Chapter XVI: Party Of One
There were no more escapees that night. Everyone stayed comfortably in the castle. No one woke up and left to go on a crazy adventure. But, that night, no one noticed anybody leaving. No one but Olaf saw Anna and Rapunzel leave, and no one but the now unconscious guard saw Kristoff, Eugene, Sven, Maximus, and Olaf leave. Even Kai didn't notice the noise outside, and he was pretty much conscious the entire night with his eyes closed.
It was a miracle that Anna and Rapunzel escaped unnoticed. The odds for that were slim, but fate was in their favor as it seems. Now, even though they were unprepared, they had to face and deal with the dangers that lay ahead of them. The following days would've been some of the most dangerous in their lives.
Even though Kristoff and Eugene made some noise, they left unnoticed as well. They both left in such a rush and didn't have time to pack anything with them. They left virtually unprepared and unfit. But, that was alright with them. They thought that it was going to be a quick mission. The basic objective: get their wives back. Didn't sound so hard, right?
Unfortunately for them, Anna and Rapunzel had quite the head start. Also, since Anna didn't know the exact route to get to the specified area, she would be taking a different way than Kristoff thought they were taking, making the chances of Kristoff and Eugene running into them slimmer. That was the girls' advantage over the guys; different directions and different times.
Sure, the guys had a horse and a reindeer and would move much faster, but they weren't dogs. They couldn't track people very well. Even though Maximus tried to track like a dog once, his skills would not be enough to find the girls.
Things looked good for the girls, but they had a few disadvantages. One, they knew where they were going to, but didn't exactly know how to get there. Two, they didn't know that people were chasing after them so they wouldn't have a reason to watch their backs. Anna and Rapunzel expected people to come after them, but since they left at night, they thought they had a nice head start. Unfortunately for them, though they did have a head start, it wasn't much of one.
Anna was lucky Elsa wasn't awake to catch her leave. Although Elsa didn't think she could sleep that night, she eventually did right before Anna dropped into the courtyard. Anna dodged a bullet there. She wouldn't have to face Elsa's infinite wrath.
Anna hated leaving. She hated betraying the trust of her loved ones, but she had to do what was necessary. She brought it upon herself to help bring peace to Arendelle when no one else let her. Sometimes, a woman has to to do what a woman has to do. At least Anna wasn't alone. Rapunzel brought it upon herself to help save her parents. Although her heart was with Elsa and Anna, saving her parents was the only thing that mattered to her.
Rapunzel wanted her husband's help so badly. She knew he would have been a great asset to her, and Maximus too. But, her safety was as much as their concern as it was her's, and they would not let Rapunzel put herself at risk. That was why Rapunzel planned on going alone.
So many left that night that the castle would be silent the next day. Usually during the day, Anna and Olaf would be making some sort of noise within the castle walls. Anna was being as optimistic as she usually was and was usually having fun with things in the castle which almost always ended in disaster. So many people were sent to clean Anna's mess, and though Elsa was getting annoyed of it, she knew that's just how her sister was. And Olaf, was... well, being Olaf.
Elsa was going to miss Anna's mischief when she discovers Anna left. Anna's exploits always made Elsa feel home. Without them, Elsa would feel like she would just be in some lifeless castle.
In her sleep, Elsa tried to remember the best moments in her life to try to forget her current bad situation. She hoped that the fond memories would make the stress of dealing with war to away. Memories played in Elsa's head; her best memories. She remembered the first time she saw Anna. She was only about three when she first saw her mother bring in a baby into the room. Anna had a smile on her face and was always giggling. Baby Anna would grab Elsa's braided hair and play with it but Elsa wouldn't mind.
She remembered the fun they had when they grew up. She remembered teaching Anna how a princess should act, but would always remind her that they knew better. She remembered when they were building Olaf that fateful night. Then, she didn't have any great memories about the next few years after she hurt Anna. Those were some of the worst years in her life. Only when she revealed her powers did good memories come.
