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linklethehistorian · 1 year

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Of Skyfall, Sigma, Ian Fleming & James Bond

A personal theory add-on for Skelechuuchuu’s incredible Ian Fleming theory. Please read and give love and support to that original theory here if you have the time!

Hello everyone! At the time of posting this, I’m extremely sick and kinda sleep-deprived right now, so I will probably not be terribly active until I feel better. :’)

Nevertheless, after having a small chat (with a lot of breaks in between :’)) with some cool people in a BSD server, I still wanted to come and drop this little add-on to the recent (and extremely compelling) theory that dropped about Sigma being Ian Fleming (and James Bond-inspired).

As I tend to do best, I wanted to analyze and explain why Skyfall is not only a perfect and crucial choice for the episode name in S4 as OP describes above due to the inseverable tie to James Bond, but also how the lyrics to the tie-in Bond song by this name themselves relate perfectly to Sigma and the events of BSD involving him so far.

I’ll place it below the cut for both S4 spoilers and manga spoilers up to Chapter 106-107 or so! Proceed with caution if you’re worried about spoilers!

Now, without further ado, let’s get to lyric analyzing!

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of analyzing the song lyric by lyric, allow me to start with a more generalized observation:

The overarching theme of the song Skyfall, apart from being obviously intrinsically linked to Bond (given it was made for it), is about bravely facing down the end with those you love, come what may; this is a perfect fit for Sigma, whose whole character is wrapped up in the concept of needing to belong and protect those he loves. In the episode of the same name, he even fights, despite knowing he is “just an ordinary man”, with his whole life to protect his beloved people in the Casino, unafraid of dying because living without them would be meaningless.

(I would also like to note here that at first glance, it might seem to be written almost like a love song, but I feel it’s important to distinguish — especially in the context of this theory — that this is not necessarily the case, and there is one line that upon listening to it, especially seems to almost completely confirm otherwise to me; in the song, it sounds like Adele is saying “all your loving arms”, despite many lyric sites and such claiming otherwise (it is really not uncommon for artists to differ from the original written lyrics from time to time in certain recordings, so I find this rather plausible). Nevertheless, whether or not this is actually correct, the song is ambiguous enough that it can still be taken however one wishes, and I believe that if we apply it to Sigma, the song is not directed towards one person, but towards a group of them.)

I’ll get on to the more intricate stuff of analyzing lyric by lyric in a moment, but before I do I would just like to make one little key statement here before we start, and that is that despite how it seems, I don’t actually believe most of this song was meant to be applied to the casino or the people there; rather, I believe it largely reflects and is about his feelings towards Dazai, Atsushi, and the ADA as a whole. (Again, I’ll explain this more in a bit, but…there is one particular set of lyrics that truly sets this up for me: “Skyfall is where we start”; obviously, Sigma has had his casino and known the people in it for awhile, from his perspective, but do you know who he does meet in the episode Skyfall, and first starts to find some small measure of hope/consolation in? Atsushi. The ADA.)

Okay, with that in mind, now let’s on to the main bit!

This is the end Hold your breath and count to ten

In the most recent chapters, Dazai and Sigma are trapped underwater, and literally have to hold their breath to survive. As he runs out of air, Sigma is counting the moments until he can resurface, but fears it may not happen because Dazai seems determined to stop him (for good reason, it turns out)

Feel the Earth move and then Hear my heart burst again

Being with Dazai and having hope of joining the ADA has shifted Sigma’s world around him, changing his worldview and making his heart explode with genuine hope at all of the kind deeds they’ve performed for him — especially when he realizes Dazai is not trying to kill him by keeping him underwater but protect him.

For this is the end I've drowned and dreamt this moment

As they’re staying under the water and near out of air to share, Sigma almost fully accepts his fate, thinking to himself that he may die this way, but at least he was able to dream of a beautiful life for once in those few precious moments he shared with the ADA.

So overdue, I owe them

Sigma has waited a long time to have a place to permanently belong and feel loved and cared for, and he feels indebted to the Agency for all they’ve done for him — all their acts of kindness.

Swept away, I'm stolen

When Dazai was given a chance to pick something to take with him in Mersault, he stole Sigma from the DOA completely, and this action also sweeps Sigma away with surprise, hope, and gratitude inside.

Let the sky fall When it crumbles We will stand tall Face it all together

This one is probably pretty self-explanatory; Sigma isn’t afraid of death, as long as he stands with the ADA in hope of a good life, though this attitude also perfectly fits his attitude towards the Casino in the Skyfall ep and how he stood with his people against the Hunting Dogs, unafraid to die for them.

Skyfall is where we start

I already went over this one a bit, but Skyfall is the ep where he and Atsushi (and by extension the ADA) meet for the first time; it’s his start with knowing the ADA — the time when he first experiences true hope that doesn’t involve him being used and discarded in the end.

A thousand miles and poles apart

I think this part is kinda metaphorical to how he at first thinks he and the ADA are on opposite sides, and that they care nothing for him besides forcing him to use his ability; in his eyes, they are worlds apart and he could never even get close to their world of light.

Where worlds collide and days are dark

Yet, in that moment of Atsu trying to save him, Sigma begins to feel they’re not so far apart, after all.

Their worlds collided in that brief moment, on one of his darkest days, and he felt grateful for that, even though he still felt his fate was sealed and that he had to let go of Atsu’s hand to prevent him from tumbling to his death with him.

