Castle
Despite the vivid horror that was gripping her entrails, Elsa's mind furiously fumbled to come up with a solution to quell the raging inferno before her. The silhouette inside hadn't moved since she had arrived. The stench was only getting stronger.
Put it out! Put it out! Put it out!
She hurriedly brought her hands up, defying the daunting flames and feeling their unyielding waves of heat traverse her body with a devastating pulse. The fire crackled, sending a furrow of sparks in all directions as if provoking her. It was a duel she could win.
I've got to cool it down!
"Please hang on! I will try to get rid of the fire!" she exclaimed at the top of her voice, not really knowing if they could hear her amidst the bonfire's roar.
She focused her mind as she usually did, trying her hardest to think of Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, Arendelle… Yet not a single snowflake was projected from her open palm. With wide eyes, Elsa looked upon her hands. She let the for once warm breath in her lungs out and tried a second time to generate some snow. Again, nothing.
What… Why? Why now?
The heat was becoming unbearable. With a disbelieving tint in her gaze, Elsa took a few steps back. Tears were starting to form in the corner of her eyes, hissing away as soon as they left her cheeks. Her powers had never failed her in that way before. While not always the most secure, they at least were there for her.
Come on… Come on…
"Come on!"she then furiously howled, lifting her hands up in a last-ditch effort as she closed her eyes.
Her cry was a plea for help, a desperate way to ask for them to come back to her. Unfortunately, the familiar surge that usually crossed her arms' length was nowhere to be found.
In spite of that, the heat seemed to diminish. Keeping her eyelids sealed, she pressed on, very acutely sensing the friendly and intimate bite of a cold night gaining back what was its rightful territory. When all acoustic traces of flames had disappeared, Elsa finally dared to open her eyes, a blossoming hope that she had acted early enough starting to fill her heart.
For the second time, she found herself in a completely different place than the one she had been standing in a blink ago. Confusion replaced dread on her features. She quickly scanned the area, searching for the poor soul that she had tried to save.
"Hello? Are you there?" she aimlessly asked.
Strange looking houses were surrounding her, some logs nonchalantly thrown before their patios. The sky had gone back to its usual pure black, the shining glimmer of stars its only company. Traces of smoke were not present anymore and the smell had also disappeared. The village she had seemingly landed in only had a single plaza, empty at that moment. The sound of shattered glass suddenly boomed from the other side of the small town, making Elsa jump on her spot.
She pondered for a few fleeting moments whether to investigate. Fear was paralyzing her movements, but the sudden panic had started waning off; she could clearly establish her priorities.
I need to go back.
In the end, given her recent trend to jump between locations at an assumedly random pace, she decided against further prying. She brought her eyes to her hands another time and noticed that she was still holding Garret's arrow. The icy projectile had a strange red halo around it as her gaze traveled along its length.
Elsa's hair stood up when she felt an odd presence around her. Lifting her head, she searched her immediate surroundings in a hurry.
An armored silhouette was standing across from her in the town's central square. Sensing her fear creep back up again, Elsa's chest tightened.
He's… facing away?
From a distance, the armor looked nothing like the leather-based tunics worn by Arendelle's guards. Enveloping the entire body, it flickered a singular shimmer, as if reflecting the starlight showering over it. It was hard to discern much in the obscure mist surrounding it, but its edges were distinguishable enough for Elsa to make out its pale blue color. In a slow movement, the man—the silhouette was too big to belong to a woman—turned his head to look in her direction over his shoulder. The helmet was as enveloping as the rest of the armor, with sharp features protruding like a hawk's beak and a grooved and ribbed plaque on the side to let the face inside it breathe.
The vicious glow that could only be a glare she perceived through the dark openings on the helmet's top made Elsa muster all the courage she could find in every fiber of her body to squeak a single line, her hands trembling.
"Who are you? Whe—Where am I?"
A feral grunt echoed through the pine-plated walls, loud enough for its rumble to overcome the sound of Elsa's pounding heart in her ears as she was swallowed into the void.
The arrow was still in her hands, its glow no longer perceivable.
"…so, is it satisfactory?" she heard a voice on her left softly call.
Blinking rapidly, Elsa found herself back into her castle, standing before the little group that had climbed up the North Mountain with her.
Huh?
Garret was fidgeting on his spot, his hands tied behind his back in a straight and rigid pose that could only be a long-lived habit of the former soldier. His gaze was focused but he was anxiously awaiting Elsa's verdict.
