Chapter 19: Zar II
Cripple.
I tried hard not to think of that word as I sat back in the sled, my eyes squinting to keep my view on the path ahead through the frigid wastes. The dogs attached to our sled seemed to know exactly where they were going, but it didn't reassure me that much. And I needed something to distract me.
Asgeir and our mystery rescuer fired their rifles behind us. I couldn't see much of our pursuers, but I knew they were behind us. Hans and the guards of this hellhole would rather die than see us escape his grasp. Elsa sat next to me after climbing up to the front. She had helped Rabbit lay Troy down.
Beside the brothers sat our four other passengers, lying flat among the boxes we had taken with us. Rabbit had said the girls were named Nadine and Nessa, but I couldn't exactly tell them apart at the moment. One of them seemed to have some sort of familiar aura about her, though.
Kevan didn't look much worse for wear than us. He only seemed to be doing his best to cover his bald head from the cold, while Oaken also huddled among the cargo, wrapping his arms around his bearded face. He was also doing his best not to look at Matthew, right beside him with a bullet wound in his...
Focus. I had to stay focused on anything but what had just happened.
But I couldn't. Matthew was dead. Troy and I were crippled beyond belief, and Asgeir…
We had been saved, but not until after this incredible cost. Now Jerred, the strange deckhand who had watched us across the ship was now at the back, firing his rifle blindly through the storm to try to stop our pursuers from catching up.
The path ahead began to curve. Elsa pointed and yelled.
"There's a boulder!" She said. "Keep it on our left, Zar!"
She must have had a much better view than I did through this blizzard, because I had to wait a bit while our dogs charged through before I saw what she did.
The boulder was at least fifty feet tall, leaning precariously over the path. Elsa gazed up at the top of it, then climbed into the back canopy.
"What are you doing?" I called.
"Buying us time!" She raised her hand. "Kick it up a notch!"
Elsa had a plan. That was better than what I had: zilch. And I assumed Asgeir, silent as the grave since we left those cells, had none to speak of either.
Jerred noticed Elsa climbing up to the back of the sled beside him, and scooched over to let her through. We were coming around the corner when the storm began to calm down ever so slightly.
Two sleds and as many large dogs with saddled riders were coming around the corner up on our tail. The one at the front had Hans as clear as day. Beside him was a darker skinned man I hadn't seen yet.
Elsa kept her hand raised as I spurred the dogs. Slicing through the snow, the sled picked up more speed as the path straightened out, giving Elsa her chance.
A pulse of frozen energy shot out from our Queen's hand, striking the boulder above. The snowdrift exploded, tripling in size and raining down onto the path.
Hans looked up suddenly, and raised his own arm in horror as debris struck the sled.
He was luckier than his companions. One of the dog riders and the other sled were buried in an instant by the avalanche.
Elsa spun around with a satisfied grin on her face as Asgeir and Jerred aimed their rifles again. My Mentor still remained quiet, but gave his sister an unmistakable twinkle of approval in his eye.
"Well done, Majesty!" I called. "Do we have another chance to stop them?"
Elsa climbed back to the front of the sled and peered through the snow, scanning the horizon around us. All I could see were shades of white and snowflakes like shards of glass flying in every direction, but Elsa seemed to know what she was looking for. Her magic must have given her better sight than anyone else in this storm.
She shook her head. "The path is flattening out from here!" She called over the storm, which began to brew back up again as fast as it calmed. "I'll only be able to slow them down."
Asgeir placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave her another look. Neither worried, nor concerned, he opened his mouth, and tried to say something. Only another raspy gasp escaped his lips.
One of the girls sat up. "Whatever helps, I say we give this girl whatever chance she wants!"
No arguing there. Elsa was the only one able to do anything besides shoot or sit in this chase. Elsa raised her hands and kept firing her magic back at our pursuers, now thinned out as the victims of her avalanche either climbed out of the snow, or froze.
The storm was beginning to thin out somewhat as the path reached the sea. As we skimmed along the edge of the shoreline, Asgeir handed me something from the folds of his hood.
