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Quick shoutout to starrar2356 Arkham Knight22 FanFreak12 Ksquared3 for the favorite/follow.
In response to the review from IAmWhoIAm317 I too enjoyed the coin part from chapter 41, I really wanted to drive home that Stonewell (as impossible as he might seem) did have his flaws and that he could really step into his mentor role. Idk I tried to make the readers stop and go "what the fuck" during that part. Who knows maybe I should've gone darker, hopefully I got the point across that Stonewell is a dark dude but is still a good one deep down.
Edward was rocking on his heels as he waited for the Arendellian ship to dock. He could already see an outline of Anna waving excitedly at him which prompted him to do the same but he couldn't replicate the smile that was on the redhead's face. His worries were currently plaguing his mind as he considered the idea that Hans was in the castle with Elsa. There was also the fact that Hans had now become King of the Southern Isles which meant he had an actual army under his beck and call. Military wise, the Southern Isles would likely win a confrontation with Arendelle but with Elsa factored in, their defeat would be certain.
It didn't take a genius to know that taking into account the nature of the blonde's abilities as well as the geography of her kingdom, she could effectively halt any advance. Whether it be by ship or by land, she would have plenty of time to see the enemy and could throw up a snowstorm to dissuade them. She could do even more than that, if she was a killer but Elsa would only use her powers defensively. There would be no threat from her unless she was provoked.
Which made coming here a smart move on Hans's part. If he intended to invade Arendelle, he would first need to remove Elsa from the equation. A head on fight against her would not be wise which left using underhanded tricks and playing on her emotions a safer play. The fact that he came here as a King of the Southern Isles meant that she couldn't just cast him out or attack him due to the kingdom being an ally of hers. Hans likely thought that as long as he made no hostile moves then he was safe from the Snow Queen who would stick to the rules concerning her alliance.
That didn't mean however that he would continue to remain docile while he was here. He was here for a reason, what that could be escaped Edward's mind. If Elsa were to die after he came here then it would be quickly tied to him and his kingdom would be destroyed. While he didn't have the highest opinion of the newly appointed King, Edward knew that the man wasn't foolish enough to make a reckless action such as assassinating a Queen. There was also the fact that there would be multiple guards around her at all times with additional training that he oversaw himself to protect her. On top of that, Stonewell understood the situation and would likely keep an eye on the King personally which meant that the Captain would need to be dealt with first. The odds of that coming to pass were highly improbable.
This was still all assuming Ahimoth didn't carry a grudge over Hans attempting to take him and Lillian hostage. It was almost a given that the Prince would want the King's head on a platter. With all these factors considered, there was almost no way that Hans could make any moves against the blonde yet for some reason, Edward continued to worry. Something just continued to prod at his mind, like a warning that something unfortunate was coming to pass.
It would've been better if he could remain by Elsa's side and ensure nothing went wrong but she wished that he looked after Anna and Kristoff. It made sense to protect them so the King wouldn't be able to use them as hostages, but still he longed to be by her side. The young man shook his head, now wasn't the time to be thinking about what he wanted. He knew that his desire to see her stemmed from him missing her during his training trip. Rationally he knew it wasn't even for a long time but still, with everything that's been going on, it would be nice if they could spend a few quiet days just being around one another.
The ship finally docked and Anna came racing down the ramp with her arms extended and her feet already off the ground as she flew to tackle the young man. Edward let out a soft groan as all her weight and momentum slammed into him as he returned the bone crushing hug she was currently giving him.
"Hey Ed, missed you so much! Did you miss me? How is Elsa? Did you two finally confess your feelings? Are you a couple now? Did you two get into a fight? You aren't in trouble are you? Did-" The redhead kept firing question after question which made Edward worm his way out of her grip and place his hands on her shoulders to get her to stop.
"It's nice to see you too, Anna. Elsa is fine and we are fine. I just-"
"Then where is Elsa if you two are fine?"
That simple question made the young man pause for a moment. The question itself was a harmless and easy question to answer, the problem was what came after it. He knew that she would ask why her sister hadn't come to see her which would then tie in to why he wasn't going to let her return to the castle. If he told her that Hans had returned a King and is here speaking with Elsa who ordered that the Princess be kept as far away as possible; the redhead was likely to spontaneously combust in raw fury.
He already knew it was coming and the odds of convincing the redhead to adhere to her sister's wishes and remain safe were quite slim. Both sisters had the same amount of resolve when it came to keeping the other safe. They would likely go to the ends of the Earth and do anything for one another. He could easily see Anna disregarding Elsa's wishes and running to her aid. It was up to him to prevent that and keep her safe.
Problem with that was, he wholeheartedly agreed with the redhead and didn't know if he had the heart to stop her.
As if God had heard his plight, Kristoff chose that time to come down the ramp with Sven behind him. The mountain man noticed his friend and came over with his arms out ready to receive a hug. "Ed, how you been man?" Edward mentally sent the ice harvester a gracious thank you for temporarily staving off the conversation he was dreading.
