Shout out to Chronos500 for the follow and favorite.
Elsa was tired, after the news about the Southern Isles being possibly invaded, an all out argument ensued as to how they would respond. The first suggestion to be offered what that they immediately send their military forces to provide support to the kingdom. The blonde had to dissuade such an action reasoning that they had no idea if it was truly an invasion plus there were still diplomatic options they could pursue. Hearing that the Queen of Arendelle was reluctant to send support, one of the delegates all but accused her of wanting the Southern Isles to be invaded as revenge for Hans' attempt on her life.
She immediately denied the accusation and said that Arendelle would be the first to lend support if it turned out to be an invasion. That to her current predicament, with her saying that and wanting to keep things diplomatic, she needed to send an envoy to the Southern Isles. She could easily tell that many wanted her to personally go.
Despite her age and being a single ruler, Elsa was a very capable negotiator. She was able to solve disputes between other kingdoms that would've ended in arm conflicts. In fact, during the year of her reign, there had been multiple kingdoms who've asked for her opinion on matters that proved to be quite beneficial to all parties. If there was an invasion happening in the Southern Isles, a successful diplomat would be a good choice to send.
There was also the fact that she had ice magic.
The stories surrounding her powers circled around the kingdoms quite quickly. They made her out to be some omnipotent being who was able to defeat any enemy with a flick of her fingers. While this was partially true, that she could potentially defeat any foe with a flick of her fingers, there were also people out there who could combat her magic. The first person to come to mind was Zavis who showed absolutely no fear when she showed him her magic. There was also Edward and Ahimoth who both admitted to meeting other Elementals and almost being killed by them.
While Elsa had confidence in her magic, she knew that she had no battle experience. Her main objective would just be to capture her opponents and not actually hurt them. Even when those two men from Weselton tried to kill her in her ice palace, she did her utmost to just capture them. During the fight, however, her emotions began to get the better of her when she found that she had more power than them and they were foolish to try and kill her.
For a very short moment, she touched a dark part of her mind that pushed her to almost skewer one man and push another off to his death. The scary part to her was that she didn't even consider that she was about to kill them, only that if she took this course of action they wouldn't be able to counter her. When Hans ran in and told her that she shouldn't be the monster that they feared her to be, she realized in horror that she was about to kill someone.
Even though she now knew he said that to get her to stop and give him an opening to capture her without killing her, she still took those words to heart. She wasn't a monster that people feared her to be, she would always do her best to never use her powers to hurt someone else. Strategically, that put her at a disadvantage against anyone who wanted to kill her, namely Zavis who could tell that she had no intention of killing him. If she were to go and it was an invasion planned by Weselton who she expected to still hold a grudge against her, she knew it would turn violent.
She could just freeze the entire castle and anyone in a large radius of her but that would invite casualties of friend and foe. If she tried to capture every single hostile enemy, there was a chance one of her allies would get in the way or she would eventually make a mistake that would lead to her downfall. The two times she'd been able to capture a crossbow bolt before it hit her were pure luck in her opinion. Had she not been facing their direction, she would've been skewered and with kingdoms arming themselves with flintlocks and cannons, any one stray shot would be the death of her.
There have been times she'd seen Edward and Stonewell train with the other guards and against one another. They were purposeful in their attacks and acted on instinct, more than anything, they were fast. Much faster than she thought would be possible for a human being. When Stonewell swept Edward's feet from under him, she expected the young man to fall, not catch himself on one hand and move to avoid another attack. Similarly, she could hardly follow the swings he sent the Captain's way who was able to block them as well as counter them while making his own opening.
They had the battle experience to react to dangers that others wouldn't be able to, that included her. While she may have more power than both of them, Elsa knew that if she met someone with the same amount of experience as those two that truly wanted to kill her, she would be at a massive disadvantage. As such, she had no desire to waltz into a potential battlefield that could result in the loss of life for her people.
With that being said, she already told the delegates that she would be the first to respond. She could assemble them again and tell them she made a mistake but it would undermine her credibility. She needed to figure something out quickly, which was why she was on her way to her study. Elsa had dismissed Hector for the night, telling him that she'd be staying in royal wing which had its own roster of guards who she had learned the names and faces of during each rotation. The blonde kept detailed records as well as maps outlining old troop movements of other kingdoms in the past. She had a general idea where the Weselton fleet came from, she was hoping that perhaps she could send an envoy in the opposite direction and land on another shore. With the Southern Isles being made up of multiple islands, she could lessen the visibility of the envoy and let them observe the kingdom to see if it was truly safe or not.
As she entered the door into her study, she wasn't too surprised to see her sister waiting for her with a slight pout.
"Elsa, there you are! I've been waiting for you all day! Kai already said that your summit meeting ended a few hours ago and that you said that there were some brief errands you had to attend to."
The blonde winced when she remembered speaking with the butler. She knew that Anna would be looking for her after the summit meeting, so she told him to let her know she would be busy for a brief time. The 'errands' she had to run where actually meetings with Stonewell as well as General Victor Simon who was in charge of Arendelle's formal military. The two men both disagreed with the notion of her traveling to the Southern Isles in fear for her safety. Instead they felt that an ambassador should go with guards to appraise the situation.
