Ex: Gonna be honest guys, I've been really discouraged about my own writing lately. I look back at a lot of the choices I made writing thundersnow and really wish I had done things differently. That's something that I guess is easy to say nearly 7 years later, and bringing up just how long I've dragged this whole thing out doesn't help. I mostly bring this up because the thought of doing a rewrite of the entire story has crossed my mind. I haven't started one nor am I planning to, it's just something I've thought about. I feel like I might be able to make the story better if I did, but like I said no plans for it just yet. In any event, sorry for yet another long hiatus. I've learned by now to never make promises about faster update times but it never hurts to apologize I guess.
Alright, now that we have that miserable opening out of the way, welcome to chapter 9. I don't really have anything else to say right now so on with the show!
"I'll never understand how she gets around so fast?" Mathias said as he and Elsa searched around the square outside the castle.
"I've been wondering that her whole life." Elsa responded. They'd been looking for Anna and Kristoff for a while. But with the large area and crowd, they hadn't spotted them. "I thought pregnancy would slow her down at least a little bit."
"Evidently not yet." As they continue their search, Elsa notices that much like outside the walls, people are watching them and whispering as they pass. A few had been bold enough to strike up conversation with them, but most had simply offered whatever wares they were selling before realizing who they were and drawing back a bit.
"I'd have thought we'd be a little bit more harassed here inside the city."
"By nobility and dignitaries sure. But these are hunters and merchants. The last thing they want is to bother a visiting noble."
"But you're their prince, shouldn't they at least show you proper respect?"
"I wasn't exactly an out and about member of the royal family when I lived here. I hardly ever left the castle, and I doubt most knew who I was when I did." Mathias looked at another group who were whispering among themselves before quickly falling silent when they realized they were being watched. "And now all they know is that I can shoot lightning out of my hands. Doesn't exactly help in a kingdom of people that fear magic more than just about anything else."
"You just need time to earn their trust. I've told you before, I had the same problem in Arendelle for a while when people learned about my powers."
"Arendelle doesn't have stories about magical foxes and evil witches to keep them fearful. They're also generally much friendlier." They found themselves near the edge of the plaza, toward one of the many narrow roads that branched into the city. Looking around for Anna and Kristoff, Mathias spotted Oliver conversing with a few guardsmen. Elsa noticed him too and they seemed to understand each other's idea. Maybe Oliver had seen them. Oliver looked their way as they approached and excused himself from his conversation.
"Elsa, Mathias. Did you get settled in?"
"We did. Father escorted us to the castle but unfortunately had to excuse himself to tend to other business." Mathias said.
"He feared as much. He had planned to more or less take today off to oversee your arrival. Alas things have been far too busy."
"Father mentioned some delays in regard to organizing events for the hunt."
"Indeed. The large crowd the hunt has gathered would be enough trouble to deal with, but…" Oliver trails off.
Elsa and Mathias exchange a glance before Mathias asks, "What else has been going on?"
"Some...odd things have happened over the last few days. It's more than likely nothing, but father has been worried regardless. I've been doing my best to try and deal with those things so he can focus on the hunt." Oliver sighs before saying, "In any event, It's nothing for you to worry about. Are you two out here to enjoy some festivities?"
"Looking for my sister actually." Elsa responded. "Have you seen her or Kristoff?"
"I may have. They were a bit away and I couldn't entirely turn my focus to them, but I believe I saw them on the far side of the square near where the road runs to the eastern gate." As Oliver gestured in the direction he'd seen them, another guard approached and said, "Pardon my interruption your majesty, but the captain sent me to find you. There's an urgent matter at the barracks that requires your attention." Oliver nodded and turned back to Elsa and Mathias. "Apologies, it seems like duty calls."
"We understand. You said near the road to the eastern gate?" Mathias asked. Oliver nodded.
"We'll check that way, thank you Oliver." Elsa replied.
"You're welcome. If I see them this way or back towards the castle, I'll send someone to let you know." Elsa and Mathias nodded their thanks before heading in the Direction Oliver pointed them in.
"There's a second gate into the city?" Elsa asked.
"Yeah, it leads toward the forest. Father says it started as a hole broken into the wall from the old war with the wild tribes that used to live in the forests. After the war, the current king had it converted into a gate." As they neared the edge of the square, they saw Anna and Kristoff at one of the merchant stalls. Kristoff was handing some coins to the merchant as Anna tied a new cloak around herself. Anna noticed them as they approached and waved.
"I wondered when you two were going to find us." Anna said.
