"This….this is unthinkable! And it must be punished!"
Though the words were uttered a little too loudly for Elsa's taste, she couldn't help but agree with Councilor Lyons. This day had taken a turn for the insane. As the sun turned a darker orange and red sunset shining through the large windows of her throne room, Elsa breathed out a sigh and shook her head.
"I'm so sorry, Anna. I'm so sorry about all of this."
Anna reached over from her smaller chair and placed her hand over her sister's. Anna sat in a specially prepared chair to the right of her sister's throne.
"Elsa, this was not your fault, I won't have you blaming yourself. You could have never seen this coming."
Anna patted the back of Elsa's hand.
"But I hope you'll make it legal for me to rip his guts out with my bare hands."
Elsa gave a tired chuckle. She closed her eyes and began rubbing her temples, trying to sort out all of the thoughts bouncing around like rubber balls in her head.
"The princess' wish is not far from my own, I assure you, Your Highness," Lyons said, continuing his long stride of a pace in front of her. "This foreign prince from a hostile nation bringing violence to our streets? It's unacceptable and unforgivable. Clearly, the princes of the Southern Isles bring with them nothing but insurrection and anarchy."
"Calm down, Lyons," a much older uniformed man standing across from the councilor said. "How about we discuss what actually happened before declaring war on anyone?"
"War is your jurisdiction, General Dewhurst, not mine," Lyons said, turning on his heel and facing the man. "I would hardly consider you to be someone who would defend a man who drew his sword mere feet away from our queen!"
Lyons looked up to Elsa, whose seat stood a good 20 feet above them.
"Thank God you sprung into action and put that dog on ice, Your Highness."
But was that the right decision? Elsa still didn't know. It had all happened so fast! One minute she was actually having a good time riding past the cheers of her people and the next….total chaos. For the first time in a long time, she had actually felt completely embraced by her subjects. It was the best feeling in the world.
And then she saw him at the front of the crowd, standing there with his own uniformed man and other….unsightly men. She knew it was him immediately. He dressed nearly the same as Hans had. It wasn't until after she passed him and he was out of her sight that the gasps and the screams pierced the air. She leaned almost all the way out of her carriage to see what happened.
When she saw the Southern prince draw a sword, she hadn't even had a second thought. She jumped from the carriage and stretched out her hands.
And then the prince was frozen solid.
Needless to say, the parade was then canceled in favor of total pandemonium.
Elsa blew a tired breath from her lips and opened her eyes again, assuming her normal regal seating posture
General Dewhurst stuck a white-gloved hand in his fully-decorated green military jacket, his eyes narrowing over his substantially bushy white mustache.
"I'm not defending anyone, especially anyone from the Southern Isles," he said. "The safety of Queen Elsa is my highest and most sacred duty. All I am saying is we ought to discern exactly what happened before laying down any punishment."
Elsa agreed with her general. Harrison Dewhurst had served as the head of Arendelle's military since before she was born. She had come to rely on his experience. As much as a part of her wanted to see this prince punished for ruining her sister's parade, she knew that, as queen, the proper channels needed to be pursued first.
"Kai," Elsa addressed the handservant. "You received Prince Nicholas and his men. Did anything seem….off….to you?"
Kai looked down, locked in thought for a moment.
"Not really, Your Highness," he finally said. "His companions were strange, to be sure, but the prince himself appeared cordial. Friendly, even."
Lyons scoffed. "As did Prince Hans, if you recall. He appeared to be our savior in the midst of our darkest hour before revealing himself as the snake he was."
The councilor also had a point, Elsa thought. She knew all too well just how adept a deceiver Hans was and she knew nothing about any of his brothers. For all she knew, his brothers could even better at it.
"Olaf," she asked again. "You were behind my carriage when everything happened. Did you see anything?"
The diminutive snowman plucked off one of his stick arms and used it to scratch his head. His face was scrunched in concentration.
"Errrrmmmm…..uhhhhhhh…..I'm sorry, but no!" He said with a frown. "I was tossing this gorgeous little girl the most beeaauutiful white daisy and-"
"It's alright, little guy," Elsa assured with a warm smile. "It happened so fast for a lot of us."
"But there's gotta be, like, some kind of law that says you can't draw your weapon on the Queen!" Anna protested, clearly wanting blood. "I say we look at that!"
"Indeed!" Lyons piped in. "It is a high crime to threaten nobility."
"But was he truly threatening the queen?" The general asked, addressing everyone gathered in the throne room. "You should know better than anyone, Lyons, how delicate of a situation this is. If you bring down punishment on a crowned prince of another nation, you better be damned sure you have irrefutable proof."
