Chapter Fourteen

The Veteran

Author's Commentary:

Made a little change to the previous chapter and re-uploaded. MI8 has now been rebranded as ERI8 (Exonian Regional Intelligence Division 8). Check out the minor change in the 2nd part of chapter 13!

TALYA

As the elevator door opened, the trio stepped out of the lift into the hallway of a busy hospital. Talya watched as Val kept his eyes glued to the tablet in his hand. If she was interpreting it right, the readings on his tablet showed seven CCTVs on this floor of the hospital. As he walked, he typed in a few quick lines of code and shut down the cameras with relative ease. With that, he promptly turned off his tablet and placed it back in the bag Peggy had lent him.

Talya glanced at him. "Did you just-"

"Yeah." Val said before she could finish. "It's cleaner this way."

"Must admit, it's a smart move." Peggy sounded impressed in the slightest. "No way for any of Bjorn's men to track you through the system, or anyone noticing you both for that matter."

Val nodded. Her brother had gone through his digital protocols earlier on the way here, and he'd explained how he ensured that his actions left no more digital breadcrumbs for any assassin to follow. Not that Talya really understood all of what he had said. Val had a tendency to get lost in his own world of technological mumbo jumbo without realising that he had everyone else at a loss.

"My great grandfather's private ward is all the way down the hall. Assuming they haven't moved him yet." Peggy told them.

"I'm just curious." Talya said cautiously to Peggy. "Not to be intrusive or anything, but I can't help but wonder. How is your family available to afford having your great grandfather in a private ward? Aren't those things ridiculously expensive?"

"Unfortunately yes. And I don't exactly have a family." Peggy's face was blank and unreadable. "Not anymore. My parents died when I was eight."

"Oh," Talya said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Peggy said mildly as they neared the end of the corridor. "And don't worry, I'm not exactly poor. The job pays quite well. That old house back there, it's just a safe house hidden in plain sight. It's an undercover thing. My real home's not anywhere near the Hydrech district. It's in the Northern sector of San Fransokyo."

Well, so much for wanting to help out with her finances. Talya exchanged a knowing glance with Val. It appeared that the spy was certainly more than she seemed.

"Oh, and just be careful of my great grandfather." Peggy said as they stopped outside the ward and she signed her name on a nurse's list.

"Why?" Val asked. "Will we be disturbing his health?"

Peggy shook her head. "He's in because of low blood pressure. And no, that wasn't what I was referring to. He can be a little…delusional sometimes. Complex PTSD from the world war, I suppose."

"Thanks. We'll take note." Talya said. Internally she shoved Peggy's warning to the back of her mind. Whatever this man had to say about the Snow Queen, it was probably going to be far fetched anyway, and she couldn't afford to ignore any possible leads. Not when any others existed.

Peggy's eyes flicked between the two siblings for a moment as if reconsidering her course of action, and then pushed open the door of the ward. Val and Talya followed her inside, and the door shut quietly behind them.

The inside of the ward was astonishingly well furnished. The ward was equipped with state of the art technology, which Val seemed rather fascinated by. It was grand, spacious and kept dimly lit, and a large queen's size bed rested in the centre of the room. An elderly man lay in it, evidently asleep with the comfortable looking quilt covers drawn up to his chest.

Peggy went over to him and touched his shoulder gently. "Great gramps, wake up. It's me, Peggy."

The old man stirred, blinked away the sleep and sat up very slowly. Talya studied him as he got into a comfortable seating position in the hospital bed. He was obviously very advanced in years, with almost no hair left except for a few wisps of white strands. His face was wrinkled, and he had tired eyes which spoke of a lifetime of seeing too much.

"I brought some new friends to see you." Peggy said, motioning at Val and Talya. "These are my friends from Arendelle, Talya and Val."

"Sir." Val said in greeting.

Talya dipped her head politely. "Good to meet you, sir." She didn't worry about him recognising them. His eyes didn't seem to be too sharp in his old age, and besides, he probably wasn't very aware about what was going on outside of Exon.

