Legion
The armor was heavy. Really heavy. The weight of the ice combined with the rough edges made it a very uncomfortable piece of…clothing? Would armor be considered clothing?
Anna pushed the distracting thoughts away. The column of light had first appeared in the middle of nowhere. Soon after, the ground had turned into a shiny rink, extending far beyond the limits of Arendelle's main town. The skates that popped under her feet were the last clue she needed to piece together the message her sister had sent: Help.
Half of Arendelle had received a suit of icy protection. The newly formed armada almost immediately followed her lead, dashing through the forest at unthinkable speeds before they reached what they quickly realized was a set up for a pyre. Elsa was pinned to a tree, motionless, and Garret was hunched forward, with five white-wearing witch hunters surrounding him, flames raised high.
A crossbow bolt flew, the flame disappeared, and she darted next to her—surely paralyzed—sister.
"It's us. I promised and all that, but when I saw the ground freeze and those weird skates under my feet, I knew you were in trouble. Good thing you sent that ice in the air or we would have had a lot more trouble finding you."
The witch-hunters simply watched, stunned into silence. Now, the legion of armored ice silhouettes was surrounding them. Five against a few dozen. They shouldn't like those odds.
The white around them shone through the visor in front of her eyes. Despite the narrow opening, the myriad of facets allowed for a complete field of vision. She recognized Elsa's meticulous nature: each little screen handled one part of the image, like a bee's eyes.
Anna stood upright. "We gave you an opportunity to go." Her voice thundered among the trees. The reverb inside had been thought out well too. "We gave you an opportunity to get out of this." She barely even recognized herself. But he had tried to hurt Elsa. Her anger was boiling inside, sending pulses of fury that shook her from head to toes. "You still insisted to go after our own. But we don't let our own down."
Roger fired a bullet at her—she didn't even have the time to think about going for cover. Fortunately for her, it struck her armor's chest plate harmlessly and fell to the ground, not having penetrated more than the superficial layer.
Thank the spirits for her magic.
Roger quickly scanned his immediate environment, noticing right away the sheer number of angular silhouettes that formed entire rows of identical suits of armor around him and his men. His hands were obviously trying to contain their shaking. They flew back, cocked his weapon again, and aimed it at Garret's head.
"A single one of you takes one step, he goes."
He was starting to get on her nerves with his threats. "You fire, there's an army of angry ice statues ready to strike."
At her words, the entire legion took a step forward. The collective thumping of their feet banged in the open. Roger's eyes grew larger, then narrowed in wrath.
"I thought you had at least some consideration for his life."
"I thought you had some consideration for yours."
It was a game of who would call the first bluff and Anna knew she wasn't at an advantage in those types of battles. She had to defuse the situation as soon as possible. She gave a fleeting glance behind her to check that Elsa was still where she was.
"Here's a prop—"
She was interrupted by the loud explosion of the gun firing. The startle almost didn't register when she whirled around to face him back. The firearm was lifted to the sky, the barrel still smoking black and hot smog. Roger was furious, she could see that on his face. But most importantly, Jack's hand was circled around his wrist, forcing him to aim upwards.
Only then did Anna fully comprehend.
He called it first. He would have shot him.
"Let go of my hand," Roger warned in a hiss.
His lieutenant held strong, not letting his eyes off him. "Can't let you do that, Roger. Can't let you do that to yourself."
"The mission first, Jack."
"This is suicide. They have ten times the men. You blow him, you go with him."
"I accept my own sacrifice."
Jack seemingly tightened his grasp around him and expertly snatched the gun away from him. "I don't." Roger stared at him blankly, a look of betrayal upon his features.
"You made a pledge to me. You made a pledge to him," he uttered, pure shock still visible under the layers of anger.
Jack looked down and threw the gun to the ground. "I'm not a perfect man," he said. "I won't let you die over this."
Anna saw a breach. And she jumped in. "Your crimes warrant a death penalty. But we will offer you safe conduct. In chains, but alive. If you surrender."
The men behind the trees, already weaponless, were on the ground by the end of her second sentence. Roger scoffed and lifted his hands up in exasperation.
"So, I was the only one ready to sacrifice anything. Why am I only half disappointed?"
He took a few steps back from Jack, the latter still keeping an attentive gaze on him. "We lost, Roger. This is witch territory. We couldn't have won against an entire country of them."
They had understood it that way.
Good, Anna thought. That's good for us.
Kristoff came right behind her and whispered next to her ear. "The armors are starting to go."
She didn't lower her eyes, but Anna indeed sensed a faint kiss of wind just under her elbow—the ice was thinning away.
"You have no weapons and no escape. Surrender now," she urgently warned.
A quick ruffling from the side indicated that Elsa's foot had slightly stirred. She was gaining her freedom of movement back. From the corner of her eyes, she checked on Garret. He hadn't moved an inch.
"I won't," Roger answered immediately. He reached inside his coat and pulled that same strange-looking gun from the castle's courtyard. The gun that called fire from the skies. "I will accomplish my mission or die trying. You've seen what this does. The entire area will be vaporized. I see you, Jack. Don't come closer."
That was the opportunity Anna had been waiting for and thanked Garret and Einar so much for. "Wait! That'll kill your men!"
"Not if you let them go. You can save whoever you want except the Demon. Everyone else is free to go. Even the Queen. You have four seconds."
The armors were already as thin as a sheet of paper—they had been an incredible help and a means of pressure but weren't going to offer much protection. Anxiousness was seeping into the legion, and she knew it. But he wasn't getting it. She had to be more explicit.
