His heart pounding, Eugene hugged the snowy hill that hid the ice miner's hut as he walked around it, staying in the shadows and clutching the frying pan until his fist turned as white as the world around him. He crouched low as he neared the side of the hill which faced the fjord, able to hear conversations and smell a burning fire very clearly now.
"...I'm the one in charge, and I say that we rest for a moment. The horses are tired after coming down the mountain, and we don't want them collapsing over the fjord."
There was a long silence, convenient for Eugene to compute what he had just heard. The voice had belonged to Hans for sure, but he analyzed the sentence back and forth, trying to get the most meaning out of it.
After a few moments of his brain working on sheer adrenaline, Eugene figured out several things:
One, there was opposition to Hans, people who disagreed with his leadership.
Two, Hans had either killed Elsa or had her captive and was going to kill her. He wouldn't have left the mountain unless he had what he came for.
Three, they were going to camp for a short time before going back to Arendelle.
Four, the horses were tired. They couldn't get away quickly.
Eugene steeled his jaw. The group hadn't seen the hut, and probably never would. He could just go back and keep a lookout.
But...he could also investigate. If Hans hadn't killed Elsa already, if he had her captive, she had to be rescued, right? But sneaking around the camp would compromise his and Rapunzel's safety... Yet, forfeiting a life for something that might happen?
Eugene huffed at his logic. Sometimes these heroics made no sense.
He planned his strategy. Three trees dotted the close perimeter; completely bare, but thick. His only hiding spots. Anywhere else he was completely exposed, his dark clothes contrasting greatly with the white snow.
Luckily, he wasn't too far from the camp. If he could make it to the nearest tree, he would be a few yards on the outside of the camp and close enough to hear and see everything. If only he could get them all to turn one way...
With a small smirk, Eugene bent over and packed a handful of snow into a crude sphere. Aiming it just right, he poked around the hill and threw the snowball at lightning speed. It soared over the camp- though it went so fast that no one noticed it went over them- and landed on the other side of the hill, creating a quiet sound of impact.
The camp froze and all looked that way. Eugene crept toward the tree as quickly as he could, trying not to make a sound as he moved. However, it didn't matter after a few moments because Hans spoke in a loud, commanding voice.
"Go check it out."
Two men stood up, grumbling complaints, and jogged toward where Eugene had thrown the snowball. By the time they stood up, he was already behind the tree.
A few more seconds of silence. Eugene knew his thumping heart would give him away, for it sounded like a gigantic bass drum beating over and over again in his ears.
"Nothing here," one of the men announced in a deep voice.
Conversation in the camp slowly started up again, but what Eugene caught was a mood of nervousness. In his few days in Arendelle he had heard snippets of ghost stories about the North Mountain, and knew this must be the cause of the fear. Above all the agitated babble, Hans spoke again.
"We leave soon. Don't get too comfortable."
Two voices neared Eugene's tree, and he soon identified them as the scouts sent out a moment ago. The deep voice was distinguishable as it conversed in a hushed tone.
"We have our orders. I say we do it."
"I still have my crossbow. We wouldn't even have to get close." There was a pause. "Look, we'll do it from here and then run straight around this hill, okay?"
Eugene froze. They would notice the hut and likely run straight inside. And if they were willing to kill Elsa (who was thankfully still alive, though maybe not for much longer) so easily...
"Okay." The deeper voice chuckled darkly. "We'll see how much longer this winter lasts after the witch is dead."
Eugene gulped. If he knocked out the two men, they were close enough to the camp that someone could notice. If he ran back around the hill, surely someone would see him, but maybe that would cause enough distraction for the men not to kill Elsa.
Or maybe not.
Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, or maybe the situation was just impossible, but Eugene couldn't think up a good plan. There was only thing he knew: he wasn't coming out of this as the winner.