ANDY
Andy had never left Arendelle before—so he did have a bit if a cultural shock when he set foot on the dark shore of the Southern Isles, of all places. And it was a dark shore. The sand didn't look soft, more like pulverized granite and it was a rich, dark color with an earthy smell. Andy was not a fan.
"I can't believe we did not die on the way," the prince said casually while Brandon tried to anchor their little boat as close to land as he could. "It's been a successful day."
"Cristina was actually this close to killing us," Krista said, sounding quite offended. "And here I thought Helena was over exaggerating about her sisters being awful."
"And we're about to meet the rest of 'em," Andy said cheerfully. "We're looking for the one called 'Cecile' to be precise. Maddy said she can somehow prove Astrid killed their mother."
Brandon rubbed at his brow with the back of his hand, looking thoughtful. "I thought you said that one was locked up… with mental issues or somethin'."
"She is. Helena told me she had some sort of fever as a child and never recovered—it cooked up her brain or something… I don't know." Andy stopped talking abruptly, uncomfortable that he knew such an intimate thing about Helena's family. A thing she'd told him in secrecy when they'd been 'in love'. Oh, that felt like a thousand years ago, talking about sandwiches and weddings and—ugh.
"We should get going and find the castle then," Brandon said. "I bet this thing she's hiding ain't gonna be all that easy to steal."
"That's why we brought you, klepto-man," Krista grinned at him.
Brandon smiled back sheepishly. "Shucks, you. I promised to help, didn't I?"
"For a reward," Krista reminded him. "Not exactly form the goodness of your heart."
"Same difference," Brandon shrugged and finally got off the boat, joining them on the shore after trudging along the water to get there. "Plus- get this- I bet none of you noticed… I got a myself a little extra somethin' for our trouble with that blonde witch."
From gods-know-where Brandon pulled out a gold coin, flipping it expertly between his fingers as if he'd been doing it since birth. "Check it!"
"What- you stole that? From Cristina?" Andy said the name like one would say Satan.
"Yup! Just a little souvenir for almost getting my neck chopped," Brandon's wolfish grin was contagious. The smallest of victories, considering what they'd been through, but a victory no less. "When that brute hit me and I fell? No one was lookin', so I scopped this up. Easy-peasy."
He tossed it high above their heads, the sun's light got caught on it and as the shiny metal spun in the air and it blinded Andy for a second. Krista caught it and they crowded around to look at the small coin. It looked a bit dented, with a worn letter 'W ' smack in the middle, and when Krista turned it over, there was a 'C '. The design was too intricate to be the currency here, so the prince assumed it was special in some way. Andy was maliciously glad Brandon had stolen some sort of family heirloom or lucky charm.
Their brilliant thief took the coin back and slipped it back to where it came from, dismissing the matter with another grin. "I sure hope nobody steals the boat. We'd be in a pickle when trying to get outta here."
"If someone steals it, maybe it's a blessing in disguise," Andy smiled, "I don't think this thing's gonna handle another dose of magical North Wind very well." It earned him a hoot of laughter from Brandon and an elbow to his side from certain blonde girl—but it had to be said. The boat had saved their skins but who knew if it could handle the trip back.
They walked in silence towards the houses closest to the strip of beach—fishermen homes, probably. They didn't look too shabby, actually. It seemed even the middle class was well-off in the Southern Isles. They made it through a busy fishing market right around the corner from the houses—tropical fish, all shapes and seizes—all sorts of smells, too. Andy's nose wouldn't stop wrinkling at the sharp tang of sea in the air.
He felt strangely apprehensive—like a bunch of guards were going to jump out suddenly and arrest them all. But they wouldn't—nobody knew him here. Prince Anders of Arendelle was just like anyone else in the bustling fish market—just another face in the crowd. It felt kind of nice.
"Big scary castle's that-a-way," Brandon murmured as the throngs of people thinned out by the edge of the stands. "It's made of that black… rock we've been seein' a lot of, hm?"
'Black rock' was a good name for the elegant material that seemed to plague the island. Helena had talked to him about that at Elliott's coronation too—that rock was their main source of income, the statues made of that stuff were rather popular. Now that he saw it in person he thought it looked intimidating, but every once in a while he caught the people of the market glancing up at the formidable castle atop the hill and he could tell they loved the concept… he didn't, but to each their own.
