Chapter Fifty Eight
The Showdown
ELSA
"My sister's going to be ready for us." Deirdre replied as they set off again. "By now she definitely knows we're here."
"She knows the Insurgency is here." Elsa corrected her. "What she doesn't know is that you're here. She doesn't even know you're alive. You're our trump card, Deirdre."
"I don't like the sound of that." Deirdre muttered.
"Eleanor thinks you've been dead for five years. Seeing you again out of the blue will shock her considerably, I hope." Elsa explained aloud, and a part of her wondered if she was recounting the plan to make Deirdre feel more certain, or herself. "And that element of surprise is going to give us a small window of time to subdue her…and deal with the Consul too."
"I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"You won't be the only one." Elsa said grimly. The image of Hans' wolfish grin flashed across her mind and she shuddered a little. "But it's the only way, you know that, don't you?"
"I suppose. Like you said, it's not like we have any other choice." Deirdre sounded incredibly uncomfortable.
"Then let's get this over with as quickly as possible."
"Gladly."
The two women arrived outside the royal court, to find the long corridor unguarded. Apparently all the resources and manpower of the First Imperial Guard had been depleted and exhausted, what with trying to defend the castle against the Insurgency's approximation of a military investment attempt. The upper levels were empty, save for a few Exonian servants scurrying out of the way at the sight of the two women marching down towards the royal court where the Empress was holed up.
Would there be more security or resistance waiting inside? Elsa had a flash of panic as she considered the possibility. I suppose we'll have to find out the hard way.
Elsa put a hand on the bronze handle of the large wooden door. She paused and glanced at Deirdre.
"You alright?" She asked.
"Nope."
Fair enough. "You ready?"
"Nope."
"Well, me neither." Elsa pursed her lips. Here goes nothing.
She pushed down on the handle and forcefully swung the door wide open, fully expecting to find a few dozen more soldiers just waiting to pounce on her. Instead, to her surprise, she found no one, except Eleanor standing by the open window with her back to Elsa. The tails of Eleanor's crimson dress flapped slightly in the wind as she ignored the two women's entrance.
Frowning, Elsa gestured to Deirdre to remain out of sight for the time being, at least until there came a favourable opening to catch her really off guard.
"Admiring the view?" Elsa said loudly as she walked into the court.
"You could say that." Eleanor didn't even bother turning round to regard her guest. "You and your rebel friends have been busy, Elsa. Raiding the weapons cache, looting the Merchants' Bank, springing traitors from prisons. What else would you think of?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but the game's over." Elsa stopped in the middle of the large room. She didn't dare get too close, since she really couldn't predict what the unhinged tyrant would do, even though she seemed to be rather calm under the circumstances. "The king and queen of Denmark are safe. The First Imperials holding the castle have been dealt with. You're finished, Eleanor."
"It's the Empress to you." Eleanor spun, danger flitting in her voice. "As furious as I am, I must admit, I've never had an opponent who has challenged me to such an extent. You-" she pointed a long pale finger at Elsa. "You've lived up to your reputation. And more still."
"I'm glad I could satisfy." Elsa said. "But it's all over now. Surrender and give the order for General Kane to stand down. Take your forces and return back to Exon where you belong."
Eleanor gave a chuckle. "You're delusional. And why the hell would I do that? Denmark may be a lost cause, but Arendelle? It's prime for the taking."
"You won't take Arendelle." Elsa's fist clenched at her side. "I won't let you."
"Let me?" Eleanor laughed, though angry fire danced in her eyes. "You haven't even been able to stop me. You've jumped through the hoops I've laid out for you and your precious League of Sorcerers. I've been five steps ahead of you this entire time."
Time to bring out the big guns. "If that were really true." Elsa said loudly enough. "Don't you think you would have seen this coming?"
Deirdre stepped into the court and strode across the room, while Eleanor gaped, eyes growing wider by the second as she realised what she was seeing wasn't a hallucination.
"Deirdre?" Eleanor gasped, all prior traces of smugness gone. "You-you're alive?"
"Don't look so surprised, sis." Deirdre said, her voice tight. "It's a pity I can't say it's good to see you."
