●Andy●
Andy clenched his fists so hard he wouldn't be surprised if there were little crescent-shaped marks left behind. His jaw had probably also suffered some damage from the way he kept tightening it with anger. But he couldn't help it, because Helena was loose.
He hated the paranoia feeling buzzing inside his head, it felt like the air was charged with electricity of the worst kind. She could be anywhere, she could have doubled back and be right behind him-
He whipped around, like the madman he was, but of course there was no one else. The prince tried to take a calming breath to steady his breathing. Be rational. Most likely, she'd be looking for a way out of here. Andy had to get to Elliott and stop any ships from leaving. If things got messy, Elliott could totally freeze the fjord's water again. As long as she doesn't escape.
But... would it really be so bad if she escaped? She'd be gone, forever, out of his life. The thing was, what if she came back, came back with an army? With her Southern Isles buddies? He cringed just thinking about it. He ran inside the open gates, making a beeline for Elliott's study.
"Elliott, Elliott, Elliott, ELLIOTT!"
He said his brother's name like a mantra, hoping that the words alone would somehow summon the king. They didn't. They did, however, startle General Winter out of whatever activity he'd been doing. The little snowman rushed out of a room, swinging his brand new ice sword in every direction, "What, what, what... what's wrong? Slow down, m'boy."
"Have you seen- where's my- where's Elliott?" Andy had ended up sprinting, since all his power walk had done was make him anxious that he'd be too late. Andy frowned at the General's funny-looking appearance. Random patches of black fur stuck to his snowy exterior, "Were you threatening the stuffed bear trophy-thing again?"
The mounted bear they owned was really creepy. It stood in its hind legs, mid-roar, the ugliest creature Andy had ever seen, full of scars, a malformed and rugged beast. Father said its name had been "Mor'du", and it had been a gift from some Scottish queen Andy had never met. It was a hideous thing and the prince didn't understand why they kept it. When he was little, the thing terrified him. It still did, actually.
By ignoring his question, General Winter affirmed what he'd been up to. "He's with Dr. Candy. The man seemed a little upset, if you ask me. Come on, I'll take you." For a second Andy was confused, he didn't know any 'Dr. Candy,' but then he realized... Dr. Sweet. Why was Elliott hanging out with the new doctor? Did something happen?
Well, how convenient for Helena! he thought angrily as the snowman led him down the hall. If Elliott was hurt, then all hope of stopping the wicked princess was gone. She would win.
He sensed Elliott before he saw him.
The temperature outside the king's study was a good ten degrees lower than the rest of the palace, and the room just emitted cold power. The door swung open and Elliott stormed out, a snarl set on his usually amiable face. A trail of ice followed in his wake. Behind him was a dejected-looking Dr. Sweet, with his head down and a sorry look on his face.
"Elliott-" Andy started, but was swiftly cut off by the king.
"Helena. I know. Come with me." Elliott said, his legs were longer and his steps more determined, and he'd soon left Andy behind. Dr. Sweet followed meekly, as well as an eager General Winter who was sensing a fight.
"How did she get out?" Andy had to jog to catch up to Elliott's angry pace.
A muscle in Elliott's jaw twitched, "Dr. Sweet. I... did not tell him what Helena had done. In fact, nobody knows besides you and I and a couple of guards. He took her out to get some fresh air."
"She saw the chance and she took it," Andy said, low enough so only they could hear. He should be mad that Elliott hadn't told anyone about Helena's true nature. But... he wasn't. He didn't want people to know, not for her sake, but for his. It was too humiliating.
"I leave Princess Helena in charge!" that's what he'd said before riding off to find his brother. He had left their whole kingdom in her care. To the people she was still that wonderful princess, so of course she'd feel comfortable escaping to go to them.
"To make things worse, I just got word from the Southern Isles," Elliott said as they left the palace.
"What? When?"
"Just before I learned that Helena had escaped," Elliott's voice was frustrated. "Her timing couldn't have been worse... ah, Dr. Sweet," the king turned to the doctor, "Please inform Zazu of what's happened, and to tell the dock master that no ships leave under any circumstances until I say otherwise."
The ashamed doctor bowed his head, "As you wish."
The two brothers kept a good pace as they headed into the village. People stopped to point and call out to their king, but the royal family didn't stop to chat. Elliott acknowledged them with smiles and small waves, but his legs never stopped moving. General Winter skated close by, the small cloud above his head that never stopped creating snow to keep him cool assisted him in that.
