Shoutouts to Claecer, DarknesOfHeartfor favorite/follow.
In response to reviewer RJCA27:I couldn't wait as well, I've been excited for this for the longest time and I really hope I can mold the action events that are in mind with this story. I hope to make this one of the most critical points of the fanfic and keep it short so that its not stupid long.
In response to reviewer pup:As much as I want to make him unstoppable, Stonewell is human and I hope those brief moments enrich his character.
As for Hans having no physical feats, my point wasn't geared toward him. More toward Anna who was able to make his feet leave the ground and his body to clear the railing without touching it with a quick punch. That shockwave came from magic so there's no way to guage that but Hans is half a head taller than her and based on his form from his outfit earlier in the movie he is quite larger than her. Even if he has a little tolerance to pain, it doesn't change how much weight he has on her and he wouldn't have jumped to away in pain. She managed to punch him hard enough to knock off his feet into the water, plus she was able to swing a lute with quite a bit of force to knock a wolf away. And Hans proved he could take a hit to face when she accidentally got him when they were talking earlier in the movie. Anna's stronger than she seems plus she her Grandpa Stonewell teaching her, no one is gonna mess with his grandaughter :D plus I think she has trouble containing herself so a playful punch from her is probably a lot harder to the person she's giving hitting.
As for the character arcs I cannot comment on them as they will be integral to fanfic.
Finally for the arcs after this, I can't reveal that as that will be spoilers. I DO plan on trying to end this at 100 chapters and with this arc ending around 70 that gives me 10 or so to finish character arcs and preparations before the last 20 for the actual endgame. I want the endgame to be big like Avenger's Endgame big, with what I have planned, it feels big but managing it into story flow will be difficult, we'll just see how it goes.
Elsa had just finished a meeting with her council and was currently in her study reading through the reports that Grace had compiled for her. Mr. Sobel was very thorough and articulate about the information he had on the seven Sins as well as Father himself. The blonde could understand the science behind each one's abilities as well as the limitations for each. She also was given a brief explanation of the nature of that black dust she had seen around Edward every so often.
When she learned that it was actually the physical manifestation of a soul used by someone like Edward, she felt sick to her stomach when she considered how many people had to die for Wrath to be able to do what he could. She knew that Edward hadn't really killed anyone since being in Arendelle and as such she could assume that the amount of black dust he had was minimal, so his usage of his abilities would be minimal as well.
However, she had seen him use his claws and his enhanced senses many times. There was no doubt in her mind that he knew the cost of using such abilities and she couldn't see him using the souls of the dead for trivial matters. Her concerns were answered when she learned that someone that could use black dust from the souls of others could also use their own to a degree.
While it was much safer to use other souls due to the fact if they were completely used up the user wouldn't die. If the user decided to use their own soul as a power source they could only do so in moderation and would need rest to replenish their strength. The report then went on to say that each soul is different and is a finite resource, a soul could only replenish itself if it comes from one who has a strong sense of being. Ones who were true to themselves wholly and completely and did not allow a shred of doubt to obstruct that sense of themselves.
If she was being honest, that didn't sound like Edward at all. He was always plagued by doubt and was still trying to find out who he was as a person. When things were dire, he focused on a single thing and was desperate to do whatever he could. Elsa felt he was a strong person at heart but according to all of these reports she had been reading, he was weaker and more likely to be washed away by the very power he had taken from others.
The blonde was actually glad that the report shifted from a Sin's soul to their body composition so she could get rid of these thoughts. She was intrigued to know that while they had all the organs of a regular human and needed them to function, their body was still entirely comprised of black dust. Everything from their organs, bones, to bodily fluids would evaporate into black dust if it left the body.
Elsa couldn't help herself from giggling when she remembered the worry she had that she might get pregnant after spending a night with the young man and thus added a new herbal tea to her breakfast to prevent such an outcome. Now knowing what she knew, there was no need for her to ever drink the tea again as Edward could never get her pregnant…
The blonde's mirth came to a screeching stop when she replayed that thought in her head.
Edward could never get her pregnant.
Despite what had happened between the two of them, Elsa still longed for his touch as well as his presence. He was the person who understood her the most, Anna knew almost everything about her, but Edward felt what she felt thanks to the life he was forced to live. The two of them were isolated for so long and when they were with others, they put on a mask to keep people from seeing how scared they were on the inside.