Eleanor's eyes were wide as saucers as they locked onto her older sister standing before her beside Elsa. " I thought…Mom and Dad, they…"
"Mom and Dad shipped me off to get rid of me, and then covered up my disappearance by lying to everyone." Deirdre narrowed her eyes. "I'm very much alive, though no thanks to you."
"I…" Eleanor stuttered. "I didn't know they would-"
"What exactly did you think Mom and Dad would have done?" Deirdre said angrily, and Elsa could feel a dangerous amount of heat radiate out from her companion's body. "We Exonians were raised to believe that magic was evil and a curse, and you ratted me out to get rid of me so that you could be next in line for the throne of Exon, didn't you?"
By now, Eleanor's expression of shock had faded, and she had begun to accept the reality of her sister's survival. She ran a hand through her wavy red hair.
"Guilty, I suppose." Eleanor said remorselessly. "I hope you're not expecting an apology, Deirdre."
"I would never expect one from you."
"Just as well then." Eleanor said. "It would have been awkward apologising for our parents' deaths."
Oh no. Elsa shot a glance at Deirdre, and it was her turn to be caught off guard. Trust the Empress to turn the tables in her favour.
"What did you say?" Deirdre said, her voice bordering on unhinged.
"Do you need me to spell it out for you?" Eleanor hissed. "You've always known I wanted the throne. Is it such a stretch to imagine that I would've gone to lengths to get it?"
"You killed our parents…"
"Yes I did." Eleanor spat. "And it pains me to admit it. Not a day goes by that I don't feel guilty and see their faces haunting me in my nightmares."
"Why…" Deirdre's face had gone pale and she sank to her knees. "Why did you do it?"
"Because they despised me!" Eleanor screamed. "You of all people should know that! You were always the perfect daughter. The perfect heir. And me? I was just the spare. The failure and the disgrace of the family. After your disappearance, I thought that Mom and Dad would give me their attention. That they would finally love me. But no, King Ivan and Queen Bernice never thought their youngest daughter could ever rule Exon, and always kept me hidden away from the public eye. In their eyes, I was a disgrace to the Tal Yin name and legacy!"
Elsa glanced between the grief stricken Deirdre and the fired up Eleanor. We're losing our advantage…
"I knew I had to prove them wrong and show them I could lead. That I wasn't the loser they thought I was." Eleanor said darkly. "But Mom and Dad, they were still too young and healthy. I wasn't going to wait another twenty or thirty years before I got to rule. No. I decided to act."
"You killed them." Deirdre choked furiously through tears.
"Not directly." Eleanor said. "I have powerful friends in high places who made things happen. But I got what I wanted. And can you blame me for it? I made Exon's name great. Isn't that what a good ruler should do? Wouldn't you have done the same in my place?"
"Steady, Deirdre." Elsa said anxiously as Deirdre's eyes lit up in fury, and her hands glowed red hot.
Deirdre stood up and took a step towards her sister, who was equally fuelled and ready for a fight.
Elsa caught her shoulder. "She's just trying to make you angry. We can't let her get the upper hand. Not when we're so close to ending her reign of terror."
"Stay out of this, Elsa." Deirdre hissed, her voice cracking. "She didn't kill your parents."
"Please."
"No, don't stop her!" Eleanor screamed maniacally, danger dancing in her eyes. "Let her come! I think we deserve to finally settle our differences once and for all!"
"Deirdre, please!"
"Five years!" Deirdre ignored Elsa, glaring at her younger sister as she stalked towards her. "It's time we finished this."
Eleanor stood poised, her hands glowing at her hips with a strange, foreign demonic energy. "With pleasure."
"No!" Elsa screamed.
But it was too late. Deirdre and Eleanor had clashed, and with Deirdre not focused or in her right mind, their mission here might have just been compromised. Eleanor, cunning as she was, probably banked on her fiery and impulsive sister being emotional to get the upper hand. Elsa grunted in frustration, looking on helplessly as Deirdre hurled flaming balls of fire at her sister who dodged her attacks, firing back with her own bursts of demonic energy waves.
"Forget about them. You have your own problems."
A chill ran down Elsa's spine. She whirled round with cat-like reflexes at the smooth, blood curdling voice that came from behind her, but wasn't quick enough to dodge out of the way.