"Arendelle, you say?" The old man's voice was raspy, but sharp.

"Yes." Talya said. Maybe she'd underestimated him.

"I know of the Arendellians. We were Arendellians once." He shifted slowly onto his side with Peggy's help and leaned forward to get a closer look at them. "You are Arendellians?"

"Yes, yes we are." Talya said.

"Call me Jakob." The old man had a tiny smile at the edge of his cracked lips. "Any Arendellian is family of mine."

"Please excuse him." Peggy said in a low enough voice that Jakob couldn't hear. "He's nuts about our ancestry."

"Just what we need." Talya replied, and cleared her throat. She sat down in the chair beside the bed while Val remained standing with arms folded. "Jakob. We need your help."

"My help." Jakob repeated.

"Yes. Peggy here told us you know about the Snow Queen." Talya hesitated to look over at Val, who had an eyebrow raised, and then turned her attention back to Jakob. "We need you to tell us about her."

"The Snow Queen."

"Yes, the Snow Queen." Talya said patiently.

"I haven't heard that name in a long time," he drawled. "I'm glad someone bothers enough to pay attention. Unlike young Peggy over here."

Peggy rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"Jakob, what do you know about the Snow Queen?" Talya asked again.

"The stories tell of the great Snow Queen who led her League of Sorcerers in the wars of centuries past. I believe in the legend of the Snow Queen."

"I see," Talya said in a contemplative and polite tone. "But what else do you know about her?"

"In my one hundred and four years of life, I've only ever seen her once." Jakob recounted. "But even then, my memories of that day are a blur. Not because of my old age, no. But because of the wounds I sustained in the war."

Talya leaned forward, feeling excitement grip her. "Tell us more, please."

Jakob coughed a couple of times and inhaled deeply, his forehead creased as if he was trying to recall the details. "The year was 1934, I think. The world was in the midst of the war between Tresvania, Ibersia and Molcorra. Back then, my family lived in the coastal city of Turnsheim. When the Molcorran military came to my town to recruit, I was only eighteen. But I went, because I wanted to do something great with my life. I had no idea of the violence and carnage I was getting myself into."

The old man paused for a couple of moments to catch his breath and sip from a glass of water with Peggy's help. Then, he continued slowly. "I was a lieutenant in the Turnsheim cavalry. I was put in charge of a company of cuirassiers, and led my company in the charge at the Battle of Willowcreek Swamp." He paused again. "I was shot off my horse that day. It was a miracle I survived long enough for the combat medics to get to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Talya said.

"The Molcorran brigade I was attached to had no supplies or enough manpower to aid with the wounded and dying. They sent the dying home to fend for themselves while they continued to fight the war.

"By the time the carriage dropped me off at my house, I was delirious." Jakob went on. "With a gun wound in my side, the wound had become infected and I had a fever that wouldn't subside. I overheard the soldiers telling my family that I would be dead within days without proper medical help. It was help my family was too poor to afford." He shook his head, his voice rising a little in excitement. "But it didn't matter. Because of our heritage. We had Arendellian blood in us. We were the descendants of the great Snow Queen, and my mother knew it. She was her granddaughter."

"The Snow Queen is your great grandmother." Talya said in awe.

Jakob nodded. "I'd heard the stories about her, but as a child, I never knew it to be true. I had never seen her before. My family told me that she was a recluse, and rarely came out of hiding."

"But you did see her?" Val asked. He too had become intrigued by the old man's story.

"Through my feverish state, I remember seeing a woman in white." Jakob recounted, frowning till his eyebrows knitted together. "Everything was a blur, partially because of the pain. But that much I remember. My great grandmother showed up in white. She had long blonde hair and a slender frame. She was beautiful in an old fashioned way. But even though she had to be at least more than a century old, she didn't look older than thirty. I could've sworn she was my older sister if not for what she did next."

"What did she do?" Talya asked, her heart hammering in her chest.

