"Is this a joke?" Rue asked in surprise.
"No," Elinor replied firmly. "I believe it is the only way."
The two queens, fast friends despite meeting only minutes earlier, were discussing a way to help Merida escape from her tower. What Elinor proposed…well, Rue simply did not believe it could be done.
"Look, if there really are a thousand guards, we'll never overtake them all. We don't have enough soldiers for that! Even if I could summon the McGuffins, MacIntoshs, and Dingwalls, plus Berk's dragon riders, we still would be a rather small army. Our best shot is to get Merida out secretly, without any of her guards know."
"Yes, but, a bear? Is it safe?"
"Probably not," Elinor admitted. "But we don't have time to get a dragon, which would be preferable. Oh don't worry," she said, seeing Rue's anxious face. "I've had plenty of experience with bears."
Rue was about to protest more, when between them a brightly colored portal opened, and Princess Mary Katherine tumbled out. She was wearing a pink hoodie and strange looking brown shorts, definitely not something Rue expected her niece to wear.
"Oh, hi, Aunt Rue," MK said somewhat nervously. "I guess this means I'm in the right time now?"
"I think so," Rue said, puzzled.
"What on earth are you wearing?" Elinor exclaimed.
"Well, I ended up in the 21st century and got stuck there for awhile…it's a long story, but my traveling dress was ruined. Professor Bomba was very nice though, he bought me some modern clothes. They're quite comfortable actually."
"MK, I'm very glad to see you, but you're not supposed to be time traveling, dear," Rue said gently.
"Well technically neither are any of you guys. I figured since everyone else was breaking the rules, why couldn't I?"
"That is never a good rule to follow," Elinor said rather sternly. "But in this case, we are glad you are here. We do need help."
"All of the Companions have disappeared," Rue said. "We landed in the middle of battle when we first arrived. I went to get help, but by the time I came back only the guards remained to guard Merida. At the moment, she's the only one we know the exact location to."
"That's not very helpful," MK said. "What can I do to help?"
"How much experience do you have with bears?" Elinor asked. "Or wild animals in general for that matter."
"Funny you should ask," she said, laughing. "I just spent a week living with an advanced society of tiny people living in the woods in the 21st Century. Nod taught me a few things…" her eyes got a dreamy, far-away look in them.
"Nod?" Elinor asked, confused.
"My…friend."
"Oh dear," Rue said. "Well, time for that later. For now, let's go train a bear."
"Wait, what? I don't know much about training them…"
"I do," Merida's mother said. "I'm Elinor by the way, Merida's my daughter. She turned me into a bear, once."
"Oh," MK said, nodding. "Yeah, I heard that story. Through Jack and Rapunzel," she added, when Elinor looked confused.
"Ah," Elinor said, disappointed her story hadn't shocked her.
"With my family, I'm used to things like that. And especially after the Leafmen, I'll believe anything," MK said, clarifying.
"Here, throw this on, dear," Rue said, handing her a royal blue cape. "Whatever happened to the Companions has made either Elsa or Jack upset. There's a blizzard raging outside."
"Won't the bears be hibernating?" MK asked, fastening the cloak.
"It's spring time for us," Elinor said. "They'll have just woke up from hibernation and won't know what hit them! Luckily, they'll be a little sleepy and docile."
"Unless they have cubs," MK pointed out.
"Oh." Elinor stopped, thinking. "We'll have to find a young female, then. One who doesn't have cubs. I think I remembering seeing one last autumn. Follow me."
She led them outside, where by this time it had stopped snowing. MK sunk up to her knees in a drift, and shivered from the cold. She staggered a little behind them, and Rue noticed she looked sad.
"Mary Katherine, are you alright?" Rue called, a few steps ahead.
"Um, yeah," she lied. "I'm fine. Just a little cold."
"We can take the horses," Elinor declared. "They can manage this much snow, and it's only a short ride."
