The small group halted at Elsa's signal. Aodhan, beside her, questioned her with a look, but Kristoff couldn't contain his impatience:
"Why are we stopping, Elsa?"
He was visibly annoyed, his eyes fixed on Arendelle standing before them. Since they had left the Northuldra camp, his behavior had been generally terrible, but no one blamed him. All that mattered to him was saving the woman he loved as quickly as possible.
Ahead, the city stood in the fjord, barely visible behind the cloud of darkness covering it. The shadows moved lazily with the fresh wind, rising and falling like the belly of a giant menacing creature. Under the moonlight, only the highest tower of the castle stood out from the cloud, a valiant and unwavering sentinel contrasting against the night's cloak, with stars reflecting on its ice-covered roof.
"We need to reassess," Elsa explained, trying to mask the apprehension in her voice.
"Again?" Kristoff sighed. "Sorry, but we've spent two days planning an attack; I think we all know what to do. Who knows what Roderick is doing to Anna?"
Elsa felt a wave of panic rising as she glanced between Kristoff and Arendelle. She was torn between the urgency to save her sister that her heart was crying out for, and the caution that reason whispered.
A hand rested on her shoulder. She turned and saw Mattias's face, a reassuring smile on his lips that couldn't hide his grave expression. Behind him, about twenty soldiers, the best of Arendelle's guard, were murmuring their confusion. The other soldiers had stayed at the Northuldra camp to protect the refugees in case of an attack.
"Normally, I would advise caution," he said softly. "But this time, I agree with Kristoff. We all know what we need to do, and Queen Anna needs us. We are ready."
"Alright."
Elsa nodded and turned to Aodhan, who immediately tried to smile, but it quickly turned into a grimace. Strapped to his back was the Narwhal horn, gray and dull.
During the two-day journey to Arendelle, he had tried to invoke its light power, to no avail. Sometimes the horn would make a slight twitch, sometimes it would faintly light up before dimming again. Despite his attempts, neither he nor the other group members could understand how to use the horn.
"We'll make it, Aodhan," she assured him.
"I hope so. At worst, if the horn doesn't work..."
"We'll save Anna first and leave Arendelle until we figure out how to use the horn," Kristoff completed. "Can we go now?"
Elsa turned to Mattias, who glanced at his soldiers before nodding at her. They were ready.
It was time to save Arendelle.
As they approached the city, they realized the size of the dark fog stretching before them and rising high above their heads. The wind grew stronger, becoming a real gale that forced them to struggle to move forward when they were only a few meters away.
"Are we sure this fog is safe?" Aodhan shouted to be heard over the wind's whistle.
"No, but it looks like the whirlwind that took Anna!" Kristoff shouted back. "I don't see why it would have hurt her! Anyway, there's only one way to find out!"
He rushed into the fog and disappeared inside, to Elsa's surprised exclamation. Several seconds passed as they waited in silence, their anxiety growing until they finally heard:
"So far, so good!"
Aodhan sighed in relief, and they all relaxed. They crossed the wall of darkness together, which reminded Elsa of when she had first entered the Enchanted Forest.
Arendelle was unrecognizable. The streets were grim, the wooden frames creaked, and the buildings, half-hidden by the fog, appeared as menacing silhouettes looming over the group. The once lively and joyous streets were now deserted and abandoned. Dark smoke wisps rose from the ground as if evil seeped from the earth itself.
They joined Kristoff, who had stopped in the middle of the square where Anna had been crowned a few weeks earlier. They looked around, the soldiers and Aodhan drawing their swords, Elsa ready to use her magic.
"It's too quiet," Kristoff murmured.
Aodhan and Elsa agreed. The silence was so oppressive they felt like their ears were blocked, except for the now-calm wind's whistle inside the fog.
"Watch out!" Mattias suddenly exclaimed.
He threw himself in front of Elsa, sword and shield raised.
Another wisp of smoke rose from the ground, but this one, instead of evaporating into the air, seemed to solidify. A shape appeared, crouched, clawed, and two yellow eyes opened, watching them.
The shadow let out a piercing scream and lunged at them. With a skillful sword strike, Mattias split the creature before it could do anything. But it was too late: its scream had alerted all the shadows lurking around them.
Suddenly, it was as if a sea of darkness surrounded them. The ground trembled under their feet, and their movements produced a low rumble resembling storm waves. The shadows approached, forming a mass that gained height as they climbed over each other. They were clearly unaware of each other, their only goal being the intruders before them.