"We have dozens upon dozens of eyewitnesses seeing Prince Nicholas draw his sword on the queen's royal carriage!" Lyons countered. "I do understand the weight of this, general, but even you can't deny that there are only so many reasons a man draws a weapon!"
Elsa knew the general was right and the councilor was only looking out for her well-being. As much as she loved Anna and hated to see anything rob her of her happiness, she remembered that she had to be queen first and foremost. Her people were depending on her. Their well-being and their safety were in her hands. It was why she froze the prince, to protect them.
At least, that was what she believed.
"General," she said. "Go on."
The military man bowed his head to her. "All I am saying is I know why men draw their swords, Your Majesty. Anytime that happens, you need only look at his surroundings. His target is always in front of him while those he desires to protect lie behind."
The general took several steps toward the throne.
"Before you….froze….him, your Majesty, you would have been the closest person to him. Was he indeed drawing his sword on you?"
Elsa looked down and bit her lip. She knew the answer to that question. The image was still running through her head as if on a constant loop.
"No," she said softly. "He was….facing away from me."
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Nicholas heaved back and hammered again at the ice encasing the bottoms of his legs, keeping his knees and feet frozen in place. How long had he been at it for? Hours? He'd lost track of time here in this dungeon cell.
A dungeon cell.
Let him repeat.
A dungeon cell.
His mission was a failure. His legs were frozen solid and he was now imprisoned in a foreign land.
Well done, Nick. Well done. Gold stars, First Place Trophies and Blue Ribbons all around! Somebody pop the champagne!
Thank God he'd found this rock. He thought it would be sufficient enough to break through the ice. After the guards brought him down here, they'd used a pick and mallet to break his head free.
"Listen! There's been a terrible mistake. My name is Prince Nicholas Westergaard of the Southern-"
"We know who you are." The guards had said.
"There's been a big misunderstanding! The queen's life is in danger! I must see her immediately!"
"You're not going anywhere."
Hours later, here he was. The ice had melted enough to free his torso, but for some reason it was holding over his legs and no amount of rock smashing was making any progress.
His chest heaving with exertion, Nicholas bent over and sucked in an exhausted breath. His nose burned and a second later, he blew a sneeze that felt like it would take his head off with it.
"What in Southern hells is this shit made out of?!" He gasped.
"My prince?!"
Nicholas' head perked up. Even in the dark orange glow the sunset was casting through the small window of his cell, he knew that voice.
"Damon? Is that you?" He hissed.
"Aye. It looks like we're neighbors."
The captain's voice was coming from the cell to his right but Nicholas had no way of seeing his friend. All he could see was the other empty cell across from his his through the bars. He didn't know if any guards were nearby and he couldn't move outside of wobbling, but he needed answers!
"Why are you here, Damon? What happened?"
"Those guards that Kai left with us. After Queen Elsa….erm….froze you, I ran into the streets after you but they grabbed me before I could get close. Against their superior weapons and armor….I'm afraid they made quick work of me. I failed you, my prince."
Nicholas frowned. "You didn't fail anyone, Damon. I was the one who started all of this. You're not hurt, are you?"
"Just a few bruises on my body and my pride. I'm fine." The captain said.
"Good."
Feeling his strength renewed by the need to get to his friend, Nicholas raised the rock again.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Nothing.
"Son of a bitch!" Nicholas cursed with a cough.
"Are you alright, my prince? I mean…after…"
Nicholas sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
"Outside of what I can only assume is an oncoming cold, I'll live."
"I was worried you had, well, that you were-"
The captain didn't finish that sentence. Silence hung in the dank depths of the dungeon. Nicholas once again abandoned the rock smashing in favor of catching his breath and getting a better look at his surroundings. The square cell was pretty standard. He knew the Southern Isles had a similar setup for their own criminals, although he wagered their prison was considerably fuller than Arendelle's. There was a long bench built into the wall next to him. He assumed that was for when the prisoners wanted to sleep.
Not that he could sleep.
Or walk.
He twisted where he stood to look behind him, seeing the small barred window that the only light was streaming through.
Strange. That wall looked different from the rest, as if it was made of different stone.
Recently replaced?
Nicholas shook his head. That was not the most important matter at the moment. Getting out of here was. Getting to the queen to warn her and then back to the Bloodrider to-
"Wait," Nicholas whispered loudly. "What about Pod and Martell? And Crow-Legs? Did the guards get them too?"
