Chapter 52
Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen.
One day.
That's the maximum amount of time it will take for the Weselton navy to reach the shores of Arendelle. They've stopped for the moment, to allow the soldiers to rest, and prepare themselves mentally for the day to come.
Hans stands on the deck of the massive ship, watching the dusk cover the horizon, the distant mass of land that is Arendelle still out of their range of vision. The sea-air blows his hair back, a salty mist spraying his clothes.
The few days leading up to this moment were filled with anxiety. Not Hans, of course. Only the soldiers. Though strong, determined, and courageous, the men of Weselton know that Queen Elsa isn't a force to be reckoned with, and Hans can't blame them for being wary. But, if things go according to his plan, they needn't worry about her at all.
In fact, he's about to settle that issue entirely, right now, with one simple order to his lackey, Alexandra, and one to Elsa herself.
The man swiftly turns away from the wind, intending to return to his cabin down in one of the lower levels. His quarters are adjacent to the duke's bunk, and across from the king's. Should Hans need to consult them for any reason, they're within a very close walking distance. It also gives him an advantageous listening point, if they ever decide to speak without him.
Naturally, they have.
Hans has learned that the fleet will stop near Arendelle, but they will not allow themselves to be trapped in the fjords. They will gather the bulk of the army, which combined is more men than Arendelle has citizens, around the shores, first hoping to intimidate the queen into surrender. Maybe take a few hostages or so. But if that fails, they will then proceed to take Arendelle by bloody force.
The man sits at the desk in the corner of the room, bringing out a piece of paper and pen. Not even half a minute passes before he has Queen Elsa's orders written out. Yes, he's that sure of what she is to do.
Knock, knock.
He's hardly started on Alexandra's note when he hears a light knocking on the door to his cabin.
He smiles. "You can come in, Nora," he tells the girl who was waiting outside. She enters the room.
"How did you kn-know it was me?" she asks, approaching the man.
"I always know. Your knock is a lot softer than the ones of everybody else." Hans waits until after her scheduled blush that she usually gets, and then returns to the letter. "So, what brings you down here?" he asks, scratching words down in a neat script.
"I j-just want to check on you," the girl replies.
He pauses. "You're stuttering," he notices. "Are you alright?"
Nora nods. "I'm fine. Only n-nervous about... well, you know. It's been getting w-worse as time keeps going," she tells him. The girl sighs, anxiously fidgeting with her mousy brown hair. "I've never been around this kind of thing before, and it scares me."
"You don't have to be scared," Hans says. He stands up and places a hand on each of her shoulders. "I will handle everything, and I will protect you. It's going to be okay," he says in a steady voice.
"Do you promise, Hans?" She looks up at him with her eyes wide.
"I promise."
This gets a small grin out of her. Her gaze then shifts behind him. "W-what are you writing?" she asks, looking over his shoulder at the desk.
"Oh!" Hans pivots on the heel of his foot, looking at the letter as well. "It's the final orders to our friend, Alexandra."
"You're telling her to g-get ready and leave Arendelle, right?" she asks him.
To be honest, he wasn't planning on it.
"Hans!" Nora says, seeing right through to his real thoughts. "You need to warn her! Don't you think she deserves it? She has been helping you."
"And she will be paid for doing so," Hans counters calmly.
"N-not if she's..." The girl trails off, struggling to say this next word. "D-d-dead." Her voice comes out in almost a whisper. "Please, don't be like everyone else," she begs.
Hans sighs, his eyebrows furrowing. He needs to clear his head. This situation bothers him. But, he sees no real harm in it, and Nora won't be disappointed.
"Of course I was going to warn her." He smiles, deciding to play it off as a joke. "Why wouldn't I?" he asks. Nora's worried expression fades away, giving Hans a better sense of relief. He can't have this girl lose faith in him and ruin everything.
"There," he says, marking the period on the last sentence of the message.
"I kn-knew you were better than that," she says in the most confident voice she can muster at the moment.
Hans smiles. Placing the two letters together, he seals them both in an envelope, making sure to correctly mark them with the proper names. He stamps a plain red seal onto the back and writes "Nora" on the front. Nora knows that this is how he addresses Alexandra's letters.
