Chapter 19: Thieves in the Night.

Safely onboard the snow ship, Kristoff climbed off Sven and gave Pebble a hand as she jumped down.

"Where did all of those guys come from?" He said, looking over the crowd of bandits that was slowly dispersing from the shore.

"I don't know," Elsa began answering. "I mean, I'd heard reports of the Boreal Bandits, but the reports never said there were that many—"

"Hyaaa-ya!" she was cut off as a pair of twig arms came out from behind the mast, twisting ready for fisticuffs. "Oh, it's you guys!" Olaf said, seeing Kristoff and Elsa. "And the little Troll girl. Hi, I'm Olaf. I think we've met and I don't know if I got the chance to tell you last time, but I like warm hugs and not having my head kicked off by bandits."

"Olaf!" Elsa exclaimed with a start. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Anna sent me to find a set of keys to let Decker out of the dungeon…"

"Dekcer's here too?" Kristoff wondered aloud. "Oh, mannn."

"…but when I reached the bandit's encampment, the first guy I ran into kicked my head off, and I had to go after it and by the time I put myself together again, he'd left. But that's when I spotted the snow-whale out in the harbor…"

"His name is Moby," Elsa put in.

"…and I figured it wasn't super likely that Moby had keys, but hey, it was worth a shot. Then when I reached the whale, he told me that Elsa was here to rescue us—me and Anna, that is…"

"Hey, I'm here to rescue you too! Well, mostly Anna," Kristoff threw into the Olaf's monologue.

"…so he gave me a lift to the ship, where I've been waiting ever since."

"So Olaf," now it was Pebble's turn to talk, "is the Bandit Queen really, you know…"

"Elsa and Anna's mother? Yep! She totally is."

Elsa turned to look up the valley. "Mama…" she muttered.

"But she attacked us!" Kristoff exclaimed. "Why would the Queen of Arendelle attack us? And where has she been the past three years?"

"I'm not really sure…" Olaf answered. "But I bet Anna knows! The two of them had a really intense staring contest where Anna's eyes went all crystal-like, and they both had one of those blue stones like some of the trolls wear around their neck."

"Mind stones!" Pebble piped up. "And blue crystal eyes … and the Bandit Queen knew just when Elsa used her magic."

"What are you thinking, Pebble?" Kristoff asked.

"Remember what Grand Pabbie said. The Bandit Queen had a power to see through magic eyes. That power he's only seen before once … in the Troll mirror."

"You think Queen Idunn has a piece of the Troll mirror?"

"I think the Troll mirror turned Queen Idunn into the Bandit Queen. Remember what Pabbie said—their mirror was corrupted. It only showed the ugly reflections of the world."

"Then what can we do about it?" Kristoff asked his adopted sister.

"Do I look like Pabbie? I have no idea," she answered.

"Right now there's nothing we can do," Elsa said. She turned to face the two on the deck, her chest puffed up and a stoic look on her face. "Idunn has chosen to abandon her kingdom and kidnap its crown princess. Ever since Kristoff and I first dashed out of my study this has always been a rescue mission. We will stick to that. We will rescue Anna."

"Okay, but now we know we're up against some strong stuff," Kristoff replied. "The bandits have an army. The Bandit Queen has the trolls crystals—fire, wind, memory, and who knows what else. I mean, you've got you ice, and I've got a reindeer, but that's hardly enough to stand up to the bandits."

" 'at's right, you'll never beat us bandits—might's well jus' go 'ome now!" a voice shouted from below deck.

"Quiet, Johno!" Pebble squeaked.

"You're right that we can't meet them head-on," Elsa said. "So we'll have to launch a sneak attack. Steal Anna out from under them."

"What, you mean out-thieve the Boreal Bandits?" Kristoff asked, skepticism clearly in his voice.

"Ha!" Jonho put in. "You can't out-bandit us bandits."

"We have a friend in the fortress, don't we Olaf," Elsa answered.

"You mean Decker?" Olaf answered back. "Yeah, he's our friend. And I can take you to him, and we can finally let him out of the dungeon. But I'm not sure he'll be much help rescuing Anna. He's kinda been bummed out ever since the balloon ride over here."

"You guys rode in a balloon?" Pebble pipe up, jealousy in her voice.

"Yeah, it's not the mode of transportation it's played up to be," Olaf answered.

"Anyway," Kristoff began. "So we wait for sunset-launch this sneak attack under cover of darkness?"

"Darkness won't be your friend," Johno called up again. "We is the masters of the shadows. We is the monsters wot go bump in the night. You put out an evening patrol, but we sneak through your gendarme's arms and he never know we was there."

Elsa smiled. "Perhaps the Boreal Bandits can sneak through a blackout. So we'll use the cover of a whiteout."

Kjerstin dashed up the steps of the fortress. "Papa, papa! There's a storm blowing in from the harbor."

Askel turned from the Bandit Queen to face his daughter. "Oh?" he asked.

"Mighty fierce gales. I don't think the camp can handle it," she answered.

"Right. Rally the troops. Time to retreat into the fortress." He moved to the balcony, to see the dark grey clouds billowing outward from the ocean, winds whipping the snow off the ground and churning it into a frenzy. In the blink of an eye, the icy blast reached the fortress. Askel lifted his hand to keep the snow from stinging his eyes. "I've never seen a blizzard move that quick!" he shouted to Idunn.

"That's no blizzard." She answered. "That's my daughter."

Wind was flowing so violently that she missed the smile shared between Askel and Kjerstin.

