Chapter XXXVII: Judgment Day Part IV: The Fate Of Many
Cade stood with his back to the edge of the balcony. Kai stood with his back to the room. Blood was smeared in many places of the icy floor. The two had definitely made a mess when they were fighting. Both had many injuries inflicted on them when they fought. Blood was staining their clothes. Luckily for them, they weren't wearing white so the red didn't show very well in their dark colors. Kai had a large diagonal gash in his back, an inch deep gash on his left calf, and an inch long gash in his right thigh. Add that along with the injuries on his hands. It was obvious Kai had seen better days. Cade had a large diagonal gash on his upper body, an open wound on his forehead, and his left foot was stabbed as well. Cade wasn't looking very well, just as Kai was.
Kai's sword was raised up, pointing at Cade's neck. The sword was about a foot away from touching his neck. Cade was without a weapon, so his chances of getting out of this situation were slim. He knew that he had lost already. There would be no point in escaping. Cade knew how this was going to end.
"Go ahead." Cade said. "Do it."
Kai took a step closer to Cade with his sword still pointing at his throat. The sword was now half a foot away from Cade's neck. Kai was so close in ending Cade's life. Although it went against his morals and views, Kai wanted to kill Cade so bad after all he has done. Cade had tortured Kai back at the chapel, and he along with Hans started this entire predicament. Cade deserved to die. Kai knew that for a fact that Cade was better off dead.
"Do it!" Cade demanded. "Kill me!"
Kai's sword then found itself touching Cade's chin. Kai didn't know what was taking him so long to just end it. Then, everything Cade told him replayed in Kai's mind. Cade had a good reason to do all of this. He grew up with nothing and he just wanted to make a change in his life. Instead of actually trying to gain something, he made a different choice. It was Hans who deserved to die. Everything Hans has done was to try to get power even though he had plenty of power just by being a prince. Hans was who Kai was more mad at, not Cade.
"End me!" Cade said. "Isn't that what you nobles do? Leave us with nothing and leave us for dead?!"
"Not this time." Kai said. Kai took his sword away from Cade's chin although he was still holding it in his hand. Cade was confused, but was still giving Kai a dirty glare.
"I won't do it." Kai said. "We're not all like that, Cade. We're not all monsters. I show you mercy today to prove that point."
"Liar!" Cade said. "You stay your blade out of some sense of morality only you have grown. The others are exactly like I have described. You let me live and for what? What do I have to live for?!"
Kai ignored Cade's words. He couldn't let Cade get to him. The longer Cade talked, the more Kai came to believe him. Kai knew for a fact that not all nobles such as himself were villainous. There was good in many of them. Cade just never allowed them to show him compassion. But, Kai still couldn't let Cade go after all that has happened.
"I'm taking you in." Kai said. "You will answer for your crimes in Arendelle. As Captain of the Guard, I promise you the right to speak for yourself in a trial."
"I'd rather die than be under your terms." Cade said. Cade took a step back, now at the very edge of the balcony. One of his heels were hanging over the edge of the balcony. One slip, and Cade would fall to his death.
Kai raised his hand at Cade; a gentle gesture telling Cade to calm down.
"The snow down that chasm is no way deep enough to break your fall." Kai said. "Even if you managed to land on the stairs down there, you'll still die. I'm offering you a chance to live."
"For what?!" Cade asked. "So I can be bullied by people like you for the rest of my life?"
Kai couldn't fail Cade. This was a chance for Kai to show Cade things Cade have never even thought of ever seeing. Kai had to be the one to show Cade the light in the hearts of those who Cade thought were monsters. Who else could it be? Kai couldn't let Cade fall. If that happened, Kai had failed Cade, therefor, Kai had failed himself since he couldn't be able to make someone change their hearts.
"I can show you." Kai said. "But, you must come to Arendelle with me."
"I don't think so." Cade said.
"Cade, please!" Kai said. "I already failed Deren! I couldn't convince him that there is light out there. I failed him, but I won't fail you."
Cade took a second to understand where Kai was coming from. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then reopened his eyes and continued to give Kai the look he always gave Kai. Cade made his decision.
"You already failed." Cade said.
Cade leaned back and fell off the balcony. He'd rather die than live the rest of his life under those he hated the most.
"No!" Kai yelled, stepping to where Cade was standing. He looked down to see Cade.
