Chapter Nine

The Exchange

ELSA

The beginning of the end was here. Elsa watched from her spot at the top of the hill as skirmishers from every division advanced and the cavalry screened the attack. Kane unleashed his own skirmishers, the regular ones this time and not the Imperial Blitzguard. Something told Elsa that Kane was reserving the Blitzguard for a heavier blow later on in the battle.

The two sides stopped about a hundred yards from each other and began to open fire while the regular infantry columns formed and advanced across the snow at a ploddingly slow pace. Molcorran divisions took the centre of the Coalition's formation, with the Xerflorians on the left flank, and Arendellians and Danish on the right. The Einsfeltai and one Arendellian division remained in reserve at Frederick's orders, to be fed into the fight when it got fiercer.

As for the bulk of the cavalry, they hovered in the wings and waited for the opportune moment to strike. Only a small detachment of cavalry aided the skirmishers and light infantry against the Exonians. The Northuldra had led the skirmish, and were now in the thick of the fighting.

The columns of the Coalition and the Imperial Horde soon drew near to one another, and the skirmishers from both sides retreated. Then began the real firefight. Unified volleys of musketry came from the Coalition first, and stabs of fire took out many of the soldiers in the Exonians' front ranks. The Exonians quickly returned fire, and volley after volley erupted out, the unified volleys of musketry descending into individualistic fire after the third or fourth round, and soon the entire field was wreathed in sulfur and smoke.

The musket fire was compounded by the cannon balls that roared overhead. Eight pounders, nine, twelve, eighteen and howitzers all belched fire from both sides. Round shot crashed into the columns, sending men and horses flying and screaming. The cannons on both sides grew increasingly more accurate and the screams grew more frequent began to go up. Smoke engulfed the sky and snow continued to fall incessantly.

When the fighting became fiercer and it looked like the Exonians were getting the upper hand of the exchange, Elsa gave the order to dispatch teams from the League of Sorcerers to join the fight. That evened the playing field quite a bit, and soon the Coalition was pushing back hard against the enemy. From where she stood on the small hill, Elsa could see the coruscations of sorcery on the battlefield which flashed along with the musket flares through the thick smoke. Soon, it was near impossible to see anything.

The Exonian heavy cavalry came next, riding along the flanks of their friendly columns to ambush the Coalition lines. Thankfully, Frederick sent the Xerflorian cavalry cuirassiers - the best in the Coalition - to counter the Exonians. They did so with remarkable professionalism given the worn out state everyone was in.

By sundown, nothing had changed at all, and both sides retreated in good order back to their own camps. Losses were heavy on both sides, with Coalition soldiers and Exonians strewn across the battlefield in the thousands. Both sides honoured the ceasefire, taking the time to gather up the wounded to be tended to. As it always was after a battle, the Coalition camp was home to hundreds of moaning and screaming soldiers who were being seen to by the regimental surgeons.

Over dinner with her sister and the others, Anna told them that Frederick had guessed Kane's play. Kane was indeed going to drag out the battle, stretching it out for as long as he could. Supplies and food weren't a problem for the Imperial Horde, but it was very much an issue for the Coalition. Without the supply trains coming from the Vjormans, the Coalition was going to starve.

The next day was unfortunately more of the same thing. It was just more back and forth exchange of fire, resulting in even more losses by the end of the second day. Two days they had spent out in the plains of Luftzeit, no closer to the capital of Exon, and slowly dying at the hands of Marshal Kane's relentless attacks.

Elsa had lost quite a number of sorcerers too, more than she could afford. The Imperial Horde obviously had been briefed after General Hydrech's experience at the river battle, and were now more prepared to combat the League of Sorcerers. Out of the hundred she'd sent out to aid the Coalition divisions in the deadly firefight against the Exonians, she'd lost forty. It made her heart ache and she felt exceedingly guilty. She had been close to tears when Vonco had given her a tally of the losses. Holli was working around the clock in the medical tents, and the other senior League members were doing what they could to keep the rest of the League organised.

It isn't right, Elsa thought bitterly as she sat in Anna's tent, eating a miserable dinner with the rest. Sending out all those sorcerers to their deaths. But the worst part was that if she didn't send her sorcerers out onto the battlefield, a lot more Coalition soldiers would have died. It didn't make her feel any better, knowing that some of her own people she'd sworn to train and protect had died in place of a battalion of soldiers. Am I a horrible leader?

"Frederick's already given the order to have rations halved again." Kristoff told the Warriors, who were all eating out of cans of beans. There had been no more special dinners in a while, and everyone in the camp had been eating the same meagre portions out of the ration packs. "But that'll only buy us a few extra days. Any longer than that and we're really going to starve. Not to mention that we have so many sick and wounded already."

