Dungeon Dash
For the rest of the night, Tanya lay motionless. Aldyn guards rushed down to the dungeon to douse the chaos she created, but by the time they arrived it was completely incinerated. Despite pretending to ignore her presence completely, the guards muttered back and forth to each other, with trembling voices.
Blotches around her body continued to burn and burst into flames, and extinguish themselves unrelentingly. Her scorching skin banned the princess from any rest.
Would her brother really execute her like her parents? After all that happened, she would not be surprised. Even though the information about her parents’ murder was not proven, the facts did come from the pirate captain’s last words. Everything added up.
For once in her life, she craved the thought of giving up.
So her body was finally succumbing to her own powers after all; the inevitable event the girl continued to run away from and suppress her whole life. And she abandoned the only possibility of healing that was obtainable.
Elsa wanted to help me. She cared for me. She…
Loved me.
Tanya gripped the necklace she held in her hand, the one Elsa gave to her before she ran off like a coward. It was the only article she wore that was untouched and undamaged. The jewel shone brilliantly red and refracted her fiery light emitting from her skin. Curled up on her side on the floor, Tanya pulled the necklace closer to her chest.
She was angry towards herself and what she was becoming. Anton was right about her. One of the best things to happen to her, which she did not even deserve, she pushed away. Now it was too late to make up for the past, and would never have an opportunity to express everything she wanted to say.
“Oh Elsa, I’m so sorry,” Tanya said, admitting to herself out loud in a murmur. “I didn’t want to leave you behind like that, I wanted to say yes; yes, so many times. I’m so sorry I hurt you, and didn’t tell you how I felt.” She choked back her sobs and swallowed with difficulty. There was no number of times she could say sorry, which would make up for her mistakes.
Tanya did not know how long she wept for, but it was the most painful moment of her life. It had to be. Because as much as she pushed her away, she loved the ice queen, and everything about her. The problem was that Tanya had no clue how to make it work. But she would not ever have the chance to make that choice.
She wished Elsa could be there holding and comforting her. More than anything she wanted the cool touch of the queen’s arms around her waist, filled with her crisp yet welcoming scent. Tanya wanted to feel her heart melt again, as if the queen had frozen it. Just as they had been those times before. Just once more.
“Elsa if I never get to say this to you… I’m sorry.”
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That’s it!
Guards were infested around every corner of the castle, and Elsa barely managed to sneak past them unnoticed. After two men left the room to grab helmets, she entered the supply room and left with a disguise. She discarded her dress and some other items under an empty barrel, tucked away in the recesses of the chamber. The guard uniform was white and black with highlights of silver and red, which she wore buttoned all the way up to her neck. That seemed to be most popular way the guards wore it, as she observed. The queen wore black leather boots, which rose to her knees. Along with the uniform was a black and silver leather belt, as well as a white hooded military cloak which reached down to her knees. It seemed to be optional whether the guards were required to wear cloak. Tucking her hair underneath, she draped the hood over her head, which covered part of her face. She equipped a standard sword from the rack onto her belt, and double checked if she was missing anything. Elsa shrugged. The queen had no intention with interacting with anyone in the castle. The sole reason she was there was to find Tanya.
She walked out the door nonchalantly and silent. It would work to her advantage if she did not act suspicious or refer any attention to herself. Upon seeing the smoke coming from the city with Anna, she could tell something was amiss. From the moment she approached the castle, the eerie atmosphere reeked of hostility. Elsa was not dumb. Hesitantly, she concluded before revealing her presence to the king and queen or identity to the guards, she would first find and talk to Tanya. Roam near the throne room for a sign, Elsa kept her senses alert for any sign of the princess.
Passing by the guards who patrolled the halls, none of them acknowledged her. They did not even acknowledge each other. They did not appear very happy at that. Silence rang loud in the air. Elsa figured walking around and waiting to eavesdrop was not working to her advantage, and wandered for physical clues around the castle instead. Elsa had no idea to what exactly she was searching for. Really, it was anything that could give Tanya’s whereabouts.
The throne room stood four long columns of pillars. Every two hundred feet or so, a guard was posted at each pillar, while some paced around the room. She noticed a servant with a bucket and cleaning supplies, scrubbing up a large part of the hall, in front of the throne. As he wiped away, a dark grey cloud of dust wafted up from the floor, which he inhaled and coughed.