"Would you like m-me to ask one of the messenger boys to get this to Arendelle for you?" Nora offers, holding her hand out to receive the letters.
Hans gives her a kind smile, gently placing the envelope in her hand. "That would be great, thank you." After months of requesting Nora to send many letters and payments to those involved with his scheme, it's nice that she already knows what he wants her to do before he's even asked.
With a soft smile on her lips, Nora exits the room, leaving only the faint whistle of the now night air to leak through the round porthole and fill the silence.
Hans takes a deep breath. It will take the entire fleet one day, at most, to get to Arendelle; it will take a single rowboat perhaps half that time.
The tension grows higher with every quickly passing second. The ball was in motion. All that's left to do is wait until they set sail early in the morning. By this time tomorrow, they will be in Arendelle. And Hans believes that by this time tomorrow, he will have had won.
"Hello," the man greets the girl kindly. "Back again I see?"
"Yes, yes, looking for a letter or package addressed to or from a 'Nora,'" Alexandra says, rolling her eyes and repeating the very same line she said to this man yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. And so forth. It's so tiring having to do this and she is getting bored having to wait.
"Actually, you've finally got something in," the ship coordinator says. He takes all of the letters from ships that are addressed to Arendelle and delivers them himself.
"Really?" Alexandra hardly believes it. "Great, thank you." She takes the letter, her mood having been drastically improved.
"Yes, miss, you're welcome." The man chuckles. He smiles and tips his hat. "Have a nice day, Nora," he says.
Alexandra blinks. Who? Oh yeah. Her. "You too." She smiles charismatically before quickly walking away. Once she's out of view of the majority of people, she ducks into a space between two buildings, tears open the envelope, and pulls out the message with her name on it.
Ugh, she thinks, looking at the smudged writing on the paper. He couldn't even wait for the ink to finish drying. At least it didn't rub off on her hand. Thankfully though, she can still manage to read the writing.
Take this other note to Queen Elsa as quickly as you can. Be sure that she gets it. I will reach you in person soon to give you your payment. And it is important that you not only give her the message, but make it sink in as well.
Once you have completed that, I suggest you gather some supplies and leave Arendelle. The Weselton navy and I are on our way. I expect that-
Alexandra squints, the words becoming too blurred to finish reading. Nevertheless, she does not plan to abandon this city yet. Not until she gets paid.
Besides, it's not as if her life is on the line. What's Westerguard going to do? Start a war?
She laughs at the idea. Then she stops abruptly as the thought fully reaches her brain. Maybe he would start a war.
Alright, if it gets too dangerous, she'll grab a few necessities from the castle (because they can definitely afford it), and she'll vacate the town. But honestly, unless there actually is a war, she's not going anywhere. Alexandra will make sure she gets what she worked for.
Now to time work.
It's the middle of the morning. She doesn't typically send the messages this early. Nightfall tends to make things so much easier, but if this is the way it is, so be it.
In the daylight, she casually makes her way to the always-open castle gates, smiling and nodding at the gate guard as well, casually. She casually walks over to the spot of the castle that's more hidden and harder for others to see her, casually admiring the flora there, and she casually begins to climb up the bricks of the wall, making her way to one of the lower windows.
She was very casual about it.
Carefully climbing over the windowsill, Alexandra plants her feet inside the castle. It's a nice place, she thinks, sneaking through the halls as quickly and as silently as possible, using her memory the best she can to map out where Queen Elsa's study might be inside the castle. She's only entered from the outside after all.
The drawback to her method is that once she has the general area narrowed down, she has to look inside each room to actually find the right one. Who knows what could be on the other side of those doors?
The young woman opens one door, just enough for her to look inside. It's a room, if that wasn't already stated, a nice, tidy, unused room. But it's not the room she's looking for.
However, she finds the correct room on her next try. And there's nobody home. The girl smiles. It must be her lucky day or something. Things are never this easy. She wonders what other things could happen today.
