"Hurry up, Kristoff," Aurora commanded anxiously, "I think I hear people coming."
The man grunted, his body half-obscured beneath his bed. "I'm looking, just give me minute!" his voice was muffled.
Mulan looked around the room, taking note of clothes and knick-knacks cluttering up everything haphazardly. "When was the last time you cleaned you room?" she wondered aloud.
A loud thump resounded as he smacked his head. "Argh, I found it..." he slid out from beneath the bed. In his hand was a strange looking piece of armor that appeared to shine even in the shadows. It was a vambrace of dark blue and accented silver.
"What is that?" Mulan asked in awe. She had never seen a piece of armor like it. The metal was unlike any she'd ever seen before.
Kristoff secured it to his wrist, pausing for a moment as it seemed to glow in response. "According to Hans, it's called the Vambrace of Silver Lining. It's from Erigisen."
"The Kingdom of Eternal Ice?" Mulan questioned curiously, "You said Elsa gave it to you, right?"
Kristoff nodded, and was about to say more when Aurora suddenly cut them off. "Guards are coming this way! What do we do?"
Mulan immediately tensed. "How many?"
"Three."
The soldier nodded. "Okay, everyone away from the door," she ordered quickly, "I'll take care of this."
Kristoff and Aurora shared a concerned glance before they obeyed, each moving to the far corners of the room. Mulan shed her metal gauntlets and flexed her fingers. "It has been a while since I last fought hand to hand…" she mumbled to herself, "Hopefully I'm not too out of practice…"
The clattering sound of boots hitting stone drew her gaze to the doorway. She quickly fell into a stance and inhaled calmly through her nose. Aurora was both mystified and sick with worry.
"There they are!" a guard shouted. "Seize them!" Within moments, the three guards swarmed the door with weapons in hand.
They got no further however, as Mulan bolted into action. She was a blur as she sprang forward and knocked the first guard to the ground with her palm. It took a moment for the other two to register what was happening, and in that time the Chinese soldier had disarmed one of them and used the blunt end of the acquired spear to jab the other in the forehead, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. She fluidly turned and knocked the disarmed guard out cold with a single sweep.
By this time, the first guard that she knocked over was back on his feet and charged at her with his sword. Mulan deftly side-stepped and took hold of his sword arm, forcing him to drop his weapon. Then she jabbed a knuckle into the side of his neck and he fell to the floor unconscious.
"I've become a little rusty it seems…"she mumbled to herself, eyeing the unconscious pile of guards, "But at least I got the job done."
Kristoff and Aurora both looked like they had just seen a polka-dotted hippopotamus play hopscotch in a tutu while juggling live snakes.
"W-wha…h-how…" Kristoff sputtered, eyes bugging out of his head.
"I didn't want to hurt them," Mulan justified self-consciously, "They should be fine when they wake up…save for a slight headache."
Aurora smiled, while Kristoff still seemed flabbergasted. "Remind me not to get on her bad side…" he mumbled in amazement.
"We should probably get going while we can," Aurora reminded them, "If these guards were looking for us that means Hans knows that we freed you."
The other two nodded. "Right. Let's go."
It seems that time is growing short for my plans. Hans smirked. No matter, for even if Plan A fails, I still have Plan B…though I prefer not to have to destroy Arendelle, goodness knows that plan didn't work out too well for my older brother in Erigisen…
He knocked on the thick oak doors. "Your Majesties? May I come in?"
"Is that you Prince Hans?" he heard the queen ask through the door, "Please, come in."
Hans entered the study to find the King and Queen standing together by a large glass window that looked out over the kingdom. He bowed to them politely. "How are you both faring?"
The King sighed and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "We are both weary, prince. Our daughter is missing, and we do not know the state of her wellbeing…"
The Queen placed her hand over her husband's. "We just want her back safely…We would give anything for her to just be safe."
Anything? Hans laughed internally. That is the magic word. "Your Majesties, what if I told you that I received knowledge today of Princess Anna's whereabouts?"
The two royals immediately straightened. "Where is she?" The King demanded.
Hans put on his best look of remorse. "She has been taken, your highness, by a wicked ice witch."
The Queen's hand flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh dear, our Anna is…"
"Fear not, your majesty, for I will go to the witch's lair and slay the foul creature," Hans promised, "Princess Anna will be returned safe and sound, you have my word."
Tears were welling up in the Queen's eyes. "Oh thank you, Prince Hans, thank you…the Kingdom of Arendelle is indebted to you."
Hans bowed again. "It is the least I can do, however…I do have one request, if your majesty would be so kind?"