You may have my number, you can take my name But you'll never have my heart

I believe this would be directed at everyone else whom had used and abused him up until this point, and, from his perspective, took his memory from him; they can take everything from him, own him, rob him of his true identity, etc., but he will never be one of them. He’ll never truly be a terrorist. His heart belongs in the light — with the ADA; he realizes that now.

Where you go, I go What you see, I see

As a member of the server we were in, Cloudii, pointed out, I think this could be a reference to how similar Sigma sees himself to Atsushi and vice versa, but I think it could also be a reference to his willingness to follow the ADA (both literally and metaphorically) and with the last line, his ability to gain knowledge of someone else’s knowledge (and thereby in a limited way experiences) through touch.

I know I'd never be me Without the security [Of] All your loving arms Keeping me from harm Put your hand in my hand And we'll stand

The lines about “put your hand in my hand, and we’ll stand” in particular strongly remind me of the moment when Atsu tries to save Sigma by holding his hand when he dangled off the casino, and reflects both Atsu’s desire to have him keep holding on and pull him to solid ground, and Sigma’s desire to stand by the ADA and repay them for kindness by using his ability for them right before what he believes will be his death.

That being said, I also think this whole set of lyrics above matches Sigma’s attitude towards the ADA and his determination to stand by them now in general, even in the most dire of times.

He knows that he’ll never get to be who he wants to be and live the life he wants to live, having a place of belonging, an identity, people who love him genuinely, if he doesn’t learn to put his faith in them and trust that they are different from the rest of those who had him before. The ADA seems to love and protect him and so he’ll do his best, ordinary as he feels he is, to stand by them, too, until his last breath — using his ability and whatever else he may have as necessary, as they face down the end of the world as they know it and those who would bring it about together.

Anyway, yeah, that’s my analysis for today! Thank you for reading! Love y’all. 🥺💖

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bigfrozenfan-fanfics · 4 months

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Chapter 71 - Captives and a war crime

Links: Chapter overview, Character list, Map, Glossar Rating: M over all Publishing cycle: around every 2-3 weeks

Remarks: all my chapters contain carefully selected music tracks (try to use headphones). It’s your own decision if you want to use them or not while reading. The purpose is to musically support the respective mood of the plot. If you can please use a browser for reading (not the Tumblr app) due to the text formatting and music.

“Open your mouth!” the captain barked at Albert, who was sitting on a chair in the castle guards' interrogation room. Three guardsmen stood around the two of them and did not take their eyes off their prisoner. Albert Monrad looked intimidated, but behaved surprisingly composed and calm.

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There was no escape here and if they proved even the tiniest detail of his involvement in the conspiracy, he would immediately be put in the brig of the next ship on his way to prison. Albert knew this and was fully concentrated without letting on. Thoughts raced in his head and he tried to look as innocent as possible.

“You cannot make me believe that you, as Osvald Monrad's brother, knew nothing of his machinations. So out with it!” continued Einar. “Admit it that you had a hand in everything and were also responsible for the fact that a brig anchored right in front of the jetty of the castle garden, thus forcing us to escort your brother to the harbour where your allies were already waiting for us. You knew from someone that we were going to ferry your brother safely and unseen in a dinghy. Admit that it was all planned down to the last detail!”

“Captain, I swear I had nothing to do with any of this. I am just an ordinary wine and spirits merchant, albeit an extremely well-known in Arendelle and beyond its borders. It's not my fault that the captain of my supplier's ship behaved like that. Please believe me,” Albert replied in the most convincing voice he was capable of in this situation. “I didn't know about any ambush either, how could I?”

Einar had so far been leaning on the armrests of the chair with both hands, his face threatening just inches from Albert's . Now he straightened up again and looked at him sceptically.

“Why is it that I cannot believe you?” he asked. “We haven't found anything incriminating in your house so far, but I think you are very cunning and would have had enough time to make all the evidence disappear in time. I have met a lot of people in my career and have developed an excellent knowledge of human behaviour, you must know. You can't fool me. You are hiding something and I will keep you here until I find out, be sure.”

“But believe me! I am a blameless citizen. It is normal that over the decades I have made many contacts with the nobility and with anyone who can afford my exquisite wines, which I import from many kingdoms. Even the castle has been one of my customers for many years. Just ask in the castle kitchen. Olina knows me and also Kai, who is responsible for selecting the wines. Ask him, he can confirm it for you, Captain.”

“Kai is not available at the moment, he is away for a few days, if not weeks. I cannot therefore ask him, and Olina, our cook is just that, a cook.” Einar pondered, not wanting to let up so quickly. With enough pressure, each respondent sooner or later gave in and revealed his secrets. It would be no different with Albert Monrad, even if he had good contacts with the upper class and had therefore learned to express himself in a chosen way. Besides, he is a trader and as such he also had to be able to haggle well and always be convincing. Einar was therefore not yet convinced of his innocence.

“By the way, we discovered something very interesting when we searched your house, which is not exactly typical for such a well-known wine merchant as you claim to be. Tell me, why do you have a dovecote under the roof?”

“The pigeons? Oh, that's a hobby of mine that I've been cultivating for over twenty years. As you surely know, I am not married and do not have a partner. I am very often alone, I am not overly busy and at some point I had the idea of having some pigeons delivered to me from the continent. I love birds and the pigeons are trusting enough that they are like a pet for me to look after lovingly, just like cats are for other people. I breed the animals, you know.”

