Disclaimer: See Summary.
A/N: So, I wasn't expecting this. I'll be honest, I was really looking forward to creating these, but then I decided that I'd just include them all as one story. Feels easier that way. So I'll be changing the title of the story, and Unbroken will remain the title of Mallory's chapter.
I'd also like to address the reviews:
HansandHelsaHatersRule: It's in the Frozen tag because this takes place within the universe of Frozen, duh.
Guest: What do you mean by that?
Dreamsandimaginations: Okay. You have your OTP, and I have mine. I agree that Elsa has been through enough, and throwing in a romance would feel tacked on, and unnecessary. I agree that perhaps it would be better if Disney introduced a completely new prince/princess to explore the concept of LGBTQ representation in a way that doesn't talk down to the children of the audience. But I'm still going to explore the possibilities.
As for Baldur, I never really knew much about Norse Mythology until I played the new God of War game, and even then, I knew that not everything would be entirely accurate. All I know about the mythological Baldur is that he died, went to Helheim, and was brought back under the condition that all living things weep for him. Everyone did, except one, (who was possibly Loki in disguise), and Baldur was sent back to Helheim. Apart from that, I don't really know much about Baldur. But don't worry, the Baldur in this story won't be a god, or a pyromancer. But he will be a dangerous foe.
I'm glad you enjoyed Mallory. And yes, she has weaknesses, but as an author, I think learning about them through her actions and interactions with others is more effective than talking about it in an A/N.
So, with that out of the way, let's do this.
It was a quiet night on the road. There'd been no issue since he set out with his wares. His horse seemed on edge, but he was normally skittish at night. Nothing a little conversation couldn't fix.
"Easy there, Gillian." The merchant soothed. "Everything's going to be okay. We've made this trip plenty of times." It was true. He made frequent use of this path, to and from the capital city. The kingdom had been booming in many ways since the return of the princess. As a result, merchants hoping to sell their wares found that they could make a profit, delivering various items to and from various neighboring towns. Truly, nothing could surprise him anymore.
The carriage came to a sudden stop. Herman raised an eyebrow. Okay, maybe he could still be surprised. Ahead of him, a group of men wearing masks and carrying swords approached his carriage. "Alright, sir, please step away from the wagon." One of them, stepping forward and offering a carrot to the horse. A hand remained on the hilt of the sword at his side.
"What is this?" Herman asked.
"Just a routine cargo check, sir." Another guard replied. "Gotta make sure you ain't carrying contraband or nothing."
"I'm afraid I don't understand." Herman replied. "I make this trip regularly, and I assure you I would never willingly deliver illegal goods."
"Sorry, sir, but protocol is protocol." The leader replied, petting Gillian. "Check the wagon."
One of the soldiers rushed to the back of the cart and opened it. "Hey, boss, there's over a hundred kilos of liquor in here!"
The boss looked at Herman and raised an eyebrow. "So, nothing illegal, eh?" He asked.
"I'm licensed to carry that stuff." Herman said, as he fumbled through his coat to pull a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Here are my papers if you don't believe me."
He handed the paper to the leader, who took it and looked it over. "Hmm...Alright. Your story checks out." He said, handing the paper back to Herman. Then he turned to his men. "Load the stuff up in the bags, boys."
"Wait, what?" Herman replied in shock, even as he put the papers back in his coat pocket. "But I just showed you that I'm allowed to deliver this."
"You are." The leader said. "But we're taking your stuff anyway." It was at that moment that Herman noticed the emblem on the man's belt buckle.
"Wait a minute." Herman said. "You're..."
"The Midnight Marauders." One of the thieves said, taking a bow. "At your service."
"You idiot!" Another thief shouted. "Now we gotta kill this fool."
The leader grabbed Herman by the collar and yanked him to the ground. "Relax, boys." He said, holding the poor merchant down with one arm. "We were going to kill him anyway, remember?" The thieves laughed as they continued to unload crates of whiskey from the wagon. Then the leader turned to Herman, who continued to shake. "Any last words, old man?"
Whatever Herman was prepared to say was cut off when a bone chilling howl cut through the air. Gillian whinnied in shock, hopping from hoof to hoof nervously, but the other thieves seemed more surprised than him.
"The hell was that?!" One of them shouted, unsheathing a dagger.
"That was a wolf, you coward." Another thief replied.
The leader of the thieves stood up, all pretense of superiority gone. He quickly unsheathed his sword. "That was no wolf, boys."