A flare gun. We had taken a few of these with us from Storybrooke before all this had happened, and we had agreed to fire one off for the crew aboard the Aboleth's Fury in the event of an emergency.
I aimed it up towards the sky, and fired it. Red light glowed hot from the projectile as it sailed up into the snowy air.
From across the water, another flare fired in return. Red like ours, it meant the crew had seen our signal, and were going to direct the ship to the shoreline to pick us up fast.
Hans' sled was beginning to gain some ground on us. Asgeir dropped another shot into the musket he held, and aimed it right back at the King. With his entire body trembling, he let the shot off, hitting the sled towards the front.
I could barely see the look on Hans' face as he raised his hand, and three other rifles from the back of his sled appeared from behind him, and fired shots off at us.
Not a one hit our sled; we might have been too far out of range. That beckoned me to pick up the speed, so I spurred our dogs.
"MUSH! MUSH!" I cried.
Elsa and Jerred kept firing back at our pursuers as Asgeir sat back. The path we followed kept skimming the shoreline of Sript as I could see the shape of the Fury coming in out of the fog.
Gibbs spun the wheel of the ship around to come up alongside us. Henrik and Anna took command of the crew, throwing ropes out as us as the sled flew off the snow and landed on the rocky shore, the water deep enough to keep the ship afloat. We had seconds before Hans and his men caught up with us.
Wasting no time, Asgeir jumped from the sled, helping Rabbit and Troy with the rope Anna tossed down to them. The blindfold remained on Troy's face, despite his incessant begging to have it taken off. It was for his own good to wait.
Elsa and Jerred kept facing our rear and crew members climbed down to help the others up. We could see the shape of the pursuing sled coming right up, about to reach our position.
Anna tossed a rope down to me. "Climb, Zar! Climb!"
Instinctively I began to grab the rope and get up. But I forgot about my missing leg.
I fell right off the sled and bounced off the rock, my head striking the hard surface. My ears were ringing and my vision blurred as Anna screamed something, and then jumped down.
"Anna! What are you doing?!" Shrieked her sister.
Anna said something back to her sister, and ran over to me, tying the rope around my waste. She saw my stump, and looked back into my eyes.
"Zar… your leg…"
I had heard of phantom limbs, but never truly understood them until today. I didn't say anything, but I sat up to help Anna tie the rope so I could get up, feeling a foot that was no longer there.
"You!"
The two of us looked up. Hans stood before us, sword in his hands as he had jumped off the sled. Recognition hit his face like a bullet as he lunged forwards and slashed at Anna. He was practically drooling with rage as he brought it down impossibly fast.
"NO!" Elsa screamed.
Anna was fast, too. Her dyed black hair whipped forward as she drew her own rapier and clashed it with Hans' longsword. She deflected his strike, then jumped back to keep her distance. I didn't know how well Asgeir had trained her, but she likely knew Hans was better than her.
"This isn't ruling, Hans!" She yelled. "This is madness!"
"And what you and your sister did was any better? Please!" He sneered. "Your citizens are unruly and wild as you are. I'll bring a new kind of order to Arendelle. Once I wipe you and your blood off the face of this Earth!"
From the sled, Asgeir jumped forwards, both his blades extended. He said nothing, but no one could miss the fire in his eyes, seeing his family threatened like that.
Anna's brow furrowed as she kept her rapier raised and pointed at Hans, daring him to strike at her.
"Why Arendelle, Hans? Why now? What could you possibly stand to gain from coming so far North from here to rule a land that you know nothing about?"
Hans grinned. He looked as though he had known the answer to this question, and had been waiting for so long for someone to ask him.
"I know much more of your land than you think, Princess. I know of your gods. I know of your legends. And I know what awaits you all when a winter like this comes."
Anna looked confused. Asgeir too. They kept their weapons raised. I remained lying on the ground, feeling the rope around me beginning to tense; someone was about to pull me up.
"Think about it, Anna. The snows have never been colder in your precious kingdom. The nights have never been darker. This winter has lasted longer than any other since your freak of an aunt unleashed her powers on this world. There's only one winter like it, and you know what comes when it ends."
