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.

Chapter 28

Standing before Edmund was his former friend Richard, who was looking at the English prince with an evil grin.

"Hello, Edmund. It is me, Richard. The guy that you betrayed!" the blonde-haired man with orange eyes greeted coldly.

Edmund was surprised to see his former friend. "No way." The English prince was then confused as to how he betrayed the blonde-haired man. "How did I betray you? What did I ever do to you that was wrong?"

By then, heavy snow was falling outside the window, heavier than anyone had ever seen.

"You could have helped me, but no. Instead, you let the guards take me to the youth detention center! I hated that place so much! Do you realize what they do to you there?!" Richard said, growing increasingly furious with each passing moment.

"Not only did you steal that diamond, but you and those other boys tried to kill me. I could never forgive anyone who tried to murder me," the English prince replied. "After that, I did not want anything to do with you."

"Which is why I wanted to make you suffer dearly, starting with taking Jane away from you," Richard stated callously.

"You kidnapped and killed Jane?!" Edmund asked, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. He never thought his former friend would become such a bane in his life. "Why did you do that? Jane had nothing to do with you becoming evil. Where do you have the gall to murder an innocent woman?"

"Simple. It was to get revenge on you for what you did to me, as well as how Lucas influenced you," the blonde-haired man responded.

"Leave Lucas out of this! He does not have a thing to do with what happened between you and me," Edmund said, looking ready to charge at his former friend.

"Yes, he does. He replaced me as your best friend," Richard replied.

"That is not how it went, Richard. Both you and Lucas were my best friends. Lucas is a man of only good intentions. After what you did, I realized Lucas was my true best friend," Edmund said.

"Then so be it. After I defeat you, I will ensure that everyone you care about dies. Starting with Lucas and your precious girlfriend," Richard stated with an evil chuckle.

"Elsa is not my girlfriend," Edmund replied.

"Maybe not, but I can already tell you care about her," Richard replied as he got into a fighting stance. "Now we must settle our rivalry once and for all in a fight to the death!"

"If that is how it is going to be, then let's fight," Edmund responded, ready to fight his archenemy.

Richard placed his hood back on as he then charged at the English prince, swinging his sword at him. Edmund ducked out of the way and attempted to strike the hooded man from behind. The hooded man teleported behind Edmund and tried to attack him. Edmund sensed the coming attack and blocked the blow. With his shield, Edmund tried to shield bash Richard. The hooded man simply moved out of the way before he was hit. Both men then swung their swords at each other, the swords colliding with each other before either man could be struck.

After their swords were against each other for a few moments, Richard shoved Edmund backwards with his magic. The English prince landed on the wall with his feet before performing a ninja-like move, ensuring he landed safely back on the ground.

The hooded man summoned three huge ice spikes and sent them hurling towards the English prince. Edmund blocked all three of them with his shield. He was then forced to run around the suite as a wave of ice spikes erupted from the ground right behind him each time. Fortunately for Edmund, none of the ice spikes hit him once the wave ended.

Before Richard could perform another attack, Edmund was upon him, trying to pull his hood off. Just before the English prince could get the hood off Richard, the hooded man teleported out of the way.

Edmund was a bit frustrated he had blown a golden opportunity to stop Richard. However, he did not let it cloud his judgment. He still needed to stop the hooded man at all costs.

Stephen, Lucas, and Kristoff were watching the fight anxiously from their cages on the ground, while the bound and gagged sisters watched from their cages above. The ice harvester was still in pain from his right ankle injury. Regardless of the pain he was in, Kristoff was much more worried about the battle taking place before him. He watched the English prince fight the hooded man with concern.

Richard formed a fireball in his hand and flung it at Edmund. The English prince blocked it with his shield. Edmund then sensed something hot from below him. He quickly moved out of the way, thankful he did as a fire geyser erupted from where he had been standing seconds ago.

Elsa tried to say Edmund's name through her gag but was unsuccessful. She hoped Edmund would defeat Richard before the hooded man could deliver a killing blow.

Richard summoned a warhammer with his magic and swung it at the black-haired man. Edmund ducked out of the way and thrust his sword at the hooded man. Richard dodged the attack and threw a fist at Edmund, who blocked it with his shield.

Bringing his warhammer back, Richard again tried to strike Edmund with it. The English prince used his shield to parry the blow. Edmund then tried to throw a punch at the hooded man. Richard dodged it and attempted to do the same thing with Edmund. Edmund caught his fist before shoving the hooded man backwards.

The black-haired prince swung his sword at Richard several times, but the hooded man simply dodged each attack before taking another swing with his warhammer at the English prince. Edmund rolled out of the way before the weapon could get him. Richard then shoved Edmund backwards, who quickly recovered and landed on his feet.

Outside, the clouds producing the heavy snow were getting darker than they were when the snow first started falling.

