Title: Chapter 53: The Hunt
3 year 3 months until correction
The tower clock begins to strike the bell eleven times. The blue glow from Sam's eyes fades. The stable's side door opens and two hooded individuals dressed in all black attire enter. They press themselves against the wall. A female's voice comments, "I do not see him."
A small flame on a candle flickers to life in the side room. The two sneak their way as quiet as possible into the room. The shorter of the two dark figures peeks around the corner. A small hand pulls the hood back to reveal the strawberry blonde Princess. She places her hands on her waist as she searches the room. "I did not hear him go out the door. Who lit the candle?"
The second figure pulls back his hood as he steps past her. "Someone was here a short while ago. There is an ember in the fireplace," Kristoff comments.
A cold breeze blows down the back of Anna's shirt. Her hand covers the cold spot as she spins around. Like a coiled snake striking, Anna's fist thumps his chest. "I knew it was you."
A tall figure with a maroon cloak steps out of the dark corner. Sam pulls his hood back as he rubs the spot on his chest. With a smile, he nods to her. "Please forgive me. Elsa says we should get comfortable with each other. If we can laugh, without hurt feelings, this venture will succeed."
"Could you have picked a less dangerous event to get comfortable with us?" Kristoff asks as he looks in the pot hanging over the embers in the small fireplace. "And why so late?"
"Because we must maintain the Queen's plausible deniability of any actions we do tonight."
"You do not think she already knows through you?" Anna asks.
He shakes his head. "Once she falls asleep I can disable her ability to hear my thoughts."
Kristoff turns his head towards him, "Really, so you can't keep any secrets from her while she is awake?"
"The first time it happened, it was very unnerving, but it relieved the burden of remembering what was revealed and what was not. If you truly love someone, don't keep secrets, no matter the consequences. It is best to reveal them under circumstances you can control. It builds trust." He glances at the ceiling in the direction of the Queen's bedroom. "She doesn't need any surprises. If we do get together, she needs to be fully aware of who and what I am."
Anna taps on his chest and asks, "And what are you that my sister needs to know?"
For a moment his eyes search the floor. With a grin, his left brow rises. "Let me show you."
He removes his gloves and motions them to move closer to him. "Both of you take off your gloves and face each other."
They hesitate, but they remove their gloves and face each other. Their smiles are a little more than nervousness for each other. "Kristoff, take both of her hands and hold them close to your chest."
They step closer to each other. Sam notes while they look into the other's eyes, they are not staring at each other. They feed the hunger they have for each other. He begins to have second thoughts if they should be on this mission. Should Anna get hurt, whatever relationship beyond his current status with his Queen would cease to exist with his banishment. With the slight movement of his head a sparkle flashes in Anna's eyes. No doubt if he was not there, their lips would be satisfying their hunger for each other. His mind glances towards his Queen. To gain the reward one must risk something.
Sam refocuses. They both stare at him. "Please forgive me. I was momentarily lost in thoughts. Okay, I will touch the sides of your neck. It will feel cold for a few seconds, then you will feel a little light headed. The sensation will go away. If you feel like you are floating, hold onto each other. I will make a mental connection to the both of you and for the next several hours you will be sensing each other. Meaning, despite the dark you will know where the other is and I will see what you see."
Lightly touching the back of their necks a blue glow of energy flows from his hands. They close their eyes and take a quick breath. A cold fog escapes from their lips. Anna leans her head against Kristoff's chest as he rests his cheek on top of her head. They open their eyes with the same bluish tint as his eyes. Sam steps back.
Anna looks up at Kristoff and moves her hand to his face. "Your eyes are blue."
He responds, "So are yours."
Sam sweeps his right hand past their faces and the glow disappears. "Are you two ready?" They step back from each other wearing smiles. He holds up his gloves. "Put your Gloves on. Since the clouds are not cooperating as I had hoped, we will be moving under partial moon light. So as you move from one location to the next, keep your hands close to your body and your hood over your head. Do not expose any part of your skin. It will be like holding up a lantern for anyone to see. Stay in the shadows."
He touches both of them. "You two stay together. You are responsible for each other. If I tell you to run, Kristoff, I will hold you personally responsible for Anna's safety. Go to a safe location and make your way back to the castle at a later time."
