Chapter 25

Into the Mist

Elsa waited patiently up until half before noon. When she had yet to see a flare, she had no choice but to lead Lionel to the courthouse. She stood at the entrance of the dungeons while the guards, led by Captain Dodgson, escorted him out, bound in chains with blue crystals welded in, rendering him powerless. Behind him, a lone guard escorted Luke, who had clearly been crying, with red, puffy eyes. Lionel on the other hand held his head high, unwilling to show weakness. He wasn't the nervous, quivering wreck on the first day of trial. Everything was in the open now, nothing left to hide.

But everything to loose.

Lionel was led out through the courtyard, into the streets, then finally to the courthouse. It was a sunny day, with only a few white clouds in the sky. All along the way, people were watching with curiosity, some wondering if he would lash out again. They were muttering to themselves, but other than that, it was quiet in the streets. Elsa walked behind with Anna, the latter looking around for any sign of the flare. Not that she didn't trust Andar's ability, but he was only human. A confession was there only chance.

What nobody noticed was a figure within the crowds. Wearing a green cloak, as opposed to his usual ragged brown one, the Assassin hoped to avoid detection. He bided his time, slowly pushing his way through the crowds to avoid making a scene. This was his chance to get his fight with the fire wielder. He has been humiliated enough as a warrior. No more payments, no more employers, it would just be him and his quarry.

If it weren't for the blasted Snow Queen.

He knew her story. The power she wielded was beyond that of any mortal, and the legend behind that power was not to be reconded with. He knew of the previous attempts on her life, by mere mortals, overly ambitious men, all ending in their demises. Even that Gregor fellow, of who he heard great things, couldn't defeat her. She may not know it, but fate was on her side, fate being the one and only enemy he dared not cross. No, if he was going to get his prey, he would have to do so without coming face to face with her.

So a distraction would have to do, and he had his distraction set.

"FOR THE LOVE OF LIAM NEESON! STOP BEFORE YOU BREAK SOMETHING IMPORTANT YOU WORTHLESS SPAWN OF MUTANT ICE MAGIC!" Wes yelled just before eating a mouthful of dirt.

Wes had been dragged through half of Arrendelle already. As Gunnolf chased after the scent of the Assassin with enthusiasm, he didn't even pay attention to Wes being smacked against buildings and dragged through the mud, Oaken's glue factory, and that flock of chickens. Then, out of nowhere, Gunnolf got a strong scent in a particular spot just outside one of the abandoned warehouses near the shipyards. He stomped his feet down and came to an abrupt stop next to an old storage shack just outside the building. Wes, still moving with an inertia, was sent flying past the oblivious Gunnolf, crashing into the wooden wall of the warehouse, leaving a very defined, Wes shaped hole in the side of the building. Gunnolf began sniffing all around the shack. He bushed the door open with his paw, only to find the contents empty. Still the scent was strong, very strong. The Assassin had spent some time here. Meanwhile, Wes, bruised, battered, and covered in white chicken feathers, crawled out of the hole he just made, then fell out, groaning in agony.

"And I thought the ugly dachshund was a stubborn mutt. Didn't you hear a word I said?" he asked, pulling a splinter out of his face. "I'm going to have a talk with Elsa about your training... Oh, what have we here?" he asked, looking at the shed. Pulling the feathers off himself, he stepped inside the shack. It was a sorry excuse for living quarters, but as a former criminal, Wes knew it had been lived in recently. The dirt was packed in a corner, showing that somebody had been sleeping there, and some of the piled up, broken pieces of wood on the floor indicated that someone had recently kicked them out of the way to provide more leg room. "Awesome! We've found his hide out!"

But then he looked around again. There was no blanket, no extra gear, not even any source of spare food. "But he left, he packed up. He's leaving..."

Suddenly, Gunnolf shot his head up, catching a stronger scent. He shifted his body back awayf from the shed and held his body rigid, lifting his paw and pointing back in the direction of the castle, roughly a mile away.

"What is it boy? You see something? Timmy's stuck in the well? Timmy's stuck in the well!... Wow, did I really just quote that reference? So unprofessional..."

Gunnolf then barked, followed by whimpering, nudging Wes to look at the castle. Wes looked back, trying to decipher what Gunnolf was getting at. "Wait, is it the Assassin? He's back at the castle?"

Gunnolf nodded.