She remembered bonding with her sister at the party after her coronation. She remembered letting go of herself and building her castle. She remembered the fun they had in the ice skating rink she created. She remembered helping Anna pick out a wedding dress. She remembered meeting Kai for the first time. She remembered her first kiss with Kai. She remembered Anna's wedding and Kai's Captain ceremony.
But, the good memories could not last. The bad, haunting memories played back in her head. She remembered sticking Anna's head with her powers. She remembered locking herself away for thirteen years. She remembered running away from her party. She remembered striking Anna's heart and grieving over Anna's frozen body. She remembered Anna being kidnapped by the bandits. She remembered being betrayed by Travis Summers. She remembered almost dying at the volcano island. She remembered Kai's rage and her being forced to freeze his heart. She remembered Kai's frozen body. Finally, she remembered the horrible, grieving months she faced when she thought Kai was dead.
Those were the absolute worst in her life. She couldn't bear thinking about them any longer. She opened her eyes and quickly sat up on her bed. Sweat was beading down her face. Elsa never usually sweated, which meant that these nightmares took an impact on her.
She reminded herself that all of those horrible things were in the past and that she shouldn't dwell on it. She had to focus on the horrible thing at hand. She looked outside to see the sun barely coming up. The snowy sky was a dark blue color meaning that night was gone. It would be day two of their deadline. She slept through the night having dreams about past memories.
She needed someone to talk to to take the stress off of her. She looked at the wall behind her bed and realized Kai's bed was touching the other side of that wall. Kai's bed mirrored the position of Elsa's bed, meaning that it was on the other side of the wall facing the opposite way to Elsa's bed. That meant that Kai was right on the other side of the wall.
Elsa knocked on the wall. "Kai, you awake?" Elsa asked.
"I am now." said a tired Kai coming from the other wall.
"I thought you were a heavy sleeper." Elsa said, smiling.
"Not anymore." Kai replied. His guard had to be up these days, and if they weren't, he feared that someone was going to pay. "What do you need, princess?" Kai asked.
"Queen." Elsa corrected.
"How can I keep forgetting, babe?" Kai joked.
"I have no clue, honey." Elsa said.
"Let's not use pet names." Kai said.
"Agreed." Elsa said. The two were more comfortable calling each other by their real names, and it was awkward when they did otherwise. "I don't know what I want from you." Elsa teased.
"So you just wanted to annoy me?" Kai asked.
Elsa didn't want him the truth why she asked since she feared that it would be embarrassing for her. Also, she knew how boys always were. She knew he would just pretend to listen and really not care. Elsa was going to annoy him some other way.
"You've said it before and now I want to hear you say it again." Elsa said.
"I'm awesome?" Kai said, asking if that was what Elsa wanted to hear.
"Not what I wanted to hear."
Then, Kai realized what Elsa wanted to hear. He really didn't want to be forced to say it this early in the morning. Then, he realized he didn't really have to say it. "I adore you." Kai said.
"Really?" Elsa asked, annoyed. "Not what I wanted to hear."
"I have a fondness for you." Kai said.
"Not that word. It starts with an L." Elsa was losing her patience. "You've said it before."
"I like you." Kai said.
"Yet again, not the word I want. Why can't you say you love me?" Elsa asked.
"I don't like it when I'm being forced to say it or being asked because then it would have no meaning. It's gotta come out of the heart. Why don't you say it first if you want to hear it so bad?"
"I was going to, but your stupid synonyms kind of annoyed me."
"So no one gets to say it?"
"I guess so."
There was silence among the rooms. Things just got awkward between both of them. Finally, Elsa spoke up. She wanted to get something off of her mind and wanted Kai's help with it.
"How do you think Anna's taking all of this?" Elsa asked.
"You're her sister, which means you probably know better than me." Kai said.
"I probably do, but I still want to know what you think." Elsa said. Elsa didn't expect Kai to know much of what was going on in Anna's mind but she still needed some insight from someone who was not herself.
"She's a strong girl." Kai said. "She can handle a lot."