It was a logical suggestion but it was one that would take time, time she didn't know the alliance members would be willing to wait. While she left to think about it, she was approached by King Alrick who had a suggestion.
He offered to send some of his men to meet her envoy in the Southern Isles to help the situation. He expressed that their main objective would be protection but that they were also perfectly capable of crippling an invasion force by targeting the chain of command. That would buy Arendelle time to mobilize a force to help assist the Southern Isles.
It was also a very logical suggestion but it raised a flag in her head. From since she met him, Alrick always talked of peace, sure the threat against his kingdom forced his hand to respond but he repeatedly expressed wanting to be in an era of peace. Yet here he was offering to send men to a conflict that didn't concern his kingdom, if he was a formal part of their alliance, it would be different but presently he was still just a guest. Even if his force was able to completely annihilate the invasion force, that would only further raise the chance of war breaking out with Weselton.
One that could easily find itself on Blackdust's still recovering shores.
She told him that she'd consider his offer and give him an answer before he left in two days. For now, she wanted to really take a moment to think about all possible angles and routes this situation could progress.
"I'm sorry Anna, business just took a little longer than it should have and honestly I'm feeling a little tired so can we just do whatever you have planned tomorrow?"
If it were any other occasion Elsa might've gotten away with it, but it was her birthday, and there was nothing that was going to stop her sister from celebrating it.
"Sorry Elsa but today's your birthday and I gave you a lot of slack already. Besides, it's nothing big, you'll be in and out in an hour. Hour and a half tops." The blonde sighed as her little sister all but dragged her through the royal wing. Before long the two of them were in front of a door that Elsa knew led into a parlor where they usually spend family time in. The redhead put her back against the door and gave her sister a sheepish smile.
"Try and act surprised."
"You know Anna a surprise party is only a surprise if I'm not expecting it."
Her little sister shrugged before opening the door and pulling her inside. The first thing the blonde registered was that it was dark, extremely so. There must've been heavy black curtains obscuring the windows so that the moon wouldn't be able to shine light through. Elsa felt Anna let go of her hand and she was instantly blindly searching in the dark.
Her first instinct was to cast a small amount of snow magic to illuminate her immediate surroundings but all that did was give away where she was. Something soft wrapped around her midsection as well as her other arm and pulled her a short distance causing her to yelp. She was about to freeze it to break free but she was instantly let go and a fire behind her illuminated the room.
"SURPRISE!"
The fire showed Anna, Kristoff, Sven, Olaf, Kai, Gerda, and an unknown brown haired man and woman standing before her. While she was somewhat expecting them to say surprise, hearing it made the blonde jump a bit and freeze the floor underneath her. She felt herself begin to fall backwards but then a thick blonde material of some kind fell from above to wrap around her and steady her.
Looking up, Elsa just now saw a pair of dangling feet wiggling from the rafters where the blonde material came from. When she squinted, she could make out a petite woman with blonde hair and a pink dress waving at her. Elsa's eyes widened when she saw the woman lean forward and showed that her hair was quite longer than she would've thought possible. When the young woman swung down using her hair, Elsa's eyes almost fell out of her head and she couldn't seem to close her mouth.
"Hi, I'm Rapunzel, it's nice to meet you your Majesty."
The Queen in her told her to close her mouth and respond appropriately but she was still shell-shocked about the woman's hair. It was almost impossible for hair to grow that much, even more so that she never noticed until they were standing in the same room. Thankfully her little sister decided to come in and snap her out of her trance.
"Well looks like you're still surprised. Can't really blame you, just wait until you hear the story behind it. Anyway it's time you meet our other two guests. The man is Princess Rapunzel's husband, Eugene Fitzherbert…"
It was at that moment Eugene decided to introduce himself.
"A pleasure Your Majesty, perhaps you've heard of me, brave adventurer, swashbuckling hero, handsome rogue with a heart of gold, most…"
"...annoying person to ever live."
And that was the moment that the woman decided to speak.
"Your Majesty please forgive this oaf's outburst. I keep asking Princess Rapunzel to leave him behind until he learns proper manners however she sees that he is able to do so, which would be true if he actually possessed a brain."
Eugene faked laughed quite loudly as he made his way toward the woman. "You're a gem Cassandra, really you are, but shouldn't you be, I don't know folding sheets or something? You are just a handmaiden after all, even though you certainly lack the refinement to even be one."
The two of them instantly began to bicker which made Anna and Rapunzel laugh while everyone else just watched with interest. That seemed to knock some sense into Elsa who debated for a moment if she should stop them from arguing. She caught a few words here and there that made her clamp a hand on her mouth with how funny it was.
"I'm sorry about those two, they may act like they hate each other, probably believe it too but deep down, they're good friends. Anyway, I just wanted to say happy birthday from Corona. My father, the King, asked me to pass you regards from him and my mother since they had some business to attend to. Apparently, my father said he was close friends with your parents a long time ago."
