Chapter XXV: A Promise To Keep
"Please, don't hurt me!" Lance said, scared.
Kai stood over Lance who was sitting down on the ground, leaning against a tree. His crossbow was still strapped to his back and it was in between his back and the tree. The girls stood back, away from Kai and Lance. They weren't standing in the middle of the open patch, but they stood to the side, watching Kai work his magic.
"Well, Lance, I might've considered that if you didn't try to kill me." Kai said.
"It was a misunderstanding." Lance said, fearing for his life.
"A misunderstanding?!" Kai asked. Kai then punched Lance in the face as hard as he could. Anna looked away when Kai did it, and Rapunzel out her frying pan in front of her face so her sight was blocked. They didn't want to see that action. When Lance turned his face back to Kai, his left eye was bruised and cut. Blood dropped down his left cheek.
Then, Lance's pants started to get wet around the crotch area. They were able to hear a running noise from Lance. Then, the snow next to and beneath Lance's legs started to become yellow and some of it started to melt. Kai covered his nose since he didn't want to smell the urine. Lance just peed himself in fear of Kai. Kai thought that was pathetic, but then again, he wasn't surprised that this was something Lance would do.
The girls looked over at Lance and started to giggle. They couldn't believe someone would ever pee themselves like that, even during these circumstances. Lance was more cowardly than they thought he was. To Kai, they were giving Lance to much credit. Kai expected something like this from Lance.
"You gotta be kidding me..." Kai said.
"Sorry..." Lance said.
"Shut up!" Kai barked.
"Okay..." Lance said.
"I said shut up!" Kai barked.
"I am!" Lance countered.
"Shut up!" Kai repeated.
Lance didn't say another word following that. He knew that it would be safer for his health if he just kept quite and talked only when Kai allowed him to talk. Now, Lance was just waiting for his interrogation... except he wasn't willing to give out information.
"This is how this going to work." Kai said, crouching down in front of Lance. "I want answers. You have answers. I have questions, and you're going to answer them."
"I don't think so, Kai." Lance said, confidently. "My bosses pay me well to keep my mouth shut, and I won't betray that payment."
Kai already got something off of him, even without asking a question. He now knew that Lance has more than one boss, and Kai intended to find out who. But first, he needed to break the loyalty Lance had with them. Knowing Lance, that would be extremely easy.
"What is this payment of yours?" Kai said.
"This, I'll tell you. I keep my mouth shut, and they let me live. See, if I tell you something, they'll have my head. I like my head." Lance answered.
"Look at it this way." Kai said. "You answer my questions, and you get to live."
"For how long?!" Lance said. "They'll kill me if I tell you anything." Lance was still very stubborn and not ready to tell Kai anything important. Right now, Lance was a locked door and Kai was without a key. But, like a locked door, it can be taken down. Kai just needs to kick it some more.
"See Lance, I intend to take this boss of yours down. If I stop him, you'll be safe." Kai said.
"Not worth it..." Lance said.
Kai raised his arm in the air, ready to knock Lance to tomorrow. Lance readied himself to take another punch, simpering silently. Before Kai could throw his fist down upon Lance, Anna yelled "Stop!" and Kai turned toward her, confused as to why she suddenly cared about his health. Kai stood up and turned around to look at Anna.
"You can stay out of this." Kai said. "Things are about to get ugly and I rather you not watch."
"What's with the violence?!" Anna asked.
"I'm getting answers!" Kai countered.
"Is this really the only way?" Anna asked. "He's in our palms. We don't need to hurt him if he can't hurt us."
"We really don't have time for anything else!" Kai yelled.
"Kai!" Rapunzel said. "If he won't talk, we will. He told us a lot of things."
Kai's eye twitched. He recalled that Lance mention telling things to the girls, and he recalled asking the girls, unsuccessfully, what it was Lance told them. If Lance wouldn't tell him anything, the girls surely will. At least someone was going to help.
"Why didn't you tell me before?!" Kai asked, angrily.
"Well, I was too distracted by him peeing his pants." Rapunzel said. Anna nodded in agreement. Even Kai had to admit, that was hilarious, especially coming from Lance. Things like that made him wonder how Lance came to be leader of the group of Bandits down there, now deceased.