"The cannons on the boat are rigged! Fire and the entire ship sinks!" she shouted.
Roger stopped dead, his finger already pushing half-way through the trigger. "What?"
Anna walked forward, her helmet already beginning to disintegrate from the little wind her movement created against her face. The cold came to gently graze her cheeks and tickle her nose, memory of a time so close yet long-past.
"Einar saw your used cannonballs in the armory yesterday. Completely fried but usable again, still solid. Only one type of cannons does that that he knows of. And they're ship-mounted," she explained.
Roger's hand faltered slightly, but he eventually kept it high, his gaze focused on her.
"He left one near the entrance and Garret saw it. He understood you had a ship. He sent someone to find it and rig them with small ice tourniquets. Something that would block the link between the powder chamber and the wadding. Any lighted fuse would detonate the cannon itself," Anna continued, stopping shortly before him. "That someone did as they were told, and they came to me."
Roger scoffed once again. "That is complete nonsense. How would this spy of yours find the ship? And how would they even approach the cannons without being seen?"
"Simple. They followed the trajectory of the cannonball you fired on the castle." Anna smiled and stepped aside. "And they were a talking, three-foot-high snowman."
Olaf appeared behind Kristoff's leg with a jovial wave. "Hello, meanie. Your boat is outside the fjord, behind the Engeløya. Very pretty green color."
"You can't see something you'd never expect," Anna continued. "We did the same mistake. We dismissed the idea the first time because you were too far, but a boat can travel a long distance in a week. Signal that fire, and it sinks."
"I…" Roger spluttered, his gaze still glued to where Olaf had popped out. For the first time, his confident demeanor was crumbling. It only lasted for a second, however. "I do not believe you."
The bluff was too big. It wouldn't work.
It'll work.
"Drop your hands and surrender. Or fire that gun. Whether you believe or not is what decides for those lives. You choose," she said. The armor was still there, but she could now sense the gentle breeze over her entire body. It wouldn't last very long. "We do not wish to fight, nor see more bloodshed over this. But we'll fight whoever attacks us. We are the nation of Aren the First. Of the Snow Queen. We are the Ice Legion."
Another step forward.
She couldn't tremble, not at such a moment. She harnessed her thirteen years of lonely upbringing and for once, listened to what Elsa had told her was the single phrase that drove the most fear into her heart.
Conceal, don't feel.
"This is Arendelle."
Roger scanned her for ten seconds that seemed to last a lifetime. Not a hair of hers she wanted to budge. Only her breathing kept her aware that she was a being of flesh and bone, able to move if she wanted to. The witch hunter then swept the glade with his eyes, stopping shortly on Jack's worried expression.
He could win if he fired that gun. But she hoped he still a heart beating inside that chest. Garret and Elsa had given her the means to break through his will, she simply waited for that last light of humanity to shine.
"Come on, brother. We don't have to go like this," his lieutenant pleaded. "We cannot win this."
Her heart was going to explode. Every single pulse sent shivers down her spine, and if it wasn't for the literal coat of ice around her, she was sure sweat would have poured off her.
Roger examined his men once more, the conflict evident in his eyes. He settled on Jack, whose enormous silhouette was hunched in defeat. The two men shared one long glance, drilling into each other's souls.
Finally, in a slow motion that drew her fear to its climax, he let his hand fall down and the flare gun escape his fingers. The small device bounced and cracked against the ice, his last rebound hitting the moist ground as the mirror-like surface dissolved into heavy mist.
Anna breathed a long sigh and let the guards walk past her to apprehend him and his men—they opposed little resistance against their chains.
Roger faced up with closed eyes, a stray tear appearing on his cheek.
The entirety of the icy carapace around her disappeared, and if she was to believe the scurry of glitters and crystals that ran across her arms and above her head, the Ice Legion's suits had vanished too.
They had won.
She immediately turned back and darted towards Elsa, at whose side Kristoff was already kneeling. He got rid of the gag around her mouth and the rope tying her hands in her back, letting her breathe more comfortably. Anna hugged her close, keeping her tears at bay. She apparently couldn't move for the moment, but her voice was back somehow, though she visibly had trouble forming comprehensive words.
"Ga…"
"What is it, Elsa?"
"Gar—Garret…"
Anna's head snapped to him so fast she wondered how she didn't break her own neck. She stood and ran at the poor man's side and put a finger below his nostrils. Nothing.
The color drained out of her face. "We have to take him back, NOW!"
For the first time, the door in front of him he couldn't break. Actually, he didn't even check whether he could, because he wouldn't.
He had spent the entire day alone with his thoughts, one of them circling back to him in an endless loop.
An entire country of them.
Jack was right. They couldn't have won. It had been an impossible endeavor.
The shock still hadn't really waned. He didn't know where Jack and the others were, but he guessed they weren't very far. He had expected stone to sit on. Wood was a more comfortable alternative. Roger looked at his hands, linked by iron on his lap.
He had always seen them as two instruments of salvation. Sharp, precise, meticulous. Without a single ounce of hesitation. They had never flinched. Not one time. Until now.
He had been convinced he would be ready to sacrifice anything to accomplish his mission. He had believed that about himself for so long. Now, the feeling of emptiness inside almost made breathing difficult.
He hadn't been ready to sacrifice everything. There was one thing he wanted to keep. He had chosen his humanity. And it probably had been the wrong choice.
The crazed duke had given up his. The monsters he had served under had given up theirs. And he had feared to look at a mirror and finding them staring back.
