Same disclaimers as before.

Chapter 10: Agrabah Fallen

Elsa glared at the parchment before her. "I really am starting to hate these people."

Ajax sat in the corner. Instead of whittling stakes of wood, he was sharpening axes and swords on a grindstone. "Problems, my queen?"

Elsa glanced up at him and flicked a beam of ice at him. It struck the grindstone and the wheel froze over, latching the sword to it. Ajax let go of the sword with a sigh. "It was distracting," muttered Elsa as she turned back to her papers, "Why must you do that anyway?"

"There aren't any good swordsmiths in Arendelle," grunted Ajax, "We have blacksmiths, but they can't make anything more spectacular than horseshoes. Take a look at this." He tossed a spare blade at the wall. It landed between several of the many holes that Ajax had made in the plaster with his stakes. Instead of piercing the wall, it bounced off and clattered to the floor. "Flattened metal sticks," Ajax spat, "Pitiful, Merida needs me to sharpen them or your army might as well be flailing horse whips at their enemies."

"What happened to all the weapons we got from Scotland?"

"I think you underestimate the size of your army," Ajax smirked, "We still have a few hundred troops to arm."

"And you couldn't do that outside?"

Ajax grinned. "And miss the look on your face when you read that letter? Never."

Elsa stood up and crumpled the letter into a ball and tossed it in the air. She shot a spike of ice at it and it pierced through the paper, latching it to a rafter in the ceiling. "Stupid Southern Isles," she snorted as she sat down.

Ajax leaned back in his chair as he chipped ice off of his grindstone. "Interesting," he looked up at the letter, "I wonder if your ice will melt first, or if the parchment will dissolve."

"It doesn't matter," Elsa sneered, "They offend my family for the last time. Hans broke my sister's heart, and now his father offers me funds for a stronger military in return."

Ajax sighed in frustration and smashed the grindstone against the floor. The ice covering it cracked apart and scattered across the floor, along with most of the grindstone itself. "Be grateful," he said as he kicked aside what was left of his weaponry, "It means he doesn't have spies in the kingdom. If he did, he'd know your reluctance to having a standing army."

"I'll call that a silver lining," said Elsa dryly. From beyond the door to her throne room, there was a sudden bang and a din followed.

Ajax glanced up as the yelling got closer. "Maybe you shouldn't have destroyed my grindstone," he said softly as he picked up a pair of blunt axes.

The door burst open and a small crowd of people ran into the room. Several palace guards and servants were trying to hold back Merida, her brothers, and three oddly dressed young men in kilts, all of them arguing loudly.

"My apologies, your highness," pleaded Kai as he broke away from the group, "I told them to make an appointment, but they would not listen."

Elsa gripped the arms of her throne and ground her teeth. "They will listen to me!" she hissed as she stood up. With a stomp of her foot, a wave of ice spread across the floor. It spiraled out in a hexagonal pattern to the walls and it crept up to the ceiling. The intruders of her throne room slowly became silenced as they watched the layer of frost grew to the rafters, slowly circling around the melting ice stake and balled up paper. As the ice covered the spike, it broke free of the rafters and it fell with a clink on the ground.

"Huh," remarked Ajax, "I guess that answers that question."

"Now," said Elsa as she cracked her fingers, "I am having a very bad day. You three," she pointed at Merida's young brothers, "Out. Now." They glared at her, but Merida slapped them upside each of their heads in turn. With angry glances all around, they dashed out of the room.

Ajax dropped his axes and rubbed his forehead. "Those boys will tear this castle to the ground, mark my word."

"Duly noted," Elsa growed, "Merida, who are your friends?"

Merida stepped forwards and knelt down. "Queen Elsa," she said, "Allow me to introduce Princes Macintosh," a young man with blue war-paint wrapped around his body bowed low, "MacGuffin," a large boy in many layers of cloth knelt down, "And Dingwall." The last young man was dressed in a simple kilt and over-cloth. He stared into the distance with a contented smile. MacGuffin grabbed him by the sleeve and yanked him down to his knees.

"Oh great," Elsa groaned, "More Scots."

"You need to hear what they have to say," said Merida urgently, "They were taking the rest of our weapon's shipment to Agrabah."

Elsa sighed. "Very well then, what news from Agrabah?"

MacGuffin stood up and hung his head. "Agrabah," he said softly, "Wedi mynd, mi wraig."

Elsa leaned back slightly and blinked. "Come again?"

Macintosh rolled his eyes and stood up, patting MacGuffin on the shoulder. "I have no idea what he just said, but Agrabah is fallen, my lady," he said in an even thicker accent than Merida's. Elsa sucked in breath. Her heart skipped a beat and she glanced at Merida. The Scottish princess had dried streaks of tears on her cheeks.

MacGuffin grunted. "Dyna beth yr wyf newydd ei ddweud," he muttered.

"Explain," said Elsa firmly, "Tell me everything."