The King's eyes narrowed slightly. "What is it you seek?"
"I seek Princess Anna's hand in marriage."
Silence fell over the room as the weight of the request settled in. The royal couple did not want to sign their only daughter's life away, but if they didn't, then she would be in great danger. The King and Queen were exhausted with worry for Anna, and their minds were too weary to register the cold scheme in Hans' eyes. In the end they had to give in to save their beloved daughter.
"Very well," The King said with a heavy sigh, "Arendelle and the Southern Isles shall join houses. But only if our daughter is returned safely and that fiendish witch is eradicated."
Hans allowed a small smirk to touch his lips. "Excellent. I shall depart now for the North Mountain."
"Not much farther till the edge of town!" Kristoff shouted back at his friends. They ran through the streets of Arendelle, weaving in and out of the hordes of townspeople going about their day.
"Kristoff, at this rate they're going to catch up to us!" Aurora called with worry, "They have horses and we are on foot!"
They got to the bridge and the blonde man slowed his pace. "Actually, I have my own noble steed." He placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.
Mulan and Aurora both smiled as Sven galloped towards them. However, their smiles immediately fell when they saw a familiar horse with a familiar prince riding atop it approaching rapidly.
"Damnit, he's fast!" Kristoff growled, hopping up on Sven.
"I told you all that running wasted time!" Aurora replied back frantically. "What do we do now?"
Mulan placed a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Kristoff. "We continue with the plan." She stated firmly, "Kristoff, you go warn Anna and Elsa. Aurora and I will try to slow down Hans."
Kristoff nodded. "Okay, good luck you two. Be careful, he's dangerous."
Aurora smiled. "Go on then, we'll be fine here."
The reindeer took off towards the mountain pass where the blizzard raged, leaving the two women to ward off the impending threat.
"Sorry to volunteer you like that," Mulan apologized, moving in front of Aurora, "But Sven would be faster with only one person riding him, and time is of the essence."
Aurora shook her head. "I understand. I would've stayed behind anyway, you know." Her gazed became locked on Hans as he drew nearer, "Someone has to look out for you."
Mulan chuckled. "I'm glad it's you, then."
They weren't able to say anymore, because Hans was upon them. "Stand aside, fools!" he commanded.
Neither of them moved. Hans immediately grew impatient and removed his glove. The wicked ring glowed brightly on his finger. "Move now, before I turn you both to ashes."
Mulan's eyes narrowed and she drew her sword. "I will never back down when my friends need my aid." She stated lowly, her eyes burning with her warrior spirit.
"I said move!" A ball of flame shot out from his hand, heading straight for the pair. The warrior reacted quickly and pulled her princess out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting her hair singed.
Mulan quickly put some distance between herself and Aurora to keep the girl safe, knowing that the blonde wasn't his main target.
The next wave of flame came faster than the first. But Mulan was faster. With a single sweep of her blade, she was able to redirect the flames. And so the battle continued on like that, Hans hurling round after round of fireballs, and Mulan deflecting them gracefully with her weapon.
"I'm through playing!" Hans growled, "Time to end this little game."
Flames rose up in a circle around Aurora, entrapping her and closing in rapidly.
"Aurora!" Mulan cried out, "No!" She rushed toward the flame prison, only to be forced back by the roaring blaze. This time she did burn several locks of her dark hair.
The blonde shrieked as the flames got close enough to scorch her pretty dress. "Mulan!" she shouted through the inferno, "Don't come any closer! You'll be hurt too!"
"Drop your weapon and stand aside!" Hans commanded sharply, "Or else the girl burns!"
The warrior grit her teeth and clenched her jaw, her eyes darting rapidly between her princess and that rotten prince. Her grip loosened on her sword. Aurora...I have to save you…
"Don't do it Mulan!" Aurora's voice called out through the flames, followed by a pained scream as the fire briefly lashed out at her arm.
"I will not ask you again!" Hans snarled, "Drop. Your. Weapon!"
Another pained shriek made Mulan's decision for her. She hastily threw her sword to the ground and bowed her head in defeat. She had surrendered. She brought her gaze back to meet Hans', her eyes burning with contempt. "Now let her go!" she demanded.
The Prince snapped his fingers and the flames dispersed. Aurora swayed and stumbled before collapsing into Mulan's waiting arms. The warrior checked her over for any severe or lasting injuries, sighing in relief when she found none. Her princess was safe.
Her heart sank as she watched Hans gallop past them towards the mountain pass.