They found the young female Elinor had seen. She had grown through the winter, but no cubs followed her. The three women crouched in the bushes, watching as the bear dug in the snow, trying to find food.
"Shouldn't you go first? I know absolutely nothing!" Rue protested.
"Alright, but watch closely."
Elinor crept out of the bushes on all fours and approached the bear calmly, making low growling noises deep in her throat. The bear looked up, and was slightly confused. Then it growled. Unable to watch, MK hid her face in her hands. Suddenly, Rue gasped. When MK opened her eyes, she saw, to her amazement, Elinor petting the bear's head.
"Come on out," she said. "It's alright."
"What's next?" MK asked.
"Unfortunately, I only know how to approach a bear and let it know that we are friends and aren't going to hurt it. I don't actually know how to train a bear."
"Well, that's kind of a problem."
"Don't worry," Mary Katherine said. "This is where I come in. We just have to talk to it. I haven't dealt with bears before, but from what I've seen of hummingbirds and deer, I think it'll be pretty similar."
"I'm not even going to ask," Rue said. "Just tell me what to do."
"I don't think you have to do anything. Just let me talk to her."
MK knelt in front of the bear. She made her face look soft and loving, and the bear nuzzled her.
"I can't speak your language," she said softly. "So I can't learn your name, but I'm going to call you Missie. In my language, it's a name of honor. If you can understand me, then please raise your right paw."
There was a moment of silence. MK held her breath and hoped that the bear understood. Then, she raised her right paw. Rue and Elinor gasped in amazement.
"Thank you," MK said, nodding her head and breathing a huge sigh of relief. "My friend is in great danger. She is being protected by the evil men of this world. Alone, we cannot beat them. But with your help, we have a chance. It will be dangerous. Will you help us?"
She looked down at the ground and held her hands out in the open. The bear studied her for a long moment, then raised her right paw again and lowered it so that it touched MK's palm. Her wet nose pressed itself against MK's forehead.
"Thank you," MK whispered.
Elsa concentrated on breathing.
"In and out, in and out. Calm down," she told herself. "Control it."
You can't control fear, the voices hissed. You can't do anything, monster!
Elsa looked up, determination suddenly etched on her face. The voices were right: she couldn't control fear, and she couldn't control her powers if she was afraid.
"That is a lie!" she said firmly. "I am not a monster! I am Elsa May Frost, daughter of Rapunzel and Jack Frost! And no matter what you say, they love me, and I love them!"
At that moment, she forced all fear to leave her mind, thinking only of her family and those she loved. The voices ceased whispering, the wind stopped howling, and the snowflakes stopped where they were, suspended in mid-air. Gently, Elsa lowered them to the ground. The storm had stopped.
Now the only problem was the snowdrifts decorating the Scotland terrain. Elsa didn't know how to gather up her snow like Jack did, but she forced the snow clouds that had gathered to disperse.
"Sorry Scotland," she said. "Looks like you'll have a snow day."
Merida watched as the last rays of the sun disappeared. Below her, two dozen guards patrolled the field. The rest had been called off by Gothel, and Merida wasn't sure whether to be relieved or distressed. It would be an easier escape for sure, but where had they gone?
The waiting was the hardest part. After what seemed like hours, she heard the first snore from below, and others soon followed. Grinning, Merida pulled her makeshift escape rope from under the bed and wrapped it through the window slot. Slowly she let it fall down, tensely waiting for any cry of alert. None came. Extremely cautious, she slipped through the window, hanging onto the rope for dear life.
Inch by inch she creeped down, praying the connecting threads wouldn't break. It was slow, hard work, and after awhile she stopped paying attention to her surroundings so she could focus on the task.
Must…get…to Hiccup, she thought as she struggled downwards.
"Merida!" a voice whispered. Merida squeaked and nearly fell the rest of the way. "Sorry, it's just me!"
"Me who?" Merida snarled. "Whoever it is Ah will personally pummel yew when I get down there!"