"What are our odds of winning this thing?" Tracy asked, almost child-like.

Anna blinked as if unsure if Tracy was being serious. "I hate to be a pessimist, but I don't think they're very high."

"According to Frederick's reports, we'll be lucky to make it past another two days." Kristoff said. "They're hitting us hard with the main army during the day, and in the night, the Imperial Blitzguard comes out to heckle the borders. Hell, we're lucky the demon assassins haven't been showing up again."

Tracy winced. "Don't jinx it."

"Kane knows he already has us outnumbered two to one." Melody took a bite out a spoonful of canned beans. "He doesn't need to destroy us. He only needs to wear us down and wait for us to surrender."

"We can't surrender." Anna said firmly. "I won't have all these men taken as prisoners of war. We don't even know if the Empire will honour the rules of war. Not with Eleanor in charge."

"She's right." Kristoff added. "We haven't dragged these men through snowstorms and hell just to be taken as prisoners of war."

"So what's our play then?" Maui asked. He'd taken a few more cuts and bruises over the past two days, and his newfound mortality was really showing. "We can't keep doing the same thing. We already know Kane has the upper hand."

"More importantly, how are we going to find Jade?" Deirdre said agitatedly. "The Order still has her somewhere in their hideout. We need to get her out of there."

"She signed a deal with the devil." Tracy glanced at her. "How do we get her to change her mind?"

"First things first, we need to find a way to locate where the Order is based out of." Janus interjected. "The only thing we know now is that they're hidden somewhere beneath Exon's capital."

"But how are we going to get down there?" Anna asked.

"I still can't get a lock on Jade's location." Tracy took one final slurp from her can of beans and pushed it away from her in disgust. "I've tried a couple of times. Nothing. The demonic sorcery is still shutting me out. All I see is darkness and I can't even sense Jade anywhere in Exon."

"Excuse me." Elsa stood up, setting aside her finished can of beans. "I need some air."

"I'll come with you." Janus stood to accompany her, but she waved sharply for him to stay.

"No, please. I need some time alone to think." Elsa said quietly.

"Elsa." Anna said from across the small table where they were all seated. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Elsa shook her head. "I just…need a moment." She turned and pushed the tent flaps aside as she stepped out of the tent. Outside, it was pitch dark and snowing once again. Faint fires across the Coalition camp were all to distinguish the camp from a battlefield of frozen corpses.

She tried to shake the thought of her sorcerers lying out there somewhere, between the Coalition camp and the Exonians'. Somewhere, someone was probably still alive and trying to crawl back for help with every ounce of energy they had, but died trying to get across the thick snow.

Did I bring this on them? Elsa felt tears pressing her eyes as she walked towards her own shared tent with Janus. She had barely managed to keep her emotions in check during dinner. The guilt, anger and desperation had flooded in, and only practiced control had kept her sorcery from running wild. Most of all, she worried for Jade. By now, Magnus could have brainwashed and turned her into one of his own personal assassins, imbued with demon powers. Are we already too late to save her?

Elsa found herself walking towards a small frozen stream in the outer part of the woods. It was right beside where the Arendellians were camped, and no one was guarding it. She figured she could use some alone time to think. Sitting down in front of a thick tree trunk, she drew in her knees and hugged herself.

Never in a million years would she have imagined that this was where life would have taken her. From Queen of Arendelle to the Leader of the League of Sorcerers, and then leading her people into a winter war that they couldn't possibly win. She wondered darkly if this was where she and the others were meant to die. Things really did seem dire this time, and she couldn't see a way out.

"Greetings, Snow Queen. You are not an easy person to find."

Elsa got to her feet and spun like a cat, ignoring the fading soreness in her ribs. "Who's there?" She hissed sharply.

"No one of consequence." A figure shrouded in a dark brown cloak stepped out of the shadows, bathed in very weak moonlight. His features were hooded, though she caught a glimpse of his watchful eyes.

"You're one of them." Elsa said cautiously. "The Mage Slayers."

"That is correct." He had a Bastrusian accent. "You may call me Salvadore."

"What do you want?" Elsa stared at Salvadore. "If you're here to try to kill me or the others, I swear, I'll make you regret it."

"I come in peace." Salvadore raised his hands slowly to show her he meant no harm. "Unlike my brothers and sisters, I use my gifts for more than just assassination."

"Then what are you here for?" She scowled at him.

"I bear a message."

"What message?"