"Go!" Mattias shouted. "We'll hold them back!"
Kristoff dashed toward Arendelle's castle. Aodhan, with his free hand, grabbed Elsa's and followed suit. The young woman glanced back: the shadow wave had fallen upon the soldiers, who were shouting orders and battle cries.
Mattias wielded his sword, slashing at shadows that got too close to him. But the more he eliminated, the more reappeared, like an endless cycle. It took more than that, however, to discourage the guard chief, who had fought for thirty-four years in the Enchanted Forest. Kristoff and Aodhan turned into an adjacent street, and she lost sight of Mattias.
They stopped short. Before them, a real wall of shadows blocked their path. The most agile ones rushed forward, claws outstretched. Aodhan rushed to face Kristoff and Elsa and spun his sword; the shadows vanished before they could get close to his friends. But other creatures were approaching dangerously, swallowing the walls and cobblestones in their path.
Aodhan tried to project a burst of flames at them, but they quickly disappeared, swallowed by the shadows with no apparent damage. Elsa then stepped forward, extended her hands, and conjured ice. She formed a real wall before the shadows, taller than the houses, as wide as the street, against which the creatures crashed with a clatter. Their claws' screeching against the ice drilled their ears as they tried to dig through it.
"This way!" Kristoff shouted.
He opened a house door, and they rushed inside. For safety, Elsa froze the door, and they found themselves plunged into darkness.
"Are you okay?" Aodhan asked.
The others confirmed, panting.
"I still think we should have called on the stone giants," Kristoff commented.
"We must avoid causing damage to the city," Elsa replied.
"We can't see anything here," Aodhan said. "Wait, I'll create a flame..."
Before he could do anything, however, a violet glow appeared under the door they had just closed. To their amazement, a small creature squeezed under the door, melted a hole in the ice, and slipped through.
"The fire spirit?" Elsa wondered.
The small salamander looked at them with its bulging eyes, tongue hanging out, looking curious.
"He must have followed us here."
Elsa bent to catch it, but the fire spirit jumped into Aodhan's hands, who had to juggle to avoid getting burned. The salamander seemed to enjoy being tossed in the air each time it found itself high up.
Finally, it calmed its flames, and the young man could hold it in his cupped hands. The spirit projected enough light to illuminate the shop they were in – evidently a clothing store, judging by the mannequins' silhouettes standing out in the darkness, making them shiver. Outside, the shadows growled, passing through the streets and shaking the ground and windows, but they had apparently lost their trace for the moment.
"Let's go; there must be a way out in the back," Kristoff assured, moving forward.
They advanced, carefully dodging the mannequins.
"So that's the fire spirit?" Aodhan asked, observing the salamander, visibly disappointed. "I expected something more... impressive."
The creature looked at him innocently, licking its snout.
"You haven't seen him at his full power," Elsa replied. "He nearly burned down the Northuldra camp and the entire forest the first time I met him."
Aodhan wondered how such a small creature could be so dangerous, but he refrained from saying so.
Kristoff peeked out of the doorframe, looked both ways, then stepped out of the building.
"It's clear," he whispered.
The others followed him into the street.
The low rumble of the shadows echoed all around them. Even if they hadn't been spotted yet, they knew the creatures were swarming nearby. They had to hurry. In the distance, the clash of soldiers' blades against the shadows' claws rang out, and Elsa shivered. She hoped everyone would make it out unharmed.
Above the rooftops, the castle towers loomed closer. The group's pulse quickened as they neared their goal, dreading the confrontation that awaited them.
A shadow suddenly emerged in front of them, lurching from a side street. Much larger than its kin, its heavy breathing filled the air as it slowly turned its head to look at them. They took a step back, but the fire spirit leaped from Aodhan's hands, advanced on the cobblestones, and stopped to face the enormous creature.
It lowered its head, and its face split into a massive maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. Bending toward the salamander, it let out a long, very long, guttural roar, so loud it made the three others stagger. The fire spirit tilted its head, seemingly curious.
The monster's mouth closed, but the echo of its roar still reverberated through the streets and the group's ears. The fire spirit spun around once, amused, a wide smile on its tiny snout, then faced the shadow again and ignited.
Its flame grew, and grew, until it reached several meters high and matched the shadow in size. It was surely just an illusion, but Aodhan swore the shadow's shoulders sagged. The salamander licked its snout once more, let out a small, amused cry, and dashed forward to play with its new friend.
