Other Fan Fiction ❯ Reprise ❯ Follow the Flakes ( Chapter 32 )

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CHAPTER 32: Follow the Flakes

The dockworker stood where they would have lowered the gangplank, blocking their path.

"Welcome to Arendelle. May I see your permit please?"

"Permit?" Flynn asked.

The dockworker tapped his foot. He wore a domed helmet with a nose guard. As far as Rapunzel could see, all the dockworkers had been replaced by royal sentries. They paced up and down the shoreline with sharp spears.

"All ships need to have writ of consent from one of the allied kingdoms before being granted dock."

Rapunzel whispered to Ariel. "That's new."

"We can't allow in a potential risk, if your kingdom is not part of Arendelle's axis of compatriots. These are tumultuous times. What flag do you sail under?"

"Look, it's just me, my wife, and..." Flynn pondered Ariel's role, "my sister. We're a trade ship."

"Trade ship?" The guard looked behind him. "What are all those guns and cannons for?"

"That's... that's what we're trading. Do you need any? Can never be too careful in these tumultuous times."

"Do you have an arrangement with a specific guild?" the guard asked.

"A guild? Ah, sure. The guild of..."

"Here." Ariel held the folded up flag from the mercenaries. She threw it down to him. "Our buyer said to show you this. He said we'd be greeted as friends."

The guard fingered the material as if he expected it to fall apart. "Hm, this is a sanctioned banner. Still, this is all a bit suspicious."

Rapunzel whispered in Flynn's ear. "Do the smolder."

"What?" Flynn whispered back. "But it's a guy."

"Just do it. Trust me."

Flynn rolled his eyes. "All right," he sighed. "Here it comes." He propped one knee on the railing and gazed down. "Hey." His eyebrows knitted together. Lips puckered and pursed. His voice dropped to low and soothing. "I understand. You gotta be careful. If more kingdoms cared this much, there'd be less to worry about. And, may I say, that leather armor really compliments your shoulders."

The guard grew a bemused expression. "All right, you can dock."

Rapunzel and Ariel lowered the gangplank while Flynn cocked his eyebrow, confused.

"Thank you, sir," Rapunzel said to him as they passed. "Have a good day."

Once they passed by, Flynn whispered to Rapunzel, "How did you know?"

"Women's intuition," Rapunzel said.

The situation only worsened the further they went into town. Partisan-holding soldiers walked the streets in pairs, wearing armor with the insignia and colors of the new empire. Occasionally, a coach passed down the street. Not a friendly caravan, but a black, square coach with gilded edges, pulled by a war horse.

"Hey."

Across the street, one of the gendarme shouted at a citizen. "Pick up that can." He pointed his spear at the ground.

The old woman in the grubby wool cloak snatched it up. "Sorry, I just dropped it."

The guard grimaced. Rapunzel noticed soldiers with crossbows lurking on rooftops, observing the exchange. Townspeople darted across streets, huddled under awnings, and avoided anyone's gaze.

Their mouths dropped when reached the town square. It was devoid of people, but full of stocks and pillories. No one was in them, but it did its job of scaring the populace.

"This is awful," she said.

"I know," Flynn said. "It's worse than what I imagined."

"What should we do? Where should we go?" Ariel asked.

"The castle. I am the cousin of the rightful queen and Ansel's superior," Rapunzel said.

Flynn caught up to her as she took off. "Wait, wait. Are you sure that's a good idea? His seat of power's already got an indentation of his butt. It's going to take more than a stern talking-to for him to give it up."

Two guards stood in front of the iron-wrought poles, while others around the boundaries patrolled or watched.

"What do you want?" the guard asked.

"I demand to see Commander Ansel."

"Yeah, right. Take off, love," he said.

Rapunzel fluffed out her hair to make sure he noticed. She couldn't believe he didn't recognize her. "I am Ansel's commander-in-chief and cousin to Queen Elsa."

"Come off it. You don't look a bit like her."

Rapunzel pursed her lips. Hadn't Ansel told anyone to look out for a waify blond with seventy-foot long hair?

