influenced by her power. The King and Queen developed more sinister methods of controlling Elsa, as their ambitions grew following their overexposure to Demonic Youki and Elsa's increasing strength. The two began to target their daughter, the princess Anna, in an attempt to place Elsa under their thumb.
It seems from Journal entries that the two heavily relied on guilt over a particular event that occurred when the girls were young, where Elsa accidentally hurt Anna with her powers and nearly killed her. This led the King and Queen to utilize Elsa's apparent love for her little sister as a tool to manipulate her and control her. For several years, Elsa was forced to grow her powers, despite her fear of them. If she didn't then Anna would be harmed. Around this time, death was introduced to the halls of the Castle.
The journals took note of several brutal murders, which involved the castle's guards. The King and Queen suspected Elsa and placed her under close watch, yet the killings continued here and there. Sometimes it would happen weekly, other times it would be months between murders, but they kept repeating, and they were always brutal. The Journal entries described one of the killings as extremely brutal and bloody.
The only thing that led them to suspect Elsa was that the guards' wounds were cold, other than that, they never found any proof that she was involved. Hell, there were even entries that regaled their frustration at not being able to prove her involvement even while she was under heavy watch.
This all came to a sudden end, however, when the King and Queen set out for a meeting with a neighboring ally across the sea and never came back.
It wasn't written about what happened after they had disappeared, but Daphne and Riley had heard more than enough. Thoroughly pissed off, and knowing of the involvement of the Castle guards, and the creatures living up in the mountains, the two set forth, intent on tracking their daughter down.
The two quickly made their way to the outskirts of the city and Riley activated her Byakugan. She began to scan the mountains in search of Elsa's magic. The storm made it difficult as it was filled with her magic and acted kind of like a fog, that limited Riley's vision. So with that in mind, Riley took her time to scan her surroundings carefully. She started at the city itself which was where she was reminded of the strange energy radiated by the people within.
She was still curious about it but decided to ignore it, in favor of tracking Elsa. Extending her vision out from the city, she began to come across various search parties of armed guards. It should have surprised her to see the royal guard so heavily armed, but it didn't. After having read what she did, Riley knew that most of the guards were complicit in Elsa's abuse and isolation. Not to mention they all probably thought she was responsible for the murders that had occurred over the last few years.
Looking past them, Riley's vision fell on a small group that radiated powerful demonic magic. There was a man, a woman, a reindeer, apparently an animate snowman, and something that was difficult to make out, that stalked the group. The girl, the snowman, and the thing, all radiated with Elsa's magic, but none of them were her.
Extending further, towards the top of some of the nearby mountains, Riley found herself gazing at an ice castle. It radiated magic, and Riley knew immediately, that she had found what she was looking for. Within the palace, Riley finally saw her. She held powerful magic, just as Riley expected her too.
With a smile, Riley deactivated her eyes and focused on her mate.
"Find her?" Daphne inquired.
"Yep. Her, and some interesting familiars." Riley replied.
"Well alright then. Shall we go?" Daphne stated.
"We shall," Riley replied. From there, the two quickly departed. Using their skills as Shinobi, they dashed up the mountains with exceptional speed.
They passed by a few patrols on their way up, but no one noticed them. As they raced up the mountain, Riley noted, with a bit of pride, just how skilled her Wife had become. With all her skills added up, Daphne was easily a Chuunin level threat, possibly close to a Veteran Chuunin, concerning how dangerous she was becoming. Give it five years, and Daphne would easily be one of the few witches in the world ever to reach the threat level of a Jonin level Shinobi. That was something to be immensely proud of, and Riley was.
All of her mates had grown powerful, and it made Riley immensely proud to see just how far they had come in their time with her.
The two continued up the mountain in silence for nearly five minutes. Their speed and their jumping ability allowed the two to traverse the mountain to it's peak at an incredible rate.
"Wow," Daphne muttered as the Ice castle came into view.
"Damn right, Wow. Let's hope this is as easy as the last two." Riley replied.
The two slowed to a walk as they reached the front of the castle. At this point, even Daphne could detect the powerful magic that radiated off of everything around them. The two shared a look as they approached the front door.
Taking Riley's hand, the two-phased through the entrance-way without making a sound. They both glanced around at the intricate ice sculptures and architecture, both amazed and incredibly curious about the frozen structures surrounding them.
The two didn't make it very far when they heard someone gasp in surprise.
"Who are you?" Came the voice of a blonde in a long sparkling bluish gown.
