The Deadly Sea

Xe marched angrily down into the brig. Thus far they'd managed to keep ahead of Meilic, though by what miracle he wasn't sure. He stopped in front of the first cell, glaring into it at its sole occupant. Thord, bound at the far end and chilled to the bone, dehydrated and starved and currently sleeping fitfully. Across from him was the Arendellian General, but that man wasn't Xe's concern. Xe slammed the bars sharply. Thord started awake with a gasp, looking quickly to him. "What do you know of the location of Ahtohallan?" the pirate demanded.

Thord outright laughed. "As if I'd tell you even if I did know?! Look, short of climbing mountains you're out of luck," Thord replied. "Clearly you and your people aren't prepared for a trek across land much less march up into freezing cold glaciers." The pirate scoffed and pulled a gun, aiming it at the unconscious guardsman across the way. Thord stiffened slightly. Mattias, he believed the man's name was. He was held in high esteem by Elsa and Anna. A favorite of theirs, far as he knew. A friend even. His life wasn't a life his cousins would want to see lost, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made.

"Tell me, or I will kill him slowly and painfully," Xe hissed darkly.

Thord stared at the man, who was starting to stir, and swallowed. He looked at Xe. He could probably save the guy's life. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't know where Ahtohallan was, after all. He knew the general vicinity of the Enchanted Forest, but precious little else, and what he knew would be useless to Xe but it might appease the pirate and save Mattias' life. "I don't know where Ahtohallan is. What I remember is that when I was a child growing up high in the Kaskader Mountains, there was always this place far, far in the distance shrouded in mist. Sometimes, if you looked down at the right time, you could see the tops of the trees. The old ones said it was called the Enchanted Forest, presumably the gateway to Ahtohallan. Most everyone laughed at the notion and those who didn't, mostly other old ones or those with poetic minds, well, they never spoke much about it. But it was… something else. A sight to see. Thing was once you got down out of our village, you'd lose all track of where the forest might have been. The Kaskader Mountains are a confusing mountain range, and deadly if you don't know what you're doing or where you're going, and it was the range you had to pass through to get to it by land. There was only one path that took you through the mountains safely and that was accessed via Arendelle. Unless you were particularly daring or adventurous, you weren't going to find that forest without finding the path. Point is, unless you're prepared to climb sheer cliffs, you're out of luck. All you can do anymore is turn back and leave from Arendelle. I know the general direction of the forest, but reaching the river that is Ahtohallan is another matter entirely. Across a sea, as far as I'm aware, and no, I don't know how you access that sea that doesn't exist on maps. Again, you could see glimpses of it from my village, but little more."

"Forthcoming for someone who wasn't going to tell me where it was," Xe said.

"Have I told you where anything was? I told you how impossible it was to get there and how you could maybe start to try and figure it out from land, but precious little else. I gave you warning, not directions. I don't have directions, Xe," Thord said with a tired sigh. Silence. "You're going to get yourself and your men killed. No one on this ship will return alive from that place if you keep going into it as blindly as this. And I'm not my cousin. I don't have the key or the power it would take to break through the protective mists that rumor claimed pushed those who dared try and venture into it back. Even if you find it, how do you think you're getting through that barrier?! Assuming it's still even up."

"See, there's someone who suspects you are in fact a key to getting through that mist. How I'm not sure, but I'm certain we'll learn soon enough. Will it take human sacrifice maybe?" Xe threatened.

Thord let out a sharp bark of scornful laughter. "Try away! See if I even care anymore."

"If you insist," the man menacingly replied, turning and leaving. Thord scoffed. He noticed, then, that Matthias was awake and watching him. He frowned. "What are you looking at?" he testily demanded.

The man was quiet. "Thank you," he finally said. "You shouldn't have done it though."

"Yeah, well, the trick is to make people believe you've given them everything when you've given them nothing instead. Look, with or without me they're going to sail their way into the Dark Sea eventually," Thord answered. "It wasn't worth your life to try and protect something that was going to be found eventually regardless."

"We need to stop him," Matthias said.

"Yeah? You get out of those bonds and that cell then talk to me about us stopping him," Thord replied with a scoff. Matthias frowned. The man had a point, but that wasn't going to keep him from at least trying to do exactly that. He commenced to attempting to struggle free.

Frozen

The longboats followed the coast as far as they could until they saw land across the way. Not Ahtohallan, but the safe shore they needed to get to. They couldn't keep following said coast. A storm was brewing again, and if they tried to keep going like they were, they'd only be dashed apart against the cliffs! The sea was choppy and dark and menacing, but it was a chance where they'd otherwise have none. "The longboats will never make it through those waters," the Duke of Weselton gravely said. He looked at Hans. "If we do, it will be a miracle."

"Nokk will stop it," Elsa spoke up quietly.