He had failed. And now he only had his eyes to weep. Though even that he couldn't manage. He stared blankly into the wall in front of him, counting and recounting the cracks and the asperities.
He noted the sound of the metal door sliding open in his back. Three sets of boots. Heavy, armored. Not steel, though. Not clunky enough. Probably the leather-wearing guards. Spears in their hands—they really had to buy some guns.
And then a fourth set. That last one had heels. She was already on her feet—her body got rid of the serum a bit too fast for someone so small.
He didn't turn around. Why would he? So that the target that had escaped him could look him in the eye and laugh?
"Gloat if you have to," he said, his voice hoarse. "But quickly. It's already humiliating as it is."
"I'm not here to gloat," she said.
"Be careful. You'll light the castle on fire with that lightning strike."
She ignored his remark. "I'm here to answer your question."
"Why?"
"Because you seem convinced of something that is not true."
I'm starting to see a pattern here.
"And how would you care about me?" he said.
"I do not care. I'm not doing this for you."
"Of course, you aren't. Then what is this so-searched-for answer, Snow Queen?"
"Garret didn't kill your brother."
Roger scoffed. "This takes guts to say for someone who wasn't even there. I saw him. I saw Liam's body. I saw the armor. You're defending the undefendable."
"I gave you an answer. Whether you believe me or not is your choice."
Choice, again. He hadn't been good at those recently. This witch was already starting to get on his nerves.
"That's easy to say. He lied to you. Seeing me probably reawakened some instincts. Go ask him again and see the truth in his eyes."
The Demon was what his name said he was. An abomination. A foul creature. He wasn't going to change his mind, especially not because another one of them pestered him.
"We…We didn't have a chance to talk."
"You tell me, then. If he didn't kill him, why didn't he say so? What was he doing there? Why was he overlooking a lifeless body?"
"You were holding him at gunpoint and against a literal stake. You seem to hold your brother in a higher regard than the atrocities he committed allow for."
"He did what no one was willing to do."
"He slew innocents. And even if they weren't—which is another debate entirely—he was barbaric and savage."
"Again, mighty statement for someone who never saw him."
"I did see him. I saw what he did."
"And by what miracle?"
"One I'm sure you would dismiss as sorcery. I am a witch, after all. Barring even that, I saw what you were ready to do."
He had to. For no one had seen the real threat. How could anyone be so blind?
"You are a danger. All of you. To all of us," he said.
"Not as much as using God as an excuse. At least have the courage to own your delirious craze and leave the beliefs to people who'd good make use of them."
How dare she…
His anger rose, but he contained it. There wasn't any point to it now. "You don't get to chastise me on what I was sent to do."
"I won't. I see it wouldn't be very fruitful. You honestly believe it. Unfortunately, honesty doesn't equal truth. Instead, I will tell you what I believe. I will protect my home and my family from men like you. If I must be a danger, I will. But I will choose who to be dangerous to. I'm fully aware that as everyone else, I am fallible. I will strive for that to interfere as little as possible."
Her words rang in his ear. He had heard them from Jack during a mission, so long ago. The only good thing he had kept from his military days. And again, a few hours before.
She very audibly sighed. Her shadow appeared in front of him—she had come closer.
"One last thing. You have something of his." She was speaking of the dagger. He had been offered one too. He had refused it. He hadn't deserved it. And that monster had just accepted it when he deserved it less. "We couldn't find it. Where is it?"
Roger shivered. The temperature had dropped significantly around him, the bite of cold creeping up his spine from the ground itself. Was that a threat? What she perceived as a threat? He didn't care much. The dagger was barely a token. Not even worth its weight in copper. He hadn't bothered to keep it.
For what it was, they could search for it.
"I'm not aware of its location," he replied.
"That's too bad."
The cold came to his neck and the pain surged almost instantaneously. It wasn't very acute, just above a hard pinch. It didn't even warrant a reaction.
What is she, a child?
Her shadow slowly faded as her heels clicked away. Despite the very present disdain he felt for her—that had surprisingly dropped in intensity, he quickly found out—one thing didn't stop irking him.
"You didn't answer one question. Why was he there?" he asked.
The heels stopped. "Your brother burned his mother. She wasn't a witch."
He didn't want them to, but her words still nagged at him. "How do you know she wasn't?"
"My mother wasn't. She never had powers."
Emptiness, once again. It was starting to become annoying. She was now almost out of the room— 'cell' wasn't appropriate, if his albeit short time inside an Indian jail was anything to go by.
"Was the ship really rigged?" he asked. There had been a part of him that wanted to know. To understand he had made the right call. For his men, and for himself.
"You chose well," was all she said.
Cryptic. Either the cannons had been rigged indeed, or…
"I forbid you from feeling pity," Roger called, the trembling in his tone almost taking over.
"I'm not," she answered. "I'm sad. You are clearly a brilliant man. It's a shame. I wonder what you'd have become had you made other choices before this one."
There it was once more. The matter of his choices. There wasn't anything to do now but dwell on them.
The silence seemed louder than before. Now he could even hear the breaths of the guards, flowing through their tunics as they ground against leather to meet the colder exterior; the rhythm of the waves outside, thundering now against the walls under the cold night sky; her ice, gently resorbing from under his feet to where she was now standing.
"Inside the forest, not far from where that castle of yours was brought down," Roger said in a low voice. "But in exchange I want my men treated with dignity."
She pondered the answer for a few moments.
"Very well."
And then the door closed.
