I would like to thank roxygoth, BurningFox6, krystal lazuli, and LukeJames for beta reading and helping me improve!

Feedback is always appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen. Frozen is owned by Disney. I only lay claim to Prince Edmund, Prince Lucas, Master Stephen, and anyone else you do not recognize from Frozen.

Warning: Dark chapter ahead.

Chapter 23

Sometime after Jane and her parents had fallen asleep, Jane awoke with a start. Looking around her room, something inside of her was telling her things were not right. The entire house was dark, without a single light on.

Deciding to see if there were any intruders, she carefully and quietly sneaked out of her room. The brown-haired girl realized she should inform her parents about something suspicious.

Upon reaching the door to her parents' bedroom, she knocked on the door. "Mother? Father? I apologize for disturbing you guys, but something does not feel right."

There was no response from Maria or George.

Jane tried knocking again. "Mother? Father? Is everything alright?"

Still no response.

Now Jane was beginning to worry. Carefully and slowly opening the door, she saw her parents appearing to be sleeping peacefully.

"Mother? Father?" she asked, gently shaking their shoulders. To her horror, she got no response from either of her parents. Carefully sliding her fingers along their necks, she felt for their pulses. Relief overcame her when she was able to detect their heartbeats. Maria and George were not dead; they were just unconscious. Jane was now beginning to wonder how they ended up like that. Did they drink something with a knockout drug in it or something?

Before she could contemplate any further, a hand covered her nose and mouth with a cloth, and another seized her roughly by the waist. Several more figures suddenly appeared before her, wearing black jackets with hoods.

Jane had a pretty good idea the cloth most likely had chloroform in it. Thus, she held her breath.

One of the figures abruptly appeared in front of her, holding a knife to her throat. "Not breathing in, I see. Well, you better breathe deep or I will slit your throat."

Left with no other choice, the brown-haired girl started breathing in the sickly-sweet substance. Soon her body began to feel weak and she felt dizzy as the chloroform took effect. A few seconds later, she could no longer keep her eyes open and fell limp into the arms of the hooded figure holding her.

The hooded figure chuckled evilly. "Perfect. Now tie her up and gag her. Then place her in this sack," the figure ordered to the others as he grabbed a large sack he had been carrying on his back.

The figure's men did exactly as they were told, tying Jane's hands and feet together before one of them wrapped a long, thick white cloth over her mouth and tightly tied it behind her head with a tight knot.

Once the unconscious girl was securely bound and gagged, the figure picked her up, putting her in the large sack before securely closing the sack and placing it over his shoulder.

"Well done men. Let's head back to the hideout," the figure said.

"Yes, Boss," the figure's men responded as they made their way to leave the house.

"Edmund will know pain like never before," the figure stated with a malicious grin on his face.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Maria and George woke up the next morning. As soon as they were out of bed and dressed, they felt strange.

"Maria? Are you alright?" George asked his wife with concern in his voice.

"What the heck happened last night? After falling asleep, I do not remember anything," Maria responded.

George realized he could not remember anything from last night after he went to sleep either. This had him worried.

"I cannot remember anything, either. We should probably let Jane know about this," George suggested.

Maria nodded her head in agreement as the couple made their way to their daughter's bedroom.

George knocked on Jane's door. "Jane, darling? Are you awake yet? Your mother and I would like to talk to you about something."

The market owner and his wife were now starting to grow worried since their daughter did not answer. When they opened the door to their daughter's room, Maria gasped when she and her husband saw that Jane was not there.

"Oh dear. Where could Jane be?" Maria asked in a worrisome tone.

George was beginning to think about where Jane might be until he saw a paper on her bed. He picked it up and began to read it aloud, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We have kidnapped your precious daughter. If you would ever like to see her again, you will have to play things our way. Send Edmund to the following address alone. If there is anyone else with Edmund, then we will take it upon ourselves to kill Jane. Understand?" George looked at the address below and saw there was no signature. He crumpled the paper in his hands and let it fall to the floor. George was enraged that someone had gotten the nerve to abduct his daughter.

Maria had broken down sobbing after her husband had finished reading. She hugged George tightly as he returned the hug to comfort his wife. "What are we going to do George? Jane has been taken away from us, and we do not even know who did it!"

"That and the address is in one of the most dangerous areas of London. I am worried about what will happen if Edmund were to venture there all by himself," George said with a sad look on his face.

"Should we tell Edmund about it?" Maria asked through sobs.