Kai sighed, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What did he tell you?" Kai asked the girls.
"Well, for one thing, he works for Cade and Lilith." Anna said.
Kai had suspected as much. Knowing the way Cade acts, he wasn't surprised how Cade would be able to make people bow to him like that. His subjects feared him more than respected him.
"Is that all?" Kai asked.
Anna shook her head. "The coordinates Cade gave us; they were fake."
"As in?" Kai asked.
"It was a trap." Anna elaborated.
Kai now respected Elsa's precautions much more. He felt that more people should've listened to her when she had her doubts about this place. Now, he knew she was right and so many others were wrong. It was a mistake sending the guards away, and someone was going to pay for it. Kai feared that it would be Elsa.
"Then what of the guards we sent there?" Kai asked.
"He said they were captured." Rapunzel said. "Eugene and Kristoff were heading that way..."
"Kai." Anna said, pointing at Lance.
Kai turned around to find Lance loading his crossbow. Instantly, Kai shot a fireball at the crossbow, destroying it upon impact. Lance was greatly startled by the attack, managing a woman-like scream. Lance dropped the burnt remains of what used to be his crossbow and put his hands on the snow as they were burning from Kai's fire.
"Don't even think about it." Kai told Lance. He then refocused his attention on the girls.
"Kristoff and Eugene were chasing after you, right?" Kai asked to which both girls nodded. "I assume they never got to you."
"Yeah." Anna said. "They took the left path and we went right."
"Because of the wolves?" Kai asked.
Anna gave Kai a perplexed look. "How'd you know that?" She asked.
"The trail you left was easy to follow." Kai said. "That's how I found you here." Kai really didn't want to get into it in much detail since time was running short. It was best if they just said what needed to be said and be done with it.
"He was going to deliver us to Cade and Lilith." Raounzel said.
"Well, did he tell you where?" Kai asked.
Rapunzel shook her head. Kai turned around to look at a scared Lance. "Then we'll have to find out." Kai said.
Kai walked over to Lance who whimpered as Kai shadowed over the light that was shining on him. Kai then again crouched down to the ground and gave Lance a dirty look. Kai was going to get his answers out of Lance by any means necessary. He could be very... persuasive. Kai hoped he wouldn't have to hit Lance again to get what he wanted. That obviously made Anna upset. So, he hoped Lance would be like the ex-Duke of Weseltown and give in to intimidation.
Kai put his hand next to Lance's head and leaned it on the tree. He then took his other hand and used it to pull down the face mask he still had on. Kai's mouth was now visible.
"Pay attention to my lips and voice when I ask you this." Kai said in an intimidating tone. "Where is Cade and Lilith?"
"I'm not telling you shit!" Lance said. The curse wasn't very welcomed in anyone's ear. "You can go f-" Before Lance could finish his sentence, Kai quickly unsheathed his dagger and stabbed it on the tree, next to Lances head. The blade barely touched Lance's skin, but some of his hair was cut off.
"Okay, Lance..." Kai said. "I've had a really long day. I was almost attacked by wolves. My horse was killed. I needed to sneak in your base to save these girls. Then, your boys attacked me and tried to kill me. I ran away from a bunch of falling rocks. Now, I'm dealing with you. Frankly, I'm kind of pissed off."
"You're not the only one." Rapunzel whispered, not loud enough for Kai to hear but loud enough for Anna to.
Kai continued to speak. "Now, you have sixty seconds to tell me where Cade and Lilith are. If you don't answer in sixty seconds, you don't have to worry about them killing you. All you need to worry about is the world of pain I'm going to bring you. Sixty seconds to tell me everything."
Kai took his dagger out of the tree and stood up. He studied the blade while waiting for Lance to talk.
"Please, I can't give you anymore information. I want to help you, really I do, but do you have any idea what they'll do to me if they find out?" Lance said in a pleading tone.
"Fifty five seconds." Kai said, ignoring Lance.
