Chapter V: The Reunion
Kai looked up at the snowy sky on the docks. A snowflake fell on his nose, and he wiped it off. He looked down at his feet, and kicked the snow off the dock and into the ocean. Kai hoped it was the season of winter. He hoped that this wasn't Elsa's doing. He's been gone for so long, he almost forgot about home. He looked over at Arendelle castle. That's where he needed to go.
"Once again," Kai said to the captain of the ship, "you have my everlasting gratitude."
"Sir, I am the one that should be grateful. I've met Elsa's Captain of the Guard, and that's an honor higher than me." The captain said.
The two men nodded at each other, and they parted ways. Kai walked away, and off the dock. He left footprints in the snow where he walked. Kai was too excited to talk to Elsa once again. He couldn't wait to see his "family", or at least who he considered family. He's been gone for three long, painful months. Every night of those months, he dreamed of seeing Elsa. He remembered her face, and the warm smile she always gave him. Kai remembered Kristoff and Anna. He remembered Anna's curiousity that got her in trouble, and he remembered how he and Kristoff would hang out like best friends. He remembered the goofy Olaf and Sven, who always put a smile on his face.
Kai stopped in his tracks. He looked around him, and found the citizens of Arendelle. Some where looking at him, and whispering with each other. Others were just staring at him with bewilderness. Kai didn't want to attract that much attention this early. He needed to disguise his face for a short period of time, at least until he got to the castle. Kai pulled out his dagger, and used it to cut a piece of his upper clothing off. Kai still was wearing the same clothes he had three months ago. He didn't have a spare set of clothes with him. He even had his dagger still, but his sword was gone. Kai had lost so much in his last encounter with Deren.
Kai took the piece of clothing, and covered his mouth with it. He quickly walked away from his position and towards the castle. Luckily, less people started to recognize him, and that's exactly what Kai planned for. As he walked, Kai wondered what he was going to say to Elsa. Hi honey, it's me Kai, you know, the guy who was missing for three months. I'm here now, so everything's alright. Kai didn't know what Elsa was going to say. But, it didn't matter to him much now. At least he would see her, and that made him happy.
For some strange reason, the closer Kai walked to the castle, the colder it got. That wasn't a good sign, Kai thought. The more cold it got, the more Kai doubted that it was a natural winter, but he eventually convinced himself it was. There would be no way Elsa would cause another eternal winter. Kai crossed his arms and held them over his biceps to keep warm. Kai felt a sharp pain on his shoulder. He tried to ignore it, but he knew it would stay there for a long time. He was told not to stress it, or it would get worse. But, not stressing it would be near impossible. Kai was Kai, after all.
Kai stood in front of the stone bridge that led to Arendelle Castle. It's been a long time since he stepped on the bridge. He took a deep breath, and placed his left foot forward, over the bridge. He was ready. Kai stepped down, and walked the bridge. Kai saw many other people walk the opposite direction of him, and away from the castle. He noticed that the way they were clothed. They all wore elegant clothing: things people wore to parties or meetings. Then, Kai knew the occassion. How could he forget? It was Elsa's birthday. He marked his calender for this occassion many months prior. He felt bad that he couldn't get Elsa a present, but to Elsa, Kai himself was good enough. Kai couldn't believed he had missed her party.
Kai avoided eye contact with the leaving party guests. The look they had on their faces told Kai that they were not satisfied. Another bad sign. Kai didn't know what, but something happened at the party. Kai didn't like it, but he had to know what had happened. Not just that, he had to know everything. He had to know what happened all of those months he was gone. What had he missed? Kai was sure that whatever happened to Elsa and the others was much better than what had happened to him.
Kai stopped in front of the gate at the end of the bridge. The gate divided the bridge and the castle, and guests were walking out of the gate. Two guards stood at the gate, and Kai took a step forward. One of the guards held out his hand in front of Kai, and shook his head.
"The party is over." The guard said. "Queen Elsa ordered the gates be closed for the rest of the night. No exceptions."
"Really?" Kai said. "Not even for your boss?"
Kai took the fabric off of his head, and revealed his face. The guards gasped when they saw him.