That statement hurt Elsa. When Kai said that Anna could handle a lot, Elsa realized that she barely gave Anna anything to handle. She realized how sheltering she was being to Anna.
"I wish I had more faith in her." Elsa said
"What do you mean by that?" Kai asked.
"For the past few days, all Anna wanted to do was help. She wanted to be a part of something. Anything, even. But still I turned her away. I thought she didn't know what to do in these situations." Elsa revealed.
"Elsa, Anna has a brain and she knows how to use it."
"Oh, I know, believe me. I should've been a better sister."
Kai hated it when Elsa was looking down upon herself. He hated the negativity that came with her whenever that happened. It took away the smile Elsa would have. The smile that Kai adored. He always made it his job to lift her spirits. But, he didn't know if it would work given the circumstances they were in.
"Elsa, you're a great sister. Both Anna and I know that. She loves you for it." Kai said.
Elsa smiled. "You're just flattering me."
"Enjoy it."
"Get over here and I will." Elsa bit her lip.
Kai smiled. Elsa was acted a bit more suggestive than usual, but he wasn't complaining. But, he knew she was just kidding with him. That was still great news for Kai. Elsa only joked when she was in a good mood, meaning Kai was able to lift her spirits successfully.
"You're joking, right?" Kai asked.
"I don't know." Elsa said. "But first, can you go talk to Anna?"
"What for?" Kai asked.
"Just to see how she was holding up."
"Shouldn't you do it?"
"I asked you first."
Elsa really didn't want to face her sister right now. She feared that Anna would still be mad or sore at her because of what she did, or rather what she didn't do. Elsa told herself that she would go talk when she was ready, and she knew she would be ready depending on how Kai's conversation goes.
"Can you do that for me?" Elsa asked Kai. She heard no response from the room next to her. She knocked on the wall and as she expected, there was no response. Elsa got out of her bed and walked to her door. She opened it up, looked down one side of the corridor, and saw Kai walking away from the end of it. He already accepted Elsa's request. Kai wasn't a guy who would let her down.
Elsa hoped that Anna wasn't mad at her still. Then, she realized how cold the floor was. Even though she tolerated cold, the floor was being annoying to her feet. She quickly walked to her bed and put on some warm slippers that were next to it. She then walked to her wardrobe to prepare herself for the day ahead.
Kai already knew where Anna was. It was early in the morning, and only a few servants have got up to do their jobs. Most of the guards were not out yet since they usually came later in the day.
Kai knew that Anna would still be in her room with Kristoff. Those two were heavy sleepers and usually didn't wake up until they were told to. If they weren't told to wake up, they would've gotten up around twelve or one o'clock. That was a bad habit for them, and they knew it, but they couldn't help themselves.
Kai walked down the corridor where their room was. As he walked closer to their room, he noticed how the door was slightly opened. That was strange. He quickly walked to the door to see what was up. It was possible they got up early, but they would never force themselves to do that. He looked at the wall to the left of the door and found a dent on it. He looked at the golden door knob and found that it was scratched. He never noticed the scratch or dent before.
Kai opened the door and looked inside. He found that the room was vacant. Before he investigated further, he opened the door wide open so the door knob touched the left wall. The door knob touched the dent over all places. He deduced that the door was slammed open as if someone was in a rush.
Uh oh, Kai thought.
He went inside the room to make sure it was not completely vacant. He looked under the bed and in the wardrobes to see if anyone was hiding, but he saw no one. He discovered both Anna's and Kristoff's sleep wear on the floor. Usually, they both were neat about putting their clothes away, but this time.
"What happened?" Kai asked himself.
Before long, he noticed that the window to the room was open. He looked out the window and looked down. On the snow that went down the rooftop was a large line in the snow as if someone slid down it. The falling snow was filling the line up but it was still visible. He looked down the courtyard and found that there was no one in it, but he still saw many faint footprints that led to the stables and out to the stone bridge.
Kai knew that those footprints couldn't have belonged to their "guests" from the Southern Isles since their footprints would've been covered by the snow and the ones Kai was seeing, though being filled with by snow, were too recent.
