Chapter Ten
Return to Arendelle
MELODY
"What? What's going on?" Melody asked in confusion. Holli and Jordan had rallied to her side, now that the evacuation was going more smoothly. Most of the people had been evacuated into the deeper parts of the city, closer to the Old Town district of Denmark.
"He's here!" Tracy screeched through the telepathic link, making Melody cringe a little at her frenzy.
"What? Who?"
"I'm coming to you now with the others!"
"Huh?" Melody was bewildered. "Others? Wait, what's going on?"
A portal of purple mist abruptly opened behind Melody, and she turned around swiftly to see Tracy beckoning her urgently.
"Get in!"
Confused, Melody grabbed Holli and Jordan, resolving to reserve her questions for later. They hastily entering the Crossing Zone and Tracy closed the portal hurriedly behind them. Melody looked around. All the sorcerers were there, looking extremely worn out as if they had just been in a fierce battle…and they had. Even Will Daltrey was with them and looked equally tired, but he looked upset too.
"Will someone explain what the hell just happened?" Melody said exasperatedly.
"Yeah, why did you do that?" Jade asked.
Tracy opened up yet another Crossing Point and the sorcerers filed out of the Crossing Zone to join Maui and Deirdre in the meeting room. They were back in Swynvort, away from the mayhem in Quodrun.
"Wait, you guys are back already?" Maui looked surprised. "That went a lot quicker than I thought."
"Did you stop them?" Deirdre asked.
"Quodrun." Will shook his head in distress. "We lost Quodrun."
"What? Why?" Melody glanced at him with wide eyes.
"She said we didn't stand a chance." Will said angrily, pointing a finger at Tracy.
"We don't." Tracy looked up from the floor from where she had collapsed in exhaustion. Apparently she was only able to utter two words repeatedly. "We don't."
"What are you talking about?" Melody was confused.
"All of a sudden," Vonco explained. "Tracy opened up portals where we were, asking us to drop our attempts to engage the Imperial Horde and bail immediately."
"She probably had a good reason," Jade defended before turning to Tracy. "Right?"
"Which she didn't care to share with us." Rikhard pointed out.
"I don't understand," Melody looked at Tracy. "I thought you said we had a chance."
"Let's face facts," Tracy stood up from the ground, looking flustered and annoyed. "We were up against an entire army. We were way out of our league!"
"You were confident we could hold them off or even beat them. You said you had a plan!"
"We were not prepared for this!"
"You were the one who said we could take them." Melody felt her temper rising, which was rare. "And now, Quodrun has fallen. And so will my kingdom!"
"Your kingdom? So now you're finally taking ownership of your home? After running from it for so long?" Tracy retorted acidly.
Melody was stunned. "What are you trying to say?"
"All of a sudden, you're no longer a Warrior? You're suddenly the heir to the throne of Denmark again? Just like that?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"Guys!" Maui broke up the tense argument by physically wedging himself between the two arguing girls who looked like they were ready to settle their differences in the training hall. "Fighting about this isn't going to undo what happened. Like it or not, Quodrun has fallen and by now so has the rest of Denmark. They now belong to the Empire of Exon."
"I don't get it. Help me understand." Melody said, calming herself considerably. "What happened out there? I thought we had this."
Tracy shook her head. "That was before I saw."
"Saw?" Melody probed, trying to maintain her composure. Learning that one's kingdom had just fallen to an enemy empire was unnerving and devastating, and it took all her willpower not to crumble.
"Saw who?" Maui asked as well.
"Kane." Tracy blurted out, her face pale as she uttered the cursed name. "He's alive."
Melody felt her blood freeze in her veins at the mention of his name. She stared at Tracy, her mouth gaping open. "He…but that's…not possible. We saw him die." She glanced at Tracy and Maui for confirmation that she wasn't crazy. "Didn't he?"
"He did. I know." Tracy said. "But it's the truth, I swear. Kane is alive, and he's leading the Imperial Horde."
"I'm sorry, this is not making any sense to me. Or to any of the rest who weren't part of the original Warriors team." Deirdre said, and was backed by nods from the other sorcerers. "Who's Kane? In my time as the princess, I've never heard of any military officer called Kane in Exon's army."
"He's not from the Exonian army. Major Kane was the very first enemy we fought. It's because of him that the Warriors banded together." Maui explained gravely. "Kane tried to destroy the world by inciting natural disasters."
"But we stopped him." Melody continued. "And before we could apprehend him, he killed himself."
"Wait, so how is he back now?" Jade asked. She seemed to be just as confused as everyone else in the room.
"Holli," Tracy turned to the young witch doctor. "Is it possible to bring a man back from the dead? Using powers like yours or something similar?"