The prince heard a heavy sigh slip into the air from the next cell.
"I ordered them to run back to the 'Rider after you went into the street," Damon said. "I….I don't know if they made it or not…."
Nicholas' eyes shone in the dark. Captain Direwind sounded incredibly worried. He tried to empathize. He could only imagine how a captain would feel not knowing the safety of his crew.
"I'm sure they made it back, Damon," the prince said. "I'm sure they're safe. They're a crafty bunch. They'll be OK."
Nicholas raised the rock again.
"We'll be OK too….just as soon as I can…"
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
"He was holding out his sword toward someone I didn't see," Elsa continued. "Then he took off running toward the crowd, shouting something, and that's when I froze him."
"No doubt running to attack innocent paradegoers," Lyons said.
General Dewhurst rolled his eyes. "Get a hold of yourslf, Lyons. Why on Earth would that be his goal? If it was, why did he wait? He could have cut down who knows how many people once Kai led him to the front of the crowd!"
Councilor Lyons looked down, folding his white-gloved hands behind his back. He pressed he lips tightly together.
"I…I apologize, Your Highness," he said. "It appears I'm letting my feelings for you cloud my thoughts."
The General raised his eyebrows. Anna's eyes bugged out. Even Elsa was taken aback a bit.
After a few moments of silence, the councilor looked up, saw everyone's faces and caught on to what he had just said. He cleared his throat loudly and shook his head.
"I meant, of course, my feelings toward your safety!"
Elsa looked sidelong at her sister. They shared a silent 'What the hell?' with their eyes. As if he was trying to shrug off the comment, Lyons rolled his shoulders and smoothed the front of his royal uniform.
"Ultimately, the decision falls to you, my Queen," he said, much more smoothly. "But my official counsel is to continue holding Prince Nicholas and his co-conspirators."
"Until when?" The general challenged. "All of the evidence we have doesn't point to any specific crime. The news of these events will travel fast. How long do we hold a foreign prince prisoner before King Haytham comes calling for his younger brother….with armed ships?"
Anna swallowed. "Do….do you really think that would happen?"
The general looked up to the princess and the queen.
"I haven't met the new Southern King yet," Dewhurst conceded. 'I have heard tales of both his benevolence….and his sternness, particularly when it comes to his family."
Elsa gripped the arms of her throne. That was the last thing she needed, the last thing her people needed. Would war really come because they were holding this prince prisoner?
Her head was buzzing. She closed her eyes for a few seconds of blessed darkness behind her lids and blew out a tired breath.
"Elsa?" Anna asked. "Are you alright?"
Elsa nodded once.
"I'm fine."
Her eyes snapped open, adopting a blistering blue shine. A shine of resolution.
"I know my decision," she said.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Cra-
"Oh, fuck this!"
Nicholas furiously cast the rock aside. It clanged against the bars of his cell.
"So what's the plan, my prince?" Damon asked after silence fell again.
"My plan…" Nicholas said through gritted teeth. "Is to get myself unfrozen….somehow….and then get us an audience before the Queen so I can explain everything that happened."
"Ah."
More silence.
"And…how will you do that?" Damon asked.
Nicholas sighed, burying his face in his palms where he stood. He couldn't think. He couldn't come up with a plan. All he could think about was how his country, his brothers, were counting on him to forge a new peace with Arendelle and all he had succeeded in doing what possibly make their relations even worse. He had wanted so badly to make Haytham proud, to make Mom and Dad proud, to make even Roderick proud if he could swing it. This was his chance. He had a chance to help his family. If he could make Arendelle just one less worry on Haytham's already overly stressed mind, he would know he had done his job. He wasn't just here to be a good prince or a good representative….
He….he wanted to be a good brother. For Haytham.
All he wanted was…..
Why did his legs feel wet?
Nicholas looked down and just about jumped. The ice that was holding his legs prisoner was….it was melting! And fast! Within a few moments' time, it was only a puddle of water! He tentatively lifted one foot and then the other, wiggling his toes inside his boots.
It…it was gone! But how?
"Damon, I'm free!"
"You're out of the ice?" "Yeah!"
"How?!"
"Hell if I know, but Phase 1 is complete!"
"Shut your mouths!"
Nicholas looked up in time to see a light draw closer and closer to the bars of his cell. A prison guard holding a torch walked up, glaring menacingly at them.
"Time to go. Queen Elsa wants a word," he growled with no shortage of a malevolent grin.