"So you dragged me all the way here, just to tell me that he was right next to the castle the whole time...!" By that time, Gunnolf had taken off at full speed again. As the rope unwinded as Gunnolf ran, Wes realized that he still had the end of the rope tied around his wrist. He then looked blankly at the screen.

"Oh no...WAAAAHHHHHHHH!..."

Lionel's armed escort was now only a block away from the courthouse. There was a large crowd outside the courthouse, a line forming for a seat in the audience.

In the crowd was the Duke and Gerbhard, surrounded by their own bodyguards. The Duke, keeping it to himself, was worried out of his mind. Out there was an uncontrollable assassin, who happened to have a grudge against him. What's more, he had his sights on the criminal he planned to prosecute. While his goal was mainly achieved, having shown Lionel guilty of the crime thus having the story necessary to spin any way he wanted against Arendelle and thus regain lost allies, he was worried about the maniac being on his own and possibly with a grudge against him, so he had somewhat of a reason to worry. What if he decided to kill him as well, or even worse, expose the Duke by revealing his employer. So many possibilities ran through the small man's paranoid mind...

"Uncle?"

Duke Archibald turned to see his nephew tapping his shoulder.

"Uncle, are you alright? You're pale as a ghost."

"Oh, um, I'm fine, fine. I, I think that cold is coming back... achoo!" he fake sneezed.

Gerbhard wasn't exactly fooled, but he decided to let it slide. "Um, alright. Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Of course! Don't you worry. I'll be fine..." he looked over his shoulder as their guards escorted them in. "Just, fine."

Just up the road, near the armed escort, the Assassin, still hidden in the crown, silently slipped two clear, cylindrical crystals out from under his coat. Looking both ways to make sure he wasn't noticed, he knelt halfway and rolled them beneath the crowds feet. The two crystals glided through the peoples' feet with precision, rolling out and under the feet of Lionel's guards. One guard noticed one of them when he looked down.

"What on earth?" he asked just before the crystal exploded in a small flash, then erupted into a cloud of grey smoke, which spread out around him at an unnatural speed. Moments later, the second one exploded, followed by similar results.

Chaos erupted at the resulting explosion. The people panicked and made a mad scramble away from the noise while Captain Dodgson ordered his guards to split; four stayed to watch the prisoner with Dodgson, while most went and surrounded the Queen and Princess. The one remaining guard pulled Luke and tried to get him to the corner of one of the street shops, hoping to keep him out of the chaotic crowds. He screamed for his dad, but the guard held him tight. In the chaos, Elsa instinctively grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her close, while keeping her left hand in a defensive position.

"What's going on?!" asked Anna. The explosion was brief and harmless. The purpose of the crystals was to seemingly emit smoke, and lots of it. It spread quick and it was thick as soup. It remained low, just above the people's heads, and it was persistent. The entire area within two blocks was filled with the smoke.

"I don't know" Elsa said. "Everyone! Remain calm!" Elsa tried to scream out, but with the smoke spreading and visibility dropping, panic only grew as people began crashing into each other.

"Don't panic!" screamed Anna. "Panic bad!... this isn't working."

"It never does."

The guards were having trouble determining who was a threat or not. The four surrounding Lionel became separated from the rest of the group as they tried to avoid running into people. Despite the expected noise from the screams of terror and the footsteps of the panicked crowds, there was surprisingly little noise. Any scream or sound sounded distant, and faded, almost ghostly a the mist thickened.

"What sorcery is this?" asked Dodgson. He knew that this was no natural smoke. There was strange magic afoot. Suddenly, one of the guards was pulled away, disappearing into the mist.

"Huk!" cried Dodgson. There was a thud, followed shortly by the other guard being taken, followed again by a thud. Sound was muffled, and they were unable to hear anyone around them.

"It's him!" said Lionel in panic. He looked to his cuffs, which restrained him from using his magic. Never had he felt so defenseless. "Where' my son?! Where's Luke!?"

"He's safe, I saw my best guard take him into one of the shops" said Dodgson. "Stay close James!" he ordered to his last remaining comrade. Just as he drew his sword, he too was clubbed by an unseen foe. The last guard grabbed the handcuffed Lionel close, his sword drawn. He grabbed Lionel and pulled him backwards, believing his foe to be in front of him.

"Take my cuffs off!" asked Lionel. "It's our only chance!"