Holli stared at Tracy as if she had two noses, and shook her head. "That's not possible. Not any magic that I know can do that."
"But we know." Maui said after much contemplation. "The Eternal King."
"Wait, hold up." Tracy frowned.
Melody cocked her head. "You mean the demon that the ex-Pilgrim was trying to find under the ruins of Ancient Hyutreno?"
Maui nodded. "That demon entity that inhabited the conqueror has the ability to manipulate life forces, and can probably find a way to cheat death."
"So you're saying that the mystery person who found the Eternal King before the Pilgrim did could be the same person who arranged Kane's resurrection?" Melody said. This was getting stranger by the minute.
"I don't know." Maui said.
"This sounds a little too far fetched." Deirdre admitted. "I mean, bringing the dead back to life by harnessing the powers of a mythical demon?"
"The League of Sorcerers was a myth to us too." Melody glanced at Deirdre. "That is, until we discovered that all of you were real."
"She's right," Holli agreed. "It could be true."
"No matter how Kane is alive," Tracy said. "It must have involved magic. Which meant that there was no way we could beat the Imperial Horde head on. We weren't prepared for this at all. It's one thing if Kane has an entire army with him, but it's another if he has an unknown force of magic on his side."
"She's right." Melody admitted, still a little awkward after her brief but heated argument with Tracy. "Kane being alive changes the game entirely."
Maui frowned. "The last time, he had the snake totem from the caves of Motunui."
"Motor-what?" Jade asked.
"It's a tribal island where all of this started." Maui explained. "And now he probably has an unknown demon power that's backing him, along with the ruler of the Empire."
"So what do we do now?" Deirdre asked.
"I don't know." Melody pursed her lips. "Denmark has fallen, and…I don't know."
"Are you alright?" Jade asked.
"My home kingdom has been occupied by the Empire…so no, I don't think I'm alright." Melody answered bluntly.
"We can go into Denmark and take the fight to them." Vonco suggested.
Melody shook her head. "I wish it were that simple. We don't know what we're up against, which means that we might very well get ourselves killed."
"If we're going to fight the Empire, we're gonna need an army of our own." Cornelius said quietly, marking one of the very rare times anyone had heard him speak.
"Wait…" Melody glanced at Cornelius. "That's it."
"What?"
"Arendelle." Melody said. "They have an army, and they can help us."
"What makes you so sure they will?" Vonco asked.
"Because our friends rule Arendelle." Tracy said triumphantly. "It's time to go see Anna and Elsa."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Deirdre scratched her nose. "The last time we saw Elsa, she was pretty adamant about leaving this life behind."
"Both she and Anna wanted to focus on ruling their kingdom." Jade agreed.
"There won't be a kingdom left to rule if the Empire has their way." Maui said.
"What do you mean?"
"Exon's not going to stop at just Denmark." Melody said. "They're going to head up north, which means Arendelle is next on the list. Anna and Elsa have a stake in this, and even if they didn't, I know they won't hesitate to help us."
Tracy stood up. "Okay, so we return to Arendelle."
Melody nodded. "Everyone pack your things. That includes you guys." She pointed to Vonco, Cornelius, Rikhard and Holli.
"Us?" Vonco asked.
"It's all hands on deck."
"What about the rest?"
"We can't have everyone teleporting to Arendelle." Melody said. "Only us. Florie can take charge while we're gone and coordinate things."
"Right, I'll go tell her." Maui said.
"Thanks." Melody glanced round. "Let's be ready to leave in half an hour."
After packing her equipment and essentials back in her room, Melody stood up and surveyed her belongings. Clothing for the cold weather? Check. Recurve bow? Check. Arrows? Check. Essentials? Check. She sighed, glad that she was alone for at least a while. She needed that few minutes of peace.
Things had certainly gotten bleak very fast. One moment she felt like she was finally content with her life which was at its peak, and the next, her home and everyone she loved was under occupation by the Empire of Exon. And now, she feared for the safety of her people, her kingdom and most importantly her parents.
###
A portal of purple mist opened and the Warriors filed out of the Crossing Point, emerging in the courtyard of the castle.
"Arendelle?" Jade looked around.
"Yeah." Tracy said as she closed the portal.
"Now we just have to find Anna and Elsa." Melody said, looking around. She had slung her recurve bow on her back, and carried a backpack with a detachable quiver.
"Halt!" A detail of armed soldiers dressed in Arendellian green moved towards the Warriors swiftly.
"Looks like someone found us first." Vonco said.
"Don't engage them." Maui warned, seeing that the newer members of their group were on edge and ready to fight back.