“Hmm … and you expect me to believe that? Aren't pigeons also used as messengers for news?”

“That's right, you are well informed, Captain. They are called carrier pigeons, but ordinary pigeons are not suitable for this task and it requires years of training and partners who can devote a lot of time to help with it. It's certainly not easy, I can imagine, but it's not something I've ever really been interested in or had the time for, let alone friends who are pigeon fanciers like me. Or have you seen many pigeons in the capital or been able to watch them in flight?”

Einar unfortunately did not know enough about this subject and therefore did not know how to answer. But what he didn't know, maybe someone else could tell him and he made a mental note to look into it very soon. How cunning could a wine merchant with pigeons on the roof be. Only it was Monrad's brother and betrayal perhaps ran in the family, who knows. Stella had proved it anyway, so why not Albert?

“It's not over yet, Albert Monrad. You will be our guest for a while yet,” Einar said with an undertone of sarcasm, “Take him to the cell, men. We'll see you soon, Monrad,” Einar said, making a bored hand gesture to his guardsmen to get the prisoner out of his sight.

~~~

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“I thank you for your attendance at this informative meeting, here in the castle's venerable council chamber,” Anna said, standing at the head of the large table around which everyone she had sent for this morning was now seated. She looked into each and every one of the faces that looked towards her in a friendly and expectant manner. Then she sat down with Elsa at her right and added, ��Please help yourselves to drinks before we begin.” Several maids now went round asking for the guests' requests and promptly served everyone before leaving the hall again with a curtsey to the queen.

“Well, firstly, I have to express our deepest thanks to Princess Mari and her father in absentia, King Jonas. Without her and her father's help, we probably would not have been able to deal with the precarious situation in the capital so quickly, not to mention changing the battle’s course at the Misty Pass! Mari, please tell your father that we will also visit you in person soon to thank him.”

“But of course, Anna and Elsa. I am already very much looking forward to your visit,” Mari returned with a smile in personal form of address. “I am glad that the capital of Arendelle is finally safe again and that all the agitators and conspirators will soon be brought to their just punishment.”

“Thank you, Mari, you have also taken one of my concerns for today right out of my mouth. Captain Jordahl, you will leave today with the prisoners for the naval base to transfer them to the nearby penal camp. I hope everything is in order and you did not have too many problems with the … what was it … fifty-two prisoners?”

Ole Johrdahl nodded, “Indeed, there are that many. Everything is going according to plan and after I have delivered them I will set sail tomorrow morning on the voyage to the other kingdoms you mentioned in your letter, Your Majesty.”

“I will sail with him to the southern base today, Your Majesty,” Captain Holmstein added, “then we can set sail together tomorrow on the first fresh breeze, Ole.”

“Excellent, gentlemen. You will be away for many weeks and hopefully return soon with ship's bellies bulging with food and animal feed. Please take good care of yourselves, I suspect the sea is treacherous at this time of year.” Both skippers nodded to her in acknowledgement.

Anna briefly explained to the others present her plan to ask other kingdoms and trading partners for help with the lack of supplies in Arendelle. This and the prospective Crown Prince's trip to Snoob would be the first big step and she assured them of her great confidence that the problems would soon be solved.

“Unfortunately Vakretta itself cannot spare anything, even we have just enough to feed our island population adequately in the cold season,” Mitya added to her remarks.

“Please do not worry about that, Ambassador Mitya, I am already grateful that you are leading the traitor Wael to his fate, far away from Arendelle.”

“Oh, and one more thing, Captain Holmstein, has Thord's former ship, the Jarls Pride, been refitted yet? We would also need a new name for the gaff sailer, but I have yet to think of one. If you have any ideas on that, let me know. I want to send it north to bring back men, equipment and prisoners, if General Mattias and Master Fabian have already succeeded. For that, I would need another candidate captain for the ship, who can also prove himself at this opportunity,” Anna asked, smiling at the captain.

“Most of the work has been done, but for the latter I have no one who is ready,” he replied. “Do you perhaps have a candidate, Ole, whom you can spare?”

“Indeed, I have someone in mind who also happens to be on board at the moment. I'll see to it as soon as possible, Your Majesty,” the other captain replied, inclining his head towards her.

“Very well, the meeting today is progressing faster than I suspected, except for a few things I have touched on the most important. There is only one thing I would like to say, and that is our deepest thanks to you, Sorenson. Your idea with the hospital and its quick implementation has saved countless lives. You can therefore expect an official award of honour from the Royal House of Arendelle shortly and I would like to take this opportunity to ask you whether you would be willing to continue to make your services available in the future and to move your permanent residence here to the capital. We would be very happy to help with the move, so you need not worry about that, nor about finding suitable permanent accommodation. What do you think?”

“I am very honoured, Your Majesty, thank you. But if you will allow me, I would like to think about this offer before I make a final decision,” the scientist replied with a thoughtful look. He seemed very surprised, but in a positive sense, it seemed.

“No problem, take as much time as you need, Sorenson. Dr Magnus, our thanks also go to you, for your tireless efforts over the past few days. You have given new hope to farming families and in the process have been instrumental in saving lives, and that goes especially for you, Myrtha. Without your help and your … one could almost say miracle ointments, many of the people would not have recovered so quickly. Many, many thanks!'

Both rose briefly and, surprised by these honest words, bowed before Anna and thanked her for this honour.

“This brings me to my last and possibly most important point,” Anna said after a small pause. “It's about your people, Yelana, and yours too, of course, Myrtha,” she smiled, “Not only have you always been kind and helpful to us in all the time since we first met you … but since we know our mother was Northuldra, we both feel a strong connection to your people. You have become like family to us. Moreover, the Northuldra have played an immensely large part in the war and we will never be able to thank you enough for that. Our deepest regrets for the losses you have unfortunately suffered … I honestly do not have the appropriate words.”

Silence reigned for a while and one could sense that each of those present had images flashing through their minds again as they recalled the terrible events before and during the war, images that were different for each of them and that recalled their personal involvement in the events to a greater or lesser extent.

“Actually, I was going to bring this up a little later, but it seems like the right time,” Yelana said. “We will be returning to our camp shortly to see our relatives and friends again. Furthermore, there are some very important reasons why all Northuldra must return and I would like to invite you both to accompany us for a few days, Anna and Elsa. It's important and it affects Arendelle too.”

“What is it that is so important?” asked Elsa curiously, bright-eyed.

“I would rather discuss that with both of you in private, if you don't mind.”

“If it concerns Arendelle, I need to know as well, Lady Yelana,” Captain Einar, who was also seated in the select group, spoke up for the first time. “Surely you understand that.”

She nodded at him in understanding. “There is no danger, Captain, if you should suspect that. It is rather something … familiar, you might say.”

“Oh … well then. Sorry, I …” but Yelana was already waving it off and he interrupted to apologise.

“Captain Einar, I hope you don't think I've forgotten you,” Anna said, interrupting the somewhat awkward moment. “That is not the case. As far as I know, you have Albert Monrad in hot water. Is there any news on that and has he already confessed?”

“Not yet, and unfortunately we haven't been able to prove anything so far. But I have reasonable doubts and will keep him in custody for the time being until I get more information or perhaps he wears down and makes a confession.”

“I see … beyond that, has there been any progress, perhaps, in deciphering Thord's documents?” Einar shook his head regretfully.

“Very well, thank you gentlemen. That should conclude our meeting. Yelana, Myrtha, please stay a little longer, then you can tell us everything that is on your minds.”