Something must have occurred here earlier.
Sure enough, there were dark burnt spots scattered along the floor, identical to the one the man was attending to.
Was Tanya struggling here? What happened?
It had to be made by the princess. Exact char marks appeared after she used her magic to run away near the mountains. No one was going to tell Elsa. She would have to figure it out herself. Clearly there was some sort of struggle here as well as in the city, but the castle was certainly not in an uproar. If Tanya fought here, then they must have thrown her in a place that will block her from causing further damage. Somewhere perhaps isolating.
There were two places Elsa deducted where Tanya might be. Either the highest towers of the castle, or the undermost parts of the dungeon. Since she was already on the bottom floor, Elsa would look down in the dungeon first, before exploring the tower wings. Where Aldyn’s dungeon was actually sited was beyond her, and it was not like she could ask for directions. But understanding the familiar designs resembling Arendelle’s castle, the queen could improvise. It was something she was decent at.
After another hour or so had passed, Elsa noticed an isolated door near the end of the hall, which was slightly different and less intricate from the other doors. She would check every room if she had to, and maybe one of these times luck would work in her favor. It did not matter how long it took or how creeped out she was. The queen would find the princess.
Elsa opened the door, and descending below was a narrow, spiral staircase. This could be exactly what she was looking for. Grabbing one of the lit torches, the ice queen closed the door behind her and disappeared in the depths.
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“What are you doing here Kai?”
The plump man gave a startled smile to Kristoff, “Excuse me? I’m not quite sure what you mean. I am just here to offer you tea while you’re hard at work, doing… whatever you are doing!”
It all made sense. The only other person who could potentially have access to the houses was Kai. He had authority over the castle, and was the primary holder of the master key to the castle, as well as property. He was close to the royal line, since his family was one of the few that served Arendelle as knights and advisors for centuries. Practically everyone in the kingdom knew that.
Kristoff was not going to confront the older man directly. First he was going to test him, to analyze his response.
“No thank you, I’m not very thirsty right now,” he saw that Kai remained expressionless.
“I insist,” Kai persisted, and adjusted his green blazer. “This tea was just imported to Arendelle today, from the eastern world. You really must try it, the flavor is so delicate and delectable.”
“I appreciate your gesture, but I may just make myself a cup tomorrow.”
Kai stepped closer, creaking the floor, “Are you sure?” A grave look appeared on the man’s face.
“Positive,” Kristoff would stand firm and watch how the other man decided to act.
There was a moment of silence. Neither of them said anything to each other.
“In that case…” Kai went over and placed the tray gently down on the desk. He was only a few feet from Kristoff. “I will have to take other measures!”
Kai lunged like a snake at the ice harvester, and Kristoff quickly jumped to the side. For a man of his stature, he was rather quick. The advisor fumbled before reaching into his coat pocket and drawing a dagger with his white gloved hands. Baring his teeth, Kai extended his arm, pointing the large knife at Kristoff. Kai was an opponent the former mountain man would be able to overtake, but the sharp weapon changed the rules of the game.
“W-Why?” It was the only thing he could think to saying to a man trying to kill him.
“That is no matter for you. Your only concern is accepting your fate!” Kai ran towards him, lunging the dagger held his right hand. Kristoff could tell the advisor had expertise in using knives.
There was no weapon or object of defense within Kristoff’s reach, which he could utilize to his advantage. Now was the time to get creative. Kristoff swung around his desk, grabbed the pen ink made from black charcoal, and flung it in Kai’s face. Ink skewered Kai’s vision, and he spit it out of his mouth.
With no second to spare, Kristoff kicked at Kai’s knees which flipped him over backwards, knocking him down. He still held the dagger in his grasp, but before he could get up, Kristoff pinned him down. The dagger was aimed between his eyes, as Kai summoned all his strength to worm his way out. But after all the years of basically living in the wilderness with Sven, Kristoff had superiority when it came to might.
“You don’t know what you’re doing!” Spat Kai, with a snarl unfamiliar to what Kristoff was used to.
“I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m stopping you from trying kill and poison me all those times.”
“But you have no idea what’s going on! How can you even consider marrying someone in the royal family, when you don’t even know what’s happening in this kingdom?!”