Elsa doubted she would meet anyone else in the world who knew what it meant to be her and made her feel the way she does when he's near. When she learned that Anna was pregnant and would be having a little one, it reminded her that her position as Queen would demand she have an heir. The blonde was content with having the redhead as an heir but the council would want more, they would want a child of direct bloodline from her as the heir.
Hector had confided in her once that the council was curious if her abilities could be hereditary even though it skipped Anna and her parents never had powers. They wanted to know if they could have another all powerful monarch who could perhaps turn Arendelle into a seat of power on the global stage. It made the woman angry that her council would even think to use her child as a weapon. She knew that if she got pregnant with Edward's child he would object vehemently as he knew full well what it meant to be used as a weapon.
But now, she knew that could never be a possibility.
Even if somehow, someway she made it possible for the two of them to publicly admit their feelings for one another, Edward could never give her an heir. Elsa was torn aftering realizing that; it hurt to know that she could never have a child with the man she now dreamed of but it also eliminated the fear in the back of her mind that she could hurt her own child as she did Anna.
The blonde couldn't take anymore and put down the reports before leaning back in her chair. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to take a breath, the movement made the necklace on her neck rub against her skin. Grasping it with her fingers she lifted it up so she could see it.
It had been three days since what happened in the throne room. Gerda had seen her everyday and hadn't mentioned the young man at all, she acted as she normally would've before Edward had come into their lives. Kai was the same, he would help her with small tasks before leaving her and going about his day. Neither of them objected or advised her on anything she did or said these last three days. The first day she didn't let it bother her but the second she was dying to ask them about the whereabouts of the young man.
Hector seemingly noticed her distress and told her that Edward was currently working with Mr. Jorgen at the Captain's behest. The blonde didn't ask why the young man had been sent to work at the harbor as she assumed that that was the least likely place they would see one another. Plus, Mr. Jorgen was a nice man and would be thrilled to have Edward in his employ if only temporarily.
She barely remembered the night on the town she had with Edward but she did remember Mr. Jorgen and how he said that Edward worked hard on the necklace between her fingers. The black snowflake combined with Arendelle's custom crocus flower spoke volumes to her. In Elsa's mind, the shape represented her while the color reminded her of Edward. It was a one of a kind image that had a piece of both of them in it.
She vividly remembered the words he spoke about her necklace.
"...this is my link to you even when I'm not there, this will remind you that I will come whenever you need me…"
Those words touched her heart so deeply that they resonated with her entire being. The hurt feelings she had from their argument still plagued her but the desire to make up with him was strong. She supposed she could just go see him, simply bypassing Kai and Gerda all together. They may be the closest she had to parents but she was a grown woman and like Stonewell said, if she really wanted to do something then she should go ahead and do it and accept the consequences.
As these thoughts continued to bounce around in her head, three loud knocks on her study door caught her attention. Before she could tell the person to come in, her door was pushed open by one of her guards that looked to be out of breath.
"Your Majesty, an invasion fleet is enroute to Arendelle as we speak! Commander Richard ordered us to relay this to you while he stayed back to buy you as much time as possible!"
The blonde felt her heart stop and the temperature of the room drop suddenly. An invasion fleet was on its way here?! Elsa felt panic begin to rise in her until she went into her Queen persona and forced herself to think of Arendelle.
"What's your name sailor?"
"Petty Officer Helden Smith, at your service."
"Mr. Smith, you will accompany me to the war room where you will tell my council exactly what you saw and how much time we have assuming that this fleet has bypassed our formation without pause."
The blonde saw the way his face fell when she brought up the idea that the comrades he left behind were killed without succeeding in delaying the enemy and her heart went out to him, but she needed to be cold and logical. She needed the facts and to consider the worst case scenario.
Her previous thoughts on the man who always occupied her mind were shoved into the farthest reaches of her mind, she couldn't afford to be distracted if war really was coming.
Over the last few days, Edward had been keeping a close eye on Mr. Jorgen trying to find something out of the ordinary with the harbormaster. During the day, he would volunteer to help the older man with paperwork as well as go over inventories with him while casually dropping some hints about that crate, black dust, and Father in general. Every attempt was met with an ignorant yet curious expression and a desire to know more.
