Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary ever since they'd left Baron Rupert's manor, anyone would agree with Anna on that. She couldn't believe that the four hours came and went already. To her, it still felt like they had just left Belliville.
As she listened to Eugene and Kristoff's conversation, Anna peered around the area for any sign that they would be arriving in Delitpen anytime. They were still walking on the same narrow road except the surroundings were unfamiliar. The green meadow was surrounded by long roads all around them, there was only one pine tree, and Anna swore that she could hear a woodpecker nearby. A smile appeared on her face as she excitedly searched all over for the bird, listening to the repeated series of drumming.
"Are we almost there?" Anna questioned, her eyes shifting all over. She noticed that Maximus was irritated by the woodpecker's drumming but there really was nothing that she could do about it.
"Look ahead," Eugene pointed.
Anna turned to the front and her eyes widened when she saw the faint traces of tall buildings further down the road ahead of them. She could tell that it was a bigger country than Arendelle.
"Whoa," she remarked in awe. "That's Delitpen? I wasn't expecting it to be that big."
"Well, Anna," Kristoff chuckled. "All countries come in different shapes and sizes."
Anna chuckled and stared at the city coming closer to her. "Yeah, I'm really used to staying in Arendelle. I never thought that I could be going to two different countries in two days. I can't believe you and Lance didn't get caught here, Eugene."
"That's good too," Kristoff stated. "It means that we'll have no problem getting into Delitpen without worrying about Eugene getting arrested." He turned to Eugene. "Didn't you say that you got thrown in prison when you were in Pincosta?"
"Yes," Eugene remarked. Anna noticed that Maximus nodded. "If it hadn't been for Rapunzel and Stalyan, me and the rest of our group would be working in the copper mines of Malanay this very minute."
The sound of the woodpecker disappeared as Anna craned her head forward. "Even if Lance and Eugene were wanted in Delitpen, I'm sure people would've forgotten about it."
"That was what Rapunzel thought seconds before I got arrested in Pincosta," Eugene replied, glancing over his shoulders to Kristoff and Anna. "I was one of the most well-known criminals. People still remember my name and recognize me."
It was pretty much the same as Belliville except decorations were hanging all over the place. People were coming from the markets and the children were playing with each other. Some of the townspeople even had their pets with them and some citizens were sitting at tables by taverns.
After Anna slid off Sven, a tall, ancient building caught her attention. She slowly approached it and peered up to see that there was a bell at the top of the building. She could hear the voices of Eugene and Kristoff behind her as they unmounted from Maximus and Sven and she realized that she should get back to them.
Anna noticed that there were decorations all over the buildings and a large number of people were strolling in the city. She was used to seeing people in the towns but today seemed like it was a very important day. What was going on?
Kristoff whistled at the sight of Delitpen. "Somebody's having a celebration here."
"Ah, I see it now," Eugene remembered. "There must be a holiday going on. Lance and I were only here once, but I remember that they were celebrating something."
"Do you remember what they were celebrating?" Anna asked, peering up at a red banner hanging from a nearby building.
"We weren't paying attention," Eugene admitted. "We were so busy sneaking into the sheriff's home to steal his son's globe that we blocked out everything that was going on. We got away with it because everyone was so busy celebrating the holiday. By the time, the guards realized that something was up, Lance and I got away, hence how they never found out that it was us."
Kristoff nodded his head at Eugene with an impressed look. "I have to admit that was pretty clever, Eugene. Did you tell Rapunzel that?"
"Lance told her that story moments before Willow first met her," Eugene laughed. His laughter then changed into a nervous chuckle. "Anna, he told your uncle about that too when we were on our way camping, which caused a fight between me and Lance because I warned him to be appropriate in front of royalty."
While Anna was listening to Eugene, she noticed that a huddle was forming around something. Were they waiting for something? Did something happen? She was eager to know what the excitement was about.
Out of nowhere, the sound of the music being played was heard. Anna turned to see that there was a band playing. One man was playing the banjo, one woman was playing the viola, one woman was playing the piccolo, one man was playing the tambourine, and the last man was a trumpet. The citizens were clapping and dancing to the fast beat tune. Maximus and Sven even seemed to enjoy the music.
Anna's foot tapped and she moved her body to the rhyme of the lively music. "This is very catchy," she smiled, closing her eyes and bobbing her head.
Out of nowhere, a man jumped out from behind the band and towards the crowds. He instantly became the spotlight as he danced to the music, shortly before he sang.
"Merrily we celebrate the era of our joyous country
A magnificent day of our glorious beginning
Ring the bell
Here's to all of our wonderful past and present
And will continue happily
As the world keeps spinning
Ding Dong
We'll honor with glee
Sing along
We'll dance in the light of sunshine
Let's have a toast bring out the wine
Our day will just get more divine
Ring the bell, Ding Dong
Ring the bell Ring the bell"
Along with the crowd, Anna clapped and cheered at the song. "Bravo! Bravo!"
Anna noticed that Maximus and Sven didn't seem to mind the music, but when she turned, she saw that Eugene and Kristoff both looked annoyed.
"Now I remember," Eugene sighed, rubbing his temple. "They would have a band that would sing the same song every ten minutes."
"Oh, great!" Kristoff exclaimed, sarcastically. "I am looking forward to that."
Maximus and Sven then groaned and shook their heads. "What's the matter with that?" Anna probed, crossing her arms at her party. "There's nothing wrong with listening to some music."
Kristoff crossed his arms and muttered, "Not if they overplay it."
Right when Anna was about to open her mouth, she, Kristoff, Eugene, and Sven noticed that Maximus was frowning at them. Once he saw that they were paying attention to him, he neighed at them.
"Okay, Max. We'll stop screwing around," Eugene sighed. He glanced over at Kristoff and Anna. "Alright, now we are here because of Scott."
"I don't understand why he couldn't come with us," Kristoff commented, doing his voice for Sven. "He wanted us to help him."
"We should ask him that when we meet him in Bronzadelle, Sven," Kristoff answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if Rupert knew why Scott didn't go with us. After all, that Baron was against us helping him."
The events of the previous night played again in Anna's mind. She had forgotten that Rupert had tried to talk them out of not helping the young wizard. "I don't get why Baron Rupert didn't want us to go. Was he being overprotective?"
"I don't know, Anna, but we should just focus on what we're supposed to find instead of talking about Rupert," Eugene groaned. His eyes shifted around the area before he rubbed his chin, furrowing his eyebrows. "Now, why did Scott send us here first again?"
"Scott said that 'a certain winning guess will reward us with a guide to Bronzadelle'," Kristoff noted. Anna quietly repeated Scott's words to herself. "There must be something in this town that he wants us to find before we help him in Bronzadelle."
"I wish that he just told us what he wanted us to get," Eugene complained. "It would've made everything so much easier."
Anna smiled lightly. "Look on the bright side, at least he gave us one hint."
Kristoff turned to his girlfriend with a smile. "You do have a point, Anna. But still, he should've been clearer about what he wants."
"Maybe he's just trying to play one of his mind games on us," Eugene uttered to himself.
While Maximus and Sven shook their heads, watching Eugene and Kristoff having their conversation about Scott and his hint, Anna noticed an older man hanging up flyers on the building until one blew away from him. The middle-aged man's eyes widened before he raced after the flyer. With no hesitation, Anna darted over to the flying flyer, raising her hands in the air so she could try to snatch it and give it back to the older man.
Within a second, Anna fell forward, knocking over a nearby table, sending food and mugs all over the ground. Without looking at the citizens at the tables, she apologized as her right hand snatched the flyer and held it close to her chest as she caught her balance. Inhaling her breath, she spun around with a nervous chuckle, causing the man to rush over to her.
"Ah, thank you so much, dear." The man smiled. Anna smiled back at him as she took a few steps towards him. "It was very kind of you."
"You're welcome," Anna said. As she handed him back the flyer, she peered down at it in awe. There was an illustration of pirates and at the top of the flyer, there were words written in big letters that read 'THE CURSE OF THE BLUE PEARL'. Her eyes widened and she peered back up at him. "Is this a play?"
The older man nodded at her. "Yes. We are having a play at the Oak theater this afternoon if you are interested."
"That sounds exciting!" Anna beamed. "Maybe later we could—uh, what is your name?"
"Wadsworth Partridge."
"Maybe later we could come to see the play, Wadsworth," Anna chirped, handing him the flyer.
"Sounds great!" Wadsworth smiled, taking the flyer from her. He turned and started to head in a new direction. "Hopefully, you and your friends can make it."
As Wadsworth left her, Anna was just about to get back to her group when she heard heavy footsteps stomping behind her. When she spun around, she saw that a young man was coming to a halt right in front of her, growling at her. He was large and muscular with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and he looked to be in his late thirties.
"Do you need help with anything?" Anna asked. She noticed that the man was glaring at her. "Have I done something wrong?"
"Oh, I don't know," the muscular man mused in a slightly mocking tone, placing a finger on his lip. He pretended to be in thought for a second before his eyes shot at Anna. "Maybe, my lunch got ruined because you weren't watching where you were going!"
Anna's eyes spotted the table that was on its side, and a tankard and fish lying on the ground. She stood up straight and quickly said, "I'm so sorry. I was trying to help someone and I wasn't watching where I was going. Here, I'll help you clean—"
"How did you not see my table?!" the muscular man fumed, alerting a tavern owner and Anna's group. "Did you not see me eating?!"
Anna crossed her arms at him. "Excuse me, mister, I told you that I was sorry. Let me just help—"
A tavern owner rushed over to the scene and stepped in front of the muscular man. "Calkins, leave her alone!"
"She ruined my lunch!" Calkins protested. "She—"
"I'll give you a free refill and lunch," the tavern owner suggested.
"I'll pay for his meal," Anna offered, delving into her pocket. "I am a princess; I can afford it. I was the one who knocked—"
"It's alright, Your Highness,"
Calkins sighed and went inside the tavern to get a new table with the tavern owner following behind him. As soon as the door pulled shut, she turned right when her party approached her and told them what happened.
A moment later, a sound of multiple horns carried out over the entire town, causing everyone to glance in the direction of the sound. Anna saw that there was a slim older man dressed in a formal uniform with two of his guards by his side. Both of the guards placed their horns at their side when the man cleared his throat.
"Who's that?" Anna wondered.
"That must be the mayor," Eugene commented. "Delitpen was never ruled by royalty. They elect a new mayor every ten years."
The mayor stood tall, placed his hat at his side, and lifted his chin. "The Historical Auction will begin momentarily. If you wish to participate, please receive a ticket from Delitpen Hall."
While the crowd either rushed off somewhere or muttered to each other in excitement, Anna watched as the mayor turned and left the area with his two guards following him. A new group of citizens who had just arrived in the area murmured with glee, causing Anna to wonder what the big deal was.
Anna raised her eyebrow. "The Historical Auction? What's that?"
The group turned to the platform just in time to see the mayor go down the steps, and then they rushed over to him. The mayor was just about to stroll in a new direction when Anna stepped in front of him.
"Excuse me?" She smiled and the mayor nodded in response. "I am Princess Anna of Arendelle. This is my boyfriend, Kristoff, my cousin-in-law, Eugene, and my two friends Maximus and Sven. We are new here and we are wondering what day it is?"