Two separate metal cuffs flew towards her, honing in straight for her hands as if they had been designed to be attracted to her magic and had a mind of their own. Before she could react, the two separate pieces of metal clamped round her wrists.
Grunting in exasperation, Elsa tugged violently at the cuffs as she felt her magic fading out of her grasp. And then once again, she was powerless. Looking up, she saw Hans stalking towards her, dressed in a white tailcoat and a black vest, with his auburn hair smoothed back and his signature calm yet dangerous expression written across his face.
"Like I said, you have problems of your own." He grinned at her.
"What are you doing here?" Elsa said sharply, still trying to tug off the cuffs which were dampening her powers.
"Oh, come now, my dear. You didn't think you got rid of me that easily, did you?" Hans laughed. "No, I'm not done with you yet. Though it looks like you've fully recovered from your heat injuries. I suppose I'll have to start over. It's a pity I don't have the luxury of time to drag you back out into the desert to finish the job. "
He drew a pistol from his coat and thumbed back the hammer, pointing the gun straight at her chest. "A little less refined, but efficient nonetheless."
Elsa dove out of the way as Hans pulled the trigger. The crack at such close range reverberated in her ears and left them ringing as she found cover behind a large chair around the table in the centre of the royal court.
"You can't hide from me, Elsa!" Hans called out, removing another cartridge from his belt and a small pre-measured amount of black powder. "You're only prolonging the inevitable!"
From behind the chair, Elsa glanced at Deirdre, who was still engaged in a fierce fight with her sister. They both seemed fairly preoccupied, and in any case, Elsa figured she wouldn't be much help anyway, now that her powers had been dampened again.
Her mind snapped back to her own predicament as she heard the footsteps of her cunning adversary approaching. She panicked slightly. What do I do?
"You best give up now and come out." Hans warned. "If you do, I just might go easy on you. No promises though."
In hindsight, maybe I should have taken a weapon with me, Elsa lamented as she rolled out of the way as Hans came into view and aimed his weapon. She zigzagged to make it hard for him to get a clear shot, and when she was fairly close, she threw her weight into him, shoulder first.
The shot went off, and Hans staggered as Elsa tried to drag him down. He exclaimed in indignation as he dropped his pistol and lost his footing, and Elsa fell on top of him awkwardly. She tried to scramble off him in a hurry, but Hans was too quick. He growled and grabbed her, pinning her to the ground as he leaned in close.
A bout of sharp pain shot through her arm where he clutched her upper arm tightly, pressing into her bayonet cut. She squirmed and tried to hide it, but the eagle eyes of Hans were too sharp to not notice the pain he had wrought on her.
"What do we have here?" Hans eased his grip on her left arm, peering at the cut. "Did you hurt yourself?" He clutched her arm again and pressed his thumb viciously into her wound.
She bit back the urge to cry out, and felt hot tears brim in her eyes. Pain lanced through her body like an entirely new experience, and was unlike anything she'd ever physically endured before. But still, she maintained a steadfast disposition, glaring defiantly back at the smirking Consul.
"Defiant to the very end, I see." Hans smiled nastily. He lifted his right hand to draw the rapier at his hip.
That was the break she needed. Ignoring the pain spreading through her arm, Elsa clenched her left fist and crunched it into Hans' jaw as hard as she could. As he staggered off her in a daze, she slipped out of his grasp and jumped first onto a chair, and then the table.
With a grunt, she leapt and caught the chandelier dangling above her and Hans. Her weight caused the rusted chain holding the chandelier to give way, and she brought it crashing down onto Hans, who was still reeling from her punch. The glass fragments shattered onto him, and blood stained his perfect white tailcoat as he sprawled across the ground.
"I don't need my powers to deal with you." She looked down at him with disgust.
"Wh-" he began, but Elsa crouched and gave him an emphatic backhand slap across his cheek, and he went limp.
"Consider that poetic justice." She reached into his tailcoat and rummaged for the key to her cuffs. Finding it in one of his pockets, she unlocked her cuffs and tossed them disdainfully onto Hans' chest.