"Stop using nokk as a name. It's just what it was," Hans said.

She frowned at him and sighed. "I can make an ice bridge," she said. "Hovering above the waves. We'll need to move fast, though."

"Since we can't afford to wait to see whether your faerie friend deigns to show up, let's go the bridge route," the Duke of Weselton said. Elsa nodded and stood up in the boat, forming the first part of the bridge. She walked forward, building as she went. The others followed her in procession, carrying the boats and supplies. It was going to be quite the walk, but they should make it to land in a timely enough fashion.

When finally their exhausted feet touched down on solid beach. They deposited the longboats and supplies and dropped to the sand panting for breath. "Queen Elsa," a surprised voice said. Elsa and co looked quickly up. Standing there, in the treeline, were a group of people. Elsa let out a breath and rose, going towards them with Anna, looking relieved. That must mean they weren't threats, Hans figured, so that was something. Elsa and Anna spoke quietly with the woman who had said her name, and the woman nodded. Men of the village went to help the ship's occupants with their things, carrying them off into the forest. Hans approached his wife. "What was that about?" he asked.

"I asked for sanctuary," she replied. "For all of us. And for a safe place to deliver our baby." He nodded and took her hand, squeezing it gently as the wind softly blew. He looked around. This place unsettled him. Had he mentioned that lately? But it was peaceful here, and if it was where Elsa felt safe, so be it. He was too tired to think through this situation right now. They all were.

"Who was she?" he tiredly asked.

"Their leader. Her name is Yelana," Elsa answered. "It was her husband who my grandfather killed." Hans let out a breath and nodded in understanding. "She wanted to know why the mist was back. She was so upset… I told her the reasons and she agreed with them. Promised sanctuary and everything. We're going to be alright now, love. We're going to be alright." Hans drew her close, tucking her head into the crook of his neck and gently nuzzling her.

Frozen

Xe stared at the mist pouring out of a pass they had at last come upon, his lips pursed in agitation. Things had been going so well, but it wasn't a surprise this means of defense had been set up to protect the forest and the queen. "Bring up their cousin," he darkly ordered. If Carabis had been right about him being a key, well, it was only a matter of figuring out how to work that key. His men left to obey. In a few minutes they led the shackled Thord up onto the deck. The man looked more than a little nervous.

"You weren't serious about the human sacrifice thing, were you?" Thord tightly asked.

"If you're of any use at all to me, it'll be alive I suspect," Xe replied. "But we'll see."

Thord looked ahead at the thick fog and grimaced. It almost seemed like that pass was breathing… "I'm not my cousin," he soon said. I don't have her powers." He looked up at the cliffs on either side of them. He didn't feel comfortable here. The tops looked like heads, which was hugely unsettling. He looked at Xe. "I'm not the key you think I am," he said.

"We'll see," Xe replied.

"Captain, it's Meilic!" a voice shouted. Xe gasped, spinning quickly. He cursed. He had hoped they'd shaken them! He cast a scathing look at Thord, who stood stiff and wide-eyed. The last thing the man wanted to do was get caught in a battle between rival pirates, it seemed.

"Throw the prisoner overboard! He clears the path through the fog or he drowns!" Xe ordered.

"No, wait, hold on!" Thord instantly panicked, struggling against the men taking hold of him. "Me being tossed overboard would only help me, not you! The fog would close behind me even if it did let me through! You wouldn't be able to follow! Your best bet is to keep me on board! Xe, you know I'm right!"

The men looked questioningly to Xe, who glared daggers at Thord. "Get him below deck," he finally relented. Thord gasped in relief. Quickly the herded him back down where he would assumedly be out of the way. Unless canon fire started up… Thord gasped at the thought. Shit. The canons! He hadn't even thought about them! Oh damn. Oh he was screwed. Dammit! He scanned the cliffs frantically for some way to maybe escape, but odds were he'd die of hypothermia in the ocean before he could even find a safe place to crawl onto land.

"Wait!" Xe said. They paused, looking back. "Bring him here!" They returned Thord quickly. Xe seized him and walked him to the front of the ship, throwing him against the railing. He drew a knife. Thord's eyes widened in horror, his mouth dropping open. "We'll see once and for all if you're any good to us at all. You may not have your cousin's powers, but you share her blood."

"Xe, no, wait, please!" Thord begged, instantly fearing the worst. He cried out as Xe turned him around and bent him over the railing, forcing his bound arms out over the water. Deftly and quickly he drew the knife across Thord's wrists, slitting them open. Thord cried out in pain as blood began to pour from the wounds and fall in a stream into the water. He looked up at the fog in dread. If he was of no use to the pirate, he was as good as gone. He worried that maybe that would be a kinder fate than if he did turn out to be useful.