"Well not so soon after you left, I was stuck on a field exercise with the Captain, I just returned and Elsa asked me to meet you two out here while she did some important work."
Kristoff instantly accepted the reason but Anna had a skeptical look on her face at what the man just said. She watched the two of them catch up for a moment before taking a look around her. She just now noticed the heavy guard presence that was all around her. They completely surrounded the docks and had grim expressions on their faces. She also noticed that there were more ships already docked further down and they had quite a few guards posted around them. The redhead supposed that Elsa could be entertaining some foreign royalty and was in a meeting but when she looked at the flags of the ships here her heart stopped.
The days where she began to learn how to be a diplomat, she was required to learn the myriad of flags that other kingdoms raised over their ships. It was a slow process for her to remember all of them but a few of them stuck themselves in her memory. One in particular had its image burned into her mind.
Whenever she would gaze upon the flag of the Southern Isles, her mind would instantly replace the flag with his face.
Hans had made a lasting impression on her, one which would take quite a bit of time to remove. While she knew that Hans was just one person and didn't represent the entire kingdom, she still got chills that ran down her spine whenever one of their ships would visit. Before she had left for her honeymoon, she remembered that there had been an uproar that Weselton might have been planning to invade the kingdom. Elsa said she should focus on her wedding while she planned on sending an envoy to check in on the situation.
The redhead never knew what had happened to that envoy since she had left before they could return. She also took notice of the amount of guards that tailed her from a distance. They never interfered with her or Kristoff but she could always pick them out whenever she looked around. That simple fact spoke volumes that her sister was worried.
There was also the fact that one of the Princes of the Southern Isles was found murdered in his own ship. That definitely did not bode well that someone saw fit to kill a royal during a summit. One would think that if Elsa had known that Anna had returned safe, the blonde would be racing down to the docks. Instead she sent someone else who meant a great deal to her and was quite adept at defending himself. The Princess narrowed her eyes as she amended that statement. Edward was more than adept at defending himself.
He was capable of rescuing Elsa from an encampment of bandits as well as being able to fight a monster who killed many guards. It would make sense to have someone like him ready to protect the Queen in case of an attack but he was here without Elsa, with a Southern Isles ship in their harbor and a ship from Blackdust next to it. Anna supposed that the young man didn't want to incur the wrath of anyone from his home kingdom but also knew that he would always ensure Elsa's safety even if it meant enduring whatever insults that the envoy from Blackdust hurled his way. The line of thought made the cogs in the redhead's brain turn faster and faster until it finally clicked in her head.
Elsa sent Edward to protect her.
If her sister was willing to send someone like Edward away to protect her then something very big must be happening right now. Anna took purposeful steps toward the young man who was still having a conversation with Kristoff and whirled him around to face her with a tug of her arm.
"Don't lie Edward. Is my sister in danger?"
She watched his face go through a multitude of emotions such as surprise, worry, then finally uncomfortable. He didn't speak as soon as she would've liked but she waited until he finally spoke.
"I honestly don't know. I haven't even seen her yet since being back. Hector was waiting for me and Stonewell at the gates and told us that Hans was now King of the Southern Isles and that he was here with a delegation from Blackdust. Elsa asked that the Captain return to the castle while I waited here for you and kept you as far away from Hans as possible."
With each word he spoke, he couldn't help the sliver of fear that inched its way into his heart. Now that he thought about it, there was no guarantee that Elsa was even ok. Hector could've been lying for all he knew and the council could've sided with the King to get rid of Elsa and have Arendelle under their control. He knew that that was a highly unlikely scenario that was created by his paranoia which only served to further distract him but he couldn't help it.
He needed to know Elsa was alright.
Surprisingly, he just now noticed that the redhead in front of him didn't blow up in an explosion of anger. In fact she had a calm expression on her face that had a hint of deep thinking in her blue eyes. Kristoff behind him had his eyes as wide as dinner plates at what he just heard and glanced in the direction of the castle.
"Of course she would say that…"
Anna let out a huff as she began to slowly pace the same way her sister did from time to time. The young man watched her do so with an intrigued expression. He expected her to be mowing him down to get to the castle but seeing her actually thinking before jumping in like she usually did showed that she had changed and grown up a little on her honeymoon. He could still see the way she tightened her fingers against her side that suggested that she wanted nothing more than to rush to her sister's side.
"Let me guess, she also ordered you to use any means to keep me from the castle too didn't she?"
"Hector didn't say that she did but expressed that she really wanted you to stay away."
Anna nodded her head as she let out a deep sigh. She wanted to tear her pigtails out of her head, she really did. She wanted to march over to the castle and give that jerk a black eye and yell at her sister that whatever happened they could face it together. The only reason she didn't was because she actually took a moment to consider the situation.