There was a moment of silence. "Queen Rue. I came to rescue you."
"Oh. Sorry." Suddenly Merida looked around at the empty field. "Um, where are the guards?"
"Missie took care of them, don't worry. Keep coming, you're almost there."
Merida continued her descent. "Who's Missie?" she grunted.
"The bear we trained."
"Bear!" Merida exclaimed as she slipped another few inches. "Never mind, you're distracting me."
"Oh, Merida? You're rope is about 10 feet too short."
"Ok, Ah'm just going to tune you out now."
"Merida!" Rue hissed. "Oh, fine. Forward, Missie!"
Rue nudged the bear forward until she was beneath Merida. Motioning her ride to stay still, the queen carefully stood on it's back like a circus perfomer.
"Och!" Merida cried as she discovered the rope ended before it reached the ground. "Where's the rope?"
"Hold on, I got you!" Rue said with a laugh as she lowered Merida safely down. "Like I said, 10 feet too short. But at that point you tuned me out. Now come on, let's go pick up MK and the others. Come on, Missie!"
"Whoa!" Merida yelled as the bear charged back towards the woods. "What on earth did Ah miss?"
"I'm not sure, I missed a lot too. But long story short, Mary Katherine came from Corona to help and together we trained a bear. She's pretty good, too. Got rid of those measly guards silently."
"Where's Hiccup? Is he ok?"
"I don't know, I left in the middle of battle to get help. I expect he's fine."
Merida felt a growing sense of panic rise within her. "Where's Mary Katherine?"
"Oh, she spotted a fire burning in the middle of the snow and went to investigate."
"Hurry," Merida said, kicking Missie's side. "Hurry!"
The bear lunged forward into a choppy gallop.
"What is it?" Rue asked as she bounced up and down.
"Something is very, very wrong," Merida said, peering ahead into the darkness.
Suddenly she smelled fire and guided Missie in that direction. Finally, she could make out a stone cabin resting in the hillside, smoke pouring out of it's chimney. Leaping off the bear, she ran for the door.
"Hiccup!" she yelled.
Mary Katherine stood in the now open doorframe, clearly distraught. "Come quick!" she said, wringing her hands in distress. "Hiccup and Anna are dying!"
"Hiccup!" Merida cried, rushing past MK.
Hiccup was lying close to the fire, his back warmed by Toothless. His hair was completely white and his skin almost blue. Shivering, he looked up and gave his cousin a weak smile.
"Hey, Mer," he whispered.
"Hiccup, no," Merida said, crying.
"You have to be brave," Hiccup said. "There's nothing else to be done."
"No, no it's not true!"
"We have to find Rapunzel," Rue said from where she sat on the bed with Anna. "Anna, where is she?"
"I don't know, she went to find dad," Anna said. Merida could clearly see something was wrong with Anna as well. She looked weak and pale.
"Something happened to her," said Olaf, hiding in the corner away from the heat. "Something that made Anna like this. She couldn't even make a fire when I found her."
"I think it's some sort of spell," Anna said quietly. "I don't know, I can't see Maggie anymore either."
"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed from the doorway.
"When did you get here?" Mary Katherine asked.
"Just now," Astrid said, running to where Hiccup lay cold and dying. She cursed. "What happened to you, Feather Brain?"
"Elsa," Hiccup managed to say. "Hit me. Help."
"Where's Rapunzel?" Astrid asked.
"No one knows," Rue said, "but we're going to find her, now! Astrid, stay with Hiccup and Anna, keep them safe, and, if possible for you to do so, alive."
Astrid nodded, the gravity of the situation sinking in. "I will. Now go, and hurry!"
"Come on Missie!" MK said, running out the door. "MISSIE! Aunt Rue, Missie's gone!"
"She's a bear, what do yew expect?" Merida yelled. "We'll just have ta go on foot. Now come on! And you!" she said, turning and glaring at Hiccup. "You had better be alive when I get back, or I'll kill you mahself!"
