Gerda walked on until she stopped and froze with fear. Up ahead was a hangman's noose! "No… No… NOOOO!" cried Gerda. "There must be a mistake. You can't do this to me. I'm the daughter of-" Before she could finish speaking, a guard stuffed a sponge into her mouth. "Mmmm…" cried Gerda, who was now unable to speak. Gerda was pushed towards the noose, and the noose was lowered and wrapped around her neck. The town crier addressed the crowd and said, "This woman was caught in the act of committing sorcery. The punishment for such behavior is death by hanging. May this execution serve as a warning to you all."

The executioner pulled the hangman's rope and hoisted Gerda off the ground. She could feel her breath escape her throat and her mind start to fade. For a moment she thought she caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd. Hans! Had that monster come to gloat? He wore a red women's cloak, and he tried to conceal his face with a hood. He was now clean-shaven, and at first glance one might have mistaken him for a woman. There were some other people in the crowd standing next to him who wore similar clothing. Hans took out a bottle from his cloak and tossed it at the executioner. There was a green mixture in the bottle that resembled urine. The bottle exploded into a cloud of smoke. A strange and foul gas rose into the air. The smell of the gas was so foul, even sewage water smelled like perfume compared to it. The executioner dropped the rope, causing Gerda to fall and hit the ground with a thud. Fortunately, she wasn't too high off the ground; otherwise she would have been badly hurt.

Hans, Kai, Liz, Merry, James, Finn, Crowley, and Gibbons took out their pistols and swords and emerged from the crowd. Merry ran over to Gerda and picked the lock on Gerda's manacles using her hairpin, for she was skilled at this. Some guards ran over to Hans and the others and began fighting them, but it didn't take long for the pungent smell to overwhelm them. Hans and his group took more glass bottles filled with that urine colored substance out of their pockets and smashed the bottles to the ground. More of that pungent gas rose into the air until the guards were utterly overwhelmed. "Captain, we cannot stand this," shouted one of the guards to the Captain. "The gas smells worse than my dog's underwear." The Captain nodded and replied, "Evacuate the city!" Then the guards fled the scene. Hans turned to Gerda and said, "Come with me if you want to return home!" Gerda was astonished that a selfish monster like Hans came to her aid. There had to be a catch. "You have got to be kidding me!" Gerda muttered to herself. Merry turned and smiled at Gerda. "Remember me?" she asked.

But she listened to Hans his crew and went with them to a beach. The beach was devoid of other people, and she noticed two rowboats on the wet sand. "Don't worry, Gerda, we'll take you home," Kai said in an attempt to comfort her. He looked at Hans. "Won't we, uncle?" he asked him. But Hans kept silent. The company got into the two rowboats and rowed to the area where THE THROWAWAY was anchored. Once they arrived on board the ship, Gerda asked Hans, "So you're really going to take me home, right?" Hans paused for a moment, and then answered, "I'm still a wanted man in Arendelle. I doubt your mother even wants to see me again, so I doubt getting to Arendelle would be an easy feat. Luckily, I have a ticket that will grant me easier access into your kingdom." Hans seemed a bit secretive regarding what that ticket was, so Gerda asked him, "And what is that ticket?" Hans looked into Gerda's eyes. "It's you," he answered. Bang! Someone knocked Gerda out from behind with a frying pan. It was Crowley! "Uncle!" shouted Kai with disdain. "Don't start with me, nephew!" shouted Hans. "It was you who said that we should keep Gerda as a prisoner. Did you not say that it would be a great idea if we kept Gerda as a hostage? Did you not say, 'Uncle, if we take Gerda as a hostage, the ransom money Anna would pay for her would be unimaginable. Anna will give you a piece of land that you can all your own as payment.'? Do you remember what you said?"

"Yes, uncle, I said what I said, but I said it because the people of Weselton were going to harm Gerda," Kai said. "I wanted to be able to rescue her from them." There was a bit of a frown on Hans' face. "You like Gerda, don't you?" he asked. "Well, yes, as a friend at least," Kai answered. "It's rare for me to make new friends since I spend so much time on a ship."

2 hours later, Gerda opened her eyes only to find that something was not quite right. She couldn't move much. She couldn't move her hands and fingers. Looking down at her hands, she saw that rope was wrapped tightly around her hands and fingers, and she was tied to the mast of the ship. She saw that Hans and his crewmembers had now changed clothes. They were sailing away from Weselton. "Hans, I knew this was too good to be true and that you probably didn't save me out of the goodness of your heart," she cried. "But a desperately hoped I was wrong. What are your plans now?" Hans smiled a bit and said, "I plan to use you as a hostage that will bring me and Kai a comfortable life in Arendelle. How much do you think your mother will pay for your safe return?" Some of Hans' crewmembers like Gibbons and Crowley sneered upon hearing what Hans had said. "Alright!" shouted Gibbons. "I love it when Hans gets vicious." Kai touched Hans and said, "Uncle, I don't think threatening to harm Gerda would ensure that we would receive a life as comfortable as we would wish." "Your nephew's right, Hans," said Gerda. "No matter how much you demand from my mother, it won't erase your past. No one in Arendelle will welcome you."

