Author's Note:
To respond to a review by NarwhalWarlord: As undeniably awesome a scene involving a polar bear cavalry would be, it sadly doesn't fit into the story I'm trying to tell, sorry.
Anyway, please review! I love seeing people's opinions.
Anna had learned to talk slowly. She always had a tendency to speak before she thought, but that would probably get her killed here. Acting before thinking did get killed before, so she didn't want to repeat that here. When she slowed her speech down, she found that she could weave an intricate but logically sound web of lies.
My name is Joan Isabella Augustin. I'm twenty years old. My birthday is April 10th. I got a pet dog from my father on my twelfth birthday. The dog's name was Sven. I have a younger brother by the name of Rudolf. He will be seventeen in a month. My mother's name was Henriette, though she died two years ago. Remember to cry a little when you mention her.
She survived a whole week of interrogations with that story. Now she was being moved to a more permanent facility.
The wagon she was riding in stopped. The Southern Isles guards on either side of her stood and pulled her to her feet by the chains and shackles that bound her. The locked door of the wagon was opened from the outside by a third guard. Anna had to squint her eyes as she exited the wagon due to the bright noonday sun. When her eyes finally adjusted to the intensity of the light, Anna looked up to see her new home.
The Ragnvald Prisoner of War Camp looked more like a fort than a camp. It was located in one of the few flat areas on the most remote isle in the Southern Isles. Anna had spent several hours in the brig of a ship just to get here. The gates opened with a creak as the posse around Anna approached. The camp itself consisted of a central path with barracks branching off from it. The path led from the main gate to a parade field at the far end of the compound. The wall surrounding the camp seemed to tower over Anna's head as they passed through the gate. The wall had armed guards patrolling along the top and the corners had parapets which housed large cannons. What concerned Anna the most was that the guns were facing inward rather that outward.
The guards pushed her forward and turned her into the first barrack on the right of the gate. Anna briefly saw the word "WOMEN" written above the door. Inside the barrack, it was sectioned off into rooms. Anna could see that each room had a bunk bed and a closet as she passed open doors. The central hallway was almost completely dark due to the lack of lights or windows.
At least the rooms have a window.
She was lead to the last room on the left. One of the guards opened the door and Anna caught her first glimpse of her new roommate. She was a younger girl, Anna assumed around sixteen, with jet black hair. She sat on the lower bunk of the bed and wore the same clothes as Anna: the standard issue dark gray dress given to all female prisoners. Anna and the girl silently stared at each other while the guard unlocked Anna's restraints.
"Enjoy your stay," one of the guards jeered as the trio moved back down the hallway and left the barrack. Anna continued to stand in the doorway to her new home, not talking. Her new roommate did the same. After an awkward couple of seconds, the younger girl stood up, marched over to Anna, and forcefully held her hand out to Anna.
"Hi, I'm Rebekka! You can just call me 'Bekka.' What's your name?" she greeted warmly. Anna looked down out the outstretched hand and then back up at the smiling face. Rebekka's hazel eyes stared at her hopefully.
"Uh, Joan," Anna was so surprised by the sudden outpouring of niceness that she nearly forgot her cover story. She extended her hand to take Rebekka's. "It's nice to meet you."
"Yeah, same," Rebekka replied. She let out a small laugh escape.
It's been far too long since I've heard that.
"How are you so happy? You're in a prison camp, Rebekka." Anna had never heard herself be that pessimistic before.
Maybe that's what a week of interrogations will do to you.
Anna saw Rebekka's smile fade slightly.
"I'm happy because I'm in a prison camp. If I let that kind of pessimism control me, this place would be a living hell. So I stay positive and try to make friends, like you!" Her face lit up again with her last statement.
"So, how did you end up here?" Anna decided to learn some things about her new friend.
"About five months ago, I was taking a ferry between two of the islands when we got attacked by a Southern Isles' warship. Well, attacked is a strong word. It was more like they ran up the Southern Isles' flag and our captain surrendered on sight," she looked to the floor. "Damn coward," she mumbled under her breath. "Anyway, how'd you get here?"
"I was on ship from Arendelle. My father was the captain. We got practically ambushed by a really big Southern Isles warship. We tried to fight back. It was a bloodbath." Anna recalled, fighting back a tear. Rebekka's eyes widened.
"You're from Arendelle? Was there anyone else from your ship who was captured?"
"To answer your first question: yes. To answer your second one: no." Anna looked to the floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Joan. Hey, at least your father wasn't a coward. He at least tried to fight the bastards back." Rebekka had a look of defiance about her. "Anyway, I don't think there's been a single prisoner from Arendelle here so far, we're all from the Northern Isles."
"Yeah, so I've been told," Anna replied. "Do… Do you have a family?" Anna hoped she hadn't stumbled on a tender subject.
"Yeah, a mother and older brother," Rebekka conceded. "There're still back on the Isles. My mother is a seamstress and my brother's in the army. My dad died three years ago in a fishing accident." Anna was dumbfounded how open this girl was with a complete stranger.
She's just like I was a year ago.
Anna admitted to herself she had let her optimism slide since the war began, and especially since she was captured.
"Do you have a family?" Rebekka asked.
"Yeah, a younger brother. My mother died two years ago and my father died when the ship went down." Anna felt guilty for lying to Rebekka. She had become so used to lying in the past week, why did she suddenly feel guilty now? There was something about this girl that made her want to be truthful.
"I bet your brother misses you." Rebekkah broke Anna concentration.
"I'm sure he does. He probably doesn't even know I'm alive." She let out a sigh. The thought of Elsa believing she was dead was almost too much to bear. "We had kinda grown apart, but in the last year, we had really started to reconnect. It… it was so nice." Anna suddenly realized that she was just staring off into the distance. She turned her attention back to Rebekka. "Well, we can only hope we'll see them again soon."
"Yeah, I can't wait," Rebekka agreed. A loud bell all of a sudden began to toll outside.
"Come on, it's time for roll call." Rebekka said as she grabbed Anna's arm as they left the room. "They wanna make sure no one escaped. They do it every morning and night. You'll get used to it." By this time, the pair were out of the barracks and heading down the path to the parade field. They were joined by the horde of other prisoners making their way there too.
As Rebekka led Anna to their places, Anna leaned in and asked, "Has anyone tried to escape before?"
"Yeah, him." Rebekka pointed to the stage at the center of the grounds. Anna eyes widened when she saw the skeleton hanging from the scaffolding.
Oh, God, help me get through this.