"What… How…" Elsa stuttered.
Garret lifted his eyebrows with a worried look, the eventuality of his ice being repulsive to his newfound teacher drilling its way into his head. Even Anna was starting to suspect Elsa wasn't in the most comfortable state of mind.
I… didn't leave? What happened?
Elsa's thoughts were whirling around, not excluding any hypothesis, as ludicrous as they were.
"If you think my capacities unredeemable, I would completely understand," Garret's voice snapped her out of her torpor a second time, his dejected voice completely betraying his self-doubt even when he seemingly managed to keep his face from displaying anything other than a neutral expression.
"No, no! I… just got a bit light-headed is all," she said quickly, still confused by her odd experience. "This is… this is a good starting point." Elsa caught the man imperceptibly heaving a sigh of relief. "I would like you to strengthen the basis first," she added, her confidence slowly building back up. "Do you see these fibers running along your crystals?" she asked, immediately receiving a sharp nod. "Try to link them through the three tips rather than one. I know it might look counterintuitive, but it will be a lot easier to work with that."
"Very well."
Garret then went back to his ice-making without further notice, letting Elsa hurriedly walk towards Anna. As soon as she was close enough, she leaned in, almost whispering into her sister's ear.
"I just went through the strangest thing I've ever experienced," she said with a serious tone.
Anna lifted her eyebrows. "That's coming from the ice wielding Queen of Arendelle?" she said, a wide grin already forming on her lips.
"Yes, it is," Elsa replied matter-of-factly, still keeping her volume as low as possible.
Anna's smile was immediately replaced by a frown when she noticed the shaking in Elsa's whispers. She dropped her voice too. Only Kristoff could now overhear their conversation. "What happened?"
"When I grabbed the arrow, I was… I don't know, it seemed like I wasn't here anymore. I stood in a forest with pines all around me. Then I smelled fire, and I found what I can only describe as a stake. There was someone in it." Anna's frown was progressively transforming into an anxious look. "I tried to save them… I wanted to throw my snow at it but nothing would come out. After that, I was in a village…"
"Wait, what happened to the guy in the fire?"
Elsa gulped with difficulty. The feeling of powerlessness she would definitely not qualify as the most pleasant she'd lived through. And the pyre…
"I honestly have no idea," Elsa responded. "The last thing I remember is someone wearing heavy armor staring at me across that village's main square."
Taking a few seconds to let Elsa's story sink in, Anna looked her sister in the eye. "Are you feeling okay?" she said in her usual gentle tone. Elsa lightly smiled. Her voice would always soothe her.
"Yes, I do," she lied. "It's just…"
She was interrupted when her castle's gates flew open.
"Your Majesty!"
In the doorframe stood the city guard's captain. Garret halted his intense concentration, turning around with curiosity to recognize the man that had asked him to leave the training grounds a few days before.
"Einar!" Elsa's surprise was clearly manifesting in her voice.
The man was heavily panting, beads of sweat dripping from his face.
Did he run up here?
"Is everything all right? Who's in charge back in Arendelle?" Elsa worriedly asked.
"Sir Jürden is, Milady," Einar answered breathlessly. "Actually, he's the one who sent me to you. I have an urgent message from him."
Jürden sent his best man here to give me a report?
"What is it about?" she proudly asked, clasping her hands before her. Before Einar could answer, a dozen steps were heard hurriedly climbing the stairs, a platoon of guards joining their Captain in a short-winded sprint. Elsa's eyes slightly widened.
An entire detachment?
"I'm afraid the news isn't good, Milady. We proceeded this morning to Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff's kidnappers' interrogation."
Elsa's interest was piqued, though not in the better way.
"They are mercenaries. They didn't even hesitate to talk," the captain said, trying the best he could to exude a solemn demeanor in spite of his tiredness.
Garret neared the group, intently listening to the conversation. Einar threw a severe glare his way, visibly hesitating to talk in front of a stranger. The urgency of the matter required him to overlook the feeling, however.
"So, this is good? It sounds like it's good," Kristoff asked.
"I'm afraid not, sir. This lack of loyalty means they were simply paid to kidnap Her Highness and yourself. A good—" He interrupted himself. "—a bit of persuasion revealed that they were hired by a small man with a gray mustache and a delirious behavior."
Elsa gasped. "The Duke?"
Einar nodded. "Yes, Milady, we suspect as much."
