Chapter Thirty Two

Evening the Odds

ANNA

This had better work, Anna thought to herself as she gripped the Qa'nneth underneath her coat and muttered the quick spell Tracy had taught her under her breath as the enraged Pilgrim snapped dangerously at her sister. Obviously the cloaked witch thought that Elsa had given the Warriors a way in and betrayed the League, but only Anna and the Warriors knew that wasn't true. Nonetheless, the Pilgrim was in a fit of rage and had just turned her attention to Anna.

She finished reciting the incantation just as the Pilgrim set her sights on Anna, and crossed her fingers while holding on to the amulet underneath her coat. This had better work, otherwise…it wouldn't matter anymore. Anna closed her eyes and squirmed as the Pilgrim unleashed all manner of evil magic from her being and dark red waves of energy washed toward her direction.

Anna braced for impact, but it never came. Instead, there was a deafening boom and a blinding white light emerged from her being and descended upon the entire room. When she opened her eyes, she saw the incredulous look on the Pilgrim's face and grinned. It'd worked!

"Not what you were expecting?" Anna said mockingly, secretly extremely relieved that she hadn't been turned to dust or a puddle of goo on the floor.

The Pilgrim stared at her with wide green eyes, the wrinkles on her face showing her age. "You…you found the Qa'nneth."

"I did." Anna declared triumphantly. "I mean," she glanced at Melody and the rest. "We did."

"That's impossible," The Pilgrim backed away. "How-" She shot a glance at Elsa.

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "You're right about one thing, Ingrid. All bets are off." In the blink of an eye, a controlled snow storm formed around her and the Pilgrim, swirling round and causing the room to be blanketed in snow.

Anna watched as Elsa pulled the snow storm inward, and unleashed a powerful stream of ice that froze the Pilgrim solid and trapped her in a huge block of ice, thick as an entire iceberg. She could hear the Pilgrim screeching as her voice trailed off and a look of fury was stuck on the witch's bony face.

Upon trapping the Pilgrim, Elsa immediately turned her attention to her surroundings, raising her hands with her palms up. A blockade of ice formed around the Warriors, shutting out the mercenaries that surrounded them. The ice extended all the way up to the high ceiling, sealing off the room, leaving only the Warriors, Will, the frozen Pilgrim and Elsa in the middle. Silence fell upon the room as Elsa dropped her hands and looked at Anna cautiously.

"Anna?" There was fear and uncertainty in Elsa's voice, Anna could hear it. She guessed that Elsa was afraid of what Anna and the rest now thought of her after everything that had happened in the past week. It was time to clear all doubts.

"Elsa!" Anna rushed up to her sister who flinched and enveloped her in a tight hug before she could protest. "Oh, Elsa. I thought we lost you forever!"

"I'm so sorry," Elsa choked, audibly relieved that she was welcomed back with open arms. "Anna, you wouldn't believe how long I've waited for this moment. To finally have a chance to apologize after all the horrible things I've done."

"I'm sorry too." Anna whispered. "I shouldn't have said that you were a horrible sister and that it was like we weren't even family."

"You didn't say that."

"I sort of implied it." Anna admitted wholeheartedly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."

"I deserve that, after everything I've put you through. But I'm sorry. I really am."

"Elsa, I know the truth. I know what happened."

"Ingrid forced me, I didn't have a choice." Elsa's eyes watered and her voice trembled. "Please, you have to believe me. I'm not evil, I'm-"

"Elsa!" Anna held her tightly and gave her a squeeze. "We know. It's okay." Anna could feel Elsa's shoulder shake violently as she rested in Anna's embrace. Sighing cathartically, Elsa trembled as she exhaled, and then drew back from Anna.

"Anna, I'm so glad you're okay." Elsa brushed Anna's left cheek tenderly, and she flinched at the touch. "And I'm sorry about the bruise. I had to keep up appearances and-"

"And take the chance to slip me the letter." Anna grinned at her sister. "That was a stroke of genius." She rubbed the purple bruise. "But it did hurt."

Elsa's own cheeks flushed red. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's a small price to pay for the truth. I'm so glad you're not evil."

Elsa squeezed Anna's hand, and turned to the rest of the Warriors who were standing by. "Thank you for believing in me."

"To be honest," Kristoff scratched his nose. "I had my doubts."

"And you had every reason to think so." Elsa assured him. "The only thing I can do is to earn back your trust. All of your trust." She glanced round at Maui and Melody as well.

"I knew I made the right call in coming back." Maui opened his arms, and Elsa allowed herself to be scooped up in his embrace and he squeezed her lightly.

"I'm glad to see you, Maui." She ruffled his curly black hair. "It's been a while. And don't worry, I know you're thinking about what happened back in Arendelle." She smiled. "You're not a monster to me."

"Is that going to be a recurring catchphrase or something?" Maui joked as he released her, and Elsa chuckled.

"Welcome back to the Warriors, Elsa." Melody extended her a warm handshake, which Elsa returned with a sisterly hug.

"I'm relieved." Elsa laughed. "Being an evil sorceress in the League has been nothing short of draining." Then, she glanced round as if something was amiss. "Wait, where's Tracy?"

"Don't worry," Melody assured her. "It's part of our plan."

"What plan?"

"You saw how the Qa'nneth amulet cancelled out the Pilgrim's powers, right?" Anna said.

Elsa nodded.

"It's like a magic dampener of sorts, and it has a proximity effect." She continued. "Tracy, who coincidentally is a 'Ha'naeth' too, explained that it would have the same effect on her, making her more of a liability than an asset in our fight against the League."

