Adventures of John: The Adventurer and the Snow Queen

The Lost Weeks

Week 1

Night 1

I woke up in the middle of the night with a great need to use the restroom. Rapunzel and Eugene had kept their promise from the day before and were now sleeping in the castle's guest quarters, Anna and Kristoff were also asleep, Anna in her room and Kristoff in a guest room, as they would not be married for a while yet. I tried to get up, but fell backwards, nausea and vertigo overpowering me.

"Hello?" I called out. "Anyone awake?" Unfortunately, not only were the princesses and their princes all asleep, but the servants appeared to be sleeping as well. I tried to reach for the nearby cord that would ring a bell to call the servants, but I failed in that as well. Then again, I wasn't sure if I wanted the servants to come. I didn't want to need someone to help me use the restroom. That would be truly embarrassing. "The great John the Adventurer," I muttered to myself, "brought low by a full bladder."

It was a cool title, but I decided then I needed to find a better one. "Adventurer" didn't instil fear in the hearts of the wicked. Of course I would end up keeping the title, but I didn't know that at the time. Eventually I was able to struggle out of bed, falling face-first to the ground. After laying there for about ten minutes, I made my painful, vertigo-filled way towards the chamber pot, using the wall and the bedpost to keep me steady.

After relieving myself I returned to the bed, barely managing to keep myself from vomiting as I heaved myself onto the mattress. After all that I didn't even have the strength left to put myself under the covers, and so just lay there as I fell asleep. (Hey, you guys said you wanted to know everything, and there is no way I am ever going to forget that embarrassing experience.)

. . . . .

Day 2

"So what do you usually do?" Eugene asked as he leaned against the doorframe, looking bored out of his mind. "I'm just going to guess here and say you don't usually spend all of your time unable to get out of bed."

"Nope," I laughed. "I'm usually pretty active. I'm a bit hyperactive really, always having to do something. Sitting here in bed all day is the most annoying thing I could possibly do." I paused, thinking over his question. "I spend a lot of my time traveling through the magical realms, going on various adventures and usually almost getting myself killed in the process. The time that I don't spend traveling is mostly used up at school."

"You still have a tutor?" he asked, incredulous. "Aren't you a bit old to still have a tutor?"

"No, no, nothing like that," I replied with a chuckle. "Where I'm from, we have schools and academies where people go to learn. We go to these schools for quite a while, depending on what job you want to have. Where I'm from everyone gets an education, not just the nobility."

"I wish I was from there," he chuckled. "You have no idea how confusing the Coronian court is. Rapunzel seems to be adjusting better than me, but she has had difficulties too. My only education was from the streets, and everything she learned was from her books and what little Gothel would tell her."

"I don't think you'd do very well in school," I told him with a small smirk. "Depending on where you live in the country, that's six to eight hours of your day spent sitting at a desk, working on equations and essays and when you finally leave the teachers give you more work to do at home."

"I understood about half of what you said," he told me, "and I understand that I would not want any part in that."

"You and me both," I laughed. "But where I live, it is necessary if you want to have a successful career, which you need in order to produce revenue, aka money."

"I've never heard the word revenue before," he admitted, "but the need for money is something I know very well. My small time spent in luxury hasn't made me forget that."

"Trust me my friend," I told him, "That need is present, no matter what realm you are in."

. . . . .

"I overheard you talking with Eugene earlier," Rapunzel told me later that day. "What is it like, your land? It sounds so different from anywhere I've heard of before."

"That is certainly true," I laughed, trying to look normal as my brain frantically searched for things to say without giving too much away. I couldn't let her know I was from a completely different world entirely. "I live far to the west," I told her, "across the Atlantic Ocean."

"In the New World?" she asked. "I thought those were just stories. You mean there are actually other lands on the other side of the ocean?"

"Yes, the New World." I could already tell at this point that time was a bit skewed in this realm, as everything seemed to be in the eighteen or hundreds, but America was already established by then. It wouldn't still be called the New World, and it certainly wouldn't be debatable if it even exists. Then again, magical realms rarely made any sense. "In my country, we don't have kings or queens anymore. We vote on who we want to lead us."

"I've never heard of anything like that!" she exclaimed, wonder in her eyes. "What is it like?"

"It's a good idea," I replied, "but it doesn't always work out. The system has a lot of corruption, and the person who gets elected isn't always the best man for the job. The guy we have right now is kind of an idiot."

"Why don't you get rid of him then?" Rapunzel asked. "With your power it should be easy. Or is he a sorcerer too?"

"It doesn't work that way," I laughed. "For one thing, you can't just go and kick the president out of the White House. That would cause chaos. For another thing, magic doesn't really work where I'm from. Remember what I told you about the dam? I can only get past it when I go beyond my land. It's a cruel gift. I am one of the most powerful human beings in history, but I can't use my power unless I am as far from home as I can get." My face fell, my thoughts going to my family and how I couldn't even tell them about my gifts without them thinking that I am insane.

Rapunzel smiled sadly, patting me on the shoulder. "I'm sure things will get better for you," she told me. She left then, sensing that I what I needed then was to be left alone.