"I am afraid so. He will not like it, but he must know his fiancée is in trouble," George replied.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Edmund woke up feeling wonderful. The night before was such a happy night he had one of the most wonderful dreams he could remember last night. He dreamed of him and Jane's wedding and any children they would have in the future.

After he was dressed for the day, a knock came on his door.

"Come in," Edmund called as his father and mentor entered.

"My son, there is something George and Maria would like to speak with you about," Matthew told his son.

"It is very urgent, Edmund. They wish to speak with you immediately," Stephen added.

Edmund nodded, but gulped a little bit when he saw the solemn looks on the two men's faces.

"Where do I find them?" the English prince asked.

"They are waiting for you at the entrance of the palace as we speak," Matthew said.

"Then I shall head down there right now," Edmund responded as he went down to the castle's entrance, followed by King Matthew and Stephen. Edmund was worried about where this whole thing was going.

Once the doors of the palace were opened, George and Maria stepped in, acknowledging their monarchs with respect.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I was told you had something to tell me," Edmund said worriedly.

"I am afraid so, Edmund. Maria and I woke up this morning with a strange feeling. We could not remember anything from last night after we had fallen asleep. Jane was nowhere to be found in her room or our house," George explained.

The English prince's eyes widened. Had something happened to his fiancée? "Please tell me Jane is okay."

"I am afraid not, Edmund. It seems she has been kidnapped," Maria replied.

"Kidnapped?! How did this happen?! Who could have done this?!" Edmund said as he began to freak out.

"Unfortunately, we have no idea who took her. We found this on her bed when we discovered she was missing," George elaborated as he handed the paper to the English prince.

Edmund looked over the paper and began to read it. Once he had completed reading it, he squeezed the paper and threw it to the floor. Anger and rage appeared on the usually gentle prince's face.

"I am going to get the scoundrels that dared to kidnap my fiancée. They will regret ever laying a finger on her," Edmund growled.

"Edmund, that area of London is not safe. You could get injured, or worse," Matthew tried to reason with his son.

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"Father, did you read what those guys wrote? If I do not go there alone, they will kill Jane. I am going to go out there and get her back at any cost," Edmund said determinedly.

"Your father is right, Ed. The area where Jane is now is very dangerous and if you are not careful, we could end up losing you. Matthew and I cannot stand the thought of losing you," Stephen said.

Edmund softened his expression. "I appreciate your concern for me, Father. As I appreciate yours as well, Master. However, I will still go there to rescue my fiancée. Whoever is responsible will kill her if we do not follow their orders."

"Well, if you are going to do this, please be careful, son. You never know what kind of people are in that area of London," the king stated.

"We care about you a lot, Edmund, and we would prefer you make it out of this alive and well," Stephen said.

"Do not worry about me. I can assure you I will be alright. For now, I need to focus on saving Jane," Edmund said as he got ready to go on a mission to rescue his love.

As he got ready to begin his quest, George and Maria were giving him some more advice before he ventured into the dangerous area.

"Do please be careful, Edmund. I cannot stand the thought of losing both my daughter and future son-in-law on the same day," George said.

"Ever since we met you, you have been like a son to us, Edmund. I really hope you and Jane will make it out of this alive," Maria stated.

"You two have my word," Edmund replied with a nod as he began to venture into the area where Jane had been taken to save her.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Jane struggled furiously against her bonds, but they were tied too tight for her to have any chance of escaping them. She let out muffled cries for help through her gag.

The brown-haired girl felt herself being placed onto a chair as the sack was taken off her. Jane gasped when she saw the figure and his men who had kidnapped her.

"Hello Jane. I hope you had a great nap," the figure snickered as a few of his men tied her to the chair.

Jane glared at the figure and let out a groan of frustration through her gag. Then she remembered the figure had somehow known her name. How on Earth did this figure know her?

"I suppose you are curious as to who I really am," the figure said. "Well, prepare to be enlightened." The figure then removed his hood, and the brown-haired girl gasped at who she saw.

It was Richard! Jane had remembered Edmund telling her about Richard becoming evil, but she did not anticipate him becoming devilish enough to kidnap her. She remembered last seeing him as a preteen. Now he was an adult with the same blonde hair and orange eyes. Unlike before he was led down a dark path, his orange eyes had a ruthlessness in them that frightened her.

Jane tried to say something to him, but it came out muffled through the cloth.

"What was that Jane?" Richard asked tauntingly.

The brown-haired girl got angry and began to struggle against the ropes binding her and yelling through the gag.

"I am very sorry, but I cannot understand a single word you are saying," Richard replied with an evil chuckle. He then pulled out a dagger and held it to Jane's throat.