A team of Arendelle’s guards busted through the door, which was locked. The first one spoke, “We heard a struggle going on in here!” He immediately saw Kristoff holding Kai down, and his eyes trailed to the dagger in the advisor’s hand. “Arrest the man!” He ordered his subordinates while pointing at the Kai pinned to the ground.
“Wait! I have served the royal family for years, you don’t know what you’re doing!” He said it a second time, and Kristoff wanted to know what he meant by it. Was there something the advisor knew that Kristoff did not?
The guards ignored Kai, “Don’t try to resist! Anything you do will be held against you.” They pulled him out the door, and two nurses flew into the room to aid Kristoff.
“Where are you hurt? On a scale of one to ten, how is your pain?” Said the first.
Kristoff sat up on the ground with one arm resting on his leg. “I’m alright, maybe a little bruised, but nothing bad. Maybe a three?”
“Thank goodness. You’re a very lucky man. Even so, we still need to ask a few more questions in order to have a complete scope of things,” said the second medic. “We will send someone to clean up the mess in here afterwards.”
Sure enough paperwork from the desk was scattered all over the floor, the lamp knocked over, and ink on the carpet.
“That would be great, thank you. Do you think I could get a glass of water?”
The nurses proceeded with several questions Kristoff assumed they had to ask, even though they were rather obvious. His answers would also be referred to, when Kai would be interrogated. The timing of events was impeccable. When they were finished with him, the ice harvester asked if he was allowed to leave.
“Of course. You should rest from whatever you’re doing, while you’re at it.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea at all.” Kristoff got up, a little shaken up from the ordeal that happened in just the last few minutes. He organized the papers in one large pile, and slid them into the top drawer of the desk. “I’ll be in my room then.”
Already servants were entering the office with supplies, the same moment he walked out the door. It was surreal how fast the events happened and flew by. Kai, just attempted to murder me.
At the moment the advisor entered the room with tea, Kristoff realized it was the advisor that wanted him gone. But now, after weeks of not eating or drinking a regular meal, after all the times someone tried to poison him, Kristoff could finally rest. The person who wanted him gone was taken under custody by the castle guard, and would reside in prison until Anna and Elsa returned. Then the sisters would decide a reasonable punishment.
If Anna was here, she would know how to handle this. Well, maybe the princess would not know how in the most mature way, but the queen sure would. Elsa knew Kai the best out of all of them, and would know the best method of examining the royal advisor. Kristoff entered his room, and by his bed on the nightstand was a glass of water alongside some bread and jam.
Kristoff sat at the edge of the bed, and slowly drank the water. It was too hard for him to swallow. He tried taking a bite out of the food, but it was tasteless to him. Swallowing the bite, his eyes swelled up. Wiping his eyes, Kristoff laid down on the bed on his back, with crossed arms supporting his big head. Everything would work itself out after sleeping for a couple hours. Sure enough Kristoff dozed off sooner than Sven usually did, with the last thought on his mind being Anna.
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Good luck sided with the queen. Sure enough, laying in the dirty ground inside the last cell, was her princess; was Tanya. She noticed, despite her charred clothes and some burnt off patches around the princess’ skin, she was shivering. If Elsa did not have her powers which regulated her blood temperature, she would have been cold as well.
The queen had trailed the staircase all the way, while checking over at least eight floors, to the bottom floor. Most of the cells were almost all empty and abandoned, except for the occasional insane lunatic, and lined both the left and the right sides. Elsa had no idea how far or long she had walked down the path. It was an endless tunnel, and the torch she carried was beginning to fade out.
But just before she turned back around, she saw a girl in the corner of her eye.
Her heart skipped a beat. Tanya, the girl she would give the world for, was alive! Checking the dungeon first was not an absurd idea after all. But now that she was here and Tanya was only a few feet away, what would she say? Elsa could feel her cold blood racing and pulsing through her fingers. As nervous and anxious as she was, her worries would have to wait. Elsa needed to save the princess from whatever situation she was in, and escape Aldyn.
As Elsa moved closer to Tanya’s cell, and the princess seemed to notice someone there.
Without rolling around, Tanya said, “So are you here to execute me?”
The queen froze in her steps, with her mouth slightly ajar, “No, I’m here to get you out of this place.”
Startled by the distinguishable voice, Tanya flipped around and sat up, with both arms propping her. “El-Elsa? Is it really you? Please don’t let this be my mind or powers obscuring my perception now,” Tanya prayed.