"It would've helped if you didn't have a habit of running off." Elsa jokingly scolded.
"I couldn't help it. There's so many cool things we passed on the way in. Plus look," Anna did a twirl to show off her cloak, "I got a new cloak." Unlike her usual pink and purple cloak, this one was mostly a deep brown with crimson accents.
"It suits you." Elsa replied, "And it matches the colors here well."
"I know right? And it has a hood." She proudly declared as she reached back and pulled the hood up and a bit over her face. "Now I can look vague and mysterious."
Mathias chuckled before replying, "Get you a sword and you'd look like some kind of assassin or bodyguard."
"That's me. Anna, princess of Arendelle and bodyguard to the king and queen."
"Oh no you don't." Kristoff chimed in. "If you're bodyguarding that means I have to bodyguard you."
"He's right Anna. Besides, you're pregnant now, no rushing into danger." Elsa said.
"Alright, fair point." Anna said. "Still, the cloak makes me look cool. And I'm still gonna make a habit of carrying the sword."
Elsa laughed at her sister's antics before saying, "So, did you find anything else interesting while you two wandered around?"
"Mostly a lot of animal pelts. There was this one shop that was selling all kinds of weapons though. They hand these huge two handed axes like out of a war story. And lots of hunting bows and crossbows." Elsa grimaced a little at the mention of crossbows. Ever since her encounter with the duke of Weselton's men in her ice castle, she'd never been comfortable around them. Anna noticed her face and said, "Sorry, I forgot you hated crossbows."
"That's alright. As long as they stay pointed away from me I'll be okay. Now come on, let's see if there's anything else interesting out here." The four of them wandered around the various shops and stalls in the square, Occasionally stopping when an item piqued someone's interest. Kristoff briefly considered buying a large pickaxe from one of the weapon stalls, saying it would be excellent for cutting ice before deciding against it. Anna managed to convince Elsa to buy a new cloak of her own, minus the hood, in a deep navy blue.
As they found themselves moving back towards the center of the square, they noticed a bit of a crowd gathered around what looked like an older hunter, standing atop a wooden box exaggeratedly telling a story.
"He's drawn quite a crowd." Mathias said.
"He's certainly enthusiastic." Elsa agreed, "I wonder what he's talking about."
"Let's listen." Anna says excitedly. They stood on the edge of the crowd but could still hear the hunter excitedly continue.
"So there I was, lining up to take the shot. And mind you, this was perhaps the biggest buck I've ever seen. Antlers out like this." The hunter holds his arms out wide before continuing. "When suddenly, I hear a sound behind me in the forest like cracking sticks." The hunter stops and turns to look behind himself, mimicking the actions of his story. "I turned around to see what was making the ruckus, but didn't see anything. But as you can imagine, all this noise spooked the deer. Before I could turn back and make a shot he was gone into the woods, impossible to hit through the branches." The hunter held up his bow and mimicked the motion of drawing an arrow before releasing it with an angry sigh. "And that's when I heard the noise of the sticks cracking again. I turned back, and saw some bushes shifting around. I said to myself, 'Guess if I can't have the deer, I'll make a trophy of what cost me it.' " A few of the other hunters gathered and the crowd let out some cheers in agreement.
When the crowd quiets down, the hunter continues, "So I draw my bow again, the bushes still shaking around." The hunter once again draws an imaginary arrow. "I aim right for the center and fire. The bushes stop and then...silence." The crowd cheers again. "Aye I cheered myself too. Then I walked over to the bushes, pulled them aside...and nothing. Nothing was there, not even my arrow." The crowd goes quiet before a few whisper among themselves. "So there I am, no animal and down an arrow, when I hear it. A laugh, a little cackle behind me." A few in the crowd gasp, seemingly know what he's about to say. The hunter is quiet for a moment, then says in a much quieter voice, "I turned around, slow and terrified, and saw the little devil. Midnight black fur, dark amber eyes, holding my arrow in his teeth and letting out his awful little laugh."
A few in the crowd gasp and one asks, "What did you do?"
"What did I do? I ran, that's what I did. I tell you I've never run so fast in my life. Dropped my bow and quiver and hightailed it back to my camp as fast as I could. Completely out of breath by the time I got there." The hunter again waits for the crowd to quiet down before saying, "And then, after a moment of catching my breath, I see it. There, sitting on the bed roll in my tent, a single arrow." The crowd gasps and a few of the hunters begin speaking to the one telling the story.
"Well that's it then, you're cursed."