Nicholas had to admit that having his wrists bound in iron cuffs and chains was an unforeseen but welcome turn of events. At least he and Damon were out of their cells and they were about to have an audience with the Queen!
Oh God, he was finally appearing before the Queen bound in chains. Suddenly, Nicholas' gut dropped with self-consciousness. This was the last way he wanted to be seen in front of her.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.
The large oak doors before then opened and swung inside. The guard gave him a push in the back and he stumbled into the throne room.
"Listen, I'll do the talking." Nicholas whispered to Damon.
"What are you going say?" The captain hissed back.
"I, uh….I thought I'd make it up as I go."
"You can't be serious!" Damon said.
"Trust me, if there's one thing I know how to do best, it's talk," Nicholas assured.
"Silence! Behold Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle!"
And several others, Nicholas noted. He saw a young blonde man about his age and a much older man with possibly the biggest mustache he'd ever seen. There was also a….a little snowman? The prince blinked. No, he was still there. Moving. Freaking moving. Was it alive? What kind of stuff were the Arendellians doing over here?!
Nicholas shook his head, immediately straightening up. The guard deposited Damon and himself squarely front and center before the Throne of Arendelle. Nicholas looked up….right into the eyes of the Ice Queen herself. She looked down on him from her throne, her face so smoothly neutral. The prince couldn't help but marvel at how she still looked as beautiful as she did during the parade.
He looked down at the jangling chains that bound him. His clothes were wet and dirty. His hair had to be a mess. His cheeks flushed slightly. How embarrassing he must look before the woman he had been sent to impress. There was nothing impressive about him right now. He normally would have avoided her gaze, but he knew he had to make things right. He looked up to meet her gorgeous blue eyes and opened his mouth, taking a deep breath.
"Bring in the others!" The younger blonde man said. looking off to the side.
Nicholas' brow furrowed.
Others?
The sound of another door opening and more jangling chains drew the prince's gaze….and his heart sank. In came Pod, Martell and Crow-Legs, bound just as he and Damon were. So they hadn't gotten away after all. At least the guards allowed Crow-Legs to be bound while still in his wheelchair, which a guard was pushing. Pod looked innocently up at Nicholas as they were stood together.
"Evenin', Prince Nick…"
"Silence!"
That bark came from the blonde bloke, Nicholas noted. So…this was to be a hostile audience?
Well, it was showtime. Nicholas had to get his friends out of this.
And fast.
He took a step forward, apart from the others.
"Let my first words be expressing my most profound apologies to Princess Anna for disrupting the celebration of her engagement," Nicholas said, looking up at the redheaded princess, who only glowered down at him.
"My deepest, sincerest apologies to you as well, Queen Elsa," he said, turning his eyes to her. "But I must ask something of you."
Elsa arched an eyebrow, staring down at the prince. What could he possibly demand in this situation?
"I ask for an immediate absolving of Captain Damon Direwind, Podrick Penny-Belly, Martell Lourant and….Crow-Legs."
Anna blinked, looking to her sister.
'Crow-Legs?' She mouthed to her sister, whose brow was knit.
"They had nothing to do with this," Nicholas continued. "My actions were my own, of my own volition. No one else should suffer on my account. Whatever your decision concerning me, they must go free."
Damon looked over at the prince, smiling slightly.
"That is not for you to negotiate," piped the blonde man again.
Nicholas took a breath. "And yet, that is what I ask."
He looked up to Elsa, keeping his eyes locked on hers. Pride was Hans' downfall. He was prepared to give her humility.
"Please," he breathed pleadingly.
Elsa kept her face an expressionless mask…though it was hard. She had to admit that something inside her….was taken aback. Here stood this disheveled, clearly exhausted man who just spent the entire afternoon and evening in a jail cell….and he was pleading for his crew's forgiveness before his own.
That was…well, it was noble.
But Hans was noble. At first.
"I have already made my decision regarding your fates, Prince Nicholas of the Southern Isles," she said evenly, betraying nothing. "You were brought here to give your own account of what happened."
Elsa leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.
"Why did you draw your sword on our parade before our people?" She asked.
Nicholas swallowed, but set his shoulders. He knew nothing but the truth would save them now.
"Because your life was in danger," he said.
Elsa raised her head. Anna narrowed her eyes down at the prince.
The blonde man scoffed.
"We know that well enough, Islander," he said. "The question concerns its source."
"I pose no danger to the Queen, sir…." Nicholas trailed off.
The blonde man puffed out his chest. "Councilor Richard Lyons, Chief Advisor to her Majesty."
