Chapter 6:

An Unholy Alliance

When the Duke of Weselton arrived at the Southern Isles, he saw Prince Hans waiting for him at the dock. The letter that he received hadn't specified exactly what the prince wanted to talk to him about, but he did say that it was something that would be rewarding to both their kingdoms. The Duke was deeply passionate about money, and Hans's invitation sounded like it promised just that. As he approached the youngest prince, Hans extended his hand to greet the old man.

"Hello, Duke of Westleton. I trust your trip went well?" he asked.

"Indeed. But at my age traveling across sea can be tiresome," the Duke replied.

"I understand. Why don't you rest up for a few hours, and then we'll talk about why I summoned you here?"

"Very well. I look forward to discussing it with you."

Hans turned to two of his guards. "Guards, please escort the Duke of Westleton to his room."

The guards bowed their heads, and led the Duke to the castle.

After a nice long nap, the Duke of Westleton met with Hans in the parlor.

"Hello there, I trust you had a nice nap," Hans asked when he saw the Duke walk in.

"Yes, it was quite refreshing. Now what is it that you wanted to discuss with me, Prince Hans? Your letter said it was an important affair."

Hans smiled. "Yes, it is an important matter; one might even say that it is the opportunity of a lifetime. Would you care for a glass of wine?" Hans asked, pouring himself a glass.

"Yes, that would be nice," the Duke said, taking the glass of red wine from Hans. "What do you mean by the opportunity of a lifetime?"

Hans and the Duke took a seat on the coach by the fire. "You've heard of the long lost treasure of King Nicholas, right?"

"Of course I have. That's a legend. However, no one has ever found a trace of it. To be honest, I don't think it exists."

Hans smiled. "Ah, but there's where your wrong. As you know, King Nicholas was once the ruler of Arendelle; the direct ancestor of Princess Anna and Queen Elsa."

"Of course," the Duke said, angrily. He was still very upset with Arendelle after they severed ties with his kingdom. And the fact that a dangerous witch like Queen Elsa was in charge was even more disturbing.

"Well, recently the Arendelle sisters have found the map, which leads to the treasure."

"Great, now that witch can indulge herself in even more things that she doesn't deserve," The Duke scoffed.

"That doesn't have to be case, my friend. Queen Elsa has announced that she and Princess Anna are going on journey to find it. Apparently the key to finding where the treasure is hidden lies in the form of an amulet, which is in two pieces; one in the Dover Mansion in France, and the other in the Tower of London in England. If we get the pieces of the amulet before them, we can find the treasure, and divide it between our kingdoms. However, to make things easier, we could kill Queen Elsa and Princess Anna to ensure that they won't be of any problem."

As much as the sound of treasure appealed to the Duke, he was troubled by one big factor: Queen Elsa. He had seen firsthand the powers that she wielded; there was no way he could stand up against her; even if he and Hans had their own army.

"You're offer is tempting, Prince Hans, and it would be a dream come true to obtain such riches, but you are forgetting one important thing: Queen Elsa is dangerous. Her powers will destroy us all if we so much as make a move on either her or attempt to find the treasure.

Hans took another sip of his wine, and smiled. "Yes, Elsa's wintery powers do present a major obstacle for us. However, I have something that we can use to combat that."

Hans reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a series of blueprints. The Duke looked at the fine details on the paper, which contained a large picture of a gun like device attached to a pushcart.

"What is this?" the Duke asked, perplexed.

"It's the blueprints to an ancient Chinese device called the Pen Huo Qi, also known as the fire spraying machine. It was first used during in 913 CE during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. As you can see, it has a double piston pump that uses fire oil to shoot flames. With a device like this, Queen Elsa's powers don't stand a chance."

"I see. And just how many of these "fire spraying machines" do you have?" the Duke asked.

"My grandfather had ten manufactured. We used them during the last war that we were in over sixty years ago. They proved to be a valuable asset in our battle against the kingdom of Labraza.

The Duke nodded. He liked the sound of these machines, but did Hans really expect just the two of them taking on the witch?

"I don't see how this is a two man job," the Duke confessed. "Sure, your fire spraying machines are impressive, and will undoubtedly stop the witch in her tracks, but do you really think just the two of us will get the job done?"

"Oh, no. I plan on having many more men help us in this quest," Hans answered, taking a sip of his wine. "Your men that is."

"My men?" the Duke asked, confused.

"Well of course, there is no way any of my father's men will help me, especially after the stunt I pulled in Arendelle. Your men will have to get the job done.

"Well, if that's the case, then we will need quite a lot of men. Over a hundred I'd say," the Duke said.

Hans smiled. "That's perfect. We'll have plenty of manpower to take on the witch and her annoying sister. So are you in?"

The Duke thought about it for a minute. For over a year he had been mulling over what Queen Elsa had done to him and his kingdom by severing ties with Westleton, not to mention the damage she caused with the Enteral Winter. And this treasure would be the find of a lifetime. Imagine the publicity Westleton would get when the world found out that they discovered the treasure of King Nicholas. He was still a little hesitant about partnering up with Prince Hans, but with his fire spraying machines, they would have the advantage over the witch's icy powers. They would burn her to a crisp in no time.

"I am indeed, Prince Hans," the Duke said, shaking the youngest prince's hand. "Of course, this will take a few days of planning. I need to get my men and ships ready."

"Of course! And I'll personally see to it that my fire spraying machines are shipped to Westleton without being noticed. Just think my friend, in a few days' time, we'll be off to the Dover Mansion in France for the first half of the amulet. Before you know it, the treasure will be ours. And Queen Elsa will be dead."

This thought pleased the Duke immensely. As much as he wanted the treasure, he desired to see Elsa vanquished once and for all. The world didn't need such a vile person in control of a kingdom.

"Excellent. Let's begin preparations immediately," the Duke said.

The two men shook hands; both smiling greedily at each other. This would prove to be the adventure of a lifetime for both of them.

A/N: Now you see what our villains have in store for Anna and Elsa. I did some research and found out about the Pen Huo Qi fire spraying machines. Basically, they were an early version of the flamethrower. I thought it would provide quite the challenge for the sisters, especially Elsa to face.