Chapter 28 - A Deadly Duel
While the naval battle was continuing up above deck, Kristoff and Hans were still below in the lower decks of the Boreas. After only a few seconds of combat in the room in which Kristoff had come to Anna's rescue, Hans decided that the close quarters fighting in that tiny room was a bad idea against his muscular opponent. He therefore decided to dart out of the room in order to fight in a more favorable location. This led Kristoff on a hunt through the dark corridors of the cargo deck.
Just seconds ago, Kristoff could hear the peculiar sound of intense wind rushing by outside the ship, followed by the far off sound of ice crashing into something. He didn't know what was going on out there, but he also didn't want to get distracted at the moment. The duel with Hans had quickly turned into more of a game of hide and seek, but he knew it could be just as deadly as direct combat, which it would likely lead to anyway.
Kristoff was walking slowly through one of the larger cargo holds on the Boreas. There were no windows in this room, so the only light was what trickled into the area from the corridor. His eyes were adjusting to the darkness, allowing him to more clearly make out the shapes of the boxes and barrels all around the room. So far, he did not spot Hans.
Typical of a coward. Kristoff thought. He brags that he can defeat me in a duel and then runs away.
Although he found it despicable, Kristoff could see the cunning in Hans' actions. He could jump out of nowhere and stab him in the back at any time, defeating his opponent quickly, cleanly, without risking injury to himself.
Just as Kristoff was wishing that there were some Arendellian guards down here to help him out in this predicament, a blur of motion came in from his right. All he could make out were Hans' swinging legs impacting him in the chest before he was sent flying across the room. Hans dropped from his position gripping the top of the doorframe and walked over to Kristoff who was picking himself up off the floor.
With that smug and arrogant smile, Hans sneered at Kristoff again.
"Surprise."
Rasmus had regained some of his composure after the shock of what happened to his vessel had somewhat worn off. He couldn't lose focus now. He had to put his anger aside and concentrate on his current task. Defeating the Boreas, defeating Elsa. To do that, he first had to get his ship to be able to effectively maneuver again. That meant dislodging it from the iceberg that was still rammed into its bow.
"Rotate all available cannons to face that iceberg..." He ordered in a calm and calculating voice. "...and open fire."
The men on the deck of the Odin angled all of the forward cannons so that they were facing directly at the iceberg. Some of the port and starboard cannons that were close to the front end of the ship were also angled to get a shot at the target. Soon after, the firing crews started setting off the cannons, hurtling projectiles into the ice in an attempt to break it up. It was working. Large chunks of ice were breaking off the main mass as the cannonballs hit it, sending explosions of frozen water out from each impact, littering the deck and raining down into the water.
Cracks were forming in the structure of the iceberg. The hull of the Odin groaned as it started to be freed from the unwanted merger of ship and ice.
On the deck of the Boreas, Elsa was lying down near the middle of the ship with Anna and Rapunzel tending to her. She was utterly spent, and couldn't even stand due to her exhaustion. The rest of the crew were busy attempting to make repairs when cannon shots began to sound from the direction of the Odin.
They all prepared to take cover again from the incoming fire only to see that the Odin was firing into the iceberg and not at the Arendellian ship. From their perspective, with the mountain of ice in between their two ships, the crew of the Boreas could see the berg being slowly chipped away by the firepower of the Odin. It didn't take long for a few cannon shots to begin travelling through the thinner edges of the ice and fly over towards the Boreas, some landing harmlessly in the water, some hitting the ship directly.
They were once again, under fire. Impacts started rocking the ship, and with no wheel to maneuver with, they were helplessly sitting there, unable to turn and flee.
Hans was just about to take a swing at Kristoff with his sword when the entire ship shook from the impact of a cannonball. This caused both men to stumble a bit, interrupting the fight. Another sharp impact sent them both tumbling to the ground. Kristoff groaned in pain as the part of his chest that had been kicked hit the floor hard. Hans got to his feet again and vaulted over top of a barrel to close the distance between him and Kristoff again.
Watching the Southern Isles Prince approach him with murderous fury in his eyes and sword drawn, Kristoff was barely able to raise his own weapon in time to block the attack. Metal impacted metal with a reverberating CLANG, sending painful vibrations through Kristoff's arms. Hans recovered from the parry and raised his weapon to swing down for another attack when Kristoff kicked his leg out and hit Hans' ankle. He fell to the ground in a thump, giving Kristoff time to get himself up again and ready for another blow.
Righting himself in a flash, Hans swung his sword up with such force that it knocked the weapon right out of Kristoff's hands. The follow-through of the swing left the tip of the blade slicing through the flesh near Kristoff's left shoulder. It was not a deep cut, but it was enough to cause blood to immediately start oozing from the wound.
"Aaaaggh..." Kristoff yelled as the pain from the slice was sent across his whole body. He instinctively raised his right hand to cover the injury, the blood starting to seep onto his palm right away.
Hans steadied himself and let out a breath.
"Huh... You're better than I thought you'd be." He was waving the end of his sword at the unarmed man now in front of him. "Still completely inexperienced, but better than expected none the less."
Kristoff was through being taunted by this smug jerk. He had tried to kill Elsa and Anna several months ago and he had terrorized Anna, his wife, only a few days ago. He couldn't let Hans cause any more harm to the ones he loved. He had to be stopped.
As if it were timed perfectly, another shake form an impact rocked the Boreas. Kristoff took advantage of the situation and dove head first into Hans, grabbing him around the waist and tackling him to the ground. The force of his lunge caught Hans off guard and sent his sword flying from his hands. Now they were both unarmed. Engaged in hand-to-hand combat, each with the intent on tearing the other limb from limb.
