"Please….no…please… Anna, it's okay. It's going to be okay. Just keep your eyes open, look at me. It's okay just look at me. I'm here…just… p-please just don't…ANNAAA!"
Standing in the garden was a time of peace. It was a place of solace. Hints of citrus and vanilla filled the air as blooming trees and flowers grew all around. The trees sung with the conversations of birds and the ducks played their very own version of Duck, Duck, Goose. Everything was beautiful and everything was simple. But that was a long time ago.
The garden had withered away. Roots of trees crippled beneath Elsa's boots, crumbling away with the life that once flourished here. The pond that once shimmered with the light of a happy kingdom now only reflected the raging clouds that heaved in the sky above her. Arrendelle was dying. And Elsa felt like she was dying with it.
"Crazy, isn't it?" Anna's lazy footsteps made her boot heels scuff against the stone. Anna leaned against the railing, hair pulled back into a pony tail, jeans filthy, and boots laced tightly. Her shirt was so torn that Elsa didn't think it could even be considered a shirt anymore. And there was still dirt and blood caked on her skin from the last run in with the Rotters. The sudden disruption would have easily launched icicles in any direction that sounded remotely like the Rotters' footsteps. But that familiar goofy sound of Anna's walk kept her sane. She could hear her kick the leaves off of the stairs with a deep exhale.
"Isn't it all?" Elsa sighed. Turning around, she remembered a time when Anna didn't look so weighed down by it all. Those beautiful freckles used to dominate that pretty face with quirk and life. But now they've become muted with dirt and grime. "Isn't all of this just insane? I mean, look at us. You barely have a clean pair of clothes without blood stains on them. I've seen our staff decay in front of our eyes and then eat each other! The Kingdom is slipping into complete shit and just…..FUCK, Anna! How do I fix this…?" Anna knew Elsa somehow found a way to blame herself for all of this, making this her burden and hers alone. But nobody really knew how it all happened. It was a burden they all carried.
Tender steps pushed Anna towards Elsa. Slipping her fingers into Elsa's she felt the slight prick of frost nip at her fingertips. The feeling was always strange for Anna. But not uncommon. It was always hard figuring out how Elsa truly felt just by looking at her expressions. She could stand stoic and unrelenting in front of a swarm of Rotters. But her hands were always the easiest notion to her emotions. Beneath the icy facade were gentle hands and a gentle heart that once warmed them. And the slightest bit of frost creeping up those fingertips let Anna know that inside…she was still afraid. Fear was still trying to smother every last bit of Elsa's gentle nature, always being forced down by Elsa's need to stand strong for her Kingdom. Fear was something they all understood. Regardless of ice powers or not, they all felt the same frost building up inside of them, fighting to remember what warmth felt like.
Elsa gave in to Anna's hand, relishing the warmth that always pulsed inside Anna. She was always there to keep her alive. Figuratively and literally. A smile crept up on Anna's dirty face, making dirt somehow very attractive, pulling a longing yet sad smile out of Elsa. It's been so long since she's shared a smile with just the two of them alone. Bringing their hands to her chest, Elsa whispered, "I wouldn't know what I'd become if you weren't here. You save me every day. You are always by my side, and even though it may not seem like it to you…you're protecting me too Anna. I just want you to know how much I-"
"ELSA!"
"ANNA!"
"QUICK!"
Kristoff came skidding to the garden, rifle in hand and ice picks at his belt. "Jesus Fuck! Where've you two been?! Ten of them were spotted near the Butcher Shop." Catching his breath he said, "We need to go. Now! We think someone might be inside."
The interruption was unwarranted. Anna never got to hear words like this from Elsa. But it was going to have to wait for another time. Someone needed their help. The girls hightailed it through the castle, holding their weapons close.
Hidden about Anna's bodice were weapons: throwing knives, daggers, blades, and yet more valuably the King's royal sword. Fastened against her back, Anna sported the most esteemed sword in the entire kingdom. She called it Joan. The hilt was lined with the finest red-brown leather, laced together with green stitching and the Royal Family Crest branded into it. Its length was not long, making every move quick and swift for Anna. It was insanely light, and dangerously sharp. Honestly, she had to replace its scabbard more often than she needed to sharpen the sword. Her exceptional swordsmanship deemed her the Queen's official Knight of Arrendelle. It would have made their father proud.
