Chapter: 9 Phase Two
Olaf heaved the final table leg back into place and fell over. "That should do it," smiled Gerda. The old servant pat the snowman on the head, "Thank you for your help, Olaf dear."
"No problem, Gerda." he muttered.
"Something the matter, sweetie?"
"I just wished I could have gone to help. I'm so worried about them. It's been days!"
"Oh Olaf, I'm sure they'll be back sooner than you think."
Kai walked in to examine the newly refurbished ballroom. "My my, I'm impressed!"
"It was nothing," smiled Olaf.
"Magnificent job, Gerda!"
"Hey!" whined Olaf. "I helped too!"
Kai ignored him and saw to the rest of his royal duties. He began to dust a painting of Elsa and Anna when he heard a boom in the distance. The servant raised a brow and listened again. He shrugged and continued dusting, only to hear a second, even louder boom. "Sir!" a guard came panicking in. "The kingdom is under attack!"
"Under attack?" gasped Kai.
"From the sea...pa-pa-pa...PIRATES!"
He grabbed the guard by the coat and lightly slapped him, "For heaven's sake, keep it together, lad! Prepare for battle! Defend the castle at all costs!"
Olaf and Gerda walked side by side upstairs. "I know Kai can be...hard to please. But you can't let that get you down. I for one adore your company and help."
"Thanks Gerda," said Olaf. They then heard an explosion outside and scurried to the window.
"Oh my...Is that a pirate ship?!" shrieked Gerda.
Olaf recognized the sails from his adventure four years ago. "Sea Wraiths. I thought we finished them."
"Apparently not. Come Olaf...we have to hide!" The two scurried across the panic-filled halls. Gerda ushered the snowman into a wardrobe and ran for another spot.
"Battle stations! Battle stations!" roared the captain of the guard. The men all held the perimeter, and waited for the ship to dock.
It fired its broadside cannons, destroying parts of the harbor. A guard nudged his fellow infantryman, "I told you we should've gotten cannons in case of a pirate attack. But nooooooo what did you all say? You said 'Waaaa waaaaa pirates would never attack, Clarence. Waaaa waaaa waaaa we don't need cannons...WELL WHO NEEDS CANNONS NOW?!" A cannonball blasted a hole in one of the castle's towers. Citizens ran for their lives just as the ominous pirate ship approached. It didn't slow down. If anything, it was gaining speed with its sails.
Kai asked the captain, "What's that giant steel...hook-like thing in front of the ship?"
"That, sir...would be a ram."
"Ohhhhh," nodded Kai. "TAKE COVER!" Everyone scattered as the ship crashed into the side of Arendelle Castle, tearing a hole into the first floor.
Sea Wraiths immediately swung out and drew their cutlasses. The captain of the guard gave orders to Kai, "Get the servants to safety. We'll handle them."
"Are you sure?" panicked Kai.
"Yes! They're just pirates, and are no match for Arendelle's finest!"
"What good will chocolate do?"
"Not the chocolate! I was talking about us...nevermind." The captain unsheathed his mighty longsword and held it high. Arendelle soldiers lined up on his left and right. "Men of Arendelle! Never before has an army attacked our glorious kingdom. They certainly won't do so now and succeed! With this sword...once wielded by my father...and his father...AND his father...we shall have the victory on this day! ATTACK!" He led the charge and clashed with the Sea Wraiths.
Eight minutes, twenty-two seconds, and forty-eight milliseconds later...
"Captain?" wondered a soldier as he was being tied up.
"Yes, Clarence?" groaned the captain as he too was tied up.
"Did your father...and his father...AND his father lose their battles too?"
"That they did, Clarence...that they did."
The Sea Wraiths restrained the soldiers and held them prisoner in the lobby. The rest were forced to surrender, or their countrymen would be killed. Kai didn't get far with his servants either. They were all captured in the lobby as well. Outside the castle, Arendelle's civilians and soldiers were warned that if they even came close, all hostages would be executed. As for Marshmallow, the monster snowman had put up quite the fight. But the moment they threatened him with hostages, he too had to stand down. Now Marshmallow waited helplessly outside, protecting the rest of the citizens from whatever dangers awaited.
Captain Marik cleaned his pirate hat with Kai's feather duster. He barked at his men, "Round up the remaining servants, ya scurvy dogs! The rest a ye, stay here with the prisoners. He barged into the dungeon and began freeing all of the captured mercenaries. He then refilled their cells with Kai and the rest of the castle's inhabitants, locking them in tight.
Hans emerged from his cell with a light chuckle, "Oh how I love phase two. Excellent work, captain."
"All in a days work, Hans. Now...about that money..."
"Ahhh yes, the treasury of course. They made their way to the royal vault and gazed in awe at the amounts of gold. "Feast your eyes." Marik was about to run in when Hans stopped him, "Ah ah ahhhhh. You can look, but you can't touch just yet. Not until the duke arrives."
"That scrawny scallywag needs to hurry up," growled Marik.
Hans ignored his comment and made his way back to the dungeons. He watched as a pirate brought in Gerda. He shoved the elder into Hans' arms. "Ohhhh why hello Gerda," he chuckled.
"Let me go!" she squirmed in his grasp.
"Now that's no way to treat an old friend. Then again, you're the old one." sneered Hans. "No worries. I'll surely treat you better. I even got you a nice room with your buddies!" He swung open a cell door and shoved Gerda in. "Have a nice stay, granny!"
Kai caught his good friend and glared at Hans. "You dirty coward!"
