I must be a demon for not updating for a little over a week. I'M SORRY! It's the New Year, so things are rather hectic. That, and I'm distracted by the Ranger's Apprentice. I just started, so my journey to catch up and finish begins. And I am sorry if this chapter doesn't meet your standards of excitement and content.
That said, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
My resolution: finish this story. It's harder than it sounds. I have a requirement to make my chapters a minimum of 1000 words in length, so never fear 500 word chapters from me!
Chapter Three: Arendelle
"This is Arendelle?" Merida breathed, heavy amounts of aspiration in her voice. She was not the only one left in utter surprise. The other Defenders were just as speechless. The scene in front of them was dreadful. The homes were wrecked, holes poked through walls and large gaping ones were scattered across the roofs. Market stands and carts were flipped over entirely, leaving a long trail of produce all over the streets.
Jack turned his head left and right, looking for any signs of the local residents. "Huh. I always thought it would look more..."
"Civilized?" Hiccup interjected. "Don't blame you. And is it just me, or does this look a bit like your world, Rapunzel?"
"I see the similarities," the princess agreed. "Where is everyone?"
Of all the visible standing buildings, the massive castle in the distance appeared to be the only structure that was still clearly strong and stable. "We should head for the palace," Rapunzel reasoned, pointing ahead. "If the Royal Family here is as caring as the one back at home, they should have the gates open to people seeking refuge."
She, Merida, Hiccup and Toothless started to make their way down the wrecked pavements of Arendelle's streets. Jack stayed behind his friends for a moment and held out his hand. What was that flake of snow that appeared out of nowhere. He didn't command it to come out, so why did it? The thought bothered Jack deeply inside. He murmured in surprise when Merida called out his name.
"We haven't got all day, you know," she continued, rather impatiently.
"Coming," Jack answered as he hurriedly caught up with his friends. As the group strode towards the palace, Hiccup's eyes and thoughts became preoccupied with thoughts to how the kingdom ended up the way it was. It was a complete disaster. Hiccup himself had seen it happen to Berk, though that was mostly his fault for wrecking up the village's structure during Dragon Raids.
Rapunzel suddenly stopped as she stepped to the side, approaching one of the nearby fallen wagons. "Guys, look at this." They all inched closer as Rapunzel settled a knee on the ground close to the wagon. She picked up a coal colored powder substance and trailed it down her hand back to the floor. "Does this look familiar to anyone?"
"Pitch's nightmare sand?" guessed the princess of DunBroch. Merida almost considered it as an impossible thought, but a part of her feared the truth.
"Pitch?" Jack repeated, almost scoffing. "He was defeated."
"Looks like he's not completely done," Hiccup said. His voice reflected all the thinking that was going on in his brain. "He must have escaped to this world with his remaining strength."
"How did he get here before we did?" asked Merida. "North said Arendelle was just connected recently. He couldn't have crossed over months ago."
"I don't know," Hiccup replied solemnly. "But the evidence is right here."
"What are the chances it's just regular black sand?" Jack chimed in merrily. His attempt to lighten the mood ended in vain. "Come on, that means I'll have to fight this guy again."
"The sooner we talk to the locals, the better," said Rapunzel, getting back to her feet. The walls to the castle was just at the end of the path and the Defenders quickened their pace. Toothless trailed behind Hiccup, and the boy would occasionally turn around to check on the dragon, giving him a pet or a smile of encouragement.
A group of guards were stationed around the palace gates. Seeing the figures in the distance approaching, they brought up their swords and spears, pointing them forward threateningly. "Halt!"
"Whoa, sentries," said Jack, his hold on his staff tightening. Merida's bow was slung over her shoulder, and she was slowly beginning to reach for it. Hiccup was tempted to bring out his shield into an offensive position. Some of the men faltered at the sight of Toothless, and the dragon's eyes slitted slightly. Rapunzel hurriedly gestured for them to stop.
"Guys, that's only going to provoke them." She turned to the soldiers, realizing that her line of reasoning was correct. People were being protected in the royal structure. "May we please enter?"
"No," the head guard answered in a point blank voice. "No one is go step in or leave the palace without the Queen's permissions."
"Then can you please tell us what happened here?" Hiccup added, desperately trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. Though making the group not seem like a threat was hard. He had to beckon for Toothless to stay down.
"That information cannot be disclosed to unidentified persons."
Jack sighed as he stepped forward. "Alright, we tried. Desperate times call for desperate measures." The winter spirit smirked as he twirled his staff in his hands. The sentries immediately feared that they had made a mistake.
"The Defenders of Realms?" Elsa was fuming at her sister in a private room away from the other villagers. The moment the black horses caught sight of the bright beacon, they whimpered and retreated. She opened up the castle to be used as an asylum for the rest of the Kingdom, calling upon doctors and nurses to help tend to the wounded. Kristoff was among the first to be taken to the infirmary, and Sven was close behind. Knights and warriors who could be spared and weren't injured were positioned around the palace.
Elsa only had a moment to relax before she rushed into the library after her sister and Olaf. They went to a quiet place in the castle where they would not be disturbed while Olaf went to keep Kristoff company. Once Elsa asked her sister who did she call for help, she was definitely not amused.
"Anna, they were just stories mother told us when we were kids." The queen let out a frustrated breath. The early morning light from the windows reflected her irritated eyes. "They're not real."
"Well they could be," said Anna, rather vexed by her sister's lack of imagination and hope. "And they seem to be a group perfectly capable of handling the situation we're in. And you said you trusted my judgement!"
"I never thought you would call on fantasies and fairy tales to help us." Elsa was trying her best to control her emotions, but she was almost afraid that she wasn't calm enough. A frisson of cold ran across her hands. She clenched them shut. "Anna, what you did risked your life. If Olaf hadn't protected you-"
"Which he did," Anna jumped in.
