When All is Lost… Part Six
Okay, this is it! The part I’ve been waiting to post for so long! It’s the beginning of the climax and it’s about to get crazy! What are you waiting for? Let’s get to it!
Jack woke up with a start. It took him a moment to remember where he was, and why he wasn’t at the palace. He remembered, and sadness filled his heart. Then he realized what had woken him. Voices.
From the deep masculine voices and yelling of orders, it was obvious that the people heading his way right now were soldiers. They sounded a good ways off, but Jack knew it wouldn’t take them long to reach him.
He scrambled down his ladder, and as soon as his feet hit the ground, swirled his hands and set about disassembling his treehouse. As soon as the last snowflake had disappeared, Jack turned to run.
“Well, well, well, little Jack Frost.” A figure emerged from the woods, right in Jack’s path. “We meet at last.”
Something about the man frightened Jack. The man had an air of royalty about him, but it was hidden by an unkempt appearance. His red hair was tousled and flecked with grey, although he couldn’t be much older than Queen Anna or King Kristoff. A scraggly beard obscured much of his face, but not his eyes, his eyes were frightening and wild.
As if trying to reinstate whatever royalty the man thought he had, he wore a fine suit with gold accents and a gold crown perched crookedly atop his head.
Jack took several hurried steps backward, eager to put as much distance as possible between himself and this madman. His foot caught on a root, and he pitched over backward, landing hard on his behind. This didn’t stop him. He used his hands and feet to scramble away.
The man smiled cruelly and slowly followed Jack. His hands were clasped casually behind his back, and he walked as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Jack highly suspected that was far from the truth.
“Y-you can’t take me,” Jack stuttered.
The man laughed coolly. “My men and I just took care of those idiotic Arendellian troops and their bumbling king. You really think you can escape?”
King Kristoff? Oh no, it had already begun. Jack had to stop this before anyone else got hurt. He pushed himself to his feet and set himself in a determined stance, his hands clenched at his sides. He could feel the familiar tingling sensation in his arms as his fingers went cold. “Yes, I really think I can.” He projected more confidence into his words than he actually felt. “I’ll use my powers.”
For the first time, the man’s nonchalant demeanor slipped. His eyes turned steely. “No, I don’t think you will.”
Just then, a crashing sounded in the woods behind the man. A voice called out Jack’s name. Jack’s heart sank. He recognized the voice.
Apparently, the man did too. “Ah,” the hard expression vanished from his face, and his chilling smirk returned. “Right on time.”
Queen Anna was running right into a trap.
*****
Anna heard Jack’s voice and was encouraged that she had made the right decision. At a fork in the path a ways back, she had heard the sounds of Kristoff and his men coming from the right. But something had told her that Jack was down the other path. It seemed her instinct was correct.
“Jack!” she cried.
By the time she realized there was a second, deeper voice that sent chills down her spine, it was too late to be cautious. She crashed into a small clearing and skidded ungracefully to a stop. She spotted Jack immediately. The second figure stood with his back to her, tall and broad.
The man turned and Anna thought she might be sick.
“Hello, Anna.”
“Hans.”
“That’s King Hans now.” He smiled, but there was no real emotion in it at all. It seemed just a formality. “It’s been quite a while.” He turned his back to both Anna and Jack and gestured flippantly. He seemed almost bored. “Guards, take them both.”
Half a dozen soldiers emerged from the trees around the clearing. One came up behind Anna and grabbed her arm roughly, causing her to gasp.
“Let her go.” Jack raised his hands in front of him, and Anna could see a flurry of snowflakes and ice crystals swirling in the air. So it was true.
Quicker than a flash, Hans had turned and drawn his sword which he now leveled at Anna’s throat. Her breath caught as she saw his eyes: frenzied.
“I see one speck of magic and you can say goodbye to your precious queen.”
Jack hesitated. There was defiance in his eyes. Anna knew it well; she had seen it many times before. She begged him silently to do as Hans said. She had no doubt that the man would be true to his word.
Jack lowered his hands reluctantly. Satisfied, Hans re-sheathed his sword. Two guards came and bound the boy’s hands behind him roughly. Another joined the one that already held Anna and they did the same to her.
Anna and Jack were both dragged across the clearing and tied next to each other to a large tree. When they were both secured, Hans strode over to them. “Well,” he said to Anna, his face so close she could see the wear time had had on him. “This is quite the reunion, isn’t it, darling?”
Anna knew he was mocking her, and it burned. She was no longer the naïve, lovesick teenager she was when she met Hans. Those memories were painful. She had almost lost her sister and her kingdom because she had been reckless and foolish enough to trust this man.