"You have to be brave," Hiccup muttered again as Merida, Rue, and Mary Katherine raced off. "She can't heal me."
"Don't say that," Astrid said. "Of course, she can! She has to!"
Meanwhile, Merida charged through the dark woods with Mary Katherine and Rue hot on her heels. It was hard going; with no way to find a clear path they kept tripping or getting snagged by bushes.
"Why didn't you bring horses?" Merida snapped. "Did you come all this way on foot?"
"We brought horses but we had to leave them to train Missie," Rue said.
"How far away are we from DunBroch?" Merida asked.
"Your mum said it was about 5 miles," Mary Katherine said.
Merida whistled sharply. "Worth a shot," she said. "As long as Angus hears me he'll come."
"I rode on Angus coming here," Rue said. "He'll be nearby, surely."
"Rapunzel!" Merida called. "Jack! Elsa! Anybody?"
No one answered. They struggled on. Finally, they emerged from the woods onto a snowy plain.
"RAPUNZEL!" all three yelled together. This time, there was an answer, but not one they expected. A high-pitched whinny drifted on the wind.
"Angus!" Merida cried. She whistled again. "Here, Angus, here boy!"
Galloping heroically across the snow came the large black Clydesdale. Angus raced to his owner, and would barely stand still long enough for her to mount, as if he sensed the urgency.
"Can he hold three people?" Mary Katherine asked.
"For the moment, he has to," Merida said grimly. "Climb on."
Rue and MK squeezed onto Angus' bare back, and Merida pushed him into a gallop.
"RAPUNZEL!" a voice screamed in the darkness.
"That's Jack!" Merida said. "This way, Angus!"
"After we get home," Rue said, "I don't think I'll ever ride any animal ever again."
"Not even the unicorns?" Mary Katherine asked.
"Nope."
"Stop talking and help me call!" Merida said. "Jack! Jack, where are you!"
"Merida!" Jack yelled. "Merida over here!"
Merida pulled Angus to a standstill and dismounted, Rue quickly following. Kneeling on the ground, Merida picked up the shattered pieces of Jack's only weapon. "Jack! I only see your staff! It's broken! Where are you?"
"In the chasm!" Jack yelled. "Merida, you have to help me get out of here! I can't fly without my staff!"
Merida ran over to the chasm and peered down. Jack sat at the bottom, looking tired and frustrated. His shirt was almost ripped to pieces, his hands and feet were scratched and bloodied, evidence of a long day trying to climb.
"How are we supposed to get you out?" MK asked, joining Merida at the edge. "We don't have any rope.
"Oh, why didn't I bring a dragon?" Merida lamented.
"Can't you whistle for him like you did with Angus?" MK asked.
"No, he's not that well trained! Stubborn dragon! Two training classes, top notch, and he refuses to come when called! Honestly!" She kicked the snow around her, sending a spray down on Jack.
"Hey!" Jack said. "Try not to dump snow on me, ok? I've had a very long and hard day!"
"We all have," Rue said. "Where's Rapunzel? She can bring you out with her hair."
Jack looked down. "Gothel…Gothel cut it."
"What?" Merida exclaimed.
"It's ok," Rue said. "It grows back very quickly."
"No!" Jack yelled. "It turned brown! It lost it's healing powers and won't grow again!"
"No! Hiccup needs her! He's dying!" Merida yelled.
"Here!" Mary Katherine said, throwing down Jack's staff to him. "Fix it!"
"I don't have any powers since it's broken…" Jack started to explain.
"Fix it now!" MK yelled. "We're running out of time! And if it helps, ANNA'S DYING TOO!"
"WHAT?" Jack yelled. "Alright, that's it!" He jammed the pieces of his staff together, putting all his concentration into it. "Come on come on come on," he muttered.
