Author's Note: Hope everyone had a happy 4th! This chapter certainly took longer to finish because of the bender I had to come down off of. Was fun, though! -Foxinstrazt
Part IV: Chapter 34
-How Fragile The Mind-
Hall of Ancestors, Corona Castle
Five Months after the Reclamation of the Throne
"My sympathies for Everard's passing, King Hans." Driscoll walked side by side with the man who had married his daughter, moving slowly through the Hall of Ancestors. It was a grand room, lit to every corner by the gentlest of candles. The walls were adorned with portraits of Corona's rulers stretching back a few dozen generations, all of them proving worthy to sit upon the Throne of the Sun. "And my regret that I could not attend the coronation.. The issues with the north continue to occupy my time."
The red haired man that stood next to him glanced over, vivid green eyes narrowing and baring a hint of anger. "Does Queen Anna lean towards war? If it is so, you need only ask, and myself and my kingdom shall be at your disposal."
"No, it is not that. Though I do appreciate your offer, if it does indeed come to war between us and Arendelle. But, no.. The Duke of Weselton continues to petition me for financial support, as the rebellion in my niece's kingdom caused all of the trade lines to suffer. And then there is the Duke of Radiance." Giving a sigh, Driscoll halted in front of the portrait that showed his parents, turning and gazing up at the firm gaze of his father and the gentle smile of his mother. "He wishes only to know where his daughter is, but it is an answer I cannot give him.. I have heard nothing of the Lady Kairi since I sent her on her way."
"Forgive me for even suggesting, but perhaps she was killed by Queen Anna?" Hans took up standing by his side, the man's eyes finding the same painting he was staring at. "If it was discovered she was there to report findings back to you.."
"I would like to believe my niece would not be senseless or malicious enough to commit such an act.. But one can never be sure of such things in these times, especially given what she did to your brother, Prince Kristoff." Glancing over, Driscoll noted the way that Hans gave a downcast nod at the mention of his deceased family. It brought sorrow to his heart to see the other man so hurt by the simple mention of those gone, prompting him to continue. "Alas, the greatest tragedy is that your brothers died without a reconciliation with you."
"It will haunt me to the end of my days, yes, but I would not trade your daughter's life in order to mend the relationship between Everard, Kristoff, and I." They both fell silent after that, turning to continue their walk down the long hall. It was in that silence that Hans inferred there was more upon his mind than he had let on. "What troubles you, father?"
"It is all this death that has struck the world in the last year.. Forgive me, it is not by a lack of faith in you that comes to mind, but a duty to Corona's future. I am concerned that your obligations in your own kingdom may interfere with those you have here, should the worst come to pass for my wife and I." Driscoll kept his head held high as he stopped and turned to regard the younger man once again.
Hans did not shrink from the implications of his words, instead drawing himself up to his fullest height as he replied. "I have discussed this with Rapunzel, and we decided that I shall publicly cede all authority to her. She will make a strong queen, and I will do what I can to assist her."
Raising a hand to clap it upon the other man's shoulder, Driscoll let his lips stretch into a wide grin. "That takes a burden off my mind. You are a very honorable man, Hans, and I am proud to have you as a son."
The Gardens, Arendelle Castle
Five Months after the Reclamation of the Throne
Whack.
The practice sword in Anna's arms shook under the impact, flowing through the wooden blade and into the hilt her fingers were wrapped around. With a growl, she did not relent her assault, lifting herself up onto the ball of her right foot and spinning to bring the weapon back down against the block that seemed to materialize in front of the other woman. A laugh came from the lips that had been set into a determined line a moment before, and auburn hair shimmered in the sunlight as it was lifted into the air.
Her opponent's spin was no more successful than her own, as she caught the incoming blade by pushing out the hilt of her own sword and catching the others with the edge of her crossguard. Shoving the offending weapon downward, she pushed her advantage and driving the woman back across the length of the garden. Eventually, the lock was disengaged by both parties, as they slid away from each other.