Suddenly, Anna's face convulsed in horror. I hadn't ever seen her make such a face. She wasn't excited, anxious, or scared. She was terrified by whatever Hans just said. On that note she jumped for Hans, with Asgeir coming up right beside her.
I was about to see their blades strike, when the rope behind me quickly tensed, and I was sent flying up into the ship's sails. I swung precariously as I felt my body being pulled up into the canvas of the ship, and orders being barked below me. I was about to look down when I felt something hard hit my head, and I blacked out.
"Zar."
Cold air was still stroking my face as I opened my eyes suddenly. Torren was looking down at me with concern. As soon as our eyes met, he grinned.
"We got a live one!" He called. He looked back down at me. "You alright?"
My head hurt. That was how I felt. My hand went to the side where I had been struck, and Torren handed me a cloth.
"Sorry about that. Henrik had to get creative when he saw you lying there. He made a pulley to get you up here, but you must have hit the mast."
The rope was still wrapped around my waist. Torren extended his blade and cut it right off, helping me up. He handed me a crutch beside him.
The ship was now slicing through calmer waters, the sky a warmer orange, reaching the dusk hours. Cannons were going off further down the ship, shooting at another ship some distance away. Crew members ran up and down the ship, carrying gunpowder and cannonballs.
I felt useless as Torren helped me down the deck, doing an awkward three legged hoof towards the cabin.
"Asgeir? Anna?"
"Are here." Torren replied. "Asgeir's still not talking, but Anna got scratched up while fighting Hans." He patted me as he saw my face. "Nothing a few stitches won't help her."
Torren led me through the doors to Henrik's cabin where most of our Assassin friends were waiting. Asgeir sat silently on the bed in the corner as Anna and Elsa argued about something.
"They needed help, so I helped them!" The younger one cried.
"You saw Hans down there, Anna!" Elsa said. "He was fully prepared to cut you down without blinking."
Henrik cleared his throat. "He didn't though. And we got our latest victim awake now, ladies." He gestured to me and Torren.
I hobbled in as Elsa and Anna stopped bickering to watch me come up to the table and take a seat. I placed the crutch on the table on top of the maps and the instruments. Jerred stood next to me, arms crossed in front of him.
"Zar." Gibbs said. "Alright there, son?"
"As alright as a cripple can be." I murmured. "I hear Asgeir and Troy got their fill from Grant, too."
Asgeir only stared at me, running his hand over his shoulder. I reckoned he got what I got from Grant, and the Assassin insignia was now burned forever on his arm.
"We're all here." I said. "Now is the time to explain yourself, Jerred."
Elsa glared at him. "Who are you? And why come so far to help Asgeir? Had I known I-"
"Would've gone all the same." He replied. "As much as you protect your sister, Your Majesty, I can tell you wanted to help Asgeir as much as I did. But not for the same reasons."
Asgeir silently looked up at the young man, who ran his tattooed hand over his stubbled cheeks, showing black slashes going in many directions. It was a strange pattern I hadn't seen before, going up against his arm, all the way to the back of his hand.
"My master has sent me, Asgeir." He said directly to him. "He needs to speak with you for reasons I don't know yet. But I have done what I can to help you in springing your friends from this prison, so I reckon I've earned a favor in return."
Elsa's eyes narrowed. "How can we be sure that your master… what's his name?"
Jerred's eyes flashed. "I can't say." He shuddered. "The last time I spoke it in front of him, he gave me my only warning never to again. He said years ago that no soul alive may know it ever again."
Elsa shook her head. "Fine. So how can we be sure that… your Master… just wants to talk to Asgeir? What if he means to kill him once we reach this place you have come from?"
Jerred stretched his arms. "My Master, Mistress and I live in a village far in Arendelle's North." He paused. "I'm actually quite sure it's the last patch of civilization before the Everwinter. No soul other than me, them, and my friend Sam know where it is. My master would not have sent me to take Asgeir so far North only to kill him. If he told me to bring Asgeir Cormac so far, it must be more important than death."
Asgeir's eyes looked up at our rescuer with confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Anna came over with concern as she sat down beside Asgeir. Kristoff came from outside with a kettle, and sat down beside them both.