Less than ten seconds after the blood hit the water, the fog suddenly seemed to recoil. Thord's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat. "Oh my gods…" he breathed. The fog was reacting to his blood... Oh no.

"Go!" Xe ordered. The ship leapt ahead. Xe kept Thord bent over the railing, the blood dripping constantly into the pass. Behind them the fog closed in once more, tinged red this time. That couldn't be a good sign, but then that wasn't really Thord's concern as much as potentially being bled dry was.

"Xe, please, if my blood is of use to you, you need me alive! There's no telling when you'll need it again!" Thord urgently pled. Xe ignored him. "Please!" Thord begged. "I don't want to die!"

Xe huffed, ignoring him. Thord kept pleading until he felt himself getting sleepy and lethargic and weak. He noted almost dazedly how pale he had become. Suddenly Xe jerked him back and threw him into his men. "Bind the wounds," the pirate ordered. "Make sure he lives."

"Xe, what if the fog will part no longer with his blood no longer falling into the water?!" one of the men protested.

"It's a chance I'll take," Xe replied. "I want him alive. Just in case he turns out to be the key to something more valuable still." The men didn't seem to agree with the assessment, but they obeyed nonetheless. Sure enough, the moment the blood stopped dripping into the water, the fog began to close in on them. Thord was panting for breath lightly, dizzy and weak. Said fog crushed in around the ship. Thord clenched his teeth half expecting it to be shattered at any moment, given the way it was creaking and groaning. Since they were too far in to push out, crushing may be its next resort. Fearful mutters were starting up as planks could be heard cracking. Xe looked seriously concerned and turned to him looking like he was going to start bleeding him again.

"I'm looking for Elsa!" Thord desperately cried out in a last-ditch effort to try and stop them all from perishing in here. Most importantly him. "She's my cousin! Please, I need to find Elsa!" Elsa had told him about how about the forces of nature. How they played a part in the forming of the mist. Maybe they, or at least one of them, could hear him. Almost in immediate response, their sails filled with wind and the ship shot ahead, soaring through the pass. All at once they burst through the other side, the men crying out in alarm and concern. They came out into a blackened, choppy sea that seemed to grow immediately angry on sensing their intrusion, the waves becoming larger and more violent, the wind howling and the sea beginning to toss and turn. It was like the wind and the water were suddenly arguing with one another. The stone cliffs began to groan and creak, and they seemed to be moving! Boulders dropped from the sides as if they too were joining this argument that none of them could hear, and there was terror and urgency and panic all around.

"What the hell is this?" Xe tightly asked, looking deeply unsettled and uncomfortable. His head swiveled quickly around to take in their surroundings. He turned to his men. "Make for land! Now! Before this sea ends us all!" he ordered. This storm was fast becoming a hurricane, and being stuck on an unknown sea in the middle of a hurricane? That was something they couldn't risk.

Thord desperately struggled against the men holding him still, and broke away before they finished fully binding his wounds. If nothing else the blood flow was staunched, though. He scrambled to the front of the ship and pulled himself to his feet, fighting away the weakness. He looked ahead desperately. "Elsa!" he shouted out, frantic. He knew the odds were she couldn't hear him, it wasn't like he was calling out to some goddess, for goodness sakes! But she was all he had right now. "Elsa!" he shrieked again. The waves crashed violently against the ship, knocking him back and sending him down the deck. The men seized him, dragging him up, and pulled him back to the mast, binding him tightly to it before sloppily bandaging his wrists and hurrying to their station to try and keep the ship afloat. "Dammit," Thord whispered, struggling against the bonds desperately. "Dammit!" he shouted in the wind.

"She will hear you," a feminine voice he had never heard before whispered. "I will make sure of it." Was it the wind? Something else? He didn't even know and frankly he didn't care. As long as Elsa heard! Canon fire rang out suddenly and the pirates cried out in fear, turning quickly. Breaking through the pass like a bat out of hell came none other than Jurgen's ship, ripping across the sea!

"Damn him to oblivion!" Xe furiously screamed. "How?! Just how?!" Thord closed his eyes tightly, clenching his teeth. Oh this just got better and better! He had to get out and get Matthias free of that cell!

Meanwhile…

"We can't get through that fog, Sir Lamiel!" Jurgen frantically tried to warn as the once-knight sailed straight towards the pass with no sign of slowing down. "It'll force us right back out! I don't know what Xe used to get through, but whatever it was, we don't possess the same key!"

"You said the entities of the forest produce the fog to protect the woods," Lamiel replied. He looked at Jurgen. "Will they allow that fog to repel even those who come upon the place in desperation to try and save it?"

"How should I know?!" Jurgen demanded. "That was literally the only thing I knew about the mist!"

"I didn't expect you to know more than that, though it would have been nice," Lamiel replied, looking ahead. "Whatever the truth of it, it's worth a try. If this doesn't work, then we can attempt something else."