The idea of Hans being King disgusted her but it also meant that he couldn't attack Elsa because he was a part of their alliance. If he broke that agreement then he would be attacked by all their allies. There was also the possibility that even if her sister was captured, Anna knew that she wouldn't sign over the kingdom under any circumstance. Except if the redhead was captured as well. Sending Edward to guard her was a great choice as Queen that ensured that Arendelle wouldn't fall to that bastard.
It sucked to think like a Princess and not like Anna. Her heart was screaming at her to run to her sister but she remained where she was. It was easier to do so when she could see the same look in the young man's eyes as he kept glancing over at the castle every so often, likely wishing he was there as well but stayed to protect her. She said it herself back at the Winter Solstice Gathering, 'is it too hard for you to do it for her?'
There was nothing Anna wouldn't do for her sister, and she knew the feeling was mutual.
"Alright, I'll stay away. Only if you send every other guard back to the castle just in case." Edward looked surprised and seemed ready to ask if she really knew what she was saying. She let out a rueful smile and shrugged that showed she knew exactly what she said. She may not be able to go herself but she would do everything she could to help. Having more guards around just in case would be beneficial and mitigate some of the worries in her mind.
The young man nodded and had all the guards on the dock move out toward the castle to help reinforce security while he stayed with the married couple and reindeer. Now all they had to do was figure out where to go. They needed to go somewhere that Elsa would know and not be too far away that they couldn't come back to help in case something happened. When he asked the newlyweds, Kristoff stepped forward with an answer.
"Why don't we go to Grand Pabbie? No one but us knows he exists or where he lives." That was a good idea, one that they could definitely use. There was almost no way that Hans would be able to find the trolls unless they were followed, plus they could check in on Kristoff's family.
"That sounds great, you two ride Sven and I'll trail behind you two."
"We can wait for you to get a horse or something."
Edward smirked a bit before shrugging. Thanks to his training, he could use more of his body's strength and speed. While he still couldn't use any of Wrath's more powerful abilities because of the low amount of power they possessed. He could, however, move significantly faster than an average person and not tire. "Don't worry about me, I can keep up."
The married couple looked at him for a moment before nodding and mounting Sven to begin their journey to the Valley of the Living Rock. They looked behind them to see Edward on their heels keeping up without any difficulty and spurred the reindeer on faster. None of them aware of someone watching them leave before closing her book and finally stepping off the ship.
Sloth took her time glancing around Arendelle and thought that it was quite quaint. She would have prefered to take her time with what she had planned but couldn't afford to. Hans was already at the castle and gave the council member from Blackdust evidence that Garret Sobel had a hand in the death of the royal line of the Southern Isles as well as Rahim's katana. She needed to move quickly to enact her plan, she was already feeling somewhat strained from her earlier encounter, if she wasn't in time then things could become very bothersome later down the road.
"I've no time to waste, it's time I visited an old acquaintance."
With that, she walked down the plank and toward the direction of the gate to the village. She already knew where the trolls were and had no desire or reason to seek them out. All she was interested in was a lone farm that stuck out on the outskirts of Arendelle where she could see a little girl carrying a basket of tomatoes back inside her home. Walking up to the door, the Sin knocked and was greeted by the sight of the little girl again. Crouching down so that she was eye to eye with the little girl, Sloth gave her a small smile.
"Hello sweetie, is your dad home?"
Elsa fought extremely hard to keep her face neutral after what she just heard. It never occurred to her that Mr. Sobel would conspire to have a hand in the recent regicides. She was so worried that he might try to take advantage of her and Edward that she hadn't taken steps to prevent him from doing something like this. She wondered when he could've set this in motion. She had only met him after the assassinations and attack on the Southern Isles, could he have waited until everything was in place before revealing himself? She shook her head, that wasn't the most pressing issue at this time, she still had an angry dignitary waving around a sheathed weapon.
"Sir, I can assure you that Arendelle has made no plans of attack against any kingdom. This man Garret Sobel was a confidant of my father and is now recently a source of information for me. Since becoming said source, I've had him under surveillance and limited him from roaming around without supervision. I would also like to point out that His Majesty has made multiple attempts against my throne and has almost killed me twice, whatever he claims to be true I have a hard time believing given our history."
Hans started to chuckle from his prison as he turned his head as much as he could to fix her with an amused expression. "While you are correct, Your Majesty that I have tried to assassinate you and take your throne, you forget that I've only done that to secure a throne of my own. Now that I have one, I have no reason to quarrel with you anymore. There is also the fact that my brother was killed in Arendelle when he was supposed to be under your protection and that my life has also been threatened all by the same man wearing a distinct set of armor as well as a concerning blade. Many of my men as well as those from Weselton fell to this one man, the only reason we were able to recover his weapon was because when he tried to escape by ship, we managed to catch up to it. I was told that the man could not be found anywhere, only his weapon as well as reports on where my other brothers were seen, as well as a letter reporting his progress to a man named Garret Sobel. The name would've meant nothing to me if not for correspondance my father had with the late King of Arendelle."