Hans move on to Jack. Anna longed to throw herself in between the boy and this obviously unhinged man she once knew. “Jack Frost. You have no idea how long I’ve been looking for you.”
“Really? And how long is that?” Anna asked. Hans had a weakness. He loved to talk about himself. Perhaps if they could get him started, he might even let them in on his plan. At the very least, it would buy them some time.
“Ever since I heard one of our naval captains had wed the magical former queen of Arendelle.” Hans whirled on Anna. “Do you know what you did? When I was sent back to the Southern Isles, I was put in prison, disowned, and disgraced. My family wanted nothing to do with me. But all that time alone gave me time to think.
“So I came up with a plan. When I heard that Nikolas, the naval officer, and Elsa, the magical leader of the Northuldra had a child, everything fell into place. And when that child turned out to have magic of its own, things were even better.
“I used what influence I had left to coerce all sorts of outlaws and rogues to kidnap the child and its mother.” Hans slammed his hand on the tree trunk, startling the two captives. “But they all failed. No one could even get close to either of them. And then, the traitor Nikolas disappeared with the child. All seemed lost, but I was not about to give up.
“As soon as I was released from prison, I spent time drawing people to my cause. Before long, I had enough power to overthrow a kingdom. But the time was not right. As soon as my father passed away, it was time to act. I took control of the Southern Isles.”
“And what about your brothers?” Anna asked.
“They were… contained. It was their choice what state they were in.”
Anna and Jack exchanged a glance. They both understood the insinuation.
“I sent spies out to try and discover the whereabouts of the child. My plan would only work with both Elsa and her offspring. Nikolas was good at hiding their trail. None of my spies could track them. That is, until the legend of Jack Frost began to spread. Then, they were easier to track. The story was traced from town to town, until my spies finally caught up with the boy and his father. A band of pirates was sent to attack their ship.
Jack paled. “It was you. It was all you.”
“That was the closest I came to capturing the boy in almost a decade. But he slipped through my fingers yet again. I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. I took a band of my best soldiers and tracked the story myself. And it led me here.”
“But why? Why go to all this trouble to track down Elsa and Jack?” Anna asked.
Hans turned his back to them, his head down in thought. “Revenge on Arendelle for ruining my life.”
Anna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew now that Hans had always been self-centered, and that had only been made worse over the years. But could he really be so blind? He was the one who had tried to murder her and Elsa and take over Arendelle, and he was the one who felt wronged? She grew gladder every day that Elsa had refused to bless their marriage.
“I would hold the child hostage and threaten his life unless Elsa did what I asked.”
“And what would that have been?” Jack asked through gritted teeth.
“To plunge Arendelle into another eternal winter.”
“That seems a bit extreme,” Jack said, sarcasm biting his words.
Anna immediately regretted it for him.
Hans snapped. He whipped around and placed a hand on either side of Jack’s face. His eyes burned down at the boy. “Does it?” He pushed away from the tree. “I wanted Arendelle wiped off the map!” He slashed his hand violently through the air. “I wanted you,” here he pointed dramatically at Anna, “to suffer. To know what it felt like to work so hard at something, only for it to be torn from your grasp.”
Anna was distracted by a sudden gust of wind ruffling her hair. She tried to focus back on Hans, but then another gust tickled her ear. She looked around, expecting the leaves on the trees to be fluttering, but they were completely still.
Then, a breeze caught the tails of Hans’ jacket. Anna could have sworn she heard giggling. Hans was not amused. He searched for the source of the annoyance. “What was that?”
Anna had her suspicions.
Something warm moved on the tree by her bound wrists. She could feel something burning on her wrist and tried not to wince. Then the rope fell away, burned off. The fire moved away, and out of the corner of her eye she could see a small lizard scurrying across the bark.
Next there came a whinny from somewhere in the forest. Following soon after was the splash of water.
Hans was incredibly put out by the sudden distractions “Don’t just stand there, you fools!” he snapped at his soldiers. “Go see what it is!” Half of his men ran off in the direction of the sounds.
Finally, the ground began to shake, almost as if from large, thundering footsteps. The remaining soldiers fled in terror, while Hans roared after them to come back.
While Hans and his soldiers were distracted, Bruni the fire spirit burned through the rope that held Anna to the tree.
And then ice arrived.
*****
Ta-da! Was anyone expecting for Hans to show up? Did you think he was behind it all? I wrote most of the climax between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. one night, so hopefully it all makes sense!
Well, we’ve only got one part to go; next week will be the finale of When All is Lost… Tune in next time to see the conclusion of this epic (hopefully epic?) saga.
See you soon!
~Jadyn