Note: If you haven't read Chapter 50, please do so now. You won't want to miss it! I deleted a note I had posted Friday and when I posted Chapter 50, no notifications were sent out, I believe.
"Ma-ma, Ma-ma! Ma-ma, Ma-Ma!"
"Anna, shut up that brat of yours. I'm tired of hearing him. " Hans ordered her as he watched for signs of Elsa from a cave on the North Mountain.
"He's crying for his mother," Anna told him, hatred dripping from her voice. He had her tied up in a cold, dark corner. Aiden was sitting next to her, scared and very much awake when he should have been asleep in his comfortable bed at home.
Hans looked down at her with disgust. "Then he should be fine. Really Anna, the children we could have had, and that ice man keeps you pregnant with these brats!"
Anna's eyes grew wide, realizing that Hans believed that Aiden was her son with Kristoff. She wisely decided to go along with his assumptions, because there was no telling what he would do if he knew that Aiden was actually Elsa's, or in actuality his. She tried to comfort her nephew as best as possible, considering she couldn't use her arms. "Shh. Shh, Aiden. Mama will make everything all right soon. I hope." The last sentence was uttered under her breath.
"Hans, what are you going to do with us?" she asked.
Hans, never one to keep his nefarious plans secret too long, especially when everything seemed to be going his way, obliged Anna. "I'm luring that witch sister of yours up here in hopes of brokering a deal: her kingdom for you and the brat. Once she's up here, I will kill the three of you, thus snuffing out the entire royal family, and take what should have been mine three years ago."
Anna struggled against the ropes that tied her, "Elsa's stronger and more powerful than she was three years ago, Hans. I know for certain that you're no match for her now."
Hans reached down and cupped her cheek as he had three years before when he told her he didn't love her. "Oh Anna. Poor, naive Anna. What you don't understand is that the things you believe make Elsa stronger: her love for you, the crying brat, and the one you carry, are just the things that make her weaker. She would do anything to keep you safe. She proved that when she locked herself up for thirteen years trying to protect you from her powers. We once talked of how love is an open door. It is, you know. It is the door left open in the night so that the thief can come in to steal, kill and destroy!"
Anna shivered from fear and cold. She hoped Elsa could overcome Hans, but she feared that he was correct. She prayed that Elsa had some trick up her sleeve to save all of them.
Riding up the North Mountain, James held on to Elsa tightly. All he wanted was for everyone to be safe back at the castle and then to resume the reunion with Elsa in his arms. That, of course, had to wait as a maniacal sociopath who had injured both of them far too long needed to be dealt with. "Do you have a plan?" James asked, knowing that Elsa had been doing nothing but calculating what to do in her head since she received Hans' note.
"There's a large cave near where the stairway leading to my Ice Palace was. I imagine Hans is there with Anna and Aiden. I'm going to go up there, confront him, and then I'm going to kill him if need be," she told him.
"Do you think it will just be that easy?" James asked.
"No." Elsa admitted. "I'm going to have find out what he wants and distract him. There's a back entrance to the cave that I doubt he's aware of. I want you to sneak in that way and get Anna and Aiden to safety… no matter what happens to me."
James tightened his grip around Elsa's waist. "I just got you back. I refuse to let anything happen to you."
Elsa leaned in to his chest. "I don't plan on letting anything happen to me. That said, Anna and Aiden are my top priority, James. Get them to the platoon of men following us as soon as possible. This cold, damp air isn't good for Aiden, and I worry what the stress will do to Anna in her condition. Please. I couldn't live in anything happened to either of them or the baby."
"As you wish," James reluctantly agreed. "but do you think it will be so easy just to kill him? You're not a killer, Elsa. I worry that it would destroy you."
"Hans once told me not to be the monster people feared I was, James. I'm not the monster, he is. I know that now without a doubt. I am a mother though, and that monster has my son and my sister. I won't let him do anything to harm Aiden or Anna. If I have to kill him, so be it. It will only be because he has forced my hand."
They came to the end of the tree line, tied Argus, and said their goodbyes. "This is it. I have to go alone from here, or Hans might see us together," Elsa told him. "You can get to the back entrance to the cave that way."
"Elsa!" James said.
"What?" She had one thing on her mind just then, and it wasn't romance.
He embraced her. "Elsa, before we part, please let's just take a moment to clear our heads."
She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Thank you. I needed to stop and think clearly. This is all happening so quickly."
He kissed her forehead. "I'm afraid for you."
She reached up and kissed him before stepping back, "Anna sacrificed her life for me when we last encountered Hans. She's the bravest, truest person there is. Aiden is my child. I would give my life for him willingly, James. If this is the last time we say goodbye, at least it's the first day of the rest of my life. I can't be afraid. It's my turn to be brave."
James held on to her hands for just a moment. "We will ALL come down this mountain together. I love you. Go, be brave."
