"Deer, Boar or rabbit?"
"Do I have to?" Elsa asked quietly as she watched her sister aim the crossbow into a clearing in front of them.
"Yes. I've got all three in my sights. Quickly, may arm is already starting to hurt again." Anna said impatiently as her sister thought over the choices.
"Um...Boar..." The minute Elsa finished the word, Anna shot the arrow into the clearing, the squeak from the boar indicating that the hunt was successful. Anna sighed in relief as she and Elsa entered the clearing and saw the boar with an arrow in its head.
"Are you alright?" Anna asked with a quirked brow as she noticed her sister looking a little pale. "You're not going to get sick are you?"
"Maybe..." Elsa replied as she tried to look away. As soon as Anna had grabbed all that was needed, the set off again for the mountains, hoping that they would arrive there by nightfall.
Nightfall...
"So...where is this camp or survivors or whatever it was that Ronan was talking about?" Elsa asked as she used the dim ice light to illuminate their path.
"I don't know. He said it would be around this area." Anna said as she scoured for any traces of human activity, to which she found none. The girls wandered to the west and the east searching for these survivors but they came up empty handed. "Maybe they left..."
"Or maybe he was just seeing things." Elsa muttered.
"Do you ever stop being pessimistic?" Anna asked sternly.
"Well, how can you be optimistic at a time like this? We're possibly being chased by pirates, battling death, starving, the kingdom could be in anarchy, and we may never get off this goddamn island!" Elsa yelled. Anna stepped back in shock since she had never seen her sister freak out like this before. She watched as Elsa tried to control the ice that was spreading out in all direction, including upwards in the form of spikes.
"E-Elsa..." Anna said warily as she tried to approach her sister. Elsa loomed up at Anna and for once, could see a look of fear in her younger sisters face. Had she freaked he out that much? The massive array of spikes growing out of the mountains answered her question. Elsa thought of warm thoughts as she made the ice retreat and dissipate, before looking at her sister who was cautiously approaching her.
"Anna. I'm sorry..." Elsa was interrupted as Anna brought her into a warm embrace, silencing anything Elsa she was going to say.
"Its alright Elsa. And even though all that is happening, at least we have each other..." Anna said with a smile, her cautiousness now gone. Elsa laid her head on her sister's head for a few seconds before they pulled apart and looked back around the area where Ronan said he had seen the smoke.
"So, where exactly is this fire then?" Elsa asked again.
"Maybe that is it..." Anna said as she pointed to a bunch of burnt sticks and bark that had been swept to one side recently. They approached it and indeed, it was man made. "So where did they go?"
"I'm guessing...up there..." Elsa said as she pointed to the mountain which had faint signs of human movement on it.
"On top of a mountain?" Anna asked in confusion.
"No silly. Over it. Remember, its a mountain range that splits this island in two. What if they were only moving to the other side." Elsa said thoughtfully.
"Well, there's only one way to find out..." Anna smirked.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Why would I? You climbed the north mountain in..."
"Yeah yeah...are you ever going to let me live that down?"
"Nope. Most people can't run there that fast. I'm too shocked how you managed to do it!"
"Well...I suppose my powers could also help us."
"See...that's the spirit. And at least the pirates won't try and follow us because it'll hell for them."
"It will be hell for us as well." Elsa mumbled as she and her sister walked towards the base of the island. "We're not going to try and climb it tonight are we?"
"Only some. Maybe for the next hour. Cmon, I'm not even that tired yet." Anna stated.
"You're never tired."
An hour later...
"Let us see how far up we've made it." Anna said enthusiastically as she looked back the way that they came, the smile dropping off her face instantly.
"What?" Elsa asked as she looked back. "Oh..."
They had barely managed to walk a mile in the last hour, such was shocking because they hadn't even started climbing yet. They were walking on slopes so shallow that even forests were steeper.
"We probably would have made it further is someone didn't keep moaning about how tired they are." Anna scowled as she glanced at her sister.