Anna didn't really know how to feel about Kai's threat. She agreed with him, believing they needed to get the information off of Lance, but the way they were doing it felt wrong. She believed that there were other ways to handle this without pointing a blade. Perhaps she was wrong though. Despite how cowardly Lance was, he was also just as stubborn. It was possible this was the only way.
"Come on, Kai. Please don't do this. I just don't want to die, and I'll die if I tell you. If you let me go, I won't die! Please, I'm begging you! Let's just forget about all of this. We all walk home safe and sound with all teeth attached." Lance pleaded.
"Forty seconds." Kai said, growing sick and tired of Lance's pleas. He was growing impatient.
"Kai!" Anna said, walking up next to him. Kai turned his head to look at Anna but then refocused himself on his blade. "We don't have to do this." Anna told Kai.
"Yes, she's right!" Lance said.
"Shut up!" Anna ordered.
"Okay..." Lance said, sadly.
"There has to be another solution to this." Anna continued. "We don't need to hurt anybody."
Kai wasn't even considering Anna's idea. He was somewhat blocking her out, not letting anything persuade him to do the opposite to what he was doing. "Thirty seconds." Kai told Lance.
"No, please!" Lance said. "I'll do anything else! I'll pay you! I'll give you anything you want besides that!"
"I don't need whatever you have to offer." Kai said. "Twenty five seconds."
"Kai, look at him!" Rapunzel said, walking to Kai and Anna. "He's a mess. Don't expect him to tell us anything. Just let it go, and we'll find another way."
Both girls greatly disapproved of this method of interrogation. Kai wasn't acting like himself. He would never usually use scare tactics like this. They wondered what had gotten into him.
"You don't need to hurt me." Lance said. "You're a good person, Kai. You care about the well being of others. So, if you care about my well being, you won't do this. Please, I'm being you, mate. Just leave me alone. I'll do anything. I'll suck your-"
"Fifteen seconds." Kai interrupted, not wanting Lance to finish that sentence.
"Finger." Lance continued. "I was going to say finger..."
Everything was intensifying. Lance's pleads got greater. If Kai hadn't put his foot on Lance's chest, Lance would've attempted to run away already. Anna and Rapunzel still couldn't believe what Kai was doing to Lance. Something was strange about his behavior. Lance's pleads became more desperate as Kai was counting down from ten. They could've sworn that a tear ran down Lance's cheek.
"Five." Kai said.
"Please..." Lance said.
"Four." Kai said.
"Don't do this, Kai." Anna said.
"Three."
"We don't need to hurt anyone else." Rapunzel said.
"Two."
"The North Mountain!" Lance exclaimed.
Kai sheathed his dagger and took his foot off of Lance. He then crouched down, proud of his victory.
"The North Mountain?" Kai asked.
"That's where Cade and Lilith are based." Lance elaborated. "They're keeping the monarchs at the North Mountain, and that's where they are."
"Is that the truth?" Kai asked.
"I swear!" Lance said. "Now, you know where they are! Can I go?"
"Frying pan." Kai said, holding his hand out in front of Rapunzel. She was reluctant to give him her frying pan, not sure if she trusted Kai with it. Then, she realized that if he was going to kill Lance, he wouldn't have used a frying pan. She handed Kai her frying pan, and he turned back towards Lance.
"Now, was that so hard?" Kai asked. Kai then quickly swung his frying pan down on. Lance's head, knocking him out immediately. He then handed Rapunzel back her frying pan.
"Kai, you weren't really going to..." Anna said.
"Of course not." Kai answered. "That's not me, Anna. I needed answers, and I needed a way for him to provide them for me. If I needed to feed from his fear, so be it. You guys didn't have to worry. I wasn't going to do anything that bad to him."
"You knew Lance was going to answer your question?" Rapunzel asked.
Kai nodded. "This coward values his life too much. I knew he would give in sooner or later. To be honest, I'm surprised he even lasted that long."
"Yeah..." Anna said looking at the ground. She couldn't forget what happened down there. All of those people, innocent or not, died without the ability to save themselves because they were knocked out. She felt responsible in a way. She helped take away their ability to escape death. It just didn't seem fair for them.
"What's wrong, Anna?" Rapunzel said, putting her hand on Anna's back.
