Chapter Twenty Four

Contingency Plan

VALLOKEN

Val stared at the miles of sea that lay before himself and Peggy. It seemed to stretch out into eternity. The waves were calm and the skies were clear, but Val was acutely aware as to how quickly all that could change in an instant - he'd seen it for himself first hand. Still, the fact that his sister had mastered the water horse stood for something. Maybe the supernatural forces out there would be more compliant and hospitable this time.

"Didn't think this far ahead, did we?" Peggy matched his thousand yard stare.

"I don't suppose the Snow Queen rents boats out here." Val said dryly.

"Most likely not."

"So any suggestions how to get across?"

"Believe it or not, I was actually banking on the supernatural spirits." Peggy admitted. It was evident to Val that she did not like being stuck without a concrete plan. She always had an idea and contingencies for how things would go down, and being stranded out in the middle of contending with sorcery didn't bode well with her. Neither did it bode well with him.

"That's a bit of a stretch." Val said pointedly. "Maybe the horse would listen to Talya, what with them both being kindred spirits or what not. But we-" he gestured at themselves. "We're not sorcerers. Why would the water horse answer to us?"

"I don't know. But I suppose it's a worth a try, isn't it?" Peggy stepped off the ice before Val could stop her.

"Wait!" Val gritted his teeth as she slipped into the water.

She emerged, hair dripping wet and teeth chattering. "It's…it's cold."

"No shit. It's surrounding a damn island made out of pure ice." Val surveyed the horizon, scanning the water for the magical horse creature. Nothing. "I don't think it's working. You better get out of the water before you get pneumonia or-"

"Something's happening." Peggy interrupted as she treaded water. "I can feel the waters stirring."

The horse emerged from the water, materialising directly beneath Peggy, seating her squarely and conveniently on its back. It threw its head back and gave a long whinny, trotting closer to the coast.

"I think it's asking you to get on." Peggy smirked, taking the reins with shivering hands.

"And here I thought I've seen everything." Val returned a grin, scrambling unceremoniously to mount the water horse. Getting on behind Peggy, he barely got his balance before the creature galloped off.

Struggling to not fall off, Val clenched his jaw and gripped the sides of the horse. He noted enviously how Peggy seemed at ease with riding, but apparently that observation went both ways.

"You can hold on to me if you want." Peggy stated without glancing over her shoulder.

Val blinked, almost tipping backwards as the horse leapt over a wave. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Her tone made it clear that she meant it platonically of course.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Val wrapped his arms around her waist and immediately felt safer. Well, at least if I fall I won't be the only one, he noted sardonically.

The water horse made it back to the forest eventually, though the journey felt like hours. In actual fact, only half an hour had passed. The sun was high up in the sky by this time, and Val checked his watch.

"Ten past nine." He reported as the horse slowed to a canter. "That should give us more than enough time to navigate the forest and be on our way to Einsfelt before sundown."

Peggy nodded in response, guiding the horse to a gentle slope of the coast where the Northuldra settlement was near. The canter became a trot as the horse expertly navigated the waves and brought them safely to shore.

"Dry land." Val muttered out loud, clambering off the horse and almost tripping. He heaved a sigh of relief, drying his spectacle lenses which had caught shields of water when the horse had skidded and banked sideways countless of times. That wasn't something he was too inclined to try again.

"Thank you." Peggy addressed the horse as she dismounted gingerly, and it brayed loudly as if in acknowledgement. It circled round, kicking up a light spray of water, and galloped off at an impressive acceleration back towards Ahtohallan. Somewhere out in the near horizon, Val watched the distant figure of the horse dissolve back into the waves.

"We should get moving." Peggy told him as though the sight of something so out of the ordinary no longer fazed her.

"Let me check the roads." Val pulled his tablet out of his bag which had again gotten wet from the ride on the water horse. The tablet - somehow - still managed to remain miraculously unharmed. Turning it on, he began plotting a digital map of the terrain.