Edmund quickly glanced up at the Snow Queen. He then thought of what might happen should he defeat Richard. Without his magic, the cages would disappear, which meant the sisters would fall. Due to how high up they were, Edmund knew he had to be in position to catch at least one of the sisters and Lucas or Stephen needed to rush over and catch the other sister once they were free. The English prince knew the sisters would likely suffer an injury from a fall that high.

"Up to something, Edmund?" Richard inquired.

"Nothing that concerns you," Edmund retorted, running towards the hooded man. Richard shoved the English prince backwards. Edmund recovered and landed on his feet right next to the cage holding Lucas.

Seeing that he was right next to his best friend, the black-haired prince whispered something to Lucas. The Belgian prince nodded.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Richard growled upon seeing Edmund say something to the dirty-blonde-haired prince. "You quit talking to him!"

"Make me," Edmund responded with a furious look on his face.

"Glad you asked," the hooded man replied with a devilish grin as he summoned a fireball behind the English prince.

Edmund glanced behind himself and saw a purple fireball heading right towards him. He parried it with his shield, but instead of disappearing, the fireball merely jerked backwards somewhat before heading back in Edmund's direction.

The English prince began to run around the suite as the fireball followed him. Elsa and Anna screamed through their gags as they saw the scorching ball of fire chase Edmund around.

"Edmund, watch out!" Lucas cried as the fireball nearly got close enough to catch Edmund on fire. Fortunately, Lucas' warning caused him to swing his shield backwards, knocking the fireball back before it went back to chasing the English prince.

"You will not be able to outrun the fireball forever, Edmund. Eventually, you will get too tired to outrun it. Then the fireball will burn you to pieces!" Richard said tauntingly as he clutched his great sword and went after the black-haired man.

"We shall see about that," Edmund replied as he made a move to attack the hooded man.

Outside, a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room, followed by a clap of thunder, resulting in thundersnow.

Richard charged at the English prince, and in the middle of the clap of thunder, their swords collided.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Once the sound of thunder ended, Richard shoved Edmund backwards. The English prince landed on his feet, jumping over the fireball chasing him and doing a backflip before landing on his feet again.

Edmund was wondering how he could defeat Richard. Then a thought came to his mind. The English prince had a theory Richard's powers were because of the black jacket. If there was some way to get the jacket off Richard, then the hooded man could be rendered powerless. Edmund did not know if that would work, but it was worth trying. It was a possible way of defeating Richard.

Edmund kept making sure to stay mobile to avoid the purple fireball. As he was running around the suite, Richard summoned five tiny ice particles at the English prince. Edmund leaped out of the way as huge ice spikes instantly emerged once the ice particles hit the ground.

The black-haired prince then rushed at the hooded man, trying to get the jacket off Richard. Just as he was about to grab the jacket, Richard used his powers, which made Edmund go right through him.

"Too slow!" Richard taunted as he threw a punch at the English prince. Edmund caught Richard's fist while simultaneously knocking the fireball aside with his shield. The English prince then managed to knock the hooded man aside with a shield bash.

"I guess I am too slow," Edmund shrugged as he attempted to take advantage of Richard being off-balance. However, Richard quickly recovered and teleported away from the English prince.

"Let's see how well you fight me when you cannot see me," Richard replied as Edmund made sure to stay alert.

The English prince used his instincts to anticipate any stealth attacks. One wrong move would be a fatal mistake.

Lightning flashed outside once more with the very heavy snow, which lit up the room for a few seconds. Almost instantly after the lightning stopped, a loud crack of thunder sounded, and Edmund rolled to the side as Richard's sword nearly came down upon him from behind.

Elsa and Anna gasped through their gags as they saw the sword come close to ending Edmund's life.

"Be careful, Edmund. Richard has a lot of tricks up his sleeves," Stephen warned his student.

"He sure does," Edmund replied in agreement.

Stephen decided not to say anything else out of fear he could potentially fatally distract Edmund. The brown-haired-man knew the English prince had to stay focused on the task at hand: defeating Richard.

Edmund carefully made his way around the suite, trying his best to find the invisible hooded man.

Stephen watched Edmund carefully make his way around the suite, remaining alert for any possible sneak attacks. Lucas and Kristoff were doing the same thing. Stephen and Lucas were confident Edmund would find a way to win the battle. Lucas was keeping a close eye on Anna, making sure to run forward once Richard was defeated to catch the princess before she hit the ground. The ice harvester, though confident, was a little nervous. He hoped that Edmund did not get seriously injured, or worse.

The English prince was just beside the black spikes below the cage holding Elsa. He knew that touching the spikes would be an unwise decision.

Sensing something behind him, he whirled around and sent his fist forward, managing to not only strike Richard in the face, but also getting the hood off his head to take away his invisibility.

Not wanting the hooded man to regain his powers, Edmund immediately charged forward and tackled Richard to the ground. Grabbing the jacket, the English prince ripped the jacket in half.

"No!" Richard exclaimed before Edmund rendered him unconscious with a powerful punch.

