Beyond all expectation, I did not believe that this chapter is so long that I had to split it to 2 parts (hopefully not 3) otherwise it would just be too long. Anyway here it is... it's done... I hope enjoy it...
VaLeRiE1234 : the answer to your question... honestly... I have no idea.
"Throw the rope...!" said one man in cloak to another man in cloak. Shortly after, a rope was thrown over. Tied on the end of it was a grappling hook, attaching itself to the end of the high stone wall.
"Go go go...! Climb!" ordered the man to five of his other subordinates.
In the cover of darkness, the six men climbed the wall. With crossbow on their back and sword on their waist, they climbed the wall surrounding the castle of Arendelle.
"Wait!" whispered the man in the lead. He peaked over the wall, glancing left and right. No guards were seen. "Ok, we're clear..." he whispered afterwards, all the six men proceed with climbing over the wall.
The six men made their way towards the interior of the castle, quietly. Gaining access through the window, by force. It's not long before they find themselves in one of the hallways. The guards, are nowhere to be seen. The lead men yet again, signaling the clear to his colleagues. The men then helped each other over the window, and proceed together with full vigilant.
The hallway was dark, although there were a few candles here and there. Despite it all, these men went ahead, checking every single room, empty room. They move fast, and stealthily, using every bit of shadow they can use. But when a guard opened the door in front of them, they react aggressively, silencing the guard before he could let out a single word.
They eventually reach a certain room. Slowly and carefully, they opened the tall door. These men in cloak notice something odd about the room. The room was lit, although they can clearly someone sleeping on the bed.
"You...! Stay outside." Ordered one of the man in cloak to one of the man behind him.
The man did what he was told and went outside. That man will be acting as a lookout whilst the other five will sneak in and silence whoever sleeping on the bed.
As what any professional assassin would do, they will end this quickly and cleanly. They surround the bed, and altogether raise their crossbow, pointing it towards the large blanket hump on the bed. The man leading gazed around his men, the men nodded to the leading man, signaling that they're ready.
The leading man releases his bolt, and consequently his men followed. All five bolts were released at almost the same time and almost at a point blank range. Their bolts penetrate the blanket milliseconds from one another. The bed was a mess, the bump burst releasing what looks like... feathers? Yes, a lot of feathers, feathers that were used as stuffing from pillows.
All five men were baffled and confused. One of them open the blanket, revealing that the bump was actually 3 pillows stuffed together covered by a thick blanket.
"Damn..." cursed the leader.
"And here I thought I could have a peaceful tinkle in the middle of the night and not finding one of the guard unconscious on my way back to sleep." said a voice coming from the door.
All of five of them redirect their view towards the door where they came in from, simultaneously and spontaneously. A young man with a navy blue coat and his brown short hair was leaning against the door frame. These men stood in silence.
That young man was none other than Seffiroth. With a confident look, he smiled. He then proceed with taunting all five hostile characters a few feet from where he was standing. What better way to do that, other than showing the single thing they're after.
"Looking for this...?" he asked tauntingly, whilst holding the purple gemstone on his hand.
The leader of the hostile group slowly reaching for another bolt on his back for his crossbow. However, Seffiroth's sharp eyes catches him doing so, and before the leader could even move, he aimed his crossbow which he recently acquire from a certain unfortunate man in cloak guarding the hallway.
"No! Don't even think about it." Seffiroth said trying to discourage his foes to lower their crossbows. Judging by the five men response, the young man's method seems to be working.
Seffiroth smirked. As easy as that, he got his enemies right where he wanted them to be. He feels confident that the whole situation was under his control.
The men in cloak in the other hand, feel rather annoyed by the boastful display of confidence he shows. In a feeling of compressed rage and hatred towards the young man, the squad leader of the men in cloak spat out...
"You won't get away..."
"Oh really...?" taunt the young man even more. Now the cloaked man really boiled in anger.
In an attempt to scare the young man, he spat out even more information, although he didn't even realized it at the time...
"You think we're alone...? There are thousands of us. You won't get away, we will hunt you down to the darkest corner of the world. There will be no escape for you, and there will always be death to those around you..." he finishes with a smile like a true psychopath.
Seffiroth gaze turned serious. He won't be dragged in to anger by this faggot in a cloak in front of him. Other than reeled into anger, his mind process what sounds like his enemy making the dumbest mistake in his pathetic life.
"I'll take my chances..." he retorted, still acting like a smug. "Tell you what, I'll put down the crossbow if you lot would be so willing to fight me with your sword..." he said afterward, challenging all five men simultaneously.