Elsa's eyes widened as she turned to look at the red haired King with a surprised expression. She had no idea that her father communicated the existence of Mr. Sobel to anyone, given the nature of tasks the man had done for the late monarch.
"One of the letters sent to my father asked for any information about a man named Garret Sobel who had come from Blackdust and was supposedly versed in witchcraft. The man had made a small stop in the Southern Isles to conduct some 'research' as my father described. All he did was study minerals from some of our mines which wasn't out of the ordinary. Until one day, one of those mines collapsed and it killed everyone inside. When my father's soldiers set out to help clear it, Mr. Sobel calmly walked out of the mine with half of his body crushed and they watched him heal in a matter of moments. He was instantly brought to the King to be questioned on how this was possible. All the man said was that it was something that shouldn't be trifled with and booked passage to Arendelle the next day."
The blonde's eyes narrowed as she took a step forward and gave the King a steady glare as she found a flaw in his story. "My father has told me time and time again that your father valued strength and having the weak being oppressed by the strong. I'm sure that if someone with the ability to heal himself after such an injury would not simply be left alone to leave. I'm quite certain your father would have him imprisoned to learn his secrets or at least warn mine as to the danger that this man could pose."
Hans didn't bat an eye as he spoke. "You're right, my father did try to keep in the Southern Isles to learn his secrets. He sent soldiers to detain him but they were unsuccessful. When they returned, their faces had haunted looks as if something had happened. They explained that he had repelled them and sent them back with a message. 'I warned you that this was something that shouldn't be trifled with. Any more attempts to interfere with my life and the same fate as these men will befall your entire family.' As soon as the soldiers finished delivering the message, they all killed themselves right there in the throne room. When I took over the throne, I found a discarded letter in my father's handwriting that was supposed to be sent off to your father. It told this story and warned him of the danger that this man possessed. The letter was never sent, likely out of fear that Mr. Sobel would find out. It could stand to reason that after so long, he feels that his life here has been compromised and as such, decided to make good on his threat."
The council member remained silent as he took all of this in with a pensive expression. Both monarchs had made compelling arguments that they were telling the truth. Frankly he could care less about what was going on between them. What was important for him was to find out if Rahim was in contact with this man Garret Sobel, if he was then they could lure the traitor out. He had brought thirty Mystic Guard members with him this time who were all very capable warriors. Even if this dangerous man had some healing ability, the council member was sure they could detain him. Then they could use him to get to Rahim and have him captured.
While it was no secret that the traitor was able to take out twenty members at once, with there being a King here that already had a grudge against the man, he could reinforce his soldiers with men from the Southern Isles. Also if the Ice Queen truly did wish for peace, then she would likely commit her own soldiers to one; clear her of any suspicion of working with this man and two; uphold the peace in her own kingdom.
All they had to do was just see this Garret Sobel.
A few knocks at the door to the throne room gathered everyone's attention. Slightly on guard that something else was coming, Elsa hesitates while briefly looking at Hans to see he too was curious to see who was at the door. With a nod and a hand ready to freeze whoever came in, she couldn't help her jaw from dropping as Mr. Sobel walked in behind Ahimoth as well as a woman with raven colored hair.
The alchemist bowed his head as he came to stand a few feet away from her. "Greetings Your Majesty, Garret Sobel, at your service."
Ahimoth was currently standing at the castle gate as he alternated his gaze between each of the Mystic Guard members who had been stationed in Arendelle for a mission. He had heard their reports and observations of what they saw in the Southern Isles. It seemed that there had been a battle at the kingdom and that Weselton forces still remained there. A sizable one, he'd been told.
As he said before, diplomacy was to be used first before plans for war, however the soldier in him couldn't help pointing out that they had quite the force not too far away from Arendelle. Both of which had an axe to grind with the current monarch. It wouldn't take long for them to set sail for Arendelle and attack if that is what they wanted. He planned on bringing this up with Elsa later to hopefully warn her just in case, he would have suggested that they have soldiers patrolling the waters just in case but that wasn't his call to make.
When his father returned from hunting Rakat's army in Corona, then the call could be made. Until then, Ahimoth could only advise and react defensively. Ordering attacks or authorizing movement of a large number of their forces was something for a King to decide.
He still had that feeling that something bad was coming but he still had no idea where it was coming from. The circumstances of why he was here was pretty concerning but he lucked out to learn that Edward wasn't in the village at the moment. He also was satisfied knowing that Wrath hadn't gone on another killing spree so he didn't have to regret just banishing him and not having him executed. Hopefully, the council member would find that nothing here was of worth and would call off the search for Rahim's armor and katana so they could return home and he could finally finalize the details for his wedding.
