Chapter 9
"Well, well, well" King Ralph said as he stepped into the cell.
"Isn't this a sight for sore eyes" He walked up to you, and looked you dead in the eyes. For the first time in a very long time, you were at a loss for words.
"Didn't expect this, did you, General (L/N)?" Ralph said.
You pulled at the chains with all the strength you had, but it didn't help at all. King Ralph burst out laughing.
"Lo and behold! The legendary and mighty General (L/N), chained up like a dog!" He gave you a malicious smile.
"And it's all thanks to my loyal son!" He looked at the door and you followed his gaze, until it landed upon the one person you least expected to find.
Captain James Turner.
Your stared at the door, too shocked to say anything. So, he was the one who had leaked information. He was the one who poisoned you. Your head began to spin as you cursed yourself for not seeing it sooner. He had all the information, AND the opportunity to do it. How could you have missed that?!
"I can see that you are at a loss for words, General (L/N)" Turner said with an expression on his face you had never seen him with, before.
"I knew we had lost your loyalty, the moment you laid your eyes on the queen" he continued "So I knew I had to do something. I kept my eyes on you, and notified my father. He asked me to keep a close eye on you, and I did"
Then, something in you just clicked, and you were pulled back to reality, and with it, the feelings. All the anger, frustration and disbelief came rushing over you, as you pulled at the chains again.
"Where are the others?!" You yelled and stared at the men in the room. None of them were from the troops you had brought with you to invade Arendelle. Were they dead? You hoped not. Maybe they were locked up in the dungeon too?
"Oh, don't worry, they've been moved to a place you won't be able to find them" Turner replied, and you just stared at him. He even looked different now, as he spoke. Not the thin and scrawny man you knew from before, but a man full of confidence. You were stunned. Shocked. You had been outsmarted, and now you were in serious trouble. You hung your head, as both Ralph and Cap. Turner smirked at the sight.
"You, General (L/N), of all people, should know that I don't take betrayal lightly" Ralph said, his voice very serious.
"Especially by my very own trusted General"
You knew that. You knew it all too well. You had witnessed King Ralph deal with traitors first hand before. And he was absolutely ruthless.
"I will personally deal with you" He said as he walked over to you and took a firm grip of your hair and pulled, so you were forced to meet his gaze.
"And believe me when I say… I won't show you any mercy…" he hissed before he released your hair.
"But I will decide exactly what to do with you later" King Ralph said, his tone clearly mocking you. He turned around as he walked out of the cell, and the other men followed him and closed the door behind them, leaving you alone in the dark cell.
THE CASTLE'S NORTH TOWER
Elsa and Anna were scared. No, not scared. They were absolutely terribly worried. Not to mention confused beyond had no idea what was going on, where you were, if the people were okay, or what had actually happened. The only thing they knew was that King Ralph had entered the throne room a couple of hours after you had left for the barracks, and told them that you had been incapacitated, and that he was seizing control of the kingdom before he had them taken to the north tower of the castle, where they had been locked up.
"What do we do?" Elsa asked, her voice shivering as she used her own arms to hold around herself, the cold actually bothering her, for the first time on her life. Anna looked at her sister and then looked around the room.
"I don't know…" She whispered "I don't even know where General (L/N) or Kristoff are"
"And no one will tell us anything" She let out a frustrated huff and went over to the window.
"I just wish we could reach (F/N)…" Elsa mumbled.
"What did you say?" Anna asked and Elsa looked back at her.
"(F/N)…." Elsa replied "F/N) is General (L/N)'s first name…" She smiled a bit as she said your first name.
"Are you sure we can trust him?" Anna asked, her tone showing very clearly that she meant business.
"I mean, how could King Ralph waltz into our kingdom so easily. General (L/N) left your room, and the next thing we know, King Ralph walks into the Great Hall. Somethings not right here, Elsa" She pointed out, and Elsa soon understood what Anna was trying to imply.
