6Hello all! I'd like to welcome you to yet another story I don't have the time to be writing. Hopefully this chapter is a bit more exciting than the last! Oh, and I'd just like to clarify, this is an ELSA STORY. I'll try to give parts to all the main characters, but this will focus on ELSA and her issues because I think she is fantastic and has a lot of bottle up/repressed emotional pain and scarring. Anyways! Please enjoy and feel free to criticize! But please don't just insult me if you're not trying to improve my writing.
Anna rushed through the palace, her cloak flapping behind her. She didn't necessarily have to be anywhere, but the only way to stay warm was to keep moving. Since Elsa had fled, everyone feared they would all freeze to death, but it hadn't gotten quite that cold. Yes, the citizens were clothed in at least three layers of protective coats at all times, and yes, they all slept in groups to preserve heat, but no one had frozen to death. Yet.
Anna carried a small stack of blankets to hand out to anyone who looked too miserable, but there wasn't much else she could do. After giving out all but one, she wrapped her hands into the remaining blanket and pressed her face into it. "Elsa, this needs to stop," she mumbled sadly. She had barely made it to her sister's ice castle with Kristoff's help, but Elsa must've spotted them coming and run. They'd had no luck finding her, and were eventually forced to return home when the weather got too cold to continue. There were just too many peaks for Elsa to hide on in the mountains.
"Cold?"
Anna looked up to see Prince Hans standing in his long winter coat, smirking slightly, and stuck her tongue out. "Don't pretend you're not!"
Hans chuckled and shrugged. "You're right, as usual," he said with a smirk. He pulled an extra blanket from behind his back and draped it around her shoulders. "But not as cold as you are. You're shivering."
Anna smiled and was about to make a clever remark, or at least try to, when a pretty young woman with short brown hair ran up to her. A tall, handsome man followed close behind. He was the kind of guy women fawned over, but it didn't seem to have gone to his head. He followed the woman as if it were a game of tag, and she was the prize. Just before the woman ran into her, she slid to a stop. "Hi, Anna!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
"Hi?" Anna replied, slightly confused. "Sorry, you are...?"
"Oh!" The woman exclaimed. "Right! I'm Rapunzel! I came from Corona for your sister's coronation." Anna vaguely recalled seeing her rush around the ball, always accompanied by the man behind her. "And this is Eugene!"
The man rolled his eyes at that as he pushed back his dark hair. "You can call me Flynn," he said with a wink. Rapunzel pretended to glare and smacked his arm. Anna could only assume it was a running joke between them.
"So did you need something?" Anna asked with a smile as she glanced between the pair. She took an instant liking to them; they seemed like extremely fun people. "Or were we just saying hi?"
Rapunzel tapped her palm against her head with a laugh. "Oh, yeah! That little duke from Weasel Town wants to see you. Something about the Queen?" Rapunzel and Eugene sobered instantly, knowing Elsa was a touchy topic for Anna.
It had been over three months since Elsa fled after her coronation gone wrong. Anna had spent almost two weeks searching for her with the help of Kristoff, but it was no use. They had found her beautiful ice castle, but she was not there. Elsa must've realized they'd find her and chosen a less conspicuous hideout on one of the many other mountains.
"I guess I should go talk to him," Anna said, shoulders slumped. He had been the prime example of an uncaring, greedy, biased old man these past weeks. Every other word that came out of his mouth had something to do with hunting down the queen, and Anna had no delusions about what he'd want if he found Elsa.
Rapunzel gave her a sympathetic look and touched her arm. "If you want, you can come find me when you're done. If you want to talk or something," she offered with a smile.
Anna returned it in kind, then took a deep breath. Hans set his hand on the small of her back, and she looked up at his gray eyes. He smiled encouragingly, and Anna suddenly found the patience to talk to the Duke one more time. Hans had been a blessing from the start, even with his rare bouts of frustration and impatience, but lately he had been getting restless. He would never say it, but Anna could see he had just about given up on Elsa coming back. She couldn't hold it against him, though; this eternal winter was making everybody cranky.