"It's Wednesday, Your Highness," the mayor confirmed.
Kristoff stepped forward to the mayor and said, "No, she meant what holiday this is."
"Why today is The Birth of Delitpen," the mayor answered with a smile. "Vlad Moonstormer founded this country one hundred and ninety-five years ago. Five years earlier, Vlad had founded Belliville, and was given this new land for his birthday. He originally meant to use it as part of his estate, until a large group of settlers came. They attempted to settle in Belliville, but it was overcrowded so Vlad decided to give this land to the settlers and start a new country. On this day, he named this country Delitpen and declared this land as the settlers' home."
"Vlad sure did a lot for the world," Anna commented. "He really must have been a wonderful person to give up his own land for his people." She suddenly thought about the Historical Auction and wondered why it was relevant to this holiday. "What does the Historical Auction have to do with this holiday and what exactly is it?"
The major blinked a few times before he cleared his throat. "History is one of the biggest passions for Delitpen," he explained. "The people would always find a way to include history into their holidays. The Historical Auction is more of a guessing game than an auction. Certain items are selected but bidding is not involved. After the participants sign up, they are given a ticket with a question about Delitpen's history, and they have an hour to find the answer before they have to get back to Delitpen Hall. Once they've returned, they are seated where they will have to write the answer to their question within a time limit, and whoever writes down the right answer first, receives the item that they auctioned for."
"That doesn't sound like an auction at all," Kristoff commented, doing his voice for Sven. "Why would they call it an auction if no one's bidding on anything?"
The mayor stared at Kristoff with a perplexed expression before he shook his head and cleared his throat. "I wonder that myself, sometimes," he chuckled. "This tradition existed before my great-grandfather was born."
Kristoff glanced over to Eugene. "And you didn't know this before?"
"Lance and I were ste—I mean searching for an inn," Eugene spoke. He chuckled nervously as the mayor turned to him. "We were so busy that we had no idea what was going on around us."
"Anyway," the mayor continued, "there are only five objects up for auction and only the people who signed up are allowed to try to win the item they desire. Only one will win the item while the others would be left with nothing. " When he turned to the right, he noticed the time on a nearby street clock before he went forward in his direction. "If you have any more questions, feel free to let me know or ask any of my guards."
As the group watched the mayor leave, Eugene whistled and shook his head. "That auction sounds odd. And I thought that the 'hint' Scott gave us was weird." Anna, Kristoff, Maximus, and Sven turned to him, nodding their heads. "What he told us made no sense at all. 'A certain winning guess will reward us with a guide to Bronzadelle'."
Just after that comment, Anna, Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven abruptly glanced at each other with widened eyes. They peered straight back only to see the mayor heading straight into a crowd into the city with his two men behind him. With no hesitation, they rushed over, pushing their way through the people.
Anna peeked her head over the people, searching for the mayor. She saw no sign of him and continued to search until she heard Kristoff announce that he saw him. She turned her head to Kristoff and followed him forward until they finally reached the mayor, who had just finished talking to a citizen.
Anna smiled at the mayor as soon as she came to a halt in front of him. "Excuse me, could you tell us what the objects included in today's auction are?"
"Certainly." The mayor nodded with a smile. "The objects that we are auctioning today are a wardrobe, a tall golden mirror, a lion, a deed to a mansion, and a map."
Maximus and Sven neighed and brayed in realization while Anna, Eugene, and Kristoff turned to each other with their eyes wide. "The map!" they exclaimed, remembering Scott's clue. "It's the map! That's what he was talking about!"
"Who are you talking about?" the mayor quizzed, with an arched eyebrow. "A friend of yours?"
"He's more like an acquaintance," Kristoff clarified. "We don't know him very well."
The mayor glanced over his shoulder to see two of his guards leaving the area before he turned back to Anna and her party with a small smile and his hands clasped. "Are you interested in signing up for the Historical Auction?"
Anna nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. "We are going to try to get the map."
After a moment of thought, the mayor shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you won't have much trouble since the majority of the townsfolk would be trying to win either the lion or the deed to a mansion."
Eugene crossed his arms and craned into the mayor. "Where do we sign up?"
The mayor pointed right, causing the group to glance in that direction. "There will be a stall located in front of the town hall, next to a tavern. The stall will open to the public for signups in an hour. Once you reach the beginning of the line, you will officially sign the documents for you to sign up, and then you will confirm what item you will be competing for. Once you pick your desired item, you will be given a ticket with a question that you must seek the answer to. You will be given one hour to find the answer before you must report back to Delitpen Hall. Any questions?"
Anna stepped forward, placing her hand on Kristoff's broad shoulders as she peered at the mayor. "I have one," she admitted. "What if we don't find out the answer by the time we get back to Delitpen Hall?"
"You would compete in the auction regardless," the mayor answered. "It would be like a test."
"What if we don't report back to the hall in time?" Eugene quizzed, crossing his arms. "What would happen then?"
"If you don't report back to Delitpen Hall in time, you will be disqualified from the auction regardless of whether or not you find the correct answer."
"Let me ask you one more question," Kristoff spoke. "Since we are not from this country, how do we find the answer? Not all of us in our party are familiar with this country."
"It doesn't hurt to do a bit of research in this country during the hour," the mayor chuckled. "It's not as complicated as it appears to be. All you would have to do is to pay attention to your surroundings. Maybe even pay attention and listen closely."
Repeating his words in her head, Anna peered around the area, her eyes locking onto everything in sight. It was kind of the mayor to give them hints about how to participate in the auction, but how would they be able to find the answer in time? They didn't even know what question they would be given. She wished that she had paid more attention during her lessons as a child; it could've helped her if she had. All they would be able to do was try.
"We should have no problem finding the answer," Eugene commented. Kristoff and Anna turned to him, asking what he meant. "I know my way around this country so we should be able to find the hint that'll help us."
"Well," the mayor said, his guards strolling over to him to accompany him. "I must be on my way. I may or may not see you later. Either way, good luck."
Anna and her party watched as the mayor and his bodyguards left the area to presumably begin their way to another part of the town. Without hesitation, they took the directions that the mayor had given them, eager to get to the stall in time.
"At least we'll be there super early," Anna chirped. "It'll be easy and we'll be the first ones in line."
Eugene glanced over his shoulder to the group. "Well, if we don't find the answer, we just won't report back to Delitpen Hall."
When the group came to a standstill in a large area where a stall was set up in the middle of the courtyard, Anna's eyes locked on a tall, brick building with about six stories just inches away from her. She knew that this was Delitpen Hall and she was already amazed by it despite the fact that she hadn't even stepped foot in it yet.
Anna glanced over her shoulder to her party who had just frozen behind her with their eyes wide and their jaws dropped. "See?" Anna smiled. "You two have been worrying over nothing." Maximus and Sven both looked at each other before they turned back to Anna. Anna turned her head in the opposite direction. "We'll be the first ones in—" She gasped as she saw what was ahead of her.
There was a long narrow line with about thirty-five people heading towards a stall and no one was moving anywhere. The citizens all were either peering around the area or talking with each other, waiting for the dull time to pass.
"Holy cats! What happened here?" Anna quizzed. "The auction hasn't even started yet! How is there a line?!"
"They probably had the same idea that we had," Kristoff replied.
Anna glanced over to Eugene. "Is it possible that they started the auction early?
"Maybe," Eugene answered. "But I doubt it because the mayor just told us that it was going to start in an hour unless they changed it at the last minute without informing the mayor."
Maximus sighed and started to come forward to the line. He then paused and turned to the group, nudging his head forward, neighing.
"Max is right," Anna said, turning to Kristoff and Eugene. "We need to get the map, and the only way for us to try to get it is to get in line."
"We don't have much of a choice, anyway," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven. "We might as well get in line. Who knows if we'll even make it to the front of the line before all the tickets are sold out?"
"Honestly, I don't know, Sven," Kristoff sighed, shaking his head. "There's not much that we can do."
When the group stalked over towards the line, Anna glanced her head at Kristoff and Eugene. "Do you think we should see if the signups did start early?"
"It doesn't hurt to try," Kristoff shrugged. As the group went behind the last person in line, he tapped on the man ahead of him. The man turned to him. "Excuse me, did they start the auction early?"
The man shook his head and replied, "No, it just always been like this on the Birth of Delitpen. The first ones in lines would either be just lucky, or they literally had camped out in the streets the day before."
When the man turned back in his direction, Kristoff peered to Anna, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven. "No matter what, we weren't going to be in the front of that line."
Eugene peered to the line and shook his head. "Oh, great. Brilliant."
"It could be worse," Anna spoke, petting Maximus and Sven. "We could've gotten here later and we would be nowhere even close to where we are now. I'm sure that it'll go by fast."
Her eyes locking to the sky, Anna placed her hands behind her back and pressed her lips together, allowing a soft, happy whistle to flow in the atmosphere. She grinned that she had found something to do for the time to go by before she went back to her whistling. Her eyes widened when she heard footsteps marching over towards her group. When the footsteps stopped, Anna turned her head in that direction.
There was a tall, slim man with a bald head. He was dressed in an overly casual outfit and wore old, mud-stained black boots. The people in the line backed away from him, while Anna and her party remained where they were. Anna blinked as the bald man stared her down with his black eyes.
"Is there a problem?" Kristoff questioned, coming closer to Anna like he was about to shield her from that guy.
"Would you stop that annoying whistling, girl?" his rough voice growled.
Anna cocked an eyebrow at him. "Why?"
"It's disrupting the peace here!" the bald man hissed.
"She's just trying to pass the time," Eugene spoke. "Why don't you do the same? You must be just as bored as everyone else in line."
"Because I can't focus with Goldilocks making that racket!" the bald man fumed.
Anna's face turned red and she glared at him. "What did you say?!"
"You heard me," the bald man hissed. He craned closer to her. "Pipe down, Goldilocks."
Anna growled like she was about to pounce at him until she felt something holding her back.
"Anna, don't," Kristoff ordered, holding Anna as she struggled to break free from his grip. "We're already having enough trouble trying to sign up, we don't need to get in a fight! He's not worth it!"
A guard came to a halt in front of the bald man, crossing his arms. "What is your name?"
"The name's Puck."
"If you want to compete in the auction," the guard spoke, pointing his finger back at the line. "I would get back in your spot and wait until the sign ups begin. If you don't, we won't let you get back in line."
Puck sighed and gave Anna, Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven a warning glare before he reported to his previous spot in line. The guard pressed his hands behind his back and retreated to a new area in the line.
A long hour painfully dragged by before signups finally officially began. Unfortunately, the line barely moved and when it would, it was really slow. Only about six people had shown up and joined behind Anna and her group. The part of the line that they were at was by a market with see-through glass where Eugene kept looking at his reflection, admiring his good looks. Maximus kept surveying the area like he was on alert.
Anna saw that there were about eighteen people in front of them. She tapped her foot, hoping that the time would go by fast. She hoped that when they signed up, they would be fortunate enough to find the answer, and win the map.
Eugene spun around to Kristoff with a sigh. "How long have we been in here?"
"An hour, Eugene," Kristoff groaned, crossing his arms. He peeked at the front of the line and shook his head. "We're not even close to the front of the line."