Fisticuffs. Elsa shook her head as she rubbed her wrists where they had been clamped on tightly by the magic dampening cuffs. So uncivilised. She much preferred the elegant, clean use of her own ice powers.
She turned back to the other side of the court where Deirdre and Eleanor were still battling it out, and by the looks of it, the latter had gotten the upper hand. Deirdre being an elemental sorceress was one of the most powerful ones around, but Eleanor was a bit of a wild card and that gave her an undeniable edge.
No one knew where her powers had come from, or what they were exactly, apart from the fact that she could manipulate reality and had access to some sort of demonic force that wasn't common magic. Elsa guessed that it wasn't going to end well unless she stepped in to help.
Elsa felt her powers slowing flowing back into her, and ran up to where the two were fighting, dodging out of the way as a dark grey cloud of energy was hurled at Deirdre and missed. As Deirdre launched a ball of fire at Eleanor, Elsa ran up and pointed her hands at Eleanor's feet.
Ice formed beneath her, and the Empress lost her footing as she shifted to fend off her sister's attack. As a result, the blaze of fire hit her squarely, punching her off her feet. But before anyone could do anything, Eleanor released a dark cloud of mist, shrouding her from sight and obscuring the views of Deirdre and Elsa.
When the dark mist had cleared, Eleanor had gotten back to her feet, albeit looking slightly worn out.
"Huh." Eleanor dusted herself off. "Can't say I'm not excited to fight the fabled Snow Queen in person."
"Give it up, Eleanor." Elsa said, putting a hand on Deirdre's shoulder to caution her from attacking again. "You're outnumbered."
"Two against one?" Eleanor stood her ground unflinchingly. "I like those odds."
"Then what about five against one?"
From the peripheral of Elsa's eye, she could see a portal of purple mist open and three figures stepped out. Melody and Tracy were here, and so was Janus, who looked a little the worse for wear, but still in fighting condition.
Melody held a new, more sophisticated bow in her hand, looking fresh and ready for a fight, while Tracy and Janus stood at the ready, albeit the latter clutched his right shoulder which was bloodied.
Eleanor's green eyes darted round, flicking between Deirdre, Elsa, and her three new opponents which had just arrived as backup. Then she glanced over at Hans, who was beginning to stir.
"Don't think he's going to be much help." Elsa said.
"What have you done to him?" Eleanor snapped, overwhelming concern in her voice, and for a moment it looked like she was going to bash past the Warriors standing in her way to get over to her Consul.
"Surrender now, Eleanor." Melody declared. "Denmark is ours. Your forces are neutralised."
"This isn't over." Eleanor snarled at Deirdre and the rest.
"Give it up." Elsa said. "You've got nowhere to run."
"Wrong." Eleanor hissed, and there was a bright coruscation of light which blinded everyone for a brief second.
When their vision finally cleared, Eleanor had vanished. Elsa spun round to check, and wasn't surprised to find that Hans was gone too.
"You may have taken back this kingdom, but this is far from over." The eerie, maniacal voice of Eleanor echoed somewhere above their heads, spreading through the court room like an icy cold wind meant to freeze the breath in one's lungs. "Arendelle will be mine." And then, silence.
Tracy let out a disappointed groan. "Did she just escape?"
Elsa neglected to answer that, but instead let out a long cathartic sigh. At long last, Denmark was free from the Empire's occupation. Melody's home was once again hers. But as much as Elsa didn't want to admit it, Eleanor was right. The fight is far from over.
Author's Commentary:
The whole inspiration for this story came from the singular idea: what if Anna was jealous of Elsa as a teenager? What if she wanted the throne for herself and would do anything to make it happen?
That was the catalyst that created the characters of Deirdre and Eleanor, and established their toxic, undesirable relationship. It acts as a mirror to Anna and Elsa's, as they get to witness what their lives could have been if they had gone down that path. It was always a compelling dynamic for me to write, and I hope to continue expanding on this dynamic on a sequel or two :)
Right now as of this writing, I am currently working on the second draft of Book 4, and will soon be proceeding to Book 5. If you have any ideas or suggestions for what I should do with Eleanor and Deirdre's characters, do drop me a review or a PM. I'll be happy to hear from y'all :)