"So she decided to distance herself, taking the fight with her into the Crossing Zone where she still had access to her powers." Maui added. "You saw how the Elemental Sorcerers disappeared."

"I did." Elsa said. "But the Elemental Sorcerers, they're not evil. They're just under the Pilgrim's psychic control. She's manipulating them into doing her will unconsciously."

"Yeah, we know." Kristoff said. "You told us in the letter."

"But Tracy is still in danger." Elsa said urgently. "Alone, each of them is powerful enough, but together they'll be deadly. Tracy might not be a match for them. We have to help her."

"We will." Melody replied confidently.

"So sure of yourselves, aren't you?" The Pilgrim's ominous drawl came out of nowhere, causing Anna and the others to jump in shock. "That's amusing."

Anna stared at the block of ice. The Pilgrim was still frozen solid, there was no way she could get out! Then where was the voice coming from?

"You think you've won?" The Pilgrim's cackle echoed throughout the walls of the room, bouncing off the high ceiling. "Foolish children, playing in dark waters far out of your depth. Nothing and no one can stop me now."

The ice began to vibrate and then out of the blue, it shattered into a million pieces, as if broken from the inside. However, when the ice fell, it revealed that there was no one trapped inside!

"Where-" Anna spun round. "Guys? We got a new problem. She's not here!"

"Her magic." Elsa gritted her teeth. "She's too powerful. Don't let your guard down."

The witch's evil drawl rang out again through the room. "You can't win, and you won't escape from Swynvort. Knights, attack!"

The walls of ice that served as a blockade around the Warriors were laced with dark red spots of magic, pulling apart the ice. Beginning to crack and crumble inwards, the walls disintegrated and fell like the walls of a fortress coming down. Maui quickly shape-shifted into a giant eagle, using his huge wings to cover the Warriors, shielding them from the falling blocks of ice. When everything settled down and the air was clear once more, Elsa let out a gasp.

"What is it?" Kristoff asked.

"Janus. The Knights. They're gone." She pointed to where the mercenaries used to line the walls of the spacious room.

Anna looked round to see that there was no one left in the room except themselves. "They move fast."

"We'll go after them." Melody removed her bow that was slung across her back, nodding at Kristoff. "They won't get away this time."

"No wait, you don't understand." Elsa grabbed Melody's arm as she moved off. "Jan- Prometheus isn't completely evil."

"How can you say that?" Melody looked at her in bewilderment. "He's working with the Pilgrim!"

"Trust me. I got through to him." Elsa protested. "Why else do you think he defied the Pilgrim's orders and left without a fight?"

"Traitor or not, he's still an mercenary." Kristoff argued. "And he's not getting away."

Melody and Kristoff swiftly left the room before Elsa could protest any further.

"Elsa? We got our own problems." Anna waved at the table, and Elsa turned to look where she was pointing.

"The map. It's gone." Elsa said grimly.

"The Pilgrim took it with her. She could be anywhere now." Maui added.

"We can't let her get to the Eternal King." Elsa looked distressed. "If she does and the Eternal King goes free, who knows what kind of havoc he'll wreak on the earth? It'll be like Ancient Hyutreno all over again!"

"Way ahead of you, Elsa." Anna said. "We know what's at stake here."

"Oh, and anyone knows what we're gonna do with Daltrey over here?" Maui gestured at Will, who was silently spectating the events unfold before him. It was almost like he was invisible during the entire commotion.

"Wow. Completely forgot you were here." Anna looked at Will. "Hi. Are you alright?"

"I think so?" Will said meekly. "That Prometheus guy drew my blood."

"I know, Will. He did it to all of us." Elsa said. "Remember when I said I would be needing your help? Now's the time."

"But-" Will went pale. "But I don't even know how to control my powers. I..I-"A breeze began to circle him and gradually grew stronger. "See? See what I mean?!" he shouted frantically above the sound of the gale.

"Close your eyes and breathe." Elsa called out loudly, shielding herself from the strong gust of wind that orbited Will.

"What?"

"Just do it! Listen to your breathing and think about home."

Anna watched with eyes wide as saucers as the teenage boy did as Elsa instructed, and the winds began to die down, slowly but surely. "I don't believe it." She whispered to Maui.

Will opened his eyes slowly as the breeze faded away. "I-"

"You got it." Elsa gave him a reassuring smile.

"It felt like I was controlling it. I could feel like I had my powers on a leash, and it was…"

"Liberating?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'm going to need you to hang onto that. We're going to help Tracy against the rest of the Elemental Sorcerers." Elsa told him.

"How? Getting my panic attack under control is one thing, but fighting experienced magic people is a whole different story!"

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry, I'll be there to guide you along." Elsa reassured him. "I know this isn't the ideal training scenario, but we have to work with what we got."

"Quick question." Anna inserted herself into the conversation. "How are we going to get into the Crossing Zone to help Tracy?"

"We?" Elsa turned her attention back to Anna. "No, no, no. Anna, you're not coming with us. It's not safe."

"Well, excuse me," Anna's voice rose indignantly. "I've been a part of this mission to save you since the very beginning. There's no way you're benching me when I've risked everything to save your a-"

"She's right, Elsa." Maui agreed. "Your sister's proven herself. She's one of us and she can take care of herself."

"I don't believe this." Anna heard Elsa mutter under her breath. "Alright, fine." She glanced at Anna sternly. "But you better be careful. I'm not losing you again."

"But Anna's right," Maui continued. "How are we going to get into the Crossing Zone without Tracy?"