To Andy the rock made the seven islands look like inhospitable environment, but he had to admit that the castle looked incredibly powerful thanks to the black rock. "It's like an ugly prison," Helena had described her home to him in extensive detail back when she'd fooled him. "And my sister, Astrid, she's the jailer."
"Are you okay?" Krista said quietly beside him, with Brandon oblivious to it.
"Y-Yeah. Why?" he was a bit startled. He hadn't realized how wide the streets had become and how foreboding the houses and shops had started to look. So unlike Arendelle.
"You keep frowning and grinding your teeth a little bit," she said.
"Ugh. I was just thinking about Helena."
Krista raised an eyebrow, as if not quite sure if he meant in a good way. He did not.
He tried to explain, getting exasperated at himself. "I mean—about stuff she told me. The black rock, her family… it's so weird knowing these things about someone you don't even like."
"You liked her once."
"I don't—"
"No, Andy, it's okay to say it. You did love her, for a time. Your feelings, new and old, are valid. Stop keeping everything in, saying things are fine when they're not, or you'll explode like a piñata. I mean it—not only with the Helena situation, I mean with Elliott, too… even with me."
Andy felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "I don't even know what a piñata is."
She smiled, thin-lipped and a little sad. "There you go again. Evasive."
"I know you're right. I do, I just… I'll deal with this. In my own time. With my own bandages… lick me own wounds…"
"Okay then… but if you need someone, by all means," she gestured at herself. "I'm here. Don't forget that."
"I won't. And thank you." Why have a fire crystal when Krista was just as good at warming his heart?
Before he could do something idiotic, like voicing that thought out loud, Brandon cleared his throat. "I don't mean to interrupt you guys' bonding session, but we've got a little problem. How are we going to get in?"
"Oh." Andy followed Brandon's worried line of sight to the newest problem at hand— a long line of people stood outside the castle's thick wrought iron gates, with guards in black masks giving those people a shake down every time they passed.
"Why do the guards look like that?" Krista murmured to no one in particular. They wore helmets with pointy ends that had an attached cloth that covered their whole face—including their eyes, maybe they were see-through up close? Not only that, but they were all armed.
As the trio stood there with their mouths agape, one of the terrifying-looking guards approached them. "What is your business?"
The voice was more growl than question, but Andy answered more or less with a carefully worded "Ah?"
"Do you have an appointment," the man said, more forceful than before if it was even possible. He hadn't even bothered to raise his voice at the end to make it clear that he was asking. Something about the guy was… odd, to say the very least. His presence alone charged Andy's nerves with apprehension.
"You're scaring those kids, F."
The four of them spun around to face another man, wearing a guard uniform, yes, but he didn't look scary like the ones posted at the gates did. He actually looked human. Nothing hid his face from sight, and Andy felt much more comfortable with his bearded jaw and light blue eyes rather than the void-like mask.
On the left side of his chest the man had a lion that also served to clasp the gold cloak around his shoulders. If Andy had to guess, he'd say the newcomer was the captain of the guard, because of the different uniform and the confident way in which he carried himself.
"They are loitering." Black-mask rumbled, or 'F', because that's what the bearded stranger had called him… it?
"Leave them to me."
Andy half expected the faceless man to argue, or at the very least try to cause them bodily harm, but all he did was nod curtly. "Yes, Captain Lance."
Needless to say Mr. F gave Andy the creeps, and the feeling lingered even after he was good and gone.
"Oh, wow, he was somethin' else," Brandon said, licking his lips nervously once F was out of sight.
"You must be new here if you don't know about them," the man said grimly, "Rowena's newest pets."
Andy hated himself for remembering, but yet again Helena's family-tree pointers stuck to him. "Rowena? The ninth sister, right?"
Captain Lance's eyes steeled a little. "Ninth sister, huh? That's an awful casual way to refer to our princess, who happens to be the ninth daughter."
"You referred to her as Rowena," Krista retorted before Andy could be filled with dread. "Awful casual way to refer to your princess."
The man could have been angry at the way Krista threw his words back at him, but instead he looked surprised with both eyebrows raised. "I don't think we've met."