"What are you looking for?"

"Motorable tracks." Val answered as he keyed in various criteria to isolate the roads he wanted. "I've got to plot a course and find out where's the nearest vehicle."

"Don't be daft. You obviously haven't been out camping before, have you?" Peggy snorted. "The nearest vehicle wouldn't be able to traverse through this thick a forest. Besides, what are you going to do? Call a cab to fetch us out?"

"That was the idea."

"For someone as smart as yourself, you can be really daft sometimes."

"Thanks." Val made it a point to sound vexed.

"We'll need to do it the old fashioned way. At least, until we're out of the forest and out on the highway. For that, we'll need to seek a favour from the Northuldra."

Val blinked. "You want the Northuldra to lend us their reindeer?"

"That was the idea."

Damn it. Val massaged the bridge of his nose and looked in the direction of the Northuldra settlement. That meant more riding.

"Come on." Peggy started to move past him towards the settlement which lay slightly deeper into the forest. "We don't have a lot of time to waste."

Grumbling indistinctly, Val followed at Peggy's heels as she vaulted over a fallen log with ease and trekked on. Apparently, Peggy had memorised the route without the need for his map which more or less rendered him useless. Before long, they arrived at the edge of the village, where much of the carnage from the prior battle had been cleared away. In fact, the Northuldra were back to assuming a life of normalcy, by the looks of things. Men and women laboured in workshops, engineers discussed calculations, others were cooking by fires and children played and led herds of reindeer.

Quite a few of the villagers had spotted them as they entered the settlement. It wasn't hard, since both Val and Peggy weren't exactly in traditional Northuldra garb, and they had been seen fighting alongside the Northuldra in the ambush the previous day. As expected, they received a warm welcome, many of them speaking in their native dialect which Val roughly understood.

"Thank you, thank you." Val nodded in greeting, switching to the Northuldra dialect as best as he knew how. "Where is your chieftain? I need to speak with him."

The villagers pointed the duo in the direction of the centre of the village, and Val thanked them before moving off again. Together with Peggy, they hurried through the village, hoping to avoid any more interruptions and made it to Aslak's house. The chieftain was inside with a couple other tribe leaders, and he looked up when they appeared at the window.

"My friends!" The elderly man threw his arms wide as his aides opened the wooden door of his home. "You have returned to the Northuldra." He tilted his head slightly, having noticed that something was not quite right. "You returned without Queen Talya?"

"My sister's safe. Don't worry." Val assured Aslak as they were ushered into the house and he waited till the door was shut and he was certain that no one was listening in before continuing. "We made it to Ahtohallan and found the Snow Queen."

"So the Snow Queen is real after all." Aslak said in a hushed tone, a mixture of awe and trepidation. "How did you make it pass the Dark Sea?"

"Long story." Peggy answered. "And with all due respect, we don't exactly have the time to lay out all the details. Rest assured, we all made it across and we found the Snow Queen. She's training Talya now as we speak."

"Destiny." Aslak gave Val a knowing glance and he nodded in response. "So what brings you back to the Northuldra?"

"We actually need your help." Val admitted.

"Oh?"

"We need to borrow two of your reindeer. We're in a rush to get back to the roads."

Aslak crossed his arms but he didn't say anything, an intrigued look on his face.

"Remember how I told you that we need to rally our allies and raise an army to flush the occupiers out?" Val carried on. "Bjorn has given us an ultimatum and we're running out of time. If we don't respond soon, he will kill innocents till we show ourselves."

"We just need to make it to the road where we can switch to passing vehicles." Peggy added.

"We promised not to involve the Northuldra in our war." Val said quickly. "That promise still stands. We just want a fast way out of the forest."

Aslak considered this for a long moment, then nodded. "Take my reindeer. You will find Gárral, my grandson, out back. He's keeping watch over our flock. He will show you the way out of the forest."

"Thank you." Val shook the chieftain's hand gratefully and Peggy did the same.