“Your mind is not messing with you, I’m really here, and I’m busting you out.” Elsa took off the black gloves of the uniform, and stuffed them into her cloak pocket. Placing her hands on the cell bars, her freezing magic slowly cracked through the spell casters’ barrier around the space. Once she managed to overcome the spells, the bars froze over in seconds. Her powers were much stronger than any spell casters’ magic she had come across. With a graceful gesture of her arm, an icy wind blew into the bars, disintegrating them into snow particles. To clean up her mess, Elsa made an upward hand movement, and the snow evaporated. The cell had vanished entirely in a wisp of icy wind, as the two girls locked eyes.
In a monotone voice, with unrelenting eye contact, the princess said, “Forget me Elsa. I’m a lost cause.” The queen sensed loss, and her tone of voice betrayed her. Going on in Tanya’s mind, the princess did not want Elsa to get hurt at her expense. “I have caused you trouble and personally hurt you. You don’t deserve any of this, and you don’t deserve me. Leave before you get caught here, it’s not safe. My brother-“
Elsa ran to her side and knelt to her level, hugging Tanya tightly in her arms. “I am not letting you go, and I’m not leaving you here to waste away!” Tanya’s muscles tensed up at the touch, her blank expression turned to full emotion. “Please! For Arendelle, for yourself, for me!”
This time, the queen was not going to listen. Elsa’s lithe, bare hands grasped around the princess’ abdomen, hoisting her up on her feet. “Lean on me, I’ll get us out. Something deviant is happening in Aldyn, and we aren’t safe here.”
“You need to listen to me,” she said in all seriousness. “My brother can’t be trusted!” But from by simply trying, Tanya’s legs gave way, and the queen caught her before she fell to the floor.
“I presumed that was the case,” Elsa said with a smile. “By seeing the looks of things in the city, it seems as if your family is forcing the citizens to comply with an alliance. Hang on one second.” With both hands, Elsa scooped up Tanya into her arms. If she could not walk, then the queen would just have to carry her out.
“My family? Haven’t you heard? My parents are dead.”
“What! Where did you hear that? Are you sure?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” Tanya thought of the pirate captain, and decided it was for the best to not mention the source. “I do know that during the moment it was said, they were telling the truth.”
“Do you know how it happened?”
“It… was my brother Anton.”
Elsa pursed her lips. How could anyone consider killing their parents, and treat their own family like this?
“Well I won’t let your brother lay a finger on you, I swear on it,” the princess’ hands combusted, and Elsa nulled out the fire. “I’m not going to give up that easily on you.” She looked into the princess’ worn eyes, which glowed in the darkness, her face charred and bruised.
“But if you’re around me you’ll surely get hurt, and I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have. I’m losing control of my own power, and a danger to everyone including myself. You can just look at me and see what it’s done.”
“I’m able to keep my temperature cold enough, and prevent any of those flames from reaching my skin. You wouldn’t be able to burn me even if you tried. It’s okay Tanya.”
“Elsa…” Tanya said in a whisper. “This is what I wanted to say, back at the pass, when you gave me the necklace.” She opened her palm, and revealed to Elsa she still carried the ruby necklace in her possession. “I want you too.”
The snow queen stopped, her face blushing like a tomato. “Y-You do?” It came out in a small voice, but she was in shock. Was the girl she loved actually able to reciprocate her feelings? She could not comprehend those words. Elsa just smiled back at Tanya, and stroked her cheek as the girl closed her eyes. Now was not the best time for this discussion, and Tanya was almost depleted of every drop of remaining energy.
The walk back was long and strenuous, as the queen carried the girl to the spiraling flight of steps. She and Tanya ignored the calls the insane prisoners buttered out, saying all they could to potentially achieve freedom. Up eight flights of stairs and to the door. That’s all that was left of the despicable dungeon. Elsa’s arms felt weak from carrying the princess for the last fifteen minutes. However she knew this would just be the first part of their escape, the first phase. Once they reached the top, they would be put in a much more crucial position. That was, successfully getting out of Aldyn without their presence noticed. The probability of that was highly unlikely. But they had to, not just to ensure their escape, but their lives.