Hoping they understand what they are about to do, he commands, "Do not try to save me. I will create the distraction that will allow you time to get out, understand?"
They both nod, still smiling.
Sam moves to the door. "Hoods on." He pulls his hood over his head. Anna and Kristoff move to the door as they pull their hoods over their heads. With a flick of his finger, the candle winks out.
They slip out the door and move quickly to the wall. The shadow from the wall hides them as they make their way to the main gates. Sam pulls his hood back and motions to the guard who opens the gate. They pass through and make their way down to the shore next to the bridge. His hand waves over the water. The dark color water freezes into a circular disk and rises several centimeter above the surrounding water. Stepping on the frozen dark water, he assist his partners onto the ice. Moving his hand like a fish swimming, the dark ice moves along the edge of each bridge footing. A splash and plopping sounds move several meters from the other side of the bridge. They reach the wharf. For several seconds they wait. The ice rises and they step onto the pier. A passing cloud blocks the moonlight, creating an almost completely dark Arendelle.
He reaches back and touches his partners. You are hearing me in your mind. Stay close. We have a chance to reach our target.
They walk the outer perimeter of the town square. A blue tint creates an outline of the buildings. The cloud releases the moonlight as they hide next to the target building. Grouped together, he whispers, "Look at the bridge."
Anna replies, "There is someone moving."
"They're hiding behind the rail of the bridge. We would have been discovered," Kristoff says.
Anna clenches Kristoff's hand. "Luck is on our side. They did not see us."
"Or was it luck?" Kristoff asks, but they both stare at him.
Sam smiles at them. "To hide, use whatever is available to conceal your movement and the timing must be perfect." He glances at the door. "If they are smart enough to have someone there, will they be smart enough to have someone stationed inside. You two constantly search the area and minimize your movement. I will see what you see."
Anna watches the bridge and Kristoff watches the wharf. He stops for a moment and sees what their eyes observe. They have a complete one hundred and eighty degree coverage, so they will receive a few seconds notice of an intruder. His hand presses against the door as his mind reaches through the door. He does not detect any one, but continues to scan for the usual tricks to indicate if someone has entered the building. Confident the building is empty, he inserts a small piece of metal into the door's lock and wiggles it with his finger. With a slight click the door opens a few centimeters. He searches for anything that may have fallen onto the floor by the movement of the door. The owner should have someone check the door during the night, at least that is what he would do. He scans the outside and does not detect any one. "Inside quickly."
With all three inside of the building, he inserts the piece of metal into the lock and it clicks. His hood slides back as his eyes shift the light spectrum.
"Is it safe?" Anna asks.
"As long as you stay away from the windows, we will be alright. You can pull back your cloak."
"Whoa," Anna comments rotating her hands in front of her face.
"Why green?" Kristoff says as he looks around.
"It allows for the greatest definition of objects without bright spots or dark voids to trip over. If I add the red color you would not see anything except shadows and whatever the moonlight hits." Sam continues to search the room for its purpose.
"So what are we looking for?" Anna asks. "Other than those two desks over there, it appears to be an abandoned building."
Anna follows Kristoff as he walks to a corner. He comments, "This looks like dirt. Someone has been digging here."
"I'm adding a little red color to your vision. Tell me what you see."
"Whoa, look at that. The floor is sparkling." Anna says as she moves like she is trying not to step on the floor.
Kristoff grabs her. "It's okay. Whatever it is, it is leaving a trail to the door."
"Look up."
They tilt their heads up. A hand print sparkles on the ceiling. "What is it?" Anna asks.
Kristoff answers, "I have seen something similar on Grand Pabbie. It sparkled in the sunlight. He said it was gold dust."
"And you are correct. Several foot prints tracked the gold to the desk. I do not see a ladder. They may have moved the desk to get up there. So who feels like going upstairs to see what they are hiding."
"The desk?" Kristoff asks, pointing to the closest desk.
"If I was doing this operation the desk would be set in a specific location. If it had been moved when I came back."
"An intruder," Anna states.