"Hey. We've been walking the entire day today and I'm not used to climbing mountains...and don't you dare reference the north mountain again or I'll bury you in snow!"
"Fine! We should probably stay here for the night, and then at first light we'll resume climbing the mountain." Anna said as she found a large boulder and rested on it.
"Would that be my definition of first light or yours, because if it's yours, we'll be stuck here all day." Elsa said as she sat next to her glaring sister. Elsa squeaked when Anna forced her to the ground and laid on her like she was a pillow. "Anna!"
"Mm...so soft..." Anna muttered as she laid on her sisters back. Elsa continued to struggle against how heavy her sister apparently was as Anna continued to giggle lightly. Eventually, Elsa managed to force Anna off and lay her back against the rock, to which Anna almost immediately laid her entire weight on Elsa's side,
"Anna..." Elsa groaned as she struggled to stay upright. She used her powers to create a small structure of ice on her other side for her to lean on so that she wouldn't fall over during the night, as her sister began to snore lightly besides her. Elsa eventually fell into a deep sleep as well as the events of the day settled in.
"What do we do with the body?" A black sun mercenary asked.
"Dump it in the forest. Do the same for the military adviser's as well." King Tyron responded.
"Yes sir." The mercenaries replied as they carried the unmoving bodies of Kristoff and the military adviser out off the castle courtyard and into the night. The mercenaries dumped the bodies on to the backs of two horses before riding deep into the forest and dumping them as far away from Arendelle or any person that they could.
"Should we say something?" The black sun mercenary asked.
"Yeah...rot in hell with your queen and princess. This is Tyron's kingdom now." The other black sun mercenary said as he spat on the bodies. "Cmon, let's go before anyone sees us."
The next morning...
"Time to wake up..."
"Ugh...another 5 minutes..."
"Hypocrite..." Anna muttered as she gripped her sisters arms...and dragged her up, shocking her awake almost instantly.
"Anna!" Elsa squealed as she stood up and glared at her laughing sister.
"I told you I could wake up early." Anna said smugly as she picked up all the stuff and started walking up the mountain, Elsa in tow just behind. The journey up the base of the mountain range was reasonably easy for then first part, but the minute they reached the upper levels was when things started to get problematic.
"Elsa...I...I think the air is too thin. I can't breathe..." Anna made out.
"Really? We're barely 1500 feet high..." Elsa commented as she earthed her sister frown in curiosity.
"Oh...then why do I feel so lightheaded?" Anna asked. Elsa responded with something incoherent. "Excuse me?"
"I said because you think there is a lack of air..."
"Really? Because it kind of sounded like you said, that I have no brain!" Anna said sternly as Elsa looked away and avoided eye contact.
"Cmon, were nearly at the top..." Elsa said as she watched Anna shoot her a glare before continuing their climb up the mountain. Within minutes, they had run into a small crevice.
"Ice bridge?" Anna asked. Elsa nodded as she crafted a small pathway out if ice across the crevice, allowing them to walk across. Anna went first as Elsa a followed behind. "I guess you can..."
Crack...
"Er...Elsa?" Anna asked quietly as Elsa looked at the ice bridge that they were on, which wasn't the source of the cracking. It was actually the rocks at either end since it couldn't support their weight. Anna and Elsa screamed and ran across before jumping to the other side, just as the rock gave way and brought the ice bridge down with it.
"Elsa!" Anna screamed as she couldn't get up since her sister was lying on top of her.
"Sorry..." Elsa said as she helped her sister up, before staring at the crevice that could have easily been their death. "Um..that wasn't my fault."
"Stupid rocks..." Anna muttered as she looked at where the ice bridge used to be. She then looked around and gasped when she realized that they were nearing the summit of the mountain. She urged her sister up before they both set off, and soon enough, they were now on too of the mountain, looking down across the island on both sides. "Wow..."
The island really was big. Now they were this high, they could clearly see the true size if the entire island. The part they had been on encompassed around a third of the full size of the island. The part that they hadn't been on, but could now see, was massive. They could see empty grass plains, varying types of forest, rivers, a massive lake, some smoke...