This made it hard to tell if he was faking not knowing anything or if he really didn't know. Edward had questioned the captain who brought the crate abroad and asked where they had gotten it from but all of them refused to answer. Mr. Jorgen, noticing his interest, decided to lend his help and was able to get them to reveal that the crate was picked up far north. When pressed for more details, the captain only said that a trader paid him to deliver it to Arendelle for a specific resident, whose name was unknown.
That wasn't what the two men wanted to hear but thanked the captain and went on with their day. While Edward continued to watch the harbormaster, he had taken some time to read from that book that Father gifted him. In its pages he was given an in depth history of a race of creatures that had 'came before'
There was no mention of what they came before or even the name but when he read what they were described as and what they could do, he knew what they were. The book was essentially a biography of the race of creatures the Sins were based off of.
It started that in the beginning, they were hidden in the far reaches of the world, keeping to themselves and only revealing themselves only to those foolish enough to seek them out. Their domain was close to death as they generally frequented graveyards and battlefields where they could feed off the dying souls of those who fell. Such actions led to them being called demons as they would also take the souls of the living if they were provoked. Before long humans began to hunt them because they feared the evil that they assumed they represented.
This forced the creatures to abandon leaving their home in search of souls and stay confined to their small space with the hope that their threat would fade from human minds. Unfortunately they miscalculated how long humans remembered and were forced from their home when they were attacked. With no home and no way to hide, the creatures decided that they would embrace the evil that the humans mistaken them for and began waging war on those who hunted them.
While humans vastly outnumbered the creatures, they did not understand what their enemy was capable of. This lack of knowledge led them to become easy targets. The creatures were able to use the bodies of their victims as well as feed off all that they slain to make them stronger. They caused chaos by turning humans against one another with all kinds of methods and tormented them until humans began to fight amongst one another instead of focusing on them.
Pleased with this, the creatures were content with watching over the battlefields and picking off the very few survivors before repeating the process over and over until they forced humanity into a small cramped domain that they lived in for decades.
One day however, a human overcome with despair over the loss of his home decided to offer his soul to the creatures if they gave him power. Intrigued by the idea of having half a soul and granting a human some of their abilities, they accepted and took half and tethering the human to them. The human was able to replicate their abilities as well as create some of his own and went on to slaughter those who had wronged him.
This went on and on until the human had finally brought down those who had wronged him, however some time during his search, the myriad of souls he absorbed all fought for control of his body and by the time he made it to the end, the soul that was originally given to the creatures was gone, replaced by one of the dead the human had slain.
The human continued to kill until they were turned into a mindless beast that sought out any living soul for sustenance. Eventually, it was able to track where the creatures were hiding and went on to kill many of them. It took the oldest and strongest among them to finally put down the monster they had unwittingly created and to prevent history from repeating itself, they forbid the practice of taking half of a human's soul to give that person the capability to tap into their abilities.
When Edward turned the page to read more, he found that the history had ended right there and after that was only what abilities that the creatures enjoyed and how they worked. He already knew that they could prolong their life, take the shape of whatever soul they consumed, and be able to control black the dust in a number of fashions.
What he didn't know was that every soul was unique and depending on the quality and strength of a particular soul, it was possible to control another's who had the capability to interact with black dust, as long as the soul in question was the stronger of the two.
That explained how Father was able to completely dominate him and Wrath, if his soul was stronger than his it would make sense he'd be able to control it. All that left was wondering if there was a way to strengthen a soul or weaken one.
The book went on to say that there were many ways one would go about getting stronger, all of them revolved around feeding off the souls of others which was unacceptable in his opinion but one passage stood out.
...while feeding off the souls of others would make one more powerful, there was an ancient practice where one would allow the souls of the dead to live in their own soul by giving a sliver to them and allow them to pour their strength willingly into the soul of their killer. This method has proven to cultivate great strength, however, allowing the souls of the dead to retain their individuality while providing them with a piece of the host soul has always resulted in either the dead consuming the host or the body breaking down due to the war for control going on inside.
