Many Beauty and the Many Beast

by Felicity Collins

  "You're insane" was his reaction.

  "Storm, if we cut through these woods, we can get to the western entrance of the fortress. Landon's cover is now blown. Someone will have to create a diversion so the others can get into the fortress… and we still have our swords…"

  "We've just been blown to hell and you want to break into the fortress to act as a live bait?"

  "Or we could create a diversion on the west entrance and open the gates to the south one. I'm sure the rebels wouldn't mind seeing us open the doors for them"

  "So basically, it's a yes" he said. I grinned "Landon told us to steer clear of the west entrance, it's full of soldiers and cannons, they are waiting for us"

  "Yeah, well, alive and at the head of an army of rebels" I said unsheathing my sword and twirling it.

  "You always know how to make an entrance, don't you?" he said. I smirked at him and he smirked back "Oh, yeah! Sky and Storm are back in the game!"

  "Let's get into that fortress and see what kind of trouble we can get into" I said putting my sword back in its sheath. In short, that night, the fortress was ours.

  End Flashback

  I averted my eyes from him and went back to playing. Yeah, we were a good team. That was one of our best missions and Landon actually did give us a promotion. When we used to fight together, Storm and I didn't need to look at each other, we knew what the other was doing without speaking, we knew each other's moves and fighting style, I trusted him with my life and he trusted me with his... then he went and ruined everything.

  "So…" I began changing topic "I heard you're staying here as an ambassador of the Southern Isles"

  "I am, but before he departed King Theodore told me that I was here more for Elsa and Anna's protection, in case your brother dared to try anything funny" he said.

  "So, who are you serving? Queen Elsa or King Theodore? Oh, and I don't need to mention that technically, you're still a Drakorian citizen, do I?"

  "Well, you seem not to want my service, so maybe the Queen, maybe the King. Who knows?"

  "I would think over my strategy, if I were you. In your position, being vague might not be the best tactic" I said.

  "Is that a threat, Skylynn?" he replied, challengingly.

  "Let's just say that I may not exactly be in Elsa's graces but Anna is my number one fan and is a strong influence on Elsa. It'd be a shame, if our lovely queen would start doubting your loyalty, especially after receiving the attentions of a gentleman such as yourself" I said.

  "I feel like I'm supposed to be intimidated by this, but part of me says you're mocking me" he said with cocky side smile.

  "I would never!" I mocked for real this time. He just shook his head.

  "You still haven't answered to my question" he said speaking seriously "Why did you prevent Landon from exiling me?"

  "What you did is considered treason, but you didn't help our enemy and I know you're not a coward. Maybe it's because deep, deep down, hidden very underneath I may still have considered you as a friend"

  "Considered? What about now? I told you what was happening to your brother and that doesn't mean anything to you?" he said glaring at me. I stopped playing once again.

  "You betrayed us, Storm. Lots of people who could have survived died because of you. Lots of Drakorians could still have their sons, husbands or fathers if you hadn't left us. I had to take your place and abandon those who wanted me to guide them leaving them to follow an amateur. I was counting on you. I needed your help and you turned your back on me, and since you think you know me so well, you should know that once my trust is lost, it is lost forever" I paused and stood up looking at him in the eyes "And if you really want to gain it back it takes much more than a letter" with that said I left the music room, leaving him alone in the room.

  I silently walked through the corridor, heading towards the stables. It was a beautiful day outside, the perfect weather for a ride, plus, Black Beauty gets kind of grumpy if I don't ride him at least once a day. If I can't ride him, I usually let him out of the stables and canter around on his own, he comes back eventually.

  As I got to the stables, making sure the two guards following me lost track of me – I mean- Seriously?! Someone should teach these guys how to spy on someone and follow them around without getting caught- I noticed there were a few guards around on their horses, waiting. None of them noticed me, and that was good. I sneaked into the stables and went to Black Beauty's box, exactly when the stable boy was taking out a golden brown horse.

  "Hey, boy" I said smiling at my horse. The black stallion whinnied and hit his hoof on the ground. I opened the box and Black immediately came out nuzzling his muzzle on my cheek and bumping me in the stomach with its head as if he was saying: "Hey! Where have you been?! Cuddle me!"