Elsa politely sent the guards back to the barracks. She felt like being alone for a little while. She simply walked, letting her shaking die down. Standing with him inside that cell had been terrifying, but she only realized it afterward.
The man was broken, had been tricked, and she had lied to him. She did feel pity.
She hugged herself tightly and made for where Garret was being tended to. Her stress had largely leveled down ever since she had recovered her ability to walk freely but she still worried. He had looked in bad shape. Had it been Roger's punches and kicks? He seemed he could talk fine even after those.
Was it his magic? She couldn't shake that possibility. It took a toll on her too, and it seemed it always devastated him a lot quicker than it did her.
She came across the corridor with all the royal portraits. The corridor where her father's image was plastered, between her grandfather's and a stone pillar. She passed a fleeting glance over its length.
At the very end, a slender silhouette. Anna was there, her hands behind her back, silently observing their father's portrait.
"What's he telling you?" Elsa asked as she stepped closer as lightly as she could.
"Nothing this time," Anna answered with a small laugh. "I'm just saying hello."
They shared a comfortable silence, gazing upon the threads of red and gold that had immortalized their father for the first time as a king.
"I thought the armors were yours," Anna said after a few seconds.
"No, they were his. I can't use magic under the serum's effect." She had her mind on him now, she could as well ask. "How…How is he?"
Greta had forbidden anyone to get inside the room while she worked, but she hoped her sister would have something for her.
Anna's gaze dropped to the ground. "She got out once. Whatever happened there took everything from him. She said he's lucky to be alive, especially since this is the second time he almost died in a few weeks. He'll be out for a bit, but he'll live."
An immense weight was lifted off Elsa's heart. Her breath escaped her chest in a relieved sigh, warmth spreading all over her body. "That is wonderful!"
"Yes, it is." Anna then lifted her misty eyes to her. "Elsa?"
That didn't look very good. Worry was already coming back full force inside her stomach. "Yes?"
"Everyone is aware you do your best, but you know you can come to me for help, right?"
That had been a lesson she took an entire year to digest, and a witch-hunter's attack to fully comprehend.
As much as thought herself—and probably was—able to handle the world, Elsa needed Anna and Arendelle as much as they needed her, if not more.
"I know." She brought an arm around her sister's shoulder and squeezed her close. "I'm proud of you, Anna."
"And I of you."
The sound of chirping birds snapped her out of her drowsiness. Or was it the knocking? The birds had been there before. Anna's head popped out from the door's opening. It probably was the knocking.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. Can we go in?"
Elsa quickly adjusted her position on her seat and threw a nod in her direction. Her book was still on her lap, open at a page she probably had to read again.
Transfer protocols for prisoners were not simple enough that a quick overlook would give her enough information to handle them properly. Especially when the prisoners in question had a ship of their own.
And why did it have to be Britain?
Everything about that empire was overly alembicated and complicated, she had come to discover. No matter, she could see that later. Elsa focused her attention on Anna and Kristoff, who had quietly stepped inside and closed the door behind them, basking into the ochre of a falling sun's light.
Anna lightly strode near her to plant a peck on her cheek and envelop her arms around her. "You all right?"
Elsa smiled and leaned into her sister's touch. "I'm fine. My head hurts from reading so many rules that make no sense and contradict each other, but I'll survive."
"And here I am wondering why there aren't more people in politics," Kristoff said.
Anna's chest vibrated against her as she chuckled. "Be like me though; play it dumb, and they'll be so confused or frustrated they'll let you do whatever you want. Validated by an expert in dumb things."
"You're not an idiot, you…idiot."
Anna laughed whole-heartedly. "See? I know I'm not, but it's funny to pretend." She then paused for a few seconds, her head stirring lightly to face the unconscious body that laid in the bed at the center of the room. "He didn't even move, huh."
Elsa's heart fell a bit more when Anna voiced what she already knew very well. It had been almost four days. "He takes his time."
Garret's expression hadn't twitched. The only sign he was still in there was the slow and steady rise and fall under the blanket. Elsa remembered the time she had spent in that shack close to him, hoping he hadn't left her alone. Now she wanted him not to be alone.
"He's going to be fine," Kristoff said. She leveled her eyes at him. He was looking back, his gaze a mixture of confidence and worry. "I like to think I'm a good judge of character. He won't give up so easily."
He wasn't that type of man indeed. Elsa knew that. But she also knew how his anguish had transformed him, that he had been ready to give up because of that one mistake. She could only hope that he understood otherwise now.
She quickly glanced at her hands. At first, steam would leak out in various forms out of them when Garret was using his powers near her. And recalling his storm inside that forest, she realized it had been a long time since that last happened. Both their magics were now used to each other, it seemed.
Anna gave little taps on her shoulder. "Gerda has dinner served if you want to come eat with us."
Elsa sighed. She didn't want to leave his side, but she was indeed hungry.
"That would be lovely," she said with a nod as she stood.
They exited the room as quietly as they had entered, Elsa's eyes focusing on her steps while she walked. She tightened her grasp against her book, starting to think over and over what she'd do if he never woke up.
"You're going to eat with that?" Anna asked.
Elsa's head snapped to her. "Oh, pardon me, I wasn't listening."
Her sister smiled in that tender way that made her heart melt. "You're going to eat with a book? I mean I'm sure it's a very supportive book but we have forks and knives too."
She realized with a start that she had indeed picked it up with her. "Oh no, I'm terribly sorry. I'm just distracted."
"We can see that."
"I'll go put it back immediately."
She turned on her heels and headed to Garret's room. She had completely forgotten her manners. They had come to fetch her and now they probably thought that she was dismissing them.
