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ends-of-the-wayward-storm · 4 years

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Frozen--Book 1--Chances

Chapter 9--“Thanks For Not Letting Me Get Killed”

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Summary

Hans is granted a second chance by a criminal known as the Mystery, someone people have only heard rumors about. How and why the Mystery decided to go out of his way to do this was beyond Hans, and frankly it bothered him. But once the Mystery’s plan goes into action, it’s only a matter of time before something bigger begins to develop.

(AO3 version) (Prologue)

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After they had eaten from their small food supply, Hans and the Mystery followed another branch of the river down a second path. The Mystery had to admit, he was looking forward to where this would lead. And as long as they didn’t go anywhere near “that path” he was fine.

The river eventually turned away, and the duo came across another shore. This one was covered in a layer of grass, much like the previous one. But unlike the previous one, moss covered spots of the trees. And the water looked dark.

Hans frowned as he studied the area more, but the Mystery was already making for the water. And Hans had no choice but to follow.

In the water, it wasn’t at all murky like he had assumed. And it wasn’t salty, so that was a welcome change.

A small handful of minutes passed before the vegetation changed. Both of them swam to the surface, and they were greeted with a thick forest and a darkened sky. Caution slowly grew within them as they swam out of the pond, and the Mystery was getting a nagging sense of familiarity.

“Do you have any idea where we are?” Hans asked.

The Mystery studied their surroundings before shrugging.

Finding two decently sized sticks, the prince rubbed them together until they were both alight. He then handed one of them to the Mystery before setting off.

They could find anything out here, wherever “here” was. Hans flipped through his memory for anything that could possibly give an identity to their location. The vegetation wasn’t much to go on, and the only wildlife around was crickets. If they were lucky, they might find someone else out here, and maybe that someone would be a native.

A branch cracked above them, forcing them to stop. They scanned the treetops for anything out of the ordinary, but it was becoming too dark to see that far up. The Mystery held his breath as the two of them scanned their surroundings.

A bush rustled to Hans’s left.

A twig snapped to the Mystery’s right.

Then silence.

Hans’s hand drifted to his hilt, and he scanned the area for a figure in the shadows.

Growling crept up behind them, and they slowly turned around. Raising his torch higher, the Mystery picked out steely eyes multiplying by the second.

One of the creatures dared to step closer to the light. A shadowy paw was followed by a leg, and soon the rest of it made it clear what they were up against.

“Run!” Hans urged.

The creatures barked and howled as the duo practically sprinted blindly through the woods. Howling brought Hans’s attention to his left, where more of the creatures were running after them.

One of them lunged for the Mystery, and he swung his torch at it to drive it away. But another tackled him down from behind. A howling screech sounded in his ear, and the weight was suddenly lifted off of him. He looked up at Hans glancing down at him with sword in hand, and the Mystery scrambled to his feet.

Something bright flickered in the corner of his eye, and the Mystery spotted a small fire beginning to spread from his fallen torch. Grabbing fistfuls of dirt, he threw it onto the fire until there was nothing left.

Hans thrust his torch toward a creature and sliced at another, making it dissipate into the air. The creatures felt solid, and yet they appeared as though they were mere phantoms. These had to have been conjured by magic. And if that was true, then their conjurer was most likely dangerous.

One of the creatures tugged on the Mystery’s cloak, and he immediately kicked it away. Another accompanied by a third forced him back toward the trees. Cracking his whip, he broke through the scuffle only for claws to tear across his leg. A cry was bit short, bringing Hans’s attention to the Mystery briefly.

A set of teeth bit into Hans’s torch arm, and he slammed the pommel of his sword onto the creature’s head until it released. Another tackled him to the ground, and he held its jaws back with his sword. Something warm was very close to his leg, and it was nicking him. He spotted the orange glow of fire and moved his leg as best as he could, but a set of teeth nearly nipping his nose forced him to stare right into the creature’s eyes.

The creature cried out as a whip wrapped around its torso and yanked it off of Hans. The prince’s next immediate instinct was to get as far away from the small fire as possible. He expected to feel a searing pain in his calf, so much so that he almost did feel it. But instead his boot was just scorched, and all he felt was an oddly comfortable warmth.

No time to think about that, Hans thought.

He threw dirt onto the fire until it was out, and he grabbed his sword to swing at the first bark he heard. Now that they were in complete darkness, it was hard to see. Not to mention he couldn’t even see the Mystery since his clothes were so dark.

If they were going to survive this, they needed to work together.

