A Tale of Ice and Snow- Chapter 4
"Sit." Hans told Anna, pointing to the dusty chair. Anna could tell that this shed had used to be grand, as the chair was mahogany with a blue silk pillow that had faded from time. Anna felt a tight knot in the pit of her stomach. She glared at him. What is he thinking? Hans smiled at her, like he did those years ago, when he faked being in love with her. Anna wanted to punch him.
"You must be thinking that I'm mad, kidnapping a princess." Hans grinned evilly.
"You are mad. A lunatic, actually. Now, if you're not feeling very power-hungry now, will you please let me go?" Anna demanded.
"Dear, dear, Anna. Now you know how I felt when your beloved Queen of Arendelle threw me in prison. But there are apparently many secrets in the castle of Arendelle. When you were happily getting married to your darling Kristoff, I found a weed that beholds powers, and raised my assistant from the dead. Now his life is bound to mine. He is now more powerful than ever, and indirectly I have powers too."
The hooded figure inclined his head slightly and made no sound.
"So… you're just going to make an army of stone-headed people and rule over Arendelle." Anna raised an eyebrow, but inside her heart was thumping wildly against her chest, and it wasn't just from that foul concoction.
"Stone-hearted. Really, you ought to have a few more brain cells."
"Whatever. Why do you want so badly to be king anyway? Why can't you just leave Arendelle in peace?"
"I got a life sentence, bitch." Hans spat the last word out.
"Also," he continued as if nothing had happened, "being king means power. All my life, I've been an underdog my whole life, youngest of so many brothers. I've never been noticed by anyone, except when I got thrown in prison. And guess what, dear old wonderful mother and father disowned me."
"I'll show them. I'll become king and shove that fact down their throats and hope they choke." Hans' voice grew louder as he said so.
Anna winced at that thought.
"And why Arendelle? Revenge, of course." Hans grinned evilly.
"Feel free to walk around as you wish now. You've only got what, four more days?"
Anna glared at Hans and folded her arms.
xxxxx
It was late afternoon. Elsa could hear the soft snores of Jack beside her.
She couldn't blame him, of course. He had been checking the path in front of them every five minutes and then comforting her that her sister would be okay whenever she suddenly broke down. Elsa blushed at that thought.
She stared out of the carriage window. It was almost sunset. The sky was turning from bright blue to a soft orange. Looking at it from up above the clouds, the sunset was even more majestic than she realised. Hues of orange blended with other, bringing out the colour of the icy path. She waved a hand, and a light draft of snowflakes floated out, drifting and eventually blending into the sky.
The sled started climbing up an ice slope. It balanced precariously on the tip of the slope. Elsa leaned forward, like Jack said, and the sled came rushing down.
"Whuh?" Jack mumbled. He blinked blearily a few times. The corner of Elsa's mouth turned upward.
"Relax, Jack, there's nothing to worry about. We just went down a slope. Go back to sleep." Elsa murmured softly.
There was the sound of shattering ice, and the sled creaked.
"Are you sure? There seems to be some kind of trouble. I'll go check." Jack stood up.
"I'll go with you." Elsa followed Jack outside, to the front of the sled.
The sled creaked again ominously. Elsa's heart skipped a beat.
Don't fall, don't fall.
She heard the shatter of ice once again, but this time it was louder.
And coming from right under them.
The icy path gave way, and Elsa felt herself falling.
xxxxx
"You've delayed them?"
Hans paced outside the dusty shed, the hooded figure beside him.
"Yes."
"Good." Hans smiled smugly.
"We'll have to relocate our dear guest, too. They're faster than I had anticipated." The hooded figure murmured.
"Alright. You get the honour of deciding the location. After all, you're going to rule by my side when I take over Arendelle, aren't you?"
Hans felt, rather than saw, his assistant smile.
xxxxx
The sensation of falling was incredible. But not in a good way.
It was first a lurching sensation, then Elsa felt herself falling, flying. Her organs were pressed against the back of her ribs. She felt dizzy. Nice way to die. Elsa thought giddily. She could hear Jack yelling something from above her.
"WHAT?" Elsa yelled.
"SNOW PILE!"
Elsa stretched a hand out. The ground was green, they had to be somewhere close to the southern isles.
Seconds to impact.
A strong stream of snow blasted out from Elsa's hand.
Hopefully she could survive.
She felt herself hit the snow.
xxxxx
Elsa stood up and looked around.
Okay… so she isn't dead. Well, hopefully not.
"Jack?"
"Right here." He stood up.
They had, apparently, crash-landed in someone's backyard. A cottage stood in front of them.
The door opened and a lady in her mid-twenties stepped out.
"Why is there snow in my yard? And what are you two doing here?"
xxxxx
Anna wasn't just going to sit there, she decided.
She was going to find her way out.
Anna sat there. Maybe Hans had been lying. Maybe the door wasn't actually enchanted to keep her in. She opened the door gingerly.
Anna jerked her hand back immediately. She felt a painful stinging sensation running up her fingers and through her body. It was only for a split second, but it felt a hundred times worse than the time she had accidentally burnt herself.
Well, fine. Hans wasn't lying after all.
Anna grabbed a dusty stool in a corner and threw it at the door. The stool hit the door and broke. She growled in frustration and cursed fiercely.
She had to find a way out. She only had four more days.
Before her heart turned into stone.
Anna tried not to dwell on that thought.
The door flew open. Hans sauntered in.
"We're going to walk to the harbor where my assistant will transport us somewhere. Now, dear Anna, if I were you, I'd try not to run away. I'm going to hold you on knifepoint, you know." Hans pulled his dagger out lazily and pointed it at her neck. Anna could feel the sharp metal edge poking on her skin.
"You can't make me go, Hans."
"I'm not. But my assistant can."
The hooded figure stepped forward and touched Anna's forehead.
Searing pain rushed through Anna's veins. She howled in agony. It was beyond anything she had experienced.
I'm going to die. I am going to die.
"Stop. Stop. I'll… I'll go with you…" Anna whimpered.
The pain subsided.
"I thought so." Hans grinned triumphantly.
Okay so I've got a writer's block and plus I was busy the past few weeks so sorry for taking so long to put this up! I don't think this chapter is as good as the others so do review!
~Silvershadow Mockingjay