"If we live!" Jurgen freaked.

"We'll live!" Lamiel replied.

"You can't know that! Wait, Selices and Mabon, your friends. One of them is bound to have power here!" Jurgen said.

"But neither are present or guaranteed to hear us call," Lamiel answered.

"This is suicide! When it was normal the fog forced those who tried to enter it back. Who knows what happens now with the fog tinged blood red?!" Jurgen argued.

"We risk dying or your brother does die!" Lamiel harshly retorted. "Now get to your damn post and do what I tell you to do!" The outburst caused Meilic to jump, looking shocked and stunned and unsure where to even go from there, but he seemed to suddenly kick into gear and hurried to obey the order. Lamiel looked ahead, fixing his gaze on the pass, and drew in air. "Dammit," he whispered under his breath. He gritted his teeth. "Everybody brace! Tie yourselves down to something if you can and hold on tight if you can't!" The crew looked back at him in terror.

"Do as he says!" Meilic backed desperately, already obeying. They followed the command, scrambling to tie themselves down and brace for whatever happened in that pass. The ship cut into the fog sharply. Almost immediately hands seemed to appear in the mists, grasping at the rails and boards as if trying to tear the ship apart beneath their very feet! "Shit!" Meilic shouted out, grasping the mast tightly and staring ahead in numb horror. They were never going to make it. The ship would be reduced to nails before they did!

No one on the ship was prepared when the wind filled the sails and caused it to leap ahead through the pass at a speed the likes of which they'd never experienced! The gale forced them through the murderous fog and the... the moving cliffs?! "Holy shi…!" Jurgen exclaimed before the word was cut off by the sound of a boulder crashing into the water right behind them. In record time the boat was shot out from between the living mountains and into the black, stormy sea. The faint lights of Xe's ship could be seen struggling against the maelstrom. Lamiel narrowed his eyes and set his sights on the rival vessel while Meilic and his men gaped on in disbelief, barely able to believe they'd just survived that ordeal. Neatly Lamiel cut the ship through the waves, rapidly closing the distance between them and Xe while boulders rained all around them. The ease with which the man avoided them, his jaw locked and his fiery determined gaze unwavering in its resolve, awed every man beholding it, not least of all Jurgen who could only gape up at the knight in wonder.

Meanwhile…

Elsa!

She heard her cousin's voice as she slept. She caught her breath, eyes opening quickly. She sat bolt upright, looking around. It sounded like it was right there.

Elsa!

It screamed again. She heard it in the wind that she suddenly realized was pounding at the walls of their shelter. She gasped and scrambled up. She wasn't sure what compelled her to get up and run, she just knew that if she ignored the call, she would regret it. She didn't stop to throw on shoes or any covering, only raced out of the tent in her nightgown.

"Elsa?!" she heard Hans call from behind her in shock. She ignored.

Elsa raced out into a windstorm and gasped, covering her face as branches flew passed. She looked quickly around. What was happening? "Gale?!" she shouted. She ran towards the beach as quickly as she could despite others starting to wake up and call her name. She ran like she couldn't even hear them. She didn't stop running, barely aware of her own body until she reached the beach and saw the sea in chaos. She gasped, her eyes widening. What was going on?

"Elsa," a voice said. A familiar one. She gasped, looking over, and her eyes widened. Standing apart from her, though not overly far, was the Ice Maiden, looking seriously at her. Appearing behind the maiden was a face the likes of which she'd never seen that seemed to be formed by the wind and take on disturbingly human features.

"Greta!" Elsa exclaimed, hurrying to the Ice Maiden and taking her arms. The Ice Maiden returned the gesture in kind. Elsa looked at where the face lingered, moving and warping with the air, and a chill ran through her. Who or what was that? "Gale?" she tentatively asked.

The Ice Maiden looked back at the face that vanished in a blink, then turned to Elsa again. "If that is what you choose to call it," she said.

Elsa looked quickly to her. "You know it?" she said, eyes wide.

"The glaciers appear as if a rushing stream had been frozen in its course, and pressed into blocks of green crystal, which, balanced one upon another, form a wondrous palace of crystal for the Ice Maiden, the queen of the glaciers. It is she whose mighty power can crush the traveler to death, and arrest the flowing river in its course. She is also a child of the air…" the maiden quoted, and Elsa's eyes slowly widened, her lips parting in disbelief. "I am the daughter of the air. The daughter of the North Wind. Yes. I know 'Gale'."

"Oh my gods…" Elsa breathed.