The thought made him bristle in anger, he heard that the Princess of Arendelle had just gotten married recently. He remembered that she wasn't even betrothed when they met yet already had her wedding. If stupid situations didn't keep popping up, he would've been married too and he would probably be focusing on getting Lilian pregnant right now. How he wished that all of his problems could be solved so simply and all at once.
He shook his head, life was never that easy. He had to deal with things one at a time. First, he needed to make sure that the council member had no evidence that Rahim was in Arendelle. If he did that then the risk of the council trying to usurp the throne out of concern that they weren't doing what was best for the kingdom would basically evaporate. After that was done, he could focus on finding the armor and katana as well as that soldier Ian. The Prince still held out some hope that he could be reasoned with and become a wealth of information on the mastermind that orchestrated the death of his comrades.
"Your Highness, there is someone here to see you."
Ahimoth sighed irritably and was about to turn around to address that Mystic Guard member about titles when his heart skipped a beat when they saw who just walked through the castle gates. The way the glint in his glasses that covered his eyes could only belong to one man. The Prince was sure he wasn't seeing things but his mind refused to accept who was right in front of him.
Talib of the Tainted Wisdom was killed in Blackdust by assassins sent by Father. He had seen the body himself and confirmed the man was dead. His father even buried the alchemist after a few days and there was no way that he wouldn't notice the body being switched out. Yet here the man was with a neutral expression on his face as he raised his head to look at the large man.
"Hello Your Highness, Garret Sobel, at your service." The man took a small bow as he spoke, drawing another confused look from the Prince. Ahimoth's mouth opened and closed a few times as he really tried to make sense of the man in front of him. While the idea of someone coming back from the dead was not foreign to him, what made it odd was that the man in front of him was not the one who was killed in Blackdust.
Talib was an aloof asshole who wouldn't interact with anyone unless it was for business or furthered his goals. He also didn't care for rank as well as titles and talked to every single person in the same condescending tone that made it seem like it was beneath him to speak with someone else. The irritable sighs and displeased expressions he gave people when he addressed them was also a usual sight on his face that was never absent whenever the Prince had seen the man.
However this Garret Sobel, was quite different. For one, he was polite and actually respected that the large man was a Prince. His voice lacked any trace of superiority, he just had a conversational tone. His face gave away nothing yet as did the alchemist but didn't have an ounce of disdain in it. He seemed to be a different person but Ahimoth still couldn't believe it. Perhaps the same thing that happened to Rahim happened to Talib?
"I thought you were dead."
Mr. Sobel tilted his head to the side for a moment, seemingly confused and looked ready to ask a question when another voice spoke up behind him. "If you're talking about Talib that was in Blackdust, then yes he's dead. The person before you now is not him yet is connected to my teacher."
The two men turned to see Mary walking up to them with a tired look on her face and her signature book in her hand. The larger of the two narrowed his eyes at her and the five soldiers next to him all readied their weapons and aimed them at the woman. "Well well if it isn't Mary Lawson. Brilliant mind and the only one who that twisted fuck Talib actually had an interest in. You know, there's a warrant out for your arrest given that you disappeared the same time as Rakat's army did. Many say that you decided to abandon your teacher and betray your kingdom, yet here you are with a man that looks like your departed alchemist in a kingdom on the verge of allying with your home."
The woman reached up and adjusted her glasses making them glint in the same way as the man next to her. "I suppose you could say there is some truth to that. I did leave Blackdust to follow Rakat's forces but I never made any moves against Blackdust, too much effort to do so. I've been keeping up with current events so I know about most of your troubles already. That's why I'm here, actually."
Ahimoth scoffed as he took a step forward to get in her space and leaned down so that the two of them were eye level and he could see past her glasses to look her dead in the eye. "Oh, and how do you plan on helping me? Do you happen to have Rahim's armor set and weapon under that coat of yours, or perhaps you plan on telling me where Rakat's forces are? Which by the way, I already know where a majority of them are anyway."
"Thanks to Wrath right? Excuse me, I mean Edward, that is what he calls himself nowadays right?" The large man narrowed his eyes and shot the woman a glare to warn her to be very careful about her next words but to continue speaking.
"Yes, I am aware of the Sin being based here. Father hasn't figured that out yet so for now he's relatively safe. That's not how I plan to help you. Right about now, your council member has likely received Rahim's katana from the King of the Southern Isles as well as a letter containing the locations of all the Southern Isles Princes. It was addressed to Mr. Sobel here in an attempt to cause distrust between Arendelle and its allies. Firstly I can assure you that Garret didn't have a hand in the rash of regicides, instead Father planned to frame him so he could be taken out of the picture."
"What would Father have to gain by killing this guy, aren't they on the same side?" Mr. Sobel let out a sigh and looked away with a drained and pained expression on his face as he let the woman answer.