The Odin continued to fire upon the iceberg. The ice was now heavily eroded and covered in small impact craters from the cannonballs hitting it. The more damage it took, the more the Odin was able to lurch out of its grip.
Rasmus kept holding onto the railing at the edge of the quarterdeck, supporting himself as the vibrations of cannon shots and scraping of wood and metal on ice rumbled his ship as it dislodged itself from Elsa's attack, inch by inch. The ship was almost free, and as shot after shot shattered the ice, more of the Boreas was coming into view.
Kristoff laid a ferocious punch directly into Hans' face. The impact dazed Hans, causing him to lose focus for a second as the burly man pinning him to the floor was preparing to beat him to a pulp. Retaliating, Hans swung one of his legs up and kneed Kristoff in the ribs. Rolling over and clutching his throbbing side, Kristoff had no time to react as Hans got up again and kicked him in the same spot.
"Ahhhh!" Some of his ribs were surely broken, at least fractured. It became hard for Kristoff to breathe deep breaths without experiencing a stabbing sensation.
His mind was barely functioning from the overload of pain, anger, and fear, but he encouraged himself to keep fighting. Hans was about to kick him again when he reached out and grabbed his leg in mid swing. Lifting the appendage up, he swung Hans out from under his own feet again, sending him slamming to the deck of the cargo hold once more.
Standing up to head after Hans, Kristoff was in no way prepared for his opponent's next action. Hans quickly raised his legs up to an angle and with his arms resting against the floor and bent at the elbows, he thrust his feet forward, hitting Kristoff in the stomach. Feeling like he wanted to puke, he could barely look up at Hans to notice him limping over to where his sword had been thrown from his hands minutes earlier. In the darkness, Kristoff had no idea where his sword was. He was defenses. On his knees, bleeding from the shoulder, and holding one hand over shattered ribs with the other over his bruised stomach, he looked positively pathetic.
Hans was now standing over Kristoff, pointing his sword at the man in front of him.
"Once again... you've impressed me." Hans' words came in between heavy breaths. Kristoff took some comfort in the knowledge that he had at least put up a good fight against the Prince.
"But unfortunately for you, it's over now."
Another cannon impact shook the ship.
"You know, after I finish you off." Hans continued. "After I deliver Elsa back into Rasmus' hands. And after Arendelle falls before the might of the Southern Isles..."
He bent down and held the tip of his blade at Kristoff's neck, lifting his head slightly. Kristoff gave a hateful sneer in response before Hans continued.
"...I might just keep Anna alive. I might just go through with that wedding we had planned months ago. Make her my own."
The audacity of this man was ridiculous. Kristoff thought that he really was a demon in human form. There seemed to be no other explanation as to how someone could be so evil to their core. And now here he was. Beaten. Kneeling before this demon, awaiting the death he would bring because pain and fatigue prevented him from fighting anymore.
"I almost wish I could make you watch as I force her to submit to me." Hans pulled back his sword as he concluded his rant.
Kristoff really wasn't afraid of death. For most of his life he had been so alone that he knew no one would really even know he was gone if he were to one day just disappear. There would be no one to miss him. No one to mourn his passing, except maybe Sven, but no human at least. However, this was no longer true. He had friends now. He had a wife now. People he loved and people who loved him in return. The most frightening thing about his current situation was not that his life would end, but that he would be leaving behind everyone he cared about. Back at his wedding, he made a promise to himself that his new duty in life was to take care of Anna, to never let any harm come to her. If he died, he would fail that duty, he would fail Anna, and that thought sent more fear into him than anything else ever could.
When he looked up towards Hans, he was given a strong sense of déjà-vu. It was an identical image to the one he had seen back during the Great Freeze, when Hans was swinging his sword up to strike Elsa down out on the fjord. The only difference was that he was the recipient of the swing this time. Back then, Anna had run to save Elsa, but there was no one to come to his rescue right now.
He clenched his eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable, when a deafening crack exploded into the room. A cannonball, shot from the Odin, flew through the hull of the Boreas in the very room where both men currently were. As with all of the impacts during the course of the battle, a lethal shower of splinters and larger shards of wooden planks went flying through the room along with the cannonball. One particularly large fragment of wood flew directly into Hans, knocking him over and careening him into the back wall of the cargo hold.
As to be expected, Kristoff was completely stunned. His ears ringing from the sharp noise of the explosion, he looked over to where Hans was splayed out on the back wall, a large chunk of wooden hull fragment sticking out of his chest, close to his heart. Kristoff wasn't a doctor, but his wilderness skills taught him enough to know a fatal wound when he saw one, and this one was definitely fatal.
Still alive, and gasping for air, Hans dropped the sword from his hand, which he had somehow managed to retain a grip on during the violent impact he had received. With blood beginning to stain the clothes around his chest wound, Hans painfully sucked in his last breath while Kristoff watched.
Standing up and stumbling over to make sure he was no longer a threat, Kristoff stopped a few feet from Hans and he knew without a doubt; he was dead. He had died without uttering any last words. No remorse. No regrets. Not even an expression of worry or fear on his face. He was full of hatred right up until his end. If it wasn't for the fact that Kristoff knew the world was best off rid of Hans, he would have felt a bit sorry for him. Pity for a life that was driven by anger rather than love.
And as he walked away, perhaps he did offer that slightest bit of pity. Weather it was deserved or not.
A/N: And that's the end of Hans. Really enjoyable to write that guy out of the story. He's a fun villain to work with, but it's satisfying to see him get what he deserves.
A big thanks to everyone reviewing so far. I'm glad you like the story and I hope you will all enjoy the upcoming finale! As always, new reviews are appreciated.