Getting a look at their daughter, Riley couldn't help but smirk at Daphne. Whereas Eleanor looked more like Katie, and Elizabeth was a mixture of Riley and Luna, Elsa appeared to be all Daphne.
Same eye color, same blonde hair, same pale skin. Daphne herself, couldn't help but stare.
Riley recovered quicker than her mate and stepped forward offering a polite bow. "Greetings Queen Elsa. My name is Riley, and this is Daphne. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Elsa herself looked slightly taken aback by the sudden introduction but quickly schooled herself and gave the two women an inquiring look.
"Yes, It's very nice to meet you finally." Daphne finally recovered and offered a polite bow of her own.
"Who are you? You shouldn't be here." Elsa inquired. She was currently standing atop a small platform staring down at them with large Cerulean eyes.
"I don't know how else to say it, so it's best just to say it. We're your mothers." Riley stated.
Elsa stared at the two with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Daphne sent a look at Riley and shook her head.
"Smooth," Daphne noted
"Sorry, I'm not the best at this sort of thing," Riley stated.
"That much is obvious," Daphne said with a shake of her head.
"Umm… are you being serious?" The Blonde haired Ice Queen inquired as she gave the two a confused look.
"You tell me," Riley replied, as her wings burst forth from her back, earning a startled gasp from Elsa.
Elsa stared down at them in shock and surprise. Her eyes were transfixed on the wings that now sprouted forth from Riley's back.
"Those… you have..." Elsa started to stutter, her eyes wide in shock. Riley merely smirked and in a quick motion, leaped up onto the platform.
"Do you recognize them?" Riley inquired as she took a step towards Elsa, whom instinctively stepped back, still gawking and surprised.
Elsa was silent for several seconds before reaching for something around her neck. Tucked under her dress, she revealed a blackened feather, attached to a necklace. Queen Elsa stared at the feather for several long moments before returning her gaze to Riley's wings.
By now, Daphne has made it up to the platform and was standing by Riley's side.
"We're your mothers. You have access to powerful magic courtesy of our union." Riley stated.
Elsa blinked a few times before her vision settled on Riley. "Prove it," Elsa commanded.
Riley smirked and raised a hand. From her palm, a tree branch shot forth towards Elsa. She let out a gasp and stepped back as the branch approached and dozens of flowers began to bloom off of it.
Daphne herself eyed the flowers curiously as they looked almost like lilies except they were all white with blood red blotches on the pedals, and from the stems sprouted purplish thorns that seemed to ooze something from the tips, some sort of reddish substance, that looked almost like blood, but Daphne was confident that it was probably some poison.
While a bit ghastly, the flowers did have a particular beauty to them, and Elsa herself seemed mesmerized by their appearance and even gently caressed one.
"You can manipulate snow and Ice and form it to your will. I can do very similar things with other elements, like wood and plant life. You have abilities like mine, yet they seem to have developed in tangent with your mothers' persona. Several months living within her and attuned to her magic must have led to the development of Ice based powers over others." Riley stated as she opened her other hand and a small swarm of butterflies made of fire, leaped from her palm and started to soar about the room, earning another surprised gasp from Elsa.
Riley and Daphne watched as the Ice Queen focused on one of the butterflies and allowed it to drift down in front of her. She held out her hands, almost as if to cradle the creature. If hovered just over her palms, and it was evident that Elsa could feel the heat that it gave off.
Elsa stared down at the flaming butterfly for several long moments, and her eyes flitted across the fine detail of its design. Despite being made of flame, there was intricate details to its body, a testament to its creators level of control, similar to Elsa's own when using her ice powers.
Of course just like the others, Elsa had always had her feather and knew that it had some significant connection to her family. Elsa had also, always secretly known that King Agnarr and Queen Iduna weren't her birth mother and father. She knew they had powers, she had seen them use them before, but neither of them had ever shown abilities like hers, and the way they seemed so desperate to control her powers, and yet unable to help her learn how, led her to conclude that neither had ever dealt with power like hers.
The feather had always given off a great protective vibe. It felt like a trinket that would have come from a parent, and yet the King and Queen never gave off that same feeling. Elsa had always wondered if perhaps they had lied to her, given that they had lied about a lot of things, but she never had any proof, and she didn't wish to pursue it, given their hostility towards any active form of rebellion from her. Once they were gone, Elsa no longer had an avenue to seek answers from; thus she was left in the dark as to whether her theories on her parentage were correct or not.
The fact that this strange woman displayed abilities that were fundamentally similar to her own, just utilizing different elements, plus her wings led Elsa to honestly consider the possibility that these strangers might just be speaking the truth.
