A/N This chapter has been updated from the original publication. I realized I had forgotten to rearrange a sentence in the first segment.
A/N Wow a two-chapter fast from Elsa. I hope none of you went into withdraw. I hadn't noticed she was absent for so long. In fact the story almost went three chapters without her until I caught it and did some tweaking.
Completely arbitrarily I'd like to say that I am aware that earplugs weren't invented until the 20th century...
The lock clanked and the door swung open. Anna lifted her head from the ground.
"Time to get up," Hans said.
Anna wasn't sure whether to be grateful or skeptical. Angry made it on the list too. The cell had been extraordinarily uncomfortable.
"You kept your promise," she said.
"When have I ever broken my promises?"
Anna got up and walked past Hans. "I don't know. Maybe the one about 'I would never shut you out'."
Hans walked after her with a bag slung over his shoulder. "One, that wasn't an official promise. Two, I never technically shut you out. I just locked you in."
"My apologies." Anna gave a dramatic bow. "I never realized how caring you truly were."
Hans pushed past her. "Can you not keep quiet even when you are escaping from a cell?"
Anna's immediate reaction was to talk louder but, as much as she hated to admit it, Hans was right.
They walked down the hallway until Hans stopped at a wooden door and opened it. Beyond was a staircase leading upward. "This way," he said.
He began to climb the stairs and Anna started after him. The squeezed past each other repeatedly, trying to walk in front of the other. Anna pushed past Hans to emerge from the castle and into the courtyard. Hans stepped out behind her and brushed ahead. The air was still and the only sound was that of the water lapping and crickets chirping. Just ahead of them, sitting in the water, was a rowboat tied to a post.
Anna stopped. "That's a rowboat."
Hans flung his bag inside of it. "Of course it's a rowboat. How did you think we'd get across the bay? By swimming?"
Anna crossed her arms. "Where are the others?"
Hans knelt down to untie the boat from the post. "What others?"
"I asked for help to save my sister. Not a stuck-up prince with an inferiority complex," Anna said.
Hans stood up. "In case you haven't noticed I'd like to keep this whole thing under wraps. And second I'm doing you a favor as it is. So either get your royal butt in there or you can just stay in that cell."
Anna stood still for a moment before walking to the rowboat and climbing in. She sat down and crossed her arms. "Okay then. Fine. If Elsa, Kristoff, and both of us are going to die then why not die with my butt in a rowboat? At least this way when we all do die I can have your charming self and your bag of marvels that will magically save us at the last moment. And I am not rowing."
Hans pushed the boat from shore and jumped in. "Thanks for reminding me how I really, really hate you." He picked up the oars and started to row across the bay. The moon was shining brilliantly overhead and the sound or crickets chirping mixed melodically with the waves. The oars made a soft splash with each even stroke.
"If this is some ridiculous attempt at getting another shot at me I'm going to jump overboard and take my chances," Anna said.
"Don't make me vomit. I wouldn't marry you if you were the last princess on the planet. Unless you came with complementary set of earplugs," Hans said.
"Now if only we could have established this relationship a lot sooner. We could have save both of us a whole lot of trouble."
"Please stop talking," Hans said.
"You can't tell me what to do. I can sit here and talk all I want."
"I don't have to help you, you know. I could just drop you off and turn back."
"Great! That sounds fantastic!" Anna said as they reached the other side.
Hans jumped out the side of the boat and into the shallows and pushed the boat to shore.
"Last chance, do you want me or not?" he said.
Anna leapt out of the boat and helped pull it onto land. "No I don't want you. Especially if that was some kind of romantic slur."
"What does it take to drill it into your brain? I hate you!"
"I'm glad we can agree on at least one thing. But since my sister is in danger and you're desperate enough to help me so you can meet the wonderful Princess Antonia we're going to have to avoid killing each other for at least a few days."
"But once the few days are up and in turns out that this 'Princess Antonia' isn't real, then I can kill you right?" Hans pulled the bag from the boat and slung it over his shoulder.
Anna started walking along the shore. "Sure, you can kill me all you want then. But right now you have to help me." Anna looked at the cliff. "Now help me climb this thing."
"Forget about it," Hans said.
"Well thanks. To be honest I wouldn't want your help anyway." Anna started attempting to scale the cliff. Suddenly she was glad Kristoff had made her climb the Northern Mountain earlier that autumn. Why had she let him do that? Oh yeah. She had begged him.
Hans paused. "Wait, is that mud"
"Get used to it." Anna pulled herself up a few feet.
"But I'm wearing white!"
"Great! This day could turn out to be fun after all!"
-x-X-x-
Elsa sat in the wagon, knees drawn up. She looked at the spots of light that lined the floor from the slots in the wall. They were coming in the opposite side of the wagon now. They had turned around. She had a limited sense of time inside the cell but the since the streams of light where short and landed close to the wall she could surmise that it was close to noon. Being close to noon the light would point south. And the light was streaming in the opposite direction that the wagon was going. So they were heading north. Something had made Dagon change his plans.
A thin layer of frost crept across the ground. Maybe he has finally decided to hold me hostage against my country. But if Dagon wanted Arendelle he could have taken it with ease the moment she had been captured. Dagon seemed to care only about having power yet passed up power over a whole kingdom. What does he want?
A thought struck Elsa. North. He was heading not towards Arendelle, but past it. He was heading towards the trolls. Elsa had been desperate to buy time and rashly told him about the trolls.
Dose everything you do end up getting some one hurt? No. Elsa could figure a way out of this. She just had to think. And being trapped in her shackles, thinking was all she really could do.
-x-X-x-
Kristoff pushed himself away from the floor and wiped the blood from his nose.
"You look pretty bad," Jacob said.
Kristoff staggered to his feet and grabbed Jacob's collar. "What's your game?" Kristoff shouted, venting all of his pain and despair into Jacob. "You spend all of your time skulking in the corner! caring, not caring. Can't you make up your mind? Who are you?"
Jacob eased Kristoff's hand away. "I try to protect that which is most important. Dagon was getting out of hand. What happened to you? You look as though you have failed escaping. As I predicted. Was it on purpose? Where is Anna? Did she get away?"
"Dagon was getting out of hand?" Kristoff said. "You know Dagon? How?"
Jacob sat silently before deciding to reply. "Dagon is my son. He kept his powers a secret from me his whole life. Until one day when he lost control. He killed his own sister and drove me and my wife away. We took refuge in Arendelle and I have been waiting for a chance to fix what happened."
Kristoff stood silently. Jacob knew the whole time; he could have warned us. Kristoff clenched a fist.
"You knew he had powers? And you kept it a secret? You lead Elsa to meet the Army of the Wastes and you knew!? Anna could be dead because of him!" Kristoff spat his words.
"I did what I felt in my heart was right. You have no right to judge what I have done with my life!" Jacob raised his voice for the first time Kristoff could remember. But Kristoff still wasn't satisfied.
"You lead a group of Arendelle's young men into battle against your son and only you came back. Did you pull something? Is that you idea of protecting people?"
"I did what had to be done," Jacob said stoically.
"No! You didn't have to do any of this! You let those men get captured didn't you? Anna might be dead now!"
"What about you? As soon as you escaped Anna was yours to protect! If she is gone then you killed her! You have no idea who I am! I am not a monster! I am a man, a human being. That is all anyone can be!"
Kristoff sank to the floor. "I... was... trying to protect her!" he sobbed. He clenched a fist against the floor.
"That is all I have ever done. How far would you go to protect Anna?"
"I would... have never...let all of this... happen..." Kristoff collapsed, shuddering.