"Yes and no, you see Father has been steadily getting rid of anyone who could pose a threat to his plans. Whether they be allies or not. It's the reason why he had Talib killed in Blackdust and why he's trying to have Garret take the fall for the assassinations. It's because the two of them know the exact nature of Father's abilities and he can't risk too many of them being out in the world right now. I myself am likely on his hit list but he has no idea where I am and I plan on keeping it that way. Right now, we cannot allow Garret to be removed from Arendelle, he will be needed soon. I know who was the one who killed all those Princes and will tell you anything you wish to know about Father as well as what he is planning but I need you convince the council member to have Mr. Sobel remains here."
Ahimoth took all of this in with an unreadable expression before standing back to his full height and turning to face the man who was still looking away. "And why should I help him when I know nothing about him? If you're lying and he is the one who ordered their deaths, then bringing him in could help prevent an international incident."
Garret turned to face the Prince with a solemn face. "That's right, you do not know me. If you had the slightest idea of how my life has gone you wouldn't ask why you should help me. We're not asking you to help me, we're asking you to help the innocent people here and back in Blackdust. Do you think that the King of the Southern Isles just happened upon Rahim's katana, one that was stolen from right under your noses? It was given to him. He was to use it to disrupt the trust between Arendelle and Blackdust which would cause you to see the Southern Isles as a more beneficial trade partner, then Hans would use his other ace up his sleeve to blackmail the Queen to keep her from removing his kingdom from the alliance. Blackdust needs more allies and resources, the Southern Isles could provide that easily and keep you dependent on them enough to the point they would use you for your militaristic might."
Ahimoth considered the idea and found it upsetting that it actually made sense, a lot of sense. Personally, he knew that himself and his father would never just switch allies like that but the council would, especially if they thought Arendelle was harboring a traitor. There was also the fact that Blackdust wasn't in the alliance yet so joining with the Southern Isles who might have an ally with Weselton wouldn't bring war to his home. The alliance might consider action against the Southern Isles but if they could prove that Arendelle was responsible for the regicides of their royal line then Arendelle would be the one that would suffer. Which would work out for Hans who likely still wanted revenge against the Snow Queen.
If he did what Mary asked then he would be playing a dangerous game, one misstep could spell tragedy for his home. There was still the matter of the assassin, they had to deal with that and prove that it wasn't Rahim. However, he supposed he could table that matter for later. Right now if the council member did have the katana in his possession and was losing hope in Arendelle then the Prince needed to hurry.
"It's going to take a miracle to prove that Sobel here wasn't involved in their assassinations if they really do have a letter addressed to him."
Mary adjusted her glasses again to hide her tired eyes. "Not to worry, I've already made the preparations. Be warned though, Queen Elsa will still be blackmailed into making no moves against the Southern Isles, you cannot interfere with that outcome. Should you do so, then things will become even messier." Ahimoth scowled at the warning, nevertheless he nodded as he motioned for them to follow inside into the castle.
Everyone in the throne room regarded Mr. Sobel with varying expressions. Surprise was among them as well as suspicion that he chose now to appear in front of them given the story that Hans had told as well as what he might've been suspected to be a part of. The council member was the first to snap out of his stupor as he whirled on the Prince who stood at attention immediately.
"Prince Ahimoth, arrest this man at once! He is suspected of being the mastermind behind the deaths of the royal line of the Southern Isles!" The large man calmly lifted his hand to stave off the council member's anger.
"There has been a new development, it has come to my attention that Mr. Sobel here was not actually the one to head up the assassinations. If you would take a closer look at the man and tell me if he reminds you of someone from back home." The council member raised an eyebrow before focusing intently on the man next to him for a moment before his eyes widened as he took a step back while raising a finger.
"What dark magic is this?! You're dead. We saw your body brought into the throne room by Pride and left there. There was no sign of life in that body and it was confirmed to be yours, how are you here?!" Elsa and Hans looked confused at the council member's words but remained silent as they were interested in the bespectacled man's response.
"Ah you, must be referring to Talib. You say he's dead, well that's a surprise. I honestly did not see my twin brother dying any time soon." The council member looked stupefied for a moment before he brushed off the expression and let out a huff of indignation.
"You cannot seriously expect me to believe that you are his twin brother! Talib has had no record of having any family besides his two sons. One of which has served the kingdom faithfully and has not mentioned once having any other family." The raven haired woman took a step forward to answer in Garret's stead.
"Well if you remembered, Talib wasn't really someone who confided into anyone about his personal life. I'm sure there's not even a record of his wife who was killed sometime ago-" Elsa didn't miss the flinch that Mr. Sobel had when the woman mentioned the alchemist's wife. "-as for Shahbaz who now goes by Pride, he had very little reason to speak of other family members when he was looking out for his little brother. I'm sure you know of Talib's methods and habits when it came to his two sons. Can you really blame Pride for not saying anything about an uncle?"