After several long moments, the Ice queen let out an audible sigh and released the flaming butterfly from her hands. She focused her attention on the two women and gave them a good once over. While the winged one didn't look much like her, the blonde woman with her looked almost like a carbon copy of Elsa. Same hair color, almost exactly. Same eye color. Same skin color. The two could have been sisters.
And in that aspect came another snag, the two looked so young, no older than their late teens, early twenties. The blonde, Daphne she had said her name was, held herself in a very familiar manner. It was evident that she came from nobility in some form. Despite the curious look she was giving Elsa, she held herself in a way that reflected a noble.
"Say for a moment, that I'm willing to believe you, what proof do you have?" Elsa asked after another moment.
"Other than the obvious magical connections?" Riley inquired with a smirk.
Elsa turned her attention primarily to Riley and nearly let out a gasp as she focused on her face. Since walking in, Elsa had taken note of Riley possessing purplish colored eyes. However, now that she was much closer, Elsa could see the markings that patterned her eyes.
Riley allowed herself a chuckle, recognizing that the Ice queen had finally taken note of the Rinne Sharingan and its design.
"We have powers similar to yours, and while much closer to Riley regarding power, your ability to manipulate and create ice stems from parts of my bloodline," Daphne stated after yet another moment of silence.
"You can manipulate ice?" Elsa inquired as she finally pulled her attention off of Riley's eyes and focused them on Daphne.
"I can create it but not manipulate it. At least, not like you can." Daphne replied as she knelt down and placed her palm on the icy floor. A moment went by, and Elsa could see the ice rapidly melt under Daphne's palm. Daphne then levitated the melted water up with her wand.
"I can't create ice or even manipulate it, but I can alter water and air. I can manipulate thermal and magical energy. I can pull heat out of objects to rapidly reduce their temperature." Daphne explained as she reached out with her free hand and touched the floating sphere of water. Elsa watched, fascinated by the display as the ball of water froze over in mere moments.
"I guess an easier way of explaining it, is that I can conduct certain forms of energy through myself. Either adding them or removing them from objects. I can make things around me hotter, or colder. That removal of energy from objects seems to be the part that mixed with Riley's raw magical abilities to give you the ability to create and manipulate ice and snow." Daphne finished up her explanation as she handed the icy sphere to Elsa, who admired it with a smirk.
Seeing that smirk, Daphne nearly gawked. The way Elsa narrowed her eyes, tilted her head just a bit, and smirked was precisely how Riley did it. Daphne had seen Riley perform that action more times then she could count, and it had ingrained itself in her mind.
After a few moments, Elsa set the sphere down, now more convinced than before that they were telling the truth. Still, though, that left their ages.
"If you two truly are my parents, then why are both of you women? And why are you so young?" Elsa inquired.
"I'm nearly a hundred… or maybe I'm at a hundred… to be honest, I've lost track. Daphne may appear young, but she's more mature then even me." Riley replied.
"As for the woman part, the answer is two-fold. Riley isn't a woman and magic." Daphne added.
The confusion present on Elsa's face was almost laughable.
"Allow me to explain. One of your half-sisters has powerful abilities that allow her to open portals to other times and places. Sometime when you were children, you and your siblings were attacked, and out of fear or surprise her power activated and you, along with your siblings were hurtled throughout the timeline. This is sometime in the 1800s right? Well, three of your siblings have already been located in the 1910s, the 1960s, and the 1990s. We're also from the 1990s, the very same sister who accidentally sent you here is the same one who tracked us down when we were younger and asked us to help relocate you and bring you home." Daphne explained, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
It didn't take a master Occlumens to know that Queen Elsa was dumbfounded by that string of information. The look on her face said it all.
"We're not from this era. We're from over a hundred years in the future, and the reason why Daphne looks young, is because she is, and we haven't had you yet in our time, but we agreed to come back to try to locate you, just like the others." Riley added after a few seconds.
"So… I'm not even from this time? I wasn't born here? The King and Queen… they… I was right. I knew there was something wrong with all of this. I knew things didn't match up. This means that I'm not the true Queen, Anna is. Oh… Anna..." Elsa had started to pace back and forth but suddenly came to a stop as her thoughts turned towards her beloved little sister.
"Do you love her?" Riley inquired.
"Well, of course I love her. We were raised together… Despite what I felt about our…. Her parents, I always saw her as my sister." Elsa replied.
"Then don't overthink it. We can see if she'll come with us." Riley offered.
