Chapter 10:

The Hunt

"He's hunting us!" Anna cried.

Elsa nodded, pulling her sister by her hand through the trees. "Yes, he drugged us, and he's now hunting us in hopes of adding us to his collection."

"But…but…how on earth is he getting away with this?" Anna asked, terrified. "And why?"

"Judging from the tombstones, he's been doing this for a long time," Elsa said. "God knows how many people he's killed. Look, it doesn't matter why he's doing this. He's a psychopath, and that's that. All that matters is that we get out of here before he kills us."

For the next twenty minutes, Anna and Elsa ran through the woods, searching for a way back to Edward's cabin. It pained them to have to return to the lair of the monster that was hunting them, but that's where their carriage was. Once they got to it, they'd be able to get out of the forest faster. Taking a sharp turn left past some bushes, Elsa looked to her right, and saw an arrow heading straight towards them.

"Look out!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air, and summoning an ice shield. The arrow hit the solid block of ice, missing the sisters by mere inches. From behind the shield, about 100 yards away, Edward stood holding a crossbow.

"What in the world? What kind of magic is this? Elsa, you created ice with your bare hands! How did you do that? It was magnificent! Oh, I must add you to my collection."

"Stop this, Edward! You're a sick man, and you need help!" Elsa cried out.

Edward laughed, loading his crossbow with another arrow. "It's all part of the game, Elsa. Remember what I said, think about every move before you make it."

He fired another arrow at the sisters. Elsa created another shield, followed by a blast of snow towards Edward, knocking him down on his feet.

"Let's go!" she said to Anna.

Edward brushed the snow off of his clothes, marveling at the sight. "What kind of witch are you, Elsa? You can create ice and snow whenever you want! Oh, how marvelous! This makes you even rarer."

Edward ran after the sisters, shooting arrows left and right at them.

"You're putting up a good fight," he called out. "I like a challenge!"

"Stop it, you freak!" Anna yelled.

"Anna, there's no point in reasoning with him. Just run!"

Anna and Elsa ran down an embankment, which led them to a small pond.

"Where do we go now?" Anna asked.

Elsa spotted several large rocks in the middle of the pond. Thinking about her choice carefully, she led Anna into the water, and the two hid behind the rocks. When Edward caught up with them, he had no idea where they went.

"Come out, ladies!" he hollered. "I promise I'll make this quick."

Anna and Elsa listened from behind the rocks as Edward taunted them. "You know, I honestly figured you two would be easy prey, but I guess I was wrong. You're obviously much smarter than I thought you were. No matter, there's only one was out of this ladies. It's the circle of life, and we all know how it goes."

When he was sure that Anna and Elsa weren't in the vicinity, Edward left the area, giving Anna and Elsa the chance to slip out of cover.

"This way!" Elsa said. "I think the cabin is back through here!"

The sisters made their way through another thicket of trees, which led to a clearing. There in the center of the woods was the cabin they had stayed at the previous evening. Right next to it, was their carriage.

"Oh, thank God!" Elsa cried. "Let's go before he finds us again!"

Anna started to follow her sister, but suddenly got an idea. "Wait, there might be some supplies inside we can use."

"Anna, forget about that! We have to go now!" Elsa exclaimed. "He could be here any minute!

Anna grabbed her rifle, and powder flask out of the carriage. "Look, I'll be safe alright. If he shows up, I'll blow his head off. Besides, I won't be long. I just want to see if there's anything in there that we can use. You just focus on getting the carriage ready. I'll be out in a minute."

Elsa reluctantly agreed. With a psychopathic hunter on the loose, she feared for Anna's life. Edward wouldn't hesitate if he got the chance to shoot her. She tried to push this thought aside as she readied the horses. Meanwhile, Anna had discovered that the cabin was unlocked. Inside, she grabbed what food she could find as well as a couple of books on the area. No telling if they would come in handy or not.

Outside, Elsa had finished preparing the carriage. She went around to the other side to head towards the house to retrieve Anna, only to be met with barrel of a rifle.

"Hello, Elsa," Edward said, smiling.

"Edward, this has gone on long enough. Your sick, twisted, game ends now!"

"Oh, no! I can't give up. What kind of hunter would I be?" he asked.

"You have no right to call yourself a hunter," Elsa snarled. "You're a serial killer, that's what you are. Drugging people than hunting them down like deer! Humans aren't like the beasts that you have mounted on your walls."

"They're not? Tell me, Elsa, how are humans any different than animals? We both breathe air, eat, drink, sleep, live in a natural habitat. We're not really that different at all. I just find humans to be much more thrilling to hunt. Now, enough talk.

Edward cocked his rifle, and aimed it at Elsa's head. "Before I pull the trigger, could you show me some more of that magic of yours? It's quite beautiful actually…you're quite beautiful."