"Who's that guy?" Garret asked Anna in a serious tone, noticing the worried look that was marring every other person present.
"He… He was trapped here during the Eternal Winter. He wasn't the biggest fan of Elsa's powers, accusing her of sorcery and all that…" Garret's jaw clenched at the statement. "He sent two of his men to kill her right here. Even if you don't take that into account, he's just a materialistic jerk. After the Great Thaw, Elsa cut all commercial and diplomatic ties with his country, Measlestone or something like that…"
"Weselton," Elsa corrected gravely, her gaze cast down. She brought her eyes back up to the captain. "I thought he wasn't duke anymore?"
"Indeed. He has been revoked of his station last year, but he still has substantial personal resources, so it doesn't seem that farfetched—a man like that must have always hoarded money for his own sake. They also told us he was not the only one. A consortium of half a dozen men ordered the attack. Not a single information on the others, though."
"Why would they want Anna or Kristoff?" Elsa asked out loud, biting her thumb's nail.
"We were also told the target was in reality specifically Princess Anna," the captain somberly added.
Said princess pointed towards her own chest in stupefaction. "Me?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Those were the mercenaries' words. However, if I'm being completely honest, we strongly believe that…"
"…Her Majesty's the target," Garret completed with his arms crossed and a hard frown Elsa, Anna and Kristoff were seeing for the first time. "It makes sense."
Einar sighed, a look of exasperation on his features. He nonetheless nodded. "That is correct." Sensing the impending questions, the captain explained. "We are all aware of the close bond between her majesty and her highness. The duke might have wanted to exploit that…"
"Luring you out, using me…" Anna murmured, comprehension dawning on her.
Garret expanded on that. "He knows he can't harm you because of your magic. He gets Anna, sends you a message asking you to come alone someplace isolated enough, promising to dispose of your sister if you don't…"
"…he then kills you and returns Anna for a handsome fee, seeing that the kingdom has no other heir," Kristoff finished, his eyes wide as he firmly gripped his girlfriend's hand in his own.
"Sound plan, if not completely original," Garret spat with contempt. Elsa's disbelief was as clear on her visage as her fearful bright blue eyes when she turned her head to face him.
They were going for her… because of me?
"That is the most probable possibility," Einar continued. "Sir Jürden immediately reached this conclusion and sent me here to bring you back to the castle's safety as soon as permitted. That is the reason I came with a second troop to supplement the first."
"Your Majesty, we are talking about a guy who has a personal grief with you and called you a sorceress before," Garret stated. "This has to be taken seriously."
Elsa, still looking down, felt Anna's tiny hands on her shoulders. "We should probably go," her calm voice murmured. Elsa soundlessly nodded, putting her own palm over her sister's.
"When did you last hear of this guy? Do you have anything on the others behind all this?" Garret asked Einar with a pensive yet serious expression.
"Those aren't things I can discuss with you, I'm afraid."
Garret sighed. "All right. I underst—"
A booming sound echoed through the immense hall, jerking everyone up.
"Thunder? Did it even rain?" Anna asked. The Guard's quizzical expressions did not give her any answer, except that they were as lost as she was.
Garret was frantically looking up, his eyes wide open. "Everyone out of the castle," he simply said.
No movement. Another boom.
"Everybody out! NOW!" he screamed this time.
Kristoff gave him a worried glance. "What's the matt…"
He was half-way through his sentence when a heavy impact shook the entire structure, making Anna and a few guards lose their footing. Elsa immediately jolted next to her sister, helping her up.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I think…"
"GO!" Garret roared once again, as a third boom resounded.
The guards dragged their comrades with them, while Elsa, Garret and Kristoff sprinted after them. A second tremor shook the castle, trembling the ground under Elsa and making her fall this time. The walls started cracking around her, their structural integrity compromised. Cracks and fissures appeared all around her and raced to every side of the hall. The floor seemed to lean on the side little by little, making her slowly drift away from the exit. She saw Garret and Anna interrupt their sprint to come back toward her.
"Go, Anna! I'll get her! I'm faster!" the soldier shouted with finality, Elsa hoping his sound argument would make the princess reconsider taking unnecessary risks.
And she wasn't even surprised to find her still running at his side.
Darn it, Anna…
The two reached her in a flash.
"I'm not going anywhere," Anna said with a smile.
Elsa got up in time with Garret and Anna's help, resuming her frenzied run across her own construction. A block of crystal fell to their right, shattering on the floor with a loud crash that drew an involuntary cry from them three.
