Chapter Fifty Three

Breaking In

JANUS

This was insane, and might just be the most desperate and far fetched revolution he had seen yet. And it wasn't like he hadn't been hired to take sides in a few civil wars and revolutions in his short tenure as a mercenary. But with a resurrected general, a tyrant with sorcery at her fingertips and a team of sorcerers working with an insurgency to wage an all out assault on their oppressors, this one really did take the cake.

Through his mask, Janus stared at the multitude thronging the streets from the vantage point where he, Elsa and the other Warriors were perched. On top of everyone who had rallied to Charlotte's speech a couple of hours ago, there were even the thugs, mobsters and the rest of the city's underbelly joining the mob this evening.

The sun, though hidden behind the storm clouds for the most part of the afternoon, had already set, but the rain had not yet ceased. It looked like it was going to be a long downpour. Not that it favoured the Insurgents, but it certainly played to the Empire's disadvantage, and Janus suspected that Ivon and Charlotte knew that, which was why they had no qualms about letting the mob get so close to the gates.

Evidently, the First Imperials knew that too, and had withdrawn from guarding the gates to form a barrier under the shelter of the palace. It was common knowledge that if black powder got wet, the musket wouldn't fire. And that meant that if the soldiers charged into the rain and emptied their ammunition into the angry mob, they would have absolutely no chance of reloading and getting off another round.

They would be left to the mercy of the citizens who at this point had nothing left to lose, and the soldiers were smarter than to expose themselves like that. Or rather, their commander Lieutenant Dolan was smart enough to know that. Therefore, the First Imperials were forced to confine themselves to the shelter of the palace.

On the flip side, the rain didn't really affect the mob much, since the muskets they bore only had one lead ball locked and loaded. That was all each man could afford to carry, since the ammunition acquired from the Empire's weapon cache had to be shared with everyone who was strong and tall enough to bear a weapon. Each man, woman or teenager only had one shot to discharge, so the rain didn't impede them very much, apart from keeping them continually soaked.

Producing a spyglass from his jacket, Janus levered it to his eye and surveyed the grounds of the castle facing the main gate. Thirty First Imperials were lined up with muskets in hand and boxes of gunpowder and lead balls in abundance nearby, safely away from the rain.

Panning the spyglass to the left, he could see Dolan - here he narrowed his eyes - hurrying a squad of four soldiers who were towing a cannon on a cart between them. Behind them, another four were wheeling another cart carrying a similar cannon.

Eight pounders, by the look of the size and the ominous black barrels. Janus frowned and pocketed the spyglass. If things went the way Dolan wanted, it would be a bloodbath before this was all over.

"See anything interesting?" Ivon stood a few feet behind, a rifle slung across his shoulder.

"If by interesting you mean a pair of eight pounders, then yes." Janus got to his feet.

"Cannons?" Elsa looked at him worriedly.

He nodded. "Dolan's having them wheeled into place right now. He's prepared for this."

"If this Dolan is anything of a military strategist, he's going to empty canister into the crowd once they get close." Ivon said. "The impact will punch a hole straight through the crowd and while the rest are reeling in shock, he'll let loose the other cannon to blow the rest away. And those who somehow survive that will be cut down pretty quickly by the First Imperials."

"It's going to be a massacre if we don't get this done quick." Elsa glanced at Ivon. "I'm assuming the plan hasn't changed."

The retired major shook his head.

"Then we better get this over and done with." Janus said. "At least we have the dark and weather on our side."

"Still, you guys better not get spotted." Ivon warned.

"Of course not." Janus looked amused. "Though a little more manpower on our team wouldn't hurt."

"Every other key member of the Insurgency is already occupied with a separate task." Ivon said. "I wish I could lend you more people, but between the two of you, I'm sure you can handle it."

Right. Thirty soldiers and two cannons. It wasn't that Janus wasn't confident they could pull it off, but it was risky nonetheless. Sending in only him and Elsa for this mission was a desperate move on the part of the Insurgency…either that or the leadership trusted Elsa and him, though the latter was highly unlikely in his case.

But he couldn't blame them. After all, he had been the captain of the First Imperials just a few short days ago, and now he was being charged with performing a key role in taking down the Empire. It was probably more likely that they trusted Elsa to keep him in line, and that they really had no better insurgents to spare for this particular mission.

Deirdre, the fiery tempered sorceress who was also the older sister of the Empress, was going to be busy mounting heavy offence at the head of the mob the moment Charlotte gave the order to charge. And Oliver, the local boy who had signed up with the rebellion, was also poised at the front lines, armed with a bow. On a side note, it really does seem like combat archery is all the rage these days.

And the other remaining sorceress from the League, Holli the witch doctor, was set up at a local tavern nearby with all the wounded from the day's earlier adventure, busy tending to their injuries. Besides, she was too young and petite to be out amongst the thronging mob and trigger happy soldiers. She probably won't last long out here.