The seasons had turned back into springtime, allowing the flowers of the garden to begin blooming and releasing their fragrant scent in the air. Anna took in a deep breath of it all, placing her hands upon her hips and leaning back to truly enjoy it. Summer had been stolen by the magical winter the last year, and the green upon the ground was a welcome sight after all that time of snow and ice. A glance told her that her partner was panting as well, their training session having gone on for much longer than usual.
Most of their mock fights ended this way, with no clear winner and both of them out of breath. It was good practice, the drive to land a strike on the other causing them to try more dangerous and bizarre moves than they otherwise would have. Kairi, however, did not seem to be deterred by a little exhaustion today, tearing the point of her wooden sword out of the ground and beckoning to Anna. "Come on, you've got to give me more of a chance than that today."
Giving a low chuckle as she spun her own weapon through the air, she gave a nod a stepped forward, readying herself for the fight to continue until a new voice spoke up. "Excuse me, Queen Anna? A letter has arrived for you."
Lowering the carved blade, she turned back to see a servant standing at the edge of the garden, a sealed envelope held out in front of him. Glancing back at Kairi before tossing the sword to her, she gave a shrug and moved to collect the letter, mumbling out a thanks as the man turned to leave. She kept herself from tearing it open once she saw the seal that had been pressed into the wax, instead turning it toward the woman she had been sparring with.
Kairi moved across the garden with an inquisitive expression, her eyes widening once she was close enough to make out what it was Anna wished her to see. "That's the royal seal of Corona.. I wonder if your uncle is finally crawling back for forgiveness?" Smirking a bit at the feisty attitude the Knight displayed at the mention of the man she had once served, Anna gave a lazy shrug before breaking the seal and opening the small letter held within.
"Queen Anna,
The Summer of Arendelle
The Light of the Fjords
The Savage Queen
Word has recently reached me of the demise of King Everard, of the Southern Isles. It seems you have taken it upon yourself to end the Westergard line, perhaps in some fool notion of vengeance for what befell you and your sister. If you seek to claim the life of the last of their line, I regret to inform you I will stand in your way.
Prince Hans is set to ascend to the throne of the Southern Isles, and he has married my daughter, your cousin. I ask you to forgive him of any perceived sins he has committed against you, in an effort to preserve the happiness of my beloved Rapunzel. I will not stand by if anyone threatens that.
Signed,
King Driscoll
Keeper of the Golden Sun"
Scoffing at the formal use of her titles, and the condescending tone of the entire letter, she resisted the urge to crumple the parchment in her fist, instead handing it to the other redhead who stood close by. Taking it with a raised eyebrow, Kairi let out a chuckle as she read the first few lines. "I was not aware you had a new title.." Mirth disappeared quickly as the woman continued on down the letter, and Anna did not see her true reaction to the rest of it, as she moved past her and into the garden. The sound of paper ripping apart filled the air shortly after. "That fool! He willfully walks into a trap, and has the nerve to insinuate you are at fault?"
Turning back, she saw Kairi toss the shredded letter away before crystal blue eyes settled upon her. "What will you do, Anna?"
She mulled it over for a long moment, giving herself time to process past the anger that threatened to swell up. Moving through the garden in silence, she stopped to gently run the tips of her fingers over the bulbs that would soon bloom into a myriad of colored flowers. It was that train of thought that drew her gaze to a bush that sat near the center of the ensemble, where a single stem could be seen rising above the rest of the foliage, nearing its day of awakening. The white flower.. "I will kill Hans.. But not for me, not for vengeance." Glancing back to see Kairi's narrowed eyes upon her, she continued to explain. "Kristoff requested that I not let his brothers escape justice, and so I will not. For Eugene, and Elsa.. Kai, Gerda, Nacen. All those who have suffered because of the Westergard line."
"I butchered Meeran, and Kristoff, my will blinded by an unchecked rage.. And it was that haze of hatred that subjected my people to the Savage Winter. But no longer.. What I do now, I do with a clear head." She turned back to face Kairi fully, holding herself high as she did so. For the first time since she had returned to the castle of Arendelle, she felt like more than the barbarian who had reclaimed a throne, more than a ghost left behind after the attack. She was the Queen. Though it may have lost the touch of home, it was still her duty to protect it, and to bring justice on those who harmed it. "I am going to Corona."