"Identify yourselves." A lieutenant called out, the entire detail of soldiers formed in a circle around the Warriors, steadily pointing their muskets with bayonets attached at them.
Melody didn't recognise the commander in charge. Apparently someone had replaced Captain Frederick as the head of the Queen's Guard.
"We're friends of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna!" Melody answered.
For some reason, the soldiers shot quick glances at each other.
"You mean Queen Anna and Princess Elsa." The lieutenant said.
"What?" All of the Warriors were equally taken aback.
"Things have changed around here. But you don't convince me. How do you know the Royal Family?" The lieutenant asked suspiciously.
"We're friends." Tracy said casually.
"You're going to have to do better than that."
"If you don't believe us, ask Captain Frederick." Melody answered calmly. "He can verify who we are."
"You mean the Colonel?"
Wow. Things had really changed.
"Yes." Melody said.
"We'll have him here in a while." The lieutenant signalled to one of his men to send word to the Colonel.
"Colonel Frederick isn't in charge of the Queen's Guard anymore?" Maui asked.
The lieutenant shook his head. "He moved back to his post as the Commanding Officer of the First Infantry Brigade. He'll be here soon. But in the meantime, I have a few more questions. What is your business in Arendelle? Where did you come from? How did you get into the courtyard past the bridge without our sentries spotting you?"
"Ummn." Melody glanced round at the Warriors. "That's a little harder to explain. But it has something to do with…magic."
"Magic?"
"Magic. Like Qu-I mean, Princess Elsa's powers."
The lieutenant looked unconvinced, and so did the rest of his men. The new commander of the Queen's Guard didn't know that the Warriors had a hand in saving their ex-queen.
And that was another thing. Since when did Anna become queen and Elsa revert to being a princess again? Melody had so many questions that needed answering.
Before long, Colonel Frederick arrived at the courtyard, accompanied by a few of his own soldiers.
"Sir." The lieutenant straightened up and saluted. "These people say that you can verify who they are."
"Stand down, Evans." Frederick said calmly with his trademark air of authority. "They're allies. You may go, I'll take it from here."
Lieutenant Evans saluted smartly with nothing but absolute respect for the Colonel, and turned to the soldiers, signalling to them to stand down. The soldiers lowered their weapons at the command of their superior, and saluted sharply in unison before excusing themselves in a disciplined and orderly fashion.
Frederick waited till they were alone before he spoke, surveying the group of Warriors. "It's been a while since I've seen you lot." He noticed the newer members of the group. "And I see you've expanded your club."
"Hello Colonel," Melody said in relief. "It's good to see you again. Oh, and congratulations on your promotion."
"Likewise, Your Highness. And thank you." Frederick bowed politely.
"You can drop the formalities." Melody waved her hand dismissively. "Melody is fine."
"As you wish." Frederick said. "But I must admit, I'm curious. What brings you back to Arendelle?"
"We came because we need help." Maui said.
"What kind of help?" Frederick raised an eyebrow.
"Actually you're just the person we wanted to see. Apart from Anna and Elsa of course." Tracy said.
"I'm sorry, I don't follow."
"My kingdom, Denmark, has been invaded." Melody said.
"By the Empire of Exon." Frederick guessed.
"Yes. How-"
"We've been watching the Empire." Frederick answered. "They've been sweeping across the continent like a plague and moving up North, and we thought it best to keep an eye on their movements. As we speak, our army is preparing to defend the kingdom against the Empire."
"Right," Tracy continued. "So we decided that we would come to Arendelle for help. To see if Anna and Elsa could help us by lending us your army."
"I don't know if it works that way." Frederick said respectfully. "I'll like to help, but of course you have to get the approval of Her Majesty. You can work out the details with Queen Anna."
"Yeah, that's another thing." Maui interrupted. "Since when did Anna become Queen and Elsa go back to being a Princess?"
"That is a long story." Frederick said. "But to cut a long story short, Queen Anna ascended to the throne because her sister decided to abdicate."
"What?"
"It's not my place to be telling their story. I'll leave the details to Her Majesty to disclose. It looks like you have a lot to discuss and catch up on."
"Where can we find Anna?" Jade asked.
"Her Majesty had to attend to an urgent call from the Southern Isles." Frederick ushered the Warriors into the castle's spacious foyer.
"Any idea when she will be back?" Melody asked.
"I'm not entirely sure." Frederick said. "Her Majesty left early this morning."
"What about Elsa?"
"Ahh." Frederick's lip quirked curiously. "Her Highness now lives in the Enchanted Forest."