"Commander Ansel will recognize me, if you just let him-"

"She's brunette and you're blond. Unless that's a wig. Ridiculous wig, though. Hey, Hemming. Check out this girl's hair."

"What's she wearing? A stalk of wheat?" Hemming answered from his guard post.

"I know, right." He turned back to her. "All right, cutie, take off. You're wasting my time."

"I am not leaving until-"

Flynn grabbed her shoulders as the guard's scowl deepened. "I'm sorry, sir. My sister's a little addled. Likes playing pretend. Thanks for humoring her." He steered Rapunzel across the street, around the corner of a building.

"Did that go as well as you expected?" Flynn asked.

"We should be happy we weren't arrested," Ariel said. "Hasn't Ansel declared us public enemy number one, two, and three?"

"Maybe he's been too busy," Flynn said. "He's sending ships to every corner of the sea. He wants to make sure he's recognized."

"Or he never expected us to walk up to his front door," Ariel finished. "So we've got that going for us. What else can we do? Sneak in? Wait for him to come out?"

Rapunzel was still grousing. Until, across the street, a familiar face walked by.

"Augie!" She ran across the street.

"Who?" Flynn asked.

An old man in a blue coat perked up. "My dear lady. I never thought I'd see you again." They held hands. "It's a wonder to see your shining face. Much needed in these dark times."

"What happened?" Rapunzel asked. "How did it get like this? What happened after we left?"

"Oh, it was bad. I mean, yes, they drove away the blockade. Princess Anna did a boffo job of keeping them guessing until Ansel's ships arrived. Once they saw Corona's flag they high-tailed it out of there. Not a shot was fired."

"That's good," Ariel said.

"Don't relax yet," Augie said. "They asked permission to come ashore for a long-term stay. He says he wants to help Arendelle with the winter, keep it protected. Ansel set himself up in the castle, directing his men, sitting in on meetings with the minister of defense. But days go by and he's acting more and more like he owns the place. A few orders this day, a few more the next. To people he doesn't even have authority over."

"Why did they listen?" Rapunzel asked. "Didn't Anna say anything?"

"He slid in so slickly. And I think she was grateful for the help. But then one night, there's a fire in the bakery. There's a riot--people are stealing all the bread they can before it burns. They're hungry, you know."

Rapunzel nodded.

"But Ansel says this is what happens when you let people suffer for so long. That they're inviting a revolution. The longer they take inaction, the bloodier the castle's walls will be. So he declares martial law."

Ariel raised her eyebrows. "Anna would never allow that."

"She tried not to. There was a big fight in the throne room. At the end, Ansel orders his men to detain Anna in her room. Says she's responsible for letting Arendelle get this bad. She's no longer fit for the crown and he's taking over."

"Then the war starts," Ariel said. "Corona versus Arendelle. Arendelle versus my kingdom. My kingdom versus Corona."

"I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced." Flynn extended his hand. "Hi, Flynn Rider."

Augie squinted. "Are you sure? You look like that new prince in Corona. What's his name? Eugenia Pitzfervert or something?"

"He's my husband," Rapunzel interjected. To Flynn, "Augie's the royal astronomer for Arendelle."

"Was," Augie corrected. "They kicked me out as soon as Ansel took over. First thing he did was eliminate anyone without combat training. There's nothing but soldiers in there now. Recruited half the town into military ranks."

"Where is Anna? Is she still in the castle?" Rapunzel asked.

"I suppose. Imprisoned in her room, as far as I know. Ansel keeps saying she can stand by his side when she's ready to accept the responsibility of a leader."

"If she was dead, he'd be showing off her body," Flynn said. "He'd want to prove the old rulers are dead to cement his hold on the throne."

"And to brag about it," Augie added. "He built a pulpit in front of the castle gates. Makes speeches every day. Talks about how the old monarchy was weak. Promises to rid Arendelle of this icy plague even if they have to take the town apart timber by timber."

"I don't know what to do," Rapunzel said. "They refused me entrance at the castle. Didn't know who I was. And Elsa's missing. I thought she might have come back to Arendelle, but..."

"We're three people against an army," Flynn said.