Hans sighed. "I just want to be forgiven for my past wrongs," he finally admitted. "Not only for the things I did wrong in Arendelle, but also for the many other things I did wrong." Gerda's eyes lit up for an idea popped into her mind; an idea that almost certainly wouldn't work. "Hans, I may be able to help you with that," she said. "I want to offer you a deal that will guarantee that Anna and Elsa will forgive you." "Your mother Princess Anna thinks I tried to kidnap her," said Hans, placing a palm on his face. "I didn't though. It was all a misunderstanding thanks to my crew. Anyway, what deal could you possibly offer me?" He turned and frowned at several of his crewmembers, but his crewmembers kept silent. "Umm… it's actually Queen Anna now," corrected Gerda. Everyone on the ship paused for a moment and looked at her intently. Suddenly, Hans burst out laughing followed by everyone else, except Liz, James, Finn, and Merry. Even Kai couldn't help but laugh at what Gerda had said. "Yeah, right!" Gibbons hollered with laughter. "Princess Anna couldn't even take care of herself, let alone an entire kingdom." "Shut up!" shouted Merry, crossing her arms. "Gerda is telling the truth. My mother and I have spent quite some time in Arendelle. We know very well that Anna is the Queen."

"How did it happen?" Hans asked Gerda, his eyes full of curiosity. "It's a bit hard for me to talk being tied up like this," she replied. "The fact of the matter is, I was just about to tell you the story about how my mother became the Queen of Arendelle."

"First, tell me about that deal. What must I do to be forgiven by them? Does it have anything to do with a suicide mission? I hope not."

"No, I'm not going to ask you to lay down your life for anybody's sake. But for you to understand what you must do, you first have to hear the tale of how my mother became Queen. But for now, can you please release me from my bonds?"

"No can do."

Kai, however, disagreed with Hans. He took out his sword and released Gerda from her bonds. "Do tell, Gerda," Kai said impatiently. "I'm impatient to hear the story of how your mother became Queen and to understand how it relates to what my uncle must do to earn a pardon." Upon seeing what Kai had done, many of the crewmembers became indignant towards him. "Hans, you'd better keep your nephew under control, otherwise he'll be your downfall," Liz complained. "Throw Kai off the ship," shouted Finn. "Everybody, please calm down," Hans shouted to his crew. "I'll take to Kai later. Besides, there's nowhere Gerda can run. We're in the middle of the ocean. Let's just listen to what Gerda has to say."

Gerda first talked about the Arendelle Autumn Harvest Festival that occurred 20 years earlier. Then she talked about the strange voice Elsa heard. Then about Elsa becoming the 5th Spirit and destroying the statue that angered the 4 spirits. Elsa was supposed to treasure the ice statues of Ahtohallan, not damage them. She also talked about Elsa riding the water spirit into the glacier of Ahtohallan on a bright day and never coming out. But Hans was still confused about how all this related to what he must do to be forgiven. Gerda then told Hans the tale of the wicked troll Malchus and his dagger of eternity; and how he had stolen powers from the spirits with his special dagger. Powers that related to ice and snow, and that for decades, Ahtohallan was devoid of moving ice sculptures until Elsa arrived there. Then she told Hans stories about her past; about how she found a map that would hopefully lead her towards the dagger. She told Hans about how her ship was attacked by undead seafarers and how she survived. Hans and Kai grew very interested in the tale Gerda was telling, but they were both somewhat confused with what was going on.

"Let me get this straight," Hans said, still slightly confused. "If the spirits receive the power from the dagger, Elsa will be her own master." "Well, that was what Bulda seemed to say," Gerda answered. "Help me find the dagger, and I'm certain Elsa and Anna will forgive you. I think you and your nephew will be able to live comfortable lives in Arendelle." Upon hearing this, Hans stood up and clapped, which surprised Kai pleasantly. "Well, what are we waiting for?" cried Hans. "Let's go find that dagger. Show me the map!" Gerda's face grew pale. "I don't have it with me," she admitted. Hans looked as if he was about to lose his temper again. He pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Gerda. "Well, that's too bad," Hans grumbled. "Maybe it's time to use you as a hostage again. I was really rooting for you to find the dagger." "PUT YOUR GUN DOWN AND LISTEN TO ME!" Gerda shouted. Hans gulped and put the gun back in his pocket. Some of Hans' crewmembers laughed at Hans' apparent fearfulness. "I know where the map is," she explained. "I transcribed directions regarding where to find the dagger in my sketchbook. My sketchbook is the map I will use to find the dagger."

"And where is your sketchbook right now?" Merry asked her. "It's in my bag, which is on THE PURPLE CROCUS," Gerda answered. Hans became pale. "You mean it's on the ship that was just attacked by my father?" Hans gasped.