"But, you're..." said one of the guards. "Dead..." finished the other.
"What?" Kai asked. It didn't matter now, though. He didn't care what they thought of him. All her cared about was getting to Elsa, and seeing her once again. She must've been worried sick, Kai thought. She was. Little did Kai know how distraught Elsa was when he "disappeared". He had to show her that he was alright, and that she must not worry about him anymore.
"Can I pass?" Kai asked the guards.
The guards closed their eyes, and bowed. They stepped out of the way for Kai to get through. Kai walked past the guards, and into the crowd of leaving guests. He found that he was in Arendelle's courtyard. Kai gently pushed some of the guests out of his way while he walked. Kai stopped dead in his tracks when he heard familiar voices near him. He heard Anna's voice say "Sorry about the party." Kai looked to see the origin of the voice, and saw Anna and Kristoff talking to leaving guests. Kai smiled, and stared at his friends. He walked towards them, and eventually got to them.
Anna's and Kristoff's eyes widened when they saw him. A tear soon ran down Anna's cheek. They were speechless seeing Kai. They were paralyzed with amazement.
"Kai..." Kristoff said.
Anna took a step forward and hugged Kai. Kai wasn't expecting it and was surprised, but Kai hugged her back. It's been so long since he's seen them. Anna was relieved and shocked. She couldn't believe that Kai was there.
"I thought you were dead." Anna said. She broke away from the hug, and more tears ran down her cheek. "We all thought you were dead."
"That's nice." Kai said sarcastically. Kai looked at Kristoff, and held out his hand, offering it for a shake. Kristoff, instead, hugged Kai tightly. Kristoff wouldn't let go, not even when Kai's face started to become blue. Kristoff was taller than Kai, so Kai's feet were dangling in the air. Kai appreciated the hug, but that appreciation would disappear when Kristoff hugged him to death. Anna couldn't help but laugh. When Anna saw how much Kai was struggling, Anna put her hand on Kristoff's shoulder, and he put Kai down.
"Ow..." Kai said, trying to regain his breath.
"How?" Kristoff asked.
"How what?" Kai asked.
"How're you alive? The sailors came back, and they said you didn't make it."
Kai looked down at his feet, and looked back at Kristoff. Kai didn't know how he survived, but he did. Against all odds, he survived and continued to live his days.
"I got lucky." Kai answered.
"What happened?" Anna asked. "Where were you all of these months?"
"I-" Kai was about to answer, but was interrupted. His cheek was licked by a familiar reindeer, and a familiar snowman was riding him. Sven had just licked Kai. Olaf jumped off of Sven's back, and into Kai's arms. Olaf hugged him, and Kai hugged him back.
"Kai!" Olaf exclaimed. "You're not dead!" He said cheerfully.
"Not today." Kai said. "I missed you guys."
"You look like a mess." Anna said.
It was true. Kai hadn't paid attention until now. He foudns that his hair was messy, and it was now shoulder length. Kai always kept it short, but he let it grow. He had a small black beard on his chin. He looked different, but it was still him.
Kai put Olaf down, and refocused his attention on Anna and Kristoff. "You want to know the story?" Kai asked them. The two desperately nodded. Kai took a deep breath, and told him everything that happened. It brought painful memories back to him, but he had to do it for their sake. They listened carefully to Kai's story. They couldn't believe the things Kai was saying. They couldn't believed how he survived, but he did. They couldn't believe that he had another run in with Deren. As he talked, the rest of the guests left, and the guards shut the gates. It would be the first time in a long time Elsa ordered the gates closed.
Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf were speechless. They couldn't comprehend the pain Kai went through. Olaf's jaw was dropped, and his mouth was wide open. Kai knew what they were thinking. They were pondering how he survived, and so was he. Kai gave himself a reason. Elsa would be furious if he died. He couldn't risk another eternal winter.
"Where's Elsa?" Kai asked.
"She's in her room, I think." Kristoff answered.
"Thanks. See you later." Kai said. As Kai walked off, Anna put her arm on his shoulder and he stopped walking.