Not good, Elsa. Not good.
She put her hand over the handle and froze, the cold of her skin seeping into the metal. Someone was coughing inside. There had been no one else with her when she left. Elsa pushed the door open, her heart drumming so much she could feel every beat in her throat.
His eyes were open. Slightly, but open. They drifted to her slowly, and their green shone a bit more when they fell on her.
"Remember the elephant?" he said. His voice was strained and quiet, not above a whisper—yet it had a certain vitality to it. "He's back. With a few friends."
Elsa walked closer without a word and gently let the book down on the bedtable. She stood at the edge of the mattress, blankly observing his face.
Apparently, he interpreted her silence as some cause for worry—because he would always worry about others first. He furrowed his brows. "Is everyone—"
"Elsa, you're taking way too much time just to put back a book on a shelf. Is everything—"
"—okay?" they said simultaneously.
Anna's word caught up in the air as she stepped inside followed by Kristoff. The shock and surprise faded instantly however, replaced by a wide smile.
"There you are." She walked to Elsa's side and her hands came to her shoulder with a light squeeze as well as to Garret's arm a bit below. "Everyone's fine," she answered.
Elsa didn't know whether Anna had heard the question or she had been anticipating him asking it and her not replying.
Garret sighed. "That's a relief."
"How are you feeling?"
"Like a charm. How long…How long was I in the stars?"
"Three days and some change," Kristoff replied. "It's good to have you back."
"Three bloody days." Garret's glance shifted to Elsa as if he was feeling guilty about it, then returned to Kristoff. "Good to be back."
"Yeah, you're awake now. That's what matters," Anna mused. She then crossed Elsa's gaze. "We should probably go warn Greta. Come with me, Kristoff."
The man looked baffled. "Wait, why? One of us is enough."
"Just…move, you big oaf. Good judge of character, my foot," Anna murmured with a grin as she pushed him out.
The door closed and the words caught up in a painful knot in Elsa's throat. They were there, she just had to speak them out.
"I—"
She could just say hello for a start. It was easy enough.
"I'm—"
That wasn't the start of hello. Why couldn't she just say something?
"I'm sorry," she finally muttered, her head bobbing down.
The full force of the events inside the eastern forest crashed against her. She had been immobile, frozen, powerless. She had almost watched him die. If it hadn't been for Arendelle entire, he would have….
Her fists closed and shook; her eyes started tearing up. Was she really going to cry? Now?
"What are you apologizing for?"
She perked up. He had said that. With a gentle smile.
And just like that, the knot began untangling. He knew what that felt like. He didn't hold it against her. He was still there.
And of course, he'd say that.
Elsa chortled earnestly. She lifted her hand to her face and wiped the single tear that had escaped.
"A lot of things actually." She sat on the chair and allowed the corners of her mouth to curve up. "But I'm happy to see you awake."
Garret mirrored her smile. "I would be less overjoyed. Looks like this became my official room. How does it feel having a squatter inside a royal castle?"
"Oh, I believe you'll be cordially invited to see yourself out as soon as you can walk," Elsa answered slyly. "I'm just being polite."
They laughed together and stayed silent for a while, simply enjoying the calm until Garret spoke.
"I have to say, I'm a bit humbled."
Elsa shot her eyebrows up in curiosity, her head slightly tilting to the side. "By what?"
"I got a taste of what it is to be you."
Oh right. That must have been strange.
"How did it feel using your powers?" she asked.
Garret scoffed. "That was me using my powers in the same sense that repeatedly hammering a cartridge with your finger is firing a gun. Hit the same point hard enough for long enough, and if you're lucky and stupid something's bound to explode." He let his eyes go to his hands and wander along his fingers. "Do you remember when we first met? I had these blocks of ice everywhere." She nodded. "It was a bit like that. It just came over me."
Elsa's stomach dropped. "Was it painful?"
"Yes, it was. Like my skin was trying to go away from needles that pierced it from inside. I was shaking a lot by the end—I think that's what tipped Roger off. And don't you dare apologize again," he added with a half-grin when he saw her open her mouth. "I did what I had to do and I'm happy I did. Unfortunately, I think that was a one-off."
He was right. The pressure it had exerted on his body had almost been too much. She wanted to know more, but he looked like he didn't want to talk about it.
"I must say I am surprised you summoned your armor. I thought you hated it."
Anna had really rubbed off on her.
"It's a bit more complicated than that, but yeah. I couldn't really bring myself to use it on me. But when I saw you on the ground—" He scanned her face silently for a moment. "—I figured I had a choice again. Do nothing and watch someone else burn, or get off my ars—I mean, do something with my hands, even if it doesn't feel great. Neither of the options was the absolute best, but at least I didn't stand there. I want you to know that's because of you."
"Of me?"
"We're human because of them. If I'm not mistaken, that's yours. Grandiloquent, imperious. Fitting for a queen, innit?"
She lightly slapped his shoulder while repressing a smile. "Hey. You still don't get to cope that way."
That laugh back again. He really did look a lot younger because of how childish it was. It was goofy like he laughed without a single care in the world. It contrasted marvelously against his serious side.
Even beyond that, he had learned. He had trusted her enough to pierce through. To finally see that he was able to heal. It wouldn't be instantaneous, but he had seen it. That he was more than his mistakes. Much more.
"I'm proud of you," she added, her honest sentiment overwhelming her. "I knew you could do it."
"And I sure as all hell didn't. I'm grateful you showed me I could. Even if it was just the one time. Master."
