This story is an exciting action-adventure-fantasy with comedic and romantic moments. It takes the beloved characters from Frozen and puts them in an adventure with the scale and scope of Indiana Jones. The story shall focus on the themes of loyalty, redemption, and companionship. Without further ado, I present...
Frozen: The Last Paragons
1. Mark of the Red Wolves
July, 1840 - One year after The Great Thaw
"Now, I know what you're thinking," Talia nervously said. "What unfortunate turn of events led to us being here at this moment?"
Talia stood with her hands hand-cuffed behind her back and two guards dressed in green, Arendelle garb standing to her left and right. Twenty feet in front of her was an elevated platform where the throne of Arendelle was located, and sitting on the throne was none other than Queen Elsa.
Standing to Elsa's right was Princess Anna, impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed. Both of the sisters looked less-than thrilled. As always, Elsa wore her signature blue dress and cape. Anna, however, wore a wedding dress... covered in liquid chocolate.
Despite being a prisoner, Talia was wearing what she often wore: a navy-blue bolero jacket over a long-sleeved, buttoned-up black shirt which frilled over the chest, and thigh-high brown leather boots that went over her beige pants. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her striking grey eyes were doing their best to look friendly. She was definitely prettier than most prisoners.
"Public disturbance," Elsa stated, "destruction of royal property, assault against multiple people including royal guards, and one more thing you did. I can't quite put my finger on it."
"She kinda ruined my wedding," Anna reminded. "Y'know, months of planning down the drain."
"Ah, yes," confirmed Elsa. "Crashing a royal wedding - that's a big one. You picked a bad day to come to Arendelle, Miss..."
"Talia," she answered. "Talia Ashe. Besides, it's not like I deliberately ruined what was supposed to be the happiest day of the princess' life."
"Thank you for that," muttered Anna.
"I didn't start it," Talia continued. "I'm a victim in this, if anything."
Elsa and Anna both raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, bad word choice," apologized Talia. "Anyways - long story short - the Red Wolves are planning on doing some bad things. That's why I'm here."
"No, you're here because of your crimes," Elsa corrected. "But, I might as well humor you. What are the Red Wolves?"
"Oh, they're nothing but trouble," said Kristoff's voice.
Everyone turned to the source of the sound. From the side of the room, Kristoff appeared - having finished wiping chocolate off of himself. Olaf the Snowman waddled behind the mountain-man; a large grin was on his face like always.
"How do you mean?" Anna asked as Kristoff took his place at her side.
"The Red Wolves Are mercenaries," answered Kristoff. "They're said to be the best at what they do, but they're ruthless. If they're planning on doing something bad, that-"
"Sounds positively terrible!" Olaf exclaimed.
"Is... is that snowman alive?" Talia asked.
She looked genuinely shocked at the sight in front of her. Funnily enough, a woman with powers of winter was more believable than a talking snowman as far as Talia was concerned. The others ignored Talia's question, however.
"Exactly." Kristoff nodded. "If they're involved, we have bigger problems than a spoiled wedding."
All focus turned to Talia. She nervously smiled up at the Queen and her family.
"Well, Talia, what's your story?" Elsa asked. "You've got plenty of time to tell it."
Earlier that week
The door to the tavern slammed open, and a man with broken glasses and torn-yet-fancy clothing fell forward onto the floor. His hands were tied in a rope behind his back.
The many patrons of the tavern scattered around on the many round tables put their drinks down to look at the man laying on the floor. The bartender dropped the glass cup that he was polishing.
The man on the floor scrambled onto his feet and ran deeper into the tavern until he slammed against the long bar counter. That angered the bartender who pushed the man off from against the table.
"Somebody order a tax collector?" asked the voice of a man from the tavern entrance. "If no one did, then this grand entrance would be embarrassing."
Everyone turned their attention away from the man with his hands tied to the new man entering the tavern.
He was much younger than the person who fell into the tavern, but he was taller at around six-feet-tall. He wore a navy-blue tailcoat which he kept unbuttoned to reveal his buttoned-up grey shirt. His navy-blue pants were complimented by black boots. Over his waist was a belt which holstered a revolver and a sword with evenly-spaced horizontal lines running across the blade.
His eyes were an intense, dark grey color, and his short black hair was unkempt. The most prominent feature of his face was a large scar than ran from under his left eye diagonally downwards over his nose and lips to his chin. He wasn't clean shaven but rather growing a scruff of black hair over his cheeks, chin, and upper lip.