"Look, Decker. I'm in no mood for your mood." Anna said. "I mean, sure we're in the dungeon, but at least it's the governor's dungeon. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Guess it's a step up from ambassador's dungeon," he answered in an emotionless monotone.

"Is it still 'cause of the balloon ride?"

Decker didn't answer.

"Yeah, that was hot and loud and uncomfortable," Anna answered for him. "We were flying kind of like a cloud of soot does. Sure, you're up in the air, but everything is already burned, so what good is it? Well I guess we weren't quite like a cloud of soot, 'cause we weren't burned. But the point is that other things besides soot can fly. Like snowflakes."

"Snowflakes fall. I seen 'em from Olaf's snowcloud."

"Oh man, you need to see a proper blizzard then. Those snowflakes can fly."

"Hmmph."

When Decker continued to not answer, Anna got up and wiggled the doorknob. It was still locked. "I thought I hated closed doors," she mumbled to herself. "It turns out locked ones are way—"

"Let me tell you a story Highness, 'cause we got pleenty of time now. When I was in the army, fightin' for the independence, I …"

Anna sat in front of the door.

"I…" Decker went on, "…I wasn't a very good solder. But there was this war on, so you got to step up. So I stepped up. Artillery needed a lieutenant, and I stepped up. Army needed a captain, so I stepped up. Now a captain needs to lead the men, and there was a village I was leadin' 'em through, and I … I wasn't a very good solder. We shouldn't'a gone there. Artillery was already pointin'... and after the cannons set the fires, it was so hot. Then there was buzzards all around the ground there. But I looked up and saw an eagle flyin.' He don't care 'bout us down there, do he? If I could soar like that eagle, way up in the cool air, maybe I could also stop carein' 'bout …"

"Decker, is that why you always wanted to fly? To try to escape that memory?"

"It's the heat. That always stuck with me. Every hot wind or burst of flame… it takes me back. Sure, there's more to flyin.' Freedom and grace and all that. But mostly it were supposed to be an escape to a world of cool breezes. But that balloon ride—it weren't nuthin' but fireballs. And every one, it brought me back to that village, with the cannons and the fires and the buzzards. Where I weren't a good soldier, and the men I was leadin' paid the price."

"Decker, I…" Anna began. "I don't … and sometimes I think, but… I'm sorry," she finally said. Walking over to the window, she felt an icy wind gust through the iron bars. "But you may get to see a proper blizzard. It looks like it's really starting to come down. Wow, you really can't see a more than a few feet in front of …" she squinted at what looked like person-sized shadows taking shape. Except it was a little too small.

"Hi Anna," Olaf shouted through the storm. "So now you're in the dungeon cell? Wow, that governor's decree really didn't do anything for you either, did it?"

"Olaf! What are you doing out there?"

"I'm here to get Decker out! And they're here to rescue you." He pointed at another pair of person-sized shadows in the swirling snow. "So I guess I'm here to rescue you too."

"Anna?" One of the shadows quickly solidified into Kristoff. "Anna, are you all right? When she had the fire tornados, I wanted to run up, but I mean fire tornados. And I knew we'd find you again, but I was worried because, fire tornados."

"Kristoff!" Anna shouted. "I'm sorry. I wanted to run down to you when you first showed up, but my mother was lurking in the halls and I was afraid she would, well, fire tornados. But now that we're down here …" as soon as the icer was within arms-reach of the iron bars, Anna reached out and grabbed his scarf, pulling him in for a kiss.

"Ahem," the second shadow materialized into Elsa.

"Oh, Elsa. Um, we were just … I mean a touching reunion of … and of course I love you too, but just not …"

"There'll be plenty of time for that later," Elsa answered. "Now stand back from the bars, both of you." She pulled her hands backward and threw them forward, a blue beam of ice launched at the steel pillars. Frost grew around them outward and upward to the stone bricks they supported. Elsa twisted her hands, and the flakes of frost twisted and fractured, but the steel bar remained.

She frowned. Once more, she pulled her hands back, and then threw them forward even harder, growing and twisting even larger icicles around the steel bars. But when the ice vanished, the bars remained unchanged.

"Um, Elsa," Pebble said, "This fortress used to belong to the Snow Queen. It's probably immune to your icy magic."

"Wait," Anna said. "I thought you were the Snow Queen."

"It's …" Elsa begain. "It's a long story. It's like with bees. But she hasn't been seen for two decades."

"You mean, since you were born?" Anna asked. "Also, what is it like bees?"

"It doesn't matter," the queen replied. "Well, if we can't break down the window, we'll have to sneak through the door."

"It's a maze in there … do you think you can really find the right door?"

"Oh, I remember the way!" Olaf put in.

With that, the three rescuers disappeared into the blizzard.

The Bandit Queen gave her head a quick shake, driving away the vision of Elsa trying to freeze her way through the dungeon cell.

"You were right, Askel," she said. "This fortress can stand up against Elsa's magic. It also seems that you've maneuvered Anna into the position of bait."

Askel regarded Idunn for a moment. In the past he had heard her voice tinged with irritation, but never such anger. Well, she had a right to be angry. She would do anything to keep her daughter safe from that sorceress-just as Askel would. Just as Askel would do anything to get revenge on the sorceress that kept him a Kjerstin separated all those years.

"For that I apologize, your majesty," he finally answered. "But the fortress is holding up. There is magic in these walls—an ancient wintry magic more powerful than Elsa's. Perhaps powerful enough to contain her. So we must take the fight down to the lowest level. To the frozen lake, where the magic is strongest. Where, legend has it, that last Snow Queen met her demise."

Idunn nodded. "To the lake."