Kai was putting two and two together in his mind. He rushed out the room to try to find a servant. Luckily for him, their servant, Gerda, was walking down the corridor. He rushed to her.
"Gerda!" Kai said "Have you seen Anna or Kristoff?"
"Not today, why?" Gerda said.
"Has any servant left the castle this morning?" Kai asked, ignoring her question.
"Not that I know of." Gerda said.
Kai looked past Gerda's shoulder and saw another slightly opened door. He rushed past her and to the door. He realizes that this was Eugene and Rapunzel's room. He opened the door, hoping to find them inside, but as he suspected, they were gone.
"Son of a..." Kai said. He came to one conclusion; Anna, Rapunzel, Kristoff, and Eugene have all escaped.
Kai ran through the corridor and entered another to tell Elsa of what happened. He couldn't believe they would all just leave without a warning. He opened the door to Elsa's room and found her putting on some makeup at her little makeup area.
"Hi, Kai." Elsa smiled. "Did you talk to Anna, yet?"
"She's gone." Kai said.
Elsa's smile faded. She put down the things she had in her hands and stood up. She walked closer to Kai. "What do you mean "gone"?" Elsa asked.
"She's not here. She, Kristoff, Rapunzel, and Eugene all left." Kai answered.
"How do you know?"
"None of them were in their rooms. Gerda hasn't seen thme at all today, much less see them leave. I saw footprints in the snow in the courtyard. They led out." Kai elaborated.
Elsa couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't believe Anna would just ignore her orders like that and leave. Elsa trusted Anna, and now Anna just took that trust and threw it away. She couldn't believe her own sister would do this to her and put herself at risk.
"Any idea where they're going?" Kai asked.
"The coordinates." Elsa answered. "Anna wanted to go with the guards; a request which I denied. She's probably looking for them in the woods."
"She probably convinced the other three to go with her."
Elsa nodded. "Looks that way. We need to get to them and bring them back."
Kai nodded. "It's too dangerous for any of them to handle." Kai said in agreement. "I should go."
Elsa's eyes widened. "Oh no you're not." Elsa said, concerned.
"I'm the most capable of tracking them down." Kai argued. That was true. As a bandit, Kai was taught how to track people and deduce where a person's location was. It was a skill required by Lyre for Kai. Kai was always successful in finding a person. Not only was he good at tracking, he was great at analyzing and event to see what went down. That's how he knew people escaped the castle.
Elsa wasn't ready to let Kai put himself in harm's way again. She almost lost him once and she wasn't prepared to do it again. Plus, with Kai's condition, she didn't believe he was fit in doing it.
"Kai, because of your shoulder, it's too dangerous for you." Elsa said.
"Don't worry about my shoulder." Kai said. "Worry about your sister. Also, Elsa, you know there's no other person who can track them down."
"Yeah, but-"
"I'll be fine."
"There's got to be another way." Elsa said.
"Elsa, there is no better way. You love Anna, right?" Kai asked. Elsa nodded. "I know how far you'll go to protect her. This is going just as far. I'll bring your sister back to you, safe and sound." Kai continued.
Elsa was willing to lose Kai so he can get Anna. She was that important to her. More important than Kai, even.
"Also," Kai said, "it's best if I go alone. I wouldn't want anyone slowing me down. Plus, Arendelle can't risk losing any more guards."
Elsa nodded in agreement with Kai. "Kai, I don't want to lose you too." Elsa said. "You just got back... and..." A tear ran down Elsa's cheek. "Now you're leaving me again."
Kai wiped the tear away. "Tell you what." Kai said. "Why don't we go together?"
Elsa smiled. Why hasn't she thought of that? Sure, Elsa would be leaving Arendelle with a steward in the brink of war, but she realized that family was more important to her than Arendelle. Elsa was glad Kai gave her the offer to help.
"We should get ready." Kai said.
"I'm ready to go." Elsa said.
