Chapter XXVI: Under An Icy Roof

Even a year and a half later, Elsa's Ice Palace was still standing on the side of the North Mountain. It was miraculous that the ice didn't melt at all. That was probably because Elsa's artificial ice was much stronger than any other ice there was. There was still damage to the staircase that led to it, though one would still be able to walk up it. Other than that, there seemed to be no damage on the outside of the palace.

There was a small stable of horses near the beginning of the stairs to the castle. About twenty horses were cramped together in the makeshift stable, not able to get out of it. They all seemed fairly obedient since none of them were causing trouble or trying to rebel against its cage and captors.

The first floor of the palace wasn't a very nice sight. All around the walls, even under the staircases that led to the second floor, were the monarchs, dignitaries, and representatives that attended the peace council; the same ones who were kidnapped. Between twenty to thirty people were held captive. All of them were gagged and chained to the icy walls, which the chains were nailed down upon. Large cracks in the ice grew around where the chains were nailed down. These cracks grew everywhere around the castle, and with a little more pressure and damage, the castle could easily collapse on itself.

The people chained have all obviously seen better days. Most of them had cuts and bruises on their face, due to being hurt in order to be subdued and restrained. Most were starving as they were barely fed anything during their time at the castle. All of them had both of their arms chained to the wall, meaning they couldn't move at all. They prayed that this nightmare would end.

The door to the palace opened, and the afternoon sun shined into the palace. The prisoners looked at the door to see the silhouette of a man. Most couldn't make out who it was as the sun was too blinding. Then, when the man walked forward, people knew exactly who it was; Cade. Most of the monarchs whimpered at the very sight of Cade, to which he smiled to. He enjoyed being feared by many.

Cade walked to the staircase on the right side of the room that led up and met the left staircase. He tried to ignore the people he passed as he didn't have enough time to care about them at the moment. He walked up the staircase which led to another pair of staircases that led up to the second floor. Cade walked up the left stairs this time.

Soon, Cade found himself in front of the doorway that led to the second room; the most elevated room in the palace. There was a large, collected snow pile in the middle of the room, much larger than Cade was. Inside, he saw the balcony door opened behind the pile of snow and a red haired woman was standing on it, looking out at the sunset. He walked to her, walking around the snow pile in order to reach her.

Cade then stood right behind her on the balcony, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. The balcony wasn't in good shape as the railing was broken because of Elsa almost pushing the Weseltown thug off of it. The woman stood at the very edge, careful not to fall off the platform.

The woman turned to see Cade standing behind her.

"Hello, darling." The woman said, putting her arms around Cade's neck.

"Lilith." Cade said, leaning his head in to kiss his love, holding her tight. They broke away after they quickly pecked each other's lips.

"That better be your dagger in your pocket." Lilith said.

"Maybe I'm just happy to see you." Cade replied.

"Where were you?" Lilith asked.

"Didn't I tell you?" Cade asked.

"You just left in the middle of the day without any warning." Lilith said, answering Cade's question. Lilith didn't like it when Cade didn't tell her things, though if she told him that, he would call her a hypocrite.

"Well, darling, if you must know, I was out checking on one of the Bandit bases." Cade answered.

"We only have two." Lilith said. "Which one?"

"Our trap." Cade answered.

"Ah." Lilith said, knowing which base he was talking about. He was talking about the base in which he gave the coordinates to. It was meant to be a trap for anyone Arendelle sends. "What's going on down there?" Lilith asked.

"Well, they've got a group of Arendelle guards captive." Cade answered.

"Any important individuals with them?" Lilith asked.

"If you're asking if Kai or Elsa was with them, they weren't. They've only captured some replaceable guards." Cade answered.

"Replaceable? Why don't we just kill them. It seems no one will miss them." Lilith said.

"Where's the fun in that?" Cade asked. "In time, they'll die. I want them to suffer before that. I want to make them feel the pain they've saves themselves from in that castle."

"You're so evil." Lilith said, smirking. "That's what I love about you."

"That's not the only reason, is it?" Cade asked, suggesting something more inappropriate.