"It feels like we've been in here longer than that," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven.
"I'm with you, Sven," Kristoff sighed, running his hand through his hair. "The worst part is that I don't even know how much longer we're going to be here."
Maximus neighed and pointed to the end of the line. Anna saw that now about thirty people were waiting behind them.
"You have a good point, Max." Anna nodded, turning back to him. "I would not want to be at the end of that." Sven glanced at the back of the line and nodded at Maximus.
"We might as well be at the end of the line," Eugene muttered. Maximus frowned and neighed at him. "Max, the line is barely moving and we're still in this part of the line. We haven't been moved for thirty minutes now!"
Anna spun around and peered back at the front of the line. The same people had been standing at the front for a while now, causing her to wonder if there was some kind of delay that prevented the line from moving forward.
She almost jumped when she heard Sven bray and she turned to him right when Kristoff asked his best friend something. Sven pointed his hoof to the front of the line where the townspeople were finally moving at a decent speed. When the group noticed that there was a big gap between them and the people ahead of them, Anna, Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven quickly took a step forward with the citizens behind them doing the same.
"We're finally moving," Anna commented with a smile. "We'll be up there soon."
"Don't jinx it, Anna," Kristoff spoke, sternly. "Let's just hope that there won't be any—"
"There it is!" a deep voice shouted.
Anna, Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven turned behind them to see three young men dashing over towards the line. They were knocking down everything that was in their way, and their eyes were filled with hurry.
"I don't like it," Eugene commented, shaking his head. "They're going to cut."
The man ahead of them chuckled. "Nonsense," he laughed. "They're just hurrying to grab a beer at Peppy's. That tavern always has good deals on food and drinks on the holidays."
The man's laugh faded when the three young men passed the tavern and darted towards the front of the line, passing by the citizens waiting. Everyone in the line shouted at the three men.
"HEY! HEY!" Kristoff screamed. "YOU DON'T CUT IN THIS LINE!"
"IF YOU DON'T GO TO THE END OF THE LINE," Anna shouted, "I'M GONNA REPORT YOU!"
"PUNKS!" Eugene shouted.
The shouting, booing, and cursing continued until a small group of guards raced over to the three men, pulling them out of the line. Everyone clapped and cheered when the guards dragged the three men away. While everyone had their attention on the guards and the three men, Maximus noticed that there was a woman dressed in a brown coat, with a hat covering her face. Her long auburn ponytail cascaded down her back. Maximus's eyes furrowed as he watched the woman quickly scurry away from the area.
Anna was caught off guard and spun around when Maximus neighed and tried to get out of the line until she gently stopped him. "Hey, it's okay, Max," she soothed, gently. "They got them. They're not going to get away with this."
Maximus shook his head and pointed his hoof forward, sending Anna, Kristoff, Eugene, and Sven to glance in the direction he was pointing, only to spot nothing.
"Did you see something, Maximus?" Kristoff questioned. Maximus nodded and pointed in that direction again, neighing.
"What did you see, Max?" Anna questioned. "Is someone—"
Without warning, Maximus darted out of the line and away from his group, heading in a new direction.
"Max?" Eugene called. "Where are you going?"
The horse ignored him and took the left way, disappearing from view. Sven brayed and Anna, Kristoff, and Eugene kept calling for Maximus to come back but the horse didn't obey.
"We should just go after him," Anna declared. She was about to dart out of the line when the people ahead of them shook their heads. "What? He's my friend!"
"If you leave the line," one of the people ahead of them began, "you may not be able to sign up. The guards may not let you back in line."
Eugene shook his head. "You have got to be kidding me!"
"He must have seen something!" Anna peered at Kristoff and Sven who looked as concerned as she was. "What do you think he saw?"
"I have no idea," Kristoff admitted. "It was important enough for him to leave our group."
"What are we going to do?"
"He'll be fine," Eugene affirmed. "I've known that horse for years. Max is tough. He'll find us. Besides, We're almost at the front of the line. After we sign up, we'll look for Max when we try to find the answer."
After about ten minutes, there were only six citizens standing in front of them and everyone was relieved that the line was finally moving at a decent speed. Anna felt like everything was going to work out like she hoped it would. They would finally get to the front of the line, sign up, look for Maximus, find the answer, win the map, and then head to Bronzadelle.
Eugene grinned at the front of the line. "We're almost there, you guys. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can find Max and the answer to our ticket."
"What do you think he saw?" Anna quizzed, peeking out from the line and looking back to Kristoff. Maximus may not have been gone for long but it already felt like a long time.
"I don't know," Kristoff replied. "It was something that he couldn't ignore. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left us here."
"I don't get why he couldn't just—"
Eugene abruptly shushed Anna and furrowed his eyebrows as he peered at the front of the line. Anna was just about to protest when she noticed that something at the front of the line had alerted Kristoff and Sven as well. Raising an eyebrow, Anna spun around with her braids hanging over her shoulder, and her eyes widened.
While Puck was signing up, he was seeking information about the five objects and inquired for facts about one particular object. Anna wondered what the object that Puck was so interested in was. At first, she thought that he was after the lion or the deed to the mansion until she noticed that Kristoff, Sven, and most notably, Eugene seemed dubious about Puck, making her feel irresolute as well.
After Puck received his ticket, he stepped out of the line, shot a brief intense glare at Anna, Kristoff, Eugene, and Sven, then stalked off in a new direction of the town, before disappearing into view.
Anna furrowed her eyebrows and swiftly spun around to Kristoff, Eugene, and Sven. "What was that about?"
"I don't know," Kristoff answered, still staring in the direction that Puck took. "Something's not right about him."
Right when Anna, Kristoff, and Sven moved further in the line again, Eugene darted out of the line without warning, causing his party to run into him.
"Now where are you going?" Anna questioned, nearly bumping into someone in front of her. "Get back in line!"
Eugene spun towards the group, walking backward. "Just sign up for the auction."
"What are you doing?" Kristoff asked.
"I'm going after Puck!" Eugene called, turning his body away from the line and raced down a road. "I'll get back to you when I find Max!"
After Eugene disappeared from view, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven froze in line for a brief moment before some citizens behind them forced them to step forward again. They were getting close to signing up for the map and already, Maximus and Eugene had taken off without them. Anna had no idea how they could find them. They were in a foreign country with unfamiliar surroundings.
"I can't believe Eugene just left us!" Anna exclaimed. She was shocked that the fact that there were only two people ahead of them now no longer mattered to her. "How would he even know what Puck's doing?"
"He used to be a con man, Anna," Kristoff replied. He glanced back in the direction that Eugene had left them, shaking his head. "I wish he didn't take off. He knew the whole country in the back of his hand."
Kristoff's statement caused Anna's mind to whirl. Without Eugene, their chances of getting lost in Delitpen were extremely high. They needed to go around the town so they could try to win the map. How would they know where to look?
"Anna." Kristoff's voice and Sven tapping on her shoulder caused her to snap back into reality. He pointed forward to the stall where Anna saw that there was no one ahead of them except an elderly woman behind the stall. Anna, Kristoff, and Sven went forward to the stall where a long white paper lay with a quill sitting on it.
"What item will you be auctioning for?" the elderly woman asked, placing her glasses on her nose.
"The map," Anna answered, feeling butterflies in her stomach.
The woman pointed her index finger on the paper. "Please read over the contract before you sign your names on the X right here."
Anna, Kristoff, and Sven peered down at the contract, reading over the rules before Anna took the quill. After Anna and Kristoff officially signed their names, they handed the contract to the woman. She reached down underneath the stall and pulled something out. Her fingers held a white paper.
The woman smiled at them as she handed them the ticket. "When the drum rings, you will be given one hour to find the answer for your ticket. Good luck."
Anna, Kristoff, and Sven left the stall and went over near Delitpen Hall. They sat down on the bench and peered down at the ticket. What was used to declare the official founding of Delitpen?
"Well, we know that it was Vlad Moonstormer that founded this country," Anna spoke.
"Yes, we're lucky that the mayor gave us the backstory," Kristoff replied. "But what did Vlad use to declare this country?"
"I wish he told us that," Anna commented.
After the remaining citizens in line officially signed up for the auction, a brass sound vibrated over the entire area. The mayor, along with his two guards, marched onto the scene, drawing attention from all of the citizens, including Anna, Kristoff, and Sven. Anna's eyes widened when she saw that four guards were bringing in a giant kick drum over by the stairs of Delitpen Hall.
Kristoff peered to the right and then to the left before looking at Anna. "While we're searching for the answer, we should keep an eye out for Eugene and Maximus."
Anna nodded her head at her boyfriend. "Hopefully we'll run into them or they'll find us."
Anna scanned the area for any potential hints that could give them their answer for the ticket. All she could see was Delitpen Hall.
"Kristoff," Anna spoke, pointing to Delitpen Hall. "Do you think that was used for Vlad to declare Delitpen?"
"It's possible," Kristoff replied. "It just depends on when Delitpen Hall was built."
A crowd scrambled around the area while the mayor was marching over towards the kick drum. Anna chuckled as she watched a young boy begged his mother to lift him on her shoulders. When the mother agreed and lifted him on her shoulders, the boy smiled and pointed at Delitpen Hall.
"Mama?" the boy asked.
"What is it, darling?" the mother questioned, peering up at her son.
"Is that Delitpen Hall?"
The mother smiled and nodded. "Yes, darling. Isn't it beautiful? And it's only a hundred and one years old."
Anna, Kristoff, and Sven groaned, shaking their heads. Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. They're literally going to have to search the entire country for them to find the answer. At least the mayor did give them some advice that could help them. They're just going to have to pay attention to their surroundings.
The mayor stepped onto the platform next to the kick drum. When he came to a halt, he held his head up, stood tall, and cleared his throat, causing Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and the citizens to turn to him.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I stand before you at Delitpen Hall as we celebrate this special day, and there is no better way to celebrate it than this Historical Auction," the mayor began right before he droned on about the rules of the auction.
Kristoff placed his chin on his hand, exhaling in frustration. "If only Delitpen Hall was our answer," he groaned. "I have no idea how we're going to find what we're looking for. We would have to know our way about Delitpen to find out more about its birthday."
"It was a good guess though," Anna sighed, watching a guard hand the mayor the drumstick. "If only Eugene was still here. He'd probably know where to look."
"Excuse me," a young woman asked the mayor. "I am new at this auction so how do we know when our hour is up?"
"I will tap on the drum again for you to get back to the hall with your answers." The mayor turned his body towards the kick drum, holding the drumstick in his right grip as his head glanced at the citizens in the crowd. "Without further ado, the Historical Auction will begin." His right arm swung towards the kick drum and the drumstick connected, creating a loud bang.
Before Anna knew it, all of the citizens scattered away like animals trying to escape from hunters. At first, she thought that it was silly that they had taken off like that so fast until a thought occurred to her. Everyone only had an hour to research their answer. An hour may not seem bad at first, but time would go by fast and everyone would have to find hints at what they're looking for in the country.
Kristoff scanned around the area for a moment before looking back at Anna. "Well, where should we look first?"
"We could head to the markets," Anna suggested. Fortunately, she remembered passing the markets when they were on their way to Delitpen Hall. They had passed it sometime after they had spoken to the mayor about the auction. "Maybe we'll find something there?"