"You would have wasted your life for nothing. I don't want to put you in any danger."
"It was worth it, Elsa," the young princess replied. "Trust me, they're real. Come on, you can't deny the fact that you believed the Defenders of real when mother told us that story too. I could see the look on your face. You were imagining what was it like battling evil foes by their side."
"That was a long time ago," Elsa huffed, flustered. "In any case, we're going to have to decide who we're going to have to ask for reinforcements."
"No," Anna hastily exclaimed. "They will come!"
"Anna," Elsa said, authority in her voice, "it's time you stopped believing in-"
There was a loud crash from above, a flurry of glass fragments rained down from the sky. The two siblings took a leap backwards, and Anna clung onto her sister for comfort. Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's head, protecting her from the falling debris. With the danger quickly over, the sisters separated.
A young boy, dressed in a blue sweatshirt with snowy hair arched through the window, landing neatly on his feet. He whooped. "Whoo! Now that is how you get into a castle."
Following the boy was a black creature. Terror struck Elsa, suspecting it to be more of the dark monsters from earlier. One hand was poised for strike, while the other held Anna back. But to her surprise, another boy and two girls slid off the back of the creature.
"Jack," the brown haired boy muttered, "that was overkill."
"What?" Jack said, holding his hands up in defense. "They wouldn't let us in, so this was the way to go. You would've let Toothless blast a hole in the wall if I didn't. Admit it, Hiccup."
Within seconds, the conversation between Hiccup and Jack turned into an all out friendly argument. The girl with the fiery hair was the one to stop them from fighting, while the other female in a lavender gown started nervously, "Guys?" She gestured to Elsa and Anna standing in shock in front of them.
Hiccup's face flushed. "We just embarrassed ourselves, didn't we?"
A tense moment of silence passed before Elsa began, "Who?"
"Jack Frost," Jack answered, his thumb pointing to himself. He motioned towards each of his friends with his staff. "That's Hiccup. Merida. Rapunzel. The giant lizard's Toothless, a dragon." He ignored Toothless' snort and Hiccup's call of "hey!" in the background as he turned back to the figures of Arendelle's royal family. "And we're the Defenders of Realms."
Elsa stood for a moment, her mouth almost hanging a gape. Anna leaned in towards her sister and piped in a gleeful tone, "Told ya."
The prison cell was dark and cold, hidden from all traces of sunlight. The place reeked of countless unpleasant smells that Prince Hans could go the rest of his life without experiencing. He slept, scrunched up, on his uncomfortable straw bunker. He had been here for almost a year, and he wasn't going to get out any time soon.
"That wretched Princess of Arendelle," the prince spat out almost venomously. "If it wasn't for her, I would finally be living a life of luxury and power!"
His twelve elder brothers didn't give him any respect when he returned to the Southern Isles, and were clearly very disappointed in his actions. In fact, they were the ones who gave Hans his punishment: sentenced to life in prison. Attempted murder of both royal figures of Arendelle was a crime punishable by death. But with the small bit of mercy the brothers had, they decided to spare Hans life and instead give him the punishment of never being able to obtain what he had desired.
Life behind bars had been dreadful. The temperatures during winter would drop below freezing, and Hans wasn't given anything more than a small, thin blanket. The meals were tasteless. While he never received attention from his brothers, at least back in the castle he had enjoyable food. It was cold and miserable, and Hans was beginning to think maybe it would have been better if he was sentenced to death.
Oh did Hans swear revenge against Arendelle. Especially it's young princess. He had wooed her, get the young woman to fall in love with him so that he may ascend the throne. And he was close. So very close. Day after day behind bars and Hans kept on thinking of a way he could escape and enact his vengeance. There wasn't anything else to do, so his mind kept wandering through the different methods he could escape, then put his latest schemes into action.
And on this day, his prayers were answered.
There was a shout from down the dimly lit corridors from one of the sentries down the hall, and the sound alerted Hans attention. He positioned himself upright and stared out of his cell. No one was approaching him. But a swirling vortex of midnight black sands made it's way down the corridor, coming closer like a wave of darkness. Hans stood up and backed into the wall behind him, pressing his spine against the icy stone walls. His heart rate started accelerating in panic.
The sands flowed harmless into the cell, each small fracture coming together to make a shadow along the walls. It took the shape of a grown man with sharp, geometric features. There was no face and no body to project it.
"Who-who are you?" Hans forced himself to croak out, his feet almost slipping on the damp, mossy flagstones of the dungeon floor.
"My name..." began the shadow in an eerie, sinister yet solid voice, "is Pitch Black. I am the Lord of Nightmares, the embodiment of Fear and Darkness itself."
Hans narrowed his brows slightly. "What do you want with me?"
"I am willing to free you from this prison, only under the condition that you are willing to help restore myself to full power. Of course, in asking for your assistance, I will offer you something in return."
The words struck Hans' interest and curiosity, his anxiety towards the strange shadowed man melting away. "And what is the subject of your payment?" The young prince couldn't help but allow a villainous grin to curl up his lips at the dark spirits' answer:
"Vengeance against Princess Anna of Arendelle."
We finally get actual villains in this story, hope that didn't take too long. And it seems that Anna is prone to things slamming in from windows. Mild lampshading and breaking the fourth wall from Hiccup and Rapunzel... I must have spent too much time on TV Tropes.
FOR THOSE OF YOU HOPING FOR JELSA: I am sorry to say, but no. No Jelsa. We've seen love in the form of familial love and romantic love, so this story is going towards a different type of love. :3 I just killed some readers on the inside, didn't I?