Anna wasn't prepared for just how cold the manifestation of Elsa anger and hurt would be. Painfully cold, she quickly leaned, more so given how long it had been since Anna had truly felt cold. It knocked the breath out of her in a painful clouded cry and locked up all of her joints. It was also sobering. Through her pain she was able to see clearly, and what she saw shattered her already broken heart. Elsa, her Elsa, was staring at her with all the hate her broken heart could summon. She wanted to reach out to her, calmly this time, and explain how wrong she had been, but her arms were trapped uselessly to her side.

Her own heart ached for Elsa when the Queen began to speak. Elsa thought that Anna's love had been a lie, and Anna wanted desperately to tell her she was wrong, but her mouth refused to form the words. It was only when Elsa called her a monster that tears began to mist her vision. It was one thing to call herself one, but hearing Elsa say it in such a cold and hateful voice hurt more than the cold of the ice.

And then, Elsa was walking away. Anna could hear the sobs that the queen could no longer hold back, "I wish that poison had killed you," she heard Elsa say throughthe tears.

Anna found herself wishing the same thing as her own tears began to spill free. Gods, what had she done? "I'm sorry!" She cried as Elsa began to run from her, "Elsa! I'm so sorry! Elsa! ELSA!" She cried out over and over, until her throat was raw and burning. Anna leaned uselessly against the ice and cried all the tears she had left.

It was high noon when the ice finally melted enough for Anna to break free of its hold. Her tears had long since stopped, and the crystal had returned heat to her body. She wiped her face on her damp sleeves and tried to collect herself. Surely by now, Marshal had heard what she had done, and Anna found herself anticipating the fulfillment of the knight's promise. Being cleaved in two seemed a blissful punishment for the pain she had caused. She thought about seeking out the knight, meeting her death halfway, but the steady pulse of warmth from the fire crystal reminded her of her duty.

She kicked the still melting ice out her way and moved to the centre of the ashes of the pyre, amazingly spared from Elsa's ice. She sifted soundlessly through ash, meticulously picking out every remaining fragment of bone she could find before turning her search to her father's crystal. Anna found it near the centre. She picked it up slowly, cradling it in the palm of her hand, sitting down in the ash. The strip of leather that it had hung from had burned away, leaving only the uncarved crystal behind, now black with only the faintest hint of its magical glow. Anna lovingly ran her fingers across its surface, remembering back to the first time she had held it.

It was just after she had been brought to the village. Pabbie had told her what had been done with the bodies of her parents, burned and buried with the highest honours. Even as a child, she had been able to accept this, she didn't cry, didn't wail against it, she merely sat numbly, vowing to avenge them.

It was them that Pabbie had sighed and placed the crystal in her little hands, let her feel it's heat. She remembered how it had warmed her heart and made her giggle when she felt the pulsing beat. He had simply smiled and said that it was part of him and him it, and asked her how it felt to hold his heart in her hands.

Anna hadn't known how to answer back then, but now, holding that same crystal, its beating forever ceased and its warmth spent, she thought she knew. It was humbling, the greatest man she had ever known had trusted his heart to an unstable child who could just as easily dashed the pretty stone against the wall. He had put his faith on her, always had. With a sad smile Anna stood and made her way to the crypt.

Anna sat before the obelisk, hugging her knees to her chest. She had ground her father's bones into an urn and gingerly placed both it and his crystal in the empty space. She didn't know what she had been expecting, a flash of light or even a faint glow. She knew what she wanted to happen, she had wanted Pabbie's spirit to appear before her and give her one final piece of guidance, for she felt lost.

A great weight had been dropped on her slim shoulders and it was only now that the burial was complete that she could feel it pressing down on her. She had hoped for some form of help, but she had no advisors and the only other leader she could talk to hated her. The thought of Elsa made her hug her knees tighter.

She regarded her reflection in the water of the pool, scowling at her own face before tossing a loose stone into the water.

"That seemed excessive," Olaf chimed from behind her.

Anna nearly fell into the pool in her fright before reeling on the shorter man, "what the hell did you do that for?"

Olaf smiled kindly and tilted his head, "do what?"

"Scare me like that," Anna replied, trying to get her breathing back under control.
The knight shrugged and sat down next to her, "I didn't think that assassins got scared."

"Of course we get scared," Anna grumbled before glancing over at him, "what are you even doing here? How did you find me?"

"Kristoff thought you needed a friendly face," Olaf beamed, "someone to make sure you didn't do anything stupid."

Anna snorted, "Like what?"

"Drink the water, run off or go find my brother. Really, Kristoff gave me a huge list but I don't remember half of it," Olaf laughed.

Anna frowned, "so he's hunting me?"