He removes his cloak and hands it to her. With a grin he bumps Kristoff's shoulder. "A strong boy like you should have no problem lifting me up. Hold my leg."
Kristoff bends his knees. Sam places his foot against his upper thigh and stands. He holds onto a ceiling beam and scans the upper room. His vision detects an outline cut into the ceiling. He pushes on the cutout panel and two shims fall to the floor as the hinged door opens into the upper room. He pulls himself up onto the second floor.
"What do you see?" Anna asks stretching her neck to see into the opening.
He sticks his head and an arm through the hole. "Put the two shims in your pocket and your cloaks on the desk."
They slip out of their cloaks. Kristoff places them on the desk while Anna stares up at him.
Sam notes Anna's heart rate has increased since they entered the room. Her heart pulses in her neck at the same location as her sister's pulse. "As a member of the royal court, you need to see what's up here. Give me your hands." She grabs his arm and Kristoff lifts her up. They easily lift her up into a small room.
She adjust her clothing to regain control of her royal composer. With a smile she comments, "You are strong."
"I bet Kristoff has no problems lifting you at least the same height." He points to the stacks of bags sitting on the narrow shelves surrounding the room. "Look inside of them."
She slides along the narrow space and opens the first bag. Two small nuggets with the same shiny color fall into her hand. Opening the second bag, her fingers pulls up a stream of tiny yellow flakes. She ties the two bags closed and examines the room with every shelf filled with similar bags. "Do all of these have gold in them?"
"Unless you picked the lucky two, I would say yes."
"Wow, where did it come from?" She counts the bags.
"Possibly the dirt in the corner Kristoff found is a clue." Suddenly their cloaks fly up from the hole followed by Kristoff grabbing the edge of the hole. He locks his hands under Kristoff's shoulder and pulls him up. "What's going on?"
"I heard voices outside of the door and it rattled like someone is trying to open it."
"Anna, the shims," Sam whispers. He and Kristoff lowers the trap door and positions the shims in the exact location they were in when he opened the door. "Do not move or speak. Whatever you do, do not look directly into the light."
A light flashes across the room where they were standing. The light shines up through a crack in the floor. He hears muffled voices.
"I don't see anything here," a gruff male's voice comments.
A younger male's voice says, "I know I saw something through the window."
"Do you see it now?"
"No."
Boots scuff on the wood floor below like they are walking around. The light flashes through the seams between the floor and the trap door. "The door has not been opened."
The light returns the upper room to darkness, but momentarily illuminates the face of one of the intruders.
"The two desks have not been moved. What did you see?" asks the gruff voice.
"I thought I saw the shadow of a person near the fireplace."
"Shadows, are you sure you're not seeing ghosts?"
"Ghost?" the younger voice asks in a higher pitch. "If there are ghosts in here, it is one more reason to get our share of the gold and leave on the morning ship before they discovered the mine."
"They are not going to discover the mine. Jensen and his silver tongue or in this case a gold tongue, will delay the Queen from taking over this building long enough for us to get the gold out." Sounds of their boots move towards the door as the voices fade. "Get the others to meet here tomorrow, after midnight, we will clear two of the three rooms and come back the next night to finish the job."
"What about the mine shaft?" The outer door closes.
Sam points in the direction of the two voices. Not hearing the voices below them, he scans the area. Two individuals walk up the street. He notes the lookout on the bridge is missing. He looks at Anna, "It sounds like Jensen is removing gold from Arendelle."
"Umph, let me get the guards and arrest him," Anna huffs.
"And arrest him for what, two voices mentioning his name," Kristoff comments.
Anna flails her arms at the gold, "I counted one hundred and thirty-six bags up here. That's a lot of gold."
"He is right. Neither one of you can identify who belongs to the two voices. I did not detect anyone at the bridge just now. Maybe one of the two is the guard from the bridge."
"But you could find them if you had to, right?" Kristoff asks.
"I will find them, but unless we have hard evidence, they can deny everything." He studies the room and motions to the gold. "We leave it as it is until we find the other two locations and the mine."
"What if they come back?" Anna asks.
"They can be charged as liars for deceiving us."
"That is not funny." She crosses her arms.