"I'll do that!" Anna replied to Rapunzel. "We can do a bunch of girly things and scare the guys away." Rapunzel laughed with her, and Anna was glad the Princess of Corona wasn't so serious. She'd gotten enough of that from Elsa. "Well, wish me luck." And with that, Anna marched off to speak with the Duke of Weasel Town.
Down winding halls that she knew like the back of her hand, Anna hurried to the library. The Duke was usually there, warming himself in front of the fire. Anna glanced briefly at the paintings along the way, but didn't stop to say hello. There just wasn't time anymore. In just a couple of minutes, Anna was standing in front of the library door. She took a deep breath, then pushed opened the great wooden doors. She felt a flare of irritation as she saw the Duke sitting in Elsa's favorite chair, but smothered it. "You wanted to talk to me?" She said as way of introduction.
"Ah, Princess Anna," the Duke replied as he stood and turned to her, rubbing his arms for warmth. "Yes. We need to do something about this insufferable cold the Queen has brought about. It's not natural! She'll kill us all if this isn't stopped."
Anna sighed. This was why she had been avoiding him. She knew he wanted to be completely free from Elsa and her powers, but she had no idea how far he'd be willing to go. Years later, Anna would look back and curse herself for not seeing how much he was capable of. "I agree; winter is fun and all, but it needs to end sometime. But we already searched the North Mountain, and it's too cold to stay out there for too long. What do you suggest?"
The Duke pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You searched the mountains. And while I'm sure you had the good of the kingdom in mind, you're not exactly..."
He trailed off, but Anna knew what he meant as clearly as if he had written it down. "I'm a girl, and that means I probably wasn't even looking, or let my sister go because I don't have the stomach to have her punished. Is that what you were going to say?" She glared as the Duke made a half-hearted attempt to contradict her before he fell silent.
After a few moments, he spoke up. "I hoped to have your permission before sending out a party, but I've waited long enough. A group of my men will be leaving in four days. Help me or don't, but they will find the Queen." He bowed slightly before walking out, and Anna winced as he slammed the door. That could've gone better.
Anna fell back into a velvet armchair and rested her head in her hands. If only Elsa would stop this. Anna had been trying so hard to believe in her sister, but why was she making everyone so miserable? Was she taking revenge on them for scorning her powers and calling her a sorceress?
The library door creaked open again, and Anna raised her eyes to see Hans poke his head in. "I take it the talk didn't go so well," he said darkly. The corner of Anna's mouth threatened to turn up in a smile at his expression. He clearly didn't like the Duke. Anna just prayed she would never be on the receiving end of Hans' glare.
"It wasn't so bad," Anna said. "Sure, he's sending some scary soldiers to go after the only family I have left, but I'm sure it'll turn out fine." She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. She heard Hans move closer and walk around the back of the chair, then felt his gloved hands on her shoulders.
"Hey," he said as he massaged her through her wool cloak. "It will turn out fine. Just leave this to me, I'll sort everything out." Anna smiled at Hans' promise. Of course she never questioned what, exactly, he meant by that. Hans would make everything better again. But she might have benefited from asking just whose idea of 'better' they were talking about.
Trayton leaned against the side of the ship as it rocked in the waves. They were making good time; they'd left four mornings ago, and were expecting to make land by nightfall tomorrow. Trayton was incredibly curious as to what was happening in Arendelle. Hans had always been... dutiful, despite his older brothers' antics, and wouldn't fail to report any odd goings ons. He was ashamed to admit that he had also teased Hans, and even joined in ignoring the youngest prince for years on end. But even that couldn't deter Hans' unwavering ambition.
Trayton still remembered the day their mother explained that he could never be king. Twelve older brothers made it completely impossible, and the small boy had been crushed. From that moment on, he had been determined to prove himself worthy of being a ruler, and he hadn't always been entirely honest about his actions. Part of Trayton dreaded what he would find in Arendelle; Hans would've sent a message immediately if something had gone wrong... unless he was the one causing the problem.
"Sire!" A man, only a few years younger than Trayton, ran up to him and bowed quickly. Father had sent him along so he wasn't sailing alone on a boat full of total strangers. "The first mate says you better go below deck. A storm's brewing, and it looks to be nasty."