“Head for the middle!” Hans ordered.

The Mystery warded off another creature and darted for the spot only to be cut off. Claws raked across his whip arm, making him drop his weapon. Grimacing, he fished for his knife and brandished it toward the creatures. Hans picked out the Mystery’s silhouette as well as the eyes of the beasts and expertly slashed at the creatures.

Blindly the Mystery felt the ground for his whip. His hand brushed up against the handle (or at least he hoped it was the handle and not a snake), and he snatched it up before stashing his knife away.

A hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of range of a set of jaws. Reflexively he jerked his wrist free.

“We’re outnumbered. We can’t fight them all!” Hans pointed out.

Oh. That hand was him, the Mystery thought.

Stabbing a creature coming close to Hans, the Mystery grabbed Hans’s wrist to pull him along. The redhead then yanked his own wrist free and shot the Mystery a curt look.

“There has to be somewhere we can lose them,” Hans said.

The Mystery growled. They were running blind! How could they see anything?!

He risked lashing his whip out at one of the creatures that was close to him. They would probably die out here. But then again, he’s survived for this long. Maybe he could keep going.

Hans once again grasped the Mystery’s wrist and jerked him to the side. They dropped to the ground and pressed themselves up against what felt like a boulder. His grip still remained as the creatures ran past them. But none of them dared to move.

That was too easy. There was no way they would just keep going, the Mystery thought.

They waited in silence for what felt like ages. Nothing of those creatures was heard, not even their scuffling.

Finally, the duo breathed a sigh of relief, and Hans released his hold on the Mystery.

“We should be safe for now,” Hans said lowly.

The Mystery peeked around the boulder for a few moments before slowly standing up. Hans followed suit, and the duo carefully walked backwards only to tumble down a hill. Hans slammed into a tree, and the Mystery kept going for a few moments before coming to a stop.

Groaning, the Mystery picked himself up and dusted himself, wincing at the slashes on his right hand opening further. Yeah that’s enough action for today.

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Hans blew on the newborn flames until they grew, and he sat back against the wall of the small cave they had found. He watched the Mystery secure his cravat around his right arm as best as he could, the magenta a stark contrast against the navy blue of the thief’s clothes.

Hans removed his jacket and carefully rolled up the sleeve to his shirt. He couldn’t help wincing at the bite marks. They were so red, and frankly he didn’t want to burn the disgusting image into his mind.

Pulling out a handkerchief, Hans was about to begin wrapping when movement brought his attention to the Mystery coming to closer. The thief held a hand out, and Hans’s immediate response was to deny his help. He could handle himself. He always did.

But when he made eye contact, there was a genuine look to the Mystery’s eyes that he didn’t recall ever seeing before.

Hans handed the handkerchief to the Mystery, and the thief carefully went to work.

“. . . Thanks for . . . not letting me get killed.”

The prince looked to the Mystery. A feminine voice. “. . . You’re welcome.”

Silence again.

“I should thank you for helping me also.”

“You’re welcome.” The Mystery secured the handkerchief. “You got everything else?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Hans ripped off a piece of his tailcoat. “I wasn’t expecting you to speak.”

“Surprised?”

“Somewhat.” He handed the Mystery another handkerchief, to which the latter glanced to before taking it for her leg.

“Once we get back we’ll use the gauze. Then you can have this thing back.” The Mystery held up the arm bearing the cravat.

“Of course.”

The two settled into silence, and the Mystery picked at the berries they had managed to find.

“Do you have a name?”

The Mystery thought about it. “. . . Courtney. And I’m not lying.”

“Your parents?”

“Next question.” Her tone was harsh, and a frown tugged at Hans’s lips.

“Do you have siblings?”

“No.”

He debated on asking for her age, but that would’ve been rude. Even though he considered her rude at times.

“Anything else?”

Hans mused for a few moments. “. . . I would like that second chance.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

“I know.”

“Good. Now get some sleep. I’m taking first watch.”

“I think I should be the one taking first watch.”

“I’ll wake you when it’s your shift. Now go to sleep.”

The two stared each other down for a few moments before Hans ultimately sighed and made himself comfortable.

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(Prologue) (Next chapter) (Previous chapter)

#And the Mystery finally speaks!#Maybe they might begin to tolerate each other more. . . .#And maybe you might be able to guess where Hans and Courtney are.#You'll know for sure where they are in the next chapter. ;)#Frozen #Hans #Hans Westergaard #The Mystery #Courtney #Frozen OCs #Frozen--Book 1--Chances

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