DeFrosted

Chapter 20

(Anna)

I was jolted awake by the sound of the barred wagon door being unlocked and opened.

Hans was already wide awake, his arm still protectively around me. A skinny, weasely looking man with cow horns crudely attached to his bowl shaped helmet entered the wagon. Bowl of meat and bread in his hands. He glared down at me with the most disgusting perversity. Hans pulled me closer and gave the man a death glare.

"Easy there pretty boy, I'm only admiring the merchandise." He snorted, setting down the food at my feet. He shot me a repulsive wink before leaving and locking the door behind him.

The wagon jolted forward, we were on the move. I closed my eyes and shuddered. He unwrapped his hand from my shoulders and picked up the bowl. "I'm not going to let them touch you again, I promise." He swore, holding the bowl out to me to grab some of its contents.

Eyeing the food suspiciously I picked up a piece of the bread. "Thank you.." I said quietly. The bread was hard and stale, but edible.

"Where do you think they are taking us?" I asked, trying hard to chew the stale meal down. "With the direction we are headed..." He said, thinking out loud. "My guess is the sea." He brought his hand to his neck and rubbed the back of it. "When my ship approached Arendale, one of my crew spied a large Mother vessel hidden in a cove on the Giliah Island."

"But the island of Giliah has no inhabitants..." I stated. "I know." He replied. "But it is far enough away from Arendale that your sisters wintery spell does not affect it. My guess is that the leader of these... Barbarians, decided that a wintery port was not to his liking. So he sends his troops in to seize your lands whilst he lounges away on the beaches of Gilaih."

"They are taking us to Gilaih..." I said with sudden realization. "To marry me to that warlord scourge Lord Dreth."

"Not going to happen." Assured Hans. "You have a plan?" I asked through a whisper. He nodded. "Do tell."

He turned to face me better. "When I was a boy, I used to cause my share of trouble." "Go figure." I added sarcastically. "I'm being serious Anna." He shot me a stern look. "As punishment my father used to lock me in my chambers till I would apologize for whatever mess I had caused." He stated. "Now my father used to have a lot of locks replaced on my doors because I learned from the local ruffians how to pick them." This didn't surprise me.

"You can pick locks?" I asked hopefully, staring at the locked door in front of us. "I'm sorry Anna, that is a wardens lock, not a simple palace door. I'm no locksmith..." He told me sadly.

My face fell, my excitement replaced by disappointment. "Hey..." He called pulling my chin up to look at him. "I said I have plan, remember?"

He dropped his hand and carried on telling me his plan. "These locks are well forged, and in up kept condition, but whatever room or cell they hold us in aboard the vessel won't be hard to open." He grinned, trying to lift my spirits. "In this weather, it will take us at least 3 days to reach the Island of Gilaih. My plan is to wait till nightfall, when most of the crew is asleep, then I can pick the lock and we can steal a landing boat and be gone before any of these idiots is the wiser."

"Good plan, lets hope we can pull it off." I asked with a hint of dread. If not I become the wife and bed slave to a cruel barbarian who will sell my people as slaves, then kill me the instant I produce an heir. Or I can only hope he kills me, for a lifetime of wedlock to a monster like that is to much to even bear thinking about.

"So you used to break out of the palace all the time?" I asked, trying to light the looming sense of doom that filled the air.

We spent the rest of the day sharing tales, it started out only him telling me about all the mischief he got into, but soon turned much deeper. Much like the conversation we had the night we first met. We fell into the familiar comfortable rhythm of conversation that I had tried so hard to forget. I was surprised, Though Hans was plotting to steal my throne at the time, he had told me the truth about his backstory and upbringing. It wasn't at all a pity plea to win me over.

"Do you smell that?" He asked suddenly. It was the salt water air that I had grown up with. We were near the port. "The ocean!" I exclaimed. "We are back in the capital." I jumped up and ran to the bars, trying to catch a glimpse of my beloved city.

What I saw brought tears to my eyes. The castle had been painted with streaks of red, to symbolize the blood of the fallen kingdom. The market was in shambles, stores and shops ransacked. The statue of my grandfather that was the centerpiece of the great town square fountain had been pulled down and lie in several chunks on the ground. Smoke billowed from behind the walls of my mothers garden. The barbarians had the audacity to set up the camp there.

"My precious city..." I whispered, pained by the sight before me.

The wagon lurched to a standstill. Several Viking goons laughed menially as they unlocked the doors and grabbed onto my skirt, pulling me out of the wagon. "Don't fight them." I called back to Hans as two other barbarians climbed inside to fetch him. His life was hanging by a thin thread as it was, any sign of conflict or struggle from him and they would have the excuse they need to sever his head from the rest of his body.

"Yeah boy, better listen to your cousin!" The skinny one who had brought us food earlier jeered at my 'cousin'. Hans face grimaced, I could tell the prince did not quite like being called 'boy'. But he bit down onto his lip to force himself to be calm. He knew the stakes as well as I did. He was expendable, plain and simple.

They roughly led us aboard a ship, appropriately named the Bloodhound. As we crossed the deck on our way to the brig below, I felt the man to my rights hand sliding down my back and slapping me on the rear. I winced in shock. Hans tore loose of the guards that held him and body slammed my assailant to the floor. "Don't you DARE touch her!" He hissed down to the Viking who lay sprawled out across the deck of the ship. The man reached into his boot, grabbing a crude knife he slashed at Hans. Hans jumps out of the way but the blade catches his shoulder, slicing through his jacket.

"Hans!" I screamed in fear! If they kill him now my chances to escape will be as dead as he.

"Enough!" The head Viking cries out. The attacker reluctantly sheathes his blade and stands down. His guards quickly latched back onto Hans and pushed him down onto his knees. The head Viking backhands him hard across the face. The slap resonating across the entire deck. "Lock them in the brig!" He ordered.

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-Authors Note-
Hey guys! GeekPower1 here! I can't believe this story has gotten over A HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND READS! Thank you all so much for your support. If you like this work, Please check out my book Frenemies (on my GeekPower1 profile) and give it a read, (and maybe comment that you are one of my Sister and I's DeFrosted readers). Thank you all so much for your support, reading your comments makes my day. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please don't forget to vote! -GeekPower1