Estate of the Duke, The Duchy of Weselton
Five Months after the Reclamation of the Throne
The darkness of night had always been Kainge's ally. Whether it was slipping away from an errant guard after leading him on a merry chase through the deserted streets of a quiet city, or sinking a blade into the flesh of one of her targets, it had always been by her side. Night was the only thing she could count on to keep her secrets, and now she relied on it more heavily, dodging about the rooftops of Weselton. Crouched atop the wall to an estate, she took in the view from her perch with a twisted sneer upon her lips.
She was sure the minor duchy held appeal to some, but to her it was nothing but a dusky harbor town that smelled too much of fish for her tastes. The only thing attractive about the place was the same thing that held interest across the entire word; Gold. From whores to tradesmen, even to bureaucrats, everyone stood a fair chance to make a fat sum of coins in this port. In her line of work, she stood to make even more, as it seemed corruption grew from the roots in this place.
With a leap to cross the gap to the roof of the estate, Kainge caught herself on the lip of edge, the muscles in her arms contracting in order to halt the swinging motion and keep herself from falling free or generating an excess of noise. Lowering her feet to the sill of a window, she pried her fingers from their hold and dropped into a crouch, peering inside. She had approached the building from the back, hoping to have caught the occupants, and her target, off guard. It appeared to have worked, as well.
The chamber she sat outside of was a large one, looking to be a room where the Duke could meet with those who had business with him. Across the room and upon a raised platform sat a desk, and behind it was the very man she had been sent to kill, his gaze upon a stack of papers while the quill in his hand scribbled away. Leaning against the glass to peer downward, she also saw two guards directly below her, guarding the entrance to the room.
A grin found its way to Kainge's face as she drew her daggers, glad to have such an easy time of it after coming all the way here. Leaning back to set her rear upon the rough surface of the roof, she angled herself and lined up her boot with the center of the windows panes. Kicking out, the weak wooden structure gave way and the sound of shattering glass filled the air as she rocked forward and swung herself into the room. The two guards posted at the door barely had time to look up before she descended upon them, each of her blades finding their way into a chest as she slammed the bodies into the ground.
Racket continued to sound as the man she had come to kill jumped up from his desk, knocking over the chair that he had been sitting in and spilling an ink bottle over the documents upon the wooden surface. It seemed as if sleepless nights had been the norm for the Duke, with his high collared shirt ruffled and ragged stubble present across his chin. Cut to a medium length, his brown hair stuck out in several different directions, and beneath trimmed eyebrows sat two eyes with irises the color of chocolate, both of them wide with the surprise of her entrance. "Duke Harvey.. You have overstepped your bounds with our mutual friend."
Unperturbed by her teasing tone, the man seemed to calm quickly, even laughing as he moved around the edge of his desk to stand openly before her. "You speak as if I did not anticipate this move." Perhaps on a signal, or in response to hearing the disturbance she had caused, the door behind her shot open. In poured six more guards, two of them armed with long halberds and the rest with broadswords, moving to circle her as she turned and raised her twin daggers to meet them. "As if I did not know that Hans would come for me?"
Snarling as she turned back to regard the gloating nobleman, she set a dangerous glare on him that was met only with a mocking grin. "But alas, I had no choice. My duchy is in need of aid, and just as your beloved King once asked for my skills, so too did I ask for his assistance." Harvey let out a loud laugh, reaching back to retrieve a slim sword that had sat on the edge of his desk before speaking again. "And of course he would send his favorite toy, his bitch of a lapdog."
"I'm no one's lapdog!" She screamed the words at him in a fury, taking a step towards the man only to be deterred by the point of a halberd pressing against her chest. "I do this for me!"
"Oh, do you?" The teasing quality of the man's demeanor only served to cause her annoyance with him to grow, and she tightened her grip on the daggers. "Though I believe it matters not. As I said, I knew he would send you to kill me." Harvey closed his fingers about the hilt of the rapier he held, pulling it from the sheath before discarding the scabbard. With a wide grin, he looked down the length of the blade before turning to stare at her. "My demands will be met, or I will send you back to Hans in pieces."