Elsa on the other hand needn't any weapons to boast. She was the weapon. To friend or foe she was known as the Queen of Ice. She boasted many titles; Queen of Snow, Frost Queen, Queen of the Frigid, Winter's Ruler and many more... but to her closest friends, she was simply Elsa.
She did carry one weapon though… a tiny red shard from a vase. In fact, it was the very vase that Anna had killed her first Rotter with to protect Elsa. She wore it around her wrist as a bracelet to remind her of how strong her sister was for her, and that she must always be strong to protect her in return.
Leaving the castle always felt bittersweet. It was a place of protection. It was home. But it was in ruins. Sprinting ahead of them, Kristoff whistled over to Sven, and jumped onto his back. Now sporting metal spiked antlers and a specially made saddle for storing weaponry, Sven was a reindeer not to be fucked with.
Approaching the street of the Butcher Shop, the four of them approached a pile of empty crates for cover. Across the street was a familiar mustached face. He knelt behind a broken fruit cart wielding the most gargantuan spiked club. He was the second most valuable asset to the group. His sheer brute strength could rip the head off a Rotter like it was made of paper. Oaken was certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Adjusting his eye-patch, he twiddled his fingers and mouthed a happy "Yoo-Hoo" over to the others.
Anna giggled and "Yoo-Hooed" back. She whispered, "It really blows my mind how he always manages to keep his club so clean. Like seriously, we've seen him smash three Rotters in a row before and the next second…nothing…" with a shrug of her shoulders she added, "So frikkin' clean."
"Alright ladies let's figure out what these Rotters are after." Kristoff shushed. Giving Oaken a nod to stand ready, he picked up a stone and tossed it in Oaken's direction.
The noise got the attention of one Rotter. As the Rotter headed towards the noise, Oaken gripped his club with one hand and steadied himself against the cart with the other. When the Rotter was finally in his reach, Oaken grabbed the Rotter by the throat, lifted it above the ground, and before it could even muster a growl, he gave it a quick toss into the air before he swung his club. And boy…did he swing.
Across the cobbled road the head of the Rotter rolled and the body lay in a crippling position at Oaken's feet. With thumbs up, he pressed the others to initiate the second attack.
"Show off…" said Elsa. "Come on let's get in there and fuck up some Rotters." With a swift slice of her hand, spears of ice were launched over Kristoff's head and into the face of a Rotter clawing at a window. The attention instantly piqued the interest of the remaining Rotters, all turning around to avenge their fallen sister. The Rotter group started sprinting towards their direction.
Oaken quickly seized the opportunity to attack from behind, smashing his club into the backs of the unaware Rotters. Anna, unsheathing Joan, let out a fierce roar as she swiftly sliced the arms, legs, and heads off of her enemies, all the while Kristoff commented, " Do you have to chop them up before killing them?" as he smashed the butt of his rifle into a rotten face and swung his ice pick through an empty eye socket.
Elsa laughed as she did the same to her Rotter, except she used clean sheets of ice to dismember them. Kristoff simply laughed at the sarcastic demonstration as he held his boot to the face of a fallen Rotter to dislodge his ice pick.
"We all have our own fighting styles Kristoff," said Anna, "Yours is messy, mine is swift, Oaken's is…hilariously awesome... and Elsa's is sexy! Even Sven has one! He likes to get 'straight to the point!'" as Sven approached in a jolly trot with the arm of a Rotter lodged in the spikes of his left antler.
"Did you just make a joke?" Elsa laughed.
"Yes, and I also saw you blush when I called you sexy." She said nonchalantly as she walked towards the Butcher Shop while cleaning and sheathing Joan over her shoulder.
"Ya, I saw this things too Miss Elsa." chimed Oaken as he checked their surroundings. "Your face was very pink."
Elsa gave him a playful nudge as he went to check their surroundings.
"Psst! Anna!"
"Yeah Kristoff?" she said as she jiggled the door handle.
"You were totally right… his club is already clean."
The three of them glanced over at Oaken as he lifted a crate with his club at the ready, glinting in the light of the sunset as he held it above his head.
"See! Sparkling clean." Anna smiled in response.
The two giggled, but Elsa intervened. "Let's keep moving guys, it's almost dark. We need to get to the bottom of this." Elsa squeezed between her sister and Kristoff and touched her hand to the door handle.
Freezing the metal, Elsa clenched her hand and shattered the handle. She looked at Anna, and gave the door a push.
"Let's go."