"I don't know. But I do not think that General (L/N) is at fault here" Elsa said, and Anna got a little surprised look on her face.
"What if he was set up too?" She asked, and Anna stopped in her tracks.
"I mean. You heard what King Ralph said" Elsa continued.
Anna thought about it. Elsa had a point there. But then again. How could she be a hundred procent sure?
Suddenly, the door was opened, and in came two soldiers, escorting a tall blonde man and a little snowman, both in chains. The guards then removed the chains before they gave Kristoff a push through the door, and he greeted the floor with a loud thud.
"Kristoff!" Anna hurried over to him, as Olaf waddled over to Elsa.
"What happened?" Elsa asked, giving Olaf a concerned look.
"Olaf and I managed to get away when that King Ralph came into Arendelle. We've been hiding for a little while, and we tried to find General (L/N)" Kristoff said as he managed to sit up straight with the help of Anna.
"But we couldn't find him anywhere. The guards eventually caught us when we got closer to the dungeon" He sat down in one corner, as the door to the room was shut and sealed again. He then waved them over, and they huddled up in the corner. Kristoff then motioned for them to lean in.
"The dungeon is heavily guarded, so I suspect that they keep General (L/N) and the other soldiers and military leaders there. Maybe his troops and our own troops are there too… But I'm not sure" He whispered.
"What do you suggest we do?" Anna asked.
Suddenly, Elsa got on her feet and looked at the door.
"We have to get to General (L/N)" She said "We have to free him"
"We will" Kristoff said, and they both looked at him.
"But how?" Elsa said, and suddenly, Anna placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I think I have a plan"
NB! MATURE CONTENT!
BACK IN THE DUNGEON
You heard the door to your cell open again, and when you looked up, the king was standing there.
"Now…" He said "Now I want my answers, and you're gonna give them to me, whether you like it or not"
"Answers?" You managed to ask, but he didn't reply. He just motioned for his guards to unchain you and they did, but not before hitting you so hard you thought you were going to pass out for a second. But you barely managed to stay conscious as they dragged you to the middle of the room, and your arms and legs were chained to the floor. You looked over at King Ralph again. He removed his cape and put on a pair of black gloves, the malicious grin never leaving his face.
You braced yourself for what was going to come.
"First question: Why did you betray me, General (L/N)?" Ralph asked as he made his way over to you.
You didn't answer. You knew that if King Ralph found out about Elsa, it would put her in even more danger. That was the last thing you wanted.
"I asked you something, General!" He yelled, as he swung his arm.
Barely a quarter of a second later you felt your insides turning into what felt like mashed potatoes as King Ralph's iron clad fist hit you right in the diaphragm, and you felt your knees go weak.
"Answer me!" He roared, but you bit your lip. You were not going to give in, no matter what. It was time to use the strength, willpower and determination they had taught you over the years, to get through this.
You looked him dead in the eyes.
"Just know this Ralph…. The people here in this kingdom are under MY protection, you hear me? And trust me when I say this… If you lay a hand on any of these people… there will be no place on Earth… no corner of the world where you can hide… if you hurt any of them… I will follow you to the end of the Earth!" You managed to yell.
"And mark my words… That is not a threat… it is a PROMISE" You said through gritted teeth as you stared at him.
That made King Ralph even more furious, and he continued beating you mercilessly for the next few minutes. At one point you swore you could even hear your jaw crack, and the ringing in your ear wouldn't stop after one of King Ralphs blows struck the left side of your head.
But no matter how many times he hit you, you didn't say a thing.
"Still won't answer me?" He said as he grabbed your hair again "Well… too bad for you…" he hissed before he hit you so hard right in the face, that you almost lost consciousness.
"Guards!" Ralph yelled and they responded immediately. They unlocked the chains on your feet, before they hit you again, and this time you fell backwards, hitting the floor so hard you dislocated your left shoulder in the process. The pain shot through your whole body, actually knocking you out, but only for a few seconds. They then removed your boots before they fastened another set of chains to your ankles but you could see that these chains were bolted to the roof. They then pulled at the chains so you were laying on your back while your feet were dangling about 2 feet above ground. While the guards were busy tying you up like this, King Ralph had gotten a flat wooden board, and he walked up to your bare feet.