Lilith managed a giggle. That was another thing she liked about Cade; his humor. His dark, inappropriate humor. Now that she thought about it, she was probably the only person in the world who found Cade's jokes funny. He knew what she liked to hear, so that's why he would always give her just that.

"How's our little pawn?" Lilith asked.

"He's in Arendelle right now, making sure Ander's judgment is still clouded." Cade answered.

"Let's hope he keeps it that way until the deadline is over." Lilith said.

"How did you know about the deadline?" Cade asked. "Only a handful of people know."

"You can't expect me to be oblivious to these things." Lilith said.

"Fair enough." Cade said, resting his case. He knew he didn't give Lilith enough credit. He also knew that he shouldn't underestimate Lilith. She was as deadly as she was beautiful. Cade considered crazy beautiful.

Cade turned his shoulder to look at the room behind him, focusing on the collected snow pile that looked like a giant white rock, then turned back to face Lilith. "So, how's our friend doing?" Cade asked.

Lilith knew exactly who he meant by friend. "He's behaving." Lilith said. "He didn't move a lot while you were gone."

"Well, that's good news. Let's just hope he'll stay obedient." Cade said. "If not, we'll have to be crueler."

Both of them knew all about being cruel. They were cruel to everyone except each other. They were even cruel towards their own Bandits who follow their lead without asking any questions. After the Bandits and Lilith arrived at the palace on horseback with the monarchs, Lilith ordered them to be chained to the walls. After that, she forced them to return to their bases on foot, keeping the horses for herself and Cade. She did that just to see them suffer. That would be an example of their cruelness.

"Things are going as planned." Cade said. "This time tomorrow, Ander's navy will open fire upon the city. By dawn of the day after, Arendelle will be nothing but rubble and corpses."

"Assuming everything goes as planned." Lilith said.

"Don't doubt the plan, my love." Cade said.

"I'm not." Lilith countered. "I'm just saying a lot can go wrong in these short hours."

"Don't think about that." Cade said. "Think about the suffering faces of the rich and wealthy as they feel the wrath of death. Think about getting the revenge we've longed for against those who looked down on us as children."

Cade's anger and hatred for the fortunate was what fueled him and was his motivation to be part of Arendelle's downfall. As children, both Cade and Lilith were very poor, barely surviving on what their families provided for them. They did not know each other, but they both suffered being looked down upon by the wealthy and pitied as well. Ever since, they've held a grudge against nobles and others who have more than enough to live on. Cade thought it was because of people like them that he lost his mother.

As teenagers, the two joined the Bandits under King Lyre where they met and fell in love. The Bandits seemed perfect for them. It was an organization based on taking from others. They always looked at it as a tax. A tax for being fortunate. The two planned on continuing to tax others.

Though they were working with Hans, they saw things differently from him. All Hans wanted was revenge and power. Arendelle's destruction was just one step in achieving his goals. Cade and Lilith on the other hand, they saw Arendelle's destruction as something else. They saw it as a symbol of what they could do. They saw it as a warning to other kingdoms out there. No one would be safe from their wrath if they achieved it.

"Cade." Lilith said. "Elsa is the one thing in our way."

"What do you mean by that?" Cade asked.

"There's so much she can do to save Arendelle." Lilith said.

"Like?" Cade asked, wanting Lilith to elaborate.

"She could convince Ander to do otherwise. She could sleep with him. She could expose. Hans. She could create a giant ice barrier around the city. She could destroy the ships. There's so much she could do." Lilith elaborated.

"Then why hasn't she done any of those things yet?" Cade asked.

"She's probably too stupid or morally righteous to do them." Lilith answered.

Cade stroked his chin. "I guess you're right."

"You guess?" Lilith asked, offended. The credit that Cade didn't give Lilith, she have herself. She knew just how smart she was. Usually, people thought she was beauty over brains. It didn't end well for those who underestimated her. Those who knew how she really was wouldn't dare underestimate her. They knew what was good for their health.

"Okay, you're right." Cade said. "Right now, she's a wild card."