After he entered the tavern, Talia followed him. She wore more or less the same outfit she was fond of wearing.
"Mercury," announced an older man who got up from his seat and table near the entrance. There was nothing too special about that man's appearance. He looked like he was in his mid-fifties with dark hair and a full beard and mustache. His clothing was similar to the middle-class clothing the rest of the people in the tavern and village wore.
The man Talia followed, who went by Mercury, approached the bound man who tried to scramble away. Mercury grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tugged him along towards the older gentleman.
Present day
"Wait a minute, you know Mercury of the Red Wolves?" asked Kristoff.
"What kind of name is Mercury?" Anna asked.
"A codename," Talia explained. "We use them to protect our identities from the public and all that good stuff. To prevent any and all authorities from going after us individually and whatnot."
"Us?" Elsa noticed. "You're a Red Wolf too?"
"Didn't I mention that?" said Talia.
Kristoff seemed unfazed by that revelation. He said, "Hold up, Talia. You know Mercury of the Red Wolves? The same man who killed five men with a feather?"
"That story is highly exaggerated," said Talia. "He used the feather as a distraction, and he took them down with his hands... Only one of the men died."
They could sense that she was very uneasy with talking about Mercury's actions.
Kristoff continued by saying, "The same man who singlehandedly stole a queen's diamond necklace straight from her neck during a royal party?"
"Oh, yeah," reminisced Talia. "That was a fun day. It wasn't singlehanded, though. I helped. Of course, I'm not as famous as he is, so I don't get the credit."
"You were there?!" Kristoff was in disbelief. "Can I have your autograph?"
"Anna, I think your fiancé has a crush," Elsa whispered.
"Of course I was there," said Talia. "Of course I know Mercury. He's my older brother."
She said it rather nonchalantly, but Kristoff was awestruck by the statement. The quivering of his legs implied his need to get on his knees. Elsa, Anna, and Talia found Kristoff's behavior rather strange. Olaf, of course, lacked social skills and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"His real name is Atticus," Talia revealed. "Atticus Ashe. Professionally, everyone knows him as Mercury. As for me, my codename is Minerva, but I'd prefer that you call me Talia."
"I'm assuming you mercenaries have codenames for a reason," Elsa reasoned. "Why're you telling us this?"
"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm not with the Wolves anymore," said Talia. "So, I don't give a flying fu-"
Earlier
"Here he is." Atticus presented the tied-man to the older gentleman greeting him. "Your friendly local tax collector."
After a chuckle, the older man rubbed his hands together and said, "Thank you, Mercury. You must know that my colleagues were incredibly unsure about hiring a Red Wolf to save us from this horrid man. I told them that they were being very paranoid. I knew you guys were the best, and to have the Mercury of all people to do the job was a real delight. You are without a doubt the greatest mer-"
"Save me the flattery, old man," Atticus interrupted. "We don't work for free, and this job was particularly - no pun intended - taxing. Give me what I'm owed, then I'll give you the man, and we'll all part happily, Mister..."
"Robert," said the old man.
"Bob," Atticus finished.
Robert sighed, obviously dreading the moment he would have to pay. He slapped his hands against his thighs and said, "Okay, Mercury. Allow me to convene with my colleagues and gather the coin you're so rightfully owed. Please, have a drink in the meantime. The bartender was also a victim of this tax collector, and he's a good friend of mine. He'll serve you your drink on the house."
"I wasn't planning on paying anyways," Atticus said as he walked passed Robert. He bumped shoulders with the captured tax collector, and the poor man whimpered and winced.
Talia walked after Atticus, but as she passed the tax collector, she put her hand on his shoulder and told him, "Go have a time out in the corner." He scurried away after she winked. Then, she took the empty stool next to her brother at the bar.
"Whiskey," Atticus ordered. "Hold the ice. Give me the entire bottle."
"You got a death wish, kid?" the bartender asked.
"You have no idea," muttered Atticus.
"And for the lady?" the bartender inquired.
"Milk," ordered Talia.
"You sure you don't want anything stronger?"
"Milk is fine," assured Talia.
The bartender then went off to prepare the drinks.
"You're twenty-two," Atticus reminded his sister. "You need to have your first drink someday. Why not make it today?"
Present day
"You're twenty-two years old?" Olaf asked. "Elsa is twenty-two years old. You guys are like twins."
"That's not how it works, Olaf," Elsa lectured.