"Kai..." Anna said. "It was her birthday party tonight. It was the first time she showed her face to the public in the past few months. Kai, when she thought you were dead, she isolated herself from everyone once again. The party didn't end well."
"What are you trying to say, Anna?" Kai asked.
"I'm trying to tell you that she's... different. She may not be the Elsa you know and love."
"I'll bring her back." Kai smiled, and with that he walked off, leaving Anna, Kristoff, Scen, and Olaf under the snowy night sky.
Kai stood in front of the doors that led into the main hall of the castle, and opened it up. The doors opened and Kai saw the main hall. It looked exactly the same as it did when Kai last saw it. He walked up the main set of stairs, and turned to a corridor. There, he saw Elsa's door to her room, and smiled.
She was so close now. Kai walked closer to the room, but started sprinting when he heard Elsa yelling. Kai turned the doorknob, but the door wouldn't open. The sounds of Elsa screaming pained him. He kicked the door, but it still wouldn't budge. Kai didn't know that ice kept the door shut.
Kai kept kicking the door. Elsa kept screaming. Kai shot a ball of fire at the door, but it didn't do that much damage. Kai kicked the door once more. Finally, with all of his might, Kai kicked the door, and it swung open.
Looking in, Kai saw Elsa grabbing her head with her eyes closed and screaming. Kai ran to her bed, and sat on it. Kai didn't think this was a good reunion, but it was something. Elsa kept screaming and kicking her legs. Kai grabbed Elsa's wrists, and held them downon the bed.
"Elsa!" Kai screamed.
Kai kept calling her name, but Elsa couldn't hear him. She was having a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. Elsa snapped out of it when she heard Kai yell her name once more. She stopped screaming, and opened her eyes slowly. She blinked when she saw him, and then her eyes widened.
Elsa pushed Kai away from the bed, and jumped off of the bed next to hands covered her mouth.
"Kai..." Elsa said. "Is that really you?" She talked as if she had just seen a ghost. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Kai nodded and smiled. "It's me, princess. And no, you're not dreaming."
Elsa took a step closer to Kai. She put her hand on his cheek, and a tear ran down her face. Kai was back, and now she got what she wanted for a long time. She was filled with joy and relief. She couldn't believe she had lost faith a while ago.
Elsa hugged Kai, and cried on his shoulder. Kai winced in pain, but he tried not to show it. Kai stroked her long hair as she hugged him. He was happy to be back home. He was happy to be back with Elsa. He had wanted nothing more. They had been through so much together, and they will continued to be together.
"I missed you." Kai told Elsa.
"Me too." She said in between a sob.
Kai looked at the door, and saw that it was still open. Kai broke away from their hug, and closed the door. He walked back to Elsa, and they continued their hug.
"Why were you screaming?" Kai asked.
"Bad dream." Elsa answered.
"Happy birthday." Kai said.
"You missed out." Elsa said.
"I bet I did."
Elsa had gotten the one thing she wished for the most. At least her birthday wasn't the worst this year. Then, Elsa remembered something. She remembered Kai was missing for three months, and she still didn't know what happened.
"Kai, where have you been?" Elsa asked.
Kai's smile faded. "I'll explain everything tomorrow." He said.
"Why not now? You owe me that much." Elsa asked.
"You need your rest." Kai answered.
"I have to know!" Elsa said. "You left me alone for three months. I thought you were dead. Now, you show up and expect everything to be alright? Kai, please tell me." Elsa asked.
"I will, Elsa. Tomorrow. You need rest, and so do I." Kai said.
It was true. Elsa was exhausted. She couldn't stand forcing herself to be awake. She crawled onto her bed, and looked at Kai who was leaving.
"Kai." Elsa requested his attention. Kai looked over at Elsa. "Please," she said. "stay with me tonight."
Kai knew she really wanted it. He didn't want to bother her any further, but he knew how Elsa felt. Kai wasn't prepared to sleep, but he had to make do with what he had. Kai got onto the bed next to Elsa, and she moved herself into his arms. He held her with warm hands, and she smiled. She looked up at him, and he smiled at her. Kai moved his head down to meet Elsa's lips, and she closed her eyes. They kissed passionately. It was their first kiss in a long time. It felt better than any other kiss they had.