Edward could see that happening, the weapons he collected all had furious anger at him for killing them. Asking them to help him and giving them a piece of his soul sounded dangerous if not outright suicidal. The information made him sigh as he closed the book for today. He knew he shouldn't have expected much given who gave him the book but he hoped that it might give him some way to fight back without killing more people just for power.
He was currently sitting on one of the lone decks that didn't have any ships anchored nearby. Since working at the harbor, he ate most of his meals on one of the empty decks alone as it allowed him to think. He mostly thought about Mr. Jorgen and the possibility that the old man actually worked for Father. The more he thought about the sweet jovial old man being in league with the Patriarch of Sins, the more he denied it.
He had no proof, despite the crate incident, the harbormaster did nothing to warrant suspicion. He even tried to get the young man answers about where the crate came from. Yet for some reason, he just felt that there was something...off putting about the older man. It wasn't a dreadful feeling or one that gnawed at the inside of his skull, it was just a feeling that made him curious to find the source of such a reaction.
Getting his feet back on the deck, he stood up while picking the book up and walked back to the harbor to get back to work. Before he started his lunch break, he was filing documents for the harbormaster as the older man's shelf had collapsed. The two of them spent a lot of time reorganizing all the documents after removing to the broken wooden shelf out the office. When they got halfway through the mess, Mr. Jorgen suggested they take a break for lunch before attempting to finish. The young man agreed and the two were about to leave when Estrid had reminded the older man that he had a meeting soon with a customs official.
Mr. Jorgen comically deflated and asked Edward to go ahead without him. For a brief moment, the young man considered asking if he could tag along so he could keep an eye on the harbormaster but after three days of nothing suspicious, he was beginning to feel paranoid. Plus he knew it would be odd if he went to the meeting.
He walked into the harbormaster's office and still found the large mess of parchment that was littered on the ground. He hoped the older man would be here to help but knew that meetings could become longer if something happened or if they didn't agree over something. Pushing those thoughts away, the young man started to sort out the documents for quite some time until a faint feeling started poking him in the back of the head.
Edward was starting to get real tired of these random pokes at his mind that meant something was coming. He knew better than to try to ignore it as usually when something bothered him like this, something bad happened. Walking out the office, he waved at Estrid as he passed by and opened the door to the harbor.
The first thing he noticed was there were two Arendellian frigates docked in the harbor and the crew was unloading the cannons from one side of the ships and lined them along the harbor facing the ocean. It was a standard defense line that many armies used when they were defending the shores, have the ships put all their cannons to one side and focus entirely on firing. From what he could tell, there were many sailors as well as dock workers contributing to the effort. One dock worker was about to rush by when Edward stopped him.
"Hey what's going on?"
The man's face was full of panicked fear as he pointed toward the ocean. "Arendelle's about to be invaded! I gotta get out of here!" It was then the man pushed past Edward and sprinted toward the village. The young man turned in the direction the man pointed and could see one ship approaching. It was another Arendellian frigate that was sailing full speed toward the harbor.
Edward would've ignored the ship and tried to look past it for some kind of invasion fleet when he felt that feeling return. It was becoming stronger and stronger the closer that ship got. The young man narrowed his eyes in confusion as he realized the ship had not slowed down in the slightest and there was smoke coming from the deck. It took him a second for his mind to piece it together as he yelled at the top of his lungs at the workers who were still unloading cannons on the dock the ship was headed to.
"FIRE SHIP! Dive into the water!"
The workers as well as sailors heard his warning and dropped whatever they were doing and jumped into the water as the ship crashed into the deck and tore through some of it before finally exploding extensively damaging both Arendelle frigates and catching them on fire. Edward and a few dock workers that were in the harbor raced toward the edge of the shore to look for any survivors.
A few men emerged from the surface and swam toward the shore where they were helped up by the dock workers. Edward heaved a sailor out of the water and looked at the burning ships that were right on their shoreline. The fire ship was completely in splinters while the other two frigates had their sails burning and one of their masts had fallen. It would take some time to put out the fires and assess whether or not the ships were combat capable. He looked along the shore and did a quick headcount of cannons that were moved along the harbor and noted they had a good number of them ready and in position. Checking the sailor next to him for any wounds and seeing none, the young man shook him to get his attention.
"Where is your commanding officer?"
