Chapter 29: A Path To Pitch
Anna was lying on her bed with her head resting on Kristoff's shoulder. It was late at night and Anna wanted to go to sleep but she couldn't. Kristoff had come into her room and they sort of dwindled the hours away. Anna could feel Kristoff's chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out. It was rather relaxing. Although the relaxing feeling couldn't get rid of a horrible feeling that she had and of course, it was about Elsa.
Anna let out a long sigh. Before, Anna didn't worry about Elsa at all. Anna would always try to think of some reason of why she was always out late or was so mysterious. Elsa used to say it was work and Anna, who was sometimes suspicious but that went away as soon as something else popped into her mind, accepted this as fact and there was nothing to suggest otherwise. But now was a different story now that Anna knew where Elsa was off to. She knew it was dangerous, she knew that Elsa could be killed and that knowledge scared her. Anna would lay awake at night, scared as she didn't know if Elsa would come home in one piece or not. Tonight was one of those nights. Anna liked having Kristoff with her. It made her feel like nothing could go wrong with the world. Just listening to his breathing or his heartbeat made life a million times better.
Anna smiled to herself as she continued to think about Kristoff. Anna's eyes started to drift shut. She didn't realise how tired she was. Her eyes flicked over to the clock on her wall next to her. It told her that it was seven to two. Another thing she didn't realise was just how late the time was. Anna was about to drift into dreamland before she heard noises from downstairs. Anna's eyes suddenly opened. Her first thought was that it was a burglar and then she remembered that they had decent security. Then she recognised the voices of that of her sister and her, well Anna didn't really know what to call Jack apart from maybe the words 'lover', 'close companion' or 'friend with certain benefits'. Anyway, Anna knew that it must be Elsa and Jack that had come through the front door. Well that meant that they were safe and sound.
Anna quickly got her feet. She grabbed her dressing gown from a hook in her wardrobe and raced through the dark corridors. She actually wanted to know all about The Architect and whether or not he was really Pitch Black in disguise. Anna soon came to the main foyer of her house. Below her was Elsa and Jack and she could see instantly that Elsa was distressed about something and that Jack was trying to calm her down. Elsa was acting all agitated. She was pacing up and down with one hand on her hip and the other hand had its nails bit away as Elsa paced up and down. Jack was trying to grab her but Elsa kept shaking him off.
"Calm down," Jack was saying to her.
"I can't," Elsa said. "Three years of work just vanished into thin air."
"No it didn't," Jack said in a reasonable tone.
Elsa and Jack suddenly looked up and saw Anna above them. Anna gave them a small wave and they gave her one back. Anna raced down the stairs to join them.
"Thank goodness you guys are-" Anna stopped dead when she looked hard at them. She was shocked by what she saw. "Is that blood?" Elsa and Jack's clothes were soaked in a dark scarlet colour which Anna could only assume was blood. It was all over Elsa's jacket and some even on her face. Jack's jacket and some of parts of his pants were also covered in blood. Anna could even see bloody footprints that lead from outside to where they were standing.
"Oh yeah," Elsa said. "We got into a little problem along the way but we fixed it."
"I don't even want to know what that means," Anna said. "So what's the matter? You look pretty agitated at something."
"He got away," Elsa said simply. She banged her fist against the wall and Anna flinched at the outburst.
"Who?" Anna asked. "Pitch?"
"Yes," Elsa said grinding her teeth. "I should have gotten him then and there. I should have gone after him."
"You would have gotten yourself killed," Jack said. "There was no way you could have dealt with all of them and then Pitch. These weren't your ordinary Templars, they were powerful. It was hard to deal with all of them even with my help."
"Still," Elsa said, "I could have tried."
"Well it sounds like there was nothing you could do," Anna said.
"I'm going to bed," Elsa said in a very final like way which made Anna and Jack look disheartened.
Anna and Jack both watched Elsa ascend the stairs and along the corridor until she disappeared from sight. Anna sighed and looked over at Jack who looked back at her and shrugged.
"So what happened?" Anna asked. "Sounds like Elsa is pretty cut up about it."
"Elsa found out that Pitch Black and The Architect is the same person," Jack explained. Anna made a sound that sounded like 'ah' with an extended 'h'. She had figured as much. Elsa wouldn't be this cut up about it if they weren't. "She got spotted when she was spying so we had to flee but we got cornered by these two Templars and their entourage. After a fight, to which we came out victorious, we headed back to Pitch's house to see if he was there but alas, he wasn't."