Elsa stared back at Riley for several long moments before nodding. Riley expected to hear Elsa ask about the people of Arendelle, but her question never came. It almost brought a smile to Riley's face, that despite all of their attempts, the previous King and Queen had failed to condition Elsa to care about Arendelle. The people, the city, the kingdom itself, none of it really mattered to her. The only thing she seemed to care about was her sister.
The sister might be a problem, but that would be something that would be dealt with later.
"Yeah, we can discuss this with your sister, once she arrives." Daphne agreed.
"What?" Elsa asked.
"Oh, your sister is out looking for you," Daphne explained.
"Yeah, I saw her and a friend on their way up here with two of your familiars," Riley added.
"Two of my… what? Wait a friend..." Hearing that friend note, Elsa's mood soured just a bit. The two women could see their daughter scowl at the mention of someone traveling with Anna.
"Big sister doesn't approve?" Riley inquired with a smirk.
"It's not that… I just… she… it's hard to explain. Anna's still young, and she just met this guy and seemed like she was head over heels for him. She even asked me if she could marry him." Elsa replied, her mood darkening.
Both Riley and Daphne shared a look with one another. Both recalled the King and Queen's deal with the tribe of magical mountain beings to marry off their youngest to the creatures thrall.
"Who is this guy?" Daphne inquired while Riley adopted a thoughtful look.
While Elsa explained that the guy was some prince from a foreign land, Riley couldn't help but recall what she had seen from Anna's party as they traveled. All of them, even the frigging reindeer, had some sort of magic flowing through them. The Reindeer and the man had the same strange nature magic in them that the rest of Arendelle did, while the two familiars just had Elsa's magic, and Anna had a combination of both.
It was at that moment that Riley began to suspect that the person traveling with Anna was the thrall, but if that was the case and the nature magic she'd been seeing was their magic, then that meant that all of Arendelle was under their control.
"Well… shit." Kurama muttered.
"Have either of you ever encountered anything like this before?" Riley sent to Kurama and the Darkness, which was surprisingly or not, still with her.
"I've seen something kinda like this before. It's the magic of spirits or the fay. There aren't many of them in the Elemental Nations, but I've encountered them before. They're like summon spirits, but they live here in our world instead of their own pocket dimension." Kurama replied.
"Hmm… well… if we're dealing with malevolent spirits, then I think I know why I haven't ever heard of any of these islands." Riley thought back.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kurama inquired.
"Yeah. This is gonna get bloody." Riley replied. She was quick to send her thoughts to Daphne who gave her a curious look as the information was filtered through to her. She then offered a nod showing that she understood and agreed with Riley's assessment.
"I don't think this is the same guy," Riley stated, earning a look from Elsa.
"You don't?" Elsa responded.
"No. Tell me, what do you know about a race of magical beings that live in these mountains?" Riley inquired.
Elsa adopted a thoughtful look at that and started to pace back and forth. "I don't know what they are but… I know what you're talking about. When we were younger Anna, and I were playing, I… accidentally lost control of my powers, and Anna got hurt. The King and Queen locked me in my room and took Anna somewhere. When she came back, she didn't remember anything about what happened, but she was all better. It was an accident but… I felt so bad that I couldn't help but distance myself from her. It didn't help that the King and Queen openly blamed me for nearly getting her killed and never missed the opportunity to berate me for it."
"Sorry to hear that. Anything else you can tell us?" Riley asked.
"The only other thing I can think of is the stories you hear about the songs that drift out of the mountains," Elsa replied.
"Songs?" Daphne parroted.
"Yes. Some rumors go around about songs that drift down from the mountains at night. I wasn't allowed out much when I was younger, but I heard the guards talking about it from time to time." Was the reply she gave, offering a shrug when Riley and Daphne both made faces at that.
To Elsa, they were grimacing at her lack of info, but in reality, both just hated hearing about her treatment as a child.
"Does this make any sense to you?" Daphne pointed the question at Riley.
"Some sort of magical creature that can control people through melodies." Riley responded.
"What do you mean control?" Elsa asked.
"When we first arrived here we went to the castle to investigate. While there, we discovered a secret office hidden within the previous monarch's office. This secret office held documents detailing the King and Queens plans, along with their intentions to use you as a weapon and marry Anna off to some human enthralled by these creatures up in the mountains." Daphne explained to her.
"WHAT!" Elsa snapped, and from her fingertips shot forth a burst of magic that caused ice spears to tear up through the ground on either side of her body.