"It's worth a shot," Kristoff agreed. He, Anna, and Sven sprinted towards the road that they took to get to Delitpen Hall. "Hopefully, we'll run into Eugene or Maximus while we're looking."
Over the past forty-five minutes, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven had been in numerous areas of Delitpen to research their answer. A couple of times, they had seen some of the other participants find what they were looking for from sculptures or old buildings, but they had yet to find what they were looking for and they still hadn't run into Eugene or Maximus.
The trio decided to head back to Delitpen Hall, hoping that Eugene or Maximus could be waiting for them there. As they began their way there, they paid attention to their surroundings for any hints that could help them with their ticket.
"Do you think that Eugene and Maximus could be waiting for us?" Anna questioned. She almost stumbled over a barrel but Kristoff was able to stop her just in time.
"Let's hope, Anna," Kristoff responded, surveying the area for any potential hints to no avail. Sven did the same and found nothing either. "If they are there, we should see if they found anything that could help us win that map."
As Anna, Kristoff, and Sven stalked back toward Delitpen Hall, Anna and Kristoff called out for Maximus and Eugene while Sven peered around the area for any sign of them. All they saw were some of the participants sitting on benches or standing around in the area, probably waiting for the hour to be up.
Kristoff shook his head before glancing at Anna and Sven. "I don't believe it! I just don't believe it! Where the hell are Eugene and Maximus?"
"Why did they have to take off?" Anna asked. "I mean, Maximus did see something and Eugene went to follow Puck so I guess I get why they ran off."
"See? I told you it was the Grand Spector," a male voice bragged.
The trio turned to see two younger men and an older man standing over by the now empty stall. The older man, who stood in the middle, had a ticket in his hand. The young blond man on the right stood with his arms folded and a smirk on his face.
The other young man on the left had a pout on his face. "Must be so nice to be right about everything, Mr. know-it-all! This is the last time I work in a group for this damn auction!" He turned from his small group, muttering some insults before he spoke to his group again. "Au revoir! I wish you the best of luck!"
As the young man stomped away, the older man called for him to return while the blonde man stood proudly with a smug expression.
"At least they found their answer," Anna spoke. The older man rushed over to the young man and attempted to calm him down. The blonde man smirked and bragged about how clever he was. "It's been almost an hour and we haven't found anything."
"Ah, Your Highness," a voice exclaimed, causing Anna to jump. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."
Anna spun around and watched as Wadsworth strolled over to her, Kristoff, and Sven. When she approached him, she smiled as he held his hand out to her.
"Nice to see you again, Wadsworth," Anna beamed, shaking his hand. "Oh, allow me to introduce you to my boyfriend, Kristoff, and Sven." Kristoff and Wadsworth shook hands and Wadsworth petted Sven. "Are you participating in the Historical Auction too?"
"No," Wadsworth replied. Anna could hear the voices of the older man and the young man arguing in the background. "That's not exactly my thing. I had just been hanging up flyers around the town and then I was going to catch a carriage to get to the theatre. I reckon that you signed up for the auction?"
Kristoff nodded and handed out the ticket for Wadsworth to see. "We're just trying to find what declared the founding of Delitpen."
"I wish that I could tell you," Wadsworth sighed. "But I think that it would be considered cheating."
Anna chuckled slightly, playing at one of her braids. "Yeah, we don't want that. We want to win the map fair and square."
"Oh, it's the map you're after?" Wadsworth asked, perplexed. "I'd thought you would try to get the lion."
"I don't think Elsa would like that for a pet," Anna chuckled. She couldn't even imagine the look on Elsa's face if she ever bought a lion into their palace. "Besides, the map is more important and we must get it. We need it to get to Bronzadelle."
"Bronzadelle! That's where I'm from," Wadsworth exclaimed. "I am here because my sister owns the Oak theatre and sometimes my wife and I would visit and help her with the plays. I am a landlord in Bronzadelle and when you get there, I can lend a cottage for you to rent. It has a total of seven rooms, Your Highness."
"Really?" Anna questioned. "That would be great!"
Wadsworth smiled. "I'll have it reserved for you when I get back home. I don't think that it will be necessary for you to get the map. I could show you around Bronzadelle."
"We need it for someone else," Kristoff clarified.
"I see," Wadsworth noted. A flyer almost blew out of his hand, but he was able to hold it to his chest. The wind was wild today, but at least it lowered the hot temperature in the area. "Well, all I can say is pay attention to your surroundings and listen to everything that is going on around you. If I were you, I would even head towards the library."
"If only Eugene didn't take off," Kristoff commented. "He knows the whole country and he would probably know where the library is."
"I can give you directions to the library," Wadsworth suggested. He pointed to the direction where a 'PEPPY'S' sign was hanging from the side of the little tavern. "After you pass that tavern, take the left road. Go straight for a while until you see a bakery called 'PRANCE'S DELIGHT' and then take the left road again until you head into a large area where the library is."
"We'll do that. Thank you," Anna promised. She was just about to bid Wadsworth farewell until the thought of Eugene and Maximus forced their way into her mind. "Oh, have you seen our friends?" She told him their names and gave him their descriptions.
Anna's heart sank when Wadsworth shook his head. "I'm afraid I haven't. If I do see them, I'll let them know that you're looking for them. I wish you good luck!"
After Wadsworth spun around and left to find a carriage, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven darted towards 'PEPPY'S' and took the directions that they were given.
When the trio entered the large area, Anna surveyed the surroundings. To her surprise, there was a large crowd in the far right of the area, waiting for something. She couldn't help but wonder what they were waiting for until she saw that the same band and singer that they saw earlier was heading over towards the front of the crowd, most likely to perform that song again.
"Anna!"
As Anna swiftly turned to Kristoff, she saw that there was a large building on the far left of the area and figured that it must be the library. Along with Kristoff and Sven, Anna sprinted over towards the library, her heart beating as her feet kept hitting the ground. When she saw Wadsworth again, she would need to thank him for helping them. Now, all they had to do was to get inside the library, find a history book, and find out what declared Delitpen.
Just as Anna and Kristoff reached the first step of the stairs, their mouths dropped and they paused when the sign on the door came into their views. "CLOSED?!"
"And you're surprised?" a mellow voice quizzed behind them. Anna and Kristoff spun around to see an older woman standing at the bottom of the stairs with a basket in her hands. "Don't you know that the library is always closed on the holidays?"
"Oh, we're not from around here," Anna clarified, stepping down the stairs towards the older woman who nodded in response. The princess could hear Kristoff following her behind when she paused on the last step. "The library can't be closed, we need it for the Historical Auction!"
"I'm sorry but they never allow anyone to use the library for that auction," the woman spoke. "Other than today being a holiday, the library is closed because it would be considered cheating if anyone would step inside and use a book to find their answer."
The woman turned and went over towards a market, leaving Kristoff, Anna, and Sven to stand there, glancing at each other. Anna couldn't believe that Wadsworth had given them directions to a place that was closed. Was it some kind of trick? Was it even a mistake?
"I can't believe Wadsworth did this to us," Anna growled.
"Maybe you were being too trusting," Kristoff suggested. Anna crossed her arms at him, giving him a frown. "I'm just saying, you don't know him very well. He could just be—"
"I don't think he was lying, Kristoff," Anna denied, shaking her head. "Yeah, I admit that I was too trusting with Hans, but I helped Wadsworth get one of his flyers back and he appreciated it. He even gave us directions to this area with the library—"
"Wait a minute," Kristoff interrupted. "Anna, I just thought of something. Wadsworth gave us advice to 'head to the area with the library'. I don't think he meant to check in the library, I think that he meant that we check in the area."
"He and the mayor did say that we have to be aware of our surroundings and pay attention to what's going on around us," Anna remembered. It all made perfect sense now. Wadsworth had sent them to look for any hints for their answer in the area rather than the library. She spun around and wondered, "What could be here that would help us win the map?"
"I don't know but we have to hurry," Kristoff spoke. He spun around, surveying the area. "The hour is almost up."
While Kristoff and Anna continue to search the area, Sven's eyes scanned all over, hoping to find anything that would help his group. He was certain that there was something that could be useful to them. He almost sighed when he heard the band play their instruments again and was not looking forward to hearing that song. He wished that the band would not play the same song over and over again. He knew that he would have to ignore it and focus instead on paying attention and listening for any hint about their answers.
All at once, Sven shot a look back at the band. Wait a minute? Could the band have something to do with the Historical Auction? Could that be why they replay the same song? Sven lifted his ear and brayed to Anna and Kristoff.
"What is it, Sven?" Kristoff quizzed.
When Sven pointed his hoof forward, Anna and Kristoff turned to the direction where the instruments continued to play that same tune. The singer popped out from behind the band and danced in front of the crowd.
As the singer sang the lyrics about the bell, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven remained still and blocked out any other sound. The lyrics seemed to be about the birth of Delitpen. The part that alerted them the most about the part about the bell.
Anna chuckled at the part of the lyrics. "Makes me think of that belltower that I saw—"
An alarm went off in her head as she suddenly thought about the belltower from earlier. It was old so it must have been around the time that Delitpen was created and that song kept talking about the birth of this country.
Ring the bell Ring the bell"
When the song ended, Anna completely blocked out the loud cheers and instead turned to Kristoff and Sven.
"That is, it!" she exclaimed. She clapped her hands, laughing with joy, and pointed at the ticket. "That is, it! Kristoff, Sven, don't you see? They keep replaying that song because it's part of the auction and Wadsworth must've known that they were coming here! They're singing about that belltower that I saw! It's the belltower! Vlad used the belltower to declare Delitpen!"
Anna, Kristoff, and Sven laughed and cheered, rejoicing that they had finally found their answer. Their moment of victory was interrupted when the drum's ringing, echoed over to them, reminding them to get back to Delitpen Hall. Without hesitation, the trio raced back that way.
When the trio finally returned to Delitpen Hall, they saw that there was a large crowd proceeding towards the hall. Anna was out of breath but she knew that they were getting closer to winning that map. She watched as the citizens scurry towards the hall, astonished that so many had signed up.
"Woah, that is quite a crowd."
"Well, I'm not surprised, Anna," Kristoff chuckled. "The line that we waited in earlier was outrageously long."
The couple laughed until they noticed that the guards were ordering that anyone who had signed up go inside the hall if they wished to continue in the auction. Anna, Kristoff, and Sven darted towards the hall and pushed their way through the crowd. Once, Anna almost fell until Kristoff caught her in time. Through the crowd, Anna could see that guards were patrolling the area and one was even by the door.
When they finally reached the door, the guards ordered everyone to line up in a single file which they all obeyed. This line reminded Anna of the one that they were in earlier, however, this line moved faster and eventually led them out of the hot weather and into the large building.
Anna couldn't believe her eyes when they stepped foot into the hall. The walls were painted white and there were high-quality portraits of past mayors hanging on the wall. A long white rug lay on the ground, barely covering the white wooden floor.
"This is amazing!" Anna spoke.
She jumped as she heard the door close behind her. She spun around to see that the guard had stepped away from the door and begun to walk towards the front of the crowd. When the guard came to a halt, he turned to the citizens with his hands behind his back and ordered them to follow.