The prince barely controlled the sudden urge to roll his eyes. The man seemed to have taken an immediate liking to Krista, and he did not appreciate the way those blue eyes were raking her body from head to toe.
"It's because we have indeed not met," Krista said dryly.
At this point Andy thought Krista was pushing it, but the guy grinned wide and bowed his head. "Captain of the guard, Lance Westergard."
Andy almost choked on absolutely nothing at all- maybe his own saliva. To be fair, Krista and Brandon looked just as shocked. Before he could properly think about the contents of his next sentence, the words he was thinking spilled out without his permission. "Helena has a brother?"
He thought he'd stepped over the line what with the way the guy glared at him, but another glance at Krista made the guy reel back his annoyance at Andy. "No, no. I'm married to Lady Olivia; I just took her name because around these parts being a Westergard is more respectable than being a Crawley."
Oh. Andy conjured up Helena's family tree that now seemed to be seared into his mind… Olivia was the fifth, and uh, she had a twin…. Emilia? Yeah, probably Emilia.
"Oh, okay, that makes more sense."
Captain Lance shifted his weight from one leg to the other and surveyed the odd trio with that blue gaze of his. "What is your business?"
Unfortunately, they hadn't planned this far ahead with all their sightseeing and deep talks about Andy's internal troubles. Andy had saved the day last, so Brandon just jumped at the chance because another second of hesitation would get this guy suspicious.
"We joined the great Admiral Cristina on her Arendelle mission," Brandon said quickly. "She sent us here to the Isles for some confidential information located inside the castle."
Andy wanted to slap his own forehead at Brandon's expense. His friend had just provided the lamest cover story even an infant could punch holes through. And Captain Lance was just that infant. He suddenly didn't look all that friendly.
"So you joined the Admiral, which implies you weren't a part of the crew from the start," the carnage began. "You are not in uniform, and she 'sent you back' without an explanation? I'm no fool; you kids had never set eyes on this castle or its people before, and the casual way in which you refer to the royal family is too personal for my liking."
Lance leered at them, all Nice-Guy act gone, but then a miracle happened.
"Yes, Captain, we joined the Admiral behind the Arendelle fjord. We're the team that's called when things go wrong." Brandon rose to his full height which wasn't very impressive at all, but it gave him the confidence boost that he needed. "We don't live in the Isles. We're too elite; we train off the Corona coast at a secure location and heed the call when we're needed. We work personally and directly under Lady Cristina, we don't answer to the likes of you!" spittle flew out of Brandon's mouth, adding to the dramatic effect he was luckily achieving. Andy bit down on his lower lip to stop himself from doubling over in laughter.
"I bet you didn't even know Cristina's ship, the Doom Desire, sank to the bottom of the ocean! We're not dressed to your liking because we survived a shipwreck, sir! Have some respect!"
Andy had never been gladder that they possessed this kind of approximate knowledge about this many things. Captain Lance looked stunned, and by the way Brandon's eyes blazed bronze, you'd think he believed his own bull story. It seemed some his words were too real and factual to dispute, but too wild to immediately accept. The man before them looked torn.
"And in case you don't believe us," Brandon said, one last deep breath making his chest rise with confidence, "I've got personal proof of the Admiral's trust in us."
And good old Brandon pulled out his newest treasure; the gold coin with Cristina's initials. He held it high above their heads so the curious crowd of onlookers that had gathered after his rant could see. Andy's chest almost convulsed with the irony; what Brandon was doing was a quite literal coin toss with their lives. Either everything he said was somehow miraculously correct and on point, or he just bought them a ticket to the Southern Isles' luxurious dungeons.
Andy prayed it was the former.
The captain's eyes widened. "The Last Gift!"
"The Last Gift!" Brandon repeated, having no idea what it meant.
Lance bowed his head, looking sheepish. "I-I had no idea. If her Ladyship would entrust you with the king's last gift to her, then you must be of utmost importance. I am sorry for raising false accusations."
So Helena's father had given Cristina a coin before he died—another thing to add to Andy's list of personal information that he'd rather not know about this wretched family.
"Hell yeah we're of utmost importance," Brandon was filled with nervous uncertainty, tinged with adrenaline. It clashed with his eyes which were crazed with excitement. "Take us to the queen!"