"So you knew that little old me was coming, hmm?" Kainge spoke softly, drawing the victory from the man's attitude as she slowly raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "And only six guards? Why, Duke, I am insulted." Her body sprung into movement after she spoke. Throwing both arms out to the side, she sent her daggers sailing into the exposed chests of two of the soldiers surrounding her. Quicker than her opponents could react, she jumped forward, sliding around the edge of the halberd and grasping its shaft in both hands.
Ripping the soldier holding it towards her, she kicked on his stumbling knee with enough force that the leg she struck bent fully backwards. The grip on the weapon she struggled for loosened, allowing her to spin it around and bring the axe side of the blade into the man who was charging at her from behind. Steel cleaved through a metal breastplate and lodged itself into bone. Letting go of the wooden shaft, she bent and retrieved her victim's sword, turning and slashed upwards to cut the throat of the man whose leg she broke.
The remaining halberd bearing guard lunged at her, a clumsy attack over his dead comrade that she easily got a hold of. Using his own weapon to pull him forward, she angled the sword in her hand to thrust at him. The riposte was executed in a moment, impaling him through the chest, where she left the blade as she took the lance from him.
Now standing above three corpses, Kainge let out a laugh as the last soldier turned to flee for the door. She took a step, bending her knee low before snapping back up, launching herself into the air as she spun. She landed on the ball of a single foot, her arm shooting forward and throwing the halberd like a javelin at the running coward. The sound of bones shattering reached her ears as the strength of her throw slammed the man into the wall near the door, the sharp point of the weapon driven through the back of his torso. Taking a moment to enjoy the sight of the corpse slumping to the floor, she then turned her gaze upon the honorable Duke Harvey, whose eyes showed the correct dose of fear for what he had just witnessed.
Kainge choose not to savor the moment, instead growling as she bent to rip the nearest of her daggers from a body. She rushed at her target, holding her weapon in a reversed grip as she leapt over the fallen guards. Leading with a downward slash, her attack fell predictably against the slim blade of a rapier, ringing out as she continued the rotational movement. Exiting her spin with a kick, the sole of her boot connected with the center of the man's chest, shoving him back against the desk.
Harvey corrected himself before retaliating with a lunge, one too slow to have ever hoped at causing any real damage. She quickly turned it against him, stepping to the side of the thrust before throwing herself at him, her dagger raised into the air and held with both hands. The impact of the blade slamming into his heart caused the nobleman to drop his weapon, instead grasping desperately at her shoulders as she pushed him onto the surface of the table. Bent over backwards, the fear in his brown eyes showed clearly, and she giggled quietly as whatever words he was attempting to speak came out in unintelligible gurgles.
But her chance to truly enjoy her kill was quickly stolen, as Harvey raised his hands from her arms and clasped them on either side of her head, his fingers digging into her scalp. The moment his palms connected, the area behind her forehead exploded into pain, and her vision descended into white hot flashes of agony. Whatever power the nobleman wielded that was tearing into her mind, it certainly did him no favors, as her thoughts turned to a semblance of animal instinct.
With both hands on the hilt of the dagger she held she began tearing downward through her enemy's chest, ripping through bone, organs, and veins in a blind effort to halt his assault. Steel was pulled from the wreckage of a torso before it slammed home again, repeating the same tearing motion as warm liquid sprayed over her face and neck. Somewhere within the confines of her mind, she was aware of the screams that were coming from her and the man squirming beneath her.
It was only when his jerking movements stilled that the constant attack on her mind did as well, leaving her disoriented as she continued to tear into the corpse, spilling flesh and fluid over the table before collapsing. Her hearing was impaired by a high pitched whine that would not quiet its incessant noise, a buzzing that was slowly coalescing into something much more recognizable. ..Kainge. She tore the dagger that had been embedded into the wooden desk beneath the body free, stumbling to collect her other weapon as the throbbing in her head became more manageable.