While they all followed the guard, Anna couldn't help but peer around the place as she went forward. There were so many portraits of the past mayors scattered across the wall. She wondered if Elsa would know who any of them were. She almost bumped into a suit of armor, but Kristoff and Sven were able to stop her in time.
Everyone walked for a while until the guard paused in front of a large door with a silver handle and turned back to the citizens who came to a halt. Anna lifted her head from behind two large citizens and peered at the door. That must be the room where the auction would be taking place.
"That's where we'll try to win the map," Anna said, turning to Kristoff.
Kristoff turned to Anna and Sven with a very determined expression on his face. "When we get inside, you two wait inside for me. I will try to win the map."
"Are you sure, Kristoff?" Anna asked.
Kristoff nodded. "I can do it." He and Anna peered back at the front of the crowd. "I doubt we'll be in there very long because the majority of the townspeople are after either the lion or the deed to the mansion. We should be fine, trying to get the map."
Before Anna had a chance to reply to her boyfriend, she, Kristoff, and Sven spotted Puck at the front of the crowd. He gave all three of them an intense glare, giving them an uneasy feeling. Was Puck still angry at Anna for the whistling earlier?
The guard wrapped his fingers around the silver handle and pulled the door open to reveal a large room, which Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and the other citizens headed into. As Anna stepped further inside, following Kristoff and Sven, she couldn't help but be amazed.
"Woah," she spoke, her eyes exploring around the place. "This is amazing."
Large tapestries were hanging on the golden walls, a large crystal chandelier hung from the golden ceiling. In the middle, there were about six rows of long tables scattered around. There were about ten chairs on one side of the table.
The mayor stood at the front of the room with his hands placed behind his back and five very well-dressed gentlemen with white wigs stood beside him. One was standing in front of a large cart with a cloak concealing something large, two of them were standing in front of something tall with a cloak over them, and the other two were holding something small that was wrapped up by a cloak in their hands.
Kristoff tapped on Anna's shoulder and pointed to the two gentlemen that each held something. "The map is in one of them."
"Who cares about the map?" a young man's voice scoffed. Anna, Kristoff, and Sven frowned at the voice. "You rather get the map over a lion or deed to a mansion? How pathetic!"
"If I were you, I—"
"Anna, don't."
Sven signaled for them to be quiet as the mayor cleared his throat. Anna and Kristoff ignore the young man and locked their eyes on the mayor. Anna watched as the mayor started to approach the five well-dressed gentlemen with his head glanced over his shoulder at the audience.
"My fellow citizens," the mayor began, "I am grateful that we are all gathered here today as part of celebrating Delitpen's one hundredth and ninety-fifth birthday. It is with great pleasure that we honor this very special day and we couldn't have done it without Vlad Moonstormer. I would like a huge round of applause for everyone who had volunteered to participate in our one hundredth and twenty-first Historical Auction."
The enormous number of cheers and claps filled the entire room; it was so loud that it could frighten a baby. Anna couldn't believe that the Historical Auction had been around for that long and figured that must be why the mayor didn't even know why it was called an auction.
The mayor made a gesture to the five well-dressed gentlemen and they each clenched their hands on the cloaks. The mayor smiled at the citizens who locked their eyes on the five objects. "It is with great pleasure that I present to you all five of our objects and for a few of you, your rewards. First, let me show you—" When the mayor snapped his fingers, the five well-dressed gentlemen all yanked the cloaks off, revealing all five objects, "—your potential rewards!"
While the mayor announced the objects, Anna was able to get a better look at most of them. The large wardrobe and the tall golden mirrors reminded Anna of something that she, Elsa, and Rapunzel would have because of the high quality. A large lion with no mane was standing inside the tall cage and the mayor confirmed that she was tamed. Anna had expected the lion to be a cub, but instead, it was a mature female lion. The deed to the mansion was sitting inside one small open chest that lay in the hands of a well-dressed gentlemen. She couldn't get a clear look at the deed, but she knew that it was likely a very long one for it to belong to a mansion.
The map was inside the other small open chest that a well-dressed gentleman held in his hands. She was tempted to get a better look at it, but, as with the deed, she couldn't see it very well. She wondered if the map was different from other maps.
The majority of the citizens had cheered for either the lion or the deed to the mansion, although some also backed away from the lion. Anna swore that she had heard a young child crying. A good amount of the citizens reacted to the mirror and wardrobe even though neither of those objects had gotten as much hype as the deed and lion had. Most of the citizens didn't react to the map, which was good news for Anna and her group.
When the audience's reactions finally died down, the mayor took the opportunity to continue. "Let the auction begin!" the mayor proclaimed.
Anna jumped when the crowd went crazy over the auction.
"Anyone who signed up for the long, golden mirror," the mayor began, "please, step forward and bring your tickets with you."
Forty citizens went over to the tables and took their seats. Kristoff, Anna, and Sven saw that the young blonde who bragged about the Grand Spector earlier was participating for the mirror. The five well-dressed gentlemen strolled over to the tables, politely gave quills to all the participants, and ordered them to hand the tickets to them. After the participants obeyed, the well-dressed gentlemen peered at the tickets, gave them back to the participants, and ordered them to turn their tickets over. Once the participants did what they were told, the well-dressed gentlemen placed their hands behind their backs, turned their backs to the tables, and went over to the front of the room.
"What was that about?" Anna questioned. "Why would they want their tickets and then give them back?"
"They were checking to see if they were auctioning for the right object," a woman nearby explained. "In the past, there had been several incidents where someone had auctioned for the wrong object."
"That makes sense," Kristoff replied. Anna nodded and shrugged her shoulders. "I still don't understand why they told them to turn their tickets over."
"That is where they write down their answer," the woman explained.
Kristoff nodded. "Ah, I see."
The mayor stalked over to the mirror and placed his hand on the edge. "When I ask you your question, you will write down your answers, and whoever answers first with the correct answer wins the mirror." Anna craned her head over some townspeople, feeling a stirring of curiosity growing inside her. It was so interesting to see a tradition in a foreign country. "Alright, what was dedicated to Winfield Graves, the first mayor of Delitpen?"
Before anyone could even take a breath, the participants all dabbed on their tickets, sounds of quills scribbling filling the room. The young blonde jumped up from his seat, causing his chair to fall backward on the ground, with his ticket in his hand. When the mayor spotted him, he darted over to him and took his ticket.
"It is the Grand Spector!" the young blonde bellowed with a smug expression. He closed his eyes and smirked.
"That is incorrect!" the mayor announced. The young man's smirk faded away and a sharp "Ha!" was heard in the back of the room. Anna, Kristoff, and Sven assumed that it was the same person that the blonde had 'corrected' earlier. "The Grand Spector was the first ship from Delitpen that set sail across the sea. Winfield Graves was the first mayor to step foot on the Grand Spector, but the ship was not dedicated to him."
A young woman rose from her chair with a ticket in her hand and the mayor approached her, taking her ticket from her.
"It is the vault in Delitpen's bank," she answered calmly.
"You are correct, miss!" the mayor announced. The room was filled with cheers and applause. "The vault was dedicated to Winfield Graves. He helped Vlad Moonstormer design the Delitpen's bank. When Graves became the first mayor of Delitpen, Vlad Moonstormer dedicated the bank to him when they cut the ribbon to open the bank. Congratulations, miss! Come up and get your reward!"
While the woman went up to the front of the room to receive the mirror, the citizens that were sitting down, got up from their seats and left the room.
"The bank?" a small child asked.
"Yes, dear," the father answered. "The path next to the Delitpen Hall leads to the bank. The guards always patrol the path especially during the holidays like today when there were signups for the auction."
"Wait, Anna," Kristoff's voice said as Anna felt a hand on her shoulder. Anna turned to her boyfriend with a concerned expression on her face. "That's the same path that Maximus had run off to earlier."
Anna's eyes widened. "Did Max see someone plot something?"
Kristoff was just about to answer her when the mayor's voice carried over the room. "Anyone who signed up for the map, please step forward."
Anna wished Kristoff good luck before she watched him go over to the tables with the other participants. As Kristoff and the other participants followed the instructions that they were given from the five well-dressed gentlemen, Anna stood in anticipation, holding her breath. Deep down, she was confident that they were going to win that map. They just had to so they could get to Bronzadelle and help Scott.
Soon after, Anna felt Sven tapped on her shoulder and she turned to him. "What is it, Sven?"
The reindeer pointed his hoof forward, causing Anna's eyes to widen. Puck had just taken a seat next to Kristoff. Anna wondered how Kristoff didn't react to him until she realized that her boyfriend was so focused on his ticket that he had blocked out the surroundings and was unaware of anyone, including Puck.
"What is Puck doing?" Anna wondered. She turned back to Sven. "We should call out to Kristoff."
Neither Anna nor Sven had a chance to alert Kristoff as the mayor cleared his throat and said, "What was used to declare the official founding of Delitpen?"
Within a second, Kristoff and the other participants had begun scribbling down their answers when the door flew open and a frantic Calkin raced into the room, turning all of the attention to him.
"Pirates invaded the west side of the country!" he exclaimed. "Golden Eye's crew is in Delitpen right now as we speak! Pirates are in Delitpen!"
The guards went over to Calkins and the majority of the crowd all went into a panic while Anna and Sven just stood there, peering at each other. Anna glanced over her shoulder to see that Kristoff, Puck, and the other participants had turned over in their seats, glancing at Calkins. She noticed that Kristoff seemed to be in shock while the other participants were in shock as well but Puck appeared to be calm compared to everyone else. How was he not astonished?
The mayor appeared uneasy as he stepped down from the steps, and went over to approach the guards. When he reached the guards and Calkins, he spun around toward Kristoff, Puck, and the other participants, with his hands clasped together. "Everyone, I can assure you all that the matter will be taken care of. Participants, please wait and do not finish writing down your answers until further notice."
While Anna peered to the mayor, Sven turned back to Kristoff, Puck, and the other participants. His mouth dropped when he noticed that Puck's eyes locked down on Kristoff's ticket for a second before he turned to the mayor. Sven began braying at Puck, causing everyone else in the room to spin to him.
"You need to get that reindeer under control, miss," the mayor said to Anna in frustration. "We do not need to have him getting everyone else worked up."
Anna was just about to retort back when Puck stood up from his seat, causing the room to turn at him and Sven to glare at him.
"I've been through a pirate invasion before. Everything will be fine," Puck assured. Anna's eyes peered back over to Puck. That would explain why he seemed calm. "I think that it would be a good idea if we cover our answers while we wait. That way, it wouldn't give anyone any ideas about cheating."
The mayor nodded. "That is a good idea, son. And I appreciate how well you're handling the situation."
The mayor ordered Kristoff, Puck, and the other participants to cover their tickets with their arms which they all obeyed. After the mayor turned from the crowd, the guards and the mayor inquired Calkins about the pirate incident with the rest of the room watching and listening nearby like they were watching some performance.
Anna, on the other hand, was concerned about why Sven had acted as he did. "Sven," she inquired. Sven's head peered towards her. "Did you see something?" Sven nodded his head and he turned back to the participants, his eyes widened. "What did you see?"
