XIII

Taking One's Rightful Place

Alarm bells were ringing loudly over Arendelle, piercing the normally tranquil air with a tension that spread so quickly that most didn't suspect there was anything amiss at all. The first of the animals that had come out of the morning mists devoured the first of the guards, silently and completely without mercy. Even the guards that had witnessed the fate of their comrades took time to react, for seeing the carnage that suddenly unfolded before them stuttered their expectations of the day and blurred the lines of reality just as the mists blurred the lines of the castle in the distance. As more feral shadows moved in on the town, they brought with them the screams of those that they came across and the reality of the situation suddenly became clear.

The kingdom was under attack.

By the time the first guard had reached the bell and began sending the pitched alarm into the air, there were hordes of animals coming through the mists and crawling out of the fjord, meeting anyone they found with fangs and claws, though made of steel instead of bone. The guards that met them found vicious men underneath the fur, though their faces were savage and their cries feral. As best as they could, they did their duty to protect the kingdom and its people, though a huge number of the animals surged into the town and began to meet the residents that had wandered out to see the commotion, with harrowing results. Now, as the screams of battle and pain filled in the gaps between the alarm bells, women rushed inside with their children and tried to bolt the doors while men accustomed to handling shovels and boxes grabbed anything they could to try and match the rabid beasts and their bloody claws.

The town had become a sea of chaos in contrast to its natural state, while any of the animals that made it through the lines of guards were heading straight towards the castle and the treasures that lie within.

In the throne room of the castle, Elsa was tense, staring out towards the town. A distinctly cool air was circling her and she couldn't control the sense of dread in her heart, though something had very quickly strangled her instincts to rush out and see what the alarm was about. Her eyes moved across Anna and Kristoff as they mirrored her pensive look, then on to the others of her court, and finally onto the single person that had brought them all there before the bells had even begun to sing, as if he had seen well into the future and already knew what was going on.

At that moment, she suddenly realized she had no idea just how far Regent Stenson could see.

"I have to go see what's going on! I can't just stand here while something is happening in the town," Elsa cried, completely aghast at the demands he made of her.

"No, you must stay here until we know more about the situation. It's the Royal Guard's duty to protect the kingdom, not the queen's. I can't allow you to rush off and get hurt, or worse. Stay here, Elsa," the regent demanded, showing his rightful place as her advisor and trying to keep her from doing anything too rash, even if her magic emboldened her into thinking she could conquer the world.

"I can help! I could…" she cried, though he suddenly cut her off with a cold tone and colder eyes.

"You could what? Go and freeze whatever is out there, including half of the town?" he countered, watching as the thought smothered the fire in her eyes. It was an image that still strangled her, making it an effective way to manage her powers. Even now, with the alarm resounding through the air, he marveled at how easy it was to control her.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Anna suddenly chirped, stepping forward to defend her sister but suddenly being quieted by a harsh glare from him. While she didn't have the personal relationship with Regent Stenson that Elsa did, he still demonstrated the patriarchal domain he inherited from their late father and the authority he had over both of the sisters.

Anna's feisty nature broke upon the ferocity of his glance. "Uhm, nevermind."

Watching her retreat back to Kristoff's side, the regent looked to Elsa and saw the fire still smoldering in her eyes, though he was quick to douse it with reason and expectation. "You need to stay here. Wait until we hear a report from the Royal Guard, and then decide how to act. That's how a queen must behave in a crisis," he instructed, though he watched the way she still wavered and looked out towards the alarms.

His eyes focusing, he felt he needed to nudge her just a bit more. "At the very least, you must stand and protect those here, including the princess. If there are vagrants in the town and they make it to the castle, you might be our only hope against them."

Elsa's eyes instantly went to Anna and the line of reasoning resonated powerfully with her. The thought of anything happening to her sister made her heart clench and she suddenly saw the sense in his suggestion, even if her instinct still told her to go protect everyone and despite the fact that Anna's expression showed she didn't agree. She could hear Anna's voice telling her to go and let Anna take care of Anna, for her sister had an uncanny talent at looking after herself, even in a crisis.