The man looked up with a dazed expression before pointing to the castle. "Captain Millias went to the castle to give Her Majesty all the information that he had on the current situation." The young man nodded in understanding as he helped the sailor up to his feet and assisted him to a makeshift triage center where the wounded were being taken care of.
While he did this, that same feeling still hadn't gone away, in fact it had gotten even stronger and it was now surrounding him. After Edward dropped the sailor off, he did a quick scan of his surroundings. There was the harbor ahead of him, warehouses on either side of him with the village behind him. The warehouses were two stories tall and had very high windows so no one could sneak into them. The roofs were a good vantage point if someone took the time to climb the high walls. There were plenty of places one could hide and it was now just dawning on the young man how big of a disadvantage he'd be if the enemy had climbed the roofs and rained bullets down from the high ground.
"Why is it that every time I see you, you have that stupid far off look on your face?" Edward's ears perked up to the familiar voice as he turned to see Hector behind him getting off a horse. The noble had his usual annoyed look on his face the same one he had every time he spoke to the man in front of him.
"What are you doing here?"
Hector narrowed his eyes in annoyance and pointed at the sky in the direction of the ocean. "What do you think, that I'm here to check on you? Don't flatter yourself. I'm here to help organize the shoreline defenses, Her Majesty is aware of the situation and is expecting the enemy to appear soon. While I gather our defenses, she's ordering the guard to evacuate Arendelle."
That sounded like a plan from Elsa, she was trying to do her best to protect her people. While he agreed that the shoreline defenses needed to be prepared as soon as possible, he wouldn't have sent the Queen's personal guard to oversee it. Doing so weakened the guard around her and put her in danger.
"You can stop worrying about your beloved, I left her with four men that I trust explicitly plus the Captain is there with her. You know he'd stop smoking before he let anything happen to her, wheelchair or not."
Edward didn't say anything but knew his expression must've given away what he was thinking. The young man hated to admit it but it was a good choice making Hector the Queen's personal guard, he made sure to always consider all the angles. It was that line of thinking that made trusting the noble marginally easier.
"Alright, what do you have in mind?"
Hector took a quick look at the cannons along the harbor as well as the buildings surrounding them and the ships that were docked in port before he spoke. "Well I was considering hammering the ships with as much cannon fire as possible until they reached the shore and have you go on a rampage killing them all but odds are our men will freak out when they see your ugly mug."
The noble turned to see an unamused look on the young man's face. "What?"
Edward remained silent but continued to look unamused. "Oh don't tell me your lover's spat has left you with no balls."
The young man pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to fight off the impending headache, he was just starting to remember why he hated Hector so much. He was about to finally respond with a scathing retort when a guard shouted.
"Enemy ships sighted!"
The two men instantly tabled their arguments and looked out toward the ocean. True to the guard's word, there were a great number of ships approaching their position. Edward wasn't all that familiar with ships but none of them looked any bigger than the two frigates that were still burning in their harbor. He also could tell that with the amount of cannons they had, they wouldn't be able to hold off the ships from coming to shore indefinitely.
Hector turned to a nearby guard and pulled him close. "Inform the Queen that the enemy will be in range in approximately twenty minutes. She should have enough time to safely employ the countermeasures that she suggested during the emergency meeting." The guard saluted and quickly hurried back to the castle on horseback.
Edward watched him go and turned to Bowman with a inquisitive expression. "What countermeasures?"
"Early on in her reign, Her Majesty and the Captain had come up with countermeasures in case Arendelle was ever invaded. If the attack came from the mountains, she would unleash another winter to halt the enemy advance and give us time to prepare for them. If they came by sea, she would freeze the ocean giving us time to hold out until our main army can arrive from across the region."
The young man could see how that was an advantage to such ideas but when it came to the blonde, he was able to instantly pick out the risk in such a plan. "You want her to come here when the enemy will be in range in twenty minutes?! You do realize that if they are in range for our cannons, we'll be in range for theirs and thanks to them having a high elevation because of them being on ships, they'll have the superior range! Her coming here to freeze the ocean will make her a huge target where they'll be liable to aim right at her!"
Hector had a displeased look on his face as he watched the incoming ships. "I've already expressed that particular concern, unfortunately Her Majesty felt it was worth the risk to avoid any loss of life."