She knew this would be an almost impossible task, and Elsa was prepared to take action if necessary, even if it was not the wisest move. If she used her ice powers, her identity would be revealed. Currently, she still sported the uniform and passed as another guard. They had no clue Elsa managed to break into the castle. The worst possible outcome of revealing her magic, was that Aldyn would interpret the queen as a threat from Arendelle. Allowing her kingdom’s reputation to become tarnished could seriously be a bad move. But she would stop Aldyn’s entire army if she had to. Anything, to protect the ones she loved, especially the girl she supported now.
Fumbling to twist open the door handle with an elbow, she peered around the furnished hallway. Thankfully, the path was made clear for them. Working her arms in a more comfortable lifting position, the ice queen carried her as swiftly as she could, doing a good job of not losing balance with the extra weight. Turning around the corner, she walked right into five guards.
“Halt, what do you think you’re doing?” The thrusted his arm forward, his hand facing her in a stop motion. Behind him, the guards placed their hands on the hilt of their swords and spears, ready for their captain to say the word. They sure seemed antsy.
So much for sneaking around.
Naturally, she had to lie to get out of this one. Elsa really did not condone lying, but lives depended on quick thinking. Fortunately back in the dungeon, she had time to conjure up a story.
“I’m bringing the prisoner to Our Royal Highness Prince Anton.” Did Elsa exaggerate his title a bit much? She doubted it, considering how uptight their expressions and movements were. It was probably very appropriately worded. “He ordered me to summon her in, to cross-examine her personally.”
The look on the guard’s face was not convinced. “So why are you not headed upstairs? Isn’t that the way you should be going, to the west wing cabinet?” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger.
She could only play dumb. “What, the prince is not currently in the throne room?”
“Negative, he left to hold a meeting with Frelliya a couple hours ago. Everyone here is aware of that. This is the big assembly, to join together our kingdoms. I suppose he has summoned our most recent prisoner to make an example of her, or to ensure stability of the kingdom. But that doesn’t answer why the prisoner isn’t shackled. Might I ask?”
“She is in no fit to fight back. I made sure of that,” Elsa replied gruffly. “Now I that I’m aware the royal prince is no longer in the throne room, I will see to it the captive is delivered upstairs.”
“Good. I will send two of my guards with you to show you the way,” he summoned a man and woman both standing behind him, leaving two other guards remaining. A twitch of his eyebrows signaled to her the captain did not believe her fib.
If Elsa went along with it, she would be made to follow the guards to the meeting chamber, making means of escape much harder. It was either follow the order, one she did not even trust, or fly now while she had a shot. She picked the latter.
They stood a couple arm’s lengths away. An adequate amount of distance. Either way the five of them countered no competition against her, even with the aid of their weaponry. Elsa sighed. She knew what she had to do. “This will only take one minute,” the ice queen spoke only to the princess, gently setting her down against the wall. Using an upward motion with both of her hands, she froze the five guards simultaneously which preserved the shape of their bodies in a thick layer of ice. This would stop them for a couple hours, at least until they left the city. Then Elsa would release their prison.
“Elsa, help,” Tanya said in a hack, coughing up black smoke from her lungs. It started steaming out of her nostrils. “It burns.”
Tanya looked awful, and Elsa had no sense of what to do. The only thing she could do that might help, was to go over to the princess and cover the girl’s ears with her hands. The blonde made her hands frigid to cool the smoke. Once the smoking stopped, Elsa made a cube of ice, which would not melt unless her magic permitted it. That way, she could massage it against her skin, which degraded with every passing moment.
Black fumes still emitted from Tanya’s mouth. She did not know if she wanted to try this particular move, but the queen knew she could create cold blasts with just her breath. The closer her lips came to Tanya’s, the more nervous she became. But this was not a kiss at all, it was to just prevent her condition from worsening…
Tanya closed her eyes.
Yet, the weight of their situation snapped them both back to a focus.
They were no more than an inch apart, when more guards yelling at each other within Elsa’s earshot. They must have heard the commotion in the hallway. First I have to get her out of here, before I can… think of remedying her condition.
Spooning up the younger girl back into her grip, she ran as fast as she could while lugging another body. The closer she came to the castle entryway, the brighter the place filled, with natural light. Hopefully she would avoid confronting too many sentries along the way. To her dismay, it was completely blocked off by a small-sized, armed barricade, stretching all the way down to the front entrance. Equipped with spears in hand, they were ready to stop her any cost. But were they really? The ice queen was prepared as well.