Alexandra not only has to deliver the message, but she has to give it some urgency as well. She needs to make sure Queen Elsa knows it's important. She needs to make sure only Queen Elsa knows about it.
So that's why the queen's study is the perfect place to plant it. And Alexandra has the perfect way.
The thief pulls out her knife and sticks it into the queen's desk, pinning the note there.
She nods, clapping her hands together. That ought to let the message "sink in." Although, once she's read the note, I'm going to need to get this knife back. The girl looks at the note and weapon. Shame about the desk though. That looks like mahogany, she thinks, shaking her head.
To be honest, she's feeling less bored already. Time to go. And with that, she casually leaves the castle.
Elsa frowns anxiously, pushes her hair back, and looks again at the long knife stuck deep in the wooden desk. She can see the folded note the knife is holding down, and she knows it's from Hans.
The queen takes a breath, slowly wrapping her fingers around the hilt of the dagger. With a quick jerk, she uses both hands to pull the knife from the table, freeing the letter. She hastily picks up the piece of paper and scans over it.
Elsa,
You are to leave Arendelle as soon as possible, and you are not to return for forty-eight hours. No more, no less. I suggest your ice palace.
Have fun. Relax, for once. It's only for two days. You know the consequences.
Hans
Leave Arendelle? she thinks. Why does he want her to leave Arendelle? Something definitely is going to happen.
Hans wanting her leave is the exact reason she should stay.
She won't leave.
You know the consequences. The thought rings through her mind again.
Anna.
That's the consequence. If anything happens to her, if Hans hurts her because Elsa didn't follow his orders, it's going to be all Elsa's fault.
She hates letting her fear of this man might do control her, but it's for the best... she hopes.
"Knock, knock," Anna says aloud as she taps on the door with her knuckles, already halfway into the room. Elsa quickly hides the knife and message behind her back.
"Hi!" the queen says a little too quickly.
Thankfully, Anna doesn't take notice, and if she did, she made no indications of it. "Hi!" she says back brightly, pulling up a chair and taking a seat next to her sister. "What are you doing? You look sort of anxious and panicky."
"Oh it's nothing," Elsa excuses, still holding the letter and dagger behind her. "You know, Anna, now's not really a good time for me to talk. I just want to be alone," she says.
"Silly Elsa." Anna laughs lightly, tapping her sister's shoulder. "You have a sister. You'll never be alone... Except, when I'm not here, but then I'll be here in spirit!"
"Oh, Anna." That got a slight chuckle out of the queen. Elsa takes the pause in the conversation as opportunity to hide the knife and letter.
"So, where have you been?" Anna asks, tilting her head curiously.
"... Here?" Elsa replies, confused. She hasn't left the castle, not yet.
"No." Anna waves her hands. "I can see that. You're here, but you're not here."
"I don't think I follow."
"Like, in spirit!" Anna tells her. "Physically, you are here, but your mind is gone somewhere else. I don't know, I just feel like we've barely talked to each other the past few days. Weeks even."
"Oh." Elsa understands now. "I just have a lot to think about, I suppose."
"What is it? You know you can tell me."
If only, Elsa thinks. She smiles sadly at her sister, then looks away. Slowly, she inhales. "I have to go," the queen admits.
"Go?" Anna furrows her eyebrows, looking confused. "Go where?"
"I just need to leave Arendelle, just for a little while," Elsa explains.
"What?" Anna stands up abruptly, facing her sister. "You're leaving? Why are you leaving?" she demands to know.
"I just need to go," Elsa says, avoiding answering the princess's questions. "Two days. That's all."
"Two days?!" Anna's jaw drops. She begins to pace in a circle, mumbling to herself. She looks back at her sister. "I still don't understand why."
"It's complicated."
"It's your magic, isn't it?" Anna asks, placing a hand on each hip. "That's what this about."
"What?"
"You still won't accept your powers!" Anna states, throwing her arms out to her sides.
"That's absurd!" Elsa says, standing up as well. "Of course I have!"