"A message from our mutual friend." Elsa thought she saw Salvadore's lip quirk beneath the hood. "Brother Hans."

Elsa glared at him, making a conscious effort to stop herself from summoning her magic to freeze the Mage Slayer in a block of ice. "I want nothing to do with that snake."

"On the contrary, I think you'll be very interested once you hear what Brother Hans is offering."

Narrowing her eyes, she studied Salvadore. He really did seem like he was a neutral party in all this.

"What does he want?" She relented.

"A trade. He promises to use his influence with His Eminence to have your friend released."

Elsa's heart skipped a beat. "Jade."

"Yes."

"Magnus hasn't turned her into a Mage Slayer?" Elsa felt her spirits lift just a little. Maybe there was hope after all.

Silence.

"You said a trade." Elsa probed. "What does Hans want in exchange for Jade's freedom?"

Salvadore gave her a queer, unreadable look. "You."

The hairs at the back of her neck stood on end, and she felt a cold wind against her face. She stared at Salvadore. "Me?"

"Yes."

"What does he want with me?" Probably to satisfy his sick vendetta.

"He chose to withhold that information. But those were his terms. You, in exchange for your friend's freedom."

Elsa hesitated. This was their best chance at getting Jade back in one piece. And it was also their best chance at getting into the Order's base and stopping the Crimson Order along with Hans, Magnus and Eleanor once and for all in one fell swoop.

"But no tricks." Salvadore said, as if having read her mind. "You will tell no one about this. If we spot your friends trying to intervene, the deal is off. We will slaughter the sorceress on the spot, and we will kill you and your friends."

There was such a casual but cold tone to his words that felt like a knife. Elsa knew that she would have to play by the rules if she wanted any chance of rescuing Jade.

But it was just as Janus always pointed out. She was always doing things on her own. This time however, she really didn't have a choice. How was she going to explain this to him or the others? Anna would be furious if she found out that Elsa had gone off by herself once again to fix things. But it wasn't as though Hans was leaving her a choice. She gritted her teeth. I am going to have to do this by myself. This time, I really am the only who can do this.

Cautiously, Elsa nodded. "I accept."

"You, and the Ha'naeth. The sea witch." Salvadore added.

"That wasn't part of the deal." Elsa said indignantly. She couldn't drag Tracy into this. She couldn't! "You said me. I'm the only one who's going."

"Brother Hans gave strict orders. He wants the Ha'naeth too. It's both of you, or the deal's off."

Elsa stiffened. What could Hans possibly want with Tracy too? She considered her options. This was too rare a chance to pass up, and she knew that this could be her only chance to save Jade from the clutches of the Crimson Order. But at what cost? Was she willing to sacrifice both herself and pull Tracy along with her? What choice did she have?

"I accept." Elsa glared at him.

"Excellent." There was no hint of elation or disappointment at all in Salvadore's voice. "Brother Hans will be so pleased."

"How is this going to work?"

"Midnight. Come back here when everyone is asleep. Make sure you and the Ha'naeth aren't followed, otherwise your friend dies."

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "Fine."

Salvadore dipped his head, and back-pedalled slowly. He vanished into the woods, almost as if he'd never been there. Elsa didn't know how much time had passed, but she was finally shaken from the silence when Anna's voice came floating into the woods.

"Elsa!" Anna pushed aside the thorns and branches, snow squelching beneath her boots. "Elsa, are you in here?"

Elsa emerged from behind the tree, trying to look as though she'd just spent the entire time brooding by herself. "Anna. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing, you know." Anna almost stumbled over a root, but found her balance and reached where Elsa was standing. "We're all worried about you. I'm worried about you."

"Don't." Elsa shook her head. "We all have bigger problems to worry about. I'm fine. I just…"

"What?"

Elsa bit her lip. She so badly wanted to tell her sister, but she knew that somewhere, somehow, the Crimson Order was watching her every move. She felt like a bug in a jar. "If you had the power to change everything, and no one else did, would you use it to save just one life from the battlefield? Even if you know that you might die trying?"

"I don't know where you're going with this," Anna took Elsa's hands in her own. "But you're scaring me."

"No, no, I'm not trying to scare you." Elsa hugged her sister. God only knows whether this might be the last time. "I was just…thinking. Wouldn't it be so much easier if we had the power to make one single decision that could end this war right here and now? End Hans' threat, the Crimson Order and the Empire all in one fell swoop?"

"Elsa, I don't know if having that kind of power would solve anything." Anna embraced her in return. "But I only know of one thing that's kept me alive thus far."

"And what's that?"

"Just follow your gut and do the next right thing."