Chapter One — The Ice Spear
Captain Gerald Creel expected many things in that morning, except the Ice Spear.
The C.S. Der Sonne wasn't a great ship; it was only a simple merchant vessel, the only thing that distinguished that for the others ships was the bigger compartment in the bottom portion of the ship that was full with the goods that it was transporting. The Der Sonne was an old Coronian ship, named after an old king, it wasn't the only of a kind, not even the only with the name, but it was a good ship and a resistance one at least. It wasn't one ship that was developed by war, not even to resist the simplest of the attacks, even though it was armed to self-defense.
So when Gerald was called by his chief officer with the warning that the ship was entering in battle stations, the only thing that he could think was that if a battle would occur, they would lose instantly. It was because of that fear of the ship's destruction that made Captain Creel stand and exit his cabin, entering the deck with his crew running around, preparing the masts to change direction, and loading the cannons. In a few seconds, Creel was already shouting orders to the crew with his first mate at his side, the sailor in the crow's nest observing the enemy fleet and shouting its position ever now and then, and the navigator guiding the Der Sonne away from the upcoming vessels.
"Captain, one of the ships in the fleet is approaching with incredible speed! If things went on this way, the ship will catch up with us in less than an hour!"
Gerald cursed under his breath and signaled to the navigator to course a route to distance the ship from the approaching one. His yells echoed in the deck, making the crew raise all the sails at an incredible speed and making the ship go faster than ever. The cannons were all loaded and being turned upon the enemy. It wasn't very long when the ship gained distance in comparison with the other; the size of the container ship was less than half of the enemy one, so the distance was being gained at a very average speed. But, regardless of how fast the coronial vessel was distancing of the enemy, the other ship was gaining terrain at an impossible rate for a ship with that magnitude. When Gerald realized it, he couldn't contain the fear that spread through his body, making him run to the crow's nest, shouting just one thing for the sailor on the top.
"The approaching ship! How is the bow of the enemy ship?" The sailor frowned and looked down at the captain, questioning him about what he meant by that. The captain only yell in response, "How the bow looks like?! Just answer me, kid!"
"It looks like metal! Like the tip of a spear!" The response was simple and only served to confirm his suspicion.
It didn't mean that it appeased his nerves, on the contrary, served only to extend even more his fear of what was coming next. When he was about to order to shoot against the enemy ship, his vessel stopped suddenly, the crew sliding through the deck to the aft. When he stood and ran to the edge of the ship, he could only see ice in the place of the once waterful ocean, as if the season passed from spring to winter in a second. With his confirmed suspicions, Creel ordered to fire against the now at range ship, his voice echoing through the ship, the order of fire being delayed until the sailors could return to their stations. When it happened, the cannonballs were all shouted against the ship that was now sailing at the side of the Der Sonne, trying to align with it, but they were all stopped when a wall of ice stood up from the ocean, blocking the shots. Gerald cursed under his breath and looked at the majestic ship, its hull of birch wood constraining with the titanic covered bow. The HIHS Ice Spear was one of the most feared ships in all the North, not only because of her unique trait but because of its captain. The ship was an Arendelle Imperial War Cruiser, even though the designation didn't mention it. But Creel studied it for years afraid to cross with it, and it seemed like the day finally arrived.
The captain was already running to his cabin to take his cutlass, shouting to his crew to continue firing against the Ice Spear and to prepare for being boarded. When he found his sword and come back to the deck, the first thing that he saw was the ice that had started to spread through the superior decks of the ship. The cannons, as he saw, were all disabled by the ice, and the pressure of the approach of the Ice Spear was stronger every second that they were disabled. In a few seconds, the Ice Spear was side by side with the Der Sonne, and then the officials of the warship started boarding the merchant one this action being followed by a quick battle, the fastest that the captain experienced, and in no time at all all the crew of the coronian vessel was being restrained and held hostage. Creel was restrained as well, being one of the first at being disarmed, so now he was being forced to kneel by a giant of a man with white hair and prominent muscles.
It was only when the entire crew was restrained that the commanding officer of the Ice Spear boarded the ship. The captain was a pale-skinned slim woman who walked gracefully in a blue-colored military navy robe, who had her platinum hair pinned in a braid that fell over one of her shoulders and icy blue eyes that didn't seem to be focusing on anything except the path that she was taking. It made him feel a shiver running down his spine when the woman approached him, after passing over her officials, who bowed at her. When she was in front of the captain, he was forced to stand by his captor, until he was at eye level with the newcomer.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Captain Creel, although it is unfortunate that we have to meet each other in these circumstances," the woman said in a calm and strong voice, her tone never elevating from its original volume. Gerald was suddenly angry at the way that she addressed him like he was some sort of an insignificant commoner, that didn't deserve even a second of her time. This made him have a sudden burst of foolish courage, which ended with a raging shout at the woman.
"Who are you and why did you board my ship? The Corona's ships have all the jurisdiction and permission to sail in these waters, and merchants vessels are prohibited to be boarded by any nation navy ship by-" he was suddenly interrupted when the woman lifted her hand and a layer of ice covered his mouth, gagging him. The terror was visible in his eyes, which made the woman smirk in a cruel way, but didn't quite reach her still cold eyes.