Edward frowned and slowly shook his head but didn't criticize the noble anymore. He knew that Elsa would do anything for her people, even if it meant putting herself at risk. She was willing to sacrifice anything if it was for the good of Arendelle. It made him angry but that was who she was deep at her core, a selfless person who would give anything for the people she loved. He had hoped that the next time they spoke to one another, they would be alone in some serene setting where he could apologize and tell her how much she meant to him but fate had other ideas.
It didn't help that that foreboding feeling he had all around him hadn't gone away. As much as he focused on it, he still couldn't make it out.
Minutes went by as the ships got closer and closer while the men on the shore manned their cannons. Hector made sure that all cannons were aimed at their designated targets. The Queen hadn't arrived yet and in the event she got here after the shooting started, Hector's plan was to aim at the forward ships and hopefully slow down the ones behind it. Edward continued to watch his surroundings, trying to locate that source of his foreboding. So far he was still unsuccessful and it began to grate on his nerves.
The sound of horses came from behind him as he could hear them faintly approaching their direction. He guessed Elsa was almost here and judging by the distance she made it before they got in range. The young man was about to inform the noble when he heard the crescendo of cannons firing…
From behind them.
Edward barely facing in the direction where the sound came from gave him a glimpse of the danger. Several cannon balls were cutting through the air, racing toward their position. His mind quickly acted and he grabbed Hector before leaping away from their cannons. The incoming shells bombarded the shoreline cannons and reduced both them and the men to pieces. The two men managed to escape the attack with only a few cuts from the sharpnel.
They were both dazed from the attack and smoke continued to billow in front of them cutting off their line of sight from the cannons. Edward rolled off Hector onto his back and tried to clear his head when a massive spike of rage appeared in the smoke.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it Wrath?"
The sound of a single pair of boots striking the cobblestone reached his ears as he propped himself up with his elbows to look at the smoke. Inside the cloud he could see a silhouette walking toward them and then he watched one foot step out before another. It was a bald tan skinned man with a long black coat that was open with dark clothing on the inside. Edward looked at the man and for a brief moment wondered where he could've possibly met the man and how this man knew who he actually was.
His name is Ian Cavaliere, he was one of the twenty Mystic Guard members that were killed outside the throne room.
Edward filed away Wrath's answer for another time as he started to get on his feet while grabbing the back of Hector's collar. The spike of rage coming from Ian granted him the advantage of knowing what the man was thinking and right now, all he could think about was killing the young man as painfully as possible. Edward was able to take one look at the man and could tell easily that Ian was just like him, his mind confirmed that he was Greed the Avaricious.
Remembering his last battle with Envy, he didn't want to engage in that type of fight at the harbor where dock workers and guards were running around trying to prepare for the invasion. He had to get away from Greed and get somewhere isolated where he could fight without causing panic and casualties. Hector was thankfully beginning to come to and Edward was relieved he wouldn't have to carry the man to safety.
"You look different than the way you used to. Back then you had cold soulless eyes but now, you almost look afraid." Greed spoke in a calm almost aloof voice but the amount of malice under those words were easily detectable. That was one good thing about the situation Greed's anger would make it easy to predict his movements. The Sin reached both hands in his coat before he pulled out two pepperbox pistols.
Edward had limited knowledge when it came to firearms as most natives from Blackdust did as they felt firearms stunted the growth of a warrior. Men who trained to rely solely on their firearms and never experienced seeing the light leave someone's eyes were less likely to maintain their nerve if their firearms failed them. There was also the idea that when someone missed, it gave their opponent an advantage if they closed the gap and used a melee weapon.
As a former Mystic Guard member, it was kind of odd to see Greed pick two pistols instead of two melee weapons, perhaps his abilities were more geared toward firearms? He pushed that thought away when Hector groaned again and began to stand on his own two feet, all the while Greed was still languidly walking with his pistols at his side aimed at the ground.
Almost like he was waiting for something…
"Edward!"
The young man's eyes widened as the one voice that could make him turn his back on an enemy called him from behind. He whirled around to see Elsa on horseback riding straight toward them. He heard the sound of a flintlock being primed and without care for himself, he shot out a hand toward Elsa and roared at her.
"Elsa! Get away!"
