The Queen's Admiral

Chapter 59: The Last Wish

"Everybody back to the village now! Nothing more to see here. Best to get warmed up!" Kai shouted over the speculating crowd. He was the first one to be the voice of reason and Captains Aksel and Jarle quickly picked up from him and started ordering people to focus on starting fires, seeing to their families and checking on the parts of the castle and the village that were damaged due to the sudden ice storm.

In less than a minute, the villagers dispersed to go about their own business while Kai and Gerda herded the staff to return to the castle and prepare hot soup and blankets.

"Fredrik, Belle told me your sisters and baby brother are currently at the Rose Pub," Godmother said. "The villagers pulled together to bring most of the children there when it started freezing. Do you want to come with me and see them? I will need to update Belle about everything that happened. I owe her an explanation for all of this."

As much as I wanted to check on my siblings, I was sure that there will be a large crowd of curious people at the Rose Pub and they will certainly be asking me a lot of questions. I wasn't quite ready to face them yet. I needed some time alone to think and calm my nerves.

"I really should check on the castle," I said. "Try to see about the damage or if they need help with security." My excuse was flimsy but Godmother just nodded with a knowing look. Genie had disappeared back into the lamp while Carpet and the two other fairies seemed intent on catching up so I just let them be. I avoided the group of servants streaming in using the main gate. Instead, I entered the courtyard using the postern on the southern wall. I ducked behind the chapel so I could get to the main castle without being seen and approached it from the south wing away from the front doors. From there, I created my own spiral ice staircase so I could go up quickly to the second floor without needing to encounter anyone on the main stairway.

The damage to the front wing of my home was quite extensive as the entire library was completely gone. A chunk of the hallway adjoining it as well as the sitting and conference rooms had been reduced to rubble and there were patches of water everywhere from where the ice had melted. Aunt Elsa's study at the end of the hall was the only thing spared on this wing.

I was too tired to even bother checking on what can be salvaged. I decided to go up to my room and hide out for a few hours until I've sorted my mind. As I turned the corner to get to the back wing, I almost collided with a familiar snowman.

"Fredrik!" Olaf cheerfully cried. He sounded immensely relieved. "Finally, someone's here. I think something bad happened."

That was the biggest understatement of the year but I didn't have time to correct him for Olaf went on babbling non-stop:

"I was just wondering when you and Elsa would come back and then things started freezing. I thought maybe... hmmm... Elsa and Fredrik are home and wanted to make things cold because it's been a long hot summer. Then ice started coming out of the walls and people were shouting. I don't know what happened because I got impaled by an icicle in the kitchen and I got stuck there for a long time. There was a lot of screaming and a lot of shaking. I can't move so I got really, really scared."

"Everything's alright now Olaf," I said as I reached down to give him a warm hug which he gratefully returned. Poor Olaf must have been immensely frightened at being left alone so long pinned to an icicle while he listened to the commotion outside.

When Olaf finally pulled away he started talking again. "I got free when the ice disappeared a few minutes ago and I went to the ballroom and I could see up through this floor. It's funny I couldn't see this floor through the ballroom before."