He moves to the trap door. "It wasn't meant to be funny." He and Kristoff removes the shims and lifts the door. Kristoff lowers himself through the door and drops to the floor with a barely audible thud. He holds out his hand and motions to her. "Come here."
Hesitantly, she moves to him and takes his hand. "You have already proven your love for your sister. I do not wish for you to be injured, but you have the proof that someone is stealing a lot of gold from Arendelle. Unless you have an idea as to the purpose of the gold, history says, if a kingdom or Queendom, does not have the money or finances to maintain itself, someone could negotiate for power to keep the Queendom solvent."
"You think Jensen is trying to financially starve Arendelle?" Kristoff asks from below.
"That is a very good analogy. If the other locations have similar quantities of gold, they have mined for some time. Jensen claims the building has not been occupied for the last six months. If he is the ring leader, he or whoever, has been planning this for a long time. He would get the greatest gain if the people of Arendelle overthrow Queen Elsa."
Anna stands in silence and stares at him for a moment. She covers his hand with her hands and kneels next to him. "You have to stop him."
He touches her cheek and detects a small amount of moisture. "Anna, WE, will stop whoever is doing this. But whatever we do, we have to maintain a plausible deniability for Elsa, okay"
She nods and wraps her arms around his neck. "Thank you."
He glances at Kristoff, "Okay buddy, catch her. Do not look directly into any light not even the moonlight. Follow the gold."
He lowers Anna through the door into Kristoff's waiting arms. Dropping their cloaks through the door, he lowers himself and Kristoff guides Sam's foot onto his thigh. He closes the trap door and installs the shims into their previous positions.
They search the rest of the room's ceiling. Anna and Kristoff find two more cutout panels similar to the first trapdoor. Each trap door hides a small room on the upper floor like the first one they discovered. Kristoff enters the upper rooms followed by Anna. Each secret room contains multiple bags of gold nuggets and gold flakes. Sam stays on the first floor and constantly scans the area for unwanted guests. They continued to search the first floor for any other secret room, but find none.
As Sam closes the third trap door and places the shims in their exact positions, Anna comments, "I counted a total of six hundred and ninety six bags of gold plus or minus a few. That is a lot of gold." She begins to pace around the room. "If Jensen is stealing this gold from Arendelle, I will punch him myself. Nobody steals from my sister and gets away with it." She stops near the fireplace and stomps her foot on the floor. She grumbles, "Ah!" The floor board flexes and catches her boot under the next board. She struggles to get loose, "Uhm, Kristoff, my foot is stuck.
Kristoff walks over to her and kneels to examine her shoe. He shifts his weight pressing on the single board and her shoe slides out. As he stands Anna gives him a peck on his cheek. He steps back, bumping into Sam. He turns quickly with slightly wider eyes, as if he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar or on the cookie.
Sam responds before he speak, "Don't worry about it. You freed her shoe from the boards and she gave you a reward." He points to the floor. "I'm interested, why the two boards have space underneath them." He kneels and slides his hand over them.
Anna asks, "Are you okay?"
Kristoff answers, "I'm fine."
"Your face and neck is turning bright," she points at him.
While studying the boards Sam comments, "You're seeing an infusion of blood near the surface of his skin."
Anna snickers, "Are you blushing?"
"No," Kristoff quickly responds.
"Really?"
"Well . . . maybe a little."
"Aw, everyone knows we kiss." She wraps her arms around his arm.
"I thought it was supposed to be a secret."
"Yeah, right," Sam comments as he pushes on the floor boards.
"What did you say?" Anna snaps at him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for that to slip out. You two are distracting me with his blushing and you cooing him, but that was a very good imitation of your sister. Just for a fraction of a second, I thought Elsa was here." He lifts the first board and sets it to the side.
He pulls three more boards out of the way. The light colored soil exposes several small dark colored rocks. He picks up a rock and hands it to Kristoff, "Hold onto this and look at it in the daylight when you get a chance."
He runs his fingers through the loose soil and brushes across a metal ring. He tries to pull on it, but one side of the ring is attached to something. He pulls on the ring which creates a slight raised circular indentation in the soil. Anna and Kristoff brush away the soil to reveal a bolt latch on each side. They slide the bolts and Sam lifts the door. On one side of the hole a ladder descends into the dark. At the bottom of the ladder a small light flickers up at them.
