Once Upon A Time Frozen Over: Shards of Secrets (Book One) [COMPLETE]

CHAPTER THREE - AND WOLVES DESCEND

Arendelle

Twenty-One Years Earlier

They ran wildly through the forest, the moon reflecting off the half-melted March snow that was crunching under their feet.  All they could hear were their heartbeats thumping in their ears, their breathless panting and the charging of horses rushing towards them.  The path grew harder to see, their eyes welling up with tears from the cold wind whipping against their faces.  Exhausted and unable to run any farther, they both stopped and turned to see the band of armored men fiercely riding towards them.

"They're too close....There's too many....We can't out run them," Agnarr said frantically, trying to catch his breath.

"Please, Agnarr, tell me what is going on!" Heidi demanded, shouting over the cries of their newborn child she was desperately trying to keep hold of.

"They're cold-blooded mercenaries and they're after our child!  But I won't let them have him, so I need you to run!  I'll try to hold them off!" Agnarr shouted.

"What! Agnarr, no, I'm not leaving without you!" Heidi protested, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward her.

Agnarr forced her hand open, thrusting the torch into it and screamed, "RUN!"

Heidi stumbled to get her footing as she turned to run, clutching her baby in one arm and holding the torch high in the other.  Still exhausted, she could only run a few yards.  She found a large oak tree along the side of the path and hid behind it.  She peered around the tree and watched in horror, as the armored men approached her husband.

A tall, burly man with red hair and a bushy, red beard, dismounted his horse and moved toward Agnarr.  It appeared they were conversing with one another, but Agnarr suddenly struck the man in the face with his fist.

Heidi shuddered in terror as she continued watching from afar. Agnarr grabbed the man, pulled him toward him and shouted in his face — the distance too great for Heidi to hear what was said. Agnarr released the man from his grip and the two men stood there briefly in silence. Suddenly, the red-haired man unsheathed his dagger and drove it into Agnarr's stomach.

Heidi's eyes widened with fright as she watched Agnarr's body drop to the ground. The men dragged the body to the prison wagon that two of the horses were carrying, and threw it inside. The men mounted their horses and began to ride off.

Heidi pulled her head back behind the tree and waited until they were out of sight. She then fell to her knees, crying, feeling alone and helpless. Suddenly, above her cries, she heard the howls and growling of vicious wolves from the thick of the forest all around her. She jumped to her feet and frantically looked around for a safe place to hide her son from the bloodthirsty wolves. She spotted a hollow log not far from the oak tree she had been hiding behind. She hurriedly ran to the log, knelt down and gently placed her son inside it.

"I'm sorry, my darling," Heidi said to her son, his tiny hand grasping his mother's finger. "I couldn't save your father, but I will save you...no matter what it takes. I don't know what will happen to me, but, just remember to always be kind, strong and selfless and that I will always love you." Heidi slowly let her finger out of her baby's hand.

She stood up and turned around to see the dozens of glowing eyes glaring at her from the forest across the path. She gripped the torch tightly and grabbed her knife from her belt. The wolves crept toward her, snarling, flashing their sharp, grotesque teeth. They leapt at her, one by one. Heidi knocked each one down with her torch and stabbed them with her knife. Using every ounce of energy she had, she killed every wolf that came at her.

Exhausted from defeating the ravenous wolves, she staggered backwards toward the hollow log where her son lay. She then heard a rustling in the leaves behind her in the woods. She turned to face the last beast waiting for its kill. She froze in fear, her mouth agape. She screamed as the beast lunged at her and brought her to her death. The forest fell silent. A wolf's howl broke the silence, echoing through the forest as if in victory.

Hours passed. The darkness lifted as twilight approached, revealing a soft glowing light that filled the horizon with hues of pink and purple. The child, still safely tucked away inside the hollow log, began to cry as he grew cold and hungry. 

In the distance, galloping could be heard coming up the forest path. A young woman on her brown mare stopped to look at her map, when she heard the muffled cries of a baby. She followed the sound to a small, hollow log and dismounted her horse. "Cherrywood, stay here," she commanded the horse.

She curiously walked over to the log, bent down and peered into it to find a trembling infant, lying on a blanket. 

"What are you doing in here?" she said surprised, picking up the baby and coddling it. She wrapped the blanket tightly around the cold infant. On the blanket, embroidered in brown, was the child's name — "Kristoff, is that your name?" she said, stroking the child's cheek, comforting the baby.

Confused to where his family might be and how he got there, she looked around and found a trail of blood not far from the log. She followed the trail and found a woman's mauled body lying lifeless amongst the leaves and snow in the forest. Holding the infant in one arm, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She looked back at the baby and said, "You poor thing...don't worry, I am going to take care of you."

She got back on her horse with the baby and rode off to her home at the orphanage her mother owned, where she was waiting for her.

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Author's Note:

Dun, dun, duh....Awww, poor Kristoff's mommy.....I have no regrets! And if you only felt bad for the wolves, then you're my kind of person!!! Did you think the baby was Kristoff from the beginning? Let me know! The next chapter is on the way - along with a new character of my own creation! I think you'll like her! No more hints...Read on my fellow Oncers!