With a pained groan, Elsa awoke to find herself tucked snuggly into a sizable bed. She sat up slowly, allowing her eyes to adjust to the bright room. Clutching the blanket to her chest, Elsa took in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer wearing the dress she had been. The dress she now wore was a simple cream coloured dress with sleeves coming down to her elbow. Her breath caught as she looked frantically about.
She was in a simple cottage with bedroom, kitchen and living space all being one room. The walls were stone, the floor made of rough planks and a high thatched roof. Panic began to set in as she desperately tried to remember how she had got there, but all she could remember was trees and the Sparrowhawk glaring down at her. Elsa froze, sitting up straighter as she looked to the far end of the cottage.
The Sparrowhawk was sitting on a low stool next to a crackling fire, stirring the contents of a large pot. She was dressed again in her loose white shirt and she hair was down up in twin braids. Elsa noticed for the first time the streak of white that ran through the one braid. She would have pondered on it if it weren't for the teal eyes that suddenly turned to her. "I didn't look, if that's what you're worried about," Anna snorted, having seen the queens shock over to dress from the corner of her eye. She scooped the pots contents into a bowl and carried it to Elsa, holding it out to her. When the queen scrunched up her nose and scooted away, Anna grunted, "what, are you too good for rabbit stew?" She frowned, "why would I have gone through the trouble of risking myself to save you, if I was just going to turn around and poison you? Just eat it."
Elsa took the bowl and nervously took a sip of the broth. It was good, she was surprised to find herself slurping it back in a most unladylike manner before catching herself and used the spoon.
"So," Anna began, "what is your price?"
The blonde paused in her eating, setting the bowl aside, and gave her a look of confusion. "My price? What do you mean?"
"There is absolutely nothing that is free in this world," Anna glanced at to queen, "even magic, no, especially magic. So you better tell me just what I have to be worried about with that ice of yours, so what is your price?"
Elsa blinked, unconsciously clenching her ungloved hand. She shifted uncomfortably, she had kept the ice a secret for so long, she was not used to speaking so openly about the curse, let alone the price.
"The price, your majesty," the redhead's irritated voice ground out.
"Exhaustion," Elsa whispered, "it drains me, and you saw what happened. That and, headaches. That's the price."
The assassin nodded in understanding before returning to the stool. "Why did you need me then?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "I mean, why do you need a body guard with amazing magic like that?" she glanced at Elsa, a goofy grin on her face. "If I had magic like that, price of no, I would be all like, pew pew, pew," she pointed a finger with each pew.
Elsa's body shook with anger, the room's temperature dropping, before she snapped, "I didn't ask for this damned curse! It has caused me nothing but trouble and I can't even control it!"
"No one gets to pick their fate, your majesty," Anna spoke evenly, "we simply have to follow where it takes us and accept what sacrifices lie along the path."
Hers eyes burned as she glared at the redhead who was calmly serving herself stew. "The men on the boat, were they just sacrifices along the path?" that caused the assassin to stop. Elsa took another glance around the cottage. It was far to clean to have just been abandoned, "and the people who owned this cottage? Were they just sacrifices? Did you kill them to, to keep them out of your way? Was their fate to be felled by your blade as well?" she growled out. The queen knew that she had crossed the line when Anna's bowl clattered to the ground, its contents spilling across the floor as she stood.
As quickly as she stood, Anna was looming over the now cowering queen. She must have looked frightening with her teal eyes blazing and her hair a mess, her freckled face red with anger. A myriad of thoughts and emotions rushed through her mind and it took everything she had not to strike the queen. Anna's face finally settled on a mix of cool anger and deep hurt, her eyes glistening. "Don't you dare speak of things that you know nothing about," her voice was unsettlingly calm as she spoke. She looked to the bowl of cold stew, "eat, you need your strength," she said as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the cottage, slamming the door behind her.
Elsa picked up the bowl but quickly dropped it when ice raced across its surface. She pulled her hand to the chest, with a gasp. With her still gloved hand, she lifted the spoon and ate slowly.
When she was down, Elsa got up slowly, her legs shaking as she stood, gripping the wall for support. She stumbled her way towards the window, keeping her left hand close to her chest as she looked outside. Along the edge of the crop field, seven hastily made crosses stood in a row, marking the fresh graves below them. The sight of them caused Elsa to suck in her breath in a gasp as the image of Einer, dangling dead from her icicle, flashed to the forefront of her mind. Elsa hunched over and gagged, bile raising in the back of her throat with the tang of acid.
Once her breathing had calmed, Elsa made her way outside to find the Sparrowhawk. The cottage was bordered on three side by forest and the forth by the small field of crops and the barn. Dingy farm equipment lay about the lawn and a line for drying the washing stood forgotten. The barn was small, big enough for maybe two wagons side by side, but it seemed in better shape than the cottage, and it even had a roof of clay tiles. The doors were wide open and a view drifted out into the open. The sound was high and soft, like a song and it drew Elsa closer.