Elsa suddenly got an idea. She smiled at Edward as she slowly twirled her hands. "Of course, Edward, whatever you say!" In a blink of an eye, a blast of snow sent Edward hurling backward, causing him to slam against the cabin. His rifle skittered across the ground in the process, several feet in front of Elsa. Elsa charged at the rifle, eager to get it before he did, but Edward was much quicker than she thought. He grabbed the rifle before she did, and hit her as hard as he could on the head with the butt of it, sending her to the ground.

"Very clever, Elsa, but not quick enough, I'm afraid. Now, just hold still. This won't hurt a bit!"

Before he could pull the trigger, Edward heard the cocking of a hammer behind him as well as an angry voice.

"You move an inch, and I'll blow your head off," said the voice. "Drop the rifle! Now!"

It was Anna, standing behind Edward with her own rifle pointing at the back of his head. The princess looked determined as Elsa gazed at her from the ground.

"Do it!" Anna yelled. "I'm not going to ask you again."

Begrugingly, Edward dropped his rifle.

Now put your hands in the air!" Anna commanded. "And turn around slowly."

Edward did as she ordered, not daring to disobey a single command.

"I found out something interesting about you, Edward," Anna said. "You've got quite the history it seems."

Keeping one hand on her rifle, Anna pulled out a small photograph, and a newspaper clipping from her dress and through them in front of Edward.

"And by history I mean quite the tragic past," she elaborated.

"Anna, what are you doing?" Elsa asked.

"I think I know why our friend here enjoys hunting humans, Elsa. He's getting revenge."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"In the newspaper article, it says that a man's daughter was killed in a hunting accident. That man being Edward."

Edward looked at the ground. He couldn't face either of the sisters.

"Would you care to elaborate on this story, Edward?" Anna asked.

Edward sighed. "I took my little girl out hunting one day. She was so excited! So ready to take on the wilderness. When I was loading my rifle, she slipped off, and went into the woods without me. Next thing I hear, is a loud shot. I race over to where I heard it, and there in a pool of blood is my little girl, and the bastard who shot her standing above her. He tried to tell me it was an accident that he thought she was a deer or something, but I didn't care. He murdered my baby girl! My sweet, beautiful, Julie!

I swore from that day on that I would get revenge on that man. I knew that he regularly hunted in the woods. So one day, I followed him, and like I would any animal, I waited until the moment was right to move in for the kill. When I killed him, I felt something come over me. Something I had never felt before. There's a certain sense of triumph when you kill an animal, and this feeling was a lot like that, only greater. It didn't just feel good to avenge my little girl, it felt euphoric. Like I killed the ultimate trophy! From then on, hunting animals didn't give me the satisfaction that killing humans did. I hunted only men from then on out, growing craftier at the sport every time I ventured out into the woods. I've proven myself to become the ultimate hunter. No man on earth has done what I've done. I am God!"

"And what do you think Julie would think of you?" Elsa asked. "Do you think she would approve of her father brutally murdering innocent people all to fulfill his twisted desires of becoming the ultimate hunter? She'd hate you for it."

"Shut up!" Edward growled. "They took my little girl! I'm only taking something from them in return!"

"You don't care about Julie anymore, Edward. You're so consumed by your desires for revenge and becoming the greatest hunter on earth, that you can't see the real picture!"

"Here's what's going to happen, Edward. We're going to take you to the authorities, and you're going to confess to everything you've done," Elsa said. Got that?"

Edward nodded. He knew that he had been beat. Elsa stood up, and led the way back to the carriage. As Edward followed, Anna kept the rifle on him. Unbeknownst to her, Edward was also armed with a hunting knife. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled the knife out, and sliced Anna on the arm, causing her to drop her rifle. He then pounced onto Elsa with the knife.

With one swift motion, Elsa summoned an icicle, piercing Edward straight through the heart. Edward gurgled as blood dripped from his mouth, and chest. He fell to the ground, dying instantly.

Elsa stood up, panting heavily. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She had killed someone. Elsa ran over to the bushes nearby, and threw up. This was so sickening, she had actually taken someone's life, how could she?

An hour later, Elsa had finally settled down. Anna had been comforting her, assuring her that what she did was in self-defense, which made the killing perfectly justifiable. Still, Elsa couldn't help feel wrong for what she did.

Anna and Elsa buried Edward's body in an unmarked grave; finally putting an end to his reign of terror.

After making sure everything was prepared, the sisters set out on their journey again.

Elsa was still distraught by the whole ordeal, so Anna agreed to drive. When she took a seat on the carriage, she found a note.

Hello, ladies,

If you're reading this, it means that you've outsmarted me in my own game. Unfortunately, I can't congratulate you in person. My defeat no doubt, was strong. But rest assured, there are no ill feelings. I wish you both good hunting."

-Edward

A/N: There you have it. The sisters outsmart the hunter. And Edward has a tragic backstory. Still, I'm curious, do you feel sorry for him at all or do you think he was a cold-blooded killer who got what he deserved? I think Elsa would feel very guilty about killing someone, but it was self-defense after all. Next chapter will focus on Hans and the Duke.

Thank you all for the reviews! I greatly appreciate it!