"I will pretend that you don't already know me, Captain, so I will introduce myself appropriately. I am Elsa of Arendelle, the Crown Princess of the Arendelle Empire, which waters you are sailing across and the reason to why I boarded your ship is because you're transgressing our primary laws to any vessels who travels for our territory," she said with a cold and calm voice, with a subtle threat in every word. Finally recomposed for the fear that the royal had on him, the captain returned her stare with a challenging expression and a fire in his eyes. Ignoring her warning, the captain looked straight into the Princess' eyes, with not even a sight of fear. Realizing the fire in the captain's eyes, Elsa thawed the ice that was in his mouth, curious to what he would tell her.
"I think that is you who is transgressing a law, Your Imperial Highness" the title came with hate and disrespect, his tone was full of malice and superiority like he was the one in control. "Warships cannot attack merchant vessels without any visible threat and the boarding has to be peaceful and without threats or restraints. You will be in great trouble when we return to Corona, Ice Princess."
For a moment, no one said anything, the woman was silent as well as the captain, but her eyes were different than the determined ones of the captain, hers calmly analyzing the now ice-covered merchant vessel, her expression not giving away any of her emotions. The situation – more precisely, the Princess' reaction – was disturbing at the least, and the following minute was pure agony and tension for the captain until the royal finally said something, but refusing to stare at the man.
"This is what I think, Creel: You are lying about who you are and what is your reasons to come to Arendelle. My theory is that you and your crew aren't merchants, Captain, but actually spies from the Southern Alliance. I think that you have come to the Empire to do something in our fjords, ships or military bases, and to avoid suspicions, you had stolen a Merchant Ship from Corona and immediately sailed to the closest imperial port to complete your mission, whenever it was, and tried to return to the South, but was interrupted for me and my ship, something you haven't thought that could happen. Then you tried to escape and sunk the Ice Spear, even though your stole freighter doesn't have any type of weapon that could destroy my warship. So you panicked and ordered for your subordinates to hide anything that could reveal what was your true identity. Am I wrong, Commander Bryan Cullet of Weselton?" The man eyed the Princess in disbelief and surprise, trying to say something in his defense, but was quickly interrupted by the same ice gag, without having any opportunity to reply to the sorcerer's accusation.
"You don't have to say anything, my dear weasel, we knew every single one of the Duke's trusted men, and you are one of the most influential in that greedy man pitiful army. And, if you don't know, let me tell you: stealing a ship is illegal, as well as lying of your citizenship and open fire against a ship of the Emperor. So, will you lie to me again and face the consequences or will you cooperate to try to survive? The choice is yours, Commander," she thawed the ice gag with a move of her hands after her speech and stayed still, waiting for the man's response. The commander hesitated for a moment, a thing that only made the Princess smirk more open, the hesitation only serving to confirm Elsa's theory. Even though she could simply end this right now - after all, she has enough proofs to arrest all of them -, she decided to wait a moment, as she was curious to see what the weseltanian commander would do now that she had unmasked them.
The commander was quiet for a while, the hesitation clearly in his face. It was obvious that he didn't know what to do now after everything that Elsa revealed, and that it was unsettling for him to be so exposed and in such an uncontrollable situation. He was restrained, disarmed and at the Princess' mercy, his crew had been caught hostage, and the arendellians were in more number and with the strongest vessel. That made him consider treason for the first time in his career. It was useless to try to defend his superiors; they would never go to the Empire's territory just to save some low-rank soldiers who are not even the most successful spies. He would commit treason, sure, but it was nothing compared to have him and all his crew being arrested just for the sake of his pride. Sighing, the commander lifted his face and stared directly to the Princess' eyes.
"We have been requested to come to the Empire to steal some materials for the construction of the new Southern Fleet. This has been occurring for almost three weeks, every time a different merchant ship is stolen from a different kingdom to take materials for the creation of new ships," Elsa was quiet, studying the commander, her eyebrows arching from how easily the information was spelled. The man sighed, knowing that he wasn't being believed, but he didn't want to go back in what was already done, so he continued. "This is everything that was told to us about our mission. It isn't just a Weselton mission, but the princes of the Southern Isles were in this plan as well. They were responsible for the structuration of this plan; if you still don't believe me, go to the lowest deck in the ship, there will be a trapdoor that will get you in the storage where the materials for the new ships where stored."
The Princess was quiet for a few seconds before waving to her men, signing to do what the commander instructed. They bowed to her before going to do what was told. The men returned a few minutes later, their arms with some arendellian wood marked with the royal seal. Elsa studied it for a few seconds and questioned the men, listening for the response without even looking at the commander. When she ended analyzing the wood, she turned around to the Weselton's commander.
"It was clear that you're telling the truth. You will still be judged for your crimes against the crown, but in Corona, where the punishments were, well, less severe than in Arendelle." She waved to one of her sailors. "Take him to the Endurance and go to Corona and leave him in their hands for the judgment. The rest will be secured in the CGS Fram and taken to there as well after our stop in Arendelle." The arendellian crew bowed to the Princess and did what was told, taking the restrained men to the specific ships. Elsa turned for the remaining men and ended her orders. "I want this ship empty at the end of the day. This vessel will be taken with the Fram back to Corona. I don't want any material from Arendelle here when this is taken to there, understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" they shouted and proceeded with the orders. Elsa only turned around and went back to her ship, a minimal smirk in her lips. There was nothing more satisfying to her pride than a complete mission.
A/N: Hey! This is my first story and I'm anxious to see what you guys think. Forgive me for any grammar errors, and if you see some, please tell me in the reviews. The Synopsis and the Story's information will change as the chapters were posted to avoid spoilers.