They broke their kiss, and smiled at each other.
"I love you." Elsa said.
"Who doesn't?" Kai joked.
Elsa laughed. It was music to Kai's ears. Elsa hasn't laughed in the pass months, and now that she did, it felt good to her.
"I love you too princess." Kai told her.
"Queen..." Elsa corrected once again. Elsa missed the way he used to tease her like that. It was good to have him back.
With that, Elsa closed her eyes and fell asleep in Kai's arms.
When Elsa woke up, she didn't see Kai on her bed, neither could she see him in the room. She found that her door was opened slightly. She looked over at her window and saw the sun was out, though it wasn't that bright becuase of the snow. Elsa looked around her room and found it completely clean. Everything was neatly put away. Elsa knew that that was Kai's doing.
Elsa got out of bed, and put on her slippers. She creaked the door open, and looked peaked at both sides of the corridor. She couldn't find Kai. Elsa looked to the door next to hers, Kai's room, and saw that it was slightly opened. Elsa opened the door and found Kai inside, standing in front of the mirror.
Kai was wearing a new set of clothes; the clothes the Captain of the Guard usually wears. Kai had a dagger in his hand, and was cutting his hair. He cut through his long, thick hair until it looked like it did three months prior. Kai, with great and careful skill, cut off his small beard. Kai looked fresh, and looked the same as he did a long time ago.
Kai noticed Elsa standing in his doorway, and turned to her. Kai smiled and held out his arms, and she ran at him. Elsa tackled Kai with a hug, and Kai spun her around in the air. Elsa giggled, and that made Kai happy. Then, Elsa's smile started to fade, and Kai noticed it. He put her down, and they locked eyes. All was well for Elsa, but there some things that she just didn't understand.
"Kai..." Elsa said. "What happened?"
"Did you make a gravestone?" Kai asked, off of the topic.
"I asked you f-" Elsa was interrupted
"Did you make a gravestone." Kai asked, more seriously.
Elsa nodded. "It's outside of the castle. In the memorial where mine, and your parents' gravestones are."
Kai walked past her, and Elsa followed. Kai walked out of the room while Elsa tried talking to him, but he ignored her.
"I'll explain outside." Kai said.
Kai and Elsa walked through the castle, acknowledging the servants. They expected to see Anna and Kristoff, but they didn't cross paths. Elsa was wondering what was on Kai's mind. He promised to tell her everything, yet he chose to wait. She didn't want to question his actions, so she played along with Kai. They exited through the back of the castle, and entered the garden. From there, they walked past a gate, and into the memorial.
The site was a wide open area. In the middle, two large stone slabs stood. The slabs were a memorial to the old King and Queen of Arendelle; their lives were lost oversea on that fateful night. They walked past the slabs, and saw another three slabs behind them. The slabs were smaller, but significantly large for a gravestone. They were for Kai and his parents. Kai stood in front of his grave, and knelt down. Elsa knelt next to him, and put her hand on his shoulder. Kai put his hand over her hand, and rubbed it.
"We thought you were dead." Elsa said. "You didn't come back, so we wanted a way to remember you."
Kai stayed silent. He never thought that he would ever look at his gravestone. He didn't blame Elsa, though. He could see why they thought he was dead. He believed that it was his fault they thought this. He should've been stronger.
Kai stood up, and so did Elsa. He faced her, and held both of her hands in his. He looked her deeply in the eye.
"Do you want to know what happened?" Kai asked.
Elsa nodded.
Kai sighed, and took a deep breath. "Okay..."
Deren hung over the side of the bird's nest with a gun in his hand. The rain fell hard upon the ship. All of the ship's grew have left on the rowboats, except for the current captain, Phelps. Kai looked with wide eyes at Deren's gun as he climbed the mast up. Deren smiled, and pulled the trigger. The gun fired at Kai. Luckily, pistols weren't accurate, but they were accurate enough.