~~~

A day's ride away …

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“General, general, our platoon is back and they have prisoners with them!” reported one of the volunteer soldiers from Arendelle as he ran excitedly towards Mattias.

Mattias was sitting with some of his men and Honeymaren at dinner in the Northuldra camp and had been wondering when the first news would arrive or when the men would return. In less than an hour the sun was setting and it would soon be too dark to see anything in the woods, Honeymaren assured him. Mattias had been getting a little nervous in the meantime, but now he jumped up and faced the bearer of the good news.

When the young man stopped in front of him completely out of breath and had to rest his hands on his knees in a stooped position, Mattias put a hand on his shoulder.

“There, there, you didn't have to hurry so much. The few more minutes wouldn't have made me any more nervous. Come, sit down and take a deep drink of fresh spring water from the bucket over there and then eat with us,” Mattias reassured him and the soldier nodded before dropping to the grass and gratefully pouring two wooden ladles full of water into himself.

The general remained standing, looking intently in the direction from which the man had just come, and others now rose to see something among the trees.

Not a quarter of an hour later many men appeared, between them and on some stretchers they dragged behind them, more or less badly injured Northmen. It was Fabian's group that had split up to hunt the fugitive Northmen. The other group searched more to the southwest to find the rest of Thord's mercenaries. They manoeuvred the men who could still walk into an area enclosed by high wooden stakes and closed the door of the temporary prison. Then they called for healers and placed five stretchers on the ground in front of it. The Northmen on them were covered in blood and most of them unconscious. A few minutes later Northuldra healers attended to them.

“I'll be off then and leave you to it. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about and I don't want to disturb you,” Honeymaren said and made her way to the centre of the camp after Mattias confirmed her 'All right, see you later'.

“How did it go?” asked Mattias curiously of Fabian, who was pouring a ladle of water over his head and then taking a deep gulp from another ladle.

“Quite well actually, the Northuldra trackers have served us very well. They see tracks where I only see scrub,” replied the fencing master.

“Actually?” Mattias inquired.

“Well, an incident occurred during our mission. At some point we had to split up to increase the search range, and someone in the other group tracked down this Juhvo. You remember that sneak attack when we had already pushed the enemies to the west up the mountainside? He was Kolgrimr's second sub-leader in the eastern section of the forest.”

Mattias nodded, “How could I forget, that had cost us a lot of brave men.”

“Well, when our two groups convened the others were standing around a tree staring upwards.” Mattias raised his eyebrows. “And there hung Juhvo, viciously tortured and then strung up.”

“Who committed this atrocity?” the general asked angrily, standing up.

“That's just it, nobody wanted to have seen anything or done it.”

“This is a war crime, Fabian. Something like this should not have happened. Please stay on the case. I can understand the motives after what was done to us, but we have to find the person responsible and bring him to justice.”

Fabian nodded, “It probably won't be that easy, but I'll find him. I already have a reasonable suspicion. It must have been one of the commanders whose company was hit hardest by this attack. I suspect his men are now covering for him.”

“That sounds plausible, but raises some questionable issues if you are right. Proceed with appropriate caution, please, as direct action would probably only cause this group to close ranks and protect him even more from prosecution.”