He felt Hector rip himself out of his grip and rush toward Greed as the Sin slowly raised his arm with a pistol in hand. Time seemed to slow down as the blonde realized who was behind the young man and could see her previous kidnapper begin to raise his arm while he held something in his hand. She noticed Hector sprinting toward the man's position to likely tackle him and she began her own move hoping that she would make it in time.
Wall.
She imagined a wall of ice cutting Greed off from Hector and Edward then reached deep into her being and tried to will her magic to answer her call quickly as she shot her hand up as fast as she could. Lady luck must've been on her side as her ice wall materialized instantly and cut off the two men from the enemy. Hector had to catch himself before he ran head first into the ice wall that was several feet high and a few feet wide.. All of them expected to hear the sound of a gunshot but instead, they heard the sound of a shrill ringing sound combined with the sound of a flintlock going off.
The sound lasted for only a second, but it echoed loudly and the source of Edward's feeling of foreboding finally revealed itself.
All at once, from the top of the warehouses around them as well as from the edge of the harbor, enemy soldiers sprang up with modified crossbows in their hands. Edward, Hector, Elsa, and her guards all were caught off guard by the sudden force while Greed on top of the ice wall with his two pepperbox pistols aiming down at Hector and Edward.
"You didn't think I'd do this alone, did you?!" All at once, both Greed and the soldiers above the buildings and along the shore fired their weapons.
Elsa reacted quicker than she ever had and created a small roof above the two men's ahead to avoid the bullets and tried to create an ice wall for herself and guards at her side. Her walls appeared almost instantly and a crescendo of thunks hit her ice walls as they rose but the sound scared her horse causing it to rear up and lift her above her walls for a brief moment.
That brief moment was all it took for something to zip in her direction and catch her side. A shriek escaped her mouth as it knocked her from her horse and put her on the ground. The impact made her dizzy and helped dull the pain as she could hear muzzled shouts from all around her. Her side hurt like crazy and she felt hands push into it making her grit her teeth in pain.
A few meters ahead of her, Edward was hunkered down over the ice shelter that the blonde had made. He was about to grab Hector again and move them out of the way before the roof saved them and gave them shelter from the attack from all sides. The shelter over him brought a brief peace of mind for him until he heard a shriek coming from behind him. He turned around and caught a glimpse of Elsa falling back behind her wall.
"ELSA!"
He was about to tear his way over there when Hector forcibly grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Hey! Think first before rushing out there! We're under fire right now, we need to take out those crossbows or we won't be able to take her back to the castle." Edward would've liked to ignore the noble's logic but Wrath forced him to still his body for a moment which gave him a brief moment to really consider the guard's words.
Unfortunately, Hector was right. They were in a bad position right now and the best thing to do right now was get out from under fire. Edward had a pissed expression on his face as he faced the direction of the crossbow gunners on their right. Judging from the sound of the crossbows firing, he could tell that they had repeating crossbows and were firing continuously to simulate that they had a great deal of soldiers when it was only a few of them with repeating crossbows. He already knew what he needed to do as his hands turned to claws and his teeth got sharper while letting out a barely audible growl.
"Hector, you check on Elsa and get her back to the castle, I'll cover you once they stop to reload."
The noble nodded as he readied himself. "We need to hurry, remember, with this ambush, we weren't able to set up the shoreline defenses so the enemy will be able to land without too much interference. After we retreat back to the castle, we'll put Arendelle on alert and have the guards set up checkpoints while they evacuate the people, after we're away, regroup with us back at the castle."
Edward nodded and when they heard the break in firing, the young man strengthened his legs then pushed off from his position then reached the buildings in three lunges. He quickly jumped up and using his claws to get a handle on the side of the building, he was able to pull himself up as the soldiers from the other side finished reloading. Edward didn't care that he was now making himself an easy target for the enemy, one of these assholes just shot Elsa, he was going to make them all pay.
Far from the harbor yet still in the village at a good vantage point, Talib was sitting cross legged as he looked at the harbor from a distance. The smoke coming from the shore indicated that the fire ship and the cannon barrage from the cliffs surrounding the village crippled the shoreline defenses. He was greatly annoyed that he had to rush to get here but his mood was amenable when he got to Arendelle a few hours before the invasion. He would've liked to pay a visit to the version of himself that was based in Arendelle to ask him some questions but it was better to complete his part of the plan before the invasion started.