"Yeah, Marshmallow is scouring the village looking for you. I've never seen him so upset," He explained before holding out a small pouch, "Berries?" Once Anna began eating, Olaf looked to her, "You wanna talk about what happened between you two?" When Anna shook her head he nodded, "Alright."

The two lapsed into silence eating their berries. "I tried to kill her," Anna said suddenly.

"I heard," Olaf commented, "the whole mansions heard."
Anna frowned, "but I couldn't," she looked at Olaf, wide eyed and defensive, "not that I want to! I never want to hurt her. But I was scared and confused about us but... I'm not anymore."

Olaf smiled, "because you love her, we all know. You two don't really try to hide it."

"Love," Anna scoffed miserably, "after everything I've done to her?" Anna shook her head, "I don't even think I know what love is."
Olaf chuckled and gave her a shove, "sure you do!" When she didn't respond he just kept smiling, "I know you do, 'cause I do. It's putting someone else's needs before your own, and from what I've seen, that's all you do. You remind me of the staff heads from the castle, always doing everything you can for Elsa," he frowned, "I'm sure if they were here now, they'd be able to fix this, Elsa always listens to them," he paused before chuckling, "well, almost always."
"What happened?" Anna asked.

Olaf shrugged, "they were some of the first to speak out against Prince Hans when he seized power. He had them and the others locked up in the fort to keep their descent from spreading. "

Anna grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face her, "do you know how many people?"

"A lot. Staff mostly, but lots of the advisors and high ranking military too, why?" Olaf blinked at her but Anna was already stumbling to her feet.

"I need to get my affairs in order," she helped the knight to his feet, "can you get Kristoff to meet me in the guy in the woods and tell him to arrange for the refugees to be relocated closer to the village, give them all the assistance they need, and maybe keep your brother off my tail?"

Olaf nodded, blinking up at her in confusion, "yeah, why?"

Anna clapped her hands together, "good. Just for a few days," she hurried past him and up the tunnel.

"What are you going to do?" He called after her.

"Jail break!" She yelled back.

"This is suicide," Kristoff growled at her as he stomped his way into her hut, a pair of caged ravens in hand.

Anna made a grunt of affirmation and took the ravens from him, "that's why I'm getting everything in order before I leave."

His jaw dropped, "unbelievable," he dragged his fingers through his hair, "all this because of a fight?"

Anna shook her head, "because it's right. That bastard prince has an army, we have a handful of guards and assassins and a ship of French troops somewhere. Elsa needs more manpower."

"Anna, you are the leader of those assassins, and the best of them," Kristoff pointed out, "just sneak in and do your thing."

"And Elsa will be labeled a coward of a queen and no one will respect her rule," Anna sat down at her work bench and began writing out her orders, "no, it has to be her and her forces. And as for being the leader, until I get back, you are."

Kristoff balked at her, "Anna I-"

"You are the clear choice," she interrupted, "and everyone knows it," she tied a letter to the leg of one of the ravens, "it will be better this way." With a sigh Anna handed the cage back to Kristoff, "get these birds on a boat, I'm asking for help from our allies in the west," she ordered as she stood.

"You're kidding, right?" When Anna didn't confirm his hope he groaned, "they are wild, unpredictable and-"

"Their princess owes me a favour," Anna beamed, "trust me, they'll help."

Anna spent the next three days in her work shop, testing and retesting her weapons and polishing her armour. She avoided the mansion like the plague, hoping to give Elsa her space. Olaf had done his part wonderfully and kept Marshal well away from her.

As she buckled the last clasp on her armour she decided to pay a visit to the mansion. She snuck in, not wanting to have to say goodbye to Bulda or Sven, and made her way to Elsa's door on silent feet. Anna's hand hovered above the wood as she worked up her courage before finally knocking, "Elsa," her voice was small, betraying her nerves, "please, I know that you're in there, and I know that I am the last person that you want to hear from, but, please, just hear me out," she took a shuddering breath, "what I was planning to do was terrible, and you have every right to hate me, but I just want you to know that I meant it, I do love you, truly. But I was scared and... There is no point trying to explain it but... I am leaving now, I hope I can earn your forgiveness and if I can't, than maybe I can grant your wish." She had no idea if Elsa was even listening, but Anna didn't have time to find out, as she turned and hurried from her home.

It had been easy enough to sneak out of the village, she should have known that her luck would run out. She was making her way through the cleared out tunnel when she was lifted and slammed against the rock face. Her vision swam and she struggled vainly as her attacker glared at her.

"You have got a lot of nerve thinking that you can just get away without paying for what you did," Marshal snarled at her.

Anna struggled more, "I'm not trying to get away!" She pleaded with the armoured knight, "I'm trying to help!"

"I think you've done more than enough, you lying traitorous bitch," he ground out, "what were you going to do if you weren't trying to get away?"