"We were sailing along the desert coast when we saw it," said Macintosh grimly, "A smoke cloud to the south east, right over Agrabah. We sent out a search party to see what was wrong. We couldn't even get within a mile of the city."

"What happened?" asked Ajax.

"There was an army," Macintosh grimaced, "It was enormous. We could barely see Agrabah, or what was left of it."

"What was left of it?" Elsa whispered.

"They burned it," Merida whimpered, "They burned it to the ground."

"That's not the worst of it," sighed Macintosh grimly, "There was a hundred-foot pike where the palace used to be. Sultan Aladdin…"

He looked away and clenched his fists. Merida gulped down a sob and fresh tears emerge from the corners of her eyes. "May the will o'the wisps help his spirit find peace."

"We didn't know what to do," continued Macintosh, "We just brought the weapons back here."

For a few moments, there was silence as the inhabitants of the room drank in the information. "The army you saw," said Ajax, "How large?"

"Immeasurable," grunted Macintosh, "It stretched as far as we could see to the east and south. It looked like they were preparing to move east."

"How did you avoid getting caught?"

"I made a sandcastle," said Dingwall sleepily, "It was big enough to hide us."

Elsa stood up and paced. "Now what?" she murmured.

"We'll leave the weapons we were taking to Agrabah," said Macintosh, "They were paid for in advance and we, ah, don't have anyone to refund. We'll head back to Scotland and inform King Fergus. You can expect a letter from him in a week or so. I imagine he'll want to collaborate with you on the ramifications of the fall of Agrabah."

Elsa nodded slowly. "Very well," she said, "I thank you for delivering such unfortunate news. I did not know Sultan Aladdin nor have I corresponded with him, but I have long heard of his wisdom and devotion to his people, signs of a true leader. The world mourns his passing."

"Lovely," said Ajax with a nod, "I think the queen has had enough for today. She needs some space."

The Scottish princes and servants bowed low and backed out of the room. As he left, MacGuffin turned back sheepishly and bowed low. "Os nad ydych yn meddwl I mi ddweud hynny, yr ydych yn llygad hyfryd, eich Uchelder." With that, he slowly closed the door behind him.

Ajaw shook his head with a sigh. "And I thought the princess was bad."

Merida slowly sank to her knees and stared blankly into the distance. Elsa walked to her and knelt in front of her. "Merida," she whispered as she helped the princess to her feet, "I'm so sorry. I know you and the Sultan were close."

Merida nodded and snorted as she wept. "I'm s-sorry you have t-too see me in th-this state, Queen E-Elsa."

"Think nothing of it," Elsa murmered as she embraced Merida, "Ajax, take the princess to her room and have some cocoa delivered to her." The old warrior eased Merida out of Elsa's arms and huddled her out of the room.

"Care to come out?" sighed Elsa.

"Oh man!" Olaf snapped as he waddled out from behind her throne, "How's you know I was there?"

"You have a snow cloud that constantly follows you everywhere you go, Olaf," Elsa said with a soft smile, "It was pretty obvious. What were you doing back there?"

"Well," said Olaf excitedly, "Last night, I saw Kristoff helping Anna through the castle and I asked if they wanted to play a game! I mean, the sky was awake, so I was awake, so I had to play! So Kristoff said he'd play hide-and-seek with me. I hid behind your throne and I've been waiting for him to find me for, like, thirteen hours ago. Am I good at this game or what!"

Elsa laughed at Kristoff's little ploy. "Well, don't worry. I won't tell Kristoff where to find you."

"Oh! Thanks Elsa!" Olaf scooted behind the throne as Elsa giggled and slipped out the door. She rolled her shoulders as she headed towards her room and cringed as her shoulder blades rubbed against her spine.

"Need another massage?"

Elsa spun around. "Anna!"

Anna walked from a side hall and forced her sister to turn around. "God, these knots are so tough, sailors have names for them," she chuckled as she felt Elsa's back.

"Spare me your wit," Elsa said dryly as Anna's slender fingers slowly unwound the tensions spots in her shoulders, "I think it's the throne. The back is too uncomfortable."

"Yeah, well," Anna grinned as she spun her sister around and looked her in the eye, "I imagine it wasn't build for dresses made of ice."

"True. Wanna grab chocolates from the kitchen?"

"Too late. Merida's brothers just stole the last of our chocolate reserves."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. Nobody knows how they got in, though. Calypsa's taken up a permanent post since they first began stealing stuff," Anna paused and rubbed her arm, "Listen, Elsa, can we talk?"

Elsa smiled kindly. "Of course, Anna, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Anna quickly, "It's just…last time I talked to you about this kind of thing, it didn't end well."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Kristoff proposed, right?"

Anna wrung her hand nervously. "How'd you know?"

"I felt your ring," said Elsa, rubbing her shoulder, "It felt pretty heavy. Can I see?" Anna grinned and practically shoved her right hand in Elsa's face. Elsa gasped as she gazed at it. On her ring finger as a simple golden band with a diamond embedded in it. The diamond was fairly large and was decorated with ornate carvings of falling snowflakes.