Augie nodded. "You are not alone. There are others helping." He looked around for anyone eavesdropping. "See this?"

He pointed at the other end of the alley. There was a marking near the ground--a jagged snowflake in blue chalk.

"Rumors abound that there's a resistance building. And this is their symbol. That's all there is right now--rumors," Augie said.

"How can we find them?" Ariel asked. "They've got to be looking for recruits."

"No one knows. Either they're good at keeping secrets or they're not interested. Could all be hopeful dreaming from the people. But I've seen soldiers wiping away the marks when they see them."

"So they must believe they're out there," Ariel said.

Rapunzel stroked her chin. "If they believe, maybe they know more about them than we do. We could ask... but we'd have to be sneaky about it."

"Excuse me," Flynn interrupted. "But did someone say 'sneaky'?"

By order of Lord Protector Ansel, the "Mossy Stone" had become an outpost for the city's soldiers. Of course, Ansel had paid the owner a fair fee for its lease and goods. But that didn't make the people happy that one of their watering holes was now a military installation.

The interior still looked like a bar, although all the liquor and foodstuffs had been removed, to prevent temptation. It was meant to provide shelter for soldiers trading shifts, to store arms, and hold detainees.

Gustav and Teodor were playing cards on one of the tables. They were the only two inside, and had been for hours. Until the door opened.

"Boy, rough shift today. Rough shift," the man entering said. He wore a full uniform with helmet. "Those Arendelle airheads don't appreciate what we're doing for them. They might gripe about us, but are thieves roaming the streets? No, of course not. So what are they complaining about, I say."

Gustav and Teodor glanced up. Usually the first thing a soldier on break would do was sit, put their feet up, and wish the pub was still stocked.

"Yeah, guess so," Gustav said.

"Haven't thought about it," Teodor added.

"And how about that resistance, huh?" he continued. "You see those snowflakes all around. Frustrating, isn't it? I've had to wipe away seven of them already today."

Gustav shrugged. "Not a big deal."

"I've only seen two myself," Teodor said. "And I didn't bother cleaning them off."

"But they must be doing all kinds of nasty things." The helmeted soldier pulled out a chair, turned it backwards, and straddled it next to them. "Like that one time... uh... you know that one time?"

"What one time?" Gustav asked.

"That big thing that they did recently. You know."

Gustav and Teodor gave him blank stares. "I haven't heard anything. Lieutenant's never mentioned it in his briefings."

"All I know is they like putting pretty snowflakes on buildings." Teodor laughed.

"Still, defacing our fair city. Our city we work so hard to keep clean. I wish I could head to the stockade and thrash the ones we got," the soldier said.

"We captured one of them?"

"Oh... we haven't caught any of them yet," the soldier said.

"Not as far as I know," Gustav said, placing a card.

"I bet there's someone who knows something. Do we know of any resistance sympathizers? I bet we could go interrogate them," the soldier said.

Gustav scoffed. "You want to? Be my guest. Standing orders are to make sure we keep good relations with the people."

"We want them to get used to us. We're going to be here a long time," Teodor said.

"But that just means we have to crack down. Find their base of operations, what they're planning. Slink into every rat hole and dustbin they might be hiding in."

Gustav regarded him. "Why haven't you taken your helmet off? Aren't you off duty?"

"Oh... I am... I mean, I'm not. I just stopped in to pee. Gotta go." He scattered off his chair and backed toward the door. "Go Ansel." He raised his fist in the air before he shut the door.

"Did he even pee?" Gustav asked.

Teodor shrugged. "Are you going to put a card down?"

Ariel asked, "Well?"

Flynn took off his helmet, now safe in the alley. Ariel had been keeping watch while Rapunzel knelt on the ground, scrutinizing one of the snowflakes.

"Those guys are iron tight," Flynn replied. "Couldn't get much out of them. Luckily, they don't know much either. They don't have any in custody and they don't know any members or sympathizers."

Ariel suppressed a sarcastic smirk. Flynn walked over to Rapunzel, who hadn't taken her eyes off the marking.

"What's the matter, honey? You fall in love with the wall?"