"What did Helena's family say?" Andy asked.
"They're sending someone very soon. Turns out one of the sisters was visiting Corona, and they'll stop by here, I guess."
Andy's geography needed a little polishing, so he asked for the first person he associated with the country."One of Helena's sisters was visiting Rapunzel?"
"Apparently." Elliott said. For the first time, the king seemed to notice something was amiss, "Where's your girlfriend?"
"She's not- not my girlfriend!" yet. Andy felt the heat rise to his cheeks, and even in the hectic situation, Elliott smiled in amusement. "She went after Helena."
"That's not good," Elliott's smile was gone. "She could be in danger."
"Krista can handle anything," and as he said it, Andy desperately wanted to believe it.
●Krista●
Krista started to think they had hallucinated Helena from the lack of progress she was having on finding the auburn-headed nightmare.
She was leaving no clues for Krista to follow. She wasn't knocking over stands to slow her down, or shoving people out of the way. Then again, the princess' face when she'd bumped into Andy back there had been just short from absolute shock. She'd thought herself safe, but for some reason the gods made it so they found each other again. Helena hadn't been counting on that.
The blonde stopped dead in the middle of the street to think this through. This pointless chasing of a ghost was doing no good. Okay, okay, if Krista were a disgraced princess from the south, whose escape plans had practically just been foiled, where would she go...?
Well, I'd look for a captain stupid enough to take me, someone that doesn't live here and doesn't care about the king's rage... a pirate!
There was no guarantee that her guess was true, but the pub 'Neverland' was right across from her. There weren't all that many options for the princess to hide in anyway. Krista knew for a fact that it was a traveling pirates favorite spot when doing business in Arendelle. In fact, she frequently delivered ice for the place, if it was for their drinks or to use the cold to numb pain from bar brawls she didn't know, but they were clients of hers. So she wasn't very nervous about going in, she knew the owner (sort of), but the people inside varied every time...
Helena didn't need to be a genius to guess the type of people that went in there, the shady look of the place alone was enough. Perfect for some princess smuggling. It was her best bet, so Krista mumbled a silent prayer to any god that would hear it and she went in.
The sharp smell of beer almost made her gag as she stepped in, but she sucked it up before she could attract any attention to herself. But opening the door to the dark tavern was like having the spotlight turned on, and every head immediately turned her way. Every pair of eyes, or single eyes sporting eye patches, peered at her in a menacing way. Many of the pirates were missing limbs, their clothes didn't match half the time, and it was very easy to tell apart the rich captains from simple crew members.
What was even easier was spotting Helena.
She was already all over the wealthiest-looking pirate, a man sitting on the very back with black hair that draped over his shoulders, a thin black mustache and a large chin. Helena was twirling said mustache between her fingers, her eyes hooded, obviously buttering him up to get safe passage on his ship. The man was actually eating up her act, his undivided attention on the princess. Both of them did not notice Krista's entrance, but the chubby man with the red sock-hat beside the pirate did.
Krista took a deep breath and walked over to the trio, with as much courage as she could muster with half the tavern burning holes through her with their intense staring. For Andy, for Andy, for Andy, she wished he was here. Or Suri. No, scratch that, she wanted General Winter to be here. She would feel ten times more confident with him around. Even if he was barely five feet tall, the little snowman was a force to be reckoned with.
By some sort of miracle, she made it to the end of the place, but she wasn't sure how to announce her presence. Luckily, someone did it for her. "Captain," the pirate's assistant said, narrowing his eyes at her through his large and bulbous nose.
"It can wait, Smee, don't you see I'm talking with the... lady here?" the man purred the last words and, as if on que, Helena giggled. Gross. The man shifted his arm and something flashed in the light; a fine steel hook was where his left hand should be. Great, Helena was trying to make deals with Captain Hook.
"Actually, sir, it can't wait," Krista somehow found it within her to speak up. She didn't even know why she bothered with being polite; he was a pirate after all. But it did the trick, she got his attention.
"Well, well! It seems we've been getting all the luck with beautiful ladies today!" his green eyes examined her with an approving glint. He smiled crookedly at Helena, "Friend a' yours?"
Helena's face was both annoyed and horrified, and it pleased Krista immensely. "I'm afraid not," the princess said, quickly transforming her face to a more pleasant one. "I haven't had the pleasure." The way she forced out the last word, it indicated that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with the ice harvester.
"Krista Bjorgman!"