The young guard kept Lionel close, contemplating his request. Before he could make a decision, however, he was clubbed in the back of the head. Unconscious, he fell to his knees and onto his stomach. Lionel turned around, finding the shadowy figure of the Assassin with a short piece of lumber in his hand standing there. He glared at Lionel as he threw the piece of wood away, then drew his long sword.

Lionel looked upon him with horror. He was bound, powerless, weaponless, completely at the madman's mercy. He held his ground though, and prepared for the worse.

"Well? Go on! Get it over with!" he shouted. As if in response, the Assassin raised his sword to his side, then swung it sideways from left to right at him. Lionel shut his eyes and braced himself for a quick death, but was instead greeted with the violent vibration of his shackles. He opened his eyes to find his shackles cut, not at the chain, but the shackles themselves. Somehow, he had managed to slice through both shackles without even touching Lionel's flesh. As they fell off, Lionel took a step back, grabbing his wrists defensively. He looked back at the Assassin.

"Fair fight" the Assassin said softly in his harsh voice. He then took a fighting stance.

Lionel nodded his head. "So, you can talk?" he asked. He could hear the faded sounds of passerby's and faint screams, sounding far and distant, though they were mere feet away. No sign of Elsa or anyone who could help him. Jase and most of the other guards were out hunting the man before him. He was alone. With a scowl on his face, Lionel raised him hands, relief as his long constrained magic flowed out in the form of fire in his hands.

"This ends today, one way, or another" Lionel said before firing a ball of fire at the Assassin.

Elsa and Anna held each other tight, the mist pulling closer. They had lost sight of their guards as the mist seemed to alter distance and perception.

"I can't see anything" said Anna. "Or, hear anything for that matter."

"Don't let go" Elsa ordered. "There's magic in this mist, I can feel it everywhere."

"Feeling's mutual" said Anna. She knew that people were everywhere just a few minutes ago, and probably were still around, but tsomehow their sounds were blocked, making them feel alone, as if in some abandoned field on a foggy morning. A thought occurred to her. "Uh, where's Lionel?"

Elsa shot over to her left, where she last saw the escort.

"Captain!" Elsa called out. "Captain Dodgson!" No response, only faint, muffled noises.

"Oh my gosh" said Anna. "It's a trap!"

"He's here!" said Elsa. "The Assassin's here!" With out a second thought, Elsa pulled Anna forward. "Come on, we have to find Lionel!"

"Elsa! Slow down!" Anna said, trying to keep up. Elsa was so quick, Anna had lost sight of the guards, assuming them gone. "Elsa, we can't see! We're going too..."

Elsa collided with an unseen citizen. The force of the impact was enough to knock her to the ground, hard. She lost touch with Anna, a sudden pain on her side and a slight knock on her head. Whoever she hit was long gone, disappearing into the mist. The pain momentarily numbed her senses, leaving her on the ground for a few moments before she forced herself back to reality.

"Anna" she muttered, forcing herself to her feet. Her shoulder was sore, and she was sure she scraped her leg pretty bad, but none of that mattered now. Lionel was the target of a madman, his powers were suppressed by the cuffs he was wearing, and Jase had most of the guards spread out through the city looking for the guy. Right now, she was his only defense.

On her feet, Elsa reached back and grabbed the first hand she could find, assuming it to be Anna. "Come on, we have to find him." Without looking back, Elsa pulled the hand forward. The hand was slightly hesitant, but Elsa had her mind on other things. She must have pulled the reluctant hand forward at least ten feet before it occurred to her to look back. She was surprised to find not her sister, but a young black haired girl.

"What? You're not Anna!"

The girl, probably no more than fourteen, nervously shrugged. "Um, no? You grabbed my hand."

"But... wait, where's my sister!"

The young girl shrugged again. "I don't know... Your Majesty" she said in a rushed curtsy. Elsa then caught another figure just behind the young girl, an older woman, which Elsa guessed was the girl's mother.

"Excuse me your Majesty" she said. "Can I have my daughter back now?"

Elsa, embarrassed, immediately let go of the girl's hand. "Right. Um, sorry about that. You, you should probably find shelter."

"OF course Your Majesty" said the woman as she le her daughter away through the mist, which Elsa hoped was in the direction of safety.

Meanwhile, Anna, having stumbled and twisted her ankle, was likewise quick to grab the first hand she could find. Before she turned to see who it was, saw a faint, red flash through the mist.