Terrified by the flames, the shadow took a few steps back, then fled down the streets, chased by the fire spirit's gigantic flames.
The group stood there for a few moments, trying to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
"I take back what I said," Aodhan declared.
They resumed their journey and rushed toward the long bridge connecting the castle to Arendelle. Behind them, the shadow monster continued to howl, but they couldn't tell if it was out of anger or fear.
They stopped again. The castle of Arendelle loomed before them, caught in a storm of darkness swirling around its towers. They only had to cross the stone bridge to reach the courtyard gates.
But the bridge was swarming with a sea of shadows forming a dense, writhing mass, their thousands of eyes fixed on them like menacing stars in an entirely black sky. Their misshapen silhouettes twisted and moved with frightening agility, producing a sinister and oppressive rustling sound.
"My ice won't be enough to clear a path," Elsa murmured, growing more anxious.
"Is there no other way to the castle?" Aodhan asked.
Elsa shook her head, unable to tear her gaze away from the shadows slowly advancing toward them.
A small whistle sounded in their ears, and orange leaves fluttered around them, lifting their cloaks and coats.
"What the...?" Aodhan exclaimed.
Another joyful whistle echoed, and a gust of wind tousled his hair. He turned to Elsa, looking puzzled, while she tried to suppress a smile.
"It's Gale, the wind spirit," she explained. "Can you help us with... that?" she asked the spirit, pointing at the shadows.
With another whistle, Gale swirled around the small group, and its leaves suddenly fell. For a few seconds, they thought it had left.
Abruptly, a powerful gust blew across the bridge, forming whirlwinds capable of tearing the roof off a house. They swept over the shadows, who had no time to react and were thrown off the bridge. The creatures screamed in rage and terror as they were blown back, unable to resist the devastating force of the wind spirit. With astonishing ease, Gale carved a path through the mass of shadows and, carried by its momentum, smashed through the castle wall gates with a deafening crash.
Elsa, Aodhan, and Kristoff hurried to follow in its wake, even as the shadows climbed back onto the bridge behind them at an alarming pace. They quickened their pace, running until they were out of breath, but the shadows gained more and more ground. A veritable black wave surged as the creatures regrouped, causing a roaring, rumbling noise. They were now so close that the group could feel their claws tearing at the edges of their clothes. The creatures tried to grab them, to pull them into the void.
They all dashed behind the heavy doors, which Gale closed with a powerful blast. The shadows crashed against them, attempting to break through, but the spirit held firm. The shadows grew more numerous, stronger, and Gale surely wouldn't hold out much longer.
"Go on!" Kristoff exclaimed. "I'll try to build a barricade to help Gale!"
"But..." Elsa began.
"No time to argue, get into the castle!"
He approached Elsa and gently took her by the shoulders, a smile playing on his lips.
"Bring Anna back so I can give her a good kick in the butt."
She smiled back and nodded. Kristoff then turned to Aodhan.
"And you, be careful!"
Without waiting for a response, he ran to all corners of the courtyard, looking for anything that could help him reinforce a barricade. Trying to ignore the pounding of the shadows against the doors, which echoed like a sinister rhythm, Aodhan and Elsa finally entered the castle, letting out a sigh of relief.
To their great surprise, the place was completely deserted. Even the fog that enveloped the outside seemed to have abandoned the castle. Roderick probably believed he didn't need it here, in his own domain.
"If I were a mad, dangerous, power-hungry king, where would I wait for my enemies?" Aodhan asked.
"The throne room," Elsa replied grimly. "Let's go."
"Wait."
Aodhan stepped over to one of the armors decorating the wall and took its sword. He returned to Elsa, and under her questioning gaze, explained:
"You never know, Anna might need to defend herself against the shadows too."
She nodded in agreement, and they ascended the grand staircase in the hall, their steps echoing in the stifling silence.
They reached the large doors leading to the throne room. They heard no noise from the other side. Elsa glanced at Aodhan, ready to use her ice, her hand on the cold door handle. The young man nodded gravely, his hands gripping the handles of the Narwhal's Thorn and the sword taken from the armor. Apprehension quickened their hearts, the metallic taste of blood in their mouths. But despite everything, they were resolute. It was time to end this.
With her heart pounding and breath trembling, Elsa pushed open the door.