Krista blinked confusedly; the words had not left her mouth. A cold metallic arm was placed around her shoulders in a side-hug, and from the sheer bulk she knew who it was; John Silver, cook extraordinaire and owner of this fine establishment. "It's good to see you," he said warmly, and Krista tried not to stare too long at the missing half of his face which had been replaced by metal, she also knew one of his legs shared that same fate.
The technology used to replace his lost parts was advanced and very expensive, he was the result of a rare experiment that had long since been banned. Banned or not, John was half robot now, and that's all that mattered. His previous pirate life was something he did not enjoy talking about.
"You know the lass?" Hook said, miraculously losing interest in the lady on his lap. Helena immediately went into planning mode, Krista could see it on her face. The hazel eyes shifted over to the back door, she was already calculating for a plan B. Gods, did this girl never stop her plotting?!
"Know her? Krista's been delivering ice here for... How long?" Silver, the bear of a man glanced at her with his good eye and his robotic one, and she tried her best not to be intimidated.
"Uh... for years?"
"For years!" he echoed, and gave her a friendly pat on the back, which with his superhuman arm, almost knocked the breath out of her. "Can I get you anything? On the house, obviously."
"I'm good, John, thanks!" she beamed as best as she could manage. Helena was getting twitchy, as if she'd make a run for the door any second. In a moment of blunt stupidity she slid in the booth right next to Helena. The princess made an indignant little noise; now she was trapped between Krista and Hook, so the moment of stupidity turned out to be a good play on her part. "Unless my friends here want anything?"
"Rum!" Hook said immediately.
"You got it," John nodded and went back to the bar, his metallic leg whirring as he moved.
"Actually, Helena here wasn't being all that truthful," Krista said, keeping her best poker face on. So far she'd made the right calls, Hook seemed to like her and the princess did not look so confident anymore. "We do know each other."
"Aye, I got the feeling," Hook said, appreciating the two women with a slight smirk. Krista had to play this right, she could not reveal what was really going on; the place was full of criminals after all, and it could go both ways; they could help, expecting a reward from Arendelle's family. Or they could help Helena, in hopes of an even bigger reward from the Southern Isles party.
"She's the one I told you about," Helena blurted out.
Krista's heart tripped and face-planted on barren ground. She was an idiot!
Of freaking course Helena had already fed this captain all her lies. Hook paused for a moment, raising a dark eyebrow at Krista, "She the one that stole yer man?"
"That I stole your... what?" Krista's mouth shot open, momentarily confused. Just like that, Helena had swiftly taken back control of the situation.
Helena nodded so fast her whole head might've fallen off, "Yes. Now they're after me, like I told you. I need to get out of here, right away." She scooted away from Krista and closer to Hook.
Hook's previously kind-ish face was suddenly murderous. "Ye stole her man, ye framed her, ye beat her!" At Krista's blank face, the pirate pointed at Helena's eye with his hook, "Blacken her eye ye did!"
It took exactly three seconds for Krista to catch on and for her temper to flare. "Did she fail to mention her 'man' is -was- Prince Andy? And I did not steal him! She," Krista jabbed a finger right into the princess' ribs, "tried to kill him!"
"Don't touch me!" Helena sneered, and Krista met her glare with the same intensity. Things were getting out of hand too fast. It would be amazing if Andy could arrive with reinforcements right about now.
"I'm not following," Smee looked between the two girls. He pulled off his glasses and wiped them with his shirt, "This one told us a different tale," he said, referring to Helena, "and now yer saying the exact opposite!"
"Silence, Mr. Smee!"
"Because I'm telling the truth!"
"No, you're not!"
"You're a huge bitc-"
"Rum for you all!" A different voice boomed.
The tension was quickly defused by John Silver expertly sliding four glasses filled to the brim with dull brown liquid. Amazingly, the captain caught it using his hook, as if he were used to it, but his narrowed eyes never left Krista's. Krista accepted the drink too and brought it close to her chest, but now she was thinking like Helena; what was the fastest and safest way to get out of here in one piece? Things were certainly not going smoothly, the only thing keeping order was John's sudden presence. One did not want to mess with John Silver, the huge man with robotic parts.
Arguing with Hook while he was under Helena's charming spell felt like a losing battle, so Krista tried to figure out her next best move. "Hey, John? Have you met Princess Helena here?"
"Princess?" Hook had been in the middle of gulping down the rum, and it elegantly flew in all directions as he spit it out. He raised his hook to Helena's chin to force her to look him in the eye, "Yer a princess?!"