The council member then took a closer look at the woman before his eyes widened and he finally recognized her. "You're Mary Lawson, his assistant…"
"And the person who knew him best. You see, him and Mr. Sobel had a falling out years ago that left things between them quite tense. Before I left during the civil war, Talib had a few side projects that were in the works that I happened to see. One of them was plans to make a new type of weapon. A soldier, who could in theory fight and recover from any wound as well as have extraordinary abilities. He got the idea from Garret here who had succeeded many years ago but unfortunately lost the means to replicate the results."
Mary turned to the trapped King who looked at her curiously and spoke to him. "When you were attacked by this mysterious soldier that was suspected of killing off your brothers, did he have any extraordinary abilities?"
Hans remained silent for a moment as if he was weighing his options on how to answer before finally doing so. "Yes, he evaporated into dust right in front of my soldiers and blew away with the wind. We could not find any trace of him in the kingdom. We were only able to get the very little evidence we do have by searching the ships that were trying to leave."
"I see, and he used a weapon of a known traitor who happened to be the nephew of Mr. Sobel is that correct."
"I never got an exact name, all I was told was that that katana was a one of a kind weapon and the armor was the uniform of Blackdust's Mystic Guard."
Mary nodded before turning back to the council member who still looked at her with suspicion. "Seems quite fortunate that someone with the ability to disappear into thin air left their weapon as well as evidence that would implicate their employer wouldn't you agree. Almost like someone wanted to have Mr. Sobel take the fall for the deaths of Princes in another land. It would also put Arendelle in an unfavorable position for housing the mastermind and would help alienate the kingdom. As I'm sure you have already, you know that Talib has expressed an interest in Queen Elsa. A subject he found to be… what were his words… 'To Be Determined' you know as well as I, how much Talib hated to have his projects unfinished."
The woman turned to the Queen who was certainly looking somewhat uncomfortable about the direction this conversation was going. "Your Majesty, there have been rumors that a few months ago, you were kidnapped from your castle. Forgive but for someone of your abilities to be kidnapped would take a massive force to accomplish but so far as the rumor goes, it was in the dead of night without anyone noticing. Not many people could pull off kidnapping an Elemental, a Queen at that. It would take quite a few men from Blackdust's Mystic Guard to pull that off, but the Prince was there that night and said that all of his men remained on the ship. Perhaps you could give us more details as to how your kidnapper managed to abduct you?"
Elsa didn't speak for a moment, she was intensely considering how the woman in front of her would know all of these things. It was like she was there or had been a part of it in some way. While the blonde was grateful that the subject shifted away from Arendelle harboring a killer and the notion that Mr. Sobel being the mastermind of the assassinations was thrown into question, she still felt that this Mary woman had this already planned.
"It was one man, he managed to slip into the castle and had no fear of my abilities. He also was able survive a gunshot wound to the head as well as create weapons out of thin air that were real."
Mary hummed in a satisfied manner before turning to the council member. "If I'm correct Talib was alive around the time of Her Majesty's kidnapping. If what the two monarchs are saying are true and these soldiers with these fantastic abilities do exist, then where do you think they came from? Keep in mind that out of most kingdoms in this part of the world, Blackdust has had the most experience dealing with Elementals. If Her Majesty's kidnapper had no fear of her abilities then it would stand to reason he was trained to not fear them. It wouldn't take much to send one of these soldiers to Arendelle to bring the Queen to Blackdust so he could finish his experiment and have Garret here take the fall should anyone ever find out."
The council member remained silent before a thought occurred to him that he voiced immediately. "If what you say is true and Talib did have the means to create these soldiers, then why aren't there any in our military now? Many of that man's scientific breakthroughs were used in our army, why hold out this one?"
"Who said he did?"
The council member shut his mouth as the woman spoke the next few words.
"How do you think Pride single handedly destroy many pockets of Rakat's army without returning home for more troops? Don't get me wrong, the man is amazingly skilled, possibly the most skilled fighter that Blackdust has ever produced, yet humans do have limits. When's the last time you've seen so much as a wound on his body?"
The council member's eyes widened as he remembered an incident that had happened some time ago. He happened to be passing the throne room when he heard a large explosion that shook the castle. He peeked his head to investigate, he was surprised to see Pride standing in front of the alchemist with his clothes completely burned off. Yet there wasn't a burn on any of his skin. He remembered Lilian trying to conjure another fireball but that's when he saw it.
He thought it might've been his eyes playing tricks on him, but he watched as something washed over Pride for a quick moment before he moved faster than any human should. He easily crossed the distance between them and had her suspended over his head. He didn't know how it was possible for someone to move so fast in an instant and thought maybe he had imagined it and just wrote it off.
Maybe he wasn't seeing things and Pride was one of these soldiers that Talib could've made. The rather disturbing reports they found in his lap referenced the human body quite frequently and they had discovered plenty of corpses. More and more evidence seemed to back up that the alchemist had created these soldiers. While it still didn't clear Garret of being responsible for the deaths of the Southern Isles Princes, it did warrant an investigation.