"I'm was going to attack the fortress and free as many people as I could to try and earn the queens forgiveness," Anna replied in a rushed breath.

Much to her relief, the knight set her back down on the ground and took a step back. "The fortress? Alone?" Anna nodded, "That's a suicide mission."

"Why do you giants feel the need to keep pointing that out to me?" Anna grumbled as she rubbed at her, most likely bruised, arms.

"I won't allow it," Marshal snapped. When Anna made to protest, he jabbed a thick finger to her chest, "I swore that if you hurt Elsa I would kill you, which means that your life is mine. I can't have you making a martyr of yourself and making me break my oath."

Anna shook her head, "but I can't just leave those people to rot there while we twiddle away our time waiting for reinforcements!"

Marshal nodded solemnly, "I know," he squeezed her shoulder in an almost crushing grip, "that's why I'm going with you, Sparrow." He released her and made his way through the tunnel, Anna trailing behind him.

"Wait, What?"

Marshal snorted, "I gotta make sure that you don't die before I get the chance to kill you myself," he grinned cruelly. He gripped the hilt of his sword and set off at a jog, "move it, Sparrow, we have a lot of ground to cover!"

Anna couldn't help but grin herself as she took off after the knight.

It took the duo the better part of the day to make it to the fortress, the sun beginning its descent when they tucked themselves into a hiding spot to scope it out. The fortress was a large square tower built well away from the town proper atop a cliff that overlooked the fjord, and even in the light of the setting sun, the towers black stone walls were foreboding. In times of war it had been used as a garrison and prison, but when King Agdar had come into power in his youth, he had abolished its use, citing the lack of need. It had been kept up over the years, but had remained empty save for a ceremonial skeleton guard.

Heavily armoured guards stood on either side of the wrought iron gate that served as the only entrance and Anna could only assume that the inside would be even more formidable. "A lot of trouble to go to just to keep some castle staff locked away," Anna grumbled in annoyance.

"One voice can turn to view of hundreds," Marshal commented sagely, snorting at the look Anna gave him, "I doubt that the prince wants their disobedience to spread to the city. Best to keep them locked far away."

Anna gave a noncommittal grunt and the two lapsed back into silence.

The dim light that the crescent moon cast out over the fjord was more than Anna would have liked for a mission like this, but they had no time to wait for the new moon. She ran a thumb of the beak of her mask, teal eyes spacing out. 'You're a monster,' Elsa's words echoed in her head and her grip tightened on the mask unconsciously. A nudge from Marshal drew her thoughts back to the task at hand and my tied on her mask. The gate opened slowly as two more guards stepped outside. "It's time," she grunted, drawing her daggers, "Quiet as possible, we don't want to draw too much attention."

With that, the two darted from their hiding spot. Keeping to the shadows, the guards didn't notice them until it was too late. With their weapons already drawn, Anna and Marshal had the advantage against the guards and their heavy armour. Marshal was elegant with his sword, wielding it as if it were simply an extension of his arm. He cut through the shaft of one of the guards spears and knocked him back, leaving him defenceless when Anna rushed her advantage and plunged her dagger easily into the underarm gap and moving to the next. The knight and the assassin made a surprisingly formidable team, given their mutual distrust of each other. The four guards went down easily and Marshal managed to wedge the gates mechanism open with one of their helmets.

The main floor was barren. A table and a scattering of chair and two stairways. One led up towards the cells and the other down into the cliffs were the barracks were located. It was fairly dark inside the tower and they stood waiting for their eyes to adjust. "How many floors up?" Anna asked quietly.

"Three," Marshal replied, "and another two below." Anna blinked at him, "I made it my duty to know about these old forts, in case we ever needed them."

Anna didn't bother to ask and instead made her way up the stairs. The first floor of cells was empty save for a few rats. The second floor was much the same, cells empty but one guard sat by the next stairway, leaning back in his chair. He spotted them as they rounded the corner. Anna stood to the side and allowed Marshal to charge forward. The sound of steel on steel echoed loudly around them until a solid kick from Marshal collapsed the cheap metal of the breastplate, sending the guard crumpling to the ground. Anna snorted, "This is way easier than I thought it would be. This was supposed to be my suicide mission," she bemoaned, "five guards does not a suicide mission make."

"You really want to die that badly?"

"Yes," Anna answered quickly before looking down, "no, not really. But if that is what it takes to make things up to Elsa, then yes." She didn't bother looking at the knight as she stalked her way to the stair, "come one, they must be keeping them all on the top floor."