Nicholas blinked. This one was going to be hard to convince. He could already tell.
"I never intended any harm to Queen Elsa, Councilor Lyons," Nicholas said. "I was trying to stop the men that were?"
"Men?" Elsa asked. "What was it you saw?"
"Two men, Your Grace," Nicholas said, returning his gaze to her. "They placed themselves on the right side of the parade route. Just as your carriage rode by them, they advanced on it. They had knives, Your Grace."
"Knives?!" Anna almost squeaked. "That's impossible! Who'd want to hurt Elsa?"
All Nicholas could offer was a shrug, which made his chains clank again.
"I wish I knew, Your Highness."
"It does seem rather improbable," General Dewhurst chimed in. "Only our own people knew about the parade. Are you suggesting…."
"This attack came from our own people?" Elsa finished.
Lyons shook his head. "Before anyone grants anymore credence to the prince's outlandish tale, we found no knives at the scene. There is no evidence confirming your story. Did you even get a look at these men?"
Nicholas looked down, his eyes darting across the floor. He honestly wracked his mind as hard as he could….
"No, I….I didn't. I never got a clear look at them. It all happened so fast, I've…ah….I've never really drawn a sword on anyone before."
"Really?" Lyons replied, crossing his arms with a cocky smirk. "Surprise, surprise."
But Elsa was watching the prince's face during the entire exchange. She saw conflict in his features….but earnestness as well.
"I know what I saw, Councilor Lyons," Nicholas said. "I have no reason to lie to you. I'm already your prisoner. What could I gain by telling you any falsehoods now?"
He turned back to Elsa.
"I realize I probably should have alerted your guards….but I felt there was no time."
Elsa folded her hands in front of her.
"So you just barreled in and apprehended these men yourself?" She asked.
Another shrug. More jingling.
"It was….ah….all I could think to do."
General Dewhurst turned to look back at Elsa, raising his bushy eyebrows. Anna arched an eyebrow and turned to her sister.
Elsa's hands fell to her lap. That was all he thought to do? Just like that? They hadn't even formally met….but he claimed to jump into danger to protect her? Elsa bit her lower lip. None of this was making any sense to her. Why would her own people want to hurt her? Just when she thought she was finally being embraced as Queen….
Wait. No. That was only if she chose to believe Prince Nicholas' story, which she still wasn't entirely sure about. She needed more time to think about it, more time than tonight.
"I've made my decision," she said. "Guards!"
Decision? What decision? Nicholas looked nervously from guard to guard as they surrounded him and his crew. He was opening his mouth to protest when one of them grabbed his wrists and unlocked the cuffs. The prince watched as they fell clanging to the ground. Four more clangs and his companions were free too.
"'Bout time," Crow-Legs growled.
"Much better!" Pod exclaimed with a smile.
"The caged bird sings again!" Martell breathily exclaimed.
Damon snapped a bow. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Nicholas rubbed his wrists, too in awe to say anything at first. Had…had he actually succeeded? Had Queen Elsa seen his side?"
"Your Highness, I-" Lyons began.
"My decision is final," Elsa stated authoritatively. "You will all be allowed to return to your ship. But my people need appeasement. They need to understand that yesterday was a misunderstanding."
Nicholas looked up to her, hopeful. "So you believe me, Your Grace?"
"Until the evidence points to the contrary," Elsa corrected him. "So I will invite you back to the castle tomorrow night for a formal dinner and reception. I will expect you to attend so we can….continue our discussion."
They were getting their freedom? As well as an opportunity to make amends?
This was better than anything Nicholas could have hoped for. He wasted no time in giving a deep bow to her.
"Thank you, Your Grace. I see now the tales of your compassion were founded in truth. I would be honored to attend."
Elsa folded her hands in her lap, straightening.
"Guards, escort them out."
Nicholas looked up to her again before he and his crew were turned around and led out the door.
Elsa sighed through her nose. She couldn't discern yet if this was the right decision….but she was going with her instinct on this. She still had very little clue of what to make of this man.
One thing she was certain of, though. When he looked up at her, his gaze was one that held hers almost forcibly in place. There was a fierceness to it, an earnest fire. Even though she was the one sitting on the throne, she found she was captivated by-
No, Elsa, no.
Hans was a master of deception. For all she knew, Nicholas could have taught him everything he knew.
Phase 1 of her plan began tomorrow night at dinner.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand what will that dinner entail! You'll find out soon! Thank you all again for your continued support! Now show that review button some love and let me know what you think What would you like to see?
Cheers!
-LCB