"Fly high, fly in your dreams,
Be free my little bird,
Take to the skies and don't you cry,
For in dreams you need not fear," Anna sang softly as she approached the only other occupant of the barn, a nervous chestnut horse, watching her carefully.
"Strong as the northern bear,
Brave as the southern lion,
Fast and wise, you'll soar through the skies,
In dreams you need not fear,
So, fly high, fly in your dreams,
Be free my little bird,
I'll always be home,
No matter how far you roam,
So in your dreams you need not fear," She pressed her hand gently to the horses nose and smiled, "see? I'm not so bad." When the horse began to nuzzle against her hand she pet it. "How long have your people been gone, I wonder," she sighed "don't you worry, I'll take good care of you. I'll find you a nice home and you won't have to be alone anymore." The horse seemed to perk up at that and Anna laughed.
Elsa cleared her throat, causing the Sparrowhawk to spin to face her. She frowned when she saw how tense the redhead became. "I came to apologize for my words, they were cruel, and to thank you for saving me."
Anna shrugged stiffly, "by the old ways, if you saved someone's life than they owed you a life debt. I have saved your life three times now. Don't you think I have earned more than this fear you seem so disdain on treating me with?"
The queen looked down to the dusty floor, "I am sorry, this has all been very hard for me," she looked over her shoulder towards the graves, her eyes distant.
After a long silence, Anna spoke again. "The man in the woods, was that the first person you ever killed?"
Elsa winced at the bluntness of the question and nodded, "I haven't even delivered a death sentence. The regent council took care of that for me while I learned to rule."
"My first kill was when I was twelve," the assassins voice was quiet, "six years have passed since I took that first life and I have added another thirty-two," she paused "no, thirty-five after yesterday."
Elsa blinked slowly. Thirty-six lives, and this woman was only eighteen. "Does it get any easier?"
"For some people, I suppose it does. You grow numb to it," Anna looked Elsa up and down, shaking her head, "but I don't think it will get any easier for you. You'll remember his face forever, just like I do?" Her eyes zeroed in on how the queen cradled her hands to her chest and finally realised that she only wore one glove. "Your gloves, do they help keep the magic in check?"
The blonde nodded and Anna sighed, tugging off her own glove and offering it, "it may not be a perfect fit, but it might help."
The glove felt pleasantly warm, Elsa noted as she pulled the glove onto her slender hand. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the hand of the assassins hand. A crocus and a pair of elegant wings unfurling around it were inking onto the back of her hand. The assassin must have noticed her gaze as she quickly hid her hand behind her back, coughing uncomfortably, "so, we can get out of here as I get Prince here hooked up to the wagon."
"Prince?" Elsa chuckled.
Anna raised her eyebrows, "What? It's his name." Prince neighed in agreement, breaking the tension as the two laughed full heartedly.
It took a few hours for Anna to get the wagon loaded and hitched. "Your majesty," she called "everything is ready to go." She made her way towards the graved, kneeling at the smallest and placing a small doll atop the dirt. "I found her in Prince's stall, you must have cared for him a lot."
"Do you know what happened to them?" Elsa asked, kneeling near Anna.
"I found this place after carrying you through the woods. I found them outside of the barn. Father, mother and daughter all cut from gut to chin. I assume that the culprits were the same bandits that attacked you." Anna nodded to herself, "Went and retrieved the bandits after I buried the family and gave them a burial as well."
"Why would you do that?" Elsa asked in confusion.
Anna shook her head, "I have no right to judge others by their actions. All I can do is help them on their way to meet the judgement that awaits them beyond."
Elsa stared at the redhead, not having expected an answer quite like that.
"Germany," Anna blurts out suddenly, helping the thoroughly confused queen to her feet. "We landed in Germany. Mind you we are just a bit too far North to pass through Corona, but we're only a few days ride from France," she grinned widely, her freckled face crinkling with mirth as she all but skipped to the wagon. "We're almost there," she sing-songed, climbed into the seat of the wagon. When Elsa didn't follow she rolled her eyes, "well come on, we have a lot of ground to cover if we want to get there in a timely manner."
The queen blinked slowly, not entirely sure what she had just saw before she gathered up the skirt of her dress and hurried to the wagon, climbing into the back and making herself comfortable. She smiled lightly to herself, flexing her hand in her borrowed glove. It still felt pleasantly warm against her cool skin.
"Allons-y!" the Sparrowhawk's voice pulled the queen from her thoughts.
"You speak French?" she inquired.
The assassin grinned, whipping the reins and setting the wagon into motion, "there is a lot more to being an assassin in the north then just knowing which end of you blade to stick with," she laughed, "maybe you'll learn some of them."
Elsa wasn't sure why, but she found herself blushing at that. She nodded, "yes, maybe I will."