As Cade fell, he missed the stairs and fell past it. His arms were stretched out like he was on a cross. Cade knew that there was no way he was going to survive the fall. Kai was right about the snow not being deep enough. He didn't care. He might have lost the battle, but he won the war. He showed Kai that Kai can't save everyone. Cade would die happy with that thought in mind.
Kai watched Cade fall in horror until Cade's body was no longer visible because of the mist of the chasm. Kai closed his eyes in disappointment. Cade was gone and it was because Kai couldn't save him.
Kai had failed.
He didn't think Cade needed to die. But, he knew for sure that Hans needed to die. After all Hans has done, he needed to die. If Hans were to live, who knew what things he could do? Kai decided he could make an exception to his one rule for just one time. He just hoped he could get to Hans in time before Hans could do anything bad. Kai knew he wasn't going to get to Arendelle anytime soon, though. It looked like was going to have to be on foot. Hopefully, someone knew of Hans' treachery and they'll get to him before anything bad happens.
Kai turned around to walk into the room. He found himself limping with every step he took. His leg wounds hurt as he moved them. Kai wasn't going to enjoy the journey back. Not one hit. He walked slowly. Much slower than he usually would. Since he had to keep his balance because of the ice, walking was a challenge. There was no way that he would be able to run.
After a few minutes of walking, he soon found himself at the top of the staircase that led down and away from the palace. It seemed like forever to get down there. Every single step hurt Kai. He didn't know if it was possible for him to make the entire journey home. He was too weak. If he were to be attacked during the trek, there would be nothing he could do and he would be forced to concede. Kai reckoned he needed a vacation. He needed to get away from all of the violence and pain.
Kai took a step onto the staircase, but when he took the step, he heard very loud cracking sounds. Kai looked up and saw cracks growing everywhere around the palace, most were hard to see though. Then, Kai heard a shattering sound coming from inside the palace. Then, the palace shadow grew larger over him. The entire palace was leaning over Kai. More cracking and shattering could be heard.
The palace was going to collapse.
"Shit." Kai said. "Why does this always happen to me?" He thought about how those words might be his last as the palace began to fall over him.
That afternoon...
Elsa stood on the balcony outside of her study to see what the commotion was outside. Guards around the castle ran out the gates to see what was happening on the bay. Citizens of the city ran out of their houses to check what was happening as well. It was no secret to anyone in Arendelle. In a few short minutes, war will erupt. In a few short minutes, Hans will win.
Ander ordered his ships to all be lined up in the fjord. Their cannons were aimed directly at the city. About ten to twenty ships were ready to fire their cannons upon the poor city. Many other ships were scattered around the sea that was surrounding Arendelle.
Ander stood on the main ship. It was a man-of-war class ship, much larger and much more heavily armed than the rest of the ships. It was the ship closest to the docks and the one that would do the most damage. He was standing next to the captain of the ship, looking disappointedly at Arendelle Castle. Elsa had a feeling that he was looking strsight at her.
The ships were ordered to fire immediately after the main ship had fired. They were all confident in their victory as Elsa did not order any forms of defense against them. Her powers would not be enough to stop the rage of The Southern Isles' navy. Her options were limited. Even if she was able to use her powers, the fears of the other countries will be justified as that would prove how Elsa was a danger to everyone. What could she do? There was no talking Ander down. He was too ignorant to stop this all.
Elsa walked away from the balcony and into her study. She walked over to the large portrait of her father during his coronation. She never expected her father's legacy to end like this. She felt that she failed her father, and she truly will if Arendelle is destroyed. He had not raised her to fall like this, and that made Elsa shed a tear.
"I'm sorry, father." Elsa said.
As Elsa stood in her study weeping, there were other people determined to make a change. Kristoff, Anna, Eugene, Rapunzel, and the countless others were riding their horses and reindeer as quick as they could. There was no time to waste. They already seemed late. They have been riding nonstop for a few hours, not allowing a break to their animals. One break could've resulted in Arendelle's untimely demise.
Kristoff led the large group with Anna, Olaf, and Sven. Maximus with Eugene and Rapunzel were riding alongside their friends. Christian was riding right behind the two groups and the other monarchs rode behind them. They all luckily had experience riding a horse. Royalty and nobility allows time to learn and hone such skills. Most never thought that horseback riding would ever come in handy. Now, that skill determined the fate of many. They needed to ride as swift and quick as the wind if they hoped to get to Arendelle in time.