“I'll think of something, Destin. What's going to happen to those Northmen now, anyway? To Arendelle and off with them to the penal camp at the naval base?”

“How do you know about that?” asked Mattias with a clearly astonished look.

“I have my sources,” the fencing master smirked, “but don't worry, that information is safe with me.”

“Of that I am certain, we know each other far too well for that. As for your question … they will be turned over to the Northuldra and returned back to the Northeast for questioning. Alena, this shaman, met them there in her summer camp and knows where they come from. They have better opportunities to squeeze them there, unlike us, their enemy. Know that they will receive a fitting punishment according to their traditions. Only Thord's men will come with us to Arendelle.”

“That is good. We seem to have caught all of them too. The trackers couldn't find any more traces in the remaining directions. Oh, and one more thing … we also got Kolgrimr's main sub-leader, that Karrál.”

“That's excellent news! But for now, rest and eat something, we have fried white fish or one of their traditional vegetable stews with flat bread to go with it. But the latter is baked with ground birch bark … not so much to my taste. But the fish is delicious.”

“Thanks for pointing that out, because I'm starving.”

~~~

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When Honeymaren came into the camp, the first thing she did was to ask some of her people about her father's funeral and what exactly had happened a few days ago. They told her about the fight and how Halvard finally died by Kolgrimr's hand. Honeymaren could literally see him standing in front of her during this account and could very well imagine how he fought bravely against his opponent. She imagined every single blow with his fighting staff and tried to put herself in her father's place. But even he with his fighting skills had no chance against Kolgrimr with his mental abilities. A tear stole from her eye as she thanked the Northuldra around her, for she knew from her own experience how deviously Kolgrimr could defeat him. Then she stood up and walked to the four monoliths to seek out his grave.

It was not long before she found his grave. There were two graves side by side, both laid out in the traditional way, with a narrow opening at the head, formed of flat stones, between which the free soul of the dead could escape. There was no name on her father's grave, but his knife with its distinctive handle lay in front of the opening. She would recognise this carving, made by him, among thousands of knives. As she knelt down in front of his grave, her tears flowed freely down her face and it took her a little while to compose herself.

"Hello, Papa. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get to you, but as I'm sure you can guess, I've been busy making life hell for Kolgrimr and his men, as the Arendellians would say. Elsa, Ryder with his new friend and I have defeated Kolgrimr and Ahtohallan is now free too. I only wish I had been by your side when you fought him, or that you had escaped in time. Why did you take him on all alone when you knew what skills Kolgrimr had?" Again a few tears flowed and she had to interrupt herself.

"I hope your free soul is with your ancestors now and you look down on us all. Mother and your son are still in Arendelle at the moment, but they will surely return to camp soon. Then, with all our people, we will finally honour you properly and all mourn you for a whole day. Don't worry about us, it's all over now and all the enemies have been killed or captured. We are fine and normality is slowly returning to our lives."

"Oh before I forget, Joná was able to escape that day along with Ikka and they made it onto a ship from Arendelle that your family was able to escape on. Can you imagine that? He told us everything that had happend. I'm sure you can imagine how mother reacted to that. It really devastated all of us and then that day I also made a plan."

Honeymaren told her father everything that had happened since then. She spoke to him as if he was still alive, but that was the way it was among all Northuldra when a relative had died. Some even said they had seen the dead person's soul wandering around, which could well happen within a whole year. Only if it continued to happen beyond that did one have to worry and do something about it. Slowly, Honeymaren's mood lifted and she talked with Halvard for hours until it slowly became dark and she finally rose and said goodbye to him.

~~~

Later, Honeymaren walked across the camp, looked for Alena and found her, along with Árnason, sitting around a campfire talking to each other.

“Hello, you two,” she greeted and sat down with them.

“Honeymaren, how nice to see you. You've been away from camp all day and a few of your people have missed you already,” Alena greeted back with a smile and of course her young apprentice couldn't help but look at her in love. Honeymaren tried to ignore it.

“I've had a lot to do with General Mattias and then visited my father's grave, but I'm here now. Have you noticed that all the men from the north-east have been caught?”

“Of course, no one here missed that and many Northuldra would love to go over and cut their throats. But that would not be a solution, Honeymaren. They deserved punishment, no question, but I want them to realise first what lies they had succumbed to and how much they had been manipulated by Kolgrimr.”

“That would be far too little for them, to be honest. They wanted to get involved, Alena, they could have refused to carry out Kolgrimr's brutal plan and slaughter people that way at any time.”

Alena shook her head, “You don't know the North Peoples and you don't know what their families have been through. I have been listening since they came to our summer camp, Honeymaren, and I have learned something. They deserve to know the truth about their delusion and after that they will voluntarily take their punishment, I firmly believe that.”

“And what if they don't? How will you make sure they don't escape?”

“I will have to return in two or three days at the latest, for then all the families on the high plateau will abandon the summer camp, divide up the large herd of reindeer and return with them to the winter camp high in the north. By then I must have convinced these men of their great error, for you are unfortunately right about one thing, Honeymaren. I cannot tell the truth to my own twenty men, even if they were under the influence of a potion, unlike the others in Kolgrimr's retinue. I must keep the two groups separate, or this will end in disaster, and for my people.”