On the outside, Einar stopped just after the stairs' final step, ensuring that everyone got out safely. Taking a look at the castle's top, he noticed two large uneven wholes near the tip. He checked his men, seeing that everyone was safely out. Everyone except the two most important.
A third blast was heard. A blazing fireball flew over their heads. It landed with a deafening crack just in front of the main gates, severing the staircase's bridge to the castle. Just as the three remaining people inside took a step into the fresh afternoon's sunlight, the support for the staircase ceded under the suddenly added weight, breaking down into a million shards of crystal falling toward the gaping pit under them, taking the only way out of the castle with them. Elsa heard a sickening thud and felt her stomach turn as the platform they were standing on dangerously started to give way.
Einar was standing on the other side, his eyes wide with disbelief. Kristoff was kneeling at his left, jerking his hands towards his family at the edge of the cliff.
"Jump!" he desperately screamed. "I'll catch you!"
Anna was down as well, evaluating the distance. "We'll try!" she shouted back.
That's too far.
Elsa forgot how to feel fear. Clarity opening her mind, she turned to face reality. Her magic wasn't instantaneous. It would take too long to rebuild a complete bridge.
Not mentioning that since the castle's leaning away from the mountain, it will break right then and there. We're not going to make it. I can take the fall, but…
She exchanged a quick glance with Garret. He too had a small smile. In that split second, she understood he had reached the same conclusion. She brought her hands up, forming the most solid ice she'd ever form into an elongated shape inspired by the multiple blocks she had seen earlier while Garret constructed what looked like a heavy longbow.
The ground under her shook again, this time with a thunderous rumble. Some pebbles detached from the mountain side, falling towards the obscurity below.
Elsa winded her creation onto her sister's hips and handed Garret the open end to attach to himself and the arrow he had just summoned. Chuckling at Anna's puzzled expression, she radiantly smiled.
"I will be right back," she simply stated. A quick whistle was heard as the arrow was fired.
"No… Wai—!" Anna's breath was cut with the pull the heavy projectile drew on her waist.
With that, the floor gave in, Elsa feeling her heart lift from its place.
As she fell to the dark void beneath, she heard Anna's call for her name.
So soft.
Slowly drifting back to consciousness, Elsa lightly smiled at the cushioned sensation. Opening her eyes little by little, she was greeted by a familiar pure white. Gently lifting her head from where it was lying, she lightly shook it to get rid of the faint traces of powder on her hair. She turned her gaze around, glancing at the thick blanket of snow surrounding her. She looked down to see that her entire body down from her chest was embedded underneath.
Oh, right.
She lifted her eyes up. Not able to discern her castle's former contour, she deduced the fall had been quite long. That had worked in her favor, allowing her to create enough snow to halt her speeding acceleration towards the ground.
I hope they're all right, she thought. We were lucky Garret was with us.
With a quick snap, she dissolved the solidified water, making herself fall off a few inches. She stood up, quickly checking herself for any injury.
Now, how to find my way ba…
She hadn't finished her thought when a groan reached her ear from the side. Bringing her gaze to the source of the noise, her heart skipped a beat when she made out the crimson hair and the fur cloak lying in a small crater.
"Garret?!"
Another grunt answered her call.
What is he doing here?
With disbelieving eyes, she noticed another trace of red on the left side of his lower back. The problem was that a sharp chunk of crystal ice was protruding from that same location.
"Garret!"
She ran to his side, kneeling next to him. She quickly peeked at the wound, wincing when the man let out another pained grunt. She couldn't handle looking at it for long, the blade had reached deep within his body.
She hovered her hand over the piece, trying to melt it off. To her dismay, her attempt was completely ineffective.
Again?
She caught a little movement from the corner of her eyes. Garret had started shuffling on his spot, trying to stand upright.
"Wh… Oooow!" he grimaced.
"Hey, hey! Don't move!" Elsa warned, concern plastered all over her features. "You're injured!"
He was heavily breathing, tears of pain starting to form in his eyes. "Ho-How is it looking?"
Elsa would have minced words if it wasn't for the adrenaline. "Bad… It's... I think it's a fragment of the staircase…"
"Blasted…" he cursed, closing his eyes. "This one is going to hurt like a bitch…"
Forgetting her situation for a tiny moment, Elsa gasped at his second use of vulgarity. Garret quickly eyed her.
"Sorry," he immediately apologized.
We've got other things to worry about, Elsa thought.