"No, you haven't!" Anna enunciates each word very clearly. She frowns, not angry, but clearly frustrated. "I've seen your ice palace; I've seen how incredibly amazing things you can do! You made that when you weren't scared or nervous about your magic or who you are. But you haven't dared do anything close to that since. I don't know if it's on purpose or not, but you still won't accept them."
"That isn't true!" Elsa counters, her voice slowly rising. "I have accepted my-"
"No!" Anna abruptly cuts her off. "Stop it. Stop lying to yourself and listen to me. This is what makes things weird between us. You don't want to accept my help because you think you have to protect me. Well I've got news for you, I'm not a child! You don't have to keep doing that. Together, we can get whatever problems you're having sorted out. Please, just let me help." She clamps her hands together, begging her sister.
Elsa's worried expression deepens. She crosses her arms, not able to look her sister in the eye. "It's not your burden, Anna."
"And it's not yours either!" Anna exclaims. "Elsa, they shouldn't have to be a burden at all!"
"I already told you it's not my powers!" the queen snaps. "You just don't understand!" Elsa backs further away, feeling the cold pulsing through her body, itching at her fingertips.
"What is it then?!" Anna bravely steps toward her. She only wants to fix this. "Help me understand!"
"I can't tell you!"
"Why not?!"
"I JUST CAN'T!" Elsa voice echoes throughout the room, stopping her sister's advances.
Anna backs away, her gaze as cold as Elsa was feeling. Her arms drop to her sides. She sighs and shakes her head a little, defeated.
"Fine," the princess says, her voice struggling to be steady. "Don't tell me. Just go run away and hide, like you always do."
Elsa inhales sharply, closing her eyes to calm down. When she opens them, Anna is nowhere in sight.
What does Elsa do now?
The only thing she can at this point. To the North Mountain.
"Hey, Princess?" Brandr walks up to the girl. "Have you seen El- hey are you okay?" She looks distressed, even angry, he might say.
Anna sighs. "Yeah, I'm fine. Elsa and I had an argument because she was being so weird and secretive. And she said some things and I said some things, and she started to lose control, and everything was crazy, and..." Anna trails off, realizing she is beginning to ramble. "And so she went to her ice castle to relax and get some things off her mind."
"Oh," Brandr says, rubbing his arm anxiously. "Did she tell you why she was being secretive?" Because he might have an idea... And surprise! That idea is Hans.
Anna shakes her head. "No. She wouldn't. I'm hoping we can talk it out when she gets back."
"Yeah. That sounds like a good plan." Brandr decides to start looking at the wall, hoping she won't see he knows something.
"Yeah, but what did you need from Elsa?" Anna asks, changing the subject. "Maybe I can help."
"Oh." Brandr pauses. Ingrid went home, Olaf was off somewhere doing who knows what, and he was bored, so he was wondering if Elsa could help him an ice slide project off of the roof since he couldn't do it himself. "Not really important. Just bored," he says. Anna might have gone for it, if she could, and now that he thinks about it, Elsa might not have been so keen.
"Bored, huh?" Anna taps her chin. "Hmm... I think I have a something to help with that. Come on." She waves for him to follow. Brandr obliges, trailing the girl as she quickly walks through the halls. Brandr shivers a little and Anna looks back. "Kinda drafty in here, huh?" she asks.
He nods. "Yeah. Hey, where are we going?" he wonders.
"The library. There's a book I think you'd like." Anna tells him. They enter the library and she starts browsing the shelves. "Ah, here it is." She pulls a red leather book from the top of one of the shelves and hands it to Brandr.
"Hey, I know this book!" Brandr flips it open to the middle. "I got it read to me a lot when I was little."
"Me too. It's one of my favorites," Anna tells him. "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles. It's a classic!"
"Yeah..." Brandr says distractedly, starting to read from the beginning.
"I'll leave you to it." Anna smiles, leaving the library. "Hopefully this should keep you out of trouble for a while," she mumbles to herself. She's already got a lot to worry about with her sister, but seeing this boy reading one of her favorite childhood stories so enthusiastically does help her feel better.
A few hours later...
Brandr ties a black mask around his head. This mask covers the top half of his face, leaving only his eyes and mouth to be seen.