"Those people down there..." Anna said.
"There was nothing we could've done." Kai said. "You know that."
Anna knew that very well. If she tried to help them, she would've been crushed as well. Nevertheless, she still felt horrible about it. She had to forget it, though. She couldn't let this haunt her for the rest of her life. It seemed as though Rapunzel had already forgotten it, and Kai didn't really care, meaning she could manage it as well.
"Okay, Kai." Anna said. "You're right."
"So, what's the plan?" Rapunzel asked Kai.
"The plan is I'm going to take you girls home, back to Arendelle." Kai answered.
Anna immediately forgot about the deceased Bandits and focused on what Kai had just said. "What? No!" Anna said.
"Yes!" Kai said. "We're going home. Elsa's orders."
"But we came so far!" Rapunzel said.
"You two weren't even supposed to leave in the first place!" Kai argued.
"We had to! No one would let us help." Anna said.
"Well, perhaps thats because no one wanted your help or needed your help!" Kai said.
That hit a nerve in Anna. She couldn't believe Kai, of all people, was telling her this. She didn't know Kai could be so cold, as ironic as that was. She had to come up with a counter good enough.
"What about those months you were gone?" Anna asked. "Some help you have been!"
"That was different, and don't change the subject!" Kai said.
"We're still alive!" Anna said. "If we survived this long, we can finish the job!"
"How many close calls have you had?" Kai asked. "Attacked by wolves. Captured by Bandits. Almost crushed by falling rocks!"
"We survived those!" Rapunzel said.
"The wolves, yeah, but the other two? Not without my help!" Kai said. "So forgive me if I have a hard time trusting you by yourself!"
"We made one mistake!" Anna said.
"This mistake almost costed us our lives!" Kai said.
"We're still breathing." Anna said.
"We barely made it out of there!" Kai countered.
"But-"
"What do you expect to do?" Kai asked. "Head up to the North Mountain, beat Cade and Lilith, free the monarchs, and come back as heroes?"
The girls stayed silent. Kai had just figured them out, and they couldn't deny that that was the plan they had in mind. It wasn't much of one, but it was a plan.
"Cade and Lilith are too much for you." Kai said. "They'll take you out easily." Kai refused to let the girls of anywhere near that deadly duo. If Cade could beat Kai, how could the girls be able to beat Cade? He was only looking out for their safety. If it meant making Anna and Rapunzel mad at him, then so be it.
"Who know?" Anna said. "They might not be there?"
"What are the chances of that?" Kai asked, knowing the chances of that were slim to none at all.
"Kai, if we don't do it, who will?" Rapunzel asked.
"I don't know!" Kai said, angrily. "Right now, it doesn't matter who does it. All that matters is getting you guys back to Arendelle."
"You know about the deadline!" Anna said. "Arendelle is doomed if we don't bring back those monarchs!"
"That's not your job." Kai said.
"Then whose job is it?!" Anna asked. She was losing her patience with Kai, and patience was something she was good with keeping.
"This is not something meant for a princess." Kai said
"Are you stereotyping us?" Rapunzel asked. "Are you saying just because we're princess, we can't save a kingdom."
"I didn't mean it like that." Kai said.
"Well, what did you mean by it?!" Rapunzel asked.
"I mean your place is not here. Your place isn't out in the wild among animals and bandits." Kai said. "Your place is in the safety of a castle where you don't need to fear harm."
"Kai, if we don't save these people, we will fear harm." Anna said. "Ander will open fire on us around this time tomorrow, and then there will be war."
"We can talk him out of it." Kai said.
"Oh yeah, because you're so good with people." Anna said.
Ouch, Kai thought. Anna just burned him, as ironic as that was. She had a point there. Kai wasn't necessarily the most sociable of individuals. He always came off a tad intimidating whenever he was around people he wasn't close with. Kai looked down at his feet, considering what Anna had just said.
"I'm sorry..." Anna said.
Kai then quickly looked back up at Anna. "We're going home, and that's final." He then grabbed Anna's wrist and started to walk away from the patch of land. Anna was reluctant to go and she was trying to get free the entire time he was pulling her through the forest. Rapunzel was following the two, not sure what to do or what to think. The three soon entered an open path in the forest where Anna finally yanked her hand away from Kai.