"Whaaat? Helena, why would you withhold such information?" Krista said, mentally patting herself in the back. That was a good save. She didn't know Helena hadn't introduced herself as a princess, she just wanted to keep John around, but maybe this was what she needed to turn Hook against Helena.
"Y-Yes, I'm a princess," with more nerve than Krista thought her capable of, Helena batted away the cold iron hook from her chin, "I just didn't want to say so in such a... public space," she said carefully, and then a lazy smirk replaced her uncertain look, "I figured you'd want to be the only one to know, once we were on your ship. Do you know how many people would offer to take me if they knew who I was?
"But now... I'm afraid my title has attracted unwanted attention." And curse Helena, curse her sly self a thousand times; she was right. All of the clients were looking their way now, all the sleazy-looking pirates had a greedy glint in their eye upon realizing a princess was among them. Was Krista imagining it or... where they getting closer?
"OUT!" Silver suddenly barked. He used his large body to shield the four people at the table from the prying eyes. "Out all of you!" His robotic eye flashed red in a menacing way. The pirates didn't need to be told twice when a man like John Silver gave an order.
The complaints were many, and they were loud, but eventually everyone but the five of them filed out. The air was charged with tension, the way it did before an avalanche. Every instinct inside Krista insisted that she leave too, but she couldn't, couldn't let Helena get her way. She had to at least stall long enough for Andy to get here.
But this was very difficult. Just when she got the upper hand, Helena would swoop in almost immediately and regain control. She was a smooth talker, no wonder Andy and so many others fell under that charm. It was almost an art. The art of deception, for sure, but still. That cunning was what had got the princess this far. Krista wondered which of Helena's sisters had taught her these tricks.
"Good, we've got some privacy. Now," Silver growled and dragged a chair over to sit. "James Hook, you tell me what is happening. Now!"
Krista had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing. So this guy's name really was Hook? Krista had just nicknamed him that inside her head, but the cruel irony was much more funny. "I don't even know anymore, mate. The blonde just came in an' started jabbering about Prince Andy an' something about trying to kill him?" Hook exchanged a look with Mr. Smee, "I jus... I don't know."
Helena, who was still trapped between Krista and Hook, stood up and slammed her hands down on the table, "I don't have time for this! I have to go!"
"You're not going anywhere," Krista growled, yanking the girl back down by the collar of her shirt. Helena looked momentarily surprised at Krista's strength, but she quickly went back to her snarl-y face.
For the first time, she had the luxury of having the princess' full attention. "Look... Krista. Regardless of what Andy told you... of what you saw on the fjord... I just, I can't... I can't be here when my sisters get here. I just can't." If Krista hadn't known any better, she would have believed every word. Even when Helena grabbed her hand and squeezed it to make her point more urgent, Krista would not be swayed. "So please don't make this difficult. Just let me leave."
Krista sighed and pulled her hand away. She had siblings too. Adoptive siblings. Trolls. Lots of them. And she understood that sisters could be a pain, and brothers too, but they were family. Even if they weren't blood-related, they still had a special bond. Helena acted like her sisters arrival would be the end of the world. "You are staying here, and you are answering for your crimes."
The corner of Helena's mouth twitched. "I had to try."
Before Krista could even figure out what that meant, Helena had already leaped on top of the table, practically stepped over John Silver's face, and made a run for the door. It all happened so fast none of the three pirates or Krista could even react on time.
"MR. SMEE!"
But Hook's cry was useless, as the poor assistant couldn't do anything but watch as the princess almost made it to the door. And she would have made it, she could have got away, and left Arendelle, and never be seen again.
The door swung open with a blast of cold air, so powerful it was almost thrown off its hinges. The floor and walls were quickly coated in a fine layer of ice. It was as if Helena had slammed against an invisible wall, because she stopped dead in her tracks, her face that of a startled rabbit.
Two castle guards marched in, spears in hand, and they stood on either side of the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hook ducking under the table and pulling Mr. Smee down with him. She was pretty sure they were going to try and crawl away to the back door, but in that moment she didn't care. Silver remained seated, his good eye and his robotic one drinking in the scene. Krista scrambled out of the booth to greet Arendelle's king. Their timing couldn't have been better.
Elliott stepped in, his spine so rigid it could have snapped. But his grand entrance achieved the effect he'd probably wanted; Helena was not trying anything, she just stood there, paralyzed. Andy's posture was the complete opposite of Elliott when he walked in behind his brother. His shoulders were slouched, his eyes down, avoiding Helena's. General Winter waddled in, breaking the silence, "That her?"