"What is that light down there?" Anna asks.
"It looks like amber from a light stick." Kristoff answers as he sticks his head into the hole. After a few seconds he sits up, "I can feel air moving."
Sam picks up a hand full of the soil and slowly pours it out onto the floor. The heavier particles fall straight down onto the floor, but the sandy particles drifted into the hole. He looks at Kristoff. "The other end is open."
"When we entered this room, I notice clouds forming north of here. If the other end of the tunnel is up in the mountain, wind is blowing across the opening. I may be able to find the other end." The entrance door creaks and a piece of charred paper floats out from the fireplace and disappears into the hole. Anna pushes on the legs of her trouser being fluffed open by the draft. Kristoff points to Anna's trousers and to the hole. "It must be getting windy up there."
Sam searches the room. "The tunnel is creating negative pressure in here. Loose material is being drawn under the door. We need to close this."
"What about the gold?" Anna yips. "If they are coming back tomorrow night, they will take it all."
Kristoff asks, "What do you suggest?"
"Suppose we put the bags of gold in there." She points to Sam, "You freeze it shut or something. At least until we can get it out of here." Sam stares at the opening. She continues, "It is either that or we try to carry out as much of the gold as we can."
He smiles. "Actually, Anna that is a very good idea with a small adjustment. In the first room of gold one wall has a loose board over a support wall. You and Kristoff put the bags of gold into the wall and close the opening. I'll take care of the rest." They move to the front of the room. He interlaces his fingers together.
Kristoff places his foot on his hands and removes the shims. He pushes the trap door open and climbs up into the room. He reaches down for Anna. "Come on up."
She steps onto his hands and reaches up to Kristoff. She disappears through the opening. A few seconds later a board pop then a bag of gold slide down in the wall.
"I guess you found it."
"We found it." Anna replies.
Next to the opening in the floor, he draws moisture up from the hole and down the chimney. An ice ramp forms from the opening up to the second and third trap doors. He climbs into first room and throws the bags of gold down the ice ramp. A muffled thump sounds from the hole as the bags of gold collect at the bottom of the ladder. Once the top layer of gold bags are off the shelves, he creates an air burst behind each bag to push it on the ice. Each bag follows the previous bags like a train. Making quick work of removing the gold he jumps down and moves the ramp to the second door. Climbing through the trap door, he repeats the same process and finishes removing the gold from the second room. He jumps down and looks in the hole, but does not see the glow at the bottom. The gold from the two rooms fill part of the shaft.
His eyes shift to the blue spectrum and sees a miniscule amount of energy radiating up. His hand touches the energy band near the top pf the ladder. His hand tingles and creates a familiarity he cannot place or remember when, if he had encountered it before. The energy radiates a purity that should not be here. The energy wraps around his forearm and the tingling moves up to his shoulder.
"Sam . . . Sam, are you down there?" Anna disrupts his thoughts.
He stands and watches the energy falls back into the shaft. Standing under the under the first room, he asks, "Did you finish?"
"Not exactly," she replies breathing heavily.
"How much did you hide?"
Kristoff pokes his head over the edge of the door. "Maybe half, I think some of the bags are wedge and there is still some space."
"Even in the dark I can tell both of you have red faces." He motions to them. "Come on down, I will finish it."
They help Anna through the opening and Kristoff swings himself down. He waves his hand at the ice ramp and it moves to position itself under the first trapdoor. Sparkling dust radiates from his hand and up into the upper room. A slight whistle sounds as the bags of gold fall out of the upper room and slides down the ramp into the hole. Anna and Kristoff catch their breath as the last bag of gold drops into the hole. With a sweep of his hand the ice breaks into tiny pieces and flows into the hole.
Anna pinches his arm. "Why did you not do that to all of the gold instead of having Kristoff and I work so hard?" She peeks into the hole under the floor.
He and Kristoff walk over her and peeks into the hole. "Are you saying you did not like working with him?"