Kai felt a sudden pain on is shoulder, and let go of the mast. He fell many feet, and landed on the deck of the ship. Lightning flashed as he landed. Kai couldn't focus on anything but the pain. He didn't know how he survived the gunshot, and he didn't know how he survived the fall. His body persevered through the damage, but it was falling. Kai wailed and yelled in pain. Tears came out of Kai's eyes. This would be the first time in Kai's life that he'd cry from pain.
Kai put his hand over his shoulder, and then took it away. He looked at his hand and found that it was soaked in blood. Kai looked at his shoulder and found blood gushing out like a geyser. Smoke came out from the hole in his shoulder as well. Deren aimed his gun for Kai's head, but shot Kai in the shoulder. Deren missed his target, but he enjoyed seeing Kai in pain. Kai didn't realize how much his back hurt. The fall cracked a few bonce, but nothing major Kai thought. But, when Kai moved in pain, he felt a lot of it in his back.
Kai knew that he was losing blood fast. His shoulder was soaked in red. He had to stop the blood from coming out. He took his dagger, and put the blade in his hands. He summoned fire in his hands, and heated the blade. Kai used his other hand to hold the handle, and stopped the fire. The blade was now glowing orange. Kai took the side of the blade, and placed it over his wound. He screamed in agony as he cauterized the wound. When he took the blade away, his shoulder was still bleeding, but now as much.
"Captain!" yelled Phelps.
Kai turned his head and saw Phelps running to his aid. Phelps stopped when he saw Kai's shoulder. Phelps noticed the small pool of blood forming around his arm.
"Are you alright?" Phelps asked.
"I'm great." Kai said sarcastically, and in great pain. "Despite the fact that I have a metal ball in my shoulder!"
Kai managed a joke, even in this time. That was a quality that everyone liked about Kai. He always made things look bright, even when they were the darkest. It was one of the things Elsa loved most about Kai, and Kai knew it. She loved it, even when it got annoying. It gets annoying a lot.
Phelps tried to help Kai up, but he was in to much pain to move. Kai was determined to get up, though. Working through the pain, Kai stood up with the help of Phelps, and leaned on Phelps' shoulder. Kai could barely move his back. When he turned his spine, he winced in agony. Phelps helped Kai away from the mast, but Kai pushed Phelps away.
"You have to go!" Phelps yelled at Kai.
"No!" Kai said, then he grabbed his shoulder in pain. "Not yet..."
Kai looked up at the bird's nest, and saw Deren, smiling down at him.
"How's your shoulder?" Deren asked. Deren hoped Kai would die, but Deren enjoyed the sight of Kai in pain. To Deren, the face Kai made when he cauterized his wound was priceless. Deren wished that Kai would've experienced more pain. It was only fair to Deren. Kai scarred Deren, and he was just returning the favor.
"Give it up, Deren!" Kai yelled.
"I don't think so. You're in no position to make demands, Kai." Deren said. "You think you could just avoid my revenge. No, not my revenge. My justice. You had this coming, Kai."
"How?" Kai said confused.
"You asked for more than what you had! A man who asks for more, when he has everything, will lose everything! Ever heard that phrase?"
"How did I ask for more?"
"You had everything with us! You had whatever you could ever want with the Bandits. But, you still left. You still abandoned us. You ruined us. Now, you're living high up there in Arendelle Castle. Apparently, the Bandit life wasn't enough for you!"
"You were hurting people!"
"We were doing what was necessary! You were lucky with what you had." Deren screamed.
"What I had? What I had were things stolen from people. Good people. Hardworking people."
"And you survived for 13 years with it!" Deren was angry, but then, he smiled. "Doesn't matter now. I'm going to come down there, and strike you where you stand. I'll be victorious!"
Deren grabbed his sword, and raised it in the air. Time stopped for Kai. Kai looked around him, and then at the sky. He saw sparks of blue above the clouds. A long time ago, Kai once heard that lightning was attracted to metal. Kai wasn't sure if it was scientifically accurate, but it didn't matter if it was or not. Kai looked at Deren's sword, shining in the rain. Kai's eyes widened when he saw a spark in the clouds, above Deren. A blue bolt of lightning came from the sky, and made contact with Deren's sword. Deren, unfortunately, didn't let go. Deren's body was shaking. Blue flashed from him. Thousands of volts of electricity was running through Deren's body.