“How do you imagine that? It will never work, or will you bring the prisoners back alone only accompanied by Árnason? Impossible! That borders on suicide.”

“I honestly don't have a solution for that yet, Honeymaren. I'm afraid I'm in a dilemma and everything depends on the talks over the next two days.”

~~~

On the border with Snoob …

It had been a long and bumpy ride for Kristoff and Kai and Sven was happy to be on a long journey with Kristoff again. Sven remembered well the last time they had all been here, together with Anna and Elsa. Back then, the only bridge over the deep Gufen Gorge had collapsed behind them just as they were crossing it, and only by Elsa's quick intervention with her ice powers was she able to save them all with a big ice slide down into the valley.

But by now the dilapidated bridge had been completely rebuilt, stronger than before with a sturdy stone foundation and thick wooden planks as a roadway. Sven made a loud snorting sound to draw Kristoff's attention. He was having an animated conversation with Kai about his brother Karl and what they could expect from him. Sven repeated it again, looking at him with wide eyes and nodding several times at the new structure.

Kristoff looked up just as Sven drove onto the new bridge, but didn't notice what Sven was trying to say.

“Hey, Sven, buddy, you see that? They rebuilt the old bridge! Looks great, doesn't it? Man, that was some adventure back then!”

Sven shook his head in disappointment, because that was exactly what he wanted to tell Kristoff. Sometimes Kristoff was so lost in thought that you had to poke him in the nose first; thought Sven and rather concentrated on the way again, because the sun was already setting and it was still far to their destination.

Some hours later, they finally reached Snoob, a small cute town in the middle of a winding valley. The lanterns were already lit in the decorated streets when they knocked on Karl's front door.

Karl could not believe his eyes when he saw his brother standing in front of him. A second later, he was already hugging him and right after that, they both did their traditional greeting ritual, with Karl reciting a chant that was about birds and Kai finishing it, along with a special handshake.

“Kai, I am so pleased that you accepted my invitation and now you are here. Won't you all please come in, we're just having dinner. Hello, Kristoff, or maybe I should say Your Highness now, right?” Karl laughed and made a welcoming gesture.

Finally, when they were all seated and Karl's wife was spooning vegetable stew onto their plates, Karl mentioned the Autumn Festival.

“You are actually already a bit late, because our Buferdsdagen autumn festival ended two days ago. Only the decorations are still hanging around everywhere, as you have surely noticed.”

“Because you bring it up, Karl. Unfortunately, we had to cancel ours and I think you already know why. After all, you gave the invitation for Kai to the captain. Actually, we are here because we want to ask you, or rather the farmers of Snoob, for help,” Kristoff said.

“I can guess why,” Karl replied, “the capital needs supplies for the winter season. Well, we had a good harvest and the silos are well filled. I don't see any problem there and we can take care of it first thing tomorrow.”

“I have a request as well, Karl,” Kai added. “Can you get me an audience with the province’s baron? After all, I'm not just there for a holiday, I also have an assignment to fulfil for the queen. But I promise, this time I won't just stay for a day, if you don't mind, but I can be here longer.”

“I'm so glad and you can stay with us as long as you like, brother!”

~~~

youtube

The evening had fallen in the castle of Arendelle and the sisters were sitting with Yelana and Myrtha in the fireside room in front of a crackling fire with a hot cup of chocolate, chatting comfortably together. Yelana had already told them the reasons for their return journey before they had dinner together, but had not been very forthcoming about details. The sisters were now suitably curious.

“Well, Yelana, go on then and don't make such a secret of it,” Anna said, sipping her cup audibly.

“Well, apart from the planned marriage of Joná to Ikka and to reunite our families and so on, my main concern is that I am no longer eligible to be the leader of our people. I'm already far too old and sooner or later I'll have to choose a suitable successor anyway.”

“Let me guess, Yelana,” Elsa agreed, “you have Honeymaren in mind, right?”

“Well spotted, Elsa. Despite her young age, she is the only person who comes to my mind and is best suited for this. I had had her in mind and my plans for her for a long time, but I think recent events have impressively proved to all of us what she is capable of. When I compare her with my own experience, she is superior to me in many respects, far even. Not only does she have great courage and love for our people, but she can also see far beyond the edge of a guksi and plan for the future. On top of that, she has great intelligence and exceptional physical abilities that make a good leader.”

“I think that's a good choice too, Yelana,” Anna agreed, “but then what do you plan to do in the future? Serve as an advisor to her, to instruct and prepare her for her new role in the community? Does she even know about it yet and would she agree to it? As you said, she is still quite young and may have other plans or want to start a family.”

Elsa paused in mid-motion to bring her cup to her mouth and had a certain thought because Anna had just mentioned it and she had almost stopped thinking about Honeymaren's love’s confession to her. But then wouldn't it be advisable for her and Anna not to accompany Yelana?

“That may well be, of course, but I think I know that it will not happen.” Yelana, of course, knew all too well about Honeymaren's longing for her great love, but she also knew that it would not be a good thing for either nation, despite the good relationship with Arendelle. Yelana cast a quick sideways glance over at Elsa and their eyes met.

At that moment Elsa realised that Yelana knew and after a few seconds of searching each other's eyes, she nodded to Yelana in a certain way. She received a knowing smile back in response. Then Yelana continued.

“When I have cleared everything with her I would like to return to Arendelle, continue to serve as a councillor and settle permanently here somewhere in the countryside. Provided you both agree to that.”