She sighed and pulled Aurora closer to her; the blonde moved her head to rest in the crook of her neck.
"I hope we bought Kristoff enough time…" Aurora whispered softly against her skin.
Mulan fought off a shiver, moving a hand up to thread her fingers through golden tresses. "Me too, princess." She murmured quietly in reply.
"Faster Sven!" Kristoff shouted when he looked back and saw that Hans had reached his two friends. The reindeer snorted and increased his pace.
They reached the howling blizzard in moments. The winds were deafening and the shards of ice barraged his skin relentlessly. Kristoff was silently in awe of how powerful his friend was. C'mon Kristoff, focus! He scolded himself.
Kristoff brought the vambrace on his wrist up to eyelevel to inspect it. "So is there an 'on' button, or…" he grumbled, feeling his frustration rise.
"I don't have time for this!" he shouted, throwing his hands up above his head, "I need to get past this blizzard!"
Suddenly, the vambrace began to glow softly above him. The thing practically hummed as it grew brighter and brighter with silvery light. He watched in amazement as a silver beam shot forth and pierced the blizzard, opening a large gap for him to pass safely through.
"Whoa…" Kristoff breathed, watching the blizzard swirling and whirling around him as he rode Sven through the luminous tunnel. Silver Lining, eh? This was definitely one of the coolest presents anyone's ever given him.
"Now I just got to warn Anna and Elsa."
"Hey Elsa, I'm going to go to Oaken's real quick to get some more thread, okay?" Anna told her as she placed her winter cloak securely around her shoulders.
Elsa put her book down and stood up. "Do you want me to go with you?" she asked, concern seeping into her tone, "It's dangerous out there and I don't want anything to happen to you."
Anna smiled softly at her. "I'll be fine, Elsa," she promised, "I'll even take Snow. She'll definitely protect me if anything happens, okay?"
The blonde pulled her close and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. It was long and tender, and made Anna feel weak in the knees. "Be safe, love." Elsa whispered against her lips, "I'll see you when you return."
Anna felt a blush spreading across her cheeks. She cleared her throat. "I'll make sure and come back soon, then." Was all she could say before she left.
Kristoff could see Elsa's ice palace in the distance, and luckily he hadn't seen any sign of Hans. Maybe Mulan and Aurora were able to slow him down after all.
"Hi Kristoff!" a cheery voice called.
Sven skidded to a stop as Anna approached them, riding what appeared to be an ice unicorn. She saw the troubled look on her friend's face and her smile fell. "What's wrong? Is it Snow? I promise she's totally harmless...at least, I think she is..."
Kristoff noticed that she was holding several spools of thread. Was she planning on sewing? He shook he his head. That wasn't important right now.
"Anna, listen to me," the blonde man interrupted, "Hans is coming for you, and he has a dangerous magic ring that can spew fire and stuff."
Anna's eyes widened, the spools of thread dropping forgotten into the snow below. "No…he's going to hurt Elsa!" she gasped, her terrified gaze darting towards the ice castle.
The look on her face was enough to tell Kristoff that she remembered Elsa, which meant they'd managed to break the spell. "You two broke the curse, huh?" he asked with a faint smile.
Anna glared at him. "Yes, but that's not important right now! We have to protect Elsa!" she stated with fierce determination. "I can't let her be hurt again…"
Just then, a loud explosion sounded, and the blizzard at the foot of the mountain evaporated in a fiery cloud. Kristoff cursed under his breath. "We're out of time!" he hissed.
Anna bit her lip. She quickly dismounted Snow and reached for her friend's hand. "Kristoff, I need you to tell Elsa what's happened," she pleaded, "Tell her I love her, Kristoff."
The blonde man was confused. "Anna, what's going on?"
The redhead shook her head to dispel tears that were pricking at her eyes. "I'm going to go back with Hans. I'm the one he's after. It's the only way he'll forget about Elsa and leave her alone."
Kristoff squeezed her hand tightly, pain etched deeply into his features. "Don't do this Anna. Elsa won't be able to survive you leaving her again."
This time a tear did roll down her freckled cheek. "This won't be a 'goodbye', Kristoff, only a 'see you later'…" her voice cracked towards the end, almost as if she didn't believe her words either, "Take care of her while I'm gone." The last part was a whisper on the icy wind as she took off towards the mountain pass.
Kristoff fought back his own tears. Why did his friends have to suffer so much? "C'mon Sven," he mumbled sadly, "Let's go deliver the bad news…"
*Sniffles* Don't look at me like that! Goodness...why do I do this to myself? Poor Elsa...I wonder how she'll take the news...?