She smiled at him reluctantly. "I know. I will."
She climbed the rest of the way up the mountain alone, constantly searching all around her for traps. When she reached the cave, she called out to Hans. "Hans? Come out. I'm here. What do you want me to give you in return for Aiden and Anna?"
"Aiden?" She heard the eerily familiar voice ask from behind her. She turned to see him sauntering toward her. "How interesting that a child in your family would be given a name meaning 'little and fiery."
"Where is he? Where's Anna?" Elsa asked. "What do you want from us?"
Hans circled Elsa were she stood. "What have I always wanted, Elsa? I want your crown. I want your kingdom. Now I also want to watch you suffer before I obtain them both."
"Let me see them, Hans" Elsa demanded in a cold, flat voice. "Let me see them now, or I will kill you right here and find them myself."
He stopped circling her and began ogling her body, making her feel disgusting and dirty. "Aren't you the feisty one these days? Not quite so afraid of your powers anymore, are you?"
He was standing right up against her. His breath on her skin made her stomach churn. She pushed herself past him and started walking toward the cave herself. "I know how to control my powers now. They're aren't something to be afraid of…" she turned an about face to get in his face as he followed closely at her heels, "unless you cross me."
As Elsa was distracting Hans, James made his way through the back entrance of the cave. He came up behind Anna, startling her. When she saw who it was, she jumped and started to say, "James," but he quickly covered her mouth with his hand and motioned for her silence. He cut her loose from the ropes that tied her then picked up Aiden, who had cried himself to sleep. They started making their way out of the cave at a very slow pace, considering Anna's condition.
"You know, the difference between you and I, Hans, is that I imagine you're doing all of this alone. You have no accomplices," she stalled outside the entrance of the cave.
Hans laughed. "Of course not. Accomplices means sharing the spoils. I deserve everything that I get today. I know you prefer to go it alone too, Elsa. Don't act like it's otherwise."
Elsa angrily shook her head. "Maybe in the past, but that was wrong. I know that now. You see, I now know that I can conquer anything with my loved ones."
"Oh Elsa, you're still the monster you were three years ago," Hans smugly told her.
Elsa stepped into the cave, noticing that it was now empty. "I'm no monster, Hans, and I will defeat you with the help of my loved ones."
Hans ran into the cave and found it empty. Elsa stood firm and held up her hands to take care of the threat. "You're the only monster here, Hans!" She shot a blast of ice at him to paralyze him, but he ducked.
The ice hit the wall of the cave, causing rocks to fall around them. She shot several more rounds at him, but he was always one step ahead. With every icy shot, the stability of the cave seemed to get worse.
Meanwhile, James was trying to get Anna and Aiden out of the cave, but Anna was moving very slowly. Aiden seemed happy to be leaving the horrible, dark, cold, and wet cave and took to James holding him quite well. James wanted to take the time to really meet this important young man, but this wasn't this time. Suddenly Anna stopped, doubled over clutching her abdomen.
James came over to her and whispered in her ear, "Anna, what's wrong?" fearing he knew the truth.
"I think I'm in labor!" she cried. "My water just broke!"
"I've got to get you out of here!" James told her.
"I don't think I can move right now, James," she admitted.
James sat Aiden down on the ground to help Anna take a seat in order to gather her strength. Neither expected nor noticed with the little boy to crawl away. What they didn't realize was that he heard his mother's voice and was determined to find her.
"I thought you were more powerful now, Elsa," Hans taunted her. "You still seem like the same uncontrollable with you were three years ago."
"Ma-ma!" Aiden cried out, upon seeing Elsa. Both Hans and Elsa stopped cold.
"Aiden?" Elsa cried, not knowing why he was still in the cave. She ran to pick him up, but Hans beat her to him.
"Mama?" Hans asked. "Well, well, well. I believed the brat to be Anna's, but it looks as if you have been busy and rather naughty, Queen Elsa. Things just got a little more interesting." He walked around holding Aiden who kept calling for his mother. "I thought it would be painful enough to see your little nephew killed, but your own son. I think fate just smiled on me. Tell me, what would you do to ensure the safety of your precious boy?"
'Hans, please don't hurt my son." Elsa begged. "I'll do anything you want, but please don't hurt him." James came running back in there, after realizing Aiden was gone. Hans saw him. "Well, who do we have here? Tell me, is the boy's father?"
Elsa looked to James and that at Hans. It was time to tell the truth regarding Aiden. "No. No he's not. You're his father, Hans."
Hans laughed. "That's a good one, Elsa. I think I would remember dipping my pen into your frozen ink."
James had to fight the urge to jump Hans and rip his head off with his bare hands, but he couldn't put Aiden in any more danger than he already was in.
Elsa stepped closer to Hans. "I'm not lying, Hans. I didn't give birth to him. Do you recall the younger sister to the Duke of Westbrooke?"