Rapunzel huffed. "There's a snowflake here. And there's one over there." She pointed to the corner of the next block. "Why are they so close together?"

"They want people to notice, to be inspired to fight back. They're spreading the word," Flynn said.

"If they wanted to spread the word, wouldn't it be more spread?" She hugged her arms and tapped her foot. "If there really is a resistance, there's got to be some way to get in touch with them. But they can't make it obvious or they'd be caught."

"Are they exactly the same?" Ariel asked. "They say no two snowflakes are alike."

Rapunzel perked up. She zipped into the next alley, then dropped to her knees and studied that snowflake.

"Ariel, you're the best!" She rose and ran further down the street. Flynn and Ariel sprinted behind her.

Rapunzel slid in the street and followed the path down to a lamppost. A small blue snowflake was painted on the base.

"What? What did you find?" Flynn asked.

"This isn't just a snowflake. It's a compass," Rapunzel said. She pointed to a thorny congregation on the snowflake's six arms. "See this? It changes on each one. It's the direction we're supposed to go."

"I never would have figured that out," Ariel said.

Flynn smiled. "Comes from all that art."

The three of them followed the symbols all over the city. At points, they got lost, or so they thought. But a little backtracking led them to the signpost they needed. The trail wound a loop around the town square and soon they were heading out of the city. Flat land became bumpy hills.

The three of them, huffing and puffing, climbed upward. If they turned around, they could see the kingdom spread out below.

"Are you sure... this is where... we're supposed to go?" Ariel asked between gasps.

"Should've packed my mittens," Flynn said.

"Look!" Rapunzel shouted, pointing to a pine tree. A snowflake had been inscribed on its bark. "We're still going the right way. We're heading to this..."

Her finger tracked from the pine tree to a small cave, hidden by the snow. They had to stoop to enter, though the cave ceiling was tall enough for them to stand.

No tunnels or passageways, but there was door at the other end. A door made entirely of ice.

Rapunzel walked up and knocked. The doorknob was locked. Ariel pressed her ear against it, cupping it with her hands to protect from the cold. After a few seconds, they heard singing. Whoever was on the other side was happy, judging by the tune.

Rapunzel knocked again, louder. The singing got closer. A window slid open, but only showed darkness.

"Hi. What's the password, please?" asked a jolly voice.

"Olaf?" Rapunzel asked. "Olaf, is that you?"

The voice on the other side chuckled. "Nope. Olaf-olaf-is-that-you's not it. Wanna try again?"

"Olaf, it's me, Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel? Hi! What are you doing out there? Ooh, do you know the password? I can't let you in without a password."

"I didn't know there was one." Rapunzel said. "How do I get it?"

"You know, I'm not sure. Someone just told me."

"You could tell us," Ariel said.

"Oh yeah. It's... Oh no, that's how I got tricked last time. No, you have to say it."

"Can't you give us a hint?" Rapunzel asked.

Flynn, rubbing his shoulders, approached the door. "Look, we don't have time for these games. It's freezing out here. I'm turning into a snowman."

"Snowman! That's it! See, you did know it."

The door clicked. It opened, revealing Olaf's goofy smiling face.

"Olaf!" Rapunzel knelt and embraced the little snowman. Not too hard, lest she crush his body parts.

"Rapunzel!" Olaf said. "I knew it was you. Are you coming to join the resistance? It's a really cool club. We don't have t-shirts yet, but I'm working on designs."

"Uh, that is a talking snowman," Flynn said. "Does... does anyone else see this?"

Rapunzel clucked her tongue. "Really, Eugene, I think he knows he's a snowman. You don't need to point it out."

"It's just... when I... the magic hair, I knew, but... this is a... how did?"

"Elsa made him," Rapunzel replied. "Didn't you know she could do that?"

"The ice... yeah, but... I mean, this is a... She can create living things? Out of snow? How did?"

"Sweetie..." Rapunzel tapped Flynn's face gently. "You're so cute when you're astonished." She followed Olaf through the door.

Flynn stood stunned at the door. Ariel sidled up to him.

"By the way, I'm really a mermaid. Just so you know," she said as she passed by.