"Wait, I'm twenty-two, too," Kristoff added. "With Olaf's logic, are we triplets?"
"No, that doesn't make sense," Olaf stated. "Elsa and Talia are good-looking."
Earlier
"We need to have a legendary occasion, Atty," Talia said.
"We did a job well-done," Atticus reminded. "Seems as good a reason as any to celebrate."
"Congratulations to us," sarcastically said Talia. "Let me have my first drink over kidnapping a wimp."
"Lower your standards, Tali," Atticus suggested. "Are you planning on having your first drink with the Queen of England or something?"
"Something like that," joked Talia.
It was faint, and it was hard to make out from the cheerful chatter of everyone in the tavern, but Talia heard sniffs and whimpers. She recognized the combination as the sound of someone crying. She turned her head to the source of the sound and found a child sitting on the floor against the wall to her right. The little girl wore clothing that was similar in fashion to the rest of the people in the tavern and the village.
"Excuse me for a minute," Talia requested.
Atticus grunted in acknowledgement as his sister got up from her seat. As Talia's attention was turned towards the child, Atticus focused on the pretty girl sitting to his left.
"You planning on staying for another round, or do you want to do something more exciting?" Atticus asked the girl, winking. Her giggle indicated that his lines were working.
Talia got up and approached the crying little girl. She knelt on one knee in front of her, and the child immediately focused on Talia. The warm smile that Talia gave the child comforted the child rather quickly.
"Hey there, little girl," said Talia, very warmly. "What's your name?"
"Daisy," she replied, sniffling.
"What's wrong, Daisy? What're you doing in a place like this all by yourself?"
"Papa... Papa brings me whenever he comes here, but he comes here a lot. We can't afford a babysitter."
"Can't imagine why," Talia sarcastically muttered.
"I went to take a quick nap," the child continued. "When I woke up, I couldn't find him."
"It's already night-time, you should be in bed," observed Talia. "Do you live close to here?"
The child nodded.
"Tell you what," Talia started. "After my brother and I are done with the stuff we have to do here, we'll walk you back home. Sound good?"
The child smiled, furiously nodded, and asked, "Is your brother cool?"
"The coolest. I'm Talia, by the way." She offered Daisy her left hand.
After Daisy shook Talia's hand, she noticed a tattoo on the back of Talia's hand. The tattoo was about two inches in height and length. It depicted the side-profile of a wolf's head colored red. Talia noticed where Daisy's eyes were looking.
"This is a mark," Talia explained. "Everyone in my group has it somewhere on their bodies. My brother has it on his neck. See?"
She pointed towards Atticus. On the right side of Atticus' neck, he had the exact same wolf-mark Talia had on her hand.
"What's it for?" Daisy asked.
"It's to show people who we are," Talia answered. "Sometimes, people want things done, and they need people like me and my brother to do it. If they see the mark, they know we can help them."
"What do you help them with?" Daisy inquired.
Talia let out a deep sigh.
Present day
"So you went to a random child, offered to accompany her, and she said yes," Elsa summarized.
"In hindsight, it sounds very bad," Talia announced.
"In her defense, it doesn't sound like she learned about the dangers of strangers," Anna said.
"Like you're one to talk," Kristoff joked.
"Hey!" Anna angrily said.
"You know I love you," Kristoff quickly said to defend himself.
"Still, what exactly do you do?" Elsa asked.
Talia, like with the child, let out a deep sigh. She then said, "Ask blonde-boy over there."
Elsa, Anna, and Olaf all turned to Kristoff. He crossed his arms, and started informing his friends of what he knew. "I've only heard stories. I doubt anybody in Arendelle has ever encountered a Red Wolf before. But, I've heard... I've heard that Red Wolves are willing to do any job - no matter how twisted - so as long as they get paid. Assassinations, guarding, thievery, arson, kidnapping, you name it... the Red Wolves can do it. But, that's simply what individuals and small groups can do. Imagine what the masses of them can accomplish."
After he finished speaking, they looked towards Talia once again. She had her head down in what could only be assumed as shame.
"I wish I could say he was wrong," Talia finally said.
Earlier
Talia rejoined her brother as their drinks were served. Before either of them could toast and sip, Robert grabbed their attention when he called Atticus from behind.
Ignoring his beverage, Atticus turned around on his seat to face Robert. This time, Robert had company. Four other men - all younger than Robert but older than Atticus - stood besides Robert in pairs. Atticus and Talia found themselves facing five men standing ten feet away from them with Robert in the middle.