Elsa thought for a moment about King Frederic and remembered her father did say that he had a good friend he called 'Freddy' from his younger days. It never occurred to her that they were of the same man.
"Why thank you, and don't apologize, I'm sure you can see that even here me and Anna have our fair share of odd people." Olaf and Sven were too engrossed in the argument to hear that little crack but Kristoff sent her a joking look before turning back to the main source of entertainment.
"Yes, a walking and talking snowman is definitely out there but believe it or not, we've seen our fair share of strange and magical things."
"Well I would be quite interested in hearing about them."
Anna clapped her hands to gather everyone's attention. Eugene and Cassandra stopped arguing to give the redhead her attention who whirled around the room before producing a cake that was hiding under a sheet.
"Well before we do all that, I think we should first sing Elsa happy birthday then move on to presents!"
Olaf instantly squealed and hopped down from Sven's back before waddling to the cake. When he was in front of everyone, he cleared his throat and was about to sing which Anna, Kristoff, and Sven instantly prepared for by plugging their ears away from the snowman's eye sight. Elsa on the other hand, braced herself for the song. It wasn't that Olaf couldn't sing, it just was that when he was really excited for celebrations, his voice cracked quite loudly.
Last time on Anna's birthday, she said that she could hear a dull ringing in her ears for a few hours after Olaf finished his happy birthday song. Doctor Steward said that she had slightly damaged her hearing and it would heal given time. So the three of them tried getting Olaf to lower his volume whenever he really sang but whenever he was really happy his volume would go up. To avoid hurting his feelings, they all secretly agreed to just cover their ears whenever he sang.
Unfortunately the person he was singing to, had to endure the little song.
When she watched him take a deep breath, she looked over to the guests from Corona and flashed them an apologetic smile.
Edward was currently sprinting toward the castle all the while cursing himself in his head. It was quite late with the moon being out and signalling the day was almost over. Mr. Jorgen had taken him to his office to discuss possible ideas for Elsa's gift, which the older man didn't know who it was for. They had spent the better part of a few hours discussing when a dock worker rushed into the office saying there was an accident.
While they were loading some crates onto trader ships as well as visiting dignitaries, one of the boards on the dock gave out and sent a crates into the sea. When Mr. Jorgen took inventory of what fell, Edward saw the older man's face fall. It seemed the crate was a personal storage for one of the visiting royals. As a harbormaster he was able to get a complete inventory of all crates and had an estimated value on all items.
The royal who owned the crate insisted that it was priceless, upon inspecting the contents Mr. Jorgen could see what why. There were expensive jewelry as well as gems and other valuable trinkets inside the crate, all safely packed incase the crate fell onto the ground. Too bad it fell into the ocean and could still be sinking for all they knew.
The older man's face paled as he thought about having to explain to the royal that the crate was unfortunately lost. He would obviously be blamed and accused of stealing the riches for himself which he would never do. Edward asked why not just dive for it and bring it up, when he was working at the docks he noticed they had access to diving bells. They were old yet still looked to be in functional shape.
Mr. Jorgen replied that even though they could use them, the chain that could hold it couldn't make up half the distance that rested between the seafloor and the shore. Someone would have to swim down, tie a sturdy line to the crate and attach it to the diving bell. The problem was, the distance between the seafloor and diving bell would be almost impossible for anyone to dive down to with all that water on top of them.
Edward thought about it for a moment and wondered if he'd be able to dive down that far. His bones and muscles were strengthened but his organs were still very much human. Back when he had access to Wrath's healing abilities, he could regrow his organs but now that he can't he didn't know if he could survive down there. Still though, Mr. Jorgen was a good man, if there was anything the young man could do to help, he'd try.
So Edward convince the older man to let him dive under and see what he could do. It took time, but the young man found himself in the diving bell. He only took off the greatcoat and kept his long sleeved shirt and gloves on so they wouldn't see his left arm. When he hit the water, he then remembered that it was winter time as the water was beyond cold, however with his breath held he couldn't vocalize it.
The older man insisted that Edward have a line of rope tied to him so if he felt that he was about to drown, they could heave him up just in case. As the diving bell continued to sink until it reached the length of the chain, Edward squinted his eyes and could vaguely make out the seafloor. Swimming under the bell to replenish his air supply, he took another deep breath before diving even deeper into the sea.
He could feel the pressure beginning to exert itself on his body yet it wasn't enough to bother him. Before long he made it to the bottom and took a look around the floor. Fish swam past him as he searched for the crate. After a while he felt his air supply beginning to diminish so he went back up to the diving bell to get more air. When he finished, Edward went back down the seafloor to continue searching, it took a few trips but he was able to find the crate. It was still unopened and looked in good condition.
He knew this would piss Mr. Jorgen off but he untied the rope around his waist and secured it to the crate before giving the line a few sharp tugs. Edward waited for a moment until he saw the line grow taut before starting to pull the crate along. He went back to the diving bell for one more breath of air before swimming back to the surface to which to his credit rightly pissed off the older man.