"ELSA!" Anna shrieked ingot her sister's ear, causing her to jump, as she pointed at a small column of white smoke that was rising from the center of the forest near a clearing. "Smoke! Ronan was right!"
"Survivors..." Was all Elsa could mutter as a smile began to form on her face. "Yes! There are others..."
"We have to get down there now!" Anna said ecstatically as she looked down the slope of the mountain which was even steeper than the slope that they had just climbed.
"Ooh...that's going to be a problem..." Elsa commented as she looked at the scree slopes at the base of the mountain range.
"Well, as long as we take it slow...everything should be alright..."
10 minutes later...
"ARGH!" Anna was screaming as she dangled off the edge of an outcrop, a good two hundred foot drop to the rocky death below.
"ANNA!" Elsa screamed in horror as she rushed down towards her sister. "DON'T LET GO!"
"WHY THE FRICK...WOULD I LET GO?!" Anna shrieked. One minute Elsa was watching Anna stumble around on the rocky slopes, the next, her sister had tripped, rolled down a slope, and only just managed to catch hold of the rocky platform before rolling off the edge to her death. Elsa slid down the slope, several of the displaced rock narrowly missing Anna's face, and ran onto the platform and grabbed her sisters arm.
"Hold on!" Elsa yelled as she tied to pull her sister up.
"What do you think I'm doing?!" Anna asked as she used her feet to push her up the outcrop.
"Sarcasm is not helping..." Elsa groaned as she struggled to lift her sister, who was actually quite heavy, onto the flat slope she was standing on. Anna rolled over and gasped as Elsa finally managed to pull her up to safety. Elsa slid down next to her as Anna sat up and looked at the large drop below.
"That could have gone better..." Anna mumbled as she felt Elsa hug her tightly. "Oh..uh...thanks for saving me..."
"You're an idiot..." Elsa muttered causing both of them to giggle. Anna looked up to the sky where the Sun was already beginning its descent, meaning that it was already the afternoon, yet they were still halfway up the mountain. "Maybe we should rest for a little while..."
"I suppose..." Anna said as she moved her arm sight the sound around, which hurt after spending a minute holding on for dear life. "But we should probably leave before nightfall. Its already cold enough up here right now."
"Hey..."
"I was talking about the weather..."
"Oh...yeah...we probably should." Elsa agreed as she looked at the massive scree slope they had to pass on their way down. "So, how long do you think it will take to reach there..."
"I'll give it another three days...maybe four. Depending on how much you complain about walking..." Anna said to which Elsa just rolled her eyes. For the next 30 minutes, they tried desperately to forget about the near death accident that Anna had just had, before deciding to set off again, or more precisely, before the rain forced them to move. By the time they made it to the scree slope, they were completely drenched and the rain was pouring down on them.
"Do you think that's safe?" Elsa asked as she looked at the water ridden slope.
"Yeah...of course it is..." Anna said as she kicked a rock...which dislodged a forth of the slope into a massive landslide of rock and mud which crashed into the forest below. "Maybe we should take the long way round..."
"Good idea." Elsa said immediately as she and Anna decided to walk further along the slope till they found a suitable descent. That didn't take long as soon enough, they found a granite slope that was, other than being jagged, shallower than the other slope.
"Who goes first?" Anna asked as she stared at the sea of jagged rocks.
"You're the survival expert..." Elsa replied.
"After you your majesty..." Anna said with a mock curtsy.
"We'll just go together?" Elsa asked to which Anna nodded. They girls, with their arms looped, slowly made their way down the slope, careful to avoid any of the jagged rocks...which went about as well as they could imagine...
"AAH!" Anna screamed as Elsa slipped and grabbed onto her, which resulted in her falling and cutting her arm on one of the rocks. "ELSA!"