He had to admit that this…this was going to be tricky. He would have liked if some of the others could aid Elsa and himself on this mission, but he understood the fact that stealth was paramount, and the lesser people who were involved, the better. But at least he had Elsa with him.

Still, he had objected at first when Charlotte and Ivon had made the decision to send Elsa on the mission with him. This was lethal stuff, and was no place for a young woman like her. But then again, he had seen her in combat before, and she was more than capable of holding her own.

Janus was also acutely aware that his protests and objections were partially because of his slightly obscured judgement. For all the advice on being objective he had given Elsa, he had to admit he had some trouble following it.

He did feel strongly towards Elsa, and the thought of anything happening to her made his blood freeze in his veins, and he felt indignant and protective. This wasn't an entirely new emotion for him though. There was once, back in Swynvort when he had betrayed Ingrid Grendstav, and again recently when he had betrayed the Empire. He wondered if there would come a time when he would betray Elsa too.

But he highly doubted it. This was the first time in a very long time that he felt like he was finally doing the right thing. After his stint back in Bruvesqk after he had failed to save Winter from being assassinated, he had sworn to try to be a better man, but had soon slipped back into his old habits to drown out his feelings and guilt.

Seeing Elsa had brought it all up to the surface again, and he had been confronted with the ultimatum that he could either continue down the path of a mindless mercenary, or save Elsa from being shot in the head. And of course, in a split second, without a second thought he had chosen the latter.

There was no way he was going to let anyone hurt Elsa again, not under his watch. More than a year ago, he had been instrumental in a plot against Elsa, but that was back when he hadn't known her. Meeting her had changed him in more ways than one, and he didn't like to remember the things he had done.

He recalled ambushing her the second and third time they had met, even drugging her on orders from Ingrid, and vehemently wished that he could take it all back. How could he have ever been a part of something that schemed to hurt Elsa?

He stole a glance at the beautiful Snow Queen who was gazing out over the vantage point and tying back her beautiful platinum blonde hair into a simple ponytail. She had found time to dry off after being soaked in the rain even though now it was still raining and they were all soaked again, but she still somehow managed to find a way to look stunning.

She was now dressed in a black blouse with tight grey trousers, boots, and a midnight blue coat. Purple eyeshadow complemented her deep blue eyes, and her skin was pale and smooth unlike his own scar-covered tan skin. She really was the most beautiful and enchanting woman Janus had ever known. And he hadn't known many of the female specimen in his line of work. The fact that Elsa empathised with him and saw the best in him made her all the more rare.

But there was a part of him that wanted to push her away and tell her to run as far away as she could get from him, before he ended up hurting her. If he was being entirely honest with himself, even though he felt extreme passion for her, he was worried that she would get hurt. Inevitably, everyone who wanders into my life ends up either hurt, corrupted or dead,

Something about her made him feel like this time would be different though. Sure, she was nowhere near perfect herself, she had her own issues to work out, but there was a light inside her which dispelled the darkness within him whenever she talked to him in her soothing voice which sounded like honey to his ears.

"Janus."

He looked up to see Elsa staring straight at him, and realised that he hadn't even noticed at what point she had turned and found him gazing at her fondly. His eyes darted away to the middle horizon.

"Are you ready?" Elsa repeated, tilting her head slightly in curiosity. "You alright?"

"Yes," He drew himself up and rolled his shoulders and felt the joints pop. Putting a hand on his revolver, he set his jaw and dipped his head a little. "Let's get this over with."

ELSA

She did want to get this over with. The sooner they were done here, the sooner she could return to Arendelle to help her sister prepare for the impending war with the Imperial Horde and the Southern Isles, which were primed to strike at any moment now. They were running out of time. The Empire's occupation in Denmark had to end tonight.

It still shook her to the core that one of their team had died. No one had ever died on any of their missions before. Sure, there was Santos back in the days when Kane was still trying to commit genocide, but then he had been one of Kane's men to begin with, and had only aided her near the very end.

This…this was different and more raw. It hit harder than she had expected a death to hit. The only other experience she had ever had with death was her parents' passing, but that had been a long time ago. Will's death had dredged up old wounds and familiar depressing emotions, but she knew she could not entertain them now. There was no time to grief, like Janus had told her. Not until this is over.

Janus and Elsa quickly descended the building, and darted round the crowd to the north bank of the Sulge River. This route led to the east face of the castle which faced out into the sea. Incidentally, the east face led to a bridge which was the route the Imperial Horde had taken when they were leaving to resume their campaign towards Arendelle.

They stealthily made their way across to their target location without running into any hostile forces, namely the First Imperials, since the rest of the Exonian army had already departed. Arriving at a tall, fortified wall separating the rest of the city from the castle, they stopped and looked up at the looming obstacle.