"And wild cards are best played strategically-" Lilith said, waiting for Cade to finish her sentence.

"Or not played at all." Cade finished.

"Elsa is a card best not played." Lilith said with a smirk.

"Agreed." Cade said, knowing what their eventual goal will be. "Except Hans wants her alive. He wants her to suffer through the destruction of her beloved country."

"Since when did Hans start telling us what to do?" Lilith asked. "It's best she not stay alive long enough for that."

She had a good point about Hans. Cade always had to keep reminding Hans that he wasn't in charge, and if anything, Cade was in charge. Cade would never allow himself to bow down to the likes of Hans. Despite them working together, Hans was another noble who took what he had for granted, meaning Cade and Lilith both hated him. But, they had to bite their tongues on this one.

"So, what's the plan?" Cade asked Lilith.

"I'm thinking I go down there and kill her myself." Lilith suggested.

"Wouldn't it be better if-" Cade was interrupted.

"Darling," Lilith said, "this is going to be between us girls, okay."

"What about her powers?" Cade asked, not sure if Lilith would be able to take her down.

"Do you think I'm scared of a little ice?" Lilith asked. Sometimes, Cade wondered whether Lilith had more balls than he did. She was being very brave about going down there and assassinating a Queen with cryokinetic powers. But, Cade knew how good Lilith was at fighting. This would be a match Lilith would win easily.

"Be careful." Cade told Lilith.

"I will." Lilith said. "And when I get back with her head..." She leaned in closer to Cade's ear and whispered something to which he smiled to. Cade was definitely looking forward to that.

Lilith walked past Cade and entered the room. She proceeded to walk around the large, collected snow pile which looked very smooth, but Cade stopped her by calling her name. Lilith looked back at Cade, confused to why he stopped her.

"Kai is probably with her." Cade said.

"Then I'll have to kill him too." Lilith said.

"Refrain from that, please. Bring him in alive. I want to do it myself." Cade said.

Lilith smirked. "As you wish, my love."

With that, Lilith walked off with her mission; kill Elsa.

Kai, Anna, and Rapunzel walked for a countless amount of time. It seemed that they would never reach the North Mountain in time. Even from their position, they weren't able to see the mountain. Rapunzel almost doubted that thy were even going the right way, but she knew better than to doubt Kai. Kai seemed like he knew where he was going, but Anna knew that he had never visited the North Mountain before in his life. Anna couldn't exactly remember the way to the mountain herself as she didn't pay attention to the route she took. She asked herself how Kai would know the way to the mountain.

Then, Anna remembered something. Kai's mind was something that shouldn't be underestimated. Sure, he was a better fighter than he was a scholar, but he knew a lot. She remembered how he voluntarily studied the different roads and paths across the country which was probably why he knew where to go and how to get there.

They were off a path and walking through the trees as that's where the way to the North Mountain seemed to be.

Kai was leading the party with Anna in the middle and Rapunzel in the back. Kai had a fair distance ahead of the girls by about ten feet, walking at a constant speed. The girls on the other hand walked much slower than Kai did due to exhaustion. They didn't have the stamina that Kai possessed, making it harder for them to keep up.

Anna looked over her shoulder to find Rapunzel walking slower than usual, and looking at the ground. They both were hugging their own bodies because of the cold snow around them. Night was coming, and that would just make things colder. The sky was a very dark blue, transitioning from afternoon to night. The stars were already coming out, shining upon the world below.

Rapunzel collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. Her feet finally gave in as their soreness was indescribable. Anna walked to her friends aid, and knelt down beside Rapunzel, putting her arm around her shoulder. Kai noticed the delay behind him, and he turned back around, walking to the girls until he towered over both of their bodies.

"Come on, we don't have any time to waste." Kai said, hoping to move on as quick as possible.

"We're tired and cold, Kai." Anna said.

"Well, I'm tire too, but you don't see me falling behind." Kai countered.

"Don't forget the fact that we're also hungry and thirsty." Rapunzel added.

"Hey, we would've been in the castle by now if you'd only just listened to me." Kai said. "Now come on, we can get to the North Mountain by tomorrow morning."