Hans lifted Aiden to get a better look at him. "Elinor? I will admit that she was a good lay, but once her funds ran out, her charms seemed to disappear. I left her in Iperland. How did she end up in Arendelle?"
James had taken all of Hans' mouth that he could stand. He gave Elsa a knowing look then screamed, "She was looking for me!" as he jumped Hans. Elsa quickly caught Aiden in her waiting arms before he hit the ground. James never gave Hans time to realize what was happening. "This is for Anna! This is for Elsa! This is for Elinor! This is for every other young girl looking for love who you've manipulated.!" All of the rage he held against this man came out as soundly beat him within an inch of his life.
"James!" Elsa cried out, seeing the bloody pulp of Hans' face. "He's out cold! Don't kill him! Let him hang for his crimes!"
James stopped beating Hans and dropped his body cold. The sight of Elsa holding Aiden close to her, calming him in that way only mothers could brought him to his senses. Breathing heavily, he walked over to them, gathering the both of them into his arms. "You're right. Let's make him suffer the pain of the hangman's noose."
Some more rocks fell from the ceiling of the cave. Elsa scanned the cave for her sister. "Where's Anna?" James looked at her in confusion, the he remembered where and in what state he left Anna.
He started for the back entrance to the cave again. "I left her to retrieve Aiden. We've got to get her to a safe place. She's in labor."
Elsa's eyes grew large. She worried something like this could happen but hoped it wouldn't. "What? Oh my…"
As if knowing they were talking about her, Anna then appeared again. "Elsa! Elsa! The baby's coming, Elsa!"
Elsa sat Aiden down on the blanket on the ground where he had been before James' rescue attempt. "Right now?" she asked, running to her sister.
"Right now!" Anna answered through gritted teeth.
James and Elsa put their coats on the ground and laid Anna down on them. More rocks began to fall, and Elsa noticed that Aiden once again had crawled away from where she sat him. What she didn't notice was that Hans hadn't been unconscious after all and was watching the baby boy. Just then Elsa spotted Aiden as several extremely large rocks fell. They were going to land directly on top of him.
"Aiden!" Elsa screamed, terror in her voice.
Despite his beating, Hans managed to jump up and shield the boy just before the rocks covered both their bodies. Elsa and James raced to the pile of rocks and began digging through the rubble, Elsa screaming Aiden's name, willing him to cry out to her.
When they finally unearthed Hans' body, it was covered in bruises and lacerations. They rolled him over to find Aiden perfectly fine save for some dirt. "Ma-ma?" he asked. Elsa grabbed him into her arms and hugged him tightly.
"Oh Aiden, don't scare your Mama like that ever again!" she cried.
"Elsa," James called to her while checking Hans who no longer had a pulse. "He gave his life to protect Aiden."
Elsa wiped the tears from her eyes and told him, "Let it be known that Aiden's biological father gave his life to save Aiden's." She then covered Hans in a layer of ice and snow so they wouldn't have to keep looking at his dead body.
James nodded and looked about the cave. "Elsa, we need you to stabilize the cave with ice. We can't move Anna, and that could easily happen again."
She looked at Aiden, kissed his head, then handed him to James. "Okay. Do not let him out of your sight. He's far faster than I give him credit for." She lifted her hands and covered the walls and ceiling with a thick, protective layer of ice. No more dirt or rocks would be crumbling on them.
"Elsa!" Anne cried out in excruciating pain.
Elsa stood, staring at her sister in obvious shock. This was not how the next prince or princess was supposed to come into the world. James, still holding on to Aiden, nudged her. "Go on, you're a woman. You have to know what to do."
She turned to face him, fear etched all across her. "I am a queen! I know nothing about birthing babies!"
James was confused. "I thought you said you were there when he," he lifted Aiden, "was born?"
Elsa started to pace. "I-I was, but he was taken surgically. I didn't see what the doctor did. This isn't the same at all! Weren't you in the navy? It is well-known that captains often allow their officers to bring their wives aboard. Surely you have seen babies born?"
"Ships' surgeons took care of that. My main job was to make sure the guns were fired in order to hasten delivery!"
"Your Majesty?" Captain Wolff called to them from the cave entrance. "Are you in need of assistance?"
Elsa and James shared a look of relief before Elsa called back. "Yes! Yes, we most definitely are! Bring the doctor and midwife immediately! Princess Anna is about to give birth to her baby!"
James took Aiden to meet with the platoon of men offering aid and instructed them to bury Hans' body properly. They played and became acquainted while Elsa sat by her sister's side and held her hand as Anna brought her daughter into the world. In the course of a day, the sisters' entire world had somehow shifted completely. Somehow they had managed to come through the fire once again together and stronger than they had been beforehand.
Hans is gone. Anna's baby is born. Our time here is almost finished. We have only a few chapters left. Let me know what you think.
