Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 24: Merida

"I'm sorry, but things have gotten too weird to explain," Jack grumbled into the stunned silence that followed Rapunzel's remark.

Merida gaped at Elsa. She thought that Elsa controlled ice. What was she doing wielding darkness?

Elsa opened and closed her mouth, looking a bit like a fish out of water.

"I thought she was like Jack?" Astrid ventured tentatively. "You know, snowflakes and snowmen and icicles..."

Finally regaining her composure, Elsa managed to speak. "I am like Jack; I don't know what that was." She lifted her hand, and a snowflake appeared in her palm.

"Can you do it again?" Hiccup wondered aloud.

Elsa frowned and flexed her fingers. "That would be a definite no."

"Perhaps when you were possessed by Pitch, he left something behind," North suggested.

"Left something behind?" Elsa cocked her head. "Unless something was already there."

"It's not unheard of to have more than one affinity," Jack pointed out. 

"But still extremely rare," Bunnymund interrupted. "And it should have manifested before this..."

Merida scowled at what Bunnymund was insinuating. A muscle in Jack's jaw ticked. The room stiffened at Bunnymund's unspoken accusation.

"She's on our side," Jack said defensively.

"Are you suggesting I hid this ability?" Elsa asked coolly, raising an eyebrow at Bunnymund.

"Well, you have demonstrated a blatant disregard for rules, and the Elites did not know of your powers until a year ago."

Elsa lifted her chin, undeterred. "This is different. I understand the magnitude of magic like Pitch's. I know the... cost of power like this. I have experienced it firsthand, after all."

Though he appeared unsatisfied, Bunnymund didn't argue.

"I know this new development is important and stuff, but can we talk about how Punzie almost turned into a snake?" Flynn asked, changing the subject.

"The Broken Light," Rapunzel answered, scowling. "And I still want to know what the hell happened."

"You were turning into a Changeling, so we tried to find a way to fix it. You mumbled something about Moana and the Broken Light, so we went after her. From that we discovered that we could fix it, but somehow, Elsa managed to control the, uh, thing inside of you and restore you to normal," Merida told Rapunzel, giving her friend a hug.

"Oh." Rapunzel's voice sounded very small.

"Rapunzel," North said sternly. "What have you been doing?"

"I wasn't trying to betray the Elites," Rapunzel began, "so I kind of... went undercover."

Merida sighed, sinking down onto the bed opposite Rapunzel's. It wasn't fair. Rapunzel and Jack had explained the unfair hierarchy of the Elites. How Experiments like Rapunzel were treated worse than 'true magic-users'. Merida could completely understand why Elsa, Jack, and Rapunzel felt little loyalty to the Elites. 

You should fight for things that make the world better, Merida thought. Not rulers like the Elites. Not gods like Pitch.

As Rapunzel explained, Merida felt a pang in her heart when she figured out that Rapunzel had lied to her at the Cistern the other day. Why didn't her friend trust her?

The Elites jumped into action as soon as Rapunzel was finished. Sending messages to Solen and organizing search parties. Mobilizing armies and spies. 

Merida watched it all a bit wide-eyed, feeling rather lost in the world of something much bigger. 

Tooth surveyed the bedraggled group that Merida called her friends. "Jack! Take your friends to the Blue Quarters. You can wait there until further instruction."

Jack nodded. "Thanks, Tooth."

"The Blue Quarters?" Elsa said. "I didn't know about that."

"There's like a million rooms in the Tower. You've only been an Elites for six months. Trust me, I was there when it was built, and it still took me a few decades to memorize the layout of this place," Jack replied.

"Sometimes, I forget how old you are," Elsa sighed.

"I look great for my age," Jack continued.

Elsa mumbled something under her breath that Merida thought sounded a lot like "You do". 

~ ~ ~

The Blue Quarters was a set of rooms on the fifty-second floor of the Tower. They were mostly sitting rooms or studies, but they were comfortable enough.

The seven of them gathered on some sofas and armchairs, passing around glasses of tea and coffee.

Personally, Merida wanted something a little stronger after a day like this, but she was too tired to argue.

Elsa crossed her arms. "The Elites are going after the Broken Light."

"That's good, right?" Merida said.

"Yup," Jack answered. Upon noticing Elsa's expression he amended his answer. "At least, I think it's good."

"It's not good enough," Elsa responded. "They're just attacking one part of our enemy. If we want to stop the Broken Light and the Dark Moon and whatever else is waiting for us, then we have to kill Pitch."

"Cut off the head of the serpent," Hiccup added, nodding sagely.

Merida adjusted her flannel shirt, pushing a stray red curl from her face. "How do we do that?"

Jack and Elsa exchanged a glance. In the bright lighting, Merida could see that Jack's hair was much whiter than Elsa's, whose hair in contrast appeared more blonde. Elsa had eyes a bit like ice on the sea, while Jack's were a slightly deeper shade of blue, the ocean under the ice.

Elsa reached into her bag and removed a few books. She flipped open an atlas to an image a map of the northern part of the First Continent.

Merida leaned forward intrigued. Maps were always signs of adventure.

Jack tapped a spot on the map. Berk. "We kill Pitch by finding the weapon called the Immortal Sword. And that starts by finding the Hidden World."