Before Elsa had a chance to decide whose path to follow, there was the sound of footsteps approaching the throne room and it drew everyone's attention to the main doors, some fearing it was the invaders finally breaching the castle. Marching forcefully towards them all was a large group of men from the Royal Guard, with Johann leading them. A brooding expression was plastered on his face and his eyes were solely on the radiant queen that dominated the middle of the hall, something that struck Elsa for its fierceness and the way it took away from his usual rehearsed presence.

It was as if something were eating away at his insides and hollowing out his eyes.

His expression frightened her.

The contingent of guards pushed into the throne room and came to a halt opposite of the court, with Johann's eyes instantly drawn from the queen to the regent. He seemed surprised to see his father there, along with the princess and the other nobles, though he was quick to look back to the queen and he disconcertingly said nothing, something that struck her powerfully in light of the alarm bells in the air. Another thing that struck her was his appearance. While the guards that escorted him were armed, they appeared minimally prepared for the assault, while Johann appeared as if he had just walked out of the armory. Aside from an elegant sword hanging from his belt, he wore a brilliant sleeve of plated armor over his opposite arm, complete with a heavy pauldron over the shoulder that carried his family crest and interwoven plates that looked like dragon scales, even down to their greenish hue. The gauntlet was clawed and came to a point over the vambrace, making the sleeve as much of a weapon as the sword it was designed to compliment. The armor looked as if it would take a long time to fit, and as none of the other guards were so prepared, it made her glare at him harshly, wondering why everyone but him had been apparently caught off guard by the attack.

"What's going on, Johann? Why are the alarm bells ringing?" she demanded, taking a few steps towards him and watching tensely as his men began fanning out into the throne room around her.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but I'll be brief. There are vagrants attacking the town and the Royal Guard is stretched thin in repelling them. Their numbers and intent are still unknown, though I suspect they'll make their way to the castle very soon," he reported, settling his hand over the hilt of his sword as his eyes became darker and his voice dropped in tone. It was obvious that he had something else on his mind. "In times of crisis, it's the duty of all guards to defend Arendelle, yet one of our captains has gone missing since before the attacks. I find it vexing, to say the least."

Elsa's heart skipped. Even without the name, the look on his face and the tension in his body made her understand exactly who he referred to, though she couldn't fathom any reason why he would be missing in this time of dire need. It sent a new wave of anxiety rising through her chest.

"Yasha?" she gasped.

The regent suddenly took a step forward, injecting himself into their conversation. "Impossible. It was Captain Yasha that summoned me here with the others of the royal court. Why would he then suddenly disappear?" he said gruffly.

Johann was looking at his father with silent eyes, though ultimately shifted them back to the queen, watching how the news was devastating her expression. It stirred up the same anger that tore through his office after Yasha's departure and he found himself struggling to focus on anything else. "There's no place in my Guard for cowards, but now isn't the time to deal with him. We have other matters to attend to," he snarled, turning his head and flashing out his armored hand out to his men as they lined the throne room.

"Close the doors and bar them. No one enters."

His escort, men hand-picked and the most loyal to him, were quick to obey and began to close the large doors, arranging braces against them all while the rest of the court looked on in whispers and silence. Johann was quick to seal off the nobility of Arendelle, but his posture was electric and his skin was heavy with sweat.

Elsa wasn't lost on his mood and felt her own pulse race at his actions. Even her magic began to swell as she wondered exactly what his intentions were. "What are you doing, Johann?" she demanded, chilling the entirety of the room for its tone and making the hushed baron look back to her with eyes she had only rarely seen before. They were dangerous and deep, and they had secrets in them that she couldn't discern. Strangely, she felt the warnings from those eyes far clearer than the bells that still echoed around the walls of the castle.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Your Highness," he replied venomously as he slowly drew his sword from his side.

"This is what I should have done from the beginning."