"He got away," Anna said to which Jack nodded. "That would explain why Elsa is so angry with herself. She believes she let him get away."
"Indeed," Jack said. "I think I will go check on her to make sure she doesn't go to bed angry."
"Good idea," Anna said. "But please remember to change your clothes before someone sees you. Kai will get a heart attack and Gerda will faint, not to mention what will happen to the rest of the servants."
Jack laughed. "Don't worry, I will."
Jack then quickly ran up the stairs and out of sight. Anna followed him but at a much slower pace. Anna soon came to her bedroom and pushed the door open. She threw her dressing gown into a random chair that was in her room before sitting on her bed. She felt Kristoff stirring next to her.
"Sorry," Anna said in a whisper. "Did I wake you?"
"Not really," Kristoff said. "What happened?"
"Elsa and Jack are home," Anna said.
"Talking of Elsa," Kristoff said. "Are you going to talk to her about what we discussed?"
"Maybe," Anna said climbing into bed. "She was pretty angry when she came home."
"Why?" Kristoff asked.
"She thinks she let Pitch get away," Anna explained.
"Ah," Kristoff said as Anna snuggled into him. "I see."
Jack headed through the dark corridors, looking for Elsa's house. Sometimes he would get lost in the massive house but eventually he would find something that he would recognise and be able to make the journey from there. However, he knew the way to Elsa's room by now and by heart. He found Elsa's door within several minutes and pushed it open. He found Elsa already asleep in her bed. Jack thought that rather quick. He bent down, pulled up her blankets – as they had fallen down a little – and then bent down to give her a small kiss on her cheek.
"Goodnight my Snow Queen," Jack whispered before he left the room to go back to his.
Somehow the corridors had gotten lighter. Jack thought it may be due to the moonlight. He grinned at this and found his way back to his room. Anna had wanted him as far away from her sister as he could be because she didn't want any funny business going on. This was funny and hypocritical for him as he did know that Kristoff had stayed the night several times but he knew nothing had happened between them. Whereas something had happened between him and Elsa – more than once. So maybe Jack shouldn't be judging or saying anything. Jack gave a sheepish grin at this thought.
Jack soon came to his door and entered his bedroom. He quickly got changed but realised there were bloody clothes in his hands. What was he to do with them? He then remembered what Elsa had said to him. There was a hidden hamper that was to be used after a night of being an Assassin so not to make the servants suspicious. Jack managed to find it and placed his bloody clothes in it before he went to bed.
Anna headed down bright and early in the morning. She wanted to find Elsa, partly to see how she was doing this morning and partly because she wanted to talk to her about a certain topic that she and Kristoff had discussed over the last few days. They have kept the discussion private as they didn't want to get out of hand if someone caught wind of it. Anna just hoped that Elsa was in a better mood this morning.
Anna skipped down the main grand staircase and headed to breakfast. The first thing she noticed was that only Kristoff and Jack were present – Elsa was not there. Anna bit her lip. Where was Elsa? Anna took her usual seat at the table and Gerda came up behind her with a large plate and spoon. Anna thanked Gerda as she piled some porridge into the bowl before her.
"Gerda," Anna said.
"Yes dear?" Gerda responded with a small curtsey.
"Is Elsa up?"
"Yes dear," Gerda responded. "She has been up for a few hours and has already eaten breakfast milady."
"Ah," that would explain why Elsa wasn't with them. She had probably only got a few hours of sleep due to being highly distracted of the events of the previous night and the beginning hours of this morning. "Thank you Gerda."
Gerda did another curtsey before heading off. A light conversation between the three people at the table then took place. Kristoff kept giving Anna a look that clearly told Anna that he would like her to discuss things with her sister. Anna gave Kristoff a small nod and she returned to Jack's conversation with a smile on her face. Anna quicken in her haste to finish her meal before heading up to Elsa's room.
Anna then did the knock that she used to do when she was a child. "Elsa, do you want to build a snowman?"
There is no response. Anna waited for a few seconds before she tried again but this time, she did a gentle knock.
"Elsa?" Anna said in an equally gentle knock.
Again, there was no response. Anna pushed open the door and found that Elsa wasn't in her room. At least she wasn't ignoring Anna. Anna then knew where Elsa could be if she wasn't in her room. She must be working in her study. Anna then headed down to Elsa's study and tried the same thing again. She knocked on the door in the same way she tried before and then spoke.
"Do you want to build a snowman?" she sang through the door.
A small gentle laugh could be heard within. "Come in," came Elsa's voice.