Oh no. Laila ruffles her feathers nervously. Brandr, what are you doing? she asks, despite already knowing the answer.
"Brandr? That charmingly dashing young man?" Brandr scoffs. He laughs. "I'm afraid I've killed him, though he did put up a good fight. No, I am the Dread Pirate Roberts!" He pulls out a sword and valiantly waves it.
Where did you get that sword?
"It doesn't matter where I got it." Brandr looks away. "I am a pirate! I take what I please."
Were you reading a book again?
"As a matter of fact, yes, I was," Brandr says sheathing his sword. "And I don't simply read books. I become part of them!"
Yes, I've noticed.
"Now if you'll excuse me, the Dread Pirate Roberts has marauding to attend to!" He points to the sky.
Please don't. We've turned over a new leaf, remember?
Brabdr sighs and lifts his mask. "It's pretend, Laila. I'm not really gonna kill or rob people," he says, rolling his eyes.
No! Really?
"You're too sarcastic. Don't squelch my fun." He covers his face again, returning to his facade. "Now, to my ship!"
What ship? You don't have a ship.
"You can be my parrot if you don't knock it off." Brandr threatens.
Parrot? I am a falc- The bird sudennly stops and blinks, a dazed expression on her face.
"... Falcon." Brandr finishes for her. "You okay there?"
Scree! The bird screeches, sensing something very strange. And acting strange as well.
"What? I can't understand you." Brandr frowns. The bird caws again, looking a little crazy. She takes off and flies down the hall, wings blazing behind her. "Aha! The Dread Pirate Roberts senses an adventure this way!" He sprints after his fire-bird, laughing.
When he catches up with Laila, she's madly circling a person, who looks confused and is swatting their hands at the bird.
"Halt! Who goes there?" He's never seen this person in the castle before. He can tell it's a girl, taller, and probably older than he is, but her face is all covered up, so he can't tell her actual age.
Hmm... She may be up to something.
The girl turns and starts to bolt. Yep. She's up to something. Brandr, with his incredible speed, dashes ahead of her before she can make her escape.
"Stop, foe!" he shouts, drawing his sword. She whips out a foot-long knife and slashes at his middle, but as quickly as she does, he stops it with his own sword. He takes her surprise as an opportunity to strike back at her left leg, which he noticed had the slightest limp. However, she deflects his sword with just as much ease as he had done.
"Ah! Finally! A formidable opponent!" he yells with sheer excitement. It's been too long since he's had a good sword-fight.
The girl makes the next move, swiping at his arm, stomach, and neck, one, two, three. But, like clockwork, Brandr meets her knife each time. He doesn't even need to think. This fighting is coming to him with muscle memory.
Brandr twists in a circle, swinging low at her feet, but as he does, she jumps above the sword and brings her knife down on him, causing the need for Brandr to roll out of her way, still unscathed.
"Ha! You really think you can defeat the Dread Pirate Roberts?" he asks, leaping to his feet. The girl pauses, tilting her head questioningly. She must have read the book too and knows he's pretending. Brandr thrusts at her with his sword, aiming to knock her down, but she quickly dodges it before it reaches her.
By the way they're moving, it's almost as if their fight has been choreographed. With every slice, jab, and cut, the other is there to parry, deflect, and block it, never allowing a hit to be connected. She stabs her knife at his chest; he pushes it away with his blade. He sweeps at her knees; she leaps to safety. If Brandr was spectating this fight, he would have guessed they'd practiced beforehand.
It's becoming clear that they're so evenly matched in skill, if one of them does not begin to tire soon, this fight could last for a long time. His opponent realizes this first and tries to run to the window, but Brandr won't let her get away so easily. Only guilty people leave through the window. She pushes his head away as he reaches her, pulling the black mask from his face and throwing to the ground. She audibly gasps when she sees him and stops running. In fact, she stops all movement. Brandr raises his sword to strike.
"Wait!" she screeches, dropping to her knees. "I surrender!" She hold her hands up and throws her knife to the ground.
Surrender? What? That easily?
Brandr points his sword at her, just in case she's being tricky and tries to dart, a few guards rushing in to the room.