"I remember her leaning over my body." Jakob said slowly. "She put a hand on my wounds and I felt cold air. It became ice, which numbed my pain and somehow killed the infection. I fell into a deep sleep and when I woke, the wounds had sealed and the fever subsided. But my great grandmother, she'd vanished back into isolation, my family told me. I would never forget that day. I remember her face to this day. She was young and beautiful, even though she was my great grandmother." Jakob finished, leaning towards Talya with excitement. "And I believe she is still alive today, but of course, no one would believe the words of a senile old man."

"I believe you." Talya assured him. Her own heart was thumping fast. Finally, someone who had confirmed the existence of the legendary Snow Queen. She could barely contain her elation.

"You do?" Jakob sounded surprised, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes. Of course." Talya stood up, inching closer to his bed. "Tell me, do you have any idea where she could be now?"

Jakob scratched at his chin, looking pensive. "After that fateful day, I asked my mother and grandmother where she'd gone. I remember wanting to thank her for saving my life, but I was told that she'd gone back to her home of seclusion."

"Where?"

"A mythical place called Ahtohallan in ancient Northuldra culture, said to hold all the answers about the past. The home of the Fifth Spirit, also known as the Snow Queen."

"Ahtohallan." Val echoed slowly.

"Yes, Ahtohallan." Jakob drawled. "I never got the chance to see her again after that day. If the stories are true, the Snow Queen still lives there in her sanctuary, training new members for the League of Sorcerers."

"Wow." Talya whispered, unable to find the words to express her excitement. So it was true. The stories, the legends, they were all true. The Snow Queen does exist!

"Thank you, Jakob." Val stood up. "It was very kind of you to entertain us."

Jakob scoffed. "It isn't like anyone else bothers to listen to the ramblings of an old veteran."

"Thank you Jakob. I believe in the Snow Queen too. And I promise you, I am going to find her." Talya said determinedly to the old man.

He smiled. "If you do find her, convey my thanks. I will forever be grateful for what she did for me that day." With that, he closed his eyes and Peggy gently laid him back in bed.

"It's true, then." Talya said when they were out of Jakob's ward. The hallway was quite empty, so it gave them the freedom to talk openly. "The Snow Queen is still alive and she's in Ahtohallan."

"We don't know if she's still alive." Val said slowly. He was still evidently apprehensive about this whole thing. "Jakob's story might have been true, but a lot of things could have happened in the past century. She might not even be in this…Ahto…Ahtwohal…"

"Ahtohallan." Peggy corrected him. "He's right. This Snow Queen might not even be there anymore. Besides, you are aware that my great grandfather only thought he saw her in his feverish state."

"It doesn't account for his miraculous healing." Talya argued. "Your great grandfather was dying, and she saved him."

"I don't know about this." Val, as usual, sounded hesitant.

"We've gotten this far. We finally know where the Snow Queen could be." Talya said excitedly. "Jakob said she was still training sorcerers in this sanctuary of Ahtohallan. If it's true, she can train me to fight Bjorn and liberate our home!"

"Keep your voice down." Val hissed. "You never know when the walls have ears."

"Shit." Peggy's phone was buzzing in her hand.

"What is it?" Talya asked.

Peggy narrowed her eyes. "More assassins. They're here for you both."

Author's Commentary:

I've been playing the long endgame here with the reveal of Elsa. It was challenging to write, knowing she would only show up much later in the book but thanks for sticking with me thus far. The seeds have been planted and the breadcrumb trail is leading straight to the mythical Snow Queen. Pretty soon you'll get to witness the return of the Snow Queen and I like to think the wait will be worth it.

In other news, sadly school is starting again next week and I doubt I'll have much time to continue writing often. Still, I'm about two-thirds way through with my first draft of Book 5. At the end of this book, you'll be seeing a short teaser (akin to Marvel's mid-credits scene) of Talya and gang's role in Book 5. Pretty excited about the direction in which it's headed. And as always, thanks to those who've reviewed. Never take the comments for granted!

If you haven't checked out the rest of my stories (centered around the epic adventures of Anna and Elsa in their prime during the 1840s), go ahead and do so!