"That's her, General." Elliott's eyes were the color of ice, but they burned like a fire. "Helena."
The princess seemed to regain her ability to breathe, and outstandingly, she managed not only to smirk, but to meet Elliott's intense gaze, "I suppose it's a bad time to invite you a drink?"
●Elliott●
When they had seen the crowd of pirates outside Neverland, Elliott figured out pretty quickly they probably weren't out there because of a pirate convention, but because something was going down inside.
He was still kicking himself over being so foolish. He should have at least told Dr. Sweet that Helena was not to be trusted at all. Don't give out the full story, just... enough. Enough so this situation wouldn't happen. But he had decided to tell no one, and doing that small kindness to the princess may just cost him her escape.
"What do you think?" Elliott arched a brow at his younger brother, who was very nervous no matter how many times Elliott assured him that the southern girl would not get away.
"Y-yeah, maybe, um... yeah, they could be in there." Andy swallowed with difficulty, his green eyes more jumpy than himself.
"What worries you?"
"That's Neverland, Elliott! You know who owns that place? The robot guy! Krista could be- and- and Helena, she could've-"
"Pull yourself together, m'boy!" General Winter, ever the voice of reason, spoke in his gruff voice. "We shall go in there, and destroy whatever must be destroyed. It will be simple. Like a cake. Yes."
The General nodded to himself, he was more driven and confident than the two brothers put together. Elliott was very glad that he'd tagged along. "Piece of cake?" Andy muttered.
"We won't be destroying anything. The objective is to- ah... capture." the King gestured at the two guards that had accompanied them towards the door, "Make sure the place is secure. We're going in."
"Yes, Your Grace," they replied.
"We don't even know if they're inside," Andy said.
"We have to hope so," Elliott summoned a ball of ice to his hand, "Or else she'll win."
●•●
The walk back to the palace was one of the most awkward moments of his life.
He was so uncomfortable he couldn't enjoy their... victory. If that was even the word. They could not exactly drag Helena back to the palace in chains, like the General had very kindly suggested, so they walked. Side-by-side, almost casual. Like they were just four friends hanging out, with a small snowman waddling happily beside them. If it weren't for the two guards that were never too far away, it would've been almost believable.
Andy and Krista walked a few steps behind them, talking in hushed tones. She was probably telling his brother what had happened in there. Andy's discomfort was the biggest of all, one could almost feel it in the air. And Helena, well... she seemed calm, which made Elliott uneasy to say the least. She had a way of hiding her emotions that was nothing to joke about. It was impossible to tell what she was feeling, her face betrayed nothing, her eyes were steel.
"I told you I didn't want to see you dead." The words left his mouth on impulse. Helena's eyes barely flickered in his direction, but she didn't say anything, so Elliott continued, "And you still ran, even when I practically assured you that you would not be getting death penalty, you still ran."
"I certainly wasn't going to stick around if I could help it," she snapped, her mask chipping if only a little bit. As they passed by a flower stand, two little boys stepped on their way to hand both Krista and Helena flowers. Elliott didn't know what kind of flowers they were, but Helena's was red. With her perfect princess training, she curtseyed at the boys and took a sniff of the flower, a big smile on her face.
"Thanks, Ivan!" Krista called out to the man in charge of the flowers, probably the little boys' father. Again Elliott was reminded of just how much his people loved Helena. The worst part is that she knew it. It would only stop if Elliott revealed the truth about her, but that wasn't something he was about to admit to anytime soon, and neither was Andy. He'd just have to deal with all the loving glances his people were sending her way until they reached the castle. Then he'd make sure she was locked up for good.
"You committed crimes, princess," Elliott kept a smile on for the people that waved at him as they walked past, but his words to her were harsh. "You have to take responsibility for your actions. You don't get to run from them."
"Kinda like you did on your coronation day?"
The words were said in such a way that they were practically a slap to the face, and it made him stop walking immediately. Helena stopped too, meeting his icy glare with a smirk. She had tucked the flower behind her ear, making it contrast with her auburn hair in a very nice way and he hated it. Andy bumped into him, and Krista managed to dig her heels in before she bumped against the princess.
"Why... why are we stopping?" Andy said. He tried to catch Elliott's eye, but the king seemed to be trying to freeze Helena to a statue with his eyes alone. "What were you talking about?"