"Took you long enough, but it's been handled," Brandr says to them, his eyes never leaving the girl. "Arrest her," he orders. The guards look hesitantly at Anna, who had also just gotten here. She nods, giving them approval. They go and grab the intruder, who was still in awe of his amazing talents and good looks.
Well, that's what Brandr guesses at least. He still can't see her face.
"Remove her hood. I would like to see what she looks like," he requests. Anna gives the okay again and they pull her hood back, a tumble of dark curly hair falling out, a shocked expression on her face. Brandr's eyes widen and his sword falls to the ground with a clatter.
"You," he begins, looking like he's seen a ghost, because, well, he's staring one in the eyes.
"You're supposed to be dead," he and the girl say at the same time.
Brandr's head shoots up at the guards. "Let her go," he begs them, his attitude very different from moments before, sounding more pleading.
"Wait, Brandr." Anna approaches him cautiously. "Do you know this girl?" she asks.
The boy nods, looking confused, like he's in a dream. "Yeah. I do." He raises his arm and points to the girl. "Anna, meet my s-sister," he stutters. "Laila Alexandra Ostberg."
Brandr can't hardly speak. It's a trick. This has got to be some sort of trick. She can't be real. She died in the fire. No one who couldn't be heat resistant like he was could have survived.
"You can't be my brother... But you are, though," she says, looking just as confused as he feels. She wrestles her arms, trying to break from the guards. They only let go when Anna nods, allowing the girl to run up to her brother And pull him into a hug. "Look at you," she says quietly.
"I- I can't believe it," Brandr says, looking at her face.
"You're so much older, and taller." She puts her hand on his shoulder.
"I thought you had burned."
"I didn't even recognize your voice."
"How are you here?"
"You're living in a castle!"
"The fight did feel familiar." He pulls on one of her curls, then allows it to spring back into place.
She laughs at that, her eyes teary. "Yeah, it did," she agrees, dabbing at her eyes.
"What happened?" Brandr finally asks.
"I don't know," she replies. "One minute, we're asleep, the next and the house is on fire. I knew the townsfolk did it; Weselton people never liked magic. But they also pulled me out, and they said you had already suffocated, and when you did, your body started to b-burn like normal," she chokes the sentence out.
"I didn't suffocate though!" Brandr tells her. "I woke up in the ashes, and everyone was angry with me. I left and didn't look back," he says, now sorely regretting his rushed actions of the time.
"I didn't think you died, not at first. But, that was just denial..." the girl trails off, still looking at her brother. "I'm in denial now," she admits, smiling.
Brandr smiles too. "Yeah. Me too." He hugs her again, finally starting to believe that this is his sister, standing before him.
"I missed you, Brandr," she says. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? About what?"
"I..." She pauses. "I'll tell you later."
Suddenly, they hear a yelling, and a sound of footsteps rushing through the halls.
"QUEEN ELSA!" the voice shouts. A winded man bursts into the corridor. A guard, in fact. "Qu-queen Elsa!" he says weakly.
"The queen is indisposed," Anna says, rushing to the man's aid. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
The guard shakes his head. "Ships, a whole fleet, closing in!" He gasps with each word. "Weselton, they're waging war, princess!" He tells her, his eyes wide with panic.
"Weselton?" Anna look down, surprised.
"Hans," both Brandr and his sister day in unison.
"He actually started a war!" The girl says, slapping her palm to her forehead.
"Hans?" Anna furrows her brows. "You know Hans?"
"I worked for him," the siblings say again. They blink and face each other. "You worked for him?!"
"I'm sorry, but what does Hans have to do with this?" Anna asks, waving her hand urgently.
"He threatened Arendelle," Brandr says.
"And the queen," his sister adds.
"Elsa knows about this?!" Anna yells. The brother and sister exchange worried glances, their hands tightly clutched together. Anna narrows her eyes. "Tell the general to gather what troops we have for protection," she orders the guards in the room. "And you two are going to explain everything." She sighs, now revealing just how nervous she really is. "And hurry. I don't think we have very much time."