"A man who claimed to be your cousin seeks you. My parent who I now speak for—for that is the reason I am here; it roused me from my slumber and brought me to your side—helped them through the pass. The nokk disapproved," the Ice Maiden declared. "Now the seas and the wind battle and rage, and the cliffs quake with the anger of the stone giants as they try to break it up or take sides. There is yet another ship in peril. One in more danger than your cousin's is. On it is your husband's brother. Jurgen Meilic. He sailed to try and stop the pirate Xe, who holds your cousin captive on his vessel and used his blood as his key through the fog. The blood he shares with you"

"No!" Elsa gasped, covering her mouth.

"He still lives," the Ice Maiden said. "But your brother's sibling may not. The nokk will not hear my parent's voice, but maybe he will hear yours."

Elsa didn't wait for further explanation, only ran along the beach. "Nokk! Nokk!" she cried out. "Let them be, please! They're my allies! They're my friends! I begged for you to keep my enemies out, not destroy my family!"

"Elsa!" she heard Hans shout suddenly. She paused, looking back as he broke from the woods, searching for her frantically. He looked over and caught his breath on seeing her. She glanced at her hands. They were white like snow… Like ice... What must she look like to him, she wondered? Here in the whipping wind in a panic, dressed in her nightgown and nothing more, her appearance transformed into something she couldn't even see but imagined must be similar to how she'd looked when she'd fought Mor'du to save Hans' life. She looked back at her husband. He looked frightened. Not of her, but for her. "Elsa!" he shouted, breaking into a run. She looked in the direction of the pass, then back at Hans. Her mouth quivered, but reluctantly, though determinedly, she turned her head away and ran from him once more. She darted onto the sea, the waters freezing beneath her every step. She broke the crashing waves with walls of ice in her attempt to try and save her cousin. In an attempt to save them all. "Where is the nokk?!" she demanded of Gale. Of the North Wind, she corrected to herself. The literal North Wind!

"Beneath the cliffs," the Ice Maiden answered, appearing at her side in a coach of ice. "He watches and waits. You must stop the nokk. He is your priority. My parent can save your brother-in-law from the Rock Giants and the fog, but can't save them from the sea. 'Gale' will fill the sails of your allies and push them through the pass before the mist can rip them apart, and before the collapsing stones can dash them to pieces."

"And I'll somehow, some way, end the Nokk and the Stone Giants' resistance," Elsa said. She looked back at the shore and saw her husband there, staring after her in shock and fear. The sight stopped her in her tracks. He glanced from her to the waters as if seriously considering throwing himself into the sea and swimming out to her, but he was a smarter man than that. Poetic as the notion was, he knew that to do so would only lead to his death. He raised his head, watching desperately after her again, but he would not risk going further than that. She was glad for it. He would be safe then. In the distance she saw the giants throwing stones at her brother-in-law's ship, and Xe's. They had to be halted before they sank them both! She scowled and began to run again. She glanced over at the Ice Maiden's sleigh and threw herself onto it, seizing the reigns which the maiden gave up without protest. They took off immediately, closing the distance between themselves and the giants. Stopping the giants had now outweighed finding Nokk as her top priority. Her brother-in-law could handle the sea, but boulders being flung at him from the sky? Not so much. As soon as she put a stop to that hazard, finding the nokk would be her task.

"Have you a plan?" the Ice Maiden asked.

"If the giants won't listen to reason, I'll freeze them all. Temporarily," she answered. The Ice Maiden voiced no protest. Elsa gasped in pain suddenly, dropping the reigns from the shock of it and wrapping her arms around her middle!

The Ice Maiden gasped, seizing the reigns tightly before the icy horses could lose control and crash them into the sea or the cliffs. "Breathe, Elsa, breathe," she urgently said through clenched teeth. Elsa did so, focusing on working through the pain of the contraction. What was she doing, an alarmed voice inside asked her? She was in labor for gods' sakes! What was she doing?!

"Greta," she gasped.

"You're fine," the Ice Maiden assured. "You're fine."

Elsa gritted her teeth, looking towards the giants. "Stop!" she screamed at them the moment they were close enough that she knew they would hear her. They turned quickly, or as quickly as beings of that size could, and the rock throwing was halted for a moment. "No more of this!" she ordered, taking back the reigns from the Ice Maiden and drawing up alongside them, eyes glittering like ice from anger. "My cousin is captive on one of those ships down there, my brother-in-law on the other! I won't lose them! Stop! Stop your battle and tell me where Nokk is so I can stop him too."

The giants exchanged looks then pointed towards the sea. She followed their 'fingers' and felt frustration welling up inside her. Clearly all the giants knew was that Nokk was in the water. Where, though? That was another matter that Elsa got the sinking feeling she'd only realize the answer to when it was too late. She looked at them once more. "Help me," she pled. They exchanged looks, roared, then began to wade deeper into the sea. Deeper and deeper until they were beneath it. Elsa gasped, worried for them.

