At the brink of nightfall, the sky was a mixture of orange, yellow, and pink as the sun began to stoop behind the snow capped mountains. It was a breathtaking view to say the least, especially when hues of blue and magenta and green intertwined together as the northern lights came to life.
After hours of bumpy travel, Kristoff's freshly lacquered sled glided smoothly to a stop in front of a tall wooden lodge, sitting at the base of a mountain.
The log building was adjacent to a water port, equipped with a dock that led to many departing ships.
A small team of men in thick tunics like Kristoff's, were heaving stacks of ice blocks onto a ship to be delivered around to buyers, and others where doing their various daily tasks around the lodge.
"Welcome to the ice harvesters' headquarters everyone." Kristoff smiled proudly.
"This is where we come to ship out the ice we harvest. Inside the lodge are some helpful resources, hot meals, first aid, and sleeping quarters; a sort of safe house. Harvesting ice takes a lot out of you with all the freezing temperatures and heavy lifting."
"Yes, this should do nicely as a temporary hide out." Benji said, climbing out of the sled to survey the area.
A tall, bulky, black haired man who appeared to be a little older than Kristoff came over to address the unexpected visitors.
He appeared to recognize Kristoff right away.
"Hey Kristoff! Good to see ya, I didn't know you were working this harvest." He said coming over to smack the reindeer king on the back.
"Good to see you Anders, Yeah I'm not here on an order, we- uh..." He paused, looking around for an excuse. "Uh we're staying a little while to refresh ourselves before continuing on north. We're giving these girls a lift home." He said pointing a thumb at Jess and Hannah who were loitering awkwardly beside the sled.
"Ah, where a-bouts you guys heading?" Anders asked.
"Uhh I—" Kristoff was cut off by Anna's intervention.
"Kristoff, Elsa needs help!" She cried insistently, partly because Elsa's shoulder blade was in no good condition, and partly to change the subject of Ander's conversation.
Thankfully, it worked as Anders walked over to examine the queen's punctured shoulder.
He used his calloused thumb to prod around the wound, causing Elsa to cringe and bite down on her lip.
"Now how did this happen? Looks pretty deep to me." Anders said looking up at Kristoff.
"Thieves." Hannah offered up so quickly that it could have been what actually happened.
Jess shot her a look of surprise with an undertone of admiration.
She had a talent for spinning quick lies when it was necessary for her to avoid an uncomfortable situation, almost a second nature. Not a trait she was extremely proud of, but proved to be useful in situations like these.
"Yeah I heard about a group of bandits running around the area, looting homes and such. They wouldn't dare try to break into the lodge, they know we'd beat the day lights out of em hehe." Anders laughed lightheartedly with a masculine tone.
"Well come on into the lodge, we'll have a medic look at the nice lady's shoulder." He said smiling, unaware of Elsa's royal status.
A man called and gestured for Anders from the docks. "I'll catch you guys later I've gotta get back to work."
He turned to go, but then backtracked to face the group. "Oh yeah, one more thing. Watch out for Maverick, he was in a accident and got hit on the head with an ice block we were lifting onto the ship a few days ago. He's ok, but he's been running around this place near crazy. Just avoid him if you can, see ya Kristoff." And with a strong handshake with his colleague, he sauntered off to the docks.
Anna carefully helped her sister out of the sled as everyone began towards the entrance of the headquarters.
Hannah swung the door, which in her opinion was extremely huge for no good reason, open and peered around inside.
The interior was the same as the outside, carved wooden logs, but the atmosphere was different.
Outside was cold and everyone was lively and passionate about their daily duties. Inside however, was radiating a warmth from the crackling fireplace in the corner, and men were laying around with a lethargic nature to them.
The entrance led to a large common room lined with various couches and chairs around the crackling fire. A staircase led upstairs to what Hannah assumed to be bedrooms.
To the left, sat a sort of kitchen, complete with an oven, pantry, and cooler box- which Jess had deemed the "ancient refrigerator".
A long cedar wood table was also placed off to the side of the kitchen, where some ice harvesters were chatting and devouring their dinners.
As the gang entered the common room, everyone looked in their direction questioningly.
A rather thin man with a graying beard seemed to recognize the queen, and the fact that she was wounded.
"Your majesty, Queen Elsa." He said bowing deeply.
He then turned to the rest of the men in the room, his voice booming, "Well bow you fools, you are in the presence of royalty!"
The harvesters did as they were told right away, making it clear to Hannah that this man had some power of social authority at the lodge.
"I am Lionel, the physician here at the lodge. May I take a look at your wound, Queen Elsa?" He asked kindly, his dimples showing through his aging beard.
"Yes, if you would be so kind, thank you." Elsa replied reciprocating the smile.
Another young man, perhaps an assistant, pulled a chair out for Elsa and handed Lionel his medical bag.
The doctor pulled out a few flasks and bandages, and respectfully tugged Elsa's dress down just enough to properly see the puncture.
"Hm this appears to be a shot from an arrow. I'm going to clean it and then bandage it up to avoid infection." The physician informed Elsa while pulling the cork out of a small vile filled with a clear liquid.
Anna squeezed her hand as the queen yelped from the burning sensation of the disinfectant.
As Elsa was getting medical attention for her shoulder, Jess suggested to Hannah that they have a little look around.
"Not too far. My brother could be closer than we think." Benji had warned the girls, as they were heading towards the front door.
"Okay dad." Jess muttered sarcastically to her friend under her breath, eliciting some giggles from her.
Darkness had arrived upon the sky, and the outside docks were only lit by the force of the moon and the northern lights.
"Wooahh, I've always dreamed of seeing the northern lights in person!" Hannah marveled, eyes full of wonder.
Her home in Florida never saw such beautiful natural wonders. The weather there consisted of rain, humidity, intense heat, and more humidity; almost a compete contrast to the weather she was now experiencing.
"Yeah I love them, especially the purple." Jess replied, beaming up at the sky.
Although, the girls' state of wonder was abruptly interrupted by a very strange sounding scream. Its origin was unknown, and sounded like a mix between a reindeer, a parrot, and a banshee.
The source of the wails got louder as a man came running out of the nearby trees, completely shirtless.
His hair was going every which way, and he was crazily waving his arms in the air and skipping.
Hannah and Jess stood confused, and slightly horrified at the heathen blitzing towards them.
Two others then came running after him in hot pursuit, their voices now in hearing range.
"MAVERICK STOP THIS! MAVERICK COME BACK, AND SHUT UP FOR GOD'S SAKE!" They yelled after him.
"AHABABA AHAAABBAB!" The disturbed man screamed out, heading right for the girls!
"Um, Jess I think that's the Maverick dude we're supposed to avoid!" Hannah said, already prepping herself to run away.
"WAY AHEAD OF YA MATE!" Jess blurted out promptly grabbing Hannah's wrist, as they both sprinted back screaming towards the lodge.