"You fine gentlemen have my pay?" Atticus asked.
Nodding, Robert tossed to Atticus a small pouch which he caught with one hand; without even looking, Atticus felt around the pouch in his hands, and knew something was off.
He didn't even need to know the amount inside when he said, "You're a few coins short."
He handed the pouch to Talia for her confirmation. She opened the pouch and observed its contents.
"It's hard to count with coins, but I estimate it's about two-hundred-and-fifty," Talia informed.
"The deal was for two-thousand-five-hundred," reminded Atticus. "I'm sure you can do the math yourself, but you didn't make the mark."
"Mercury, that man has taken too much from us," Robert argued. "We simply can't afford to pay you what you desire. Think of the children."
"Really? A sob story?" Atticus was in disbelief. "That's all you got?"
"Atty, let's just take it." Talia whispered in her brother's ear. He seemingly ignored her suggestion.
"That's not how I do business," said Atticus. "It wasn't easy breaking into that guy's estate. I see you trying to sneak out, by the way!"
The tax collector immediately ran away from the door out.
"He's hired some tough bodyguards, and we didn't take them down just to be ripped off," Atticus continued. "Give me the money you owe, and we'll all be happy. Otherwise, we'll be less so."
"Technically, nothing was written down on paper," Robert reminded. "You don't have any proof that we agreed to two-thousand-and-five-hundred."
"Oh, you're despicable," Atticus insulted, laughing. "Keep this up, and you won't have any proof that I was the one who stabbed you in the eye."
"Atty, we really should just take it and go," Talia insisted. This time, she was loud enough for the others to hear. She then noticed how everyone in the tavern was listening to the hostile exchange.
"You don't think we can take them?" Atticus asked his sister.
"I know we can," she said. "I just don't want anybody getting hurt." She looked over at the little girl, Daisy, who watched the conversation very nervously.
"I'm afraid we can't give you anymore," Robert said. "I suggest you do what your colleague says. Otherwise, we'd be forced to remove you."
"You don't honestly think you can fight me, do you?" Atticus asked. "Of course you don't. If you did, you'd have dealt with the tax collector yourselves. Still, what're you going to do? Hire another mercenary? Good luck finding one dumb enough to take me on for two-hundred-and-fifty."
Robert squeezed both fists behind his back and clenched his teeth. Finally, he said, "Okay, Mercury, you win. You'll have your money in a bit."
"You lack sincerity," observed Atticus.
"Why should that matter?" Robert asked. "You'll be paid in full."
In response, Atticus shrugged. He seemed ready to accept the fact that Robert conceded. Talia let out a sigh of relief. Atticus grabbed his whiskey sitting on the counter behind him. As he raised it to his lips, he frowned, and gently put the drink back down on the counter. Talia raised her eyebrow at her brother's gesture. It wasn't like him to forfeit a good drink like that.
"What's the matter?" Robert asked. "I said you'll be paid in full. Sure, our children will have fewer meals in the coming months, but that doesn't seem to bother you. Celebrate!"
"I'm insulted, Bob," announced Atticus. "You seem to know a lot about my exploits, but you seem to know little about my character. I need you to know that I'm a learned man. I'm twice as learned as you, yet I'm half your age. That's besides the point, however. The point is: I know a few things about poisons. I know when my drink is spiked."
Robert was clearly getting nervous. He stayed silent, however.
Talia's palms were getting rather sweaty. She knew that Robert had underestimated her brother, and it could possibly and probably lead to an ugly ending.
"I had a feeling the bartender was taking too long preparing the drinks," continued Atticus. "So, what was your plan? Poison me if I didn't take the amount you gave me? Poison me regardless?"
"Atty, let it go," Talia ordered.
"Forgive me, Mercury," Robert pleaded. "We'll pay you in full. Just give us a month."
"I might've considered doing so if you hadn't tried to kill me," said Atticus.
Despite the anger Robert's actions had warranted, Atticus was very calm about the situation. He seemed to be the only one in the entire tavern who wasn't sweating with trepidation.
Robert noticed Atticus' hand make its way to his waist where his revolver hung. Afraid that Atticus was going to shoot first, Robert grabbed the knife at his side and charged at the mercenary. The four companions of Robert quickly followed his lead and unsheathed their knives. They weren't afraid of getting dirty, even in the presence of everyone in the tavern.
They were only ten feet away from Atticus initially, so it wouldn't be long before they would reach him and use a deadly strike.