Anna let a smile engulf her features before she opened the door. Elsa was sitting behind her desk with a quill in her hand. Anna bounded up to her desk and saw and elegantly styled letter starting to take form in front of her. Next to it, was a small pile of folded pieces of parchment with a wax seal stamped on it. Anna must have interrupted Elsa in writing letters. Anna leaned slightly over to see what was being written. Anna could see a name at the top of the letter that she did not recognise. Elsa, seeing this, subtly turned over the letter so Anna couldn't spy anymore.
"A bit early in the year for snow," Elsa laughed. "So, what can I do for you?"
"I have something to talk to you about," Anna said taking her usual seat in front of her sister.
"Ah I see," Elsa leaned back in her chair, "and this sounds rather important. What's it about?"
"It is," Anna started to twiddle with her hands. "It's about me and Kristoff. We want to ask you –" She opened her mouth to continue what she was about to say but she couldn't.
The door had burst opened at that exact moment which distracted Anna from what she was saying. Anna turned around and Elsa looked up. A man, young in his features, wearing a white hood and jacket with red and blue trimmings. Anna knew that he must be an Assassin. All the Assassins liked to wear similar clothes. He was holding what looked like a letter in his hand. He walked up to Elsa and handed her the letter. There was a moment when Elsa read the letter. Anna could see her eyes hurriedly darting left and right as she read the note. Anna was tensed. What could she be reading? What could be written on that paper?
Elsa then threw the note down and took out a fresh piece of parchment. The parchment had dots of ink splattered all over it as she hurried to write something down. Elsa the waxed the letter shut and used her signet ring, which she had inherited from her father, to do this. Elsa then handed the note to the man.
"Hurry," she said.
The Assassin nodded and left the room in haste. Elsa started to hurry around the room, collecting her things.
"What happened?" Anna asked.
"Lead," Elsa said. "I will return in a bit. Don't worry about me."
Elsa then took out a trunk and started to pack her things. Anna just watched with the most confused look in her eyes. What was going on? What had been in that note to cause such a stir? It had to be something very important indeed. It had to be about Pitch Black, it just had to be. What else could make such an impression on her sister?
"Don't worry?" Anna repeated weakly. "How can I not when you're leaving just like that and without any warning or information on where you're going and what you are doing."
"I'm going to Oslo," Elsa said. "There is a fellow Assassin there who believes he may have spotted Black headed in that direction."
"Okay," Anna said as Elsa rushed out of the room without another word. Anna just sat where was in silence. Kristoff soon walked into the room.
"Did you tell her?" Kristoff asked giving her a kiss on her cheek.
"I couldn't," Anna said. "She bounded off to Oslo to go after Black."
"Ah," Kristoff said.
Anna got to her feet and wrapped her arms around Kristoff and placed her lips against his. She then smiled up at him.
"As soon as she gets back," Anna said, "I will tell her."
"Okay," Kristoff leaned in and gave her another kiss.
Elsa jumped into a carriage while in her Assassin's gear. She watched as some servants were loading her things into the carriage. Elsa was a bit impatient. She wanted to leave as soon as she could. The longer she took meant more seconds passed her by. She couldn't afford to give Pitch more time as he could easily use that time to disappear and this time it could be for a very long time.
Elsa was actually quite glad at the speed of the note arriving. Anton had already sent his spies all over Norway looking for Pitch ever since Elsa had mention that she was looking for him. The man who had delivered the note had been one of these spies. Elsa wondered what was going on. Surely they would have left by now? Elsa wasn't bringing that much stuff. The door to the carriage suddenly opened and Jack clambered in. Elsa then realised the reason why they were taking so long to leave.
"You don't think I would have let you leave without me did ya?" Jack said with a huge grin.
Elsa smiled. "Sorry, got so caught up in leaving that I was about to leave you behind. I should have known that you wouldn't have let that happen."
Jack grinned and knocked on the outside of the carriage to inform the driver that they were ready. The carriage then moved slowly at first down the driveway but then it really started to pick up its pace. The horses moved on from a slow trot to a raging gallop. Elsa turned around in her seat and saw Anna by the front door with Kristoff standing next to her. She was waving goodbye to them. Elsa then remembered that Anna had wanted to tell her something important and that it involved Kristoff. Elsa wondered what it was. Several theories came to her mind. She turned to Jack who had gotten out a book and started to read it.
"Jack," Elsa said and Jack made a sound that told her that he was listening, "do you know something about Anna and Kristoff?"