"Why are you down here?" she reproachfully asked.
"I… thou–the plan was to save Anna?" he answered with difficulty, obviously struggling to keep his mind focused.
"Anna and you!"
"Next time we ha—we have two seconds to decide, we'll get the planning blackboard…"
I thought… How is that fair?
Elsa she was on the verge of responding with a lot more vigor.
"No use in arguing now," Garret interrupted the unspoken. "I'm going to ne-need your help, Your Majesty," he muttered, his gaze a tiny bit more concentrated. "And I will need you to remain calm. We must get rid of it first."
"The shard… doesn't melt," she said, her heart breaking as she was brought back to the most pressing issue.
Garret sighed. "I figured… Then remove it, p-please," he demanded with another wince.
What?
"I… I can't!" Elsa blurted out as she scooted back a little, her eyes wide with the realization of what he was asking of her.
"Your Majesty...We don't have a choice, an-and we must act fast," he reiterated with a firm tone. Garret slightly lifted his head, mustering all the effort he could to look at Elsa over his shoulder, his breath short and heavy. "My life depends on it. Please."
I… He'll…
She steeled herself with a clench of her wrists. "All… All right." She closed in again, her gaze uneasy.
"Thank you," he appreciatively said, letting his head fall back. "When that thing's out—the wound will have to be cauterized. We don't have fire at hand, so-" His body writhed again. "-so frost will have to do."
Frost?
"It isn't a priority, but I wou-I would really appreciate a stick to bite on, please."
"How is it going to help?" Elsa's question was genuine.
"I… It would be a bit more bearable. For both of us, fo-for what it's worth."
Elsa frantically gave look around her surroundings, quickly finding a little wooden branch lying not far from where they had landed.
"There's one!"
She retrieved it in a hurry, passing it to Garret's mouth over his back. He latched onto it, his eyes already hollow from the lack of blood.
"It's… It's going to be alright, Garret! You're going to make it!" she tentatively encouraged, not really sure her tremor could somehow emanate confidence. He uttered a faint moan in acknowledgment.
Elsa got back to the wound, looking at the icy protuberance with shaking limbs. Forming a protective sheet on her hands, she grabbed its edges, ready to pull. He shivered at the simple contact—this was going to be excruciatingly painful for him.
"Are… Are you ready, Garret?" she asked, her voice quivering.
Another grunt answered her from across his body. Elsa closed her eyes and took a sharp breath, cutting her respiration. She then tugged, immediately eliciting a muffled scream of agony from the former soldier as his entire torso bent forward, as if trying to escape the pain. The blade started ripping off, slowly making its way out from the back it was intruding in with horrible cracks. The piece was embedded so deeply it took all of Elsa's strength to continue.
And then, with a quick snap, the bloody extremity came off, leaving the gaping laceration open. Tossing the stair chunk aside, a panting Elsa hurried forward with panicked eyes, immediately bringing her palms together over the wound. She concentrated, mist starting to form around the point of contact with Garret's back. The man, whose pained howls had stopped after the blade had been removed, started screaming once again, his extremities stiffened. A sickening hiss was emerging from the injury.
Hang in there!
The cries suddenly stopped, but Elsa still had to continue. Closing her eyes for the last part, she conjured a tourniquet inside Garret's back in the hopes that it would be enough to stop any open blood vessel the frost wouldn't have sealed shut.
That should do it… she told herself as she leaned back.
Lightly panting still, she checked on Garret's face in a hurry, only to find that his eyes were closed and that the stick he had been biting on was lying in front of him, unmoving on the grassy ground. The traces of his teeth were very much visible, trenched with the force of his agonizing pain. She very slowly put her hand before his open mouth, feeling the gentle passage of his cold breath over her fingers.
He's unconscious.
She knew passing out from pain was possible.
With a delicate motion, she summoned crystal blocks that turned his body around so that he would lie on his back, leaving just enough space for his sealed wound to not be squished under his weight. She brought back her palms to her knees, her eyes following the slow and steady rise of his chest.
She suddenly choked up, the events of the previous half-hour catching up on her in a nauseating rush.
Huh. No more danger.
And so, for the second time in a year, the Queen of Arendelle allowed her tears to flow.
A.N: Told you we were going down to business.
I was told that asking for feedback in reviews could be a little counter-productive, so I won't be doing that starting from now. I, however, won't be bothered at all by them -the reviews- if only to discuss things :D
Peace,
CalAm.