Concentrating on the space around them while focusing internally, Elsa created a thick ice storm encircling her and the princess. Many tried their best to slice and spear through the pelting shards moving at incredible speed, but their blades failed short as adequate protection. Face out of visibility, one guard made it scarcely further than the rest, with the tip of his spear flailing around. But like everything else, he was blown away, and thrown against the castle wall. One by one, they were knocked unconscious. The blow was not strong enough to kill them in this setting. If the ice queen was not allowed to leave the way she came, she would just have to pow through to the main gate, through her brute strength.
Pieces of Tanya’s skin started to harden and change its form similar to how lava hardens. It cracked, breaking off pieces scattering a trail they left behind. The queen winced at the sound the formerly smooth skin made. It was painful to even watch, and a hundred times more so for Tanya. It was if her skin served as an egg shell, and something new started to hatch from within. Unfortunately, the situation was not as pleasant to think about. Underneath the molten skin was unlike Elsa had ever seen, something else swirling, ablaze inside of her. The sight of the princess would have terrified anyone else, but not the queen. Elsa would be with Tanya and protect her no matter what. But now Tanya was definitely in trouble.
“We’re almost there!” Elsa shouted, her stress level rising and heart rate pulsing. “Don’t worry, I have you!” She grunted.
From the perspective of the courtyard, it appeared as if a mix between a hurricane and an avalanche busted through the thirty foot castle doors. Aldyn citizens started to yell, more than they were already, and sprinted away from the storm to preserve their lives. Aldyn and Frelliyan soldiers included. Mother’s swooped up their children. The horses and livestock were cut loose and freed. Everyone else rushed out the gates and back to their homes, to salvage treasured, personal belongings. The confusion and chaos which rioted in the city was swept away by an even larger disaster.
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Watching from a high up window in the castle, stood two men. The Aldyn prince remained motionless, hands behind his back in white and black garb, with a gold and purple belt. The other was an older man who appeared to be the prince’s senior by twenty years. His face was broad with strong features, his scalp completely bald, and had a full, neatly trimmed beard. He dressed in red and purple, with black pauldron, breastplate, and boots. Both men were turned to the window, staring down at the storm below.
The prince opened his mouth to speak, “So the creature finally came out to play.”
“What if we can’t control it?”
“We will.”
“You know what we signed upon the agreement,” the older man shook his beefy index finger. “If this gets in the way of our alliance, I swear on my-“
“Everything will be contained. Our forces have been called back, and the city’s evacuation was just released now,” Anton replied coolly, unfazed. Frelliya’s king did not intimidate him. He could not risk this union going awry, or every critical action he took would be for nothing. It was in neither of the men’s best interests for prophecy to obstruct their plans.
The Frelliyan king was fully aware of the prophecy, and what it meant. Anton had filled him in on as much as he could. But with Tanya being back in Aldyn, she posed a serious threat. The king-to-be had utilized Tanya’s stay in Arendelle to his advantage, and saw it as a bonus. It left him a split-of-a-second opportunity to usurp the throne, and even offer Frelliya something they could not refuse. Control over Arendelle. Now that both Arendelle’s queen and his sister were here, the prize was much closer in range.
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Anna watched with Sven and Olaf, as a giant strom of snow and ice encompassed the castle courtyard, to around the castle itself. It resembled what happened to Arendelle castle a summer ago, after Elsa was captured by Prince Hans.
Something horribly wrong was happening, and she could not bear to just stand there and watch. Anna had to go down and save her sister like the time she had before. But… it was not even supposed to be like this. Her sister promised she would be okay, that she would be back, and insisted for the party to stay behind. This thought halted her from climbing on top of the reindeer and riding down to Aldyn. In her head, she could hear Elsa scolding voice.
If something happens to the both of us, then what will happen to Arendelle?
That sounded very much like something Elsa would say, at least in Anna’s mind. Ever since the kingdom’s discovery of her powers and the end of the eternal winter, Elsa had always put forth the well-being of her people first. Yet, the princess could not keep watching idly, as her sister in major distress. Her thoughts betrayed her, and for once, asked for advice.
“What should I do Olaf?” She turned to her snowman friend. “I feel so helpless.”
“If you feel helpless, why don’t you try and see if you can help?”
“That’s the thing, I don’t know how or in what way I could assist. Oh why couldn’t I have powers too, like my sister does?” Anna placed both hands on her head.