Kristoff knew most routes in the country. He led them through a shortcut from the North Mountain to Arendelle. He claimed that it would burn off a few short hours from their journey. If he was correct, then all other routes if taken meant Arendelle had no chance of saving.
The entire group paved the snow out of the path they took as they rode their horses. A trail that was impossible to miss was behind them.
Kristoff, Anna, Sven, and Olaf found themselves running through an elevated area and looking down as if they were in a valley. All of Arendelle was in clear sight. The afternoon sun shined bright upon the city as if it was the last light the city would see. Everyone ran downhill, allowing them to move quicker and easing the burden from the animals. Anna focused on the fjord was they ran down. She saw the ships, ready to rain cannonballs upon the city.
"They're about to fire!" Anna said. "Hurry Sven!"
Sven was going as fast as he could. He was pushing himself to his limits. He wanted to save Arendelle just as badly as the others. But, he couldn't go any faster than he already was. This was the quickest anyone would ever see Sven run.
Everyone soon found themselves riding downhill. They too focused on the ships aiming their cannons at the city. Their horses ran as fast as they could, almost equal to Sven's speed. Running down hill would make it easy for the horses to hit and fall on one another. It was the rider's job to make sure that didn't happen. They all kept their space from each other since they couldn't risk any accidents. Once they entered the city, the problem would be fixed.
After running downhill by about half a minute, everyone found themselves riding through the city. Most of the riders didn't know which route to take which was why they just continued to follow Kristoff. Kristoff knew exactly where to go and how to stop this. They needed to face the storm itself to prevent it. They needed to get to the docks where most of the danger was. There was no other way to prevent cannon fire.
They all rushed through the city. There weren't many people around at all since most were sheltering themselves in their homes. That was a great thing that no one was in the streets. It would make it so much easier to run through the streets and they didn't have to worry about hitting anyone. The closer they got to the docks, the more hopeful they felt. The position of the castle was a reference point for how far the docks were. The closer they got to the castle, the closer they got to the docks.
Elsa could hear the sound of what could be mistaken for as a stampede. She heard the clopping noises of the feet of the horses and reindeer. It was enough to make her question the origin of it was. At first, she mistook it for cannon fire, but listening more closely at it, it didn't sound like cannon fire at all. Cannon fire was louder and was not as rapid as what she heard. She rushed outside to her balcony to see what it was. Looking around from her elevated position, she saw the people riding through the city. At the front, she saw Sven with her friends and family.
Elsa smiled, filled with hope one more time. "I knew you could do it." Elsa said.
Elsa's smile was to be short lived, though. She looked over at the ships in the fjord. The cannons were being pushed out of the holes on the side of the hull of the ship. The sounds of rolling wood and metal echoed throughout the insides of each ship. The people who were spectating everything from the docks ran away to try to shelter themselves from the incoming violence. Elsa then looked over at the running horses. They still had quite a distance to cover if they were to get to the ships in time.
"Come on." Elsa said.
Ander was scanning his own ship as the horses ran. They were not yet in his line of sight. He was completely oblivious of their presence as well. Ander then looked down at his ownpocket watch which was still in his hand. He saw the hands of it past the time of the deadline he had given. He then closed his pocket watch and put it back where it belonged.
"Time's up." Ander said. He looked over at the docks and saw that there was no one there. Arendelle had failed to prove it's innocence. Therefor, Ander assumed that they were guilty of everything. That justified him in doing what was about to happen. He gave them a chance to end this and they failed to complete the task he had given them. Now, it was time to pay. For my father, Ander thought.
Ander raised his right arm in the air. "Ready to fire, men!" Ander yelled. His yell was so loud that everyone on a ship in the fjord could hear him. Even Elsa, who was in the comforts of her castle, could hear him as if he was standing next to her. The coming riders could hear him over the loud sounds of the horses and Sven.
"Oh no." Kristoff said.
"We can't be late." Anna said.
"No we can't!" Christian exclaimed, riding behind them. Christian then forced his horse to go faster with the whipping device. The horse Christian was riding took faster and longer gallops, making him go ahead of even Sven. Christian was not going to allow his brother to cause harm on innocent people. Seeing as how he was now his brother's advisor, he knew what his brother should do and that is to not start a war.