"Oh, hell, no!" One thief yelled. "I ain't messing with no goddamn werewolf!" He took off running, only to be cut off by his boss.
"No you don't!" He shouted. "We got silver. That werewolf is welcome to try and mess with us." The other thieves unsheathed their weapons, and the leader pulled out a silver dagger. The distant sound of something big rushing through the woods towards them put a few of the thieves on edge. Then it suddenly stopped.
"Show yourself, beast!" The leader challenged.
The beast leaped out from one of the trees, dropping onto one of the thieves. The leader threw his dagger at it, and it lodged itself into the creature's shoulder. But the leader's confidence melted when, instead of writhing in agony, the creature slowly rose to full height. He smirked as he made a show of yanking the dagger out of his arm. He inspected it, turning it over in one hairy hand, before his gaze locked onto the leader and he threw the dagger to the ground.
"Well don't just stand there, you idiots!" The boss shouted. "Kill that monster!"
Two of them surged forward, only to be grabbed by the collars. Without wasting a second, he knocked their heads together, dropping their unconscious bodies and moving on to the next goons.
Another thief rushed forward with a club, but the werewolf grabbed the weapon and yanked it out of his hand, kicking him to the dirt and wheeling around. He chucked the club at another incoming thug, who dropped on contact.
The thug in the boss' grip struggled again. "You get in there and kick that sucker's ass!" He ordered, throwing the lackey towards the werewolf.
He charged forward but the werewolf swung around and sucker punched the lackey in the gut, before grabbing him by the arm and tossing him aside. Now, the werewolf's attention was solely on the boss.
"I'll kill you myself, demon." He seethed. He dropped his sword and ran at the beast. He landed several punches to the creature's snout, before the werewolf grabbed his arm. He fixed the thief with an unimpressed glare, before delivering a knock out blow directly to the man's head. The thief crumpled like a sandcastle in the tides.
The wolf-like creature surveyed the carnage, satisfied that all of the thieves had been dealt with, he made his way to where Herman was lying down. For a minute, the old merchant thought he was done for.
Then the werewolf knelt down, and reached out to offer a hand up. Hesitantly, Herman accepted the gesture. "You alright, mate?" The creature asked, in a gruff British accent.
"Y-Yes. Thank you." Herman replied, still shaken. He now noticed that the wolf like beast was wearing pants and an unbuttoned shirt. Odd.
"Good." The beast nodded. "Then I'd suggest you get moving before they wake up." He helped Herman back up onto his seat, and gave Gillian a gentle pat on the flank. Then he walked to the back of the cart to load the crates back up. "I've been tracking these blokes for weeks. Never thought I'd catch 'em trying to rob a guy on the road like this. They usually kill first and then take the goods."
"That's...reassuring." Herman noted.
The creature huffed as he bent down and picked up the leader's dagger. "You know what?" He said. "Here." He pulled a knife from his belt and handed it to Herman. "I've been meaning to get a new knife anyway."
"Uh. Thanks." Herman said, pocketing the knife.
"Don't mention it." The wolf creature grunted. "Safe travels."
"You too, I suppose." Herman replied, as he whistled for Gillian to go.
As the cart disappeared, the wolf creature returned to inspecting his new dagger. Then, he looked back down at the thieves. "Curious, how you blokes decided to change tactics." Suddenly, the green rune-stone resting on his neck began to glow. "No rest for the best, I guess." The wolf creature sighed. He glanced down at the thieves one last time. "Mallory's gonna need to 'ear about this." With that, he took off into the woods.
A/N: So, yeah. Shorter chapter this time. Sorry about that. Hopefully it still seems alright. And before I get a bunch of reviews complaining about the existence of werewolves in the Frozen universe, keep in mind that we also have talking snowmen, rock trolls, and an ice-mage queen. So it's within the realm of possibilities that such creatures as werewolves in this universe.
By the way, as you may have noticed, this creature may or may not be something different from a true werewolf, since he retains human cognitive thought and speech, and didn't display a weakness to the silver dagger. This will hopefully be explained in the main story, which already has a working title, "Éan Sneachta." (Props to whoever can translate that without consulting Google Translate like I did.)
Also, who can guess where Herman was coming from?
Anyway, next chapter, whenever I get enough time to work on it, will be a bit...spicier. Make of that what you will.
Until then, please read, review, favorite and follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.