Jane immediately went silent as her eyes widened with fear.

"Edmund is going to be sorry for betraying me. When I am done with you and him, he is going to be begging for mercy," Richard stated with emotionless, cold eyes.

The brown-haired girl was really hoping Edmund would find her and save her before anything terrible happened.

"You better hope your pathetic excuse of a fiancée shows up. We are going to have a heck of a time," Richard said with an evil laugh as he placed his hood back over his head. "Remember my face, Jane. It will be the last thing you ever see."

Richard then turned his attention to one of his men. "You there. Blindfold her. Make sure she never sees anything again."

The man grinned devilishly as he pulled out an identical cloth to the one gagging Jane and placed it over her eyes.

Jane was now becoming anxious. She was doing whatever it took to try to get free. No matter how hard she tried, the ropes would not budge.

"Struggle all you want, Jane. Edmund will not save you in time," Richard said.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Edmund had been walking around in the area for a while. Thankfully, no one in the area had even tried to bother him. He was hoping he would not have to deal with anyone except for those who abducted Jane.

The English prince saw an alleyway that could help him get to the destination in a shorter amount of time. Entering the alley, Edmund quickly and stealthily made his way through the alleyway. Soon he reached the end and turned a corner. Sounds of gangsters in the alleyway talking and laughing grew steadily louder as Edmund turned the corner. Edmund stopped and saw several gang members near the end of the alleyway.

The English prince did his best to try to sneak past them. Unfortunately, one of the gang members noticed him.

"Well, well, well," said one of the burly gang members who stood a couple of inches taller than Edmund. "If it isn't Prince Edmund."

"What brings you out here anyway, huh Your Highness?" asked another man who was slimmer and had messy hair tied back in a ponytail.

"I was just looking around," Edmund answered, trying his best to keep calm. "I was just passing through. Please do not mind me. I have no intention of causing any trouble here." Edmund tried to exit the alleyway but was stopped by another gangster who was bald and had a goatee and a mustache.

"Whoa! Slow down there, Prince Edmund," the gangster said as he held his arm out to stop Edmund. "What's the rush? We just want to talk."

"I am very sorry, but I do not have time for this. You let me go, I will not tell anyone, and we can forget about this ever happening," Edmund said.

The gangster smirked evilly as he unsheathed a knife. Edmund then entered a fighting stance, feeling he had no other choice.

"If you won't talk, then I will let my knife do the talking," the gangster stated as he and the other gangsters prepared to attack Edmund. The English prince got ready to fight the thugs as the men charged at each other.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Little did any of the men know, the fight between Edmund and the gangsters was being watched by Richard. He smiled evilly under his hood on his black jacket. Richard had no doubt Edmund would defeat the thugs with ease. He quickly teleported back to the hideout, filling a glass with water once he had arrived.

"Men, it is time we put the poisonous substance to the test on our prisoner before Edmund can get here. Hand it over to me," Richard ordered.

One of the men retrieved a vial from a cupboard containing a colorless, odorless, and tasteless poison and handed it to his master. Upon receiving the vial, Richard poured the poison into the glass of water, which mixed in almost instantly. It looked like the glass only had water in it the whole time.

Richard and his men headed to the room where Jane was being kept. She continued to struggle through her bonds and scream through her gag.

Richard stepped in front of the bound and gagged girl with the glass of water and poison. "Sorry Jane. This is the end of the road for you. You will never get to see Edmund or anyone else ever again," the blonde-haired man laughed evilly as he reached forward and smothered Jane's nose.

"If you do not drink this, you will die by suffocation. Only by drinking this will I unplug your nose," the hooded blonde-haired man said wickedly.

Jane nodded her head, and Richard pulled down her gag until it was hanging around her neck. He then forcefully made her drink the water she did not know had poison in it. To her it only tasted like the freshest water there was.

Once the water had been consumed, Richard re-gagged their prisoner. "Goodbye, Jane," the hooded man taunted sadistically as he and his men left the room. "Alright, men. Now we must leave to find a new hideout and not leave a single piece of evidence behind. Understood?"

"Yes, Boss," the hooded men replied as they began to prepare for leaving their hideout and their prisoner behind.

Inside the room she was being held, Jane felt the poison begin to take effect on her body. She was shaking furiously as the life inside of her began to fade away. The brown-haired girl thought of Edmund and their adventures together. Jane loved him with all her heart. Now, their marriage was bound to never take place, which deeply saddened her.

Her breathing slowed to a complete halt.