As Anna slowly peered over to the participants, it looked that Puck's body was turned, his head appeared to be peering down at his ticket, and his quill stopped moving before he turned to the mayor, Calkins, and the guards.
"Wait, did he just cheat?!"
The guards convinced the mayor to continue with the auction and that they would take care of the pirate matter. The mayor nodded his head and turned back to the front of the room while the guards and Calkins left.
While the mayor was addressing the audience, Anna tapped on Sven and he turned to her. "Sven, did you see Puck look at Kristoff's ticket?"
After Sven nodded, Anna had no time to react as the mayor resumed the auction and ordered all of the participants to finish writing down their answers. As Kristoff continued to write down his answer, Puck pretended that he was scribbling something down and abruptly rose from his seat before anyone could even finish writing down their answers. When the mayor approached Puck at the table, Puck handed the ticket to him.
"It is the belltower," he answered.
"You are correct, son!" the mayor announced. "Congratulations! The map is all yours! Come up and get your reward!"
"No! That's not fair!" Anna shouted through the cheers. "He cheated! He's a liar!"
As Puck followed the mayor to collect the map, Anna tried to alert the mayor that Puck had cheated but unfortunately, the loud cheers and applause drowned her out. Right when Kristoff and the other citizens rose from their seats and left the tables, Anna and Sven raced over to Kristoff.
"Kristoff!" Anna spoke. "Puck cheated!"
"What?!" Kristoff asked.
After Anna explained to Kristoff about what she and Sven saw, they turned to the front of the room just in time to see Puck shake hands with the mayor and began to leave the room. Anna, Kristoff, and Sven were just about to race over to the mayor when one of the remaining guards stood in front of them.
"You can't disrupt the mayor at this time!" he addressed.
"But we need to see him!" Kristoff snapped.
"Then you'll have to wait until the auction is over," the guard spoke.
"We can't wait that long!" Anna snapped. "This is important!"
"I'm sorry but you're going to have to wait," the guard ordered. He ushered the trio out of the middle of the room, towards the door, and opened it. "It'll be no time before the auction ends. Just wait outside this room.
The guard turned and left Anna, Kristoff, and Sven standing there in anger, disbelief, and frustration. Anna couldn't believe that this had happened. They had gone through all this trouble to find the answer, and Puck just had to cheat. How were they going to help Scott now?
"Great! Just great!" Anna said, sarcastically as the new participants went to take their seats at the tables. It was obvious to anyone that she was not concealing her anger. "How ridiculous is that!"
"He couldn't just give us one minute to see the mayor!" Kristoff fumed, shaking his head. He turned to the opened door and saw that Puck was stalking down the long hall.
"You know, I'm just going to march over to him!" Anna ranted. "I don't care what that guard said! I'm going to see that mayor!"
Before Anna had a chance to run towards the mayor, she felt a light grip on her arm and turned to see that Kristoff had stopped her. She was just about to protest when Kristoff shushed her and pointed forward. Anna's eyes widened when she saw Puck in the hallway. Puck may have cheated and won the map but he had yet to get away with it.
"Let's get him!" Anna snapped.
As quietly as they could, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven walked faster in the hallway after Puck, hoping that they would catch him. They didn't run after him because they were afraid they would give themselves away and he would escape. As they followed Puck further into the hallway, a baby's cry echoed through the hallway and a mother went into the hallway with her baby, trying to comfort it.
Unfortunately, Puck spun around to see, and took off as soon as he spotted the trio, causing Anna, Kristoff, and Sven to now race after him.
"Stop!" Kristoff yelled.
Puck reached the end of the hall and slammed the door shut behind him. As soon as Anna, Kristoff, and Sven reached the door, they pulled it towards them and darted out of Delitpen hall after Puck.
"We know that you cheated, Puck!" Anna yelled. "Come back here!"
After glancing over his shoulder, Puck raced towards a large crowd and disappeared into the swarm of citizens, but that didn't prevent Anna, Kristoff, and Sven from continuing their pursuit. As they managed to squeeze through the crowd, Anna wondered why so many people were huddled around for until it finally hit her when she heard the band and the singer perform a new song. Finally, they pushed their way through the opening of the crowd and darted after Puck.
Eventually, they ended up on the south side of Delitpen. There was nothing in the large area except for taverns, inns, and a few markets. All Anna could focus on was trying to catch Puck and get the map from him. She, Kristoff, and Sven raced further into the area after him and saw him turn around the corner in between two buildings.
They turned the corner, and came to a halt when they saw that four roads were leading to different paths with the buildings guarding them, reminding Anna of a maze. On top of all that, all four paths had corners at the end, and there was no sign of Puck anywhere.
"Where do you think he went?" Anna asked.
"I don't know, Anna," Kristoff answered. "He could've gone on any of the paths."
Anna peered back at the four roads, hoping that Puck had dropped something by mistake so they could get an idea where he'd gone, but she found nothing.
"We have to find him," Anna said. "Where could he have possibly gone?"
A sound of two gruff, slurred voices echoed over to them from the far-right path, causing Anna, Kristoff, and Sven to freeze. They quickly hid behind three barrels and remained still as the voices and footsteps came closer to them. The trio was able to sneak a peek from behind their hiding places.
They held their breaths once they saw that two pirates had just reached the area. Both of them were tall men with long golden necklaces dangling in their hands. The pirate on the left had dark dreadlocks, a blue waistcoat, and black breaches while the pirate on the right had a red headwrap, a white doublet, and black boots.
"Yo ho ho!" the pirate on the left slurred. "Ye hear that, Long Floyd? That's the sound of victory! Who knew that Delitpen would be the place to plunder and take booty!"
"Aye, Ruthless Buck!" Long Floyd slurred, nodding his head. "Ye have to thank Lady Caine for plundering Delitpen Bank with her crew! We'll be getting away with this plunder since she's drawing the guards towards her!"
Long Floyd and Ruthless Buck cackled, swinging their necklaces in the air. Anna jerked her head back before either of the pirates could spot her. She realized why Maximus left them at Delitpen Hall and darted towards the bank. He likely saw Lady Caine or one of her crew and knew that something was up. She had never met Lady Caine before, but Rapunzel and Eugene had told her and Elsa about her many times.
"We should get back to the Robin Gallery!" Long Floyd slurred. "We don't want to end up like three of Lady Caine's henchmen!"
Long Floyd and Ruthless Buck cackled as they stalked on the far-left path. "Aye, me heartie! The sooner we get back to The Robin Gallery, the sooner we can get some rum! Then we'll be on our way to take the loot from Hogan! Golden Eye is a legend!"
After the two pirates went further on the path and away from the area, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven waited for a few minutes before they came out from behind their hiding places.
"What is up with that?" Kristoff asked. "What is up with all this crime going on here?"
"You remember what Eugene said, Kristoff?" Anna questioned. "He and Lance stole from here when the citizens were distracted during the holiday. The pirates, Lady Caine, and her crew must've had the same idea!"
"That would make sense," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven.
"No kidding," Kristoff commented. "Well, now we know why Maximus left us."
The sound of multiple horses neighing from the middle road caused Anna, Kristoff, and Sven to freeze. They raced onto the middle path with every bit of energy that they had.
The trio entered a large courtyard with markets nearby and a small group of bystanders were fleeing to safety. In the middle of the courtyard, Maximus was facing off against a large black horse with a white stripe down its face. The two horses had swords in their mouths as they fenced against each other.
"It's Maximus!" Anna called.
Without thinking, she sprinted towards the two horses with Kristoff shouting out at her, and then he and Sven followed her. Right, when Maximus spun around to Anna, the large horse kicked him and Maximus went flying into a market stall full of oranges. Maximus's sword went flying over towards Anna and wood from the stall came flying from all over. When Anna shielded herself for protection, she heard the sound of the blade hit the ground in front of her. She removed her arms to see that the sword was laying in front of her feet.
"Aw, what's the matter, Maximus?" a woman's voice mocked. "Can't accept that you're never as good as Axel?" Anna peered up to see that a slender woman was stalking over towards Maximus. She had magenta lips, auburn hair with a red streak, and a skull and roses tattoo on the left arm. Both the woman and the horse were holding their swords towards Maximus before he had a chance to flee. "You know, you really should've thought about it before interfering with our heist."
As the woman mocked Maximus, Anna picked up the sword and charged towards the woman. She jumped in front of Maximus and held her sword towards the woman and the large horse.
"Stay back!" Anna yelled. "Stay away from my friend!"
"It's Princess Anna!" one of the bystanders from the crowd shouted.
The woman let out a mocking chuckle. "Well, isn't that sweet? Look here, Axel. It looks like we have a princess who thinks she can fence. Doesn't she remind you of that one annoying princess?"
"I'm one angry princess!" Anna snapped, glaring at the woman. "Now, back off before I teach you a lesson!"
The woman threw her head back and laughed, shaking her head. "You are going to teach me a lesson? I don't think so!"
Before Anna could react, she heard footsteps racing over towards her and Kristoff jumped in front of Maximus, standing next to her. Anna could see that Kristoff had a long stick in his hand. Before the woman had a chance to do anything, Kristoff swung his stick forward and knocked the woman's sword out of her hand. Sven raced towards the sword but unfortunately, the woman noticed what he was up to and raced towards her disarmed weapon. As the sword came closer to the ground, the woman did a cartwheel and caught the sword.
The woman chuckled. "Wow, I had no idea that Santa had to send one of his reindeer here from the North Pole. I am quite impressed. You know, I am interested in—" Sven brayed at the woman. "Whatever, fine, be like that! I was just making an offer!"
A young hoodlum dashed towards the woman with a frantic expression on his face. "Lady Caine!" he called. "The guards are coming! We have to go now!"
"Dammit," Lady Caine muttered. She put her sword away and spun around towards her horse. "Come on, Axel!"
Axel backed away from Maximus and trotted towards Lady Caine. Right, when he reached her, she hopped onto his back and they raced away from the area with her henchman chasing behind them. The audience clapped and cheered, but Anna was more concerned about her group's safety.
The Princess asked each member of her party if they were alright which they confirmed that they were unharmed.
"Maximus," Anna asked "when we were at Delitpen Hall, you saw Lady Caine there, didn't you?" Maximus neighed and nodded his head. "Did she and her crew rob the bank?"
Maximus smiled and shook his head. "Thank goodness," Kristoff commented. Sven nodded. "Did you hear about the pirates that invaded Delitpen?" Maximus neighed, shaking his head. "I'm surprised. I thought that the whole city had heard about it by now."
"Wait, did you just say that there are pirates in this country?" an older man questioned nearby.
"Yes," Anna confirmed. "You haven't heard about it?"
The man shook his head. "All I heard was that they got Flynn Rider and they have him in custody."
Kristoff and Anna's eyes widened. "Wait, what?!"
"They caught Flynn Rider," the man repeated. "He was chasing someone, and then a young man said that he had heard him talking about how he stole something from the sheriff's son years ago. After that, the guards found him and took him to prison."
Anna felt like her group couldn't get a break. Since they landed in this country, they had been going through one disastrous event after another. If only Eugene and Lance hadn't stolen from this country, they wouldn't have gotten into this mess. Now all they could do was to try to get Eugene out of prison.
"Excuse me?" Anna asked. "Do you know where the prison is?"