The harbormaster gave him a lecture as they pulled the crate up to the surface and had it inspected and inventoried. After everything was accounted for, the workers went back to loading crates while Edward was taken into the older man's office. Mr. Jorgen gave him a blanket as well as hot tea to keep the young man from shivering as the cold air began to blow. The young man knew he wouldn't get sick and already had a tolerance for the cold but played along as the older man left the room to get a spare change of clothes.
The harbormaster returned soon and dropped off a beige long sleeve sweater and some fur pants before leaving again. While Edward changed, he glanced at the clock on the wall and began to panic when he realized how late it was getting and he still hadn't gotten a gift for Elsa. he was already in the new clothes and took off his wet pair of gloves to put on the new ones only to realize that the older man hadn't brought any.
Before he could put his old ones on, Mr. Jorgen walked in at that moment without knocking thinking that the young man had ample time to change. Edward froze for a moment before whirling around and hiding his left hand behind his back. The sleeves on his sweater stopped at his forearms so it left his left arm quite open. The young man eyed his greatcoat that was sitting on a chair not too far from him as the older man walked by not noticing his distress.
The harbormaster thanked Edward and asked if there was anyway he could repay him, which the young man denied saying there was no need. Edward tried to slowly back away and put on his coat without the older man getting a good look at his arm but unfortunately the harbormaster saw a flash of red on his left arm and thought he saw blood. Mr. Jorgen was instantly worried and tried to check on the wound which Edward denied was nothing but the older man was persistent and managed to hook a hand on the scaly skin of the young man's left arm.
At first, he thought it was a disease and was worried he might be infected but Edward denied that theory. He managed to convince the old man that it was a curse that was only confined to his left arm. He claimed he got it on an ice harvesting trip with Kristoff and that there were no side effects except him getting an arm like this. Edward asked that the older man not speak of this to anyone because he didn't want to be treated any differently. Surprisingly the older man agreed, yet he was still curious all the same.
He noticed the claws on the finger tips and wondered how sharp they were. When Edward lightly dragged a claw along a wooden chair and a line followed the appendage it gave the older man an idea. The harbormaster went into his desk before taking out a decent sized box and presenting it to the young man. Inside were an assortment of gems that looked quite valuable. Mr. Jorgen explained that he had managed to pick these up in his younger days and kept them as momentos. Each one of them were said to mean something in different cultures and languages.
Picking up a violet stone that was called amethyst, the harbormaster asked Edward to try and put a scratch on it. Taking the gem in hand, the young man applied a little force into the surface and began seeing an indent on where his finger laid. With more pressure a scratch began to form, then a crack, before finally a small piece of the gem fell off. Mr. Jorgen quickly scrambled to get the small piece before it fell to the floor and disappeared and put it back in the box while sending the young man a quick glare.
Edward had a sheepish smile before replacing the gem back into the box. The older man then went into detail on which gem meant what before asking the young man to pick one. Edward wondered why and Mr. Jorgen explained that with his left arm he could take a piece off and go to the blacksmith shop and make some jewelry. Sure it might not be extremely valuable but the point was that it came from him and there wouldn't be anywhere else that someone could find another one.
The young man was touched by the gesture and asked if it really was alright that he took a piece of the valuable gems. The harbormaster insisted saying that the young lad earned it from all his hard work. Edward finally picked an black onyx piece that was supposed to symbolize balance, intuition, and living in the present and not the past.
He knew of Elsa's past experiences and that while she was more outgoing, she still had some lingering feelings in the past. Onyx was also known to help relieve stress and give protection, which the blonde could use. Rahim wasn't a believer when it came to the idea that objects could have special properties that affected people. Ahimoth's gauntlets were enchanted by Lilian's father who was an Elemental so that didn't apply. It was a preposterous idea that rocks from the ground could actually protect and make a person feel something. Edward on the other hand was unsure, it would be nice if this small rock could help Elsa but he had a hard time seeing it happen. Still though, he hoped it would and thanked Mr. Jorgen before throwing on his greatcoat and leaving the office.
He spent the rest of the day using the blacksmith's forge that took a lot of begging and coin to get the man's permission to use. By the time he left, the moon was out and the clocktower read that it was almost an hour to midnight. An hour before Elsa's birthday was over, he didn't have any time to waste. Edward looked into his hand at the gift he made.
It was a very modest necklace, a simple chain that he had made himself which took quite a bit of time to make. While it was thin, it was strong for its size. It would take a decent tug for the clasp in the back to break. It held a small pendant that was styled to look like the petals of the crocus flower he'd seen on Arendellian flags and its 'stem' was Elsa's personalized snowflake.
It was small, one would have to get close to see it, but the entire pendant was the onyx piece that he took and carved using the claws on his left hand. Edward put so much effort into making the pendant look identical to the design he thought up, the pendant alone took two hours. Two hours of him hunched over like a predator observing his prey, keeping absolutely still and minutely chipping away at the piece until he completed it. He was proud of his work and rushed to present it to Elsa.
When the castle gates came into view, he was let in and was about to enter the castle when he noticed that someone was sitting on the steps that led into the castle interior. King Alrick had a pensive expression on his face as he had his fingers interlaced in front of his face with his elbows on his knees. It was his classic thinking posture whenever there was something that weighed heavily on his mind.