Only an idiot would throw such an advantage away, just to fight with honor. Fortunately, Seffiroth isn't one of them nor he is an idiot for that matter. You can always be certain he has something up his sleeves.
Apparently, the bad guys accept his challenge, they drop their crossbow and pulled out their swords. Full of confidence, all five men walk towards Seffiroth with sword in hand.
Seffiroth, stays firm. In fact, he let out an insulting grin across his face. He then said to the man...
"It's nice that you're willing to fight me with your sword... It's just a shame that I don't feel the same way."
The young man quickly close the door to his room and locked it, trapping the five men inside. The thugs, quickly realizing that it was another one of the young man's trick, ran to the doors. Unfortunately for them it was too late and the door has closed.
Quickly all the five men sought to break open the door by force.
BRAKK! They slammed the door, BRAAK! They're really trying hard, BRAAK! Goes another effort in breaking the door.
On the other side of that door, Seffiroth can only watch their relentless effort in breaching the door, although he knew their effort are fruitless. In a taunting tone he says...
"You do realize this door was designed to take hits like that...? The beauty of steel-reinforced hinges and door frame. You might break it though, if you have an improvised battering ram like say... that bed."
Amusingly for Seffiroth, all the sound and effort breaking the door went to a sudden stop. He closed in to the door and put his ear on the door, hoping that he could hear them. There was silence, but a few seconds came vague groaning sound of five men.
Seffiroth burst into laughter, although he closes his mouth with his hand so that they won't hear him. He cannot believe how predictable these people are.
"Of all the people sent after me... does it have to be this people?" He thought.
By, now you're probably wondering "what's so funny...?" Well, the five men is trying to lift the bed. Of course, five men are more than capable to lift the bed, and the bed would make a sufficient battering ram for the locked door. What the five men doesn't know however, is the fact that Seffiroth had nailed all manner of furniture into the floorboard. As the thugs still oblivious to that fact, they're still trying with their best effort to lift the bed.
Seffiroth wonders, how long it'll took before they actually realized what's going on.
He decided to leave them for the time being, it's not like they're going anywhere. Even if they try escaping from the window, it's quite a drop to the ground, they'll need some sort of rope to actually repel down with, a rope which they abandoned after they gain access to the castle.
Seffiroth hasten. That idiotic squad leader has given him everything he needs to know. When he asked "You think we're alone...?" it subconsciously told Seffiroth that these five men didn't come alone, which mean there are more of them here.
Secondly, and this was his worst fear, was when the man stated that "there will always be death to those around you..." Their target wasn't just him, their target was also the queen, and quite possibly the princess and her lover. He's playing it safe, so he assume that everyone living in that castle would be their target.
If a queen died trying to help him, he won't be able to forgive himself.
So, in that dark hallway, he ran with haste towards Queen Elsa's chamber, hoping that he's not too late.
Queen Elsa, awaken by a mysterious noise during the night, raises from her bed. She rubbed her eyes as she is still sleepy. She wonders...
"What's going on out there...?"
What she heard was continuous thump, and bump. Although vague, it still intense enough to wake her and keep her up.
She begun to grow a sense of curiosity towards the mysterious noises. So, whilst still wearing her beautiful nightgown being covered by her own cloak made out of her own ice, she decided to go outside her chamber to investigate.
She grabbed the door handle, which was cold that night. As if that's going to bother the snow queen. Anyway, she gently opens the door, only to be surprised by what she saw...
"Queen Elsa! Get back inside...!" said a certain brown haired protagonist, whilst casually strangling a man in a cloak.
"Mr. Seffiroth?! What is the meaning of this?!"
"Just get back inside, please..." he stepped on his foe's feet then head-butted him, took his crossbow and fired across the hallway where another group ran for cover.
He takes a deep breath and load the crossbow on his hand.
He walked towards Elsa, look her straight in the eyes and said...
"With all due respect, your majesty... please get back inside, and shut the door."
Reading the sense of urgency on the man's eyes, Queen Elsa did just that. She goes inside and locked the door behind her.
"Now that the queen is safe... where were we?" Seffiroth asked. The squad of men in cloak charges the young man with swords and daggers. There were three men in total, well, two, after Seffiroth just planted one bolt on one of their legs.
One of the man perform a slashing maneuver. He did his best, but still too slow for our protagonist. Seffiroth proceed in grabbing the handle, thus starting a struggle of power for the sword. Of course, be mindful of the fact there was a second guy, Seffiroth played his previous tactic, he won't let them surround him easily.
Meanwhile, inside her own chamber, the queen can hear vaguely of what's going on outside. Queen Elsa was bombarded with a mix of emotions. She feels angry for Seffiroth, yet she's worried about him. She really hope he's alright. She then begun to ask herself, "Should I help him?" not a very bad idea considering someone with a power as great as hers can and will make a difference.