"Just... give us a minute." Anna demanded.

Kai closed his eyes and sighed. He walked over to a nearby tree and leaned on it with his back. He then crossed his arms and closed his eyes, waiting for their little rest to be over. Rapunzel looked over at Kai, not being able to see his frosty breath.

"Aren't you cold?" Rapunzel asked Kai, concerned for his health.

"No, not really." Kai answered. "It's one of the perks of having fire shoot out of your hands. I'm always warm... assuming I'm healthy."

"Well, it must be nice to be you." Rapunzel said.

Not always, Kai thought. Sure, his powers helped him throughout his entire life, but he hurt so many people using them. He always thought of it as both a gift and a curse. Even after he learned how to perfectly control it, it was still a curse sometimes. As a child, he wanted nothing more than to lose his powers. But, Deren found joy with Kai's powers, and so that's why he liked them, up until he accidentally scarred Deren.

"Can you stand?" Anna asked Rapunzel. Rapunzel nodded and prepared to stand up. Anna had both her hands on Rapunzel for support.

"I'll be fine." Rapunzel told Anna. Anna took her hands off of her friend to let her support herself. When Kai realized that their rest was over, he stopped leaning on the tree and walked to the girls. He stood a foot in front of them and raised his right hand in the air. He created a fireball in his spread hand.

"It's getting dark." Kai said. "Let's go."

Kai, once again, led the girls down the path. This time, he tried his best to stay close to them as they walked in order to keep them warm with his fire. They continued to walk in silence for about a mile as night came. Things were harder to see as they were only able to see things that the fire glowed on.

As they continued walking, Kai saw a silhouette above the trees in the distance. This silhouette was darker than the the night itself so that's why it was visible in Kai's eyes. He knew what he was looking at was very large, but it only seemed small because it was far away. Very far away. Kai tapped on Anna's shoulder and pointed at the silhouette.

"Is that...?" Anna asked.

"The North Mountain? Yes." Kai said.

"It looks so close." Rapunzel said.

"Trust me, it's very far away. We can only see it now because of how big it actually is." Kai said.

"Oh." Rapunzel said. That was news that she wasn't very happy to hear. She couldn't imagine forcing herself to wall all the way over there. Kai said they would get there by tomorrow morning, so she did the math at how many hours it would take to get there. She almost cried at how far they would need to walk. But, she needed to endure through this. Her parents would want her to endure.

The trio continued walking toward the mountain in the silent night. Rapunzel knew that her friends must've been just as tired as she was. They have been walking the same distance after all. Even though Kai didn't show it, she knew he was exhausted. Any human would be in this situation. Even if it was a human who could produce fire from their hands.

Rapunzel didn't like the silence or the tension between each other. Naturally, she was going to stop the silence.

"So, do you guys want to talk about anything?" Rapunzel asked.

"Like what?" Anna asked.

"I don't know? Your dreams maybe?" Rapunzel suggested.

"I won't waste my time talking about dreams. They're just goals that most can't achieve." Kai said.

"Oh come on, Kai. Don't be so depressing about it." Rapunzel said. "Surely you have a dream."

"Once." Kai replied.

"There you go." Rapunzel said. "What was it?"

"I dreamed that I would see my parents again." Kai answered.

"How is that working out?" Rapunzel asked, curiously.

"They're dead." Kai answered.

"Oh..." Rapunzel said. Now, she felt bad. She didn't mean to bring back bad memories for Kai. "I'm sorry I asked."

"It's okay." Kai said. "It wasn't your fault."

Rapunzel was glad that Kai was kind enough to drop it quickly. She then looked over at Anna walking beside her. "What's your dream, Anna?"

"Well, as a kid I dreamed about being best friends with Elsa again. Then, as I grew up, I dreamed about finding true love. After that, I dreamed about a perfect wedding. After that, I-"

"What's your current dream?" Kai asked, honestly tired of Anna listing past dreams.

"Oh." Anna said. "Well, will saving Arendelle suffice as a dream?"