  "Alright, bud. Let's go" I said scratching its head. Black whinnied again and followed me out of the stables. As my horse and I got outside, we just made it in time to see who the guards were waiting for: Queen Elsa. She was in her lady horseback attire, a dark purple dress with elegant dark red and yellow decorations from her waist up, a matching jacket, brown horseback short cut boots, and her hair in a more casual bun, bust still very queenly looking, and she was just about to get on the horse.

  "Well, well!" I said with a smile drawing the attention to me "Looks like her Majesty finally decided to have a little fun" I said smirking.

  "Hello, Queen Skylynn" she said smiling back at me "I suppose you're going for a ride as well" but before she could say anything else, her horse pushed past her and trotted to me, her guards already about to chase after it.

  "Sitron" I said recognizing the horse as it nuzzled my hands while I stroked it. Elsa walked to me puzzled.

  "You know my horse?" she asked.

  "Hans's horse" I said eyeing her.

  "You know what I mean" she said eyeing me back.

  "Well, to answer your question, yes I do. He is the first horse I have ever ridden, I was about 7 years-old when Hans first put me on a horse" I said and in that moment Black bumped my back with its head.

  Hey! What about me? he seemed to say

  "Black Beauty is the first horse I actually rode and tamed on my own, but I was 14 at the time" I said petting my horse once and going back to petting Sitron "Hans used to walk and lead Sitron with a rope while I was on the saddle or he would put me on the saddle, climb up behind me and we would ride together" I said scratching Sitron's head "So, I suppose he got under your custody since my brother's 'Arendelle Fiasco', but how did you get to tame him? Because unless Hans is there he would usually be very grumpy. It took me almost a year before he would allow me to pet him without having my brother on the watch. Didn't it, boy?" I said scratching him behind the ear.

  "I just went to see him in the stables where he was left after Hans departed. At first he whinnied at me with his ears back, you could say he was glaring at me, but then I tried to soothe him, I gave him a couple of carrots and… I don't know, he seemed pretty scared at first. Then he calmed down and you can say we became friends" she answered.

  "I guess you are one of his 'chosen ones' and I wasn't " I said stroking the horse. Elsa chuckled lightly.

  "Chosen ones?" she asked

  "Yeah, Hans told me that unlike the rest of our siblings Sitron took a like in him immediately, just like you"

  "Oh, I feel honored, Sitron" Elsa said petting his neck "So, I believe I owed you a ride, will you join us?" she asked me.

  "Absoutely" I answered smiling. Elsa led back Sitron to the stable boy and a guard helped her up on her saddle. It wasn't like the ones I usually use, it was one of those made for women only, so that they could ride with a dress putting their legs on the side.

  "Would you want my stable boy to go prepare your horse?" she asked me.

  "Oh, no need" I said and placing my hands on my stallion's back and with a swift jump I got on his back using its main as reins.

  "Bareback?" Elsa said looking at me surprised.

  "Yup" I said.


  "Your Majesties, we're ready to go" said one of the soldiers

  "Alright, let's go" Elsa said and together with the soldiers accompanying us, we went for a walk. Elsa and I remained silent for most of the stroll. Let's just say, that I wasn't exactly planning on going for a walk with the guards for many reasons. We had made it half way up in the mountains. Not too far down from the ice harvesting grounds; beautiful view, soft cold breeze tingling your nose, the sun shining high, the snow a few feet up… this is such a wasted walk! Unfortunately, being the guest, I just had to suck it up. I bet riding with Anna is ten times more fun than this is. Elsa and I were walking in front of the soldiers, and that to me was proof that Elsa would soon have to fire whoever is training these guys.

  "Psst! Sky" Elsa called from next to me "This is getting boring"

  "Thank God you noticed! Do you always ride like this?" I asked, whispering back.

  "Unfortunately" she said, then she looked behind us, then back to me "Why don't we go on a walk our way?" she asked with a smirk. I raised an eyebrow surprised.

  "Are you seriously asking me to ditch the guards? You out of all people" I said surprised.