She made up her mind... "I'm going to help him..."
She then rushed outside, unlocking the door and opened it. She can feel ice around her hands ready to be unleashed at anyone she consider hostile. Fortunately for her, there's not a single hostile presence in the hallway. What's left were four incapacitated thugs and a young man standing tall victoriously.
Knowing that she doesn't have to use her power to hurt people, Queen Elsa sighed in relief. But before she can hail another breath, Seffiroth quickly grabbed her right hand and dragged her elsewhere.
"It's not safe here... we need to go elsewhere..." he said with a serious tone.
Elsa didn't say a word, or rather, couldn't say anything. Like a city under siege, her mind was bombarded by countless thoughts. Thoughts like, "who are these men in cloak? Why did he suddenly grabbed my hand like that? Have he got no manner? Why is my heart beating so fast? Wait, Elsa! This man owed you an explanation."
The queen then pull her hand back, suddenly, and in an upset manner. Seffiroth glanced towards her in response
She then look him straight in the eyes, and demands...
"-an explanation... who are these people? And, what is going on here...?"
Seffiroth was taken aback. He gritted his teeth, debating on what to do now. He finally said...
"I will explain it all, later... now, we need to find your sister, your majesty..."
Queen wasn't impressed with his response. But she did acknowledge the importance of finding her sister in the current situation. So, she let it go, for now.
"Quiet night, eh?" asked one of the patrolling guard to his buddy.
"It's almost like this every night..." retorted the other guard.
"Let's go to the south side..." he said, recommending his choice of route.
"We've checked the south side twice now..." complained his partner.
"Stop complaining..." he scolded.
The two men arrive in a corner. By the time they clear that corner, they're surprised to see one of their guard unconscious, leaning against the wall.
"Hey! Are you alright?!" asked one of them in alarmed.
The man did not respond.
"Damn! We must sound the alarm, we may have an intruder here...!" said the man.
"You go! Ring the bell, I'll take care of him..." said his friend, suggesting another idea.
The guards ran off in urgency, whilst yelling "Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm! We have an intruder within the castle wall! Sound the alarm!"
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Goes the sound of the massive bell, acting as the alarm. The bell can be heard all across the town, and it's not strange that the two people, Elsa and Seffiroth, heard it loud and clear.
"The bell...!" Elsa said worriedly.
"About time they know they're being attacked." Retort Seffiroth. "Come on... now where's the princess's room?"
"It's this way, follow me." As Elsa pointed the direction.
They ran through the hallway with haste. Elsa was worried, she really hope nothing bad comes to her sister. She ran without minding her surrounding, only to be halted by Seffiroth in the corner. She shift her gaze at the young man, only to see his index finger being position in front of his mouth vertically, signaling her to be quiet.
Sensing that the queen received his message, Seffiroth, without saying a word, moved his index finger and tap his right ear with it, twice, ultimately translates to "listen..." in Elsa's mind.
As the bell still ringing, the queen focuses her hearing. She can hear something, and it's not the sound of the bell. It was the sound of footstep, from someone walking on the wooden floorboard just around the corner.
Seffiroth takes the lead. Slowly, and as quietly as possible, he draws his black curved sword from its sheath. With his sword drawn, he carefully walk right up against the corner, leaning on the wall.
He position himself to ambush whoever on the other side, and judging by the disappearance of the notorious sound of the footstep, they're about to do the same.
"Right here goes..." was the young man's thought, trying to steel himself.
In his head, he counts "3... 2... 1..."
On the point of zero, he launches himself, with sword drawn, and clears the corner in a sudden manner. He pointed his sword towards one of the two men, and he can see that his foes did the same to him. He blinked, in relief, after he identified the two men as the royal guard. With that, he put back his sword.
"It's clear..." he said to the queen.
Elsa went out of her cover. To her surprised, the two guards weren't alone...
"Elsa...!" shout the red haired young lady.
"Anna...!" responds the queen. The two sister immediately hugged each other.
Kristoff and Olaf were also there. Everyone is save.
The group soon joined by another two guards, they sought to move the queen and everyone else to the safest place of the castle. A room on the castle's highest point. The guards reported engaging unknown hostile, these men in cloak. The queen is still endangered, and needed to be moved. They had to deal with the safety of the queen, before they can begin to fight back.
After a few minutes of climbing stairs and ladder, they've arrived the highes point. Princess Anna, feeling shocked, sat down. Kristoff sits next to the princess and sought to comfort her.