"Enchanted Forest?" Melody was bewildered. So much had changed since they had last seen Anna and Elsa more than a year ago, so much so that the two sisters had swapped titles and lived separately now? Enchanted Forest? What was going on?
"About five months ago, Arendelle was under attack by…ahem…elemental spirits. The Royal Sisters then embarked on a mission to the Enchanted Forest to lift the attack. After they were successful, Her Highness decided to stay in the Forest with the enigmatic Northuldra tribe."
"And so she abdicated the throne to Anna." Maui concluded.
"That's correct." Frederick nodded. "Queen Anna now runs the kingdom, and her sister lives with the Northuldra."
"And where can we find this Northuldra?" Melody asked. "It's important that we find her too. We need her magical expertise."
"Let me get you a map. Wait here, please." Frederick excused himself to find a map to the Enchanted Forest.
"Today's a strange day." Deirdre broke the silence, and the Warriors nodded in agreement.
"Anna's the new queen and Elsa is living in some forest?" Tracy snorted. "Sounds like some sort of fairytale ending to me."
"Okay, here's what I think we should do." Melody said. "I will go to this Enchanted Forest to find Elsa. We need her to come back with us to help fight the Empire of Exon."
"I don't know." Jade puffed up her cheeks apprehensively. "She was pretty clear the last time that she was done with the adrenaline and adventures."
"I think this is something serious enough that warrants her return." Melody said. "And I think she'll see it that way too. We need the Snow Queen back to even the odds."
"Okay." Maui said. "What about the rest of us?"
"You and Deirdre wait for Anna to come back. You're going to need to fill her in on everything we know about the Empire so far."
"What about the rest?"
"Follow the Colonel and tell him everything we know about the Empire. If we're going to be working together, the Arendellian army needs to know everything we do. Including the mystical side of things."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Great."
"I'm coming with you." Tracy said abruptly. "You need someone to teleport you to this Enchanted Forest and back anyway."
Melody glanced at Tracy slightly awkwardly. "Alright. Then we should get going."
After Frederick returned with the map to the Enchanted Forest, Melody and Tracy thanked him and headed out to the courtyard for a bit of privacy.
"You don't need to come, you know." Melody said uncomfortably.
"I think I owe you an apology." Tracy admitted with great effort.
"No, not really."
"Yeah, I do." Tracy said, her eyes refusing to meet Melody's. "Back in Swynvort, I shouldn't have made that comment about avoiding your roles and responsibilities. That ain't fair, and I'm…" She paused and drew in a breath. "I'm sorry, alright?"
It wasn't often that Tracy peeled back the outer layers of her rough-round-the-edges personality and offered an apology. "Apology accepted." Melody gave her a small smile and they hugged it out. "But to be honest, you were right."
"You don't have to-"
"But you were," Melody insisted. "That was the truth. I've been shunning my roles and responsibilities as the Princess of Denmark for far too long. I guess…I just don't want to face that fact that I'm not cut out for the royal duties and that kind of lifestyle."
"I mean if Anna could pull it off as the queen." Tracy shrugged her shoulders.
"She probably makes a good queen. She's a natural born leader." Melody pointed out.
"So are you."
"I don't know." Melody bit her lip. "I was afraid to go back home or think about my future as the queen, and so I kept putting it off. And now my kingdom has fallen into the hands of the Empire and my family is in danger."
"That's…a mouthful." Tracy said.
Melody sighed. "I know. Now I have no choice but to return to Denmark, and not on my own terms."
"You have to face it sooner or later, you know." Tracy said. "That's something you can't avoid forever."
"And now I'm forced to confront my greatest fears and insecurities." Melody looked away. "What if I can't be a good leader to my own people? What if I can't liberate them from the Empire and save my family?"
"That's something we can't answer for you." Tracy said. "But you gotta know that we'll be there for you every step of the way. You got the Warriors and the whole League backing you up. No sweat, alright?"
Melody glanced at Tracy and smiled. "What would I do without you?"
"I don't know, you'll probably be doomed." Tracy grinned impishly.
"Come on," Melody looked at the map that Colonel Frederick had given them. "Let's get going to this Enchanted Forest to find Elsa."
"What if she doesn't want to be found?"
"We don't exactly have a choice." Melody said grimly.
"Right." Tracy opened up a portal of purple mist, swallowing them both up and leaving the kingdom of Arendelle behind while they began their quest to find the unintentionally elusive Snow Queen.
Author's Commentary:
I really love the dynamic between Melody and Tracy. It really goes to show how even the closest of friends can something butt heads and disagree. It's a really delicate topic, honestly, and I drew on quite a bit of personal experiences in writing the intricacies of their friendship. It's probably one of my finer moments as a writer. Let me know what you think in a review :)
