Disclaimer - I do not own Spice and Wolf nor Frozen. This story is for entertainment purposes only and was written to make a little boy sleep at night.

Chapter 20

As they entered the Captain's Cabin, Naeil grimaced. "Ugh...I think they washed this entire ship down. I can't smell anything except sea salt, sweat, and Wolf's Bane."

Elsa shook her head, "Well then, I guess we'll both use our eyes."

Naeil chuckled and walked over to the small desk. "Navigation charts, watch lists, nothing out of the ordinary."

Elsa paused, "And how would someone who's never spent a day on a ship know that?"

Naeil shrugged, "Okay my lady, you tell me what's over here."

She looked over at the desk papers and sighed. "Damn. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Naeil smiled, "Captain's safe?"

Elsa walked over to a portrait of a ship at sea and gingerly pulled, The portrait swung out revealing a small iron door with a key hole in the center. "How cliché," she muttered.

Naeil chuckled, "Well, it's been a while but I think I still know how to pick a lock..."

Elsa looked at him with a devilish look, "Or, we could save time and just do this..." She placed her hand on the door and it quickly became iced over, creaking and groaning as the Snow Queen put more energy into the spell. After a few seconds of this, she took her hand away and banged the door, causing it the hinges to shatter and the door to fall away.

Naeil looked at her, "And when did you learn to do that?"

Elsa frowned, "3 months ago, when Hans clapped me in irons."

Naeil grimaced, "Sorry I asked."

She nodded and looked back to the safe, "Well, shall we see what our missing Captain found most valuable?"

A few moments later the two stood glumly back at the table. "A few gold coins, and Writ of Trade," Elsa sighed.

Naeil shook his head. "Maybe we're looking in the wrong place. I mean, if they had assumed we would take the ship after the apples were discovered, the first place to search would be the captain's quarters. So,where would be the least obvious place?"

"Since most of the crew seem to have been kept in the dark, it would have to be someplace most of them wouldn't be allowed to go into. Unfortunately, that pretty much rules out the entire ship except for here."

Naeil paused, "What if it was someplace that was off limits due to damage?"

Elsa's eyes lit up in understanding, "Steerage...they came to port claiming a damaged rudder."

Naeil nodded, "And remember, Thorin and Reisha sensed that Cristian was lying about that."

Elsa smiled, "Well then, I guess we know where to look next."

At the palace, Pabbie and Raehn worked feverishly to keep Kristoff, Sven, and 5 other poison victims alive. Local doctors had also come to the palace, and after a heated argument between Raehn, Pabbie and them over whether blood letting was going to be an appropriate treatment, Anna had ordered Kai to have them thrown out. Pabbie had managed a small amount of magic that helped cool their temperatures, and reduced the pain, while Raehn worked quickly to create a cocktail of various herbs and roots in an effort to create something to help counteract the toxin within their bodies. Finally, the Wolf Kind doctor sighed, "This should work."

Anna looked at him, "Should? What do you mean should?"

Raehn looked at the Princess firmly, "This will help them clear the toxins faster, but a lot will depend upon the individuals themselves. I believe this will save their lives, but I have no idea when they will be up and about. And there is always the risk of a bad reaction."

Anna nodded, tears starting to flow down her face again, and Bulda patted the princess on her leg, "There there sweetie, Kristoff is a strong boy and Raehn knows his craft."

Raehn prepared the first dose and grabbed Kristoff's head. "Hear ya go, lad. Drink to your health."

Kristoff shook his head, "No," he whispered. "The others first."

Raehn shook his head, "Patients treated in order of poisoning."

"Then Sven first."

Raehn gritted his teeth, "Humans first, I'll take care of your pet after them."

Kristoff weakly shook his head, "Sven first."

The Wolf-Kind snorted in irritation but took the dose back to the table, increasing it to account for the Reindeer's larger size.

"If you give me any trouble..."

Sven allowed the drink to be poured into his mouth, snorting and bucking, but swallowing nonetheless. Raehn grunted and proceeded to give a dose to all the victims.

As Elsa and Naeil approached the steerage section of the vessel, the Wolf Prince grimaced and rubbed his temples. The smell of the Wolf's Bane assaulting his senses was starting to cause a migraine, or at least something similar to one, since he'd never had a migraine in his life.

"Are you okay?" asked Elsa, concern filling her voice.

Naeil nodded, "Let's just get this over with."

The pair approached a small door, which was blocked with a heavy wooden beam and a crudely written "Danger-Keep Out!" sign scrawled on some old sail canvas. Naeil desperately wished he could get a sense for what was on the other side, but the pounding in his head was the only thing he was really aware of.

"Well," he finally said, "Here's hoping that we're not about to flood the ship."

He gripped the beam and prepared to have to fight to move it, but found the beam easily lifted out of position. Grabbing the handle to the door, Naeil turned to Elsa. "Be ready for anything."

She nodded and raised her hands, the temperature around the pair dropping instantly.

Naeil took a breath, hoping it would clear his head a bit, and then flung the door open.