She pinches his arm again and a static arc snaps between her fingers and his arm. She rubs her hands together. "No, I did not say that." She cautiously wraps her arm around Kristoff's arm and smiles up at him. "I love working with him, but after several minutes he was doing most of the work."
"Then maybe the two of you need to spend more time together outside of the library." He glances to Kristoff. "Don't mean to put you on the spot. Why don't you take Anna with you the next time you check on the ice? Explain what you are doing and how to determine when the ice is ready for harvest."
Kristoff hand covers her hand. "Is that what you want? I want you to go with me, but—"
"But I am a Princess," she interrupts.
"Well, yes, I don't know what I can ask and not go too far."
She places her hand behind his neck. "You can always ask. I will let you know if you step over the line."
His eyes widen. "There is a line?"
Sam chuckles at them. Anna pulls his head to her and whispers, "No line here." She kisses him.
Sam closes the door in the floor and covers it with the dirt. He places the floor boards over the hole as they were when Anna found it. He walks around Anna and Kristoff still in their embrace. Finished with closing the upper room trap doors, he slips his cloak over his shoulders. His fingertips touch the sides of both of their necks. "Don't mind me as I return your eyes to normal vision."
When they did not move, but grown, he says, "Time to go kids. Mom is not going to like me keeping you out all night."
He moves to the front door and presses his palm against the door frame to scan the outside area. He detects no one and glances back. They are still in their embrace. "Do I need to splash you with a bucket of cold water?"
They break their embrace and slip their cloaks on as they slowly walk towards him. "Okay, you two need to detach and focus. When you go out the door, turn to the right and stop at the end of the block. Hoods up." He pulls the hood over his head.
The door creaks open. A warm salty breeze pushes against the door. A lighter blue fills the sky. The upper level clouds to the north hint at the first rays of the sunrise. They will have to hurry.
He pushes Kristoff out and Anna follows him. Her cloak strikes the door frame with a thump. They turn right and creep along the wall towards the end of the block.
He struggles to lock the door. His mind detects a warm body around the corner moving towards his companions. Kristoff must have also heard the stranger. He pins Anna to the wall in an embrace. Their cloaks cover their activities. Sam runs up the block and hides around the corner. He peaks back at them. An early morning merchant walks past the two and stops. The merchant stares at them.
He steps around the corner and waves his arm. The merchant looks in his direction. He motions by pointing to his eyes then to the two cloaked figures. The merchant nods to him and continues on his way across the street.
Kristoff peeks in the direction of the merchant and looks back at him. Sam motions for them to move. Kristoff nods and places his arm around Anna. They walk around the corner towards the bridge.
Sam moves up the street towards the wharfs. A few early merchants head towards their shops to prepare for the new day. At the end of the block he recognizes the sentry sitting on the bridge rail as one of the males who entered the building, earlier in the evening. He picks up several rocks and throws them high into the air. The first rock lands several meters to the side of the sentry. Three more rocks land in rapid successions hitting the wharfs with a loud pop as they bounce into the water. The sentry moves from his post to the wharf. Sam launches three more rocks up into the air. They hit the water, creating tall plumes. The sentry searches the sky and searches the water. His distraction allows the two cloaked individuals to walk over the bridge. Sam drops his other rocks and notices a sailor on the ship tied up at the wharf. The sailor waves to him before continuing his duties.
The lookout moves back to the bridge and searches up the street away from the castle.
Sam takes his cloak off and drapes it over his arm. He moves quickly and marches across the square's platform. The noise draws the sentry's attention. "Hey, what are you doing there?" he yells at the lookout.
"I'm not doing anything, just walking."
"You were asleep when I walked past you. Who are you waiting for?"
"I'm not waiting for anyone. I'm just walking."
Sam stands with his feet shoulder width apart and his hands on his waist. He watches the lookout walk up the street and turn down an alley. Sam walks across the street towards the bridge. Peeking over his shoulder, he stares at the alley. A partially exposed face looks back at him.
I should throw a rock at him, but he is just the hired help.
After a moment he picks up a rock. The rock travels in a slight arc and hits the lookout's shoe. As he walks over the bridge, Sam opens and closes his hand as the tingling starts up again.
End of Chapter