Elsa in the other hand, sought to interrogate the young man. With a menacing look, she gazed at him.
"Alright, I'll explain..." Seffiroth said.
He felt that he does owed them an explanation. Even so, he won't tell them the whole story, just what they needed to know.
5 minutes have passed. So far, the queen had learn about the real reason behind the sinking of the Catalina, the fight in the town a couple of hours ago, and the reason these people were willing to attacked a castle of a kingdom with a queen that possesses the power of ice and snow living in it, but not a single thing about the man himself nor the precious gemstone that he's carrying.
The queen asked another thing, this time regarding the stone...
"Why are they after that stone...?"
"It's their precious..." he said, then the young man hesitantly said... "I kind of took it from them..."
"So, you're a thief?" retort the queen with a desire to slap the man.
"No... They're not supposed to have it anyway..." defended the young man.
"Why is that?" the queen asked again. It was quickly answered with...
"I can't tell you..."
Elsa felt like she's been played. In much more intense tone, she asked again...
"Then, tell me who you really are...?!"
"I also... can't tell you that..."
Hearing that made Elsa even more upset. Her trust towards him is diminishing every second that went by.
"Why can't you tell me...?" she asked another question.
"..." the man paused. The situation inside that room was tense, as Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf can only stare and wouldn't dare to interfere with the queen.
The queen's face shows a rather fearful expression of seriousness and discontent towards the young man, despite her beautiful face. The young man stared back at the eyes of the queen, staying firm and also putting a serious face, then he said...
"Because I don't want you to be involved." In a clear, serious manner.
She didn't trust him an awful lot now. She could stand and slap him right that second. Things however went another way as Anna called for her sister...
"Elsa... look!"
The queen looked outside from the window overlooking the town. The young man did the same as it might be worth looking.
The queen can see light coming from the town. What she saw, terrifies her.
All across the harbor, the royal guards are fighting off the invading men in cloak. These group thugs left no place unsearched. They have set one of the house in the harbor area on fire. The whole situation look closer to a warzone. Something familiar in Seffiroth's eyes.
Elsa then feels the need to help her people. She is a queen, and she felt that her place should be down there with her people.
Elsa stands, which was immediately questioned by her sister...
"What are you doing...?"
"I'm going down there..."
"No, you can't... it's dangerous." Says Anna disagreeing with her sister's decision.
"I don't care... you can't just expect me to sit here and do nothing..."
"I know, but..." at this rate Anna didn't know what to say to convince her to stay.
As Elsa prepared to leave, the two guards sought to stop their queen. They both tried to convince her to stay, but nothing changed Queen Elsa's decision. That is until a certain young man said...
"Stay here..." he said calmly.
"You!" said the queen furiously. "You don't have the right to tell me what to do...!"
"..." the main said nothing.
"This was your fault, you cause this, you, you... you should be arrested!" the queen screams her lungs out yelling angrily at the young man. She was eventually feels wasted and quiet down, that's when Seffiroth chooses his moment to speak...
"I don't expect you to trust me after what happened, nor do I have the right to tell you what you do, your highness. I may be dishonest... but if there's one thing I'll do, it'll start with taking full responsibility of my action..."
The queen, paused, she looked up to the man as she is shorter than him.
"You're right, this was my fault. Which is why I'll be the one to go down there while you stay here. Your majesty, if you die, your people will lose their queen and also..." he took a deep breath and continue... "If my action cause the death of a queen, then, I won't be able to forgive myself."
"Is he really the same man from a few minutes ago...?" Elsa wonders. It's like she's looking at someone else. To be honest, the queen is surprised to see this side of him, despite all the mystery about him.
The young man didn't stop there... "The reason I lied before was because I didn't trust you at the time. But now, I can afford to take that risk..." he said.
He then gave the queen his satchel and proceed with saying... "Just in case..."
The man took his sword and left the room without saying a single word, leaving Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf in state of mixed emotion.
"p.s these things never go exactly as planned..."
The young man never expected something like this to happen. As he ran towards the castle gate, there's only one thing in his mind...
"I can't let these people suffer because of my doings, no... Not again."
Now that... was just half or at least 3/5th of it. This chapter is fun to write just because there were action and moments of mixed emotion, not to forget that the plots actually thickened, which was nice.
Next is the continuation of the chapter, and also the main conflict (maybe) of the story.
If you like where this story is going, then make sure to fave and follow this story... because simply, I don't have an exact time to update this story. for those who already did... THANK YOU! YOU ROCK!
Please review... tell me where I did wrong, etc. you have no idea how much it meant for me...
And the usual apology for typo, grammar, and poor choice of words.
See you in the next chapter... Legion out! Taraa~