He turned to the bespectacled man and gave him a piercing glare. "While there are some things that point to you being responsible, there's enough evidence to have doubt that you are. The only way we can truly clear you of suspicion is if we capture that soldier who killed those Princes and force him to tell us who he was working for. You may not be the man we are looking for, however, it's clear that you know more than a bystander should. If Talib really got the idea of creating such a weapon from you and the late King of the Southern Isles' concerns are real then you are partly responsible for this mess."
Mr. Sobel bowed his head apologetically. "It was not my intention to have my work be used so perversely. I will do whatever I can in my power to help you remedy this situation."
"All that leaves is catching that soldier. If he has already made an attempt on the King of the Southern Isles, it's likely he will attempt to do so again. I think it would be productive if we kept HIs Majesty here to use him to lure out this killer and capture him."
Elsa instantly disagreed expressing that she wanted Hans out of her kingdom as soon as possible. As for Hans, he mulled around the suggestion in his head for a moment. Despite everything the woman said, she left out the names and whereabouts of the soldiers that she described. The journal he carried allowed him to instantly identify which soldier that was described. He now knew that Zavis was named Envy since he could create weapons, Greed's real name was Ian Cavaliere, and Edward; the man who made everything fall apart was actually Rahim who was made into Wrath. That meant he still had leverage against the Snow Queen to keep her from excommunicating the Southern Isles from her alliance. All he had to do was threaten to reveal Edward's identity to the council member and then he'd have her in the palm of his hand.
Personally, he didn't want to stay in Arendelle as bait for a killer who was targeting his royal line. Even though he knew it was Greed and knew that the man wouldn't want him killed, he wanted him heading back home to plan for the invasion. Yet staying here could open up new opportunities for him to further his goals as well as cement his relationship with Blackdust. The Prince hated him too much for involving that other Elemental but from the few conversations that he had with the council member, the council in Blackdust felt the current monarchy wasn't fit to rule.
How beneficial would it be if he could get on their side and have them side with him whenever he came with them for a request. Normally he would've planned on killing the monarchy but that was out of the question with the Prince as well as the King. Both of them had reputations for being in a class of their own when it came to battle and the Prince was already watching him like a hawk. He couldn't afford to make any suspicious moves around him.
"While I do wish that this man is captured so my brother's souls may rest, I don't feel particularly safe in Arendelle. One of my brothers was already killed by this man while under the Queen's protection. What guarantee do I have that Her Majesty won't leave my security lax and allow myself to be murdered?" Elsa's eyes hardened as she was about to deny such a claim when Ahimoth spoke after keeping his mouth shut for so long.
"You won't be under her protection. You'll be under mine. I've known Rahim for a long time, if this person is him and not some imposter using his weapons and armor, then I will know exactly what to look for as well as be able to combat him. With the addition of my men here, we will be able to capture him. All you have to do is stay on your ship and do what I say." The large man glared at the trapped man daring him to argue. Hans remained silent as he once again considered the suggestion before putting on an easy smile.
"Alright, if I have the Prince of Blackdust who was hailed as a hero in many battles, protecting me then I should have nothing to fear. Is there any way Her Majesty could release me, I do believe my socks are beginning to become wet." Everyone turned to the blonde woman who didn't look happy that Hans was going to stay and watched her wave a hand and defrost him.
"I will also have a portion of my guards stationed around your ship to assist in guarding you. You will be well protected while you stay here and you will not be alone not for a single moment."
It didn't take long for all of them to arrive in the Valley of the Living Rock. Kristoff and Anna were surprised to see that Edward had managed to keep up with Sven the entire time and not look that tired from doing so. When he explained what he had been through with Stonewell, they looked happy to know that he was a bit more accepting of what he was. The four of them entered the valley and were instantly barraged by a swarm of trolls who looked happy to see the newlyweds.
While the couple and Sven got doted on, Edward went over to Grand Pabbie who looked at him with an appraising look. "There's something different about you."
"I spent some time finding a sense of balance."
"I see, that is very good. Hopefully it'll be useful for what's to come."
"What do you mean by that?"
The older troll looked troubled for a moment before he created a small image between his hands. In the image was a breeze of something blowing around until it formed a person then it changed to one person releasing something from their body and it made other bodies that did what the person commanded.
"There are two more of you who are here, and I'm certain at least one of them means you harm."
Hey guys sorry for the long update, I've been working for three weeks straight and honestly just wanted a day to myself to JUST sleep. I did that all day yesterday when I really wanted to play Gears Tactics and Bloodborne but I'll probably be roped into work tomorrow. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter that more or less ties up some ends and brings up some good points.
I'm SURE you will enjoy the next two chapters because personally I've been dying to write them since I thought them up. Anyway if you wish to contact me please leave a review or pm me.