"Kai!" Anna yelled. "Don't make me go back!"
Kai was looking away at Anna, disappointed that things wouldn't go easily. He then turned back towards both girls.
"I made a promise to Elsa." Kai said. "I promised her that she would see her sister again, safe and in one piece. I left her alone to fulfill that promise. I don't intend to break it." It was a promise only Kai knew of, though.
"You think I don't want to go home?!" Anna asked. "I want to go home more than anything."
"Then let's go." Kai said.
"Let me finish." Anna demanded. "I want to go home, to a place I know will stand strong for the rest of eternity. But tomorrow, if no one saves those monarchs, there will be no home left. It will be reduced to rubble, all because we did nothing to prevent it. I can't go home, knowing that it's judgment day is coming. That's why we need to save those monarchs; to save home."
Kai was listening closely to all Anna had to say. He was able to see her point of view on all of this. He could hear how desperate she was in her voice. It hurt him seeing her this way. He understood how hard it must've been to betray those you loved to save them. But, Kai made a promise to Elsa. He had too much to make up for her, and this was step one in doing them.
"But-" Kai was interrupted.
"All of my life, I have been under Elsa's shadow." Anna continued. "Everyone looked down at me like I was less than her. Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. Elsa will be the one going down in the history books. What about me? What have I done? I'm just a spare, Kai. Everyone sees me that way. I haven't done anything worthy of writing down. This is my chance to do something big in my life. This is my chance to make a mark in history."
"Mine too." Rapunzel said, feeling left out.
"Her's too." Anna said. "I'm sick of being looked down upon, Kai. I don't want to be a spare anymore. So, please, give me the chance for me to make something of myself."
Anna was getting through to Kai. He could see where Anna was coming from. Elsa was all anyone ever talked about back in Arendelle. Talk of Anna was seldom. Anna was one of the closest people to Kai. He wouldn't want to take away something this important from a close friend.
"Besides," Rapunzel said, "you still owe us one."
"For what?" Kai asked.
"For saving your life." Rapunzel answered.
"I got you out of that cage." Kai said. "I'd say we're even."
"So, what's it going to be?" Anna asked Kai.
Kai took a deep breath, still considering what to do. Then, he looked at Rapunzel. "What do you get out of this?" He asked.
"They took my parents." Rapunzel answered. "They made it personal."
"When things get personal, your judgment is clouded." Kai said.
"Whatever..." Rapunzel, looking at her feet.
Kai then sighed, and started walking down the path where no footprints seemed to be visible in the snow. Kai then motioned for the girls to follow him, and they rushed behind him, confused as to what he was doing. Kai was about to make their day or ruin it, depending on how he answered their next question.
"Where are we going?" Anna asked.
Kai looked over his shoulder at Anna and smiled. "The North Mountain."
Kai just officially announced that he was going to help the girls with their quest. Now, the North Mountain was their destination. Kai knew that Lance wasn't one lie under pressure, so he believed the coward.
Kai promised Elsa to bring her sister back home safety, and he planned to do just that... after he defeated Cade. After all, Kai had a score to settle.
The next chapter will be up on either Wednesday, July 30th or Thursday, July 31st so be one of the first to read it when it comes out!
Author's Note: I apologize if this chapter was a little boring as it was all dialogue. But, I think the maturity of the chapter makes up for it. This was probably the most mature chapter I've ever written. We'll see more of Kristoff and Eugene soon in a future chapter. Also, this story is officially becoming one of the longest Frozen fanfictions on the site, so yay for that! Please review and comment!
I categorized this story as an adventure and fantasy fanfic. Do you think this story best fits in those categories? If not, which category do you think this would best fit under? Your answers will be most appreciated and may change the category of this fanfic.
Also, school starts again pretty soon for me. By the looks of it, I'm not going to be done with this story before it starts, meaning there will probably be less frequent posts from me. I'll probably have one chapter a week when school starts again. Sorry for the inconvenience. Ciao.
P.S.: I'm kind of upset no one got the Joker and Bane references in my previous chapter