Her next sight was falling into the gutter of a street alley, the smell of rotting fish still letting her know that she was still within Weselton. Glancing down, she found both daggers in her belt, and her torso covered in red dye and scraps of gore. ..Kainge. She managed to pull herself up from the cobbled road, using a nearby wall for support as she moved toward the harbor, toward the ship that was to bear her back to Corona. ..Kainge.
Shaking her head in order to dislodge the quiet voice, her efforts seemed to only increase the pressure that was slowly beginning to build. ..Kainge. She found herself aboard the ship, falling onto the wooden deck with a cry. Thick arms wrapped around her shoulders, and she was dragged along the floor of the vessel, the friction causing a twinge of pain on each of her knees. ..Kainge. "Leave me alone.." Her weak plea was answered with a garbled response from the men who were carrying her, and soon she was released to fall upon the ground. ..Kainge.
..Kainge..Kainge.. Water soaked her, washing away bits of the Duke from her clothing, and clearing the red hue from hands as she was drenched. It tasted of salt, but even the chill of the ocean water could not break the hold the voice held upon her mind as it fought to remain present. ..Kainge..Kainge..Kainge.. It began repeating, speaking her own name to her over and over as she slammed her fists into the hard wood beneath her body and screamed out to the demons that haunted her. "Leave me alone!"
Author's Note: My friend, who has demanded to read chapters before I post them, put it most eloquently: "Shit is getting weird." Yes it is, hopefully most of you will stick it out with me for the next few chapters! Thank you to all the people who had followed this far, or favorited. Thanks most of all to those who drop a review to let me know what you like(or don't) with this story, any and all feedback is appreciated and encouraged! 'Til next time! -Fox
Ike11000: I like your friend's style. He has the mind of a truly fantastic friend who will lure you into fics with promises of fluff and love, then cackle as a favorite main character is killed off.. Sounds like my kind of guy. So.. I can see you are a bit frustrated with the characters in this story! I'm going to take that as a good thing, because they are meant to be frustrating.. And killing them off would be fun..but the story isn't over yet! I appreciate even slightly being close to the same realm as Game of Thrones, but in reality I am quite far away.. What I mean to say is: Thank you, you're awesome, and you have got me all blushing with your flattery! Obviously I won't speak as to how the fic will end, but I can promise I'll do my best to make it enjoyable to read! As for your request, you can rest easy. I find explicit torture scenes, where a character is maimed and ripped apart physically.. are boring. I like the kind of manipulation that tortures a character in ways that don't really show, and it never is just one scene, but many!(Boy, that fills the psychopathic quota for today, doesn't it? I'm not a sociopath, I swear!) And rape scenes are not my thing, I even have trouble writing very light smut. So you can rest easy on that one.
I'm glad that you're glad you found this fic, and thank your friend for me(Though dick move, man, telling you it was fluff..Just evil..I love it) AND thank you for the kind words, it is readers like you that make me want to write an awesome story, and all I can hope is that you guys like it as well. Rambling is always interesting, and thanks for the lovely review!
UnsightlyViewings: Glad I could clear things up! Well the jumping around will be coming to an end sooner than I thought, as a rewrite of the rest of the outline has happened(I'm terrible with that, aren't I?). Maybe Hans is just trying to get on your good side, hmm? Guy is a manipulative little twit, so you never really know! Hope you had a great 4th! And thanks for the continued support and kind words, means a ton!
Guest 1: Well, all Kristoff's letter really revealed is that he and Hans made the effort to keep the body away from Everard and his whole "Cut of her head and burn her remains" thing, and that Kristoff doesn't really know much more than that. With only a handful of chapters left, confusion should(hopefully) be sorted out soon!
Guest 2: Completely understandable! On the off chance you read this, I want you to know I appreciate you sticking it out this long, and that your review has changed an upcoming chapter. This is why I hate anonymous reviews, I really wanted to be able to tell you this.. But oh well, I guess. As I said before, I know what it is like to have interest in a fic die out, and it is sad to see you go!
Guest 3: I'm sorry you feel ripped off, and I can sympathize with the feeling that it just isn't fair that Elsa had a love story and Anna was left holding nothing.