Much to Elsa's surprise neither Riley or Daphne recoiled in fear or changed their appearance in any way. Riley because she saw it in slow motion and thus it wasn't surprising, and Daphne because she had been expecting the outburst, seeing as the guard had told them earlier that Elsa had lost her temper and revealed her powers. The number of ice spears that jutted up from the ground was impressive though, a testament to just how powerful Elsa was and could become one day.
"The King and Queen were working with the mountain creatures on methods to control you. In exchange for their cooperation in turning you into a weapon, they would marry off their true daughter to a person enthralled by these creatures." Riley clarified.
"I can't believe this. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. They were always willing to threaten her, why wouldn't they try to sell her off like livestock." Elsa simmered. It was at that point that Daphne had to wonder to herself, for demons, was one's temper 'genetic,' because Elsa acted a lot like a combination of Daphne and Riley, but her temper was all Riley. Quick to anger, and quick to vent. Daphne believed more in the nurture aspect of nature vs. nurture, but with demons it was different. Elsa's temperament could quite literally be a direct result of Riley's temperament.
Which was quite frightening when she thought about it because at least Riley telegraphed her emotions. Daphne was usually very calm and collected, and it took her a while to get worked up, and once she was worked up, she tended to stay that way until she burned out. Riley could flip through emotions on a whim, but Daphne sure couldn't. Elsa seemed to be like Daphne and be calm and collected most of the time, but she could flip her emotions on a dime, just like Riley, and considering her level of power, yeah, that was frightening.
"It's alright. They're gone now, and no one is marrying off your little sister to some mind-controlling mountain creatures." Riley stated earning a nod of agreement from Elsa and Daphne.
"We need to find Anna and get her away from this person. I don't know what these creatures are capable of." Elsa told them, earning nods from the two.
"Right. I'll locate her." Riley said as she activated her Byakugan.
The sight of the veins bulging out around Riley's eyes and her pupils turning white, caused Elsa's eyes to widen in surprise.
"It's called the Byakugan. It's a bloodline ability that Riley unlocked that allows her to see through solid material and extend her vision across great distances." Daphne explained.
"So… she can see outside of the castle?" Elsa asked for clarification.
"Yep. And I've found Anna, she'll be walking in, in about seven minutes." Riley replied as the veins around her eyes receded, and her pupils returned to their original color.
"She's almost here? She really came all this way..." Elsa said to herself with a small smile.
"Yeah, while we wait, may I ask you something?" Riley questioned.
"Um, sure."
"How did you form a bond with Anna?" Riley asked.
"What do you mean?" Elsa replied, not sure she understood the question.
"When I look at her, she's being affected by the same kind of magic that everyone else is, magic that I assume is coming from these creatures that dwell in these mountains, however… your magic also radiates through her. And it's doing so, in such a way that insinuates a magical bond. Such things aren't so easily formed, and it's due to your lack of control that magic keeps passing through the bond, so I have to wonder how it formed?" Riley explained.
"Anna's being affected by these things… and me?" Elsa asked in reply.
"She has a lot less of their magic in her than anyone else, and I have to guess that, that has a lot to do with you. I think it's your magic that's fighting off the magic of these creatures but she's also still being influenced by them, which is why she isn't completely rid of it." Riley offered up earning a tentative nod from Elsa.
"Well… I mean… like I said earlier, when we were little, I did accidentally hit her with my magic. It… dyed a strand of her hair blonde like mine. Maybe that has something to do with it?" Elsa offered as Riley started to pace across the platform, looking thoughtful.
"Striking someone with your magic wouldn't form a bond. At best it would leave a magical scar like it did with Anna, that blonde streak is what is referred to as a magical scar. Traces of your magic would be present, but it wouldn't form a bond." Daphne explained earning noise from Riley as a sign of agreement.
"Well, I mean I've never used my magic around Anna again after that day. I have no idea how something like that could have happened." Elsa said after a moment of thought.
"Magical bonds aren't that easy to create, unless you follow certain procedures, or are exceptionally powerful. You are most definitely powerful so a bond could have been formed through sheer force of will. But it would take physical action on your part to make it so. If you haven't used your magic on her, then I doubt that's how it happened. The only reasonable explanation is that you did something physical with her that magic interpreted as a connective desire and it reached out to form a bond." Riley offered up, earning a shrug from Elsa who still didn't have any ideas as to how such a thing could have formed.
"I understand this is important, but so long as there is no danger to Anna, does it matter?" Elsa inquired as she glanced between them.
"It does matter." Daphne offered giving Elsa a sympathetic look.