"That is still not becoming a thing."
"Really? On my deathbed and all…"
"Never," she asserted with a fake haughty air and a quirked eyebrow. "Do you feel different now?"
"I can't—" He stopped, evaluating what to say as he examined his hands once more. "I do. I'm not sure in what way." His eyes went to the bedtable and to the glimmering blade of silver, red and copper that lied on it next to her book. "You found it."
Elsa smiled. "It seemed important to you, I thought you'd like it back. Einar insisted he'd send people to find it as soon as possible. Roger told us it was still at the ice castle."
"Thank you." Garret scanned her face again. "Is he…?"
"He's down in the dungeons, with his entire group. We cannot handle so many prisoners, so we're probably sending them back to Britain. Though it has been a nightmare trying to figure out the exact protocols."
"Oh Lord, you're in for a headache. Here's my advice: go in head-on, tell them you did their job for them. I'd even ask for compensation."
Elsa gulped. "But that—"
"—is how the empire understands who they're dealing with. Roger is a known man there, you'll make an impression."
Before she could reply, Anna's musical knock resonated once again.
"Here is the medic," she said through the door, casually opening it a second later.
Greta followed and immediately started examining Garret after greeting Elsa. She palped his abdomen, his neck and nape, his arms and legs, his back. She then pulled out a few of her tools and spread them out on the bed table. She still had some tests to do.
Elsa stood and took a few steps back to let her have her space.
"Tell me, G," Anna called with unhidden mischief. "What's your impression on being pampered like this?"
"Pardon me, Your Highness," Great replied instead. "He should avoid talking while I'm working."
"Oh, okay," she dejectedly conceded, her devilish smile disappearing right away. She turned to her sister and dangled her head left and right while rolling her eyes. Elsa tried to look disapproving and furrowed her brows, but she was sure the giggle that went past her lips had ruined the effect. "What did you talk about?" Anna then murmured, regaining a more fitting gentle smile.
"Oh, you know. Just saying hello."
"Uh-huh. And did he tell you what's next for him?"
Elsa's blank stare surprised even herself. She hadn't even thought of asking that question. "I—"
"—was distracted. Again. That's okay. Greta seems to almost be done. Let's ask him. We can offer for him to stay in Arendelle?"
Elsa tried not to show her reaction on the spot, but that prospect looked enticing. If he stayed, she could teach him more about ice manipulation, he could help with the prisoner transfer, he'd get to recover at his own pace, she'd get to talk to him for a bit mor—wait, what?
A small cry of hurt drew her out of her reverie. The nurse was performing the very last checks, on the extremities of his fingers. She then shared a quick hushed exchange with her patient before pulling away.
"That should do it for now. Please reflect on how close this was. I would advise against repeating the experience," she said with that naturally harsh and rasp tone. Garret nodded sheepishly, seemingly trying to melt into his mattress under the calm but reproachful woman's eyes. "You will be fine, but you'll need extensive rest for a month. That means no jumping around and no ice-making even though you will probably be able to walk in a few days. Is that clear?"
"Crystal. Thank you," Garret squeaked, his voice even quieter than before. Greta bowed to Elsa and Anna once more and exited the room, the former soldier breathing an enormous sigh as soon as the door closed behind her. "Sweet mother of god, was she always like this? Please get me back to the army, at least I could fight back out there."
"That just means she's warming up to you," Kristoff said while nervously scratching the back of his neck. Elsa got the clear impression he was speaking from experience. "She's like that with everyone."
"Not with me," Anna said in dumbfounded confusion.
"Nor me," Elsa added.
Kristoff and Garret threw surprised glances at the sisters.
"You're the royal family," they both uttered out as if the evidence of the matter was plain to see.
We are, Elsa thought with a shrug after she quickly reexamined the question.
"Anyway. Where are we off to after this?" Anna asked.
Garret looked confused. "Umm. Wherever you want? I can't move for now."
"No, I meant… What are you doing after this?"
"Oh." He cast his gaze down to his fingers. "I gave this a bit of thought, and… And I believe I'll go home."
Elsa's optimism dropped to the ground about as fast as it had shot up.
Go home?
Anna was feeling the same if she was to trust her frown and pout. "You're sure about that?"
Garret lifted his gaze to her just before it settled on Elsa. "The way I left certain things is not something I want to live with anymore."
Elsa looked into his eyes and understood. He confirmed her guess with a simple nod.
And then her mind began piecing it together. What he had told her about their parting, their history, Garret's silence in front of Roger, his mother's death…
There was one explanation.
"He's the one who did it…"
Another nod and a short laugh. "I had to land in the one kingdom that makes Scotland Yard look like a bunch of dirt-eating schoolboys."
Anna's eyes flew between the two like a pendulum's steady oscillations. "What just happened?"
"Don't worry about it, Anna," Garret answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'll handle what I have to handle once I'm there."
"Elsa could go with you!" the princess immediately blurted out. "She'll have to take care of the extra-tuition and all that shmick, right?"
"Extradition, Anna. And I don't think it has to be the monarch, a diplomatic envoy is enough."
"But if, like, the Queen herself goes, that means something, no?"
Elsa considered the option. From what she read, that was very possible, if a bit over the top. It was definitely a statement, but no matter how she examined the question, she just couldn't see any logical reason to go.
Still, somewhere deep inside, she wished she could. To be there at his side a bit more before their roads separated.
"Actually, Your Majesty, that's a sound idea," Garret said, a pensive finger lightly tapping on his thigh. He yawned profusely before resuming. "If you go, the empire will understand this matter had serious consequences, on you no less."