For a moment nothing happened. Then, suddenly, a bright blue glow exploded from the staff, and it mended. Jack let out a whoop and flew up to them. Merida hugged him excitedly.
"You did it!" she cried.
"Yeah," he said, still a little stunned. "Is it a Guardian power or something?"
"I don't care what it is," Rue said. "We have to go find Rapunzel. Any idea where she went?"
"No," Jack said. "Gothel made sure I could see while she cut Rapunzel hair, then she dropped me into the canyon. Nearly broke my leg," he said, rubbing it painfully.
"We can't just give up," Mary Katherine said. "Everyone's counting on us."
"Who said anything about giving up?" Jack asked with a grin. "We can't all ride on that horse, though."
"Ah know," Merida said. "But you're in no shape to carry anyone right now."
"Look," MK said. "I'll go on foot. It's no big deal, really."
"That's fine," Jack said. "See if you can find Elsa, she disappeared this morning really upset. Tell her it's fine now."
"Ok, I will," MK said, running off.
"Jack, can you do something about the snow?" Merida asked. "Angus can run faster without it."
"Sure thing," Jack said, pounding his staff on the ground. Instantly the snow was gone, sucked up into the staff. "What a blizzard this will make," he said, chuckling quietly. "Now, off we go."
Shuffling wearily through the palace, Rapunzel hugged herself tighter in Elsa's tattered blanket. She was close to freezing, and had walked through the rooms so many times she had a mental map in her head. She had the whole place memorized. Now, the sun shone through the walls with a muted brilliance. Quickly, Rapunzel moved towards the balcony, the only place she could get some good sun. Outside, the snow was gone, even the abominable snowmen had disappeared, and the air was warmer. Rapunzel hoped the castle would melt, but she knew that even it did it would be too late for her.
Collapsing on the ice, Rapunzel couldn't help but feel proud of Elsa. Searching through the palace had given her more information about Elsa's young life than she was probably willing to share, yet she had given Rapunzel her blind trust and love. No wonder she had been unable to control the storm; Rapunzel's rebuke had been the last straw.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Elsa," Rapunzel called. "I'm sorry I lost my temper."
No answer. Just silence. It reminded Rapunzel of the night she died, before the Moon had made her a Guardian. At least then, she had been surrounded by her friends and her parents. Now she was alone, and a whole lot of good her creativity was doing.
A chilly ice wind blew into the castle. Realizing it was warmer inside, Rapunzel crawled back into the room and down the stairs. She had to keep warm. She had to reach her family again. She had to apologize to Elsa, in person.
Back in Elsa's room, Rapunzel grabbed hold of the painting she had found in the closet and held it close. Elsa had inherited some of her artistic skills, and painted a small portrait on a piece of cloth. In each corner, the sun and moon were intertwined: the moon cradled the sun. In the center were Jack and Rapunzel. How Elsa had known was impossible to say, that part was not written down in her journal. But Rapunzel didn't care. She just held it close and hoped she would be able to see Jack again.
Jack spotted the ice palace from a long way off, and he flew to it as fast as he could, leaving Merida and Rue behind. Something told him that was where Rapunzel was, perhaps the same something that had told Merida Hiccup was in trouble. But after searching all night long, he was going to take any clue he could get. Jack flew straight in through the balcony, and not finding anyone there, went to the main room.
"Rapunzel! Rapunzel, are you here?"
Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of metal hitting ice reached him.
"I here you! Keep banging!" Jack called as he followed the sound.
Finally he reached Elsa's room, and stared around in amazement at the suspended snowflakes and delicately carved walls. Then he saw Rapunzel lying in the bed, wrapped in tattered blankets.
"Jack!" she breathed, obviously relieved. "Please, get me out of here!"
"It's ok, it's ok," Jack said, running to her. Gently, he picked her up and began walking back to the balcony. "I'm here now."
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too," Jack said. "But I think you look better in blonde, don't you?"
Rapunzel giggled. "Yeah."