"It does." Rapunzel said. "But, what will it be after we do save Arendelle and my parents?"

"Assuming we achieve that." Kai added. Rapunzel gave Kai a look that told him he shouldn't say things as negative as that. Whether Kai would listen or not was up to him.

Anna's heart did a jump. She actually couldn't wait to tell them it. "I hope that me and Kristoff have a beautiful baby."

Kai managed a chuckle. "Do you seriously think Kristoff will be a good father?" Kai asked. "I mean, his only experience with a baby was with a baby reindeer."

"It's not like Kristoff will be the only one raising him or her, Kai." Anna said, acknowledging Kai's point.

"Have you even talked to Kristoff about having a baby?" Rapunzel asked Anna.

Anna smiled and opened her mouth wide as if she was going to say yes. Then, she closed her mouth and looked down at her feet. "No." Anna answered.

"Good luck." Kai said. "But, I'm sure the others will be happy about a baby." Personally, though Kai didn't show his excitement, a baby would be a nice change of scenery, even if it wasn't his. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if the baby would like him since he wasn't always very nice.

"Kai, how do you feel about a kid of your own?" Anna asked. "With Elsa, I mean."

"Slow down there, Anna." Kai said, walking backwards facing the girls. "I think Elsa and I are far away from that point. We aren't even married yet."

"Yeah, it would be a shame if you lost your ring finger before that." Rapunzel joked.

"Let's not jinx things." Kai said. "Anna, to answer your question, I really don't know. See, I'm not the kind of guy who settles down easily. There always seems to be someone trying to kill me. The last thing I want is for those people to go after people I love."

Kai turned back around and continued to walk forward. That indicated that their conversation was over. Both Anna and Rapunzel both felt bad for Kai, knowing that a life with him wouldn't be a safe life. They thought he had cut all ties with his past life and tried to start anew, but he still thought there were those out to hurt him. They couldn't imagine going to sleep with that on one's conscious.

They continued to walk in awkward silence for a while. Then, they noticed something peculiar in the sky. Something that looked thick was in the air around some trees about one hundred meters diagonal to them. The closer they got, the more clear it became.

"Smoke." Kai said.

"That means there might be someone who's willing to help us." Rapunzel said.

"Maybe." Kai replied.

"It might fix our food situation." Anna said.

"We'll have to find out." Kai said. Kai motioned for the girls to follow him. They walked towards the smoke and around the trees that surrounded them. As they walked, they noticed footprints in the snow that were heading in the same direction as them. The footprints were coming from many different directions, but it was obvious they were all heading to the same place.

They soon found themselves in another open clearing, smaller than the clearing that contained Oaken's store. In the middle of the clearing was a building with loud sounds coming from inside of it as if people were socializing.

"I've seen a place like this before." Rapunzel said. "It reminds me of the Snuggly Duckling."

"What's that?" Anna asked.

"It's a pub back in Corona." Rapunzel answered.

"What business do you have in a pub?" Anna asked.

"It's a long story." Rapunzel answered.

Anna shrugged it off and turned towards Kai who was staring intently at the building. She didn't know exactly what he was thinking so, naturally, she needed to ask something to have a sense of where his mind was at.

"What is this place?" Anna asked.

"Don't expect me to know right off the top of my head." Kai said. "But, there's only one way to find out." He then raised his face mask over his mouth and nose, ready for anything.

Author's Note: I've decided, for the time being, I won't have scheduled releases for my chapters anymore. I finished this chapter before it was actually released, so I wasted a day just waiting to release it on the day I promised. Because it wastes time, and because. I want to get out as many chapters I can before school starts again, I won't have scheduled releases for future chapters... for now.

Also, the plot for my next project is finished being thought out. Details of that will be released as this story progresses. Also, that project will probably be my last project until summer of 2015, assuming I finish it before summer of 2015. Probably though. There's still a chance that it might not, depending on how much free time is available for me.

Also, I apologize if this chapter wasn't that exciting. I needed to squeeze in a chapter focusing on the villains and their plans. Write a review/comment as always. Ciao.