OoOoOoOoOoO

After a long and wild fight with the gangsters, Edmund had managed to knock them all out cold. The English prince was able to make it out of the fight completely unscathed despite how ugly the fight got, especially towards the end when the gangsters went totally berserk and wildly slashed their knives at Edmund.

Now that the gangsters were out of the way, Edmund turned his attention on getting to his destination to save Jane. He desperately hoped he was not too late.

Edmund soon reached the address that had been on the paper of the kidnappers. He assumed the building was their hideout.

The English prince carefully crept around the building, peering into windows to avoid possibly being discovered. To his surprise, there was seemingly no one inside. Confused, he entered the front of the building, remaining alert for any potential attacks. Edmund searched the entire building, encountering no one until he reached the last door he had yet to inspect. He carefully opened the door, only to make a depressing discovery. Jane was tied up, gagged, blindfolded, and sitting motionless in the chair she was bound to.

"Jane!" Edmund exclaimed as he rushed forward and removed the blindfold and gag from his fiancée and untied her from the chair.

"Jane, please! Stay with me!" the English prince stated worriedly. He did not want to believe Jane was gone. Edmund cradled Jane's body in his arms and ran a finger along her neck, feeling for her pulse. To his horror, he found none.

"No! Jane! This cannot be happening!" Edmund yelled as reality began to set in. His fiancée was dead. He was too late.

Embracing her lifeless body, Edmund began to sob. For once in his life, he was truly heartbroken. While he was heartbroken about not seeing Lucas after so many years, losing the love of his life was far more painful and traumatic.

The English prince continued crying for a long time, overcome with heartache at Jane's kidnapping and death. Edmund felt much grief and pain in both his mind and stomach. His eyes stung from the constant tears trailing down his face, and his throat was raw from all the uncontrolled sobbing.

It was as if his worst nightmare had come true. Edmund could not believe it. Jane was gone forever. There would not be a wedding between them. They would not have any children. After this, Edmund was unsure if he could ever love again.

Nobody deserved to die so young. No one.

Edmund dreaded having to tell Jane's parents about what happened. Would they be furious with him for failing to save their daughter? The English prince knew they would be devastated, regardless if they would get angry with him or not.

Weeping bitterly, Edmund picked up Jane's body and brought it back to her parent's house. When he brought his fiancée's body inside, George and Maria had looks of anguish on their faces.

"Is she…...dead?" George choked through sobs.

"I am afraid so, Mr. Smith. Despite everything I did to save Jane, I could not get to her in time. I have failed you," Edmund said with regret and shame in his voice. The English prince lowered his head, sorrowful at his failure.

"No Edmund. You did not fail us," Maria said in sorrow and somberness. "The only one to blame is the brute who took her in the first place."

"I shall inform my father and mentor about the tragedy and send someone out to investigate the circumstances of Jane's death," Edmund said, tears stinging his normally cheerful blue eyes.

"Please do so, Edmund. I would feel better if whoever killed Jane is brought to justice," George replied.

Edmund nodded as he left George and Maria alone to mourn the loss of their daughter.

When Edmund arrived back at the palace, King Matthew and Master Stephen were relieved to find Edmund had returned alive and well. That relief was short-lived, however, when they saw the look on the English prince's face.

"I have some very bad news to tell you two," Edmund said, grief on his handsome face. "Jane is dead. I did everything I could to rescue her, but I was unable to save her."

Matthew and Stephen immediately went over to Edmund and hugged him. Both men felt horrible Edmund lost the love of his life.

"I am very sorry about Jane, son. You must be devastated," Matthew stated sympathetically.

"My heart aches for you and Jane's family. We will send out an investigation on Jane's kidnapping and murder. The jackanapes responsible will be apprehended," Stephen added, trying to comfort his student over Jane's death.

The guards were sent to investigate the building where Edmund found Jane. Despite extensive searches, the guards came up empty on determining who was guilty of Jane's abduction and death. It pained the royal family the guards could not determine the culprit despite their best efforts. Edmund was still determined to find out who took the love of his life away from him. If he ever found out the individual who did it, he was going to ensure the person was sent to prison for the rest of their life.

With how much Jane meant to Edmund, Matthew and Stephen said they would make sure she was given a proper burial.

Jane was buried in the royal cemetery alongside the past kings and queens that ruled over England. Edmund, King Matthew, Sir Stephen, Maria, and George were the last to leave her grave. Of the five, the English prince left after the others, overcome with guilt at how he was unable to save Jane. It was something that would haunt him for a long time.