"What kind of something?" Jack said not taking his eyes off his book.
"Well Anna came to me and asked if she could talk to me about something that involves her and Kristoff," another thought just came to her and this was one thought that struck fear into her heart. "You don't think that Anna is thinking about ending it with Kristoff?" The sentence was said with a feverish tone and was rambled. Elsa's pitch also got higher and higher as she spoke.
Jack shut his book at Elsa's words and turned to look at her. He had a confused look on his face as he thought about what she had just said.
"No," he said very firmly, "they love each other. They're one of the best couples I've seen around – this of course includes us."
Elsa grinned at Jack's words. "That makes a lot of sense. What was I thinking?"
"Maybe they're thinking about taking the next step of their relationship like taking a trip together," Jack said.
"Could be," Elsa nodded. "Well I will talk to her about it when we get back."
"Good idea," Jack said going back to his book.
The next couple of weeks went by for Anna. She missed her sister. She had gone away before and for months at a time but this time was different and Anna didn't know why. Elsa had always gone on long trips, when Anna was younger; she didn't know why this was but now knew that this was because of her duties of being an Assassin. She sighed as she turned the page of her book. She was bored, very bored. Kristoff had gone on his ice deliveries and wouldn't be back until late that night.
Suddenly the doorbell went off and Anna looked up from her book. Anna wondered who could be ringing the doorbell. She wasn't expecting anyone – well from she knew anyway. Anna waited to see what would happen. She could hear Kai answering the door and talking to someone. Murmuring between Kai and an unknown person could be heard. Anna was actually curious on what was happening. She placed her book on the table next to her chair before she slipped out of the room. She could see Kai looking quite frustrated at the person standing before him. He was a medium size man with brown hair. Anna could see the man wearing the same jacket, in green, as what the Assassins wore except he didn't have a hood attached to his jacket so Anna didn't know if this was a coincidence or not.
"For the last time sir," Kai said sounding a little annoyed. "The mistress is not here at the moment."
"But I really need to talk to her," the man said sounding impatient. "Do you know when she will be back?"
"No," Kai said. "I have no information on Miss. Elsa's whereabouts or estimated time of return."
It sounded like to Anna that he was looking for Elsa but she didn't know why this was. This could be for so many different reasons. He could be an Assassin with information for her or a member of their family business with important information.
"Are you looking for Elsa?" Anna said from at the top of the stairs. Both men looked up. The newcomer instantly raced to the bottom of the stairs and avoided Kai's attempt at stopping him from doing this.
"Could you give your sister this message?" the man said. Anna didn't even question how the man knew that Elsa was her sister. She just walked down the stairs and took the note that he was holding out.
"Sure," Anna said.
"Thank you," the man said with relief in his voice. He then turned around and raced out of the house. Kai looked confused but Anna told him to continue his duties. He bowed to her and left the room. Kristoff then came through the door which surprised Anna. She thought he was coming back later. Anna couldn't worry about that now. She tore open the note and started to read what was written. A scared look came over her features.
"You okay?" Kristoff said.
Anna looked up at him. "I think Elsa may be in trouble."
A/N: Dun, dun, dunnn. What is going to happen now? What is going on between Anna and Kristoff? What was in the note that Anna read? There are just so many questions coming from this chapter. Any answers floating around in any of reader's heads? Good news, I only have a few assignments left which shouldn't hopefully take too long (okay that was a lie but I have my fingers crossed on that) then its the end of semester. Wow, is anyone else like 'where has the year gone?' or 'I can't believe its nearly June!'. I feel like last week was just March. Only two more weeks of semester before exams. Man am I ready for this semester to be over. Uni has been a nightmare at the moment. At least I'll be on holiday in just over a month. Cannot wait for that. Then I have to do it all over again for the second part of the year. Woo (heavy sarcasm applied here). Well, that's enough of me rambling, I hope that everyone enjoyed this update. Please review =)
Reviews:
Guest: Sounds good. What kind of plot lines were you thinking? Also what couples? Obviously Jelsa and Kristanna? Maybe a bit of Hiccastrid because you were thinking of a How To Train Your Dragon crossover with it. Frozen: The Guardians, not a bad start. What was going to be involved? Obviously Elsa meets The Guardians but how? When? I'm getting a little interested just talking about it.
ElsaTheSnowQueen2: Yep she was and now she is far away or she? Who knows? Thanks! for the review
SureSnowflake: Yep, I guess she did, thankfully. Those moves certainty came in handy for that fight. Thanks for the review and I will keep going!