Edward thought about asking what was on his mind but remembered he was running out of time and opted to just ask tomorrow. He lightly jogged up the steps and was just about to pass the man when the King spoke.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"Can it wait until tomorrow, I'm somewhat in the middle of something."
Edward got to the castle doors and was about to walk through them when Alrick spoke one last time.
"It concerns your father."
The young man froze for a moment before turning back and slowly walked back down the steps with an unreadable expression. The King stood up and was face to face with the man in front of him who remained silent as they stared one another down.
"I told Ahimoth that Rahim is dead, and while I still hold a great respect for the two of you, I am not him. I don't have a father, all I have is a monster who decided to use his son's body to make an even bigger monster. So unless you can tell me that Talib is six feet under or burnt to ash and you happen to have the urn with you which I would crush before tossing them into the sea, I don't want to hear it."
Alrick almost wanted to laugh at the similar sentiment shared by the alchemist's other child but could only feel somewhat disappointed in the young man's response. When Talib was buried, no one came to the funeral, absolutely no one. He was the only one who spent the time to dig a grave and bury it right next to the alchemist's late wife. Lilian didn't enter the cemetery but patiently waited for him at the gate so that was something but still no one deserved to leave this world unremembered.
If he could bury Rakat and find some desire to see the old King move on to the next life then Talib's sons should be able to do the same.
"I just wanted to say that he was killed in an attack recently. It seemed this Father person felt that he knew something and wanted to tie up loose ends."
"Well damn, here I was hoping that he was Father and that when he died, it would be more poetic. Thanks for telling me, have a good night."
Edward turned on his heel and was about to leave when a strong hand gripped his left elbow. He turned back around to see his old Commander sending him a disappointed glare that he honestly didn't care for.
"I know you have your disagreements with him but he's still your father. He took you in when your mother passed and like it or not he's the reason you're still alive today."
That brought a surge of anger that made Edward rip his arm out of the man's grip before raising a finger at the King and whispering with a harsh undertone.
"First of all, my mother didn't pass, she was murdered by a monster. Secondly, when he took me in, there was no love in that. From that day on I was nothing but a little project for him, the agony he put me and Shahbaz through made us less human than neither of us would like to admit. Thirdly, after finally getting vengeance for my mother, he defiles it by resurrecting the monster that killed her using my body."
The young man's eyes began to bleed red as he advanced and placed his finger on the King's chest. The older man didn't let it show on his face but he was surprised when he felt that single finger begin to slowly but surely push into his sternum. With each step Edward took, Alrick took one back, the young man probably didn't realize that he was liable to drill a hole in the older man's sternum as he got angrier.
"He let Rahim's sacrifice be in vain and corrupted his memory by turning him into a monster. I'm not Rahim, I'm the result of a monster finally getting itself a brain. Even after realizing everything I did and tried to atone by putting a bullet in my mouth, Wrath just shrugged it off. When I tried destroying my core, my entire body burned in a way that every injury this body has ever sustained came back in that single moment. I can barely look at myself in a mirror without thinking that at any time I could be forced to watch Wrath take everything from me again and leave me powerless to stop him. I will never forgive Talib for putting such a curse on me. I may not know what love is but if it's anything like the love you share with your son, then I know that Talib could never and will never be my father. Because no father would ever desecrate their son's body and I know that he knows that the soul that is currently occupying this body, isn't the one it was born with."
Edward's eyes went back to their original color as he removed his finger from Alrick's chest. The King watched the young man's eyes grow hollow and gazed straight ahead not looking at him anymore. It was the look that was familiar to him, the same look he's seen many times when soldiers would do something that destroyed their moral standing and they remembered it. Alrick rarely had episodes like that but could vividly remember each of them. He always tried telling himself that he was now in a position to ensure that those circumstances would never present themselves and force any of his people to make those types of decisions.
"You heard it from Ahimoth but I think it's time you heard it from me. Rahim is dead, the boy you and your son trusted and fought with is never coming back. I may have his body, I may have his memories, but I'm not him. He was stronger than me, he never gave up in any odds and always moved forward. That isn't me, I can barely get up in the morning without help, I have to rely on other people for happiness. Without the friends I made here, I would be on some remote island trying to kill myself and failing miserably. I know you wish to have Rahim back to support you and your kingdom, to support Ahimoth and Lilian but it will never happen. He's gone and he's never coming back. After all…"
The young man in front of him removed his greatcoat and glove to show his left arm and flexed the clawed hand for the King to see.
"...I am Wrath."
Sloth was currently sitting on a deck of a ship reading one of the many books she had brought with her. As soon as Pride left to fight Father, she left the cave and returned to her current lodgings in the village. When she arrived, all of her things were already packed as well as the writ that confirmed that the ship that was leaving the kingdom allowed her to come aboard.
She was no fool, she knew that Pride would come to her searching for Father the same way she knew that Wrath was currently in Arendelle. Ideally she wanted to dissuade Pride from fighting Father but knew that getting into a lengthy argument with him would be a waste of energy, energy she could not afford to waste. That was why she slowly prepared for his arrival, if Father could capture the prideful Sin then he would likely order Talib to educate him. The process took all of the alchemist's focus and energy which left her with a brief window.