The older man nodded. "Go around that block until you reach the marketing square and you will see a building with a flag hanging down from it."
When the group finally reached the marketing square, they saw the building with a flag and went over to it. As the group walked, Anna noticed that the marketing square was bustling, and she could hear the townspeople gossip to each other about something.
They stepped up the stairs that led up to the door of the prison and after checking to make sure that all four of them were together, they entered inside the prison.
There were a couple of guards in there. In the room, there were a couple of jail cells across from the group. Anna could see that there was a door on the far left of the room, and she presumed that was where most of the prison cells would be.
"Alright," Eugene's voice said from the left. The group turned to see that Eugene was locked up in a small cell with a small bench against the wall. He was standing up, holding on to the bars as he peered to the closest young guard. "I am no longer a criminal. I turned my life around many years ago."
"You still committed a crime," the guard spoke.
"Yeah, a long time ago," Eugene spoke. "Who cares about something that I did back in the day? Has anyone ever heard the saying 'the past in the past'?"
"Eugene?" Kristoff asked. The guard turned and backed away as Kristoff, Anna, Maximus, and Sven approached the cell. When they stopped at the cell, Maximus neighed at Eugene.
Eugene spun to the group and let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank God. Am I glad to see you."
"We heard what happened," Anna replied. "I can't believe they just threw you in here because of something that you did a long time ago."
"I can," Eugene commented. "Don't you remember? It's happened to me before. And to think that one person had overheard my entire conversation about the heist!"
"I didn't think that anyone was listening to our conversations," Kristoff retorted.
When the door flew open, Anna and her group turned to see that a guard stepped inside the room with a tall sheriff stalking behind him. The guard and the sheriff came to a halt when they stepped in front of Eugene's cell.
The sheriff cleared his throat. "Flynn Rider," he began. "You and Lance Strongbow broke into my mansion and stole my son's globe fourteen years ago. We—"
"Excuse me," Anna interrupted. "His name is Eugene Fitzherbert and he is not a criminal anymore. He hadn't stolen anything in years!"
"Your Highness," the sheriff began, "he may have changed his ways, but still, he committed a crime here. He should pay for the consequences."
"Why am I not surprised," Eugene sighed, shaking his head.
"But that was a long time ago," Kristoff snapped. Sven brayed at the sheriff and the guard.
"He still broke the law," the sheriff said. He turned to Eugene. "Where is my son's globe?"
"I don't know," Eugene admitted. Anna heard Kristoff, Maximus, and Sven sighed. "Lance and I sold it a long time ago."
"Since you do not have the globe," the head guard continued. "Then I'm afraid that you will be sentenced to the dungeons for the remainder of your days."
An idea came into Anna's mind and she stepped in front of the cell. "Wait! Since the crime was over ten years ago, can Eugene just pay a fine?"
The head guard rubbed his chin and said, "That's not a bad idea, but it still wouldn't make up for stealing the globe."
"How about Eugene could pay the sheriff to make up for it?" Anna suggested. "He could pay the sheriff and pay a fine."
"I suppose that could work," the sheriff spoke.
After Eugene paid the sheriff and paid a fine, he, Anna, Kristoff, Maximus, and Sven left the building and strolled over to the middle of the marketing square.
"I'm glad that's over," Kristoff commented. He turned to Anna. "You should be proud of yourself, Anna. Elsa would be."
"Yes, thanks, Anna," Eugene spoke. Sven and Maximus spun to Anna with smiles. "If it hadn't been for you, I would've been in the dungeons."
Anna smiled. "Oh, it was nothing. I'm glad that we're all back together."
"So, how did you guys find each other?" Eugene asked. After Kristoff explained to Eugene about Lady Caine, Eugene was just about to praise Maximus and the rest of the group when he noticed that neither Anna nor Kristoff had the map in their hands. "What happened to the map?"
"Uh, about that," Anna began as she went on to explain to Eugene about what happened at the Historical Auction.
"What?!" Eugene snapped. "Oh, so that was what Calkins and Puck were up to! If only I hadn't gotten arrested, I could've stopped Calkins and you might've got the map!"
"Wait, what happened, Eugene?" Kristoff quizzed. Sven titled his head at Eugene with his eyes furrowed. "And why did you leave us at Delitpen hall?"
Maximus turned to Anna with a neigh, to which she confirmed that Eugene had left them. Maximus spun back to Eugene. When Eugene's eyes met Maximus's, the horse neighed at him.
"You were following Puck, weren't you?" Anna inquired. "What happened?"
"When I followed Puck," Eugene began, "we eventually ended up in a tavern, the same one where Anna had knocked over Calkins' table, Puck went over to Calkins' table and I sat at one of the tables nearby, pretending that I didn't know them. Fortunately, neither one of them was paying attention to me. First, I learned who sold the map in for the auction."
"Who was it?" Kristoff probed.
"It was the Stabbingtons," Eugene answered.
"Wait, the same ones you worked with?" Anna asked. Eugene nodded. "They were the ones who sold the map?"
Kristoff folded his arms. "Why would they do that?"
"I don't know," Eugene answered. "I listened and I learned that Puck and Calkins were planning on heading to Pazatrille with Lady Caine and her crew."
Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Maximus stood there speechless. Puck and Calkins are with Lady Caine? They were silent for a long minute before Kristoff spoke.
"I don't believe it. If they were with Lady Caine, then why was Puck in line for the auction while Lady Caine and her goons were off to plunder the bank? It doesn't make any sense!"
"Puck and Calkins were only planning on getting the map," Eugene explained. "They were just going with her and her crew for the ride to Pazatrille. Puck is good friends with Lady Caine's right-hand man, Pocket and Calkins being a resident of Delitpen helped Lady Caine plan out her heist here. So, Calkins told Lady Caine and her crew about Delitpen in exchange for taking them to Pazatrille. Puck was confident because he trusted Pocket but Calkins mistrusted Lady Caine and disliked the idea of riding with her."
"Did you hear why they were going to Pazatrille with the map?" Anna questioned.
Eugene nodded. "They were going there so while Lady Caine and her crew plunder a museum, Puck and Calkins could deliver the map to someone they worked for."
"Did they say who they were working for?" Kristoff questioned.
Eugene shook his head. "They never did. All I know for sure is what I told you. After Puck and Calkins left the tavern, I waited until they left the area before I left as well. While I was looking for you guys, I saw that Calkins had just left the prison and that was when I chased him."
"That must've been when Calkins was reporting about the pirates," Kristoff commented.
"I'm sure they'll know that he was lying about the pirates soon," Eugene spoke.
"No, Eugene," Kristoff said. "We saw two pirates from Golden Eye's crew."
"Golden Eye!" Eugene exclaimed. "Oh, I get it now! Calkins used the pirates for his diversion at the Delitpen Hall!"
"Why would he do that?" Anna asked.
"He was drawing attention away from Puck and himself by reporting an actual crime," Eugene explained. "It's a classic move that conmen use. They do that to make themselves look innocent so they can get away with their cons. Stalyan's done that many times before, and Lance and I have been on both sides."
"I have to admit that's clever," Kristoff admitted. "I'm surprised that you didn't hear about the pirates. I thought that you'd see one at the prison."
"No, but I saw some other people," Eugene spoke. "You remember the three young people that tried to cut in line for the auction?" Anna, Kristoff, Maximus, and Sven nodded their heads. "They are from Lady Caine's crew."
Anna gasped. "Those must be the henchmen that those pirates were talking about!"
"Maximus, was that when you saw Lady Caine?" Kristoff asked, doing his voice for Sven.
Maximus neighed in response. "That must've been part of Lady Caine's plan!" Kristoff exclaimed. "She had three of her crewmates cut in line so it would draw the guards away from the area so she could get to the bank! They must've gotten captured when they tried to get away! Puck must've known what they were doing!"
"If only we'd gotten the map from him," Anna sighed. "How are we going to tell Scott this?"
"Did you hear what happened?" a voice from nearby asked. The group turned and saw that a young woman had just approached an older woman who shook her head. "You're not going to believe it!"
"What happened?" the older woman asked.
"Lady Caine and her crew just stole the Grand Spector!"
"What?! You can't be serious!"
Before Anna had a chance to react to the news, she noticed that Eugene and Kristoff shared a look with each other before approaching the two women. Along with Sven and Maximus, Anna followed them.
"Excuse me," Kristoff said, drawing the attention of the two women. "Do you know when Lady Caine stole the ship?"
"I believe that it was ten minutes ago," the younger woman confirmed. That didn't make sense to Anna. She, Kristoff, and Sven had recently fought off Lady Caine so there was no way that she stole the ship already. "Pocket must have gotten the Grand Spector while Lady Caine and some of her minions tried to carry on with their heist at the bank. As soon as Lady Caine, Axel, and a lackey fled the streets, they went to the harbor, raced on the ship, and they set sail before the guards had a chance to catch them."
That pretty much cleared up the confusion for Anna. "Kristoff," she said. "That must've been right after we fought Lady Caine and Axel."
"So, they had just left, you said?" Eugene questioned. The younger woman nodded. "Do you know which harbor it was?"
"It was the west harbor."
"Alright, thank you for the information," Eugene said. After the two women warned them to watch out for the pirates before they left the area, Eugene turned to Anna, Kristoff, Maximus, and Sven. "Now, we know that they just left."
Anna crossed her arms. "We could still go after them and get the map back, couldn't we?"
"We would have to leave by tonight," Eugene replied. "Lance and I have traveled from Delitpen to Pazatrille before. If we're a day later, then Lady Caine's crew would be too far from us."
"Is there a ferry that could take us there?" Anna asked.
"There is," Eugene answered. "We have to get there now."
"Do you know where the west harbor is?" Kristoff asked.
"Yes," Eugene answered. "Follow me!"
When the group raced into the harbor, Anna had expected an ocean of the townspeople to be scattered in the area, looking to see that the Grand Spector was gone, but instead, the area was completely deserted. For a moment, she wondered why until it finally hit her. The guards had either sent them to safety or the citizens decided to flee because of the pirates.
Suddenly, Anna came to a standstill when she saw that the Oak Theatre was right across from the harbor and Wadsworth was standing right in front of it. She was just about to call out 'hello' to him until she saw that he had placed a sign on the door and gone inside. The sign said 'TODAY'S PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO THE PIRATE INVASION'. She felt sorry for Wadsworth and all who were involved. She wished that she could have seen the play and most importantly, she hoped that Wadsworth and everyone else was safe.
"Anna!" Kristoff called.
Anna turned and saw that Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven had just paused. As she sprinted closer to her group, she saw that there were docks and water ahead of them. They found it! They finally found the ferry. Now, all they had to do was find the Captain and then they could set sail after Lady Caine.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Eugene fumed.
"Oh, come on!" Kristoff fumed. "Can't we just get a break?!"
Right after, she heard Sven and Maximus sigh in frustration. "Why is everybody upset?" Anna turned to see what they were looking at. "What is going—" She gasped as she understood what had angered her group.
There was a large ferry in front of them. However, it was blocked by a large sign that said 'CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAY! THE FERRY WILL BE OPEN AGAIN TOMORROW'. Anger boiled inside Anna. Of all the times for the ferry to be closed, it just happened to be when they were in desperate need of it.