  "Why not? Sitron and Black Beauty seem to be getting grumpy from the boring walk, I'm supposed to go check on the ice harvesters later, like I do every once a month and I'd like to go say 'hi' to my brother-in-law, we can go there. Come on! Nothing is going to happen" she said. I thought about it for a moment, remembering what happened when Landon died. Guards or no guards, if we were going to be attacked for some reason, their presence wouldn't change much. "Plus" Elsa continued "If my powers weren't enough, your sword is at my service, right? Who could ever ask for a better bodyguard than the heroic Queen of Drakora herself?" she said with a friendly wink. I grinned at her.

  "So, what's the plan?" I asked in a whisper.

  "How fast is Black Beauty against these guys?" Elsa asked. I grinned as an idea popped into my head.

  "Gentlemen" I said turning around to face the guards "Why don't we all spice up the walk?"

  "Excuse me, Queen Skylynn?" one of them said puzzled.

  "I challenge you all to a race, Queen Elsa included" I said smirking at her.

  "I accept your challenge" said Elsa, going along with it "What about you gentlemen? The race starts from here to the Oak Forest. Whichever of you wins against Queen Skylynn, by getting there first, shall receive a day-off as reward" As soon as she said that all the guards accepted my challenge and at the count of three we galloped towards the forest. At first, Elsa and I were going fast, then we ordered our horses to slow down and one by one, the guards passed in front of us. Then, when there was enough distance between us and the guards, Elsa and I changed direction, heading to the mountains, where the ice harvesters were. We galloped higher up in the mountains, until the only visible color was the snow's whiteness. As soon as we made sure the guards weren't following us Elsa and I stopped our horses and we burst out laughing like idiots.

  "Really?! Was it that easy?" Elsa said between her laughter, covering her mouth with a hand. Even when she's having fun, she still holds back…

  "Did you see how they ran? They seemed pretty eager to get a day off" I said laughing. Then our laughter died down as we petted our horses, but a smile never left our face.

  "You don't seem surprised by how easily we sneaked away" Elsa said.

  "No, I'm not" she raised an eyebrow "I've been through a war, Elsa… I don't have 'stupid' written on my forehead, I know when someone is following me. You should really go check your army's training methods, by the way, and if you want me to be followed around, maybe find someone who can be a little bit more discreet" I said. Elsa grunted in frustration.

  "How long did it take you to notice I had you be followed around?"

  "Uhm… about 30 seconds" I said. Elsa hung her head low with a frustrated sigh "I told them to keep it down. Of all things I know about you, for sure, I know you're a soldier and you're good at it"

  "Thank you" I said smirking "That was fun though" Elsa laughed

  "Yes, it was" she said then she looked back at me "So… you ride bareback?" she said eyeing me amusingly

  "Yeah, it feels good, you know. You feel one with your horse, especially when you have a good bond with it, like Black and I have, right bud?" I said petting Black Beauty's neck. He whinnied contently.

  "Did your brother teach you how to ride bareback as well?"

  "No, actually that is self-taught" I said "Starting from the fact that I've always had a fascination for Drakora ever since Mom told me that we do have some drakorian blood. Her great-grandfather was 100% Drakorian, then he married a Southern Islander and the following generations were Southern Islander, but- anyway-" I paused getting back to the point "When I studied history, I grew to have a small obsession with the ancient Drakorian natives and their culture and rituals and stuff…" I shyly admitted "And I read that they used to ride bareback. So, as soon as I got Black Beauty I immediately wanted to try it out, with Hans around just to make sure I didn't break my neck, and when I managed, I rode him bareback ever since, except for when I went to war. I had to use a saddle there. I only ride bareback for my own pleasure, and his of course, Black Beauty never really liked the bite, anyway"

  "But doesn't it hurt when you pull on his main to give him commands?" Elsa asked curiously.

  "Funny as it sounds, no it doesn't. Look at Sitron's main" I said pointing to the horse's short main, that stood straight upward "To cut it like that, the stable boy or Hans, simply combed it upwards and pulled. It doesn't hurt them. Plus, Black likes to have me riding him like this. He hates the bite"

  "Really?" Elsa said raising an eyebrow holding back a smile.