"I still haven't gotten my answer, General" He said, his tone suddenly eerily calm and collected.
You looked at him, and suddenly, you realized what was about to happen. But before you even got the chance to utter as much as a sound, Ralph hit the soles of your feet as hard as he could with the wooden board. The pain was excruciating and you felt your teeth puncture your lip as you bit it hard, trying not to scream. Ralph roared with laughter as he watched your reaction, and hit you again, and again and again.
You remained stoic for a few seconds of the beating, but soon the pain was so overwhelming, that you couldn't hold back anymore, and within a few minutes the hallways of the dungeon were filled with your pained screams.
"We have to do something…" Lt. Rex mumbled as he looked over at Cap. Isaacs and Lt. Roger, who sat in their cells. They nodded in agreement. They knew they had to do something, but what could they do? They had been imprisoned together with the staff of the castle and the royal family had been taken to a place they didn't know. Then suddenly your screams died out.
"Oh no…" Rex mumbled, and he dreaded the worst. Were you dead? And if you were, what would happen now? He feared that everything was lost. You had failed, and he felt horrible.
King Ralph had stopped hitting you, as you had almost passed out from the pain. Your feet were numb, and blood was dripping down onto the concrete floor, from where small pieces of flesh had been torn from the soles of your feet.
"You're making it way harder than necessary for yourself, General (L/N)" Ralph's tone was mocking.
"Just answer my questions, and all this will be over with, pretty quickly"
To his big surprise, you started laughing a little, after a few seconds.
"Ralph…." You began, deliberately leaving out his royal title, and to your own surprise, you were still able to talk "Do you think that I would fall for that? Do you really think that I would believe that you would release me after I've answered your questions?" you shook your head a bit "No. I know you Ralph. I served you for a long time, remember? I know your agenda"
That made Ralph furious and his face turned beat red.
"How dare you mock me, (L/N)?!" He yelled, also dropping your title, and grabbed you by your shirt. You watched him pull out a knife from his booth, but suddenly everyone on the room heard a noise outside.
"Damn…" Ralph cursed under his breath, before he looked down at you.
"Hmh.. maybe you'll suffer more if you're laying here, listening to me as I slaughter your friends, and knowing you can't do anything about it…" The malicious grin spread across his face again, as he got up, and headed towards the door.
"Come with me, men!" he commanded and they all left you again, in the cold dark room.
Outside, in the hallway, Lt. Rex, Lt. Roger and Cap. Isaacs heard the noise and they all looked towards your cell, and soon they could see Ralph and his men storm past them, on their way out. Soon though, they were up for a big surprise. Kristoff appeared in the hallway and started to open all the doors to all the cells. A few moments later Anna and Elsa also appeared and everyone in the hallway could feel the hallway getting a tiny bit colder.
Elsa looked at the crowd. Most of the residents of Arendelle were there, but there was one face she didn't see at all. She turned to Kristoff with a confused and worried look.
"Where is he?" She asked, and Kristoff looked towards the end of the hallway.
"There's one more cell I haven't opened yet" He said.
"But wait here" He disappeared down the hallway and out of sight.
You were still laying on your back on the floor of your cell, as you heard footsteps in the hallway. Soon you heard the door open again, and you lifted your head up, so you could see the person.
"Kristioff…?" you muttered, and he hurried over to you and lowered your legs to the floor.
"General (L/N)!" he looked at you and started to work on the chains to free you.
"How did you know that I was here?" You asked, surprised that your jaw was actually intact.
"I saw that they guarded the dungeon more than any other place, so I just guessed" Kristoff replied seriously as he managed to open the lock of the chains that chained your arms to the floor.