With the final floor, they hit the prisoner jackpot. Every cell was packed with men and women in various states on injury, each shying away, glaring at her mask. Anna winced inwardly, maybe in had been a bad idea. She made her way to the back, fishing around in a pouch for her lock picks. She crouched down and began to work on one of the locks. No sooner had the locked clicked open, then the door was forced open, knocking Anna back onto her rear. A slim woman with messy grey hair hurried out and began to beat at Anna with what she could only assume was a book as she tried to protect her head. "Horrid man!" The woman wailed, "What did you do with our poor Elsa?" It seemed that time locked up had not broken her loyalty nor her spirit.

"Gerda, please," A balding portly man moved to restrain her, "this man just freed us, please refrain from beating him senseless before he gets everyone else out," he tried to reason with her.

"Not a man," Anna groaned in pain.

She was ignored entirely, by the woman, Gerda, who merely glared at the portly man, "You know who this is?" She hissed, "The one who took away our Elsa and let that horrid prince in, that's who!"

Gerda was about to resume the beating of Anna when Marshal made his way around the corner. His face lit up and he rushed over, picking both Gerda and the man up in a bear hug, "Miss Gerda, Kai! Thank God you're both alright!"

Kai blinked, "Sir Marshal? What are you doing here?"

"Jail break," he replied as he set them both back down and pulled Anna to her feet just as a bell began to ring. He groaned and redrew his sword, "you were saying this was too easy, Sparrow?"

Anna laughed nervously, "Yeah, I guess I was kind of asking for this." She made quick work of the other locks, the rest of the prisoners, before joining Marshal at the top of the stairs. They could hear the guards assembling down the stairs. She drew her daggers and gave the knight a nod before moving down ahead of him and the prisoners. The guards were already storming up the stairs to head them off, but Anna wasn't going to be stopped. She crouched low and launched herself into the chest of the first guard, sending them both tumbling down the stairs and into the rest of the guards in a domino effect. Marshal and the few imprisoned members of Arendelle's military were right behind her, collecting the few weapons that the guards hadn't been able to keep a grip on. They pressed forwards, fighting their way to the ground floor, further arming their escape with every guard they felled.

Anna was down to one dagger, her other had been lost somewhere on the second floor, and she struggled to stand her ground with only it. Strong as she was, blocking and parrying a sword with naught but a single dagger was near impossible. So when she spotted a discarded sword, she didn't think twice about diving for it. Anna gripped the hilt tight and rose into a fighting stance and froze, feeling its weight heavy in her hands.

The assassin could hear the panicked cries of the unarmed castle staff behind her. Innocent untrained lives that could easily be caught in the cross fighting. Unbidden, the memory of Kristoff bleeding out onto the sandstone streets of Agrabah came to the forefront of her mind and her hands shook. Anna was so wrapped up in her own fear and memories that she didn't notice the guard raising his sword to deal and fatal blow, but Marshal did.

"Sparrow!" He shouted and rushed to her aid as the sword was falling. He dug his fingers into the collar of her armour and tugged her back roughly. He was fast enough to save her life, but not enough to save her from the sting of cold steel.

Anna cried out, more so from shock than pain, as the tip of the blade cut from her hairline to her cheekbone, just barely missing her eye. She dropped the sword and leaned back against Marshal who wrapped a protective arm around her.

"Forward!" He bellowed, and made a dash for the stairs and the exit, tossing Anna over his shoulder. He didn't look back to see how many of the escapees were still following. An arrow whizzed by his ear and her growled. The remaining guards must have abandoned the fighting in favour of trying to pick them off in the open. Marshal heard a few pained cries before finally making it to the thin tree line. The knight did a quick headcount, taking the time to catch his breath and wipe the sweat from her head and assess his own minor wounds. Only twenty eight made it out, he sighed heavily. It had been a costly attack.

Among those twenty eight were Kai and Gerda at least, as well as Admiral Eriksen, a strong seafaring man with a wide build and this grey hair. Marshal acknowledged him with a nod before dropping Anna and marching off into the forest.

Anna stumbled after the knight. Having removed her gauntlets and mask, she pressed the sleeve on her tunic to her wound. They walked in relative silence for a long time, Anna growing increasingly miserable before she finally broke, "why did you save me?" She grumbled, "you want me dead anyways, so why?"

"I told you, that your life belongs to me," Marshal replied with a shrug.

"Well we made it out alive, so why am I still here?" Anna threw her free hand up in exasperation, "I don't get you! You say you want me dead, that you'll be the one who does it and then you don't! Am I going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder to see if it's my time? Am I going to wake up one morning to find you with a knife to my throat? Or are you just going to crush my skull like an egg? Because looking at you, I'm sure that you could," She glanced up at him, "just kill me now, because I can't live like that."

Marshal laughed and that only made Anna more nervous, "I have decided not to kill you. That isn't my call to make," he waited for Anna to sigh out her relief before continuing, "no that decision is for her majesty to make," he roared out a laugh when Anna froze and blanched beside him.

Anna was suddenly in no hurry to get home.