Christian's horse rode many meters ahead of the others. Soon, they were tiny behind him. Christian didn't know the exact route of where to go, but he had a good idea of where it was. He kept riding ahead as quick as possible until the people behind him were out of sight completely. Christian took a few sharp turns while he was riding in the streets of Arendelle, making sure he didn't forget where to go.
"Ready!" Ander yelled on his ship.
Christian turned his head down a street. Directly ahead of him was a large plaza, and the plaza was connected to the docks. Christian turned his horse that direction and whipped the horse so that it went faster than it did before. The street seemed to go on forever. It couldn't have been any longer than two hundred meters though. Christian soon found himself entering the plaza.
"Aim!" Ander ordered. The cannons were already aimed beforehand. "Fi-"
"Stop!" Christian yelled.
Ander wasn't able to swing his arm down and finish his command. He stared at Christian in awe. Christian's horse stood at the edge of the dock. One more step and it would've fallen off. Christian's hand was extended his his palm facing the ship motioning for a stop. The crew of Ander's ship looked just as shocked as Ander did.
"Brother, stop!" Christian said.
Ander slowly let his arm down, not motioning for a fire. The crew of his ship looked over at Ander, trying to guess what he was thinking. He still managed to keep his shocked face as he didn't know what to think.
"My lord." One sailor asked. Ander turned to face his subject. "What are your orders?" The sailor asked.
Ander took one more look at Christian. Christian could be proof of Arendelle's innocence. Because of their tardiness, he almost declared war on an entire country. Better late than never as people say. Before Ander could answer the sailor's question, more horses and a reindeer entered the plaza. They saw that Christian was already there, standing on the docks. Most just stayed in the plaza, the only ones who joined Christian at the docks were Sven and his passengers and Maximus and his passengers. They stood side by side behind Christian's horse.
Ander counted the people off. He found that all of his brothers were accounted for. Many other monarchs he did not recognize were there as well. This was proof enough it seemed.
"Call off the navy." Ander ordered. "I would like to take a rowboat over there."
The sailor he was talking to nodded and ran off to yell the order of stopping the attack to the other ships. Ander's men prepared a boat for him to take to the docks.
"Whew." Anna said. "That was close."
Kristoff turned back to look at his wife. "Too close." He added.
"At least we did it!" Olaf said.
"That we did." Rapunzel said, smiling.
"It was fun while it lasted." Eugene said.
"You think this whole thing was fun?" Christian asked.
Before Eugene could answer, a voice called out "Anna?" from behind. The group all looked behind them on the dock they were standing on. Elsa was walking to them, smiling. She stood about fifty meters away from where they were standing. Anna grew a large smile on her face. She hopped off Sven and started to run to her sister. Elsa, though she usually had to be formal, ran as well. The two met each other halfway on the dock and hugged the life out of each other.
"Never do this again." Elsa said, shedding a tear of joy.
"No promises." Anna teased. Elsa was too happy to respond to Anna's remark.
"I knew you could do it." Elsa said, showing her faith in Anna.
The two were barely able to notice Rapunzel standing near them. Rapunzel cleared her throat, making the sisters break from their hug but still holding each other's hands.
"She didn't do it alone." Rapunzel said. "It wouldn't be fair for her to take all the credit, now, would it?"
Elsa lunged at Rapunzel and attacker her with a hug. Rapunzel wasn't expecting it from Elsa. She always thought of Elsa as someone who didn't like public affection, but apparently not.
"Thank you for helping my sister." Elsa said.
"No problem." Rapunzel said, trying her hardest to breath through Elsa's hug.
Then, the boys all cleared their throats. Kristoff and Eugene stood a few feet away from them with Olaf standing in front. Sven and Maximus stood proudly behind the three.
"We helped too." Eugene said.
"In your dreams, boys." Anna said.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Kristoff asked.
"It means you guys barely did anything." Rapunzel answered. "You only showed up at the very end and what did you do? Nothing."
"I showed us the quickest way back." Kristoff said.
"That deserves some credit at least." Eugene said.
Anna put her finger on her chin and thought about it. "How about... five percent?" Anna asked.
"Five percent?!" Both Kristoff and Eugene said at the same time.