"And that we are pissed about it," Kristoff added.
Now that they mentioned it, Elsa properly imagined a few scenarios based on what she knew of the British. Even if Arendelle was indeed small, the idea that the mighty empire had let a Northern kingdom deal with such a threat in their stead would at least bring up questions from the other powers.
France would most likely be the first to jump on the occasion, and while the two countries had not had any grave conflict for a few decades now, the echoes of Napoleon's defeat were still whispered over.
It would not be the biggest scandal yet, but it would be an annoyance important enough to reach the higher spheres. And if she went, she could highlight how seriously Arendelle took that aspect. Showing up with the prisoners was a sign of relative non-hostility—for lack of a better word—coated in very understandable caution. It wasn't much, but it was something.
Elsa visualized all possible outcomes, even the least probable, and most of them led her to the conclusion that while going could very well not gain her anything, it would certainly not cost her anything beyond leaving the country for a few weeks.
That was still an important part of it. She crossed Anna's gaze.
"You can leave it to me here," her sister said with a determined clench of her fists as if reading Elsa's mind. "I can take care of everything while you're gone."
She's grown so much.
"All right, I'll think about it," Elsa finally admitted. The warmth inside her chest told her she was indulging a bit too much, but she had deserved a trip. Garret nodded in approval, a small smile grazing his lips, but Elsa quickly noticed his eyelids slowly drifting lower and lower. He needed to sleep. "We should probably let him rest."
"Oh, yes," Anna agreed immediately. "Catch some shut-eye, we'll discuss everything once you're up and running."
The faint moan that answered was a clear sign he was already getting back into a comfortable slumber. The trio swiftly stepped outside with as little noise as possible.
"Well, that's that," Anna mused with satisfaction.
"Where did that come from?" Elsa asked as soon as they were far enough.
Her sister dropped her head down, her features abashed. "You looked disappointed. I thought it would be nice…"
Anna always said she knew her better than she knew herself. She could see why she'd think that.
"I… I think I was." The brilliant grin that appeared on her sister's face illuminated her day a bit more. "Thank you."
The month passed in a blur. One day Garret was still confined to a bed, the next one he was up and walked, suddenly he spent more of his days outside exploring Arendelle, then it was already time to embark on the boats.
And Elsa was surprised to realize how much of that time she had spent with him—not all of it, but it had been sizable enough. She also noticed how much enjoyment she had gotten out of it. They had laughed a lot, that much she knew. She had seen more of that goofy smile too.
They spoke about his magic—what to do with it, when to work on it. He seemed more ready to accept it as a part of him.
They visited Jürden's grave. Garret hadn't known him long, but he said he owed it to him to pay his respects when his last moments had been those of a venerable warrior. Elsa couldn't shake the feeling that the impact had been a lot deeper.
Anna had resumed her sword training, and Elsa had discovered she'd try to use Garret as a sparring partner. She hadn't approved at first. And then she saw his face when Anna would duck and spin and jump and strike; how he seemed impressed, stumbled on his feet because he didn't know how to use a sword himself.
She had a good time. Even her royal duties had been somewhat lighter, but she knew they would come back tenfold after the voyage.
But it was time to go. Her first envoys had taken a few prisoners and their ship a few days ago to prepare her own arrival.
Now, her ship was loaded, the crew readied, the port crowded. Arendelle hadn't seen its ruler leave its borders since her parents' passing. Some were worried, but most were there to wish her a good trip.
Elsa stood before the glistening hull of polished oak and pine wood, the soothing crackle of its joints resting her mind as efficiently as the mewing seagulls on its mast.
"That should be all, Kai."
The chamberlain bowed respectfully. "Very well, Your Majesty. May you find swift winds and agreeable minds," he said, before adding stealthily, "Be careful, I'm told the British are scared of competent people." He then stepped inside the ship to supervise the cargo and settle the very last details of her escapade, leaving a giggling Elsa alone with Anna on the dock.
While the busy port almost disappeared under the sea of people, the brouhahas and ruckus stayed at a relatively low volume.
"This is it, huh," Anna said as she ran her eyes along the length of the wooden bow with an eerie stance.
Elsa gently rubbed her shoulders in a—hopefully—calming gesture. "It's going to be okay. The seas are calm where we're headed."
The last royal voyage had had lasting consequences; she couldn't blame her for being anxious. Anna nonetheless forced a smile on her lips, one of the smiles that Elsa didn't like to see but made her so proud of her sister.
"I know it was my idea, but you know…don't take too long, please? Also, did he give you an answer yet?"
Elsa's face flushed in embarrassment. She hadn't found the courage to ask him. And Anna quickly understood that.
"You still didn't…? It's just a job offer, Elsa," she muttered in a strange mix of consternation and amusement. "He won't ask himself, so it has to be you. Just tell him before you leave England. Okay?"
Anna and Kristoff had spent the entire month trying to discretely—not really—plant the idea that Garret could become a member of the Royal Guard into the man's mind, but he had been completely oblivious to their subtext, as they called it. They concluded that only a direct request would elicit a reaction, and for maximum effect, that request had to come from the Queen herself.
Except something didn't sit well with Elsa. She didn't know why, but it felt like that question was a lot bigger than it seemed. She had to ask it nonetheless.
"I will," she answered. "I promise."
"That's my sis'," Anna said as she brought her into a soft hug. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Anna's voice turned sly when she pulled away and whispered, "Don't make too many Englishmen swoon over there."