Myrtha had kept quiet so far, but at this statement, as the only other Northuldra present, she had to say something in response.

“Yelana, while I agree that you have chosen Honeymaren as your successor, now that the threat of Kolgrimr is finally gone, I think you should stay with our people. You belong with us and they miss you. And as Anna said, it is necessary that you instruct Honeymaren and teach her what will be her new responsibilities. That takes time and apart from the fact that it's also quite beautiful in Arendelle, it's no comparison to our vast, sparse birch forests, the nature, the reindeer and ultimately the closeness to Ahtohallan and the nature spirits. Which brings me to another question.” With that, she looked Elsa straight in the face.

“Will you return to us, Elsa? You have all your powers back now and you are still our Fifth Spirit.”

With that, Myrtha had brought up two explosive matters. There was an awkward silence for a while and Myrtha had the undoubted impression that she had hit a sore spot. With all three of them!

Anna and Elsa started to answer at the same time, but with gestures they could not decide who should speak first, when Yelana intervened.

“You're right, Myrtha.”

They all looked at her

“But there is something else I have not yet mentioned, and that also requires Honeymaren's presence in Arendelle. At least temporarily, because I have a crazy idea about that. However, two things are necessary for this. Firstly, I have to show it to both of you first, Anna and Elsa, and secondly, it is ultimately up to you to be allowed to implement my plan. It will unite our two peoples like never before and open up unimagined possibilities for the future.”

~~~

Ole Jordahl let the ARN Crocus slowly steer around the island and navigate between other smaller islands offshore. No easy task in these somewhat treacherous waters in the increasing darkness. But the helmsman knew his way around like the back of his hand and steered the big ship to the harbour with somnambulistic certainty.

The royal naval base was located south of Snoob on a small island that was only connected to the land at one point and otherwise surrounded by sea, small fjords and tiny rocky islands. In addition, the waters all around were interspersed with underwater rocks and often offered incalculable currents.

Directly on the narrow land connection lay the large fort as a bulwark against possible attackers and constantly manned watchtowers stood about every fifty metres around the island. To the south, in a deep, protected indentation, lay the Arendelles shipyard and in the centre was the extensive penal camp with attached laundry, workshops and many other buildings that served to run the base. Finally, there were the closely guarded barracks for the prisoners themselves. So far, no one had escaped from here in the last decades, and the hull crew of the naval base comprised several hundred men, in addition to the changing ship's crews and the countless freelancers and suppliers from the mainland.

When the Crocus was about to enter the harbour, the skipper had light signals sent out so that each of the guards knew there was no danger. The ARN Sunflower followed a few ship lengths behind them and was now closing fast.

Despite his years on the base, Jordahl was always fascinated by the massive fort, which was built in a star shape and gave views in every conceivable direction. It was a bulwark with walls metres thick and the largest fortress that existed in all of Arendelle.

Half an hour later, the skipper headed for his quarters on the island, shortly after which he threw his document bag on the table, made himself a cup of tea and dropped into his comfortable armchair. The rest, i.e. the removal of the prisoners to their cells, was now taken care of by others, as was the stocking up of supplies for the long journey that began tomorrow morning. Just enough time to take a bath, pack a few personal things and get enough sleep.

Captain Holmstein was probably feeling the same way right now; Jordahl thought and looked through the royal documents again to plan the route.

~~~

---

Remark: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment if you liked the story, I would be pleased to read your opinions, even criticisms. If you want to be tagged as soon I publish the next chapter please let me know, except you are already tagged :-)

Tagging: @true--north @annaofthenorthernlights @dronning-formynder05

#frozen #frozen2 #frozen3 #fanfic #epic novel #the broken bridge #chapter 71 #bigfrozenfan #Youtube

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mable-stitchpunk · 8 months

Text

Going Home in a Box: Chapter 71 -Teaser

Freddy showed up in Rockstar Row to find Roxanne and Chica standing outside Monty’s closed door. The wolf with her arms crossed and the chicken with her hands on her hips as both stared down the door. Roxy’s ear twitched when she first caught wind of heavy footsteps and twitched again before she looked over her shoulder and their arriving bandmate.

“Took you long enough,” she remarked. She then turned back to the door, “Alright, Monty, Freddy’s here. Quit stalling and let’s go.”

“I don’t feel like it,” Monty called back.

The sentiment might’ve not been too strange, but the fact he was yelling it through a closed door certainly was. Roxy rolled her eyes. Freddy stole a glance at Chica, but she wasn’t paying enough attention to notice.

“What’s going on? Did you break your bass again? We’ve got backups. Most of the bass is on the backing track anyways,” Roxy called back. Purposefully trying to rile him up, to challenge him, to provoke him into proving himself, but this ended up backfiring.

“Sounds like ya don’t need me,” he dismissed.

“That is not true! You are an essential party of the band,” Freddy protested. He could faintly hear the gator making a dismissive noise through the door. Dismayed, Freddy turned to Roxy for answers. “What is going on? Why will he not come out?”

“He ‘doesn’t feel like it’,” Roxy replied, making quotations with one hand before crossing her arms again with a scoff.

Freddy didn’t like the sign of that. He leaned forward between his two bandmates and gave a gentle knock to the door.

“Monty, what is wrong? You do not want to practice tonight?” he asked.

“Nope,” Monty replied.

“Why not?”