Helena was not acting like someone who had been defeated, in fact... it didn't make sense. She had looked very upset when they'd barged in the pub, but she'd quickly covered it up. And now her cocky front was up again, and Elliott couldn't stand it.
He refused to let her get the better of him, so he flashed a smile to match hers, "Nothing, Andy. Just how excited we are that one of her sisters will be arriving any day now from Corona."
"What? Which one?" and the mask slipped yet again. This time it was Elliott's turn to smirk. She knew how to make him angry, but he knew how to get back at her. She fumed at the expression on Elliott's face, "Corona is too close they- they could arrive any second!"
"Isn't that wonderful? The sooner the better." He gave her a not-so-gentle push on the back that border-lined on a shove, "Keep walking."
Helena grit her teeth and looked behind her, as if tempted to run. Krista immediately tensed, ready to give chase if it happened. General Winter's fingers tightened around the handle of his sword. The king himself felt a funny tickle of icy power in his fingers, but he didn't act on it, instead he watched.
The bright summer sun made Helena's eyes look like a green sea flecked with gold, and Elliott felt wrong for staring, but something about the look of longing on her face was captivating. She wanted to be free, just like he had for years. But Elliott had got out the cage he'd made for himself and let go of all those feelings that had plagued him for years, and eventually he had felt somewhat free. Helena was not quite there, and her cage was a completely different one. She had a lot of work to do.
With a sigh of resignation she tore her eyes away from looking back, and for a second a deep sadness crossed her face. Moments like those, it was easy to forget that this girl no older than twenty had almost put a sword through his back. He was about to speak before a flustered-looking dock master reached them, Kai right behind him. "Your Grace! They're here!"
"Who is here?" Elliott's eyebrows rose as the man hastily bowed and tried to catch his breath.
"Their flag is a bronze lion on a yellow field," the man said.
"Oh, no..." Helena mumbled. Her legs twitched under her weight, and it looked like she was about to run again. Elliott's arm shot out and gripped her arm tightly to stop her before she could make any sudden moves. "The Southern Isles, probably, Your Grace," Kai said.
"That's not... they told me they were coming," Elliott said, recalling the message he'd received merely hours ago. "Not that they were practically on our shore!"
The dock master shrugged, "They must have sent it while on the ship, traveled all night. Speaking of their ship, it looks wicked fast. Can cut through waves easily, and the winds were in favor-"
"No," Helena twisted her arm, trying to get out of Elliott's grip, "Please no," the begging tone was so unfamiliar Elliott was alarmed for a moment. "Is- is the ship military? Does it look like it's from the army?"
"Unlikely. It's not military or for business, looks like it's for pleasure, for vacation. Made for speed though," the dock master informed her.
He felt her relax beneath his hand for a second, but she got tense again very quickly when Elliott spoke, "Military? Why would they send-"
"One of her sisters is in the navy... an admiral, I'm pretty sure." Andy had said it so quietly for a second Elliott thought he had imagined it. It was the first time his little brother had acknowledged Helena's presence since the pub. "Cristina, I think that's her name..."
So Helena just wanted to know who had come. From her obvious relief, Elliott gathered that it was not Cristina on her war ship. From Helena's reaction, this admiral sister must be one of the less pleasant ones. Elliott forgot how much time Helena and Andy had spent together during his coronation party. How much they knew about each other from that night alone, just like right now Andy knowing that little detail.
"It's not Cristina," Elliott said, his tone a lot softer. He really needed her to be calm. "Maybe it's one of the nice ones." She winced, and Elliott realized he was still gripping her arm rather tightly, so he released her, raising his palms, "There's only one way to find out."
At Helena's lack of response and sulky silence, he turned to Kai, "Take us to them."
"Of course, My lord."
Elliott raised his eyes and spied around, looking for the flag with the bronze lion in a field of yellow. It was finally time to meet with another Westergard.
+++I don't remember if the bear from Brave just disappears after dying, let's pretend it didn't, and they just made it into hideous decoration, yeah?
++Someone requested treasure planet, so Mr john silver was the guest for this chapter lol. if anyone has a character they'd like to request, do share! i can't promise they'll be in, but i will sure try, as long as their appearance makes sense for the story.
+writer's block is not completely over, but i got inspired for this one and, yeah, i had to make it nice and long to speed things up. i think it's the longest ever. hopefully nothing is confusing!
your support means a lot and reviews make my day, so please tell me what you think so far!
aaaas always, thank u for reading!:)