"I'm not." Kai said. "Go to the courtyard, get a horse from the stables, and wait for me, please." Kai said. He then walked out of the room and into his own room. Kai heard Elsa hurry out of hers and down the corridor.
Kai went to his wardrobe and opened it up. He didn't have many things in it since he usually wore his Captain's outfit. He found the clothes he wore many months ago when he went on an adventure with Elsa. They were his bandit clothes. He took it down and changed into them. The nostalgia came back to his mind. He had done so much in these clothes. They held very fond and un-fond memories.
The reason he was going to wear them was because they offered Kai more mobility. Kai had a feeling he would see some action in his upcoming journey, so he would need some clothes more suited for fighting. They were lighter than his Captain's outfit, for sure.
Kai grabbed a small rope that was in his wardrobe and put it in his pocket. He was going to need it. He then walked to his bed and grabbed his dagger and sword laying on the floor next to it. He strapped both weapons to his waist and walked out of his room.
When he walked outside, he saw Elsa talking to a guard with a black horse near them. Kai walked closer to see what they were talking about, but when he got closer, the guard bowed and walked away. Elsa noticed Kai's presence and turned towards him.
"I got the horse." Elsa said. "This is Shade, the Royal Horse of Arendelle."
Kai petted the horse and it whinnied. "What was that about?" Kai asked, referring to the guard.
"Apparently, he was a witness to the escape. He said he talked to Kristoff and Eugene last night, and he suddenly got knocked out."
"Did he see Anna and Rapunzel?" Kai asked.
"He didn't mention them." Elsa answered. "When he woke up, he saw that Sven and a white horse were gone."
"At least we know who's together." Kai said.
Elsa nodded. "Looks like we only have a day and a half to get the taken back."
"Then our guards better hurry." Kai said.
"We should go, now." Elsa said.
Kai nodded. "But first..." Kai took a step closer to Elsa. "I think we both deserve a kiss for good luck." Kai smiled.
"Oh?" Elsa asked, smiling.
Kai grabbed Elsa closer and kissed her. He turned them around so that Kai was standing where Elsa was standing. As they kissed, he slowly walked forward, forcing Elsa to walk back. She didn't know what he was doing, but she didn't care. The two kept moving until Elsa's back touched a column in the courtyard that supported the roof.
Kai did something with his tongue that Elsa never experienced before. It was weird, but she liked it. She put her hands behind her and around the column. Her hands were then holding themselves together on the backside of the column. Elsa's arms were wrapped around it. From his pocket while kissing, Kai took out his rope, held it in his hand, and wrapped his arms around Elsa while they were wrapped around the column.
Elsa could feel Kai's hands around her's, and then she felt the rope. Her eye's gave a confused look while kissing Kai, and Kai then let go of the kiss. Kai took a few steps back from Elsa and saw her struggling. He arms were tied to the back of the column by the rope, meaning she couldn't move.
"Kai?!" Elsa said.
"Sorry, Elsa, but it's too dangerous for you out there." Kai said. "It's best you stay here."
"Get me out!" Elsa ordered.
"Someone will... eventually." Kai said. "I need to do this alone, so... yeah."
"I'm going to kill you when I get out of here!"
"I'll be long gone."
"We are so over!"
"I admire your humor." Kai knew she was just threatening him with that. She wasn't really going to break up with him... he hoped.
"You son of a-"
"Language, princess." Kai said. "Catch you later."
Elsa struggled to try to get her hands free from the rope, but they were tied expertly. While she struggled, Kai walked to Shade and got on him. Elsa froze the rope in hopes of shattering it, but to no avail. The ice wouldn't work on the rope. The only way she was going to get out of it was to be cut out.
Kai ordered the horse to ran out the gate and onto the stone bridge to which the horse did. Kai looked ahead of them to find footprints in the snow. He assumed they belonged to Kristoff and the others and he followed the trail. He had to hurry before the citizens of Arendelle came out and ruined the trail for him.
Kai ordered the horse to go as fast as it could and they raced through the city.