"I'm a demon. You're a half-demon… our magic was never meant to interact with humans. Especially non-magicals like Anna. I have enough control over my powers that Daphne is safe, but even then I have to be very careful and make sure I'm always in the right state of mind when I interact with her, otherwise my magic might lash out. It shouldn't because deep down I truly love her, and magic should recognize that, and that coupled with the bond should make her immune to any backlash, but that still doesn't protect her from the negative effects of demonic energy." Riley explained earning a shocked look from Elsa.
"So… what does that mean for Anna?" Elsa asked as a worried expression took up residence on her face.
"It depends. My magic is highly caustic and virulent. If I place a bit of my magic into a normal person, they'd probably be dead within minutes. Without extensive study, I can't tell you what your magic would do, but… over-exposure to demonic energy can warp emotions. I can promise you that the King and Queen were evil before you arrived here. Their journals prove that. However… once they were exposed to you, their darker emotions would have begun to grow and expand over time. In some people, this could cause depression and suicidal thoughts. In others, insanity and violent tendencies. The greedy become more greedy; the violent become more violent. Humans are not meant to co-exist with demons. With proper control, therapy and guidance, the effects can be limited, and I work hard to make sure my magic isn't driving those around me insane, but without that training or control, those around you will find their darker emotions taking over." Riley explained to her as she ceased her pacing and focused on Elsa.
"And Anna has my magic flowing into her." Elsa finished the thought and clenched her fists in anger.
"I knew it. I knew I should have left sooner. I should have run away years ago. It's because of me that all those bad things started happening. It's because of me the King and Queen were willing to turn on their own daughter. It's all my fault." Elsa ground out a few tears built in her eyes but refused to fall.
"There's still time to fix it. Anna's out looking for you right now. She obviously still cares about you, and the rest of the people… it can all be fixed." Daphne offered sending a hopeful glance at Riley, but Riley's darkened expression told her that what she had just said wasn't right.
Elsa must have noticed it too as she let out an angry huff and ran a hand over her face.
"You weren't responsible for the murders in the castle, were you?" Riley asked, her face devoid of emotion.
"No. One of the guards was found… torn apart one day. The whole castle was locked down and searched. After the accident with Anna, I… tried to distance myself from her. We'd barely spent any time together over the last few years; I was fifteen, she was twelve… Due to the lock-down, we were placed together for our safety. We were forced to be together for nearly a week, and despite my best attempts, our connection to one another began to grow, and we started to bond again. It was odd at first, it felt like I was relearning who she was, like I was meeting a stranger for the first time… but we quickly became sisters again. We played together, huddled together by the fireplace, we read books and did all sorts of other things with one another while the guards searched the castle a dozen times over. It was… nice… great even." Elsa explained. As she did, a small smile crept across her face. It was evident that she held a great deal of affection towards her younger sister, and it was at that moment that Riley felt something else.
Riley's abilities in sensing emotions aided her in reading people quite well. Earlier when Elsa spoke of the man, Anna had asked about marrying, Riley had detected anger, and jealousy from Elsa. Later when it was brought up that her parents had planned to sell Anna off to the mountain creatures, Riley identified rage, jealousy, and possessiveness.
Now, Riley could clearly feel love, affection, desire, possessiveness, and a multitude of other emotions.
"The guards never found anything, and I went back into solitude. It wasn't that hard, the king and queen were always there, watching us, and I had heard their threats and felt their blame more times then I care to admit. So I sequestrated myself away, and Anna and I drifted apart again." Elsa continued.
"Until the next murder?" Riley guessed earning a nod of agreement.
"Yes. Four months later, it happened again. Another guard, torn apart. Anna and I were placed together for our safety, though I think by this time the King and Queen, began to suspect it was me. But they had no proof. I was followed by guards constantly, but they never could tie me to the murders. I never knew what had happened to the people that were killed, so I don't know why they thought it was me. Still though, once again, Anna and I were forced to be near each other, and like before, we connected. Like a pendulum, we swung back and forth. I was always afraid of hurting her so once I saw the opportunity to hide, I… just did. And then another murder would occur and we were back together again. This happened about a dozen times over the next few years. They never found out who it was, and eventually, the King and Queen died at sea. When that happened… the murders started to get worse. There was no reigning monarch at the time, so I couldn't tell the guards no, and each time a death occurred, me and Anna were forced to spend time together. As sick as it sounds… I started to look forward to it. I was terrified that I would hurt her, but in the same breath, I kept telling myself that I could keep her safe while the murders were investigated, that in those moments… I was keeping her safe by my side. It must have driven her crazy… to have me so protective of her one moment, and then push her away the next." Elsa explained to the two.