"Kristoff bought it from Wandering Oaken," she said proudly, "He did the carvings himself."

"Anna, it's beautiful!" Elsa exclaimed as Anna retracted her hand.

"Soooooo, um…" she said hesitantly.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "You didn't just meet Kristoff, Anna. Your judgment in men has improved significantly since that night. You two have my blessing." Anna squealed and hugged Elsa so tightly, the queen was afraid it might melt off her ice dress. "Tell you what," she said as she pulled away, "I'll tell the kitchen to make us a feast tonight. I'll make it official then."

"Elsa," breathed Anna, "I can't tell you how much this means to me!"

"You don't have too," Elsa said with a grin, "With everything that's gone wrong in the last few days, it's good to know that good things still exist in this world."

. . .

Ali Baba had been awoken rudely before, but he had never been awoken by a small, aging, Asian woman with a bucket of water. "W-what was that?" he sputtered as he kicked his legs around in the cot he had been given for a bed.

"The sun rises in two hours," said Mulan firmly, "Time to get up."

Ali Baba looked out the window and saw only the very edges of sunlight coming over the eastern horizon. "You're kidding me, right?" he muttered.

"I don't joke," she said with a wide grin, "Now get up before I see if I can land an arrow through your window from across the pond. Oh, wait," she leaned down next to the cot and rubbed the ground, where multiple arrowhead-sized scratched lined the dirt floor, "Looks like I already have."

Ali Baba groaned and rolled out of bed. "What do you want me up so early for, anyway?"

"Training."

Ali Baba stared at her. "You? Train me?" As he started to stand, Mulan kicked a broom out form the corner. She twirled it expertly and jabbed Ali Baba in the chest before knocking his legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a grunt and glared up at his host while she swept the floor innocently. "I've already had training," he said as he stood up and dusted himself off, "I was taught swordsmanship and archery by the finest masters in Agrabah."

"And where are those masters now?" asked Mulan with a raised eyebrow.

Ali Baba opened his mouth to protest, but slowly closed his mouth when he realized what she meant. "Father," he said softly, "Agrabah…it's gone. My teachers, they're all gone."

"And yet, China prevails," said Mulan dryly, "I think we can assume something from that."

Ali Baba scowled. "China has not been up against the might of the Fleyaz."

"No," said Mulan, "But it has been up against the Huns. I myself disabled the entire Hun army with a single dragon cannon."

"They couldn't have been much of a threat if a single woman could destroy them," snorted Ali Baba as he threw on a tunic.

"Technically, it took an entire avalanche," said Mulan, "But I see your point. We have also fought off the Mongolians with your father."

"Yes," Ali Baba said as Mulan lead her through her villa, "Father told me of their ferocity. They were a fearsome enemy."

"Really?" said Mulan with genuine surprise, "The Emperor sent me, my husband, and a few of our friends. We chased half the Mongolian army all the way to the frozen north." Mulan sighed as they passed a portrait of an old man who Ali Baba assumed was her husband. "Good times. How many did Agrabah send again? A hundred men?"

Ali Baba glanced to the side. "Hundred fifty. Plus a cavalry. And three catapults."

"Mmm," said Mulan smugly, "That's right. I remember now." As they walked out of the villa, Mulan led Ali Baba into the garden. She deftly plucked a bamboo pole and smacked her guest upside the head with it.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Arm yourself, fool!" she said sternly, flipping a bamboo rod from the ground into Ali Baba's hand. He sighed as he adapted a defensive stance, preparing himself for the oncoming beating.

. . .

Eugene slowly pushed open the doors of the bedroom he shared with his wife. Rapunzel was standing on the balcony, an easel before her with a half-finished painting of the Coronean skyline on the canvas. She turned back to see her husband entering the room. "Honey, can you tell me what's wrong with this?" she looked back at her painting and gazed at it with a critical glare, "It's missing something, but I can't put my finger on it." Eugene didn't reply and simply stared off into space as he walked towards their large bed. He collapsed on it with his face buried in the pillow. "Eugene?" Rapunzel approached him and gently stroked his back as she lay down besides him, "What's wrong, honey?"

Eugene slowly lifted his head off the pillow. "It's Agrabah," he said, "We just got a letter from Prince Achmed. Hundreds of refugees are flooding his city. It appears…it appears Agrabah has been destroyed."

Rapunzel gazed out of their window. "Was it the Fleyaz?" she asked softly.

"My spies haven't reported back yet, but I suspect so, yes."

"Fleyaz is on the warpath," Rapunzel murmured as she fell into bed next to her husband, "What does this mean?"

Eugene rolled over and hugged his wife tightly. "I don't know," he breathed, "But I'm pretty sure this is only the beginning."

. . .

Please review!

Also, MacGuffin's lines are as follows.

Line 1: Agrabah is fallen, my lady.

Line 2: That's what I just said, jerk.

Line 3: If you don't mind me saying so, you are quite lovely, your highness.