Kai covered his eyes, but he still heard thunder. When the flashes cleared up, Kai and Phelps looked up at Deren. Deren had his eyes open. Smoke was coming out of his body. Deren dropped his sword, closed his eyes, and fell forward. Deren fell off of the bird's nest, and plummeted towards the ground. He landed with a loud thud. Kai watched in horror as his old friend lay lifeless on the deck.
Kai limped to Deren. Kai put his hand on Deren's chest, and took it away. Deren's body was exerting a lot of heat. Kai put his finger over Deren's open mouth, and didn't feel a breath. Kai couldn't hear a heartbeat either. Kai looked up at the sky, and yelled. He had lost a friend. Yes, Deren was a menace to Kai and Elsa, but Deren had done so much to help Kai in their younger days. Kai wouldn't mourn Deren, but he would remember him.
Phelps put his hand on Kai's undamaged shoulder. "We have to go!" Phelps said.
"Why the rush?!" Kai said angrily. Then, Kai smelt smoke. He looked over at the mast, and saw that it was on fire. The fire spread on the deck, and was inching closer to Kai and Phelps. Kai dragged Deren's body away from the fire, thinking it wasn't right to just let him burn. Kai dragged Deren's body up the stairs, and to the upper part of the deck. They didn't notice that the ship was sinking quickly until now.
Kai spotted the last rowboat, and ran to it. Kai turned around and found that Phelps wasn't behind him, but manning the wheel.
"Phelps!" Kai called for the attention of the captain. "We need to go."
Phelps let go of the wheel, and ran to Kai. Kai stepped onto the boat, and held his hand out for Phelps, wanting to help him on. Unfortunately for Kai, he was using the arm with the damaged shoulder, and Kai put his arm down. Phelps, instead of getting on the rowboat, grabbed Kai's sword strapped to his side. Phelps cut the rope that made the rowboat hang from the ship. The rowboat, with Kai in it, fell into the water. Phelps stuck his head over the side of the boat.
"A captain goes down with his ship." Phelps said. Then, Phelps walked away, and back to the wheel.
"You fool!" Kai yelled. Kai tried to climb back onto the boat, but he was in no condition to move much. "Good luck..." Kai whispered. Kai admired Phelps' bravery in the face of death, and respected the fact that this was how Phelps was going down. Kai grabbed the oars, and rowed away, onto the waves. Kai couldn't see any of the other rowboats. As Kai rowed away, he looked over at the Royal III go under the water. Phelps and Deren was in it. Kai closed his eyes, and mentally saluted Phelps.
Kai looked ahead of the rowboat, and his eyes widened when a large wave washed over the rowboat. Knocking the injured Kai off, and knocking him out. Kai's body was now being dragged by the waves, going where the sea willed him to.
Elsa's eyes were wide when Kai finished off his story. Kai let go of her hands, and looked back at his gravestone.
"I woke up in a small house." Kai said. "A bandage was around my shoulder. It hurt whenever I moved. An old woman and her son was taking care of me. They told me I was in a coma for a month. When I awoke, it took a month for me to recover. Then it took another for me to find someone to get me here."
Kai pulled down the collar of his shirt, and showed his right shoulder. A reddish-brown stain was located where he was shot on the bandages. Elsa placed her hand over the bandage, and Kai winced. It still hurt him. She immediately took her hand away. Kai covered his bandages, and looked down at his grave.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Elsa. I'm sorry you went through what you did." Kai said.
Elsa got closer to Kai, and placed her head on his left shoulder. Kai was there for her now, and that's all that mattered.
"It's okay..." Elsa said.
Then, they stood there looking at the gravestone. The past three months seemed like a bad dream to them now. They had nothing else to do but let it go.
Author's Note: Yay! Kai's not dead! There were two reasons why I "killed" him off earlier. First, I wanted to see how you guys reacted. It tells me how much you actually care for that character. Second, it would set the mood for the story, and have emotional impacts on the characters. I won't force you to write a review, but at this point in the story, comments would be appreciated. Ciao. PS: Longest chapter I've ever written.