More Than True Love's Kiss
Chapter Twenty-One
"It's good to see that prison has not left any of you in too poor a condition," Hans said smugly as he walked out from the shadows toward his confused and fear stricken brothers once Madam Mim transported them and herself to the cave that only three of the men would recognize. "Are you going to thank me?"
"Thank you?" the oldest of the thirteen Princes asked coldly. "You just ruined any chance we had at being granted mercy for the crimes you dragged us all into. Our mother and father would have…"
Hans raised his voice as he replied, "I didn't drag you into anything that you didn't all want for yourselves. I am just fighting harder than each of you have the guts to do. As for your mercy, you're a fool if you think you would have been granted a pardon for helping me to overthrow Queen Elsa and her sister. Mother and Father would never have fought for us. They care only for themselves."
Prince Frey retorted, "You're wrong, Hans. Father may be conceded and cares mostly for himself, but Mother loves us and in case you do not recall, Queen Elsa told us when we were imprisoned that Father pleaded for mercy on our behalf."
"He said he did not want us to be executed, but he didn't care whether or not we rotted away in some Godforsaken cell for the rest of our lives," Hans responded in frustration, as this conversation seemed to be getting him nowhere. "I was given the chance to change all of that, the chance to get everything I am owed, so I took it."
"And what makes you think you are owed anything, let alone the throne of a kingdom that isn't even ours?" Prince Claus asked coldly.
Before their argument could go on any further, Mim finally cut in as she shouted, "Enough! I brought the thirteen of you back together because we are going to need all of us in order to have our revenge against those that ruined us."
Prince Gunnar asked angrily, "And what makes you think we're going to take orders from you?"
"Fool Prince!" the sorceress cried. "You will take orders from me, or I will send you all back to face your imprisonments as the filthy, good for nothing scoundrels that you are. You men do not seem to fear me as you should. Perhaps your brother was right, it seems that each of you do need a little push after all."
The wizard suddenly screamed wildly as she raised her hands high into the air, fire erupting from, then she began to grow as she transformed into a giant, terrifying dragon that blew fire from her mouth, surrounding the twelve brothers within flames that would easily consume them if she willed her fire to do so.
"We will do whatever you wish!" the oldest shouted out in fear, while the Princes moved to stand as close to each other as possible, trying to keep from becoming burned by the flames only continuing to close in around them. "Please, set us free!"
"There will no longer be any objections, from any of you?" Mim asked coldly. "You will not underestimate my power again?"
Prince Baer spoke for all of his brothers as he answered, "No, never again! Now let us go, please!"
The sorceress slowly changed herself back into the old woman that she was, not giving the men before her any indication that she was doing so only because it wouldn't be long before she would lose the ability to remain in the form of the beast, and then she walked over to her cauldron as she began to drop several ingredients into the large, boiling pot.
Prince Dieter finally spoke again asking coldly, "Who or what are you?"
Without looking back, she smiled as she replied, "As I told your brother, I am known as Mad Madam Mim amongst my own people, though you can call me simply Madam Mim. You may think me mad, and at times I am, you may leave that part off. Did you gather the rest of our army while I was away as I asked, Your Majesty?"
"Indeed I have," Hans responded smugly as several men wearing uniforms walked inside the cave, led by a very familiar face, an old man with no qualms about getting his own revenge against the Queen and Princess of Arendelle for making him a mockery of their kingdom and his own. "Brothers, I believe you remember our friends. Madam Mim, I'd like to introduce you to the Duke of Weselton and those loyal to him as they are to us now."
"The idea of having to trust and take orders from another evil sorceress in order to rid us of another makes me squirm, but trust you I will, witch," the Duke stated cruelly as he glared at the mad woman now standing before them in order to observe their small army. "I want to see Queen Elsa of Arendelle pay for humiliating me and having me thrown out of this kingdom of wealth and riches beyond one's wildest dreams."
Prince Hans laid his hand upon the Duke's shoulder as he answered, "Wealth and riches that can be yours, if you and I succeed, Your Grace. Do we have an alliance?"
The tiny man looked suspiciously at the Prince he had aligned himself with once before, then reached out to shake his hand as he replied smugly, "It appears, Prince Hans, that we do indeed."
"Very good," Hans responded as he moved to stand with his brothers. "Now, I have managed to acquire us our transport that will allow us to travel to wherever it is our enemies have gone to try to heal that fool Princess Anna married instead of me, a ship once belonging to our previous, pirate friends, which will help us to catch up rather quickly before the Queen and Princess can succeed in whatever they are trying to achieve; the Jolly Roger. And where is it we are heading, Madam?"
"To an ancient isle located in the midst of a lake known as Avalon," Mim answered as she finally finished her potion. "I thought it best that we are prepared to use the isle's magic for our own dark purposes. The ice witch and that foolish young wizard must have found a way to keep me from using the Princess' lover against them, but we still have the upper hand."