The Ice Maiden reached out, squeezing her arm. "They'll be fine," she assured. "Mountains don't breathe." Elsa swallowed and looked towards the water again searching for any sign of the nokk.

Frozen

"Load the canons!" the once-pirate, Lamiel, shouted out. The terrified sailors scrambled to obey.

Meilic returned to him, staggering his way up and gripping the railing looking afraid. "I can't believe you just did that. I can't believe you actually pulled that off!" he exclaimed.

"Trust in me," Lamiel replied with a smirk.

"You think I have a choice?! This is way above my caliber!" Jurgen said.

"Tell me here and now. Do you want your rival dead or alive?" Lamiel asked, fixing Jurgen with eyes so filled with ferocity that the prince knew immediately whatever judgement call he made here, Lamiel would be certain to carry it out.

There was a long pause in which the prince wasn't sure how to answer, but soon he narrowed his eyes, setting his jaw. "Alive," he answered confidently. "I want him alive."

"Load the grapples! All of them! The longest and strongest!" he commanded. Other men rushed to obey. "Prepare to latch onto the pirate Xe's ship!" The men didn't dare question him.

"Captain, whirlpool!" the frantic lookout screamed from above, pointing ahead in mortification.

"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods," Jurgen, near panic, repeated again and again. They were going to die. They were going to die on this miserable sea of death! Forms began to rise from the water, then, and Jurgen almost passed out. Probably every man on his ship almost did. A few actually went all the way, dropping to the deck in dead faints. Lamiel kept calm, eyeing them warily. The things rising from the water bellowed, reaching up their arms, and made their way towards the whirlpool from three different directions. "What are you doing?" Meilic freaked at Lamiel, who showed no sign of slowing down. Lamiel didn't answer. He steered them into the whirlpool and kept it steady, ensuring the ship followed the spiral.

"Latch onto Xe's ship!" he bellowed. All the crew could do at this point, aside from panic, was obey. The moment Xe's ship, further down the giant whirlpool, came around to them, they launched the hooks and caught onto it. Xe, pale and sick looking—the man appeared about as mortified as Jurgen was at this point, and a good portion of his crew had fallen in a faint too—looked sharply over at them, eyes almost desperate and definitely scared. Jurgen gaped at him from across the way, mouth hanging open. Xe looked down into the whirlpool where the neighing of some sort of eerie, unseen horse could be heard echoing up.

"Please be fast enough to work..." Lamiel murmured quietly before drawing in his breath. Suddenly and roughly he jerked the wheel to the side, forcing the ship to cut its way out of the slowest part of the whirlpool while they still had the opportunity to. "Xe turn your ship!" Meilic shouted. The rival pirate leapt to the helm, jerking his own wheel so as to not hinder their attempted escape from the whirlpool's clutches. The ships broke out of the vortex, though for a moment they feared they wouldn't.

"Get the grapples hooked onto the giant off the starboard!" Lamiel shouted. Immediately men scrambled to obey and did so, latching onto the lumbering beast's body. It looked at them then seemed to realize what they were doing. It reached out, grasping the ropes, and held them firmly which was a relief and a half. It solved the problem of needing to escape the giant after the fact, if the giant was friendly. Lamiel visibly relaxed.

"You're relaxing?!" Jurgen freaked.

"Why yes, I am," Lamiel cheerily replied, smiling at him.

"We're still in danger!" Jurgen shouted.

"We are, but we're out of the whirlpool now and your pirate friend is safe too. Mission accomplished. Now it's a case of sorting out the finer details. Attaching our lines to the giant anchors us. The whirlpool will not be able to pull us in. Now we need to get as far from that vortex as possible and as close to land as we're capable of getting without breaking apart in the sea and wind," Lamiel said.

"Holy shi…" Jurgen began.

"Thord! Jurgen!" a voice shouted. He gasped, turning quickly. His eyes widened. There, tearing across the ocean, was an icy sleigh guided by numerous icy horses that leapt through the angry waves determinedly. Elsa! He could have cheered.

Frozen

She had seen the whirlpool begin in the ocean. She'd known it could only mean the Nokk. She whipped the horses into action, racing towards the area as quickly as she could and watching in dread as Jurgen's ship and Xe's got caught in the vortex and started to be dragged down. She almost laughed in relief when the two boats latched onto one another then broke free of the current before it would have become impossible to do so. To escape a whirlpool, you swam with it, she remembered her father telling her long ago. If you could swim faster than the slowest parts of it, you could get out. That was the principle that had guided the maneuver, and for the rest of her life she'd sing the praises of whoever had thought of transferring the concept to ships.