  "Yup, once I was about to go training with Hans and had just put the saddle on him and the reins where hooked next to where Black was tied. I had just put the brush away and when I turned back around, Black lowered his ears, grabbed the reins from the bite, tossed them to the ground and whinnied, stomping his hoof like if he was saying 'I don't want that! I hate that thing!'" I remembered (A/N: This actually happened to me). Elsa laughed as Black Beauty snorted shaking its head "What? Are you pouting?" I told my horse leaning closer to his neck "You want an apology for that, you big baby-boo? Huh?"

  *BONK*

  As an answer, Black Beauty shot his head up hitting my nose with the back of its neck.

  "Ow! Hey!" I complained holding my nose as Elsa burst out laughing. Black whinnied like if he was laughing "And you stop laughing at me!" I said glaring at Elsa "Wait until Sitron smacks your nose with its neck, then we'll see" Elsa stopped laughing, rolling her eyes, but still smiled.

  "Are you alright?" she asked.

  "Yeah, I'm good" I said then I noticed something "Hey, you didn't cover your mouth when laughing this time!" I pointed out. Elsa looked away embarrassed.

  "Oh? Did I?" she said nervously glancing in front of her.

  "Yup… finally" I said. She looked back at me quizzically "You need to loosen up a little bit more, you don't always have to play a part, in your case, the 'perfect girl' part. It's just you and me here, you wanna laugh openly? Do it!"

  "It's kind of a habit now, and… it's not very queenly like to-"

  "-Oh, give me a break! If you are on 'queen-mode' with your subjects looking up to you, then go along with the savoir faire and act like a queen. You are with your friends who see you for yourself, forget about it and be yourself" I said "I'm not saying you shouldn't have any manners, what I mean is that you don't have to be on strict etiquette all the time. Loosen up!" I said.

  "Geez, Sky… you sound like Anna" she said frustrated.

  "Good. Looks like I'm not the only one who wants to save you from becoming a complete… stick in the mud"

  "Whoa, there! Hold it" she said stopping her horse with wide eyes "Stick in the mud? Really?" she said holding back a smile.

  "Yes. Really" I challenged.

  "Okay, it's on Sky. From right now, it's on. I'll give you 'stick in the mud',
Heroine! Race you to the ice-harvesters"

  "You're on, Ice Lady" I said.

  "Good. I hope you're hungry, then" Elsa said. I raised an eyebrow.

  "Yeah?"

  "Yeah. 'Cause you're about to eat my snow!" and with that she kicked her horse and galloped away at full speed.

  "That was the lamest pun I have ever heard, especially coming from the Snow Queen. Let's get her, Black!" I said and with that Black Beauty galloped right behind Sitron. In no time, I was right next to Elsa. She looked at me and smirked then she conjured a snowball and threw it at my face.

  "Hey! That's cheating!" I complained lowering my head, dodging the snowball.

  "I don't recall setting rules here" she answered smirking.

  "Oh, really?" and with that I took out of my pocket two sugar cubes and threw them in front of Sitron's nose.

  "SKYLYNN!" Elsa yelled as Sitron abruptly stopped and followed the sugar cubes, almost making Elsa fall off the horse. I laughed and kept going. Soon enough, though, Elsa was at my heels.

  "You want to play dirty, Sky? Okay. You asked for it" and with that she started throwing snowballs at my head, missing every shot except for one that hit me right behind the head.

  "Dang it, Elsa! You got snow in my shirt!" I complained trying to ignore the cold snow trickling down my back as it melted into water for my body heat.

  "And I'll keep doing that, so suck it up" she shouted from behind coming closer to me.

  "Ohhh, this means war!" and with that I slowed down Black so that he ran basically half a foot away from Sitron, shoveling the snow beneath his hoofs in Sitron's face, as he ran AND, Elsa couldn't get ahead of us now. "Come on, Black. Show her what you got!" I said, and with that Black Beauty huffed with determination, and galloped even faster… and that was when Elsa swiftly moved to the side and struck Black Beauty's hoofs with her ice powers, locking him to the ground with ice 'shackles'… while I flew off of my horse landing in the snow flat on my back. Elsa only took a few feet forward and stopped Sitron looking back at me worriedly.