Hans yanked him out and slammed him against the wall, "Ahhh Kai. Good to see you too."
"You'll never get away with this."
"Anna's famous words," scoffed Hans. "Speaking of which, any idea when the royal sisters will return? I'd love for them to see MY new kingdom."
"I don't know. And even if I did, I'd never tell you!"
Hans simply smirked, "Oh Kai...Kaaaaai. I thought we were friends! After all, you served me when Anna left me in charge." Kai remained silent. "I guess things change. No matter. The throne is still mine." The pirates were about to throw Kai back in his cell when Hans interrupted, "Wait! One more thing." Hans brought his right arm back and punched the servant as hard as he could. He hit Kai so hard, the servant went ambling back into the arms of Gerda and a guard. "That's from the duke." Hans laughed maliciously. "Now if you excuse me, I have a throne to claim."
Hans looked out of the window to see Arendelle's remaining populace kept at bay. None of them would dare risk the lives of the hostages in a rescue attempt. "Sweet sweet victory, thy name is Hans." He strolled down the hall, humming a tune and tipping over a bust of Anna. He kicked open the doors to the throne room and gazed in awe at the royal seat itself. He laughed and sat in it, "Ahhhhhhh." He kicked his feet up and pulled out a folded paper in his pocket. "With phase two underway, all is going according to plan. The castle is secure, the royals are away...for now, and I'm in charge. Now...my own desires can come to light." He unraveled the paper and gazed down at it. It was titled...
"OPERATION HELSA" by me
On it was a godforsaken, awful, and atrocious drawing that even a blindfolded two-year-old could best. Hans' gorgeous "artwork" depicted his future plans for Elsa when she returned.
Hans laughed diabolically and kissed his masterpiece of a drawing.
Meanwhile, Olaf remained hidden in the wardrobe. He rocked back and forth, trembling at the sounds of pirates running up and down the stairs. Things eventually settled down, and the pudgy little snowman snuck out. He immediately waddled down the hall and hid behind a couch. "Gerda?" he whispered around. "Kai? Anyone?" He carefully snuck downstairs and yelped upon seeing the Sea Wraith hordes. Both pirates and freed mercenaries were gorging themselves on the castle's food supplies. Others were sharpening their weapons. Olaf squeezed his head through the railing bars to listen in. He watched as a pirate approached his captain. He had a servant girl captive.
Captain Marik scoffed, "Toss her in with the rest of the prisoners. The more hostages the better. Anyone outside will think twice about being a hero."
"This is terrible!" gasped Olaf to himself. "I need to get help!" He ran back up the stairs and looked out the window. He waved frantically, but no one, not even Marshmallow, could see him. The snowman sulked, "There's no way for me to get their attention." He glanced over at the door to Elsa's study. "Or is there?" He tiptoed into the study and grabbed some paper. As he sat at Elsa's desk, he began to ink a quill and right a distress message.
His snowy eyes widened when he heard footsteps. Olaf ducked under the desk as a bulky mercenary came in. He firmly grasped an ebony-colored crossbow in his hands. "No way I'm waiting for some duke to claim the best part of the treasury," he grumbled. "There's got to be some valuables in here." Olaf remained silent as the man stepped passed the desk. He looked down and raised a brow.
"No," though Olaf to himself.
The man had seen Olaf's letter. He touched it, realizing that the ink was still fresh. He then took aim with his crossbow and searched the room. "Alright...who's in here?!" He tore down a curtain, "Come out come out wherever you are..." After scouring the room, he glared back at the desk. He knelt down slowly, and peered under it.
Olaf let out a scream before jumping on his face. The man panicked and flailed from side to side. Olaf got up on his back and smacked with his twig arms. The mercenary snarled and slammed the snowman against the bookshelf. It toppled over, sending both beings down with it. They bumped into the adjacent bookshelf. The crossbow fell out of his hand, and the man frontflipped to get Olaf off of him He then drew his dagger and drove it straight through the snowman's chest.
Olaf simply giggled at the attack and replied, "Oh look...I've been stabbed."
The man's eyes widened and he gasped, "What...are you?"
"Not what...who...I'm Olaf...and I like warm hugs."
In that instant, a massive book fell off of the shelf and clunked the mercenary over the head. He fell over, knocked out as Olaf examined the gigantic book's title...
"No One Lived Like Gaston: Every Reason He Was Better Than You" 5,000-page Special Edition by: LeFou
Olaf caught his breath, "What have I done?! I need to get help! I just knocked out a bad guy and-" the snowman gasped. "Hey...wait as second...I just knocked out a bad guy! I don't need any help...This is my chance to prove myself to Kai! If I can beat one guy...why can't I beat the army downstairs?" The little snowman devised his own plan. He leapt atop the desk, grabbed the quill and inked it.
Hans was lounging in Elsa's throne and making out with his picture when a Sea Wraith came running in. "What is it now? Can't you see I'm shipping?"
"Boss...you need to see this." The man brought Hans to the spiral stairs, where they gazed down at the unconscious mercenary. "Someone is still out there."
Hans noticed that someone had written on the man's chest and torso in black ink. The words read...
NOW I HAVE A CROSSBOW TE-HE-HE
Hans grit his teeth. "You men get upstairs! Find this guy and take him down!"
Up in Anna's bedroom, Olaf took one of the princesse's green ribbons and tied it above his eyes as a headband. "The weather may have been nice before..." said Olaf. "But now...it's about to SNOW HARD!"