"The queen is currently in a diplomatic mission to Arendelle to free Princess Helena after she was wrongfully imprisoned," the man was kind enough not to call them out on their ignorance now. Andy scoffed at wrongfully imprisoned. "But I can show you to my wife's sister, Lady Emilia, whom she left in charge during her absence."
"Yes, that's what I meant," Brandon didn't miss a beat. "We know Queen Astrid and Princess Madeleine are currently at Arendelle, of course. I was just testing you."
To their relief, Emilia's husband spared them of further questioning. The sea of people and creepy guards parted before them when Lance gave the signal, and with a groan the gates were opened by the pull of a heavy chain.
Andy gulped down the apple-sized lump in his throat.
Into the viper's nest they went.
MADDY
Seeing Astrid livid was a rare and beautiful thing, and Maddy could not help but feed off the toxic vibes that radiated off the furious queen as she stormed around the room they'd locked themselves in after Cristina's grand entrance.
As the queen paced and raged on about gods-knew-what, Maddy took a moment to appreciate everyone's attitude towards the matter.
Cristina was wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe and laid out on a chaise longue chair, somehow looking both bored and vaguely pissed off while she picked at the split ends of her damp hair, occasionally sneering at a passing thought inside her wicked little mind.
Helena was sitting next to Maddy on a maroon sofa, broody and pouting like she always was. She wondered if the thirteenth princess was thinking about Andy's mission. Gods knew Maddy was, every waking second she expected Astrid to deliver a nightmarish smirk with something along the lines of "I knew you were a little traitor." But the moment hadn't come… yet. She dreaded every second until it inevitably happened—their queen knew everything.
And finally, was Astrid, as previously noted—dressed again in the red gown with the embroidery of gold and the lace around the back, yelling at the three of them because of something only one of them did.
"…and then somehow, against all of you better judgment you decide to come torment me here, to tell me your silly little ship sunk, right in front of that insufferable king!" Astrid was getting out of breath with her ranting, but it just kept coming, in angry waves. It made the rotten part of Maddy's little heart sing with malice.
"Then again, your better judgment doesn't mean much of anything, now, does it? I knew I should've told you to make Johanna your first mate! At least she has some brains!" the queen lamented.
"Hey, hey, now, don't you be telling me who my first mate should be! And least of all that bastard!" Cristina loved to throw around that word when talking about the sisters that did not share the same mother as they. The king had acknowledged Johanna and Daria as his before he died, so they were as legal as any of them. Cristina just liked to feign dementia on the subject.
"Well that bastard has more sense on her pinky finger than you do in your whole body!" Astrid screamed. "Do you know how humiliating that was, back in the courtyard? Elliott must be having the laugh of his life right now—but mark my words, his laughing days are accounted for!" She shifted her attention to poor unsuspecting Helena, "He won't laugh when you walk down that aisle to become his wife. He won't be laughing then!" her face changed from hysterical to something uglier and more sinister. Even Cristina shrunk back on her chair. "Perhaps he'll laugh when you're with child and he's no use to us anymore and we kill him, that irony should be funny to him!"
"W-What?" Helena was the only one that dared speak after a long silence stretched.
"I've decided that once the marriage's been consummated and your position as queen is secured, you shall not be in need of a husband any longer," the scariest part was the ease in Astrid's voice, the normality on her face that moments before had been brewing up a storm, as if the prospect of killing that man calmed her. "At least not of him. I'll find you a more suitable match once the heir to Arendelle is in your belly."
"Do you have any idea how insane you sound right now?" Helena's jaw was set so hard Maddy almost expected to hear the sound of teeth cracking.
"I doubt I sound much different than you did when you planned to stab him in the back with a sword," Astrid spat back. "The inspiration had to come form someone."
Maddy saw the brief struggle in Helena's features before she ground out "I've come to regret what I tried to do… I wasn't… the cold wasn't letting me think straight! I was so sick and tired of my life with all of you I needed an out, even if it was through murder! I couldn't take any more of your abuse or anyone else's!"
Cristina barked a laugh, dripping cruelty. "Oh, stuff it, baby sister. You've always been a greedy little bitch and you don't get to use it was cold as an excuse for what you did!"
Helena struggled to her feet before Maddy's hand shot out and pulled her back down, a warning etched on her face. C-O-N-T-R-O-L. She was a fighter, Maddy acknowledged that; Helena had come fighting into this world, and it was also the way she lived in it.