“But you have courage. That’s just as great of a power,” Olaf pointed out insightfully, surprising for his usual character.
In the corner of her eye, she saw an average sized group of men hiking down the slope. They were far enough away to appear as a blur. The men did not look like soldiers, from what Anna could infer. Instead their dress looked vaguely familiar. Almost as if…
“Who are they?” Olaf pointed.
Anna shushed him and added, “We don’t know if they’re friendly.”
Sven grunted, somewhat curious, yet suspiciously.
“Yeah it might be a good idea to follow them, but stay our distance. At least until we can figure out who they are, and why they’re going towards Aldyn. Anyone in their right mind would be running away.”
Sven chuckled as best as a reindeer could, directing a glance Anna.
“No, I’m not insane for wanting to rescue my sister from that storm,” Anna replied, not humored. “Seriously you are almost as bad as Kristoff.”
From tree to tree, the trio hid far enough behind the group for them not to notice. But they were in earshot of the grumbling voices and their bickering.
“So you’re telling us down there is where the captain’s at?” One of the men said.
“Assumedly. They did capture and arrest him after all. Rumor has it, the execution is in the next couple days,” Another responded. He was bulkier than the rest, definitely the tank of the crew.
A smaller man in stature squeaked, “And how exactly are we supposed to get through that?” He tilted his head sideways, towards the storm which encircled the castle, and continued to encompass Aldyn.
“We’ll find a way, like we always do.”
“And we’ll risk our lives if we have to.”
“Our crew sticks together!”
“Yeah!” Every man punched a fist in the air.
An idea popped into Anna’s mind. It was genius to her, crazy to anyone else. She turned to Sven and then Olaf to see if they shared a similar idea. Both of her friends returned her glance with clueless expressions. They were clearly not on the same page, and could not read minds. The Arendelle princess sighed. It was a risk, but Anna did not know how else to help her older sister. With shoulders back, a not so convincing tough-guy expression on her face, and taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the shadows, revealing her existence.
“Excuse me-,” Anna said, alarmed at her higher pitched voice, and pretended to cough before deepening it. “Excuse me, but I think I have a way of getting past that,” she reflected the man’s previous tilt of the head, indicating the storm.
There must have been fifteen to twenty some of them, who turned around simultaneously in a slow motion, and all staring at her with unfriendly eyes. Maybe she had acted too boldly.
“Where did you come from?” A grisly man with a deep voice said, unwavering his position. His stance showed a mix of aggressiveness, yet defensiveness, by leaning in and crossing his arms.
The princess twitched only slightly, but was determined to stay in character. She was a convincing actress, so she believed. The man’s gesture communicated there was a greater possibility he would listen.
“I know who- I mean what’s behind that storm. Help me get closer to it, and I’ll assist you in finding your captain.” She kept it short and sweet, laying all her cards on the table. Honestly, Anna did not know if she could actually help them. But if she could break through to Elsa, maybe she would have some knowledge on where to find their leader.
“How do we know we can trust you,” the man spoke in a statement rather than a question. “We don’t know who you are or where you’re from. For all we know, you could be spying on us, which it sounds like you have already. Your only companions are a dirty reindeer and a walking snowman. Aside from all that, you’re by yourself.” His eyebrows raised up at a spark realization. “Wait a second. I think I know who you are.”
Anna gulped. This is bad. Yet, she stood her ground, and would say anything to keep herself and her two companions safe.
“You’re a young witch, probably a hermit or something traveling these parts, aren’t you? Your clothes are definitely not from around here. It also explains why you’re by yourself, and with that freak snowman.”
“Hey, that really hurt my feelings,” Olaf butted in. He genuinely appeared hurt.
On impulse, Anna said, “I could show you an even larger, not as nice freak snowman. If you don’t apologize to him and consider my proposition that is.” Her brows creased, and raised her hands in a similar way Elsa did. She took a risk by walking a few steps closer. Relieved they had listened to her this far, there was no way she could break her tough demeanor.
“Okay. If you can help us, we will help you. You help us find the captain, we get you through that icy burden. Do we have a deal?” He stuck out a hand. All eyes were on the two figures facing each other, now just a few feet apart.
Anna, now having to act as a “witch,” took his hand and shook it. Hopefully they would not see past her cover. “Deal.”