"Good guessing…" You mumbled as he helped you sit up before pain suddenly shot through your left arm.
"Argh!" You bit your upper lip as you grabbed your arm, and Kristoff look at you with concern. He saw the cuts and bruises, and your feet were beaten beyond recognition.
"What in the world did they do to you?" He asked, and you made an unrecognizable sound.
"Please don't ask. Trust me, you really don't want to know…" You said as you tried to get to your feet.
"Easy there" He said as he placed a hand on your shoulder.
"Argh! Please don't touch my shoulder…" You managed to say, and Kristoff looked at you.
"Your shoulder is dislocated" He said and you nodded.
"Yeah, it is..."
"We need to get you to the royal doctor" He tried to get to his feet but you grabbed his arm"
"No, not that" You said, and he looked confused.
"What? Why?"
"There's no time" You said "We'll have to do it here and now. Will you help me?"
He hesitated for a few seconds, afraid that he would make things even worse.
"If you won't help me, I'll have to do It myself" You said, and your tone made it crystal clear to Kristoff that you meant what you said.
"Okay okay, I'll help you" he said as he got on his knees again, and placed his hand your shoulder. One hand on each side of it.
"Ready?" he asked, and you took a deep breath as you gave him a firm nod.
"Okay, here we go" He said and he started pushing you shoulder in place. The pain was coursing through your body as the bone started to made cracking noises as it was moved, but you bit your lip again, and soon you actually heard the bone of your shoulder click into place, and the pain slowly subsided, and you took a couple of deep breaths.
"Wow…. How did you endure that?" Kristoff mumbled, and you looked at him.
"I've done it before" You replied, and he nodded.
"I thought so"
You looked at the door and tried to get to your feet, but Kristoff quickly stopped you.
"Wait just a minute" He pulled out a few pieces of clothes and wrapped them tightly around your badly beat up feet, to stop them from bleeding.
"I hope this will do for just a little while…" He mumbled.
"Thanks…I had almost forgotten about how badly injured my feet are" You said as you tried to get to your feet.
"Here, let me help you" Kristoff grabbed your arm and help you sit up before he stared working on the chains that chained your legs to the floor You stumbled a little as you tried to walk, and leaned against the cell wall.
"Where's everyone?" You asked.
"Where's Elsa? And Anna?"
"They're keeping King Ralph's guards occupied *He replied*
"Occupied?" You asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, just wait and you'll see" He said as he helped you towards the door.
MATURE CONTENT ENDED
In the hallway you were met by something you would not have expected. The soldiers in your troops waiting for you, and together with them, Lt. Roger, Cap. Isaacs and Lt. Rex, and the rest of the castle's staff, and even most of Arendelle's residents. They all looked at you,
"We've been waiting, General (L/N)" Lt. Roger said, and you swore you could see a smirk in the right corner of his mouth.
"Yeah, about time you showed up" Lt. Rex walked up to you and placed a hand on your shoulder.
"We've got your back, General (L/N). We gave you our sword, our promises and we're not going back on those promises"
Before you could say anything more, you heard a sound at the other end of the hallway, and soon Elsa, Anna and Olaf came running towards you.
"Elsa… Anna… "You managed to say and when they came up to you, they both hugged you, and you gladly hugged them back, not caring that it hurt like hell.
Elsa cupped your face in her hands and looked up at you, clearly worried sick about you.
"I'm okay, for the most part" You assured her, but you could see she wasn't convinced.
"I promise you" You said, and she looked at you for a few more seconds, before she slowly nodded.
You gave her a meek smile as you opened your arms as wide as your body allowed you to, and Elsa was quick to give you another gentle hug, leaning her head against your chest, hearing your heartbeat once again.
After a few minutes of silence, she looked up at you again.
"We need to get you treated" She said, and you knew from her expression that she wouldn't take no for an answer, so you just nodded.
*Elsa nodded in return and she and Anna began to lead you into one of the cells and laid you down on the bed.