"Nokk, stop!" she shouted, raw and powerful. Almost immediately the whirlpool began to slow and fade out, though the waves continued to toss and slam against the ships. "They're my friends! You need to stop this! Stop! Please!" she shouted at the water. A particularly strong wave crashed over the boats, striking Xe's the hardest. The men cried out, grasping onto what they could as the wave washed over them all. Gradually, though, the sea began to slow and subside until at last everything stopped. Just like that, it seemed the waters had become still as glass and silence reigned, hanging heavy in the air as they all panted for breath and tried to get their bearings and register what had just happened. Elsa was the first to snap out of it. She gasped, rising from the sleigh and quickly forming an ice staircase up to Xe's ship. She glared furiously around at the men before her eyes settled on Xe and she scowled. "Where's my cousin?!" she demanded furiously, stepping down onto the deck of the ship and almost instantly freezing it over.

"Bound to the…" Xe began. He cut himself off, breath catching in his throat and eyes widening. She followed his gaze and saw a mast. "Mast," the man finished a bit tightly. Elsa's eyes widened. There was no Thord bound to the mast anymore.

"Thord?!" she called out, looking around. "Thord?!" she shouted a little more frantically, stating to search for him.

"Queen Elsa!" a familiar voice shouted.

Elsa gasped, looking over, and her expression filled with relief. "General Mattias!" she exclaimed, stepping towards him.

"Thord went overboard!" the man shouted. Elsa went pale.

"He-he was bound securely to that mast!" Xe exclaimed.

"He was a thief who probably knew how to get out of rope bonds like nobody's business, you moron!" Jurgen shouted over at him testily.

"And he did! He got free and came down to rescue me. Free me from my cell so that we could escape the ship together! We got up to the deck just as the final wave crashed against the boat. He threw a rope around me but couldn't get it around himself, so it took him overboard!" Mattias exclaimed.

"No," Elsa breathed. She ran to the side of the ship, looking over into the water pale and visibly shaken. "Thord!" she cried out. She willed him to answer, but as the silence dragged on, her heart began to sink. "Thord!" she cried out again, voice wavering a bit and a look of grief and guilt starting to creep across her features.

"He is alive," she heard the wind whisper to her. Not through the Ice Maiden this time, though. Through a voice all its own. She gasped as it blew gently through her hair, turning in the direction it blew. "The nokk has found him and taken him; but not to kill, though perhaps not to save either."

"Then I'll find it. Whatever it takes. It and my cousin both," Elsa answered as the others looked around uneasily, unsettled by the talking wind. Except Lamiel and Jurgen who pretty well looked like this was just another day in the life for them at this point. Which it probably was given everything they'd been through. She wondered now, though. Had it been her that had stopped the nokk, or had it been her cousin's sudden intrusion on its domain that stopped it…?

Frozen

The ships pulled into the shore. Elsa dreaded returning to it. Hans would be waiting... Sure enough, as she drew near she saw him. His arms were crossed and his eyes cold. Resentful. She didn't want to deal with this confrontation. It was the last thing she wanted to face right now. There was no running from it, though. The ships limped into shore. Hans barely acknowledged Jurgen beyond reaching out a hand and squeezing his shoulder lightly as the man stumbled by him while trying to get a feel for walking on land again. Jurgen squeezed Hans' lightly back and kept walking, wanting to forget any of that had just happened.

Hans didn't follow Jurgen or the others. He waited for her to ride up in the sleigh probably looking guilty as sin. The Ice Maiden was quiet beside her. Elsa disembarked from the sleigh almost timidly, eyes averted to the ground. She approached him, arms folded over herself, and glanced almost fearfully up. He glared in silence, eyes narrowed. He looked her over quietly. He didn't speak a single word or reach out to touch her. Instead, once he was satisfied she was alright, he turned and walked away. She winced. Somehow that hurt more than anything else he could have done. She let out a shaking breath and followed. She cried out as a contraction started again. He paused and looked back warily, but he didn't approach her to see if she was okay or return to her side to embrace her. He didn't even make a remark. Another cry escaped her lips as she almost doubled over. He still didn't move. Eventually the contraction stopped, leaving her panting for breath. Once assured she wasn't about to deliver or die, he kept walking.

She let out a shaking breath. His silence and indifference hurt. More than he could understand it did, and she didn't dare tell him as much because she was afraid it would lead to a fight. "Please. Don't do this," she begged as she trailed behind him. He picked up the pace in agitation. "Hans, it was a matter of life and death."

He gave her a sharp look that cut through her like daggers. It almost felt like he despised her in that moment, and she wasn't sure what she'd said wrong, but she knew it was something. Maybe it was best if she didn't speak again. She couldn't tell him right now that she intended to find her cousin. That would have to wait until he was less infuriated. For now her concern had to be trying to make peace with her husband. The Ice Maiden trailed behind silently. Elsa gave her a desperate look. The woman shrugged. Elsa winced and looked after Hans again. The Ice Maiden disappeared to give them time alone.