"Elsa, I see fire! Come on, this way!" she screamed excitingly. She pulled along the reluctant hand until it came to an abrupt stop. "Elsa, what..." Anna turned to see not Elsa, but a huge, large shouldered man, with a short beard and a somewhat unfocused demeanor.

"You're not Elsa" Anna retorted.

The man, seemingly unfazed by the circumstances, shrugged. "No."

"Well, uh, who are you then?"

"Um, Bob."

Anna quickly pulled her hand away. "Um, OK, this is awkward... I'm going to go find my sister, and probably save a fire bending guy from a faceless assassin, so, bye" she waved before running off.

Bob just shrugged, staring absent minded into space, then waved. "Bye."

After her latest awkward moment, Anna ran off, avoiding the crossfire of running bodies as she tried to find the source of the fire.

Lionel, holding a sword of pure flame, was forced to his knees as the Assassin pushed his sword against his. After short standoff, Lionel stepped to the side, letting the Assassin's sword hit the ground with a metallic thud as he got out of the way. He waved his left hand down, shooting down a wall of fire against the ground. He looked around, wondering if anyone had noticed the flame. Did they not see the flashes of fire? Then again, there was something unnatural about this smoke to begin with. It was unnerving him and he didn't like it. He shot a wave of fire all around, hoping to dissipate the smoke and improve his vision, but it just engulfed the flame, working its way back to him.

The Assassin circled Lionel, strategically planning his next move. Lionel tried to keep his distance, forming a whip of fire in his right hand. He swung it over his head and cracked it, resulting in an explosion of fire. The Assassin flinched slightly, holding his sword up horizontally, but did not back down. Lionel then swung it forward, the fire whip reaching out to the Assassin. He dodged the flame by rolling to his right, landing in a kneeling position with his sword still in fighting position. Lionel then swung it sideways, cracking it horizontally in a wide arch at the Assassin. He jumped over it in a flip, landing a few feet closer to Lionel. Using his momentum, he took a few steps forward, swinging his sword sideways to Lionel's side. Lionel formed his whip back into a sword and blocked the blow.

Jase was riding on the outskirts of the city, waiting anxiously for the flare. While riding, he came across Kristoff and Sven.

"Where are they?" he asked Kristoff. "We should have heard from them by now."

"Assuming this guy even leaves a scent to follow" said Kristoff.

Jase shot him a look. "Every man leaves a trail. He's not inhuman or something..."

Then, out of nowhere, they heard a faint scream from the center of town, followed by another shortly after. They both turned. On a slightly elevated portion of the city, they had a clear line of sight over the center of town. They could see the mist in the distance.

"What on earth...?" asked Kristoff.

"That's not far from the courthouse" said Jase.

"Oh no. He's there. We've been on a wild goose chase, he's by the courthouse!" said Kristoff half angrily, half panicked.

"We got to get down there! Yah Cliff! Go!" Both men road their respective animals at full speed to the courthouse.

Those already inside the courthouse heard the faint explosion and the resulting panic from inside the courthouse. Among those inside, aside from the small crowd forming the audience was Marick, Andar, the Duke, and Gerbhard. Previously in conversation with Marick, Gerbhard initially ran out the main doors at the sound. He burst the doors open, only to find a thick layer of fog fighting its way in.

"What on earth?" he asked.

"Whoa" said Marick, following up behind. "Did anyone order pea soup?"

"What the, what is this?!" asked the Duke. "Is this some sort of trick?!" he asked Andar, who quickly ran up.

"Oh what, we decided to make it foggy just for the occasion?" Andar asked sarcastically.

"Wait, listen" said Gerbhard. As they listened, they could hear the faint screaming of people running about. It was faint, and distant, but also muffled.

"Well that's creepy" remarked Marick.

"I don't like this" said Andar.

"Oh really?" said Marick. "A mysterious fog with ghostly sounds coming from it and you don't like it?"

"Where's the Queen?" asked Gerbhard.

Andar was the first to look out into the fog. "Oh no."

Well, things certainly took a turn for the worst haven't they? What will happen next? Who will win? Will Gunnolf ever learn to heal? Find out next time!

So, two references from Wes. One is obviously Lassie, a very overused reference, and the other being the Ugly Dachshund, an old Dick Van Dyke comedy about a Great Dane who was raised by dachshunds, and had a bad tendency to pull his master along for a ride.

Well, hope you liked it. Don't forget to review!

-Batman