She knew about the failsafes installed into each Sin and worked hard to get rid of hers but she wasn't gullible enough to believe her old mentor didn't expect her to erase hers. Fortunately for her, he underestimated her intelligence. It took some time with trial and error but she was able to identify the nature of her unique failsafe. When she found out what it was she actually chuckled, it was quite fitting given her name.
Her failsafe was that her body decayed at a constant rate and required her to not exert herself too much effort or her reserves of energy wouldn't be able to sustain her.
Essentially, she needed to remain lazy and complacent if she wanted to enjoy a long life. Rationally, she knew that the moment before her demise, he'd collect her stone and place it next to Envy's. The only reason he hadn't was because she could keep an eye on all the other Sins and direct them with Father's instructions. It took her quite a bit of effort to get up and down the mountain and the signs of body decaying were becoming more evident as her skin began to crack and dissolve into black dust.
But it was worth it.
Sloth found out long ago that her failsafe didn't extend to her abilities, so she could use them to carry out her intentions for her. The only downside was that Father could sense any and all movement of black dust in his vicinity, so she had to be creative in her planning. While she contacted the other Sins and coordinate them, she was able to hint to some people about a particular kingdom that housed a liberal monarchy who didn't mind characters of less than honorable lifestyles.
The people in the kingdom mostly kept to themselves and with some time and planning she was able to use them like puppets to pack her things and get her passage out of the kingdom while she was weak. Surely Father would notice her absence and devote some resources into finding her but he would be injured by Pride so she had time. There was also the invasion of Arendelle that was being planned that he wanted to personally attend. Sloth considered the scenario and risks involved with that and knew that Talib would not allow Father to go to Arendelle, there was too much at stake for a vendetta.
Which made Arendelle such a safe place to go to.
If she could make it there then she could find the trolls that originally knew Father before and learn more about him. She also wanted to see Wrath, his disappearance and behavior was quite unexpected from what she read about him. If he was like her, then there was a chance that he could be of great assistance to her.
So here she was on a trip bound to Arendelle. She was smart enough not to ask for this one ship to take her there, she lined up multiple voyages in varying directions to get her there. It would take time but like her name suggests, she was perfectly content with not doing anything for a long period of time.
Elsa was propped up in her bed reading a book, however, she had been on the same page for the last twenty minutes. The small surprise party she had was nice, she got to meet new people from Corona that Anna absolutely adored. She also learned of another form of magic in the shape of Rapunzel's hair which was quite resilient and could be used in a variety of ways. She received some nice and thoughtful gifts from everyone who attended. Even Captain Stonewell showed up for a few minutes to give her a gift before leaving to go back and do his nightly rounds. It was a really nice birthday…
...except there were two things weighing on her mind.
The situation in the Southern Isles.
And Edward who she hadn't seen since earlier this morning.
She looked up at the clock in her room and noted that it was half past midnight thus effectively ending her birthday. While she certainly wouldn't hold it against the young man that he missed her birthday, it still kind of stung that he wasn't here after telling her to save some energy. That was why she stayed up a little longer hoping he'd walk in at the last moment and surprise her.
It wasn't because she might've felt a little cold being in her bed by herself.
Using someone as a pillow honestly didn't sound practical in her opinion but Edward was comfy when she laid down on him. He provided the perfect amount of warmth and comfort that it made her want to squirm in his arms to revel in it. While yes they had a...heated encounter...she hardly expected him to come in her bed every night and do it again. They both had work to do in the morning and the last thing she needed was someone catching him just once entering or exiting her room.
She still hadn't thought of what to do with Hector who had valid concerns about Edward's past. It wouldn't take much prodding for him to share his concerns with the council and if they started investigating the young man things would get complicated. She already knew that a relationship between them would be difficult and just being around each other made her want to tear her braid out but she would be lying if she wasn't happier right now.
Before the summit meeting, she couldn't stop herself from bouncing around and idling playing with her magic before she had to get up. Her sheets absolutely smelled of sex and the two of them in which she was more than happy to inhale before stripping her bed and tucking them away. This was one of the very few times she completely made her bed so that she could hide the evidence like a little girl. Gerda clearly noticed her happier demeanor and hadn't commented on it but who knows how long that would last.
She really wished that the summit meeting was boring and nothing new came up but of course something did and she had to quickly respond. The more she thought about it, the more she found herself agreeing with the suggestion that they send an envoy to the Southern Isles accompanied by Blackdust soldiers.
The problem was, she didn't want to risk a diplomat's life by sending them into a potential warzone.
Soldiers were trained and prepared to see combat but diplomats weren't. She felt that if someone should go, it should be her. What kind of Queen sends others to dangers she herself is not willing to face? She hadn't informed Stonewell or Simon about her thoughts because she was quite sure they would disagree with her. Elsa knew she could order them to go along with what she said, but she really didn't want to. The two of them were only concerned for her safety and she could see the logic in her not going. She herself didn't want to go but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that she was the only choice.