"Did you two ever do anything more?" Riley asked, earning a curious look from both Daphne and Elsa.
"More?" Elsa inquired with a curious look of her own.
"Other than spend time together… did you two ever do anything more than say… sisters should?" Riley inquired, her face was devoid of emotion or judgment, Daphne looked surprised by the question, but the look on Elsa's face spoke volumes.
"What… uh… no… No. I'm not even sure what you mean by that." Elsa stuttered out as her cheeks reddened, and against her pale visage, it was clearly seen by her birth parents.
"Just tell me one thing, and I'll let this train of conversation die, were you ever the one to initiate it?" Riley asked.
The dear caught in the headlights look was more than enough of an answer, and Elsa quickly turned her head to stare out at something other than the two women in front of her.
"So that's how the bond formed," Daphne noted with a smirk.
Hearing that Elsa shot a glance at the two and found Riley nodding.
"It isn't that powerful, but by returning Anna's affections, magic initiated a bond. It's been slowly growing for the last few years. I doubt they've done much more than kiss, which started forming the bond itself." Riley stated, earning a nod of agreement from Daphne.
Both women glanced back at Elsa who was utterly red-faced.
"Please don't think less of me," Elsa muttered as she placed a hand on her head, almost like she was starting to get a headache.
"Hey, we're both women. We're both married, and Riley has five other female mates. No judgment here." Daphne stated.
"Even though she's my sister." Elsa pointed out.
"Not your blood sister. And even if she was, I married a demon, and I'm pretty sure willingly mothering literal hell spawn beats out incest." Daphne pointed out, earning a chuckle from Riley.
"My parents were cousins. Lily comes from a longstanding pureblood line in Britain and given pureblood tendencies for incest, Daphne, and I are probably distant cousins. So even if she was your real sister, I don't care. We were both raised in a society where incest was much more common then you'd expect." Riley added earning a nod of agreement from Daphne which then turned thoughtful.
"Hmm, when we get back to Britain we should go to Gringotts and do a blood test and see how closely related we are. I often forget that one of your mothers actually came from Britain despite you being born in the Elemental Nations." Daphne stated garnering a smile and a nod from Riley.
"What led you to suspect Anna and I had done more than just spend time together?" Elsa inquired, still red-faced, but a bit less fidgety as she was before.
"Well, tell me, did you ever intentionally create a familiar?" Riley asked.
"I don't even know what that is," Elsa replied.
"A living construct of your will. A demon, under your control and born from your power." Riley explained.
"No," Elsa responded once she understood.
"Then you must have done it by accident. I doubt it was the snowman, so it was probably the other one. The ice demon." Riley stated with a thoughtful look.
"What do you mean?" Elsa asked the two.
"I think what Riley is getting at is that the reason the King and Queen thought it was you killing those people was that their wounds were frozen. You must have created a familiar without realizing it, and it was out committing those murders." Daphne guessed.
"Really? I… I never intended to do that." Elsa stated with a shake of her head.
"It's alright. While Daph is mostly right, I don't think it was you that the familiar was reporting to. I think you made a familiar accidentally and sent it to protect the one person you truly care about in this frigging kingdom. And said person used her newly acquired pet to kill someone she didn't like, and I'm guessing the moment she learned that she could force the two of you together, by having someone killed she started to target the guards and sent your familiar to murder them." Riley explained earning a nod of understanding and agreement from Daphne and a surprised look from Elsa.
"You think Anna was the one responsible for those deaths? No, she wouldn't… she… oh… my magic… and darker emotions…" Elsa started to deny that possibility but then everything she learned today came flooding back to her mind, and she realized that there was a strong possibility that what Riley suspected was true.
Right then the doors to the castle opened, and Anna came running in.
"Elsa!" Anna called out.
"Anna!" Elsa replied as she ran past Daphne and Riley and headed down the stairs towards her sister. Anna's face lit up when she saw Elsa run down to meet her.
The two sisters met in an embrace as Riley and Daphne made their way down the stairs. Right about then, the rest of Anna's party entered the castle, though they hung closer to the entrance. Well all of them except the snowman which cheerfully waddled up next to Anna and Elsa.
"It's a living snowman… adorable." Daphne noted earning a chuckle from Riley who was scanning the new arrivals. She focused for a second on the man, and noted the immense amount of foreign magical energy he radiated, she made a mental note to keep an eye on him, but she quickly turned her attention to something that couldn't be seen that well with the naked eye.