Elsa glanced at Janus. He didn't have his trademark recurve bow with him, or any of his usual weapons, as they had been confiscated by General Kane after breaking his spine. The mercenary was currently using any of the weapons and tools that he managed to salvage from the Insurgency's armoury, which weren't much. Still, she didn't doubt that he would find a way to make do. Mercenaries are a resourceful bunch after all.

"How are you planning on getting over?" Janus asked.

"Ice." She answered simply.

"Ice?"

"You'll see." She said cryptically, not really bothering to explain her methods, which he would soon see with his own eyes anyway. "You want a lift?"

"No thanks, I have my own." Janus removed a grappling hook from his padded jacket. Of course he did. Although stripped of his usual weapons, he had still found a way to amass an impressive arsenal of weapons in such a short amount of time.

Attaching the hook to a sturdy cable, he wound up and hurled the grappling hook over the wall. It must have caught and dug into the side of the wall on the other side, for when Janus gave the cable a hard tug, it didn't come loose.

Promptly, he began scaling the cable like an expert, as if he had done it before - and knowing him, he probably had. Elsa peeled her eyes away from watching him climb, and looked down at her feet.

Positioning her hands parallel to the ground, ice began to shoot out of her hands with great force. She was lifted off the ground by the sheer force of her ice hitting the ground, and two tall pillars of ice instantly formed beneath the palms of her hands, which grew with every passing moment and elevating her higher.

She passed by Janus who was nearing the top of the wall, and when she was level with the parapet, she quickly moved her hands. Before gravity could force her down, Elsa grabbed the parapet and supported herself on her forearms. Surveying the grounds below, she found that the east face of the castle where they were at was completely empty.

Ivon had rightly predicted that with a swarming mob of angry oppressed citizens at the castle gates, most if not all of the soldiers had been reassigned to protect the front face of the castle. That left the rest of the castle grounds largely unguarded, but Elsa highly doubted that the soldiers out front were all there were. There had to be more stashed away somewhere, probably in the castle or up in Aleksander Tower to guard Melody's parents.

Now that she knew that the coast was clear, she vaulted over the wall, and before she could hit the ground, a thick pile of snow formed on the grass beneath her which broke her fall. She landed gingerly on the soft, pillow-like snow. Getting up, she dusted off bits of snow which had stuck to her coat.

Almost immediately, Janus landed with a crouch beside her, without so much as a crunch of grass beneath his feet, the grappling hook and cable in hand.

"Impressive." Janus didn't even sound like he was breathing heavily after all that climbing.

"I could say the same about you." Elsa beckoned to him as she set off in a jog. "Come on, we need to hurry. Who knows if the fighting's already begun?"

"We didn't hear any cannon fire yet." Janus fell in step beside her. "That's a good sign."

But that was all about to change. As Elsa and Janus rounded the east face of the palace, they heard a shout from one of the commanders of the First Imperials to load.

"Double shot!" The parade ground voice of a sergeant roared in Exonian. "Round shot in first, followed by canister! Let's show these rebels what it means to mess with the Empire of Exon!"

"This is bad." Janus said grimly. "If they empty a double shotted load into a crowd packed together that tight, it'll be a bloodbath."

Elsa cursed under her breath as they halted abruptly and took cover behind a large supply wagon which was filled with more ammunition and weapons.

It was common practice for artillery units to place their reserves farther away from their big guns, since there was no telling if the cannons would malfunction, causing an explosion or catching on fire. Soldiers couldn't risk having their precious reserves burnt or destroyed, and would always have a few soldiers on standby to run and deliver more ammunition when it was required. However, in their haste and given their current predicament, all the First Imperials had been called to bear arms against the unruly mob that was about to break through the gates at any moment.

Janus drew his own revolver from his belt and checked it. "You sure you don't need a weapon?"

Elsa shook her head and kept her eyes glued to the front, where the soldiers had their right flank facing her and Janus.

The First Imperials were too busy loading the great big steel balls into the wide barrels of the eight pounders, while others were lining up the guns at a trajectory which pointed dead centre at the heart of the crowd to maximise casualties. The rest who weren't engaged with the artillery weapons were still formed in two ranks, the first kneeling with their bayonets facing outwards like a wall of bristles, and the second standing tall with their muskets' butts pressed to their shoulders.

Elsa squinted and her eyebrows furrowed. "I thought Dolan was with them. He's not there."

"He must have escaped into the castle like the rat he is to stay out of danger, leaving command to the sergeants," Janus thumbed back the hammer of the revolver with a click. "That's fine. We'll deal with him later."

"We're pretty far from them." Elsa observed him take aim. "Maybe we should move closer."

"No need, I'm right where I need to be." His gloved hand was steady and unmoving as he brought the revolver up to shoulder level and straightened out his arm. "Just get ready to strike."

"Strike?" Elsa echoed. "There's got to be thirty of them there. What's one shot going to do?"

Janus shifted calmly. "You'll see."