"Hans, try and understand," she said, catching up to him and reaching out, putting a hand on his shoulder. She gasped when he seized her wrist painfully, turning sharply and glaring down at her. He seemed to realize how hard he was holding her and his grip instantly relaxed. There was a long stare down between them, his gaze spiteful and angry, hers resigned and calm. "They would have died," she said.

He watched her quietly. "The only life that matters to me anymore is yours," he finally answered, releasing her. "Yours and the baby. No one else."

"Your brother…" she began.

"Damn my brother! Damn your cousin! Damn them all if they cost me you and our child!" Hans shouted.

"Now you know how I felt each time you went off to war," she bit, eyes narrowing as she puffed herself up in preparation for a fight.

"No, Elsa, I don't! I felt worse!" Hans retorted. "I wasn't running out onto the battlefield while carrying our child in a carrier!" She winced a bit at that mental imagery and hated that she had to admit he made something of a point, even if it wasn't wholly accurate.

"I wasn't going to let them die. Not when I could stop them," she said.

"No. You weren't," he answered. "At least you could have explained what was happening though. At least you could have brought me with you."

"Like you bring me whenever you go off to a foreign land and pick fights where I can't be?" she demanded.

"I saw that one coming," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Because it's true!" she replied. "I'm sorry I didn't let you know what was going on. I'm sorry I didn't wait for you to catch up so that I could explain, while we ran, what I was going to do and why I wasn't going to bring you with me."

"You didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye! What if you'd died out there, Elsa?! And don't say you wouldn't have!" he snapped testily. She froze in place. He shook his head, turning and continuing towards the village again.

She bit her lower lip, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing them. "So what do you want me to say? What do you want me to do?" she asked, following him again. He paused, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes while massaging the bridge of his nose. He cursed under his breath. He didn't have an answer to that. There was a long, pregnant pause. "I'm going to find Thord," she finally spoke up. She shouldn't, but he had to know.

"No! You aren't going out of that village!" he snapped, turning and marching angrily back to her as he pointed towards it, his other fist clenched. "Anna and Kristoff are going. You aren't!"

"The nokk will only hear me," she said.

"Damn the nokk!" Hans said.

"He took my cousin!" she replied.

"Then Thord is dead!" Hans said.

"No, you're wrong! The North Wind… Gale told me he was alive," she replied.

"And maybe then he was," Hans said, spreading his arms. "But he won't be by the time anyone tracks them down."

"The nokk won't hurt my cousin," she said.

"That's what they do, Elsa! Lure people to their deaths!" Hans said.

"Not this one," she replied. "Not all of them. It's like saying all fae will deceive you with intent to harm you, but they won't!"

"You say in the wake of making a deal with the oh so helpful fae that cost you Kai and will cost you another still!" he shouted. He immediately regretted his words and caught his breath, stiffening. She was still now too, angry and hurt tears burning her eyes as she glared furiously at him. Her fists were clenched now as well. Silence. He let out a breath. "Elsa, I didn't mean…"

"No. You're right," she said in a clipped tone. "Kai is dead because of me. Someone else will die because of me before this is all over. But damned if it's my cousin."

"You won't have a choice if he's the name they chose," Hans said, words taking on a gentler more reasonable tone. Elsa sniffed, closing her eyes and letting her shoulders sag as she buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. She drew them down her face and clasped them on her neck, watching her husband with agony in her eyes. He shook his head and went to her this time, taking her into his arms and holding her close. Her body sagged in relief as she buried her face in his chest. At least they had come to a semi-neutral ground now.

"I have to find him," she said, voice watery. "I have to."

Hans was quiet, glaring spitefully ahead at nothing. "I know," he finally, bitterly, replied. "Is it worth it to ask you to wait until after the baby is born and leave it to your sister and Kristoff for now?"

"It's worth it," she answered, drawing back to look up at him. "I'll leave the search to Kristoff and Anna for now, but can we at least scout around a little bit too? We don't have to go far from the village," she said.

"We?" he tiredly asked.

"I won't put you through something like this again as far as I can help it. I promise. Where I go, you go with me. Until all of this is over," she promised. "I won't put our baby in danger worse than I already have."

He let out a breath and pressed his lips to her forehead, letting them linger a long time there. Eventually he removed them and nuzzled her gently. "You will if you pursue the nokk… If it's a brook horse, Elsa, they tend to favor targeting pregnant women."

"He would never hurt me," she insisted again.

"He will never hurt you," he corrected. "Because I'll die before I let him so much as try." She was quiet, head bowed. "Come on. We need to rest. Tomorrow we'll… take a walk. And maybe find Thord while doing so." She nodded in understanding and tried not to be as shaken by his words regarding the nokk as she was. What if she was the one that was wrong in the end…?