To the physical eye, this creature was a being made of pure ice. It was basically a collection of thin sheets of ice, interconnected in the formation of a praying mantis-like design. These ice sheets were so flat that when the creature turned its body the right way, it was basically invisible to the naked eye. Riley could only see it because of the magic that radiated off of it, but without the aid of her Byakugan even she wouldn't have been able to see it, it was that thin. (Designed off of Reedman from Transformers)
Aside from that, the creature was about four feet tall and moved with only a barely audible click. Riley stared right at the creature analyzing it with her Byakugan. The creature must have known that she could see it because it let out a clicking noise that drew everyone's attention.
"What is that?" Elsa inquired at the sound.
"Your other servant. It's an ice demon, that's nearly invisible to the naked eye due to how thin it is. It's standing right over there." Riley replied as she pointed at the demon and it clicked louder.
"Oh… wow." Elsa muttered.
"You can see him?" Anna asked suddenly as her eyes shot to Riley, only for her to stop and gawk, as she realized that Riley had two wings sprouting out of her back.
"Yeah," Riley replied.
Elsa took that moment to glance at the group, and her eyes stopped on the snowman which was watching the scene with interest. She recognized it from somewhere, but it didn't immediately click, after a few seconds her eyes drifted over to the man that stood in the back. Just as Riley had guessed, it wasn't the same prince Anna was dragging around from before. This guy just seemed to be staring at the situation dumbly. While his face looked like he was showing interest and surprise, his eyes were blank and almost devoid of any emotion at all.
It took her a few moments, but she pulled her gaze from him and glanced at Riley, whom threw a look in her direction and offered a nod.
"Anna… we need to talk." Elsa stated to her sister, earning a smile and a nod.
"Yeah, we definitely do," Anna replied.
While Daphne glanced at the two women, Riley was busy staring at Anna. She could feel the raw and powerful emotions that radiated from Anna, and she quickly locked in on several feelings that were of concern. Most notably the underlying obsession, possessiveness, and lust that Anna held. She hid it well behind a veneer of playfulness and an outward appearance of being an airhead, but behind it, all Riley could sense was the darkness that lay beneath. She knew she had been right about her earlier hypothesis. Anna had been the one to order those deaths; she had to have been.
Behind those eyes, Riley could see the viciousness of a predator. Whether Elsa realized it or not, her actions had bound her sister to her on a deeper level than pure affection. Riley had to guess, given the shape of the bond and it's maturity yet lack of raw strength, that the physical interactions that had caused it had never gone beyond simple kissing, but something had occurred that strengthened it, something magical, and Riley didn't know what it was. Regardless, it was obvious that Anna was as good as bound to Elsa now, the bond would not weaken, and it was apparent that Anna didn't want it to if she was willing to kill to get close to her sister.
Riley needed more answers… there was something more going on here. The mountain creatures, the plot, the murders, all of it was tied together somehow… she just needed a few more answers, and she'd be able to piece this all together.
As Anna and Elsa began to move towards the stairs along with Daphne and the Snowman, Riley turned her eyes towards the blonde haired man whom still stood at the entrance with the vacant-eyed stare. She met his gaze and sent a Legilimency probe into his mind.
Much to her surprise, she found nothing. Nothing at all. He had no thoughts; he had no consciousness, he had no drive or reason. There was nothing. That's when she heard it. Music filled his mind. It started off weak and near inaudible, but it grew in sound and quickly filled his mind. Riley grit her teeth as she felt the music dance across the bond formed by her Legilimency probe and enter into her mind.
"Join us..." A thousand voices chorused in a single, sing-song tone.
"Get out of my head." Riley snarled as she instantly through up all of her mental shields and called the Gravemind to the foremost parts of her mind.
"Begone!" The Gravemind bellowed as it forced the music back while Riley ensured that whatever was causing it couldn't read a single thought in her head.
As soon as the music was gone, Riley severed the connection.
Her eyes focused on the man. He didn't react. He just stood there impassively, staring around at everything, only occasionally making a face or showing emotion but it never reached his eyes.
"So you are the thrall." Riley thought to herself as she turned and started after her family. As she walked her mind drifted towards her earlier thought, she did not know this land or its people. That meant one of two things to Riley, either these creatures destroyed it after they left, or more likely, leaving wouldn't be as simple as hopping on a boat and sailing away.
If that magic represented all of those under those creatures control, then all of Arendelle was affected.
Riley knew she had been right; this was going to get bloody before the end.
-To Be Continued-
Alright here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoyed, let me know what you think, another two-part for you guys. See ya in the next installment Ja Ne!
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