"Sorry..." Elsa replied meekly as she helped Anna up and clung on to a rock to stop them from slipping again. As soon as the began moving again, it was Anna who slipped on the slope this time, and dragging Elsa with her. They slid down the slope, which was wet from the rain, until Elsa slammed into a rock in front, followed by Anna slamming into her, crushing her, and knocking the wind out of her.
"Elsa! You alright?" Anna asked with a slight wince before slipping and falling back onto her sister, who was only beginning to get back up, knocking them both down again. "Uh...you still alright?"
"Not anymore..." Came Elsa's hoarse reply. "When we...get back to Arendelle...you're on a...diet..."
Anna couldn't help but giggle as she tried just again to stand up, grabbing onto a nearby rock for support this time, and helped her wheezing sister, who was clutching her side and stomach, up.
"Sorry..." Anna laughed.
"Tell that to my abdomen..." Elsa said as she winced and made sure that the cauterized wound hadn't opened, which it hadn't, luckily. The girls looked down the slope and saw that they were barely a quarter way down it, and the jagged works were even worse down below. "Maybe we should have gone down the scree slope."
"Too late now...let's just be a little more careful..."
At the bottom of the slope...
"Next time...we swim to the other side..." Elsa commented as she treated the seven new wounds she had gotten on the slope. Anna was even worse off since she had slipped and slammed her broken leg against a rock. It didn't break, but the ear piercing scream that Anna let out was more than enough to tell that it was painful. As soon as Elsa had finished tending to her wounds, she walked over to her sister, who was sitting on the floor, and tended to her wounds.
"Thanks..." Anna said as she looked at the ice covering over a particularly nasty gash she had gotten from slicing her arm on a jagged rock. "How that slope ever got that jagged I will never know."
"Do you wanna stay here for the night or..."
"Its not yet dusk!" Anna noted.
"Its nearing it..." Elsa said as she looked at the sun which was at least an hour away from setting. "Plus, I doubt that the pirates would be able to climb that...or even trace us that fast...so we should be safe."
"Well, we could keep going for a while..."
"We've been battered nearly to pieces while taking that route. A little rest won't do any harm!" Elsa said as Anna sighed.
"Fine...we can set up in the trees." Anna said. "I'm just really curious to who the survivors are...assuming they're survivors."
"Well who would they be?" Elsa asked as she and Anna sat down by a tree. Elsa crafted a small ice roof to shield them from the rain, which was lighter now than before, before settling next to her sister...
"You never know." Anna said with a curious smile. "They could be natives!"
"On this island?" Elsa asked with a frown.
"It's big enough..."
"I suppose." Elsa said as she watched Anna lay on her lap. Elsa stroked her younger sister's hair as Anna fumbled around with some of the apples she had a saved earlier on. "You should probably have some rest...you're tired and injured..."
"No I'm not..." Anna said as she looked over the arrows. "Hey! If you make some ice and I crushed these apples...we could an apple shake...or apple ice cream!"
"I think you're also concussed."
Anna just stuck her tongue out in response as she handed an apple to Elsa, while she munched on her own.
"Elsa..."
"Hmm?"
"If you ever get strong enough to use your powers on a large scale..."
"Yeah..."
"Can't you just like...make a ship out of ice? You made an ice castle!"
"Ice castles tend not to have sails, thousand of moving and bendable parts, cannons..."
"I meant a ship simple enough for us to sail back to Arendelle in. Not the next Arendellian flagship!" Anna stated.
"Oh...maybe..." Elsa said. "Well I may be able to in a few days time. Do you know how to sail it?"
"Uh...no...Papa never taught me how to sail a ship. Something about a shipwreck in the castle..."
"Well...I could just make some winds...do you know which direction Arendelle is in?"
"Um...North west?"
"Which way is north west?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Well?"
"We better focus all of our strength on praying that someone will find us..."
"I thought that the first thing you learn in survival is navigation!"
"I thought you would have known that since you navigated to the north...MMPH!"
"I told you I'll stuff you with snow if you mentioned the north mountain again!"
"Elsa!"
So...there's this chapter.
And I guess you'll find out who those others are soon enough...
R&R
-TacticX