They were showed out of Aslak's house by an aide, who took them to the back of the plot of land where a young man in his late teens was tending to the flock. The aide explained the situation to the teenager in quick, rapid-fire dialect that was hard for even Val to catch. But when it was done, the young man nodded and excused the aide.

"Your Royal Highness. My lady." The teenager greeted them in fluent English, a warm and friendly smile on his face. "It is an honour to meet you both. My name is Gárral. I was not there at the ambush, for I was out on the hills with the reindeer, but I have heard the accounts of those who were. You fought bravely for us, and we will forever be grateful."

"Right," Val said awkwardly. He could never know how to react to praise. "I'm Val, and this is Margaret. Your grandfather said you could take us to the road?"

"I shall." Gárral gestured for them to choose their reindeer. "Please, choose one you are comfortable with. I assume that the royal house of Arendelle has riding on its curriculum?"

"More or less." Val glanced at the reindeer, one of which snorted rudely at him. At least they weren't supernatural water horses.

###

An hour's ride through the forest took them close to the edge where Val could almost taste the air of modern civilisation again. Gárral had made good on his promise, showing them the quickest way through the thick, dense forest that would otherwise have gotten them lost had Val and Peggy embarked on the expedition by themselves. Near the edge, the woods began to thin out slightly, though the road still wasn't visible yet.

"We're almost there." Gárral reported, casting a calm glance over his shoulder as he rode his mount with ease. Both Val and Peggy had picked out their own prior to their journey, and Val was starting to feel like he had finally gotten the hang of riding the animal - but perhaps far too late. Still, it was way more comfortable than riding the water horse.

Gárral's reindeer, which was at the head of their little entourage, stopped. The other two which Val and Peggy were riding on similarly came to a halt, all three grunting and snorting as if in communication with one another.

"What-what's going on?" Val asked, trying to urge his mount forward. It snorted at him in protest but stubbornly did not budge.

"They're spooked." Gárral frowned. "Something's bothering them."

"Or someone." Peggy hurriedly dismounted and gestured for Val and Gárral to do the same. "I think we have company."

"What? How could they know we'd be coming this way?" Val hissed as the trio ducked behind a row of adjacent trees.

"I don't know." Peggy sounded confused as well, but dug into her pocket. She fished out a pair of brass knuckles and tossed it to Val. "Here, just in case."

"I don't know how to fight." Val protested.

"All the more reason why they'll come in handy." Peggy checked her pistol and clicked the magazine into place. From her spot behind her tree, she glanced at Gárral. "Stay here. Don't move."

The teenager nodded anxiously without a word, keeping his head down. Val peered out from behind the tree. Soldiers in camouflage had begun to come from the direction of the road, brandishing rifles and moving forward in a loose, ragged formation. They kept coming, and Val estimated that there had to be at least a platoon. Evidently, Bjorn had gotten desperate. Very soon, they reached the spot where the trio had left their mounts.

Val could hear them conversing in their distinct language. Southern Isles soldiers, that was for sure. He clenched his jaw and slowly slipped the knuckle dusters into his pants pocket, praying he would not need to use them. But somehow, that outcome seemed inevitable now.

Now that the soldiers knew someone else was here, they were spreading out, combing this part of the forest and moving further into the woods. A squad was making their way over to the trees where Peggy and the others were crouched behind their own trees. Sooner or later, someone had to act.

And that someone was Peggy. She rolled across the distance between the two trees, firing off her pistol in rapid succession. Three soldiers went down, leaving two still standing. They swore and opened fire as Peggy joined Val and Gárral behind their tree.

"Keep your heads down." Peggy told them.

"Not a problem." Adjusting his spectacles nervously, Val gritted his teeth. From the corner of his eye, he saw Gárral nod and duck his head.

