When Fire And Ice Meet

Fire And Ice Collide

The loud pounding of Elsa's heart crowded out the thoughts that ran through her mind and quickly dissipated like sand blown in the wind. But one thought finally made itself heard. I've got to get tawdry away from him!

Almost without thinking, her hands thrust forward and created a slope of ice that rose into the sky. But as her feet touched the ice she slipped and barely managed to keep her balance. This isn't going to work.

Wait!

She quickly shot two streaks of swirling blue magic at her shoes. Instantly, sharp spikes of ice formed on the bottom of them, giving her just enough traction to go on.

"Queen Elsa! Stop that at once, or you're going to hurt yourself!" Sir Magnus' voice called from below her. But she didn't stop.

Just a few steps higher. Perfect!

Elsa skidded to a stop, breathing hard. Her staircase towered above the rooftops. A risky place to be, she knew, but also the ideal place to be if she wanted to have any chance of taking down Raleigh. For one tense moment she scanned the sky for any sight of Raleigh. The realization of what she was about to do finally sank in all the way.

She was going head on with a dragon. A dragon! Elsa knew that her powers were about to be tested to their absolute limit. She still didn't know how much power she was capable of, but she hoped it would be enough.

At last, out of the stormy gray sky came a terrible roar that made Elsa wince with pain, but she stood unmoving as the raging monster descended upon her.

"Let him go, Raleigh!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. "Braedey never wanted to hurt you! So just leave him and my kingdom alone, or you'll be sorry!"

A sickening gurgling noise unlike anything Elsa had ever heard came from the gaping, toothy mouth and seconds afterward a huge ball of fire rushed directly at her.

"No!" Braedey's muffled scream found its way through the deafening, high-pitched shrieking that filled Elsa's ears as the fire sucked in oxygen and hurled towards her.

It could have been the end of the Snow Queen right then and there. But she'd been prepared for this.

The blast of flame met with a wall of ice thicker than an eagle's wingspan. There was a terrible cracking noise as the wall melted and plunged downwards. The ice bridge trembled from the draft of the dragon's wing, and Elsa hugged the bridge to avoid behind blown off by the same powerful gust. As the dragon nosed up and flew over Elsa, she flipped onto her back and sent a shard of ice into its chest. Just as she'd anticipated, the dragon gave a roar of pain and his claws loosed for a second, releasing Braedey. He tumbled through the air, causing Elsa's heart to wrench in fear despite herself. Thankfully, he landed in the thick bed of soft snow that blanketed the town-center. She placed it there only moments before.

The dragon snarled savagely, and soared back into the sky, giving Elsa and the others a few precious seconds of time. Quickly, Elsa leapt into the same bed of snow and raced to Braedey's side. The town-center was filled with guards, and several of them, including Sir Magnus, immediately slogged over to them through the slushy snow.

"My queen, are you hurt?" he asked in a gruff, but concerned voice. It also held a touch of awe, though he seemed to be trying to hide it.

"I'm fine," Elsa said dismissively. "It's him I'm worried about."

At the sound of her voice, Braedey forced open his eyes. There was a large bloody gash across his chest where the dragon's claws had sliced through his shirt. His chest heaved up and down with irregular, ragged breaths. The wound didn't seem to be too serious, but Braedey definitely needed treatment right away. Elsa quickly created a cool bandage that wrapped around his chest. She had hardly finished when Braedey's eyes widened and his pupils shrank into tiny dots. "He's coming back!" he cried hoarsely.