Five gunshots were made. In what seemed like a split second, all five men were on the ground five feet in front of Atticus. Two of the men were shot in the shoulder. Two of the men were missing fingers on one hand. Robert was shot in his knee. All of the men rolled on the floor in pain, hugging their wounds.
"What have you done?" Talia quietly asked.
She got over her horror for a quick second to notice the bartender brandishing a knife behind Atticus - who was still sitting on his stool. She reached over the counter, grabbed the bartender by the neck, and slammed his head down against the counter. This led him to slump unconsciously onto the floor.
"I've got one shot left," Atticus told Robert. "It could go in-between your eyes. Hell, I'd settle with a lower region if you catch my drift. Where do you want it to go?"
"Enough," Talia ordered Atticus, pulling his gun-hand down. "We need to get out of here. I'm begging you, don't kill anyone!"
The siblings stared at each other intensely for a good few seconds. They drowned out the groaning of the men in pain.
Sighing, Atticus grabbed the pouch of coins Talia left on the table. He pocketed it, stood up, and walked over to Robert. Before Talia could protest, he shot Robert's other knee. This made the old man howl in pain.
"What is wrong with you?!" Talia angrily asked.
"He'll live," Atticus coldly said.
He walked past the five men on the floor to the tax collector shivering near the door. He forced the man to turn around, and this made him cry in fear. The sound of Atticus unsheathing his sword wasn't helping, either. However, Atticus simply cut the ropes that bound the man's wrists together.
"Get out of my sight," ordered Atticus.
The tax collector needed no other motivation to get himself going. He quickly ran out the door to flee from Atticus.
Atticus took one last look at the scared patrons of the tavern, hiding under the tables. He exited after telling them, "Sorry about the mess, but you're welcome for the show."
Talia saw Daisy covering her eyes as she wept. Although there was little damage that Talia herself had done, she felt guilty. She carried herself over to Daisy and knelt in front of her once again.
"Daisy, are you okay?" Talia asked.
"Go away," Daisy said, repeating it multiple times until she saw Talia stand up.
With a saddened expression, Talia left Daisy and the tavern.
Present day
"Mercury still your hero, blondie?" Talia asked.
Kristoff had a very grim look on his face. Even Olaf was devastated by the story.
"Your brother is... cruel," Elsa said.
"I always knew that he wasn't an angel," Talia revealed, "but I've never seen him do anything so terrible. I've heard stories, but I didn't want to believe them. I'm so stupid."
"You should've known that this is what mercenaries are like," said Anna.
"I should've," Talia admitted. "My life is more complicated than that, I'm afraid."
"But, what did that have to do with you coming to Arendelle?" Elsa asked.
"Well, right after that incident, we got a new job," Talia said. "It was something bigger than I ever thought I'd be a part of. If the Red Wolves succeed, then we'll all be in serious danger."
To be continued in the next chapter
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think. I appreciate reviews of any kind, especially those that theorize and analyze. Reviews help speed up my writing process, so make sure to do it if you're able!
Well, I'm back. I used to call myself "InfiniteAssassin" a few years ago when I was writing Frozen fan-fiction. I wrote the Frozen Phoenix Trilogy which consisted of three fan-fictions: Frozen: Phoenix Fire, Frozen: The Coming Storm, and Frozen: A Sky of Shadows. After failing at writing two other Frozen stories, I retired for a while. I started up again by writing the Hotel Transylvania fan-fiction called Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties. As of right now, I'm still working on finishing up that story, and it has to be my focus because I don't want to let another story I start go unfinished. I wrote this first chapter of Frozen: The Last Paragons just to see how many people are interested in the story and whether I'll work on it full-time after I finish up Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties.
Until I finish up Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties, I don't expect that I'll upload frequently for this story. I'm getting very lazy with HT: BT too - I'm only posting about once every two weeks. As I pick up the pace for that story, I may only put out a new chapter to this once every three weeks or month. Again, this is only until HT: BT is finished. When it is, I can focus on this story and release weekly chapters if not a chapter every four or five days.
I'm not sure if any of you are still out there, but to those who followed my previous Frozen stories all those years ago, I hope you enjoy my new stories. Furthermore, Frozen: The Last Paragons is not a continuation of the Phoenix Trilogy so you're not going to see my OC, Kai, in this. I guarantee that you'll enjoy my new OC's, however.
Finally, I just want to say it's good to be back.
Ciao.