Peggy scaled the bark of the tree like an experienced climber, and Val watched as she perched herself on the thick branch above their heads. When the soldiers stopped firing to reload their rifles, she sprung from her spot, drawing her dagger. Plunging it into the neck of the nearest soldier, Peggy dropped to a crouch and kicked the remaining soldier's leg out from underneath him. As he sprawled, Peggy aimed her pistol and shot him in the back.

"Move! They'll know we're here!" Peggy shouted.

Against his better instincts, Val inhaled sharply before forcing himself to get to his feet and sprint over to Gárral's tree. He grabbed Gárral by the forearm. "Come on, man. We need to go."

Gárral uttered a string of foreign expletives as Val dragged him out into the open. The gunshots had scared away the reindeer, meaning that they had no other alternative but to run for it.

"Go, get the hell out of here! I'll cover you!" Peggy shouted to the duo.

"Are you crazy? You can't take them all!" Val turned back to grab Peggy's arm with his free hand.

"Remember the mission. Get to Einsfelt and rally their army!" Peggy hissed, reloading her weapon.

"I'm not leaving you behind to die!" Val growled.

"And I'm not giving you a choice. Run!" Peggy pulled the trigger as more soldiers converged on their location.

Val considered physically forcing Peggy to come with them against her will, but that didn't seem like a very good option. She wasn't going to budge, and the longer he lingered, the more likely he was going to get Gárral and himself killed. But he couldn't leave her! From the peripheral of his eye, he saw soldiers emerge from the undergrowth. He whirled, one arm still clutching Gárral and found his path being blocked by even more soldiers who had been alerted to their location. They were slowly being boxed in. Cursing, he back-pedalled furiously and dragged Gárral with him.

"Peggy?"

"I know," Peggy grimaced. She had stopped firing. "We're surrounded."

"Looks like you don't get to make that noble sacrifice after all." Val said dryly as he watched a soldier with a captain's bars on his shoulders come forward.

Brandishing a pistol, the officer had a severe face with hard lines that told Val instantly that there would be no negotiating with this man. Without a word, he lifted his firearm and aimed. A shot rang throughout the air and Val stiffened. He found his arm slick with blood, and was horrified to feel Gárral go limp in his grip. Wordlessly, the Northuldra chieftain's grandson fell to the ground, a bullet wound in his chest.

"You bastard." Val growled.

"No more theatrics. No more running." The captain spoke in English, his accent thick and as severe as his features. "Unless you want to end up like your friend."

"You won't kill us." Val called his bluff. "Bjorn wants us to be surrendered alive."

"That only applies for yourself." The captain glanced at Peggy. "I'm afraid she's not part of the equation."

Peggy stared back at him defiantly. "Do your worst."

"No, you leave her alone." Val snarled, fists balled up tightly.

"Then do I have your cooperation?" The captain asked.

Val narrowed his eyes. There's no way out of this. Not without someone else getting killed. "I surrender."

"Excellent." The captain said neutrally, as though his response meant nothing to him.

Someone wrestled Val's bag away from him and his hands were forcefully cuffed in front of him. He watched indignantly as the soldiers disarmed Peggy and cuffed her too.

"Do I have your word you'll leave her unharmed?" Val asked the captain.

"You're in no position to make demands." The captain walked towards Val and stopped when he was close enough to examine Val's eyes. "Tell me, where is your sister?"

"Go to hell." Val met the captain's gaze. "You're only getting me. You won't ever get my sister."

"Where is Queen Talya?" The captain repeated his question, a warning tone in his words.

"You'll never find her."

The captain glared at him, but did not ask again. Then, he turned away. "Get them back to the convoys. There will be plenty of time for General Bjorn to conduct his interrogations on his own terms."

A chill ran down Val's spine as he realised that Bjorn's methods probably involved his blood sorcery. But it was too late to turn back now. Either way, he wasn't going to give up Talya's location. He set his jaw as Peggy and himself were hoisted away to the edge of the forest where military vehicles awaited them. If this is the sacrifice I have to make for Talya to get her chance at beating Bjorn, then so be it.