Elsa's eyes grew slightly larger. "Do you think I can't control my powers if I'm too far?" she said, worry already starting to creep back up on her.
Anna stared blankly at her for a second before hugging her again a lot more tightly. "You are adorable, and the world needs more people like you."
"I don't think the world could handle more people like her," Kristoff's jovial tone called from behind. The sisters whirled around. The irony of his phrase was not lost on them since Garret walked right beside him on the docks, finally having found his coat back.
"You're late," Anna said, her hands flying to her hips in disapproval. "You made a queen wait."
Garret pointed his finger to his companion. "He wanted to have one last drink."
Kristoff rolled his eyes. "So much for masculine solidarity. Reindeers would never snitch like that."
"It's okay," Elsa said with a quick wave. "They came right on time. Ready, Garret?"
"As much as I can be." He then turned to Kristoff and extended a hand. "So long, mate."
Kristoff accepted the offered handshake with vigor. "Safe travels, buddy."
"Don't forget. Better not to keep it inside."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Garret then walked up to Anna and immediately opened his arms. She fell into the hug with a laugh. "So long, Your Highness."
"You're doing it on purpose, and I won't take the bait. Be sure to train your sword fighting."
"Hey, I beat you last time."
"Firing sword shaped arrows with your bow is not sword fighting."
"I fought you with swords. Not usual swords, but still swords. Rules of grammar say I win."
"Ugh. Get out of here," Anna sighed with feigned exasperation as she pointed to the ship.
Einar and Kai strode out of the boat, the plump chamberlain walking past them with a quick bow while the captain stopped, apparently waiting for something.
"Thank you for the dagger, sir. I didn't have a chance to say it," Garret said with a bob of his head.
"Sure."
Einar then walked away without an additional word, his back straight and his posture dignified.
"He doesn't hate you," Anna chimed. "But he still doesn't like you much."
Garret shrugged. "I don't need him to. The boat is ready, Your Majesty. We should embark."
Elsa nodded, and after one last loving hug to Anna and Kristoff stepped aboard the vessel of metal and wood, Garret on her heels. She exchanged a knowing glance with him and turned to wave at her people standing on the docks, their misty goodbyes and loud cheers warming her heart to the brink of melting.
A vibration shook the entire ship, sending a trembling wave across her entire body. They had departed Arendelle.
Her country was small, but it was lively. And it was her kingdom. Her home. She pushed that strange sentiment that came over her sometimes. Was it stress? It was quick but intense. She dismissed it completely when Garret's voice reached her ears.
"That's something, huh. I'm guessing it is not a common occurrence."
"It isn't indeed."
"I'll miss it."
"Me too. And now—" With one last farewell to her people, she faced away from her birthplace and looked far into the horizon. The unknown was waiting for her, even if it was for a short while. Her heart raced in excitement and anxiousness both. "—to London."
Anna huddled closer to Kristoff. The three masts now meshed with the clear skies afar, the rippling of the veils fading into the white of the gigantic clouds that ran tranquilly in the background. Elsa wouldn't hear her even if she shouted.
"They're both completely oblivious," Kristoff said, answering her silent question.
"That can't be true."
"I know he is. Tried to get something out during that drink, and nothing. Hearing him, she barely gave him the time of day."
Anna couldn't believe her ears. He was somehow worse than Elsa. "Are you kidding me?"
"Maybe they just don't see each other that way?"
"Kristoff. You could hang clothes on the tension between them. She stayed by his side the entire time he was on that bed, and did you see how they look at each other?"
He shrugged. "They may not be in a good place for it right now."
Anna sighed heavily and gently caressed Kristoff's hand. She wanted Elsa to know what that felt like, but the last thing she wanted was to force her into something she didn't want. "I guess we'll have to wait."
The docks were already emptying, the residents quickly getting back to their daily occupations.
"So, what next, Queen-Regent?" Kristoff asked, his eyebrow shooting to the sky.
"For two weeks." Anna let her head fall. "Oh dear, I'm in for trouble, aren't I?"
Kristoff gently stroked her shoulder. "Nah, you'll be fine. I'll give you carrots and lots of supportive belly rubs."
"I'm not Sven," Anna bellowed with consternation. "—but okay," she then quickly added in an embarrassed whisper.
"And the dress looks good on you."
They walked back to her castle; her people were waiting. When they reached the port's entrance—or exit, matters of perspective—one of Garret's sentences came back to her. She stopped in her tracks and furrowed her brows.
"What did he mean when he said better not to keep it inside?"
Kristoff's eyebrow rose for a second and he chuckled. "I'll tell you when you're older."
"Eww. Is that one of you boys' dirty phrases?"
This time he earnestly laughed that laugh that shook his entire body. That laugh that made him sound like a grandpa and her fall for him a bit more each time.
"That's not the word I'd use."
AN: Okay. 9K words. I never thought I'd reach this milestone for one chapter. Here it is nonetheless, hope you enjoyed it!
So, a few clarifications about what's coming.
Next chapter is the final chapter of PaT. That's where the story I wanted to tell ends. Chapter 18 will be a long epilogue that will link PaT to its sequel (because a sequel is planned, even though it won't start right away, but more details on that later).
Hope you enjoyed it until now, and I thank you for staying with me. Comments/reviews are always very welcome!
Next chapter has two themes! The first is Syracuse, from Sinbad: Legend of The Seven Seas OST. If you never saw that movie, do yourself a favor and go watch it!
The second theme I will give at the beginning of Chapter 17, so look forward to that.
That's all for now!
Peace,
CalAm.