Then, another sound of a clearing throat was heard. Kristoff and Eugene turned around to find Ander and Christian standing next to each other. Kristoff, Eugene, Olaf, Sven, and Maximus joined the girls. The animals stood behind the group.
"I apologize." Ander said. "For everything. I should've known you were innocent all along. It would've been a shame if I fired upon the city."
Elsa took it as "Sorry I almost killed you." in her head. "Thanks..." Elsa said, not sure if thanks was the right word to say.
"The Southern Isles will do it's best to make it up to you." Ander said.
"Arendelle appreciates it." Elsa said on behalf of everyone.
"I must ask, though," Ander said, "who was responsible for all of this?" Ander did not quite yet have all the pieces to the puzzle. There were still things he was in the dark about.
"Lilith, for starters." Elsa answered. "I took care of her though, as you know."
"Good job." Anna told Elsa. Now, she could rest easy at night knowing Lilith got what was coming to her. "Then there's Cade." Anna said. Anna then looked down at her feet, remembering what she was asked to do back at the palace. She felt that she should tell Elsa what happened at the palace, but at a later time.
"We're not sure what has become of him" Rapunzel added.
"Brother," Christian said, "Hans has been working with them as well."
Ander grew an angry look that quickly faded. He was right about not trusting Hans back at the trial. His father ignored his council, and because of that, he met his demise.
"Where is he?" Christian asked.
"I'm not sure." Ander asked. "I'll request a search party later."
"We can't let him get away." Anna said.
"He won't." Ander promised.
Then, an Arendelle Castle guard approached the group from behind. They all turned around to face the man. Maximus and Sven moved out of the way to allow for the others to see better.
"Queen Elsa!" The guard said. Elsa passed through her friends to face the man, formally. "The guards you have sent have returned." The man said. "They claim to have been saved by Kristoff and this man!" The guard pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. It was a portrait of Eugene with a large pointed nose.
"Oh come on!" Eugene said. "They still can't get my nose right!" Rapunzel managed a chuckle.
Anna looked at Kristoff who gave her a smug smile. "Five percent, huh?" Kristoff asked.
"Twelve percent." Anna said.
"I'll take it." Kristoff said.
"Well, this has been a day full of good things." Elsa said, happily.
"We should throw a party." Eugene joked.
"Good idea." Elsa said. Eugene grew a surprised look. He couldn't believe Elsa took his suggestion even if it was a joke. Elsa talked as loud as she could so that everyone can hear. "A grand party shall be thrown tomorrow. We shall enjoy ourselves for the entire day, so please, refrain from leaving Arendelle until the party is over." The people standing in the plaza cheered. Elsa then turned towards her brother in law. "Kristoff, can you make the arrangements at the castle?"
Kristoff nodded. "On it." He then jumped onto Sven and the two rushed to the castle with the news to tell the servants.
Elsa then turned toward her sister who looked just as thrilled as the cheering people were.
"Anna?" Elsa asked, remembering something important.
"Hm?"
"Where's Kai?"
Author's Note: First of all, I wanted to ask you guys a question. Who do you think will be the antagonist for the next story? Do you think there will be one or multiple? Do you think it's a returning character or someone completely new? I already told you Lilith will be returning but I did not specify her role. Could it be her? Write your answers in the comment/review section. The correct answer may surprise you but of course I'm not telling yet.
Oh, and please tell me the perfect name of a baby boy and/or girl if Kristoff and Anna have one. Please tell me your suggestions. Make sure no other fanfic writer used those names as well. I guess you can put together why I'm asking you this. ;)
Also, I know I used a few curse words in my story. I didn't use too many or else this would be rated M. So, do you guys think I should tone down the cussing in the next story or should I use it occasionally and not often at all?
This is the last Judgment Day chapter but obviously not the last chapter in the story. There are still so many things left to be answered. We're now in the falling action part of the story. We're coming to an end. This was a really fun story to write.
When this story is truly over, I will add a little one shot at the end of it. It will be much more light hearted in tone than this entire story. It will be "fan service" if that's the correct way to use the phrase. The one shot will probably take place sometime between the gap of Phoenix Fire and The Coming Storm. It will come out after the epilogue so stay tuned for it.
Ciao.
P.S. The adventure will continue in the sequel; Frozen: A Sky Of Shadows. Coming September, 2014. When it comes out, I'll send a PM to the current followers of this story and notify them of the release.