"Don't stop her, Scar-face, let me see what she's made of! You want to punch me in the face so bad, don't you, little runt?" Cristina delighted them with another mad chuckle, amusing only herself. "You've wanted to for years, Helena, so go for it! Right on the nose! Do it! Do it! Punch me!"
"Enough. Don't encourage her." Astrid snapped. "Mocking is childish Admiral; it does not become you."
While Cristina imitated Astrid's sentence in a nasally voice, Maddy saw the way Helena's hands were tightly clenched into fists, the way they shook. It was true; the auburn-haired princess wanted nothing more than to punch her older sister in the face. Maddy would lie if she said she wasn't tempted in joining her.
She was pulled back to their tedious conversation when Cristina started to fuss and squirm, "Can't find it."
"What do you mean can't find it? You cannot seriously be saying you lost father's Last Gift!" if at all possible, Astrid looked even madder than before.
All thirteen sisters had a gold coin with their initials carefully etched on them, their father's last gift, given to them when Helena was born. It was custom-made and unique, perhaps the only true link they had to each other. It was almost like a symbol.
Cristina growled as she continued to pat down the fluffy bathrobe she was wearing, "Must've been in some pocket of my wet clothes."
"Or lost at sea," Helena said jauntily, and then added, in a lower voice, "As you should have been."
The blonde's neck snapped up form her search, "I fucking dare you to say that again you miserable—"
A sharp glare from Astrid silenced her midsentence, but the murderous look on the Admiral's face promised a to-be-continued. Helena's green eyes shone back with just as much hatred.
"Anyway," Maddy clapped her hands together, weakly trying to dissipate some of the building tension. "Now that Elliott knows, what's the next step, sweet sister?"
Astrid sighed, letting some of the invisible weight fall from her shoulders. "We need to find out who those people that sunk Cristina's ship are. It can't be a coincidence that that happened the day Anders left this place."
A silent jerk of attention passed between Maddy and Helena, a sort of determination to protect those on the plan they were also involved in. Their faces privately spelled A-C-C-O-M-P-L-I-C-E.
"Tell me, again, what happened? From the top?" Astrid said.
Cristina started picking at the threads on the robe, looking ashamed for probably the first time in her life. "You told me to look out for a redhead. I did. I stopped a tiny boat, nothing special, I swear to you. Flyin' no flag. Three people on board, again, nothing remarkable about them. We talked. We fought. They pulled out a hurricane that sunk the Doom's Desire-!"
"I know you just used a big word, 'remarkable', but could you please try your best to be a little less vague? Fire up that brain of yours? What did they look like?" Astrid's condescending voice was sweet and infuriating all at once.
"Told you. Redhead, some blonde…" Cristina grunted. "And a guy with curly hair… I don't know! Details aren't important! What's important is what they did to me!"
The moment Maddy had dreaded since this meeting started was finally upon them. It was almost in slow motion, the way Astrid's face twisted into an ugly scowl, and one could almost see the interwork of her mind piecing together the information like a puzzle only she could solve. It reminded Maddy of the face their mother made a million years ago when the old queen figured out it had been Astrid who had scarred Maddy's face—controlled outrage.
"Was the blonde a girl? Stocky in build, pretty little thing?" Astrid's eyes were wild with understanding and she glanced at Helena and Maddy, "The one that was always trailing behind Anders! What was her name!"
When met with silence, Astrid took it in stride. "I saw her at the docks, the day we arrived, with that ice dragon! I've seen her hanging around the brothers… her name escaped me just now…"
"Um, I'm lost here," Cristina said. "Who now?"
"You're grasping at straws, now," Helena said, doing her best to flatten her expression into something Astrid couldn't dissect and destroy. "Cristina… didn't you say those people flat-out told you they were going to the Isles? Why would Anders and crew say such things? Why would they go there?"
It seemed to pick at the right doubts, because uncertainty started to cloud the queen's face. "Perhaps… they lied. And they were on their way to Corona after all…" suddenly Astrid's face lit up with another idea. "But why send his own brother in such a shabby boat, one meant to not attract attention, if their intentions were pure?"