"Can we get Dr. Hanson in here, please?" Elsa requested, and a man soon stepped into the cell.
"Hello General (L/N)" He said and walked up to you, and you looked back at him, and then back at Elsa.
"But what about King Ralph and his men. And where are the rest of your people?" You asked, confused.
"Don't worry" Elsa said, as she stroked your cheek.
"We've sealed the entrance to the dungeon with a wall of 8 metres thick, solid ice. They won't be able to break through it anytime soon. And the rest of the people managed to escape on one of Arendelle's ships. They're safe"
You raised an eyebrow in surprise "Wow… good job. I have to say…"
Elsa just smiles slightly, and Dr. Hanson cleared his throat.
"Now, General (L/N). If you please, may I now look at your injuries?"
You nodded and he didn't waste a second.
He started to check your injuries on your upper body first, and the look on his face said it all.
"Wow… you have taken quite a beating, General" He said as he checked you jaw, and to your amazement, he could verify that it hadn't even cracked. But still, you gritted your teeth at the thought of the cracking sound it made when Ralph had hit you.
"Yeah… Ralph wasn't too pleased that I wouldn't answer his questions…" You mumbled, and Elsa grabbed your hand, and gave it a light squeeze.
After through fully checking you for injuries, he looked at Kristoff who was standing in the doorway.
"He's in bad shape, but I think he'll make it?" He said, and Kristoff nodded as a response.
Dr. Hanson then started the work on cleaning your wounds and you just laid there, calm as Elsa sat by your side. He then found a needle and began to stitch you back up.
After he was done he got up, and looked at you.
"You're all set, General"
"Thank you Dr. Hanson..." You said, and he gave you a small smile and nodded before he left the cell.
"I'll just check on the people here" Kristoff said and followed him and you and Elsa were left alone for a bit.
She looked at you with a worried expression clear on her face. You placed a hand on her cheek.
"I'm so happy to see you…" You whispered, and you could see tears forming in her eyes.
"I was so worried…" She whispered back "You disappeared and King Ralph imprisoned Anna and me in the North Tower of the castle without telling us anything… We were worried sick…"
"I'm so sorry I made you worried…" You said, your tone low "I was betrayed…. Cap. Turner incapacitated me by poisoning my water…" You explained, but Elsa put a finger on your lips to hush you.
"Please…. Rest a bit now… you need it.." She whispered, before she planted a soft and tender kiss on your lips.
When you broke the kiss you looked her in the eyes, and gave her a more heartfelt smile.
You knew, at that moment, that you definitely had made the right choice. And you were now even more certain than ever, to help Elsa and the rest of Arendelle. That was your last thought before you closed your eyes
After a couple of hours of rest, you woke up again, and found Elsa still sitting by your bed.
"Hey…" You said, and she smiled slightly.
"Hey… How do you feel?" She asked, and you sat up in bed.
"I feel better now. My body doesn't hurt that much right now".
"That's good" She stroked your cheek again.
You heard a sound and looked towards the door, and found Kristoff standing in the door.
"You're awake General (L/N)" He said as he smiled a bit, and you stood up from the bed and with Elsa's help you stepped out of the cell.
You looked at all the people in the dungeon, and you finally got to ask the one question that had been bothering you for a while.
"But… how did you managed to pull this off?" You asked, dumbfounded.
"It was Anna's ideas" Kristoff replied "They distracted some of the guards while Sven and I fought the rest of them to get to you, and free you and the others down here. We need you, General (L/N), but I'm now not sure if you're able to help us…"
"No" You said "I want to do something. I HAVE to do something. I gave you my word, and you can be damn sure that as long as I can walk, I'm going keep it"
"But what can you do when you're in such a bad shape?" Kristoff asked.
"Oh, you don't know what 'm capable of" You said, as a determined expression made its way across your face.
"Like you said…" You put your arm around Elsa's shoulder, stood up straight and looked towards the entrance.
"I AM the General, after all"