The English prince immediately got up and dashed the other way, glad he did as the cages around everyone disappeared, along with the black spikes below the two sisters. Lucas did the same once the cage around him vanished.

Edmund managed to catch Elsa before she could hit the ground, while Lucas was able to do the same with Anna.

The English prince set the bound and gagged Snow Queen onto her feet. "Elsa? Are you okay?" Edmund asked with concern as he removed the gag from around Elsa's mouth.

The Ice Queen gave him a relieved smile. "I am just fine thanks to you. You did it, Edmund. Richard no longer has his powers now."

Edmund smiled back as he went to work with untying Elsa. His smile faltered after a moment. "It came at the cost of Kristoff getting injured though. He needs to see the doctor as soon as possible. His injury looks like it is a serious one."

"I saw what that scoundrel did to him while you guys were fighting Richard's men. Hope Kristoff is okay," the Snow Queen said with concern in her voice.

"I hope so too," Edmund said in understanding as he finished removing the ropes from around the Ice Queen. As soon as the ropes were off Elsa, the English prince saw the chains around Elsa's wrists rendering her powerless were gone.

"Elsa. The chains around your wrists are gone! Now you can utilize your powers once more," Edmund said with a relieved smile.

Elsa immediately tried her powers again with an elegant flick of the wrist and was relieved when snowflakes emerged from them. "Thank goodness for that."

The Snow Queen then surprised the English prince by hugging him. "Thank you for saving me, Edmund."

Edmund then smiled as he returned the hug. "You are welcome, Elsa."

OoOoOoOoOoO

Lucas finished untying Anna and removing the gag from around her mouth. "Are you alright Anna? Richard did not hurt you, did he?"

The princess shook her head with a smile. "No. I'm okay. Thank you for saving me Lucas."

"You are welcome, Anna. It is Edmund, however, who you should be thanking. He defeated Richard and rendered him powerless. Had he not emerged victorious, we would all still be stuck in the cages," Lucas said before a look of worry appeared on his face.

"Lucas? Are you okay?" Anna asked with concern.

"Your boyfriend is injured. One of Richard's men managed to injure his ankle while we were fighting them," the Belgian prince explained with a remorseful look on his face.

"Oh no, Kristoff!" the princess exclaimed as he rushed towards the ice harvester. Kristoff was trying to stand up, but due to his ankle injury, he was unable to do so.

"Kristoff! What happened?" Anna asked with a worried look on her face.

"One of Richard's men hurt my right ankle. I feel like it might be a serious injury as it hurts bad," the ice harvester replied.

"Gosh, I hope it isn't," the princess replied sadly.

The rest of the group made their way over to the couple.

"We need to get Kristoff to the doctor," Stephen said.

Edmund and Lucas nodded in agreement as the two princes carefully helped Kristoff to his feet. Once the injured ice harvester was standing up, Edmund and Lucas allowed him to grasp their shoulders while Stephen carefully lifted the ice harvester's legs as they slowly, carefully, and gingerly made their way to the doctor's office.

"I am very sorry about your injury Kristoff. If only I had been there to help you sooner," Edmund said remorsefully.

"Don't worry about it, Edmund. It is not any of your guys' fault," the ice harvester replied with a reassuring grin.

"Still, after we defeated the men we were facing, had we rushed over to help you, we could have prevented your injury. I really hope it is nothing serious," Lucas said, a look of shame on his face.

Stephen had a regretful look on his face. "Two of us had to get injured during the fight with Richard and his men. First Captain William, and now you, Kristoff. Your injury only makes me feel worse than I already do about the captain's injury."

"Guys, it's okay. Really. I appreciate you feeling bad about what happened to me. However, like I said, none of you are to blame for me getting hurt. This is not the first time in my life I have been injured. During the eternal winter Elsa accidentally caused, Anna and I were being chased by a giant snow monster named Marshmallow. While we were trying to escape from him, I ended up hitting my head on the side of a cliff we were hanging from trying to climb down a snow anchor I built," Kristoff explained.

The guests' eyes widened. "That sounds like it did not feel very good. Are you okay?" Edmund asked with concern.

The ice harvester chuckled. "I am now since it has been five months since it happened. While it did hurt a lot at first, I was fine the next day."

"Thank goodness it was not an injury that would affect you for the rest of your life. I have never had a serious injury in my life, and I hope it stays that way. Serious injuries do not sound fun at all," Edmund replied.

"They are not the best thing in the world, that's for sure," the ice harvester said in agreement.

"Let's hope your ankle injury is only a minor one," Edmund stated, trying to reassure the ice harvester.

"Yeah, since the Ball is coming up soon, it would be sad if you could not get to dance with Anna," Lucas said.

"We are all praying for you, Kristoff," Stephen added.

"Thanks a lot, guys," the ice harvester said gratefully.

The three guests gave Kristoff reassuring looks as they continued to take care while leading the ice harvester to the doctor's office.