Arendelle would be ok if she went, Stonewell was here to protect it and had a good head on his shoulders to watch out for Anna. Her little sister had also vastly improved on being a diplomat that Elsa was confident she could rule in her stead. There was however the problem that her wedding was coming up soon, if Elsa missed that then she might as well take up permanent residence in her ice palace since her sister would probably never forgive her. That alone would be a dealbreaker but the blonde couldn't help but think how bad she'd feel if anything were to happen to the ambassador.
Finally growing a headache, Elsa groaned before putting her face in her book and sighing loudly.
"That terrible of a book?"
The platinum beauty jumped and froze the book in her hands when she heard Edward speak from her door. There he was with a guilty look on his face that he attempted to cover up with a small smile. She looked back and forth from him and the book in her hands before nervously laughing and quickly thawing it out before closing it.
"Heh heh, no, the book is fine. Just...a long day I guess."
"I see, well I just wanted to drop this off. I didn't think you'd still be awake."
She then noticed his hands were behind his back as he brought them forward and revealed he was hiding a small box. He took a few steps forward before handing it to her and sitting on her bed.
"I'm sorry for not being here in time to celebrate your birthday, or even saying the words when I had the chance this morning. I'm sure Anna is probably pissed at me."
Elsa chuckled a little bit before answering. "She actually isn't, she guessed you'd get here just under the wire with some extravagant gift."
"Then it looks like I failed on both counts."
The blonde looked up from the box and stared into his eyes for a moment. From the tone in his voice, something was wrong. She supposed he could've really felt bad about missing her birthday but this seemed like something more. It wasn't until she could see the hollow look in his eyes that she knew something was wrong. The blonde placed her opened present down and scooted up to him while taking his face in her hands.
"What's wrong?"
"What makes you think something is wrong?"
"Because I know that you should know that just because you're a little late I wouldn't be upset with you. The fact you're here after midnight to drop off a present is enough for me. You have that look in your eyes again, come on, talk to me."
Edward couldn't help but think how ironic it was that Elsa could tell there was something wrong with him and she was giving him the patient eye stare that he used on her multiple times. He almost wanted to curse her beautiful blue orbs but they already had him trying to figure out the right way to word it.
"I was actually here in the castle earlier, before midnight. I was on my way here when King Alrick stopped me to talk for a moment. Before you say or think anything, it wasn't bad, well in a way it wasn't. There was something he felt that he needed to tell me."
Elsa watched him take a deep breath for a moment before wringing his hands a bit before speaking.
"There was an attack in Blackdust and one of the casualties happened to be the man who created me. Talib of the Tainted Wisdom, or in other words, Rahim's father."
The blonde's eyes widened as her mind instantly tried to formulate the words to offer her condolences besides 'I'm sorry'. Edward must've been able to read her mind because he raised a hand to stop her.
"Elsa, I don't care if he's dead or not. In fact, I'm satisfied knowing he's dead. That's not what's bothering me. What's bothering me is Alrick coming to me and talking like that was my father and I'm still the same person that fought side by side with him before…"
The young man revealed his left arm.
"...this. I know Ahimoth told him but it bothers me for him to look at me like I'm Rahim when we both know that he died during the civil war. I'm just the thing that happens to be using his body."
There was a disapproving look on the blonde's face when she heard him say 'thing' but she didn't say anything considering it was an improvement from him calling himself a monster.
"I know he wants the boy that was best friends with his son but to be honest, that's not me. I thought it was, for a long time, I thought it was me but I'm not Rahim. He was strong, far stronger than me, he never gave up, never stopped moving forward, never questioned what he wanted. I wish like hell that were me but its not. Rahim killed Wrath, his father just decided to interfere and desecrate his body to keep the weapon Father wanted. I can barely see Wrath coming. Just hearing Alrick talk to me like I'm Rahim made me think that I'm nothing like him, that if I was then things would be different."
The woman took in his words and bounced them around in her head for a bit. She could guess what he meant when he said things could be different. He thought that if he was Rahim then Wrath wouldn't scare him as much and that he could easily just shove the demon down. He thought that maybe Rahim would've been able to stop Wrath from killing all of his comrades during the civil war.
To her, it seemed Edward thought Rahim was perfect.
Just the way she thought her father was perfect.
Early on during her reign, Captain Stonewell asked to privately speak to her about a matter concerning her parents. When she met with him, he told her who ordered that special cell down in the dungeons to be built and what it was for.
Her father had that cell built for her.
Initially hearing that made her frost the entire room with the Captain inside. She thought that her father thought she was indeed a danger to Arendelle and should be locked down in that cell where she couldn't cause any harm. The old man in the room instantly disagreed with that and told her that he was the one who made a risk assessment about her powers and that measures could be taken.
The late King had that cell built very early on, a few weeks after the incident. However ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to imprison his daughter. Instead, he decided to try and teach her control and support her as a father should. He wanted to have that cell disposed of but he didn't want too many people asking questions so he left it be. Stonewell explained that the King deeply regretted the moment of weakness that led to him having that cell built in case her powers went out of control and he needed to keep her and everyone else safe. He also went on to say that should anything happen to him and the Queen that Elsa would take the throne because he had faith that she would be a wonderful Queen.