“Don’t feel like it.”

Chica’s shoulders slumped and her arms dangled while Roxy rolled her eyes. The reason they weren’t as concerned as Freddy was about Monty’s refusal to come out being that they had gotten this answer themselves only a little while ago. Before that they had thought something might’ve happened, but further elaboration- while not clarifying anything in the process- had assured them that Monty just didn’t want to perform tonight. So, to them, they assumed he was having a tantrum.

This was not the first time Monty had refused to do something. Just recently he had to be coerced by employees to come down from the catwalks and to the performance when he was upset over them withholding his passes to hand out. Freddy remembered that well.

“Did they take your passes again?” he asked empathetically.

“That implies they gave me anymore,” Monty grumbled lowly. “Ah don’t need to practice, I’ll learn it when I get on stage. I’m a rockstar. Rock on.”

“That is the dumbest- ugh.” Roxy pinched at her temples, being very careful to not scuff up her freshly painted claws as she did. “We’re just wasting time going in circles with him. Forget it, we’ll start practice without him. If he wants to go in blind then he’s the one who’s going to be embarrassed when he sounds bad.”

Freddy seemed fine with this idea and while Roxy wasn’t a quitter of any kind, she knew when to stop wasting time on a lost cause, and she especially knew how stubborn Monty could be. When he didn’t want to do something it would take no less than a forklift to get him moved and even that didn’t guarantee cooperation once he was dumped on stage.

But Chica wasn’t ready to give up. She decided that maybe they were going about it the wrong way and, closing her eyes, reached out to him with a heartfelt message stressing on how they were bandmates, friends, how they needed to do this together, and how this would reflect badly on them too if he acted like this- and having to rush it all into the allotted message length limit.

She then sent the message and waited, and after a few moments Monty gave a confused, “…What?”

Chica’s eyes widened before she stamped her foot in frustration. Words wouldn’t work, but undeterred she tried to think up another plan. She looked down at her feet and then to the door and got a thoughtful look to her eyes as she remembered something Roxy had said. She waved her hand out to her side to get Freddy’s attention, pointed to the door, and gave a little air kick.

“You want me to… kick the door down?” Freddy said uneasily. That seemed like a major violation of privacy, he thought.

“I was joking about that,” Roxy clarified to Chica. Eyes lidded and expression unenthused.

“Ya’ll better not!” Monty barked through the door.

“I am not sure that I can. If not due to the statistics of my legs not being built to kick anywhere near as high as Monty’s, then due to the possible damage if the lock release fails,” Freddy whispered behind his hand to her.

Chica shook her head and started kicking again, but this time not making full kicks. Only starting to kick before stopping before the end of the follow through. She then decided to just give up with the charade and pressed a finger to her temple again.

“We’re just pretending!”

“Oh! Well then… I suppose if the rules allow us to break down doors if there is an emergency, then I have no choice,” Freddy said. Purposefully getting louder at the end so Monty could hear.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Monty almost snarled back.

“I could very easily kick this door down, Monty. The lock releases when applied enough pressure to avoid any damage to the frame,” Freddy reminded.

There was a long pause between them, through said door.

“Then go fer it, Fazbear,” Monty challenged.

Yet another long pause lingered between them.

“I’m waitin’, Freddy.”

Freddy’s jaw was tight and he exchanged a look between Chica and Roxy. Chica promptly strutted right over to the door and gave it a little kick.

“Did ya just kick mah door?!” Monty cried. He sounded more shocked than angry. “Ya really did it! Ya kicked my door!”

“It was not me! It was…” Freddy looked to Chica who giving him an almost challenging look of her own. “…It was me, Monty. And I will kick it harder if I have to.”

“Well, yer gonna have to kick it a lot harder than that, that’s fer damn sure!” Monty tossed back.

“…He’s right,” Freddy sighed. He looked between Roxy and Chica. “Our best option to get the door open is to use a higher security clearance to override the lock, if you insist that we should. I could go get Vanessa to help us or perhaps I could message Moon as he-.”

“Whoa, hold up!” Monty suddenly interjected. The three looked to the door. “…Alright, ya’ll win. I’ll open the door- but I ain’t comin’ out!”

All three straightened up to attention as the door slid open. Monty promptly filled the entirety of the doorway, arms up on the frame and head slumped to the side as though he had just woken from a long nap. Though it was pretty obvious that he was actually just trying to block the doorway. Not that there was any reason when his green room was mostly dark on the inside, save a lone neon sign on the far wall.

Though there was one thing he couldn’t shield, and that was the smell. Roxy picked up on it immediately and sniffed the air. Chica noticed and tried to smell as well, but she wasn’t able to catch the faint scent that Roxy could. She looked to her questioningly but she didn’t clarify, instead getting a shocked and then much more exasperated look. She leaned against the wall beside the door.

“Since when did you start wearing chick’s perfume?” Roxy asked.

“…They sprayed my couch,” Monty replied.

“Who did? The employees?” Freddy asked in confusion.

“Right on.”

“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to give you the night off and whatever’s going on in there, fix it,” Roxy said with authority. She then faked snapping her fingers, clicking her teeth to punctuate it, and beckoned Freddy and Chica to follow.

#Fnaf #GHIAB #Going Home in a Box #Glamrock Freddy #Glamrock Chica #Montgomery Gator #Roxanne Wolf #Pizzaplex #Teaser #Chapter 71

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