Before she knew it, a hysterical laugh forced its way out of Anna's mouth, causing Sven to turn to her with concern. How on earth were they going to get the map now? The Grand Spector was getting farther away from them and they had no ferry. They had been through all this only for the damn ferry to be closed.
Eugene looked like he didn't know how to react. "Uh…Anna? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Eugene." Anna smiled sarcastically. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Anna, just calm down," Kristoff spoke.
"Calm?!" Anna snapped. "We signed up for the damn auction, only for Puck to cheat, and now the ferry is closed! How could I be calm, Kristoff?!"
"I am just as upset as you!" Kristoff fumed. "But we don't need to be losing our heads!" Anna realized what she was doing and calmed down and apologized to her boyfriend. Kristoff turned to Eugene and asked, "Do we have a plan b, Eugene?"
Eugene put his hands on his hips and scanned the area. "Well, we could see if there are any other boats around. If only I knew someone in this town who could help us!"
"Wait!" Anna exclaimed. She turned and pointed to the Oak Theatre. "Wadsworth is still in that theatre! I saw him! He could help us! Come one, guys!"
"Wadsworth?" Eugene asked. "I don't know a Wadsworth!"
Kristoff explained to Eugene and Maximus about Wadsworth as they followed Anna and Sven to the theatre. Anna knocked on the door, calling out for Wadsworth. She heard footsteps coming over to the door. When the door swung open, Wadsworth was there.
"Oh, now I know who he is!" Eugene commented. "He's the one with the flyers!"
"Ah, Your Highness!" Wadsworth exclaimed. When he spotted Eugene and Maximus, he smiled at them and he looked back at Anna. "I see you found your friends. Unfortunately, we will not have our play today because of the pirate invasion."
"I saw that and we are sorry about that," Anna said solemnly. "I wish that we could've seen it."
"Me too," Wadsworth sighed. "When you get to Bronzadelle, maybe I could see if my sister could allow the theatre troupe to travel there so you can see the play as well."
"Actually, about that," said Anna. "We need your help with something."
Wadsworth's eyes widened and he gestured for the group to step inside.
When they entered the theatre, Anna was amazed. It was very well decorated, clean, and looked expensive.
Wadsworth started to climb towards a staircase. "Follow me to the dressing room."
Everyone followed Wadsworth up the stairs until he stopped at a door. He placed his keys in the lock and turned the knob, pulling the door open before leading the group inside.
Anna's mouth dropped when she scanned around the large room with a window. There were tall mirrors stretched out across the walls next to multiple doors that would each lead to different rooms. There was a fur rug in the middle of the floor and there were about six large wardrobes. Anna thought that the room looked even better than the ones in her castle, well, better than her room at least.
"So, this is where the actors put their costumes on?" Anna questioned, walking around the room with her eyes scanning around. "This is neat."
Eugene cocked an eyebrow at Anna. "You've never been to a play before, Anna?"
"I never went outside the palace, remember?"
"Wadsworth, why are those in here?" Kristoff questioned.
Anna turned and saw what Kristoff was referring to. Her boyfriend was towering above a large chest with pirate costumes in there. She wondered if those were the costumes for the actors.
"My sister designed them," Wadsworth explained. "She was going to use them for the show until she designed better outfits instead. She has yet to decide on what to do with them."
Eugene peered down at them and whistled. "I have to admit she did a good job on them."
"Why thank you, son." Wadsworth smiled. "I'll have to tell her that. Oh, Your Highness, did you win the map?"
While Anna explained to Wadsworth all about their misadventure in Delitpen, Sven was standing over by the window, peering at it. "And this is where we need your help," Anna began, "we were wondering if you could take us to Pazatrille on your way to Bronzadelle. We have to leave tonight."
Wadsworth's eyes dimmed. "I am sorry about everything that had happened and I would love to help you, but unfortunately, I traveled on the ferry to get here. Even if I hadn't, I wouldn't be able to leave right away because I had planned to stay here for a week to help my sister and her husband."
Eugene groaned, shaking his head. "Now, how are we going to get to Pazatrille? If we don't leave here by night, then the map is lost."
"I have no idea," Wadsworth sighed. "I am sorry. I'm afraid that you're going to have to explain to your friend about the map."
Anna's eyes peered down to the floor. She couldn't believe that she had failed Scott and it wasn't even their fault. Now, Scott won't be able to help his brother. Maybe it would have been better if Scott hadn't accepted their help after all.
She lifted her head to respond to Wadsworth when she noticed Sven backing away from the window, braying at the group.
Kristoff had a concerned expression on his face and went over to the window. "Are you alright, Sven?"
"What is it?" Eugene asked, coming towards the window with Anna, Wadsworth, and Maximus following behind him. "Did Sven see something?"
"Is someone out there?" Anna wondered.
While Anna and the others peered out the window with Kristoff, her eyes widened. Outside, right by the harbor, Ruthless Buck and Long Floyd were with two other pirates, one a male and the other a female.
"It's them!" Anna exclaimed. "It's the pirates!"
Kristoff shook his head. "Well, that is just great. How are we supposed to get out of here, now?"
"Our day just keeps getting better and better." Eugene smiled sarcastically. "What have we done to deserve this?"
Maximus gestured for everyone to keep away from the window, which they all obeyed. The horse risked taking a peek through the window.
"You don't think they'll try to get in the theatre, don't you?" Wadsworth quivered. "I'm not skilled in fighting."
"I don't know," Kristoff admitted. "They could if they wanted to."
"Why would they want to come in here?" Anna asked. "There's nothing in here that they need."
"They could if they want to see if there's anything to steal in here," Eugene spoke. "That has happened before."
"But Long Floyd and Ruthless Buck at least already found treasure," Anna spoke. "They should be getting back to their ship so they could get to Hogan."
Anna almost jumped when Eugene abruptly spun around towards her. "Wait, where did you say that Golden Eye and his crew are going?"
Anna blinked before she answered him. "Hogan. Why?"
Eugene scratched his chin and snapped his finger. "That's it. That's it!"
A grin made its trace on Eugene's features, and everyone in the room noticed it. Eugene rushed over to the chest and pulled out the costumes before turning to Wadsworth. "Would it be okay if we use these? We can pay you gold pieces."
Wadsworth shrugged. "I don't mind and my sister won't mind. Be my guest and don't worry about paying me."
"Thanks." Eugene smirked.
"Why are we taking these?" Kristoff asked, raising an eyebrow.
Eugene turned to him with a grin. "Pazatrille is on the way to Hogan and now, we finally have a ride."
As soon as Anna finally realized what Eugene was implying, she stood there frozen. Could they pull this off? Would it be a good idea? Regardless, what they were about to do was dangerous and could lead to serious consequences. They could get mistaken for actual pirates and get arrested or the pirates could find out about their true identity.
Kristoff shook his head. "You can't be serious!"
"I've never been more serious," Eugene assured. He threw a waistcoat to Kristoff who almost missed it, and a corset to Anna who caught it in her arms. "We will wear these and the pirates will take us to Pazatrille on their way to Hogan, then we will get the map back from Puck."
"Other than our disguises," Kristoff began doing his voice for Sven, "why would they let us on board?"
Maximus neighed at Eugene, obviously objecting to the pitch as well. "You said that those two pirates heard that three of Lady Caine's stooges got caught, right?" Eugene asked. Kristoff and Anna nodded. "We can pretend that we are crewmates, and Maximus and Sven could be our pets. I am very well known so I can pretend that I'm still a criminal and I think they heard that I was thrown in the prison."
"So, we'll just tell them that we got thrown in prison, but we broke ourselves out?" Anna questioned.
Eugene nodded with a grin. "Exactly."
"Can I say something crazy, you guys?" Anna inquired. She made sure that everyone was paying attention before she finally spoke. "I think that this could work!"
Sven was hesitant for a few moments before he brayed in agreement. Maximus neighed in agreement, though he was unsure of Eugene's plan. Sven peered at Kristoff.
"We don't have any other option, Kristoff," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven. "It'll be risky but it'll be worth getting the map."
Kristoff sighed and shook his head. "Alright." As Eugene handed him the rest of his disguise, Kristoff shot a warning glare at him. "If this doesn't work—"
"Trust me, it will." Eugene grinned, turning away from him. He went over to Anna and handed her the rest of her disguise.
As Eugene went over to put some disguises on Maximus and Sven, Anna peered over at Eugene. "Have you and Lance done something like this before?"
"Yes, but never with any pirates," Eugene admitted, placing an eye patch on Maximus's left eye. The horse sighed, shaking his head and Eugene went over to wrap a head bandana on Sven. "I know how pirates behave so it'll be no prob."
When Eugene finished wrapping the bandana on Sven, Wadsworth stepped forward. He had been so quiet that Anna had forgotten that he was there. "Look, I understand that you want to get that map, but I don't agree with this plan. Do you have any idea how dangerous this would be?"
Anna approached him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "We don't have a choice, Wadsworth," she spoke. "It's the only way for us to get the map. We really need it."
Wadsworth had volunteered to keep watch at the window while Anna, Kristoff, and Eugene had each gone into separate rooms to change into their disguises. When Anna was finished with hers, she stared at herself in the long mirror.
She was dressed in a red corset over a long-sleeved white shirt, with leather britches that were tucked in black boots. She wore a red headband and her messy hair was down with beads in multiple braids. She was certain that she would fit in with the pirates.
As Anna smiled at her disguise, she wondered how Rapunzel and Elsa would react to Eugene's plan. She could see Rapunzel agreeing to dress up as a pirate, but she could see her older sister putting her foot down. With Elsa being elegant, lady-like, and timid, she would no doubt refuse to take part in disguising herself as a pirate.
In a minute, Anna was ready to go and she marched out of her room. Wadsworth was still standing by the window and Maximus and Sven had just strolled over to Eugene and Kristoff, who were now in their disguises.
"Are you ready to do this, Anna?" Kristoff questioned.
"Yes, I was born ready!" Anna smiled, pumping her fists. "We can do this!"
Maximus, Sven, and Kristoff gave Anna a warm smile as Eugene grinned, turning over to Wadsworth. "Are they still outside, Wadsworth?"
Wadsworth spun around to the group. "They just left the area."
"Great!" Eugene spoke. "Come on! Let's catch up to them!"
As Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven darted over to the door, Anna froze midway and spun around to Wadsworth.
Wadsworth smiled. " I wish you good luck and be careful!"
Anna gave him a warm smile. "Thank you."
After Wadsworth nodded at her, Anna spun around and followed her group out of the building. As they sprinted farther away from the theatre, Anna peered around the area, keeping a lookout for any guards.
"Where do you think the pirates are going?" Kristoff questioned.
"They're going to the shores of Delitpen," Eugene answered.
"What is that?" Kristoff asked. "And what makes you think that they would be there?"
"It's a beach far off from the city," Eugene explained. "The citizens rarely come to that area during the holidays so it's deserted. For that reason, pirates and con men would use that area to dock their ships. Lance and I used that area when we stole from here. If Lady Caine hadn't stolen the Grand Spector, then she would've most likely docked in that area as well."
With every bit of energy and determination, Anna followed her group as they continued their way to the shores of Delitpen, eager to get the map so they could help Scott.
