Chp 24

warning this chapter contains light swearing and some violent moments. Be warned.

Zoran dismounted from his horse and tied it to a pole. He had gotten in to the main market of Arendelle a street away from where Elsa is supposed to be executed in an hour. Quickly he grabbed a carrot threw, the shopkeeper a coin and gave it to the horse. "Thanks for the ride mate." He said then he rushed into an alley.

Then he used the shadow of the wall to shoot up onto the roof. When he got to the roof he was not surprised to see that guards littered the rooftops as well as the ground. He spotted the stage but it was covered by a heavy curtain. Zoran took a moment to see who he should target first.

He would need to take out at least a few of the guards on the roof if he planned to escape. Most of them had bows but there was five carrying rifles. Zoran had seen the strange weapons before when he had worked for Chester and Chester himself carried two under his coat. Chester had told him that they were dangerous but inaccurate.

However the most danger that could be caused by them was the noise they made. If one of them went off then everyone would know something was wrong and Elsa would probably be taken away and killed before he could get to her again.

Slowly he made his way across the roof tops and reached a guard to the immediate left of the stage. This one wasn't wielding a gun. Zoran crouched low and crept forward. Zoran tapped the man's shoulder. As soon as the man turned around Zoran jabbed at his throat with his fist. The man yelled a voiceless yell and sucked in a deep breath. Zoran took the opportunity.

He shoved his vial of sedative into the man's face. The man dropped instantly. Zoran grabbed the bow he was holding and loaded an arrow. He had picked a guard that had a clear view of ten of the thirteen guards. Quickly he crouched low and scanned the area properly from his new vantage point.

Guards were starting to line up at the stage. Zoran cursed under his breath. "This is going to be sloppier then I thought." He muttered. Quickly he grabbed the quiver on the guard he had knocked out. Then he opened his bottle of sedative and held his breath. Quickly he poured the liquid down the quiver.

Then he ripped off part of his sleeve and tied it loosely around his mouth and nose. Then he grabbed the bow and fired five arrows that buried themselves in five different roof tops. The guards fell unconscious before they even processed a thought. Zoran growled as the execution drums sounded.

"Dammit." He cursed viciously as he ripped the cloth clear of his carriages made their way to the stage. The first was decorated with blue and gold paint. Zoran seethed as Hans, Orenstein, the duke of Weasilton and Anna exited the carriage.

Anna looked like she had been crying for hours. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were bloodshot. Hans was looking at her with a cruel smile on his face. The second carriage was being driven by Julian. His expression was cold and expressionless.

He unlocked the carriage. Zoran watched as Kristoff and Kai were dragged out of the carriage both looking extremely beaten and underfed. Zoran's teeth clenched so hard he thought they would break. His gauntlets began to reform on his hands. His bones creaked as his fists clenched.

Then finally the last carriage came up beside the stage. This carriage was only an iron box with wheels and a seat for a driver. Zoran was surprised Elsa was contained in that. He would have thought her far too powerful to be contained by a box. Slowly the iron door was opened and Zoran felt all the blood boil so hot that he thought it would evaporate from his body.

Elsa was viciously ripped out of the box using a long chain attached to her neck. Her hands were bound with thick chains. She looked awful. Her hair and face were stained with blood. Her face was bruised as was her neck. Zoran noticed most people in the crowd bow their heads slightly when they saw her. But what horrified him the most was when she took a step outside she immediately fell to the floor and cried out in pain.

Her cry shook Zoran to his core and caused is eyes to flare red. He felt more armour forming on his body. Anna tried to rush to her sister but was held back by a guard. Kristoff tried to reach Elsa as well but was struck by the hilt of a sword. He was about to be struck again when a voice rang through the square.

"Enough!"

So beautiful and so commanding it spoke that the entire crowd hushed and the guards stopped. Zoran and several people gasped as they realised it was Elsa who had spoken. She hand somehow managed to push herself to her feet and Zoran finally saw the reason she was finding it so difficult to walk.

Two large badly bandaged wounds. One on her right leg the other in her gut. Zoran realised this was the reason she had been unable to escape. "Enough…" Elsa said this time softer. She stood up to her full height as Hans stalked towards her.

"We have suffered enough Hans. Just finish this." Hans stood before her. "Bow before you king." He hissed. Elsa glared at him.

"Never!" She spat. Hans smirked. "I was hoping you would say that." Then he slapped her. As Elsa's chest hit the ground Zoran felt a fire inside him ignite as a beast that had slept for ten years was released.

Elsa tried her best to pick herself up off the floor. Without her hands and her leg nearly useless it was no small task. Slowly and painfully she struggled to her feet determined to face Hans and show she would never break. She wanted so badly for Julian to help and she couldn't understand who he was waiting for. Elsa stopped as she realised something. Quickly she looked at Julian who was scanning the rooftops and the crowd. Elsa nearly gasped when she realised. "He's waiting for Zoran!" She thought. Elsa prayed Zoran wouldn't come. She was certain that Hans was prepared for him and she was also nearly certain that as soon as the kingdom was returned to her Julian would kill Zoran. Hans smirked at her and she returned her gaze to him.

"Reveal the stage." He said quietly. Slowly the curtain over the stage was ripped off revelling a disturbing sight. Jones' corpse was hanging upside down from a long beam. Elsa forced herself not to cry. She was at her emotional limit. Then she laid her eyes on what was behind Jones. Marshmallow was chained to the floor forced to his knees by the chains. His eyes widened as he saw her.

"Mama…!" He yelled.

"It's alright…" Elsa said softly trying her best to comfort him.

"My fault… should have helped you…" Marshmallow said crying. "Shh… It's alright sweetheart. It's not your fault. I'll be fine I promise." Elsa said straining to smile kindly at him.

Hans chuckled. "Well isn't that cute. The monster had a bastard. Tell me is that Zoran the father." Elsa felt her rage build but her powers weren't strong enough to help her. Her body's attempt to use her powers drained her of nearly all her engergy.

Even the exertion of standing up was getting to her. Her eyes were starting to get heavy as her strength began to fail her.

"Anna… I love you…" She said trying to focus on Anna's blurry figure. Her voice wasn't nearly as strong anymore. "I love you too…" Elsa heard vaguely.

"What's wrong with the sky?!" Someone yelled. Elsa forced her eyes open to see what they were yelling at. The sky had turned as black as coal.

"So he showed up after all. Then he shall meet his death." She heard Hans say. Elsa's emotions finally broke through. Tears burst from her eyes as she spoke.

"Zoran…" Then she collapsed from exhaustion.

author's notes:

Hey-all. Hope you guys are getting into the Christmas spirit, just a small anouncement. I aim to have this story finished by Christmas and I will be deleting and reposting "Lords." after the holidays. Also I'm going to be doing a Christmas one-shot soon so stay tuned for that.

Thanks for your support as usual.

Until next time!

Ninja-Cat Sif