"Allegedly. We don't know if it was the prince, or some random encounter," Maddy said gently. Astrid fixed her in place with those cold blue eyes. Lying to her sister always made her skin crawl with trepidation. She fought back the irrational urge to beg for Astrid's forgiveness and confess to her betrayal. "Let us not make assumptions."
Astrid paused with a thoughtful look on her face, she seemed to really sink into the chasm of her own mind for a good three minutes in which no one dared to talk. The only sound came from Cristina occasionally biting at her nails in disinterest to the whole ordeal. Maddy wasn't sure if Helena was even breathing as the seconds dragged on.
Finally, the queen nodded their dismissal. "I will send a bird to our contacts in Corona to confirm the prince's arrival. I will also send another bird, to Captain Lance, warning them of people matching Cristina's description. I shall act depending on Corona's answer. If the prince is not where he claims…"
Maddy jumped to her feet, trying not to look desperate. "My queen—"
"The fastest birds this worthless palace has!" were Astrid's final words, before she exited the room. Maddy's shoulders slumped in defeat.
She exchanged a significant look with Helena, who mirrored her own rising panic. It wasn't a matter of if Astrid found out—it was a matter of when. Once she had that information, it was inevitable that she somehow figured out the rest and hanged them both.
She forgot Cristina was still on the longue, watching them with a scowl. "You two are up to something."
She got up in one powerful leap and patted Helena's cheek lovingly, "And I'm going to find out what," Cristina said.
"Don't touch me!" Helena screamed, batting the older girl's hand away. Her outburst was only met with more of Cristina's cruel laughter.
The Admiral winked at them, the way an executioner would, "Don't skip town, kid. I'll be watching."
KRISTA
No wonder Helena is a bad egg, Krista thought as they traveled around the endless maze that was the Southern Isles castle. The rock fortress wasn't a welcoming place in the slightest. Not only because of the dark walls and sharp reds that made up most of the decoration, but the air itself seemed to be charged with dangerous, hostile energy. If she closed her eyes she could easily imagine a younger Helena being restlessly tortured by her sisters in these very halls. The thought wasn't very nice.
Even the big oil paintings decorating the walls every few feet were intimidating. The brushstroke was aggressive and one could tell just by looking at it. The glowering faces of Westergard monarchs throughout history made Krista squirm in her shoes. A mustachioed painting of a man with piercing Helena-like eyes made her especially anxious—perhaps her father?
And yet the castle had beauty to it— the wild type, too far from just anyone's reach to fully see past its harshness. Regardless it was there, amidst the overwhelming negative energy, that the loveliness hid.
Krista felt like she aged a hundred years just by making the trip to the audience room or whatever it was—she didn't care to know the name. To her all rooms were just as grand and just as boring. The only difference was that this one had thirteen throne-like chairs arranged in a U shape, one for each sister.
Captain Lance stopped so abruptly the three of them crashed into him—Andy, Krista, and Brandon.
"Where's Princess Emilia?" he demanded. Then, glancing around, "And my wife?"
A lone figure sat on the center, what was probably Astrid's chair if Krista had to guess. Two of the creepy faceless guards stood on either side of the woman, immobile.
"I sent them away," the woman said, a sleepy sort of tilt to her voice, like she was in no hurry at all to get her words across. Her dark blue eyes matched her lazy tone, although they kind of looked like she had cataracts when the light hit them right. Krista shuddered.
Lance tensed, still standing in front of them as if to protect them. "Lady Rowena, I'm in no mood for your games. These kids need to see Emilia at once, it is urgent."
Krista felt Andy's nails dig into the soft skin of her wrist. "That's Rowena. Helena says she's the worst out of all of them." His lips barely moved when he whispered that for only her to hear.
"She said the same thing about Cristina," Krista breathed back, not daring to voice it any louder in fear that the weird woman would hear them. She wore a purple dress that seemed to shimmer, with sleeves long enough to hide her hands from view, and on a thin belt around her waist hung a strange array of colorful bottles… potions?
Rowena tapped her cheek with long dark nails, her curly black hair was the same shade as Sophia's had been. "They were fighting and giving me a headache. They are taking a nap, now. Both of them."
Lance cursed under his breath, "An involuntary nap, you mean! Another one of your sleeping potions!"