"Yep, sorry friend. You'll never hunt properly again." As the hunters continue talking and the crowd begins to disperse, Anna looks over at Mathias and says, "So, what exactly was he talking about?"
"A black fox story by the sound of it." Mathias replied.
"What's so bad about a black fox?"
"It's an old legend around here. A magical fox that curses and in some tales blesses peoples hunts. Elsa and I heard another hunter mention it a few days ago when we stopped at that border town."
Elsa nodded. "It seems another hunter claims to have been cursed."
Anna shuddered, "Sounds creepy, do you think it's true?"
"I've never seen a black fox before but I've only ever been to the forest here a couple times. And considering some of the things I know lived out there," Mathias said in reference to the witch that had cursed him, "You never know."
Kristoff rubbed his chin in thought before saying, "You know when I was a kid, there was an ice harvester who once said he used to hunt in the south. Told us that he'd been cursed and wanted to get as far away as possible and that's why he came to Arendelle. Maybe he thought he'd seen the fox."
"Like I said, you never know. Anyway, we should probably head back to the castle." Mathias looked at the clouds looming over the mountain and and city. "That storm is about to break." As they start making their way back toward the castle, Mathias' prediction comes true and it begins to rain. First lightly before it begins to pour down.
When they reach the castle doors, they see Oliver speaking to a guard. When he notices them approaching he turns to them and says, "Ah, perfect timing Mathias. Now I don't have to send anyone to find you."
"Am I needed for something?"
"Nothing serious. I spoke with father and he should be done with preparation duties for the day. He asked that I find you. He said something about having a talk before tonight's celebrations." Mathias nodded when a crack of thunder roared overhead and the rain began to come down even harder.
Oliver looks out at the clouds and says, "Quite the storms we've been having lately."
"Honestly I've kind of missed it." Mathias replied. "I think the last time I heard thunder I didn't cause was before I left."
Oliver looks at the clouds for another moment before asking, "Mathias, if you wanted to, could you make this storm stop?"
Mathias thought about it. He didn't actually know. "Now that I think about it, I've never actually stopped a storm I didn't create."
"It's worth a shot." Elsa said. "And I think the people here might appreciate it." She gestured toward all the people pulling on cloaks and coats in an effort to stay dry.
Mathias looked at the people in the square, then back up at the clouds. He looked down at the mark on his hand, and it seemed to glow with anticipation. With a deep breath he throws his hand up and launches a blast of lightning magic up towards the clouds, not really sure what he's doing but it feels right. Those nearby gasp and all the eyes in the square turn up and watch the lightning fly toward the clouds. When it makes contact, lightning begins to spread out from the center of the clouds. When it reaches the edge, the clouds suddenly vanish with a crack of thunder. The rain stopped shortly after the clouds vanished.
There is silence for a few moments before Mathias feels all the eyes in the square turn to him. There's a few murmurs among the people and many begin excitedly speaking to each other.
"So it's true. He really can control storms!"
"A whole storm, gone. With a wave of his hand."
"What an amazing power."
Oliver let out a short awed laugh. "Father told me your power was a spectacle to see, but to actually see it," He pauses and looks into the sky where the dark storm clouds used to be. "That was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen."
"It's...not a big deal." Mathias said quietly.
"Not a big deal? That was amazing."
The crowd around them continued to talk excitedly among themselves while looking at Mathias. Elsa too looked at Mathias and could tell all the attention was making him uncomfortable. "I think perhaps we should continue this conversation inside."
Oliver nodded in agreement. "Indeed, father did ask that we try and avoid making a spectacle of you." The group all head inside, but before the door closes, Oliver takes one last look at the now mostly clear sky and says, "Still, that was truly incredible."
On the far edge of the square but within line of sight of the castle entrance, a lone figure in a black cloak stands near one of the roads leading off into the city. After watching the doors to the castle close, they cast their eyes up to the sky. Looking for a while at the now clear sky. The figure turns to go down the road before taking one last look at the sky, their eyes briefly flashing a bright green before saying, "Truly incredible indeed."
Ex: Well, I don't think that's the longest break we've ever had.
Elsa: After that miserable opening I suppose we can call that good news.
Ex: Hey if I'm writing you into the outro that means I'm feeling better.
Elsa: So no rewrite?
Ex: Not for now. I'm just glad this chapter turned out as long as it did. Anyway, review, follow, possibly favorite? I don't know how many if any people are still waiting on this story to be done but if you are, thanks for sticking with me. I'd say hopefully I'll see you guys soon, but really it's probably see you in seven months.
Elsa: Don't be so negative, I still think we can turn this around. See you guys next time!