Anders and Marcus flanked Hans, each holding a flashlight. Max walked behind them.
Hans didn't know how many random turns he'd taken. Left, left, right, another left; he had no idea where he was going.
"You don't know the way there, do you?" remarked Max.
"I could have told you that earlier, and then we wouldn't be lost," said Hans.
"We're not lost."
Max touched a wall and a small band of flames lit up. "I've been leaving a flametrace on the walls so that we can find the way out again. However, I noticed something odd."
"And that is?" said Hans through gritted teeth.
Max smiled. "That we've been here before."
"Is that a problem?"
"It will be if I make it one."
"Then why don't you just let me lead you?" Hans snapped.
Max was silent.
They continued for several minutes more and then Marcus stopped. "Do you hear something?"
"No," said Hans.
"Yeah," said Anders. "Footsteps."
To hell with these footsteps! thought Hans. "Well, what do you suggest we do?"
"I don't know, you're the leader?"
"I'm the leader? Then I suggest you lick the floor clean," Hans said impishly.
Anders punched him in the gut and Hans stumbled. "Oof!" He regained his balance, though, and returned the blow.
"Stop, stop, stop!" shouted Max, shooting sparks into the air. His brothers ignored him and continued to fight.
The flash of a bright light lit the corridor. The four boys turned around and saw white-haired women standing there. For a second, they froze (figuratively, of course).
Then Hans led his brothers as they ran for their lives.
No one was going the same direction. Marcus and Anders were gone, and now Hans was left with just Max.
Hans tripped over a stone that was sticking up and somersaulted down a flight of stairs. At the bottom, Max pulled him to his feet and they continued running.
They went through a courtyard and into a quiet wing of the castle. Doors lined the walls. Alarms were blaring. Hans tried to open one of them, but it was locked.
"They know we're here! They've locked all the doors!"
"Gee, you think?" said Max sarcastically. They turned to run again, but a line of people blocked their way. Hans spun 180 degrees and saw more Arendelles approaching from the other side. Max's hands started to smoke and spark.
"What do we do?" asked Hans quietly.
"You're the leader, you tell me," said Max.
A thought came into Hans' head, so crazy he simply had to act on it.
He shoved his big brother into one of the wooden doors and it exploded into flames.
"Fire-users!"
Anna jerked awake when she heard the term. She tried not to feel like a criminal when she heard it, but it was always said with such animosity that she felt bad for being one.
A nurse wheeled her bed out of the room.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Away."
"What's going on?"
"Fire-users in the inner castle."
Anna was tempted to point out that she'd been in the inner castle and no alarms had gone off for her but decided not to.
The room that Hans had pushed Max into was, luckily, deserted, but it looked like a comfortable living room with plush chairs and a carpeted floor. A large glass window overlooked a courtyard.
"We're gonna have to jump through the window!" said Hans. The fire was growing.
"It's okay, the fire's not our problem!" said Max. "We can just stay in here and wait until they go!"
"You may be flame-resistant, but I'm not!"
The Arendelles were shooting snow at the fire, and parts were beginning to die.
"They'll break it down eventually!" said Hans.
"Impossible," scoffed Max. "I am the most powerful fire-user of our generation."
"Well, obviously your fires can't hold against their ice!"
Max glanced around the room. "Let's jump out the window."
"We'll kill ourselves!"
"I can create a cushion of hot air."
"Since when could you manipulate hot air?"
"Well, I've been practicing. It's more fire than air, but I'm getting there."
"Once again. I'm not flame resistant."
"Look, we don't have time for this. Let's go." Before Hans had any time to argue, Max pulled him to the window and pushed him through the glass.
Anna heard shouting followed by the sound of breaking glass. She looked up and saw two humans approaching so fast her brain couldn't follow their path.
Then, they were directly on top of her.
"Ouch," said Anna, although, when she checked her body for pain, she could feel very little, surprisingly. Her pounding headache had subsided, and her chest, shoulder, and pelvis barely hurt any more.
The nurse hadn't fared as well. The other person had landed right on top of her and she was asleep on the stones.
"Well," said the person on the nurse, standing and dusting himself off. "That was quite something."
The guy on Anna groaned. "What happened to that cushion of hot air?"
"We fell a lot faster than I expected!" he said defensively.
The other boy rolled off Anna. "Sorry."
Anna's heart ceased beating.
Gorgeous was the only word to describe him. Red hair, bright green eyes, tall and well-built. She instantly decided that he was the love of her life.
He reached a hand down and Anna stared at the perfect, long fingers. Finally, she realized that he was offering help. She clumsily lifted her hand and he took it and pulled her to her feet.
He was just as strong as he looked.
"I'm Hans. This is my brother Max." His voice was amazing.
Anna then realized that she was probably supposed to introduce herself. "Oh. I'm Anna." She felt her face getting hot.
"Hans!" said Max. "She's smoking."
Anna realized that smoke was coming out of her head and struggled to calm down.
"Are you a fire-user?" Max asked her.
"I guess so. I only found out, like, yesterday, and I've kind of been hospitalized ever since."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was looking for my sister, cause she kind of disappeared here," said Anna with a laugh. "And then I fell off… Actually, I fell into a courtyard just like this. And then I woke up and I realized that I could make fire. So… Yeah."
Hans and Max exchanged a glance that Anna couldn't read.
"There they are!"
A group of Arendelles were standing down one of the corridors leading to the courtyard.
"Run!" shouted Max, and the love of Anna's life ran into one of the other corridors following his brother as twenty angry people followed them, yelling insults and curses.