The woman's laugh was airy and slow, like she hadn't done it in eighty years. "Call it what you like, they won't be bickering near me for a few glorious hours. It is almost a public service, if you think about it."
"Get off that throne, your highness, it is not yours," Captain Lance said. Krista saw his right hand hovering over the hilt of the sword strapped to his leg. "I don't want to report this to our queen upon her return."
The two faceless guards stepped forward in unison, but Rowena clucked her tongue and they moved back immediately. "There, there, dears, no need to get upset. We were just leaving anyway." She practically glided down from the raised chair, her lapdogs not far behind. Krista was about to let out a sigh of relief when the strange woman stopped near them at the door, and gave a sniff. "Huh."
Lance was no longer trying to hide his irritation at the princess, "What?"
"Nay," she blinked her long lashes, with those milky eyes beneath, "I… sensed something. Probably nothing." She was staring straight at Andy but not really seeing him. "Farewell."
Andy shuddered, "What was that all about? And why were the guards from before flanking her?"
Lance seemed to no longer care whether he told them too much or not. "She made those... those things in her lab! I despise them!"
"The guards?"
"Those aren't guards, they're demons! She named them from A to Z, like you met F back at the entrance. She expects me to train them, but I cannot train the soulless. Don't ask me how, but one of those darn potions enhanced normal men until they weren't normal anymore. I loathe them!" the man's temper finally got the best of him, making a vein pulse at his forehead. "And now she dares drug my wife, her own sister?"
He continued offering a colorful string of curse words, while Krista and her companions exchanged impressed glances mixed with the oh crap emotion they'd been so familiar with lately. They hadn't asked for specifics on those guards, but since Lance had so kindly offered it, extra information didn't hurt.
"You know, we can find what we're looking for on our own," Brandon said, placing a careful hand on the man's shoulder. "You should go and be with your wife… we can manage."
Captain Lance seemed reluctant, "You should really talk to Emilia, queen Astrid left her in charge…"
"I insist! Be there for both of them. Gods know where Lady Rowena went, you know? Maybe she's headed to where they are to double the dosage!"
That seemed to ignite another spark of fury on the man's forehead vein. "Very well. I'll inform Emilia myself while you go about your business."
"Good," Brandon smiled and turned back to his friends.
"But you must need a guide, since it is your first visit… I'll tell Gibbs to meet you here. Do not leave until then." Even if he was preoccupied with his wife's well-being, his steely eyes rooted them in place with an untold threat.
"You got it. Now go! Olivia needs you!" Brandon shooed him.
The guy didn't need to be told twice. He dashed off and didn't look back.
The prince pulled his friends into a close circle of heads put together, "Let's go before this Gibbs characters shows up—"
Andy hadn't even finished conspiring against the guy when a Lance's loud self said from just outside: "Ah, Gibbs, impeccable timing! There's some people in the meeting chamber that require your assistance immediately. Admiral Cristina's people. Go see to them."
Needless to say, Brandon cursed quite loudly.
++++ same old, same old: sorry for not updating… like I said, I've been busy trying to get into law school…also I didn't have time to proof-read for mistakes (nothing new :^( )..so please excuse em if you do see any. I know I do when I reread this days later…ah.
+++"A Frozen Heart" is a book written in Hans' point of view, so some of the stuff here about the Southern Isles could be considered canon since someone at Disney gave the a-ok to publish that book, so we can pretend I'm not making everything up lol
++You may remember the servant 'Gibbs' from chapter 2 of this fanfic, you may not, but anywayyy he's back. So if you need a gentle reminder of who he is, do check the end of chapter 2!
+ also, in before someone says it: i know some of the dialogue is... odd. modern. i know. i acknowledge this, but it's just how the characters speak in my mind and try as i might i can't change it. it sounds right, it flows right... it's their personality. so, on the note that this is a work of fiction, please don't point it out :] ty!
And lastly thank you for your reviews and messages, I do read all of them and they are an important pillar when it comes to building this story! without your feedback, reactions, all of your support, none of this would be possible… so thank you, the readers who've stuck around, for your time and your kindness :] it truly is appreciated! I hope many, if not most of you, make it to the end of this story with me, because let me tell u: the end is near, as much as it saddens me to say it. Less tan 5 chapters left!
Aaaaas always, thank you for Reading!