He had brought Lust and Gluttony along with him with the latter ordered to stay close to him while the former was sent off on another matter. While he was up here, he could feel Greed's movement around Arendelle and could feel two other faint sources of black dust that didn't belong to the three Sins he had accounted for. He considered the chance of one of them being Wrath as another version of himself, Mr. Lind, hypothesised but had no way to prove it.
A crucial element of the plan required him and the others to remain out of sight while the Southern Isles and Weselton forces began their assault. The latter's ignorant ideology of all magic being the work of the devil would force him to engage them as combatants if they saw him use his abilities and that would ultimately help Arendelle. Greed was the only exception as he had made ties to both governments and his abilities allowed him to disappear without a trace. He could lead them as planned but if they saw him turn to dust and fly away, they'll know the part he played in the attack of the Southern Isles which would cause Hans' throne to crumble.
The sound of footsteps alerted him to the presence of someone behind him. Somewhat distrubed that someone could sneak up on him, Talib turned around to see Mary standing there with that same bored expression on her face. The alchemist remembered Father warning him about the Indolent Sin's loyalty to the plan but what the Patriarch of Sins didn't know was that she was working with the alchemist.
While Father did possess the ability to read his mind, the Patriarch couldn't read the mind of the other versions of himself as they barely had any contact with the man and were created from his own soul and not Father's. Mr. Lind assured Talib that Mary wasn't a threat to him and so far that hadn't suggested that had changed. So while her loyalty to Father was questioned and she had disappeared before he could confirm it, the alchemist trusted her enough to not be bothered if she came and went when she pleased.
"Did you find what you're looking for?"
Sloth nodded her head as she took a seat next to the alchemist. "Yes, it shouldn't be long now until I can achieve the reason I became like this."
Talib had no idea what the woman next to him wanted to achieve but he knew that she wouldn't get in his way and would assist him as long as he didn't strip her of her stone. Father may have desired her to be in the same place as Envy but for this invasion he made an exception as she had a pivotal part to play. While the alchemist was aware that Mary was a special case and found a way to hide herself from him being able to detect her, he could still feel another faint source of black dust, coming from the castle.
He reasoned that Greed's avarice would make him go after Wrath before the alchemist arrived in Arendelle, which made it a safe assumption that Wrath was near the harbor. While Talib desired them both to be under his control, he wasn't that worried that Greed would be able to kill Wrath before the invasion force arrived. Conversely, Greed was also smart enough to realize when he needed to fall back if Wrath proved to be too much of an opponent for him. With him now knowing where Wrath was and Envy and Pride being too far away to sense, he was accountable for all the Sins.
Yet he could still feel another faint source from the castle.
He would've thought it would be the version of himself that was stationed in Arendelle but he knew what they felt like. They were almost identical to him so if he sensed them he'd be able to tell, but this source he felt was completely different from any he ever felt before, save one being.
Father, are you actually here in Arendelle?
Ok guys the ACTUAL War of Arendelle started in this chapter and hopefully will be only six chapters so its not too long and hopefully not too short. I hope you all enjoyed Greed appearing out of the smoke like a badass and catching them in an ambush. He also crippled their shoreline defenses giving the bad guys a chance to land. AND he managed to her Elsa, he did a lot in such a short time. Can Arendelle recover, will Edward's pissed off rampage be enough, STAY TUNED AND FIND OUT!
Note: as always if you wish to contact me please leave a review or pm and I will respond as soon as possible. Remember, PMs get responded to directly and reviews get responded in the next chapter. Please don't pull any punches and tell me what you really think of the story. Regardless of what feedback I get I'm going to finish this, so don't be afraid to kick my teeth in if you really have some grievances, I just hope you don't drop the story, I greatly value my readers and it is a sad day when one drops the fanfic without explanation.
ALSO, if you are worried that I have made a continuity error, please bring it up as I do try to avoid them yet I'm am not perfect. HOWEVER, be aware these are mostly third person point of view perspectives of what a character thinks at THAT time, so there's a chance they don't know something that someone else does it and it will be explained better later in the fanfic.