It only took a few minutes for a guard to come and free Elsa, but by then, Kai was long gone, away from the castle. She knew it was too late for her and that she wouldn't be able to chase after Kai. She was now stuck in her castle, with no friends or family to support her.
Elsa couldn't believe that Kai had done that for her. He feared for her safety, and she feared for his. She knew that Kai was in no physical shape to fight, and yet he left, facing the threat of a fight. At last Kai knew his objective. His goal wasn't to bring the monarch's back, but to bring Anna back before she hurt herself. Although, if Kai was able to bring the kidnapped back, that would be killing two birds with one stone.
Elsa prayed that Anna hadn't hurt herself already. She would never forgive herself if that happened. Also, Elsa and Kai believed that Anna and Kristoff were with Rapunzel, Eugene, Sven, and Maximus. Elsa nor Kai saw Olaf around, so they both assumed he had gone with them. But, they didn't know that there were two different parties. The first party was a party of two with just Anna and Rapunzel. The second party had Kristoff, Eugene, Sven, Maximus, and Olaf, making it a party of five. Now, there was a third party. It was a party if only one: Kai
Elsa walked back into the castle, knowing that she had to face the threat of the Southern Isles alone.
Bonus: The Making of Frozen III: The Coming Storm
I was thinking about a sequel to Phoenix Fire even before I began writting it. When I started writing Phoenix Fire, I wanted the sequel to it involve crazy things like time travel, alternate universes, and alternate versions of characters. It was kind of ridiculous. The title for that story was going to be Frozen III: Frostbite. I then realized the plot was too complicated so I scratched the idea.
Then, I came up with the idea of a Frozen crossover with Tangled and Brave. The basic premise for this story is similar to The Coming Storm. The premise was a bunch of royal people were kidnapped and it was up to Anna, Rapunzel, and Merida to save them. With that basic premise, I then changed things a bit and added new things. I scratched Merida from the story since I haven't seen Brave yet (don't hate me) and I wouldn't get her personality right. Also, I crossed it out because of the fact that Frozen and Brave take place in different time periods.
So, then there was just Rapunzel and Anna. I realized that the kidnapping of the royals was not enough motivation for the girls to go on an adventure, so I thought about the threat of war on their doorstep. I added that into the story, and I felt that I needed new, unique antagonists. Hans was going to be in it for sure and he was originally going to be the one who kidnapped the royals, but then I realized that he was not a powerful antagonist. That's where I added Cade and Lilith to be the kidnappers, working with Hans.
Kai wasn't originally going to be shot but I wanted there to be more emotional and physical stress between the characters. So, by "killing" Kai off early, it would show how vulnerable everyone was at that time. Also, I wanted to see your guys' reaction.
Kai was always a strong character when I made him. He was described as being able to win every fight. So, I wanted to make a change in that. Strife/Deren was designed to be the anti-Kai, and his rival. But, I wanted a character who was more powerful than Kai and Cade was built around that. Also, by injuring Kai, he would become less of an over powered guy.
Like I said, I wanted more unique antagonists which is where Lilith comes in. She's Cade's love interest which makes both of them unique because when was the last time a Disney villain had a love interest.
I wanted this story to focus more on Anna than Elsa like the Frozen film. I did this because I focused too much on Elsa on Phoenix Fire. But, I also wanted to even out how much they appear in the fanfic. So, the first part of The Coming Storm focused more on Elsa while the second part will focus more on Anna.
Originally, Anna and Co. weren't going to sneak out but since I wanted there to be more emotional tension between the sisters, I changed that. Anna leaving was inspired by Mulan. Anna leaves to help save her country like how Mulan leaves to save her father.
In the end, the "final product" of The Coming a Storm was more darker than it's original plot. Originally, the story was going to be another goofy, fun adventure but now, I changed it to ordeals. The adventure was going to test the physicality of the characters and push them.
If you've read to this point, I'm glad that you actually spent the time to read this little bonus. More chapters for this story is coming your way! Ciao.