Trayton looked up at the clouds. It wasn't even supper time, but the sky was dark and the waves were bigger than they had been only a few minutes before. "I think you're right. Jarn, isn't it?" He continued when the man nodded. "Well, I don't want to get in anyone's way. Come and fetch me if you need anything." Trayton tipped his hat and pulled his cloak tighter about himself. The weather was even colder out on the ocean; winter had definitely come early.
The ship rocked as Trayton walked, but he took no notice. He hopped lightly down the steps and down the hall until he came to the captain's quarters. He had tried to ask for a regular bunk, but Captain Renard wouldn't hear a word of it. "You're a prince, and by God I'll treat you like one, so long as you act the part," the Captain had said with a wink.
Trayton opened the door and looked around. It wasn't exceptionally spacious, but compared to the size of the other rooms it was larger than everything aside from the cargo hold. There was a bed, nightstand, dresser, and a table all made of wood and bolted to the floor. The furniture was all slightly wobbly, but most of it seemed sturdy enough. Although Trayton would avoid putting much on that table.
Tiny thumps began to sound on the large window facing out the aft of the ship, and Trayton began to strip as the rain slowly grew stronger. He left his trousers on and tugged a black woolen shirt over his head to keep him warm. Trayton wasn't feeling very hungry and didn't want to waste lamp oil for no reason, so he decided now was as good a time as any to sleep. He stretched himself out on the bed and covered himself with the coarse blanket. The bed was barely long enough to fit him, but the rocking of the ship and the steady patter of rain soon lulled him to sleep.
What seemed like only seconds later, Trayton yelled in surprise as he was violently ejected from his dream. His eyes flew open and he was confused by the sight of the floor rushing up to meet his face. He twisted sideways and felt the hard wood connect painfully with his shoulder. When the shock subsided, Trayton looked up to see what had happened. The room was pitch black, but a brief flare of lightning illuminated the space. Trayton was halfway across the room from his bed. He wondered how that had happened, but then he noticed the ship was rocking fiercely. Occasionally, the ship would drop lower, and Trayton would have a mini heart attack as he fell a few feet to meet with the floor again.
Trayton stood up and made his way along the wall until he made it to the door. Once in the hall, he attempted to climb up to the main deck, but Jarn appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. "Sire!" He shouted to be heard. "The Captain says we're to stay in our rooms! The storm's getting worse!"
'Thanks Jarn. I couldn't tell,' Trayton thought sarcastically, but he didn't say it aloud. The man was only trying to help after all. He nodded and braced himself against the wall as he turned and re-entered his room. Trayton looked back just in time to see Jarn safely enter his own bunk before the ship pitched again, throwing Trayton further into his room.
Trayton tried to stand, but every time he regained his footing, another wave rocked the ship and threw him off balance. He quickly grew frustrated and launched himself to his feet, determined to stay there. He waited to be slammed back down, but he had finally managed to find a sturdy footing. He grinned in triumph and stood up a bit more, but then it hit. Trayton glanced out the window just in time to see it crash into the window; the largest, angriest wave he had ever seen. It rammed forcefully into the window, creating hairline fractures all along the glass. He didn't have time to be relieved that it didn't break as he was thrown back from the force.
Trayton cried out as his back slammed into the table, ripping it free of its anchors. The legs splintered apart as he was sent through it and into the far wall. Trayton moaned softly. His entire body was momentarily paralyzed, but he could still see the table now tumbling loosely about the room. Then the ship bucked once again, and Trayton watched as the table was sent into the glass. Of course the window was far too strong to be broken by such a flimsy piece of wood, but it was already weakened.
The window shattered, and water began to pour in. Trayton forced himself to get up, ignoring his screaming back and shoulder. He tried to get to the door, but the floor tilted beneath his feet and sent him sliding towards the broken window. Then the table; that cursed table. One of the legs was still bolted down. Trayton tripped over it and sailed through the window, out into the raging sea below.
Is it horrible? Is it adequate? Is it some awkward place in between? I'd love to know! And if you're looking for a real quality book to read, buy the Wheel of Time series! It's medieval fantasy and you will never find a book better than that series. Never. Don't even try.