"Cormac?" Elsa said. "That's what your Master said?"
"Yes." Jerred replied. "He told me it had something to do with this long winter and the future of Arendelle. I had to head south to find Asgeir Cormac, and bring him home."
Keif coughed, shifting in his seat. "You have Asgeir Cormac right in front of you, lad." He said. "But the only people who know his true name are sitting in this room. How is it that your Master knows Asgeir by his real name, and not Asgeir Swortssen?"
Jerred looked at Asgeir, and then at Elsa, and then at each of us in the room. He shook his head in uncertainty.
"My Master gave me a job to do. I'm not coming back home without him, and in all honesty, it might be the best place to go. Hans' hunter Lord Thayer has been hot on your trail for as long as I have, and the best way to lose them all is to go as far as my village. Not a soul has dared to go as far as my home for almost as long as I have lived. It's not on any maps and whatever my Master wants with Asgeir, I reckon it'll help buy us some time against Hans."
I sat back in my chair. The maps strewn about the table showed villages along Arendelle's coast, but the furthest settlement was two days North of the Town of Arendelle. The small fishing village of Burtagard.
"I have every reason to believe my Master would send me this far South to help you, Asgeir. Not to kill you." Jerred said. "That's why I did it. Please help me and come home with me to speak with him. If he turns on you, he will have me to go through." He shuddered again as he said this.
This kid was scared. He was scared of the man he served, but he truly believed that he had been sent down here to help us, not harm us. The things he could do, the skills he had, it would at least provide us an edge. And after the day that we had had, a friend was something we were in very short supply of.
Asgeir pondered on all of this, then looked at me. He was asking for my advice.
We didn't really have many options. None that I could see clearly. I nodded.
Jerred pulled a piece of cloth from his bag, and handed it to Henrik. "Captain, we will have to stop in Corona before we set a course for my village. Fly this flag and my friend will help escort us."
Henrik let the flag unroll, and held it up. The symbol looked somewhat familiar. It looked like eight spokes on a wheel, but with no circle framing it. The spokes were white on a field of deep green.
"Well now we know you're one of the good guys." He chuckled.
"Pardon?" Elsa said.
"A vegvisir!" Anna cried. "The Norse compass!"
Henrik grinned. "Precisely, milady. It's also very very high on the list of banned symbols by order of the Southern Isles."
"A flag like this one flies from the ship he sails." Jerred said. "He's waiting for us in the city to help us North."
Henrik pointed at the flag in his hands. "There's no chance Hans would allow one of his spies to carry this kind of symbol." He said. "Anything reminiscent of the Old Norse stories are to be burned away."
Anna nodded. "And now I know why."
We all turned at the younger sister. I suddenly remembered the horror that had struck her face when Hans had told her something.
"Anna." I said. "Hans is planning something? Something mentioned in the Norse legends?"
Her face became as grim as her brothers as she straightened up. "Yes." She said. "Hans must be having his kingdom cover up the stories of old to hide his plan, but it's because I read so much that I know them so well. The library in Arendelle is one of the largest in the world."
I remembered how Anna's knowledge of the stories had saved us once before. When Ingrid had unleashed the Spell of Shattered Sight on both Arendelle and Storybrooke, Anna had remembered the story and how to break the curse.
` "We have hundreds of books in the Arendelle Castle Library. And that includes several translated copies of the Eddas; the Norse sagas of the pantheon."
Elsa gave her sister a look. "Like the ones father told us?"
"Yes. Odin, Thor, Loki, all those gods and their stories. But how the gods met their end was a story that I remember reading and not being able to sleep for so long."
Anna paused, a storyteller reveling in the information she now held, knowing how it could help us figure out what Hans was planning to do next.
"Heimdall, the watchmen of the gods sits in his tower at the gates of Asgard. He's been sitting there for thousands of years, waiting for the doom to begin. Winter will come, and it won't ever leave. It will snow for three years, according to the legend. A winter longer and colder than any other. The scribes called it the Fimbulwinter. And when it ends…" She breathed slowly in, and slowly out. "Ragnarok begins."