. . . .

Day 3

After that first incident I didn't have very many restroom issues, and by the third day I could stand up for almost a full minute before collapsing into a gelatinous heap. I still spent massive amounts of time sleeping though, sleep that for some strange reason kept on being interrupted by curious Disney characters.

"Rapunzel told me what you said about your home," Anna told me after she shook me awake.

I yawned and rubbed by eyes, chuckling at her eagerness. "You and Rapunzel are becoming fast friends, aren't you?"

"Yep," she replied. "Kristoff and Eugene seem to be getting along pretty well too. So what is it like, to have powers but not have powers? You told me the thing about the dam, but I mean, how does it feel to know you have all that power but not be able to use it?"

"It is the most frustrating thing in the world," I told her. "Having to watch bad things happen, knowing that I should be able to do something about it, but I can't." I groaned, knowing that feeling of powerlessness far too well. It is always there, in the back of my mind. "To have power, but be unable to use it… It's worse than having no power at all."

"You're turning out to be a bit of a downer," Anna told me. "Are you usually this glum?"

"Not usually," I replied with a small smile. "I usually have a great sense of humor. I'll be better once I get back on his feet."

"Get some sleep then," she told me, turning to leave.

"Wait," I said, grabbing her arm. "This past few days I've been visited by you, Rapunzel, Kristoff, Eugene, and even Olaf. But Elsa never showed up. Do you know why?"

"Elsa's really busy," Anna replied, looking a bit skittish. "You know, running the country, being queen."

"It's more than that," I argued. "I spoke with Olaf. The little guy gets on my nerves a bit, but he told me something interesting. In the week since the whole "magical winter" incident, Elsa has always made time for you and the others. That was the whole point of the ice skating rink activity the day the Trickster and I showed up. After that day however, according to the snowman at least, Elsa hasn't been around to see you either. What's up with her?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she answered simply. "I think it has something to do with what that, uh, Trickster did. You know, making himself look like her. I didn't hear what he said, but I could tell it really rattled her. She won't tell me anything about it though."

"Someone's going to need to get her out of that shell," I muttered, thinking. "Why don't you go and think of a way to help. I think I hear this pillow calling my name."

. . . . .

Day Four

"Are you sure you are ready to start walking around?" Kristoff asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Absolutely not," I replied, stumbling out of the very comfortable bed. "In fact, I am fairly certain I will fall flat on my face within the first few minutes. However, I have a track record of doing the impossible, so I am going to try to do it again." I stood up, trying to keep my legs from shaking, and began walking out the door. I walked confidently, striding out into the hallway and into a nearby sitting room, collapsing onto the couch with a grunt. "Not a word," I muttered as I saw the smirk on Kristoff's face. "Not a single word."

. . . . .

The rest of the week was spent stubbornly trying to force my body to work. I had spent three whole days lying in bed, and I was sick of doing nothing. It hurt, and I vomited a few times, but slowly I was able to regain control of my limbs. There was still a lot of sleeping involved, except now the sleeping took place on whatever the most comfortable nearby surface happened to be, whether it was an unoccupied bed, a couch, or just a particularly fuzzy patch of carpet. The servants would always return me to my bed before I woke up, but I think I actually enjoyed the carpet more. In addition to flailing around and sleeping, there were also several more conversations between me and the others at Casa de Arendelle, but I unfortunately do not recall much about them.

Of course, I was doing more than just wandering, sleeping, and talking. Like always, I had a plan. Throughout my fumbling I eventually managed to familiarize myself with the palace, getting to know it almost as well as my own home. The parts that intrigued me the most were the locked doors. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about them, so I wandered as much as I could around the rest of the castle, taking note of every locked door. Elsa, even after all she and her sister had went through already, had locked herself away again, and I was going to pop her bubble.

"And what might you be doing?" Eugene asked, leaning casually against the wall as I tried to fiddle with one of the locks.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, rising from my crouched position. "Just… checking out this door. Very sturdy."

"Cool it beanstalk," Eugene chuckled, walking over and reaching up to put a hand on my shoulder. "First thing, I'm a thief, remember? I know what picking a lock looks like. Second, I understand why. The icy maiden has stolen your heart."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I objected, looking around sheepishly.

"I was there when you first saw her, remember?" Eugene told me. "Back in the courtyard, when you first laid your eyes on her, you were dumbstruck. You made some silly remark about getting lost in thought, if I remember correctly. Don't worry kid, I won't tell anyone your little secret. But just so you know, if I were you I wouldn't try to be getting through those doors until your magic came back. Not only will picking the locks be a lot easier, as you are terrible at it, but I also wouldn't want to face an upset woman, even when she doesn't have magical ice powers. You understand?"

"I understand," I laughed, clapping the shorter man on the shoulder. "Thanks."

And so, I waited. I discretely began to use tiny amounts of power, not even enough to pick one of the locks. Even that much was too much for me at first. But after a few more days, I was ready. I approached the first set of locked doors and cracked my knuckles, getting to work. Before long I had found my way to Elsa's study, and had my first real confrontation with the queen of ice and snow.