At first she didn't know what to think, her father had for a moment feared her and made a decision to lock her away. Yet he changed his mind and still felt that she would still be a good Queen. A part of her wanted to blame him, to hate him for being afraid of his own daughter but remembered all the times he visited her during those years. He always made time for her, whether it be for chess, checking on her studies, or just spending time with her. During those times there was never an ounce of fear on his face as walked into her room even when she pushed him away out of fear.
It was then she realized that even her father wasn't perfect. He was only human and could only do his best. There were times she wondered what her father would do if he were still here and other times where she couldn't help but think that she would never live up to his legacy. That's when she remembered that she wasn't alone anymore, that she had Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, Gerda, Kai, Stonewell, and even Sven to lean on when things got too heavy for her to bear alone. That even if she wasn't strong by herself, the people she loved would give her strength when she needed it.
"You're right, things might be different. If you were Rahim, maybe you could've stopped all the things that Wrath has done and would still be in Blackdust right now. Or you wouldn't have been able to get control of Wrath and would still be a tool used to kill people. There's no way of knowing what could've happened if things were different. No one is perfect, you say that Rahim is so strong but he couldn't do anything to stop Wrath from taking his body. All he did was live his life for the sole purpose of getting revenge. Well he got it, what do you think he would've done after getting it?"
Edward looked into Elsa's eyes and noticed that they were intensely staring into his and he actually couldn't get a read on what she was thinking. She talked in a straightforward no nonsense way that reminded him of Anna whenever the redhead would call him out on something.
"I don't know, probably keep fighting with the Mystic Guard."
"And what would happen if Wrath somehow was able to find another body?"
"Rahim would just defeat him again."
"How do you know that?"
"Because he did it once…"
"Throwing your life away for a chance to kill your opponent isn't a victory."
He wanted to argue, say that she herself hadn't been on the battlefield and thus couldn't say that but he knew that would be crass. He would also be lying if he said that she was wrong. Throwing your life away for a chance at victory was a desperate ploy that generally led to defeat. Alrick would agree that risking everything for a chance was a foolish move, especially if failure would put others in danger. It would be different if the odds of the ploy was in your favor of succeeding but he remembered Rahim being killed by Wrath.
The Sin decided to observe the dying soldier in its clutches for an unknown reason. Edward realized that Rahim was lucky, extremely lucky, in that battle. He kept charging over and over again expecting a different result when Wrath could literally read his every move. If the Sin didn't develop that odd sense of curiosity while he impaled Rahim than the soldier wouldn't have been able to deal that mortal blow.
Elsa noted his silence and took that as her cue to keep speaking. Her eyes softened as she took his left hand in hers.
"You may think that Rahim was so strong and that you're so weak that it would be better if he was here and not you, but you can't know that. You can only focus on what you can do now. You're not Rahim, you're you. You're here right now doing your best. Even if that's not enough, there are people here willing to help you. To give you strength when you feel alone."
She then brought his hand to her lips to give his knuckles a kiss before putting it against her cheek.
"We didn't meet Rahim, we met you, Edward. And I know that you aren't weak, that couldn't be any further from the truth. No matter what happens, I won't lose faith in you."
The young man's eyes brightened a little as he moved his hand to rub her cheek. There it was, that light feeling he felt every time she wanted to give him some worthwhile insight.
"You know I've gotten a motivational speech from Anna and Kristoff, all that's missing is one from Olaf and Sven."
"Well Kristoff said you gave him one when he was first thinking of buying a ring and I'm sure all the times you looked out for me counts as one too so you're really only need to give Anna one and you'll be square with us. Don't even think about trying to give one at her wedding, that's my chance to get ahead of all the ones she gave me."
They both laughed a bit before sharing a kiss. Edward then looked over to the box on her bed and placed it in her hand.
"Now go on and open your present. Remember, you said just me showing up after midnight was enough for you so you can't get mad about it the present."
"If this is another empty chocolate box, you're going to be in so much trouble."
When Elsa opened it, she could feel her heart actually stop. She reverently reached into the box and pulled out the necklace so she could look at it better. She couldn't keep her eyes off the pendant that she knew was modeled after the crocus flower as well as her snowflake. As she looked more closely she could tell that the entire pendant was completely black onyx which she knew what it represented as she had a reference book on gems.
She looked back at Edward who seemed to have a somewhat worried look on her face and in a way that was very reminiscent to her sister, Elsa tackled him into an expressive hug.
"So I take it that you like it?"
The blonde let up enough to look down at him as she carefully reached behind her neck and put it on before leaning back down and giving him another kiss.
"I'm never taking it off."
Hey guys hope you enjoyed this new chapter, still can't seem to be super satisfied with the last two chapters you know, I really want to write more chapters toward the end you know. Even though the story is fluid and changing every chapter, the result will somewhat be the same. Anyway if I can't drop a new chapter before new years than Happy New Years and stay tuned for the next chapter. Please remember to review.