I apologize for lacking behind schedule. My pattern has always been updating every four days; first day is the day to cool down, second and third are for brainstorming, and the fourth is writing day. I'm afraid that the next few days, especially nearing the end of August, I will be struggling to keep up with the pattern, since college is about to start again. Sure, it's only online class, but I'm in my final year. I will try my best. Thank you for reading!
Third person POV
It was only a matter of moments until dawn, but not one dawn seemed to be coming for the atmosphere of the people onboard.
Everybody was waiting for their eyes to shut while being consumed in sorrow, for their beloved chief had done a great sacrifice for his people and the dragons. Some had managed to sleep, but some were still struggling. Anna was one of the few who struggled.
Her loss had overshadowed her exhaustion, her need to rest, so much, that she decided that it would be better for her to simply stare at the view on the poop deck after having cried for hours. She rested her elbows by the railing, looking blankly at the west, the direction of what used to be New Berk, which was now a volcano that recently had been triggered. The view was mostly dark. Anna thought that she would've seen a sea of stars after several hours cruising away from Berk, but the same clouds still hovered up above, though they're no longer pouring down rain. With the very minimum next-to-nonexistent lighting, the people onboard had to put torches on several spots on the deck.
The thoughts of their relationship popped in her mind. It had lasted only for a couple of days. Of course, Anna would've very much preferred the idea of having it last for as long as she would've liked, but the universe seemed to have planned something else for her. For this, hatreds began to build inside her; hatreds for anything or anybody out there who had planned this to happen.
'Ugh... why bother... it's not worth it...' she thought.
The queen clicked her tongue, which attracted the attention of a lady who happened to be in the same fate as she was; Valka. Being unable to sleep, she wandered around the deck and noticed the presence of Anna. The Berkian made a gentle approach to the queen. "Can't sleep, Anna?"
Anna turned to her. "Oh, Valka. No, I can't."
Valka joined her by her side. "Are you okay?"
The Arendellian looked down, pouting. "I really want to say that I am... I really do..."
"Awh..." The mother pulled her into a hug with an arm briefly, which Anna welcomed with the same move. Pulling away, Anna returned to stare at the water.
"I wish I had said something before we separated, something that he would've liked to hear coming from me," Anna shook her head. "The second time we got separated, and a mountain size dragon blindly charged at him," she turned to Valka. "I specifically requested to him to stick together before we started the raid."
Valka processed her statement. "I mean no offence, but if there's dragon rider who can take down a Red Death, and a Bewilderbeast, as it happened, it's him. He always had his ways."
Anna was denial to the response. Her expression screamed her opinion that Hiccup was better off sticking together with the team, and Valka noticed this.
"By all means, I dearly wish for a better ending. I lost my son, and my fellow Berkians, and my husband before that," Valka looked down. "Truly, I do. So, despite sounding logical with this and all, I share the same amount of sorrow with you, Anna."
Grasping the queen by the shoulder, Valka connected a gaze to her. "And you're not alone. We are in this together. So please, use our company as much as you'd like before we get to Arendelle. Your kingdom will need you back on wholly, since we heard the news of Therondia giving your kingdom a visit, yes?"
Anna confirmed it with a bob. "Yes... but, I'm still unsure of their purpose behind this visit."
Valka took a guess, "An invasion? That lady from Therondia did say that all Therondia are coming to Berk, right?"
"I really don't hope so... I am so not looking forward for another battle to hop in. Just let them come to New Berk, only to find out that their newly claimed island is no more," Anna explained.
Valka looked away. "That begs the question, would you really allow a kingdom that plays a part in human-trafficking to exist?"
Anna looked up to her after processing her question. "No, but-"
"Anna?"
The Berkian and the Arendellian turned to see one out of two Therondian onboard; Cassandra. Cassandra wanted to convey something that she was not so comfortable in doing so, in which her body language depicted. "Cassandra," Anna replied.
"It took me a while, but I understand now that Hiccup was your...lover... and I just want to say that I'm sorry to hear the news," she shoved her arms together while joining her side. "And, Hiccup's mother," the Therondian looked up to Valka. "I'm so sorry to hear that your son has faced this bitter fate."
Both Anna and Valka responded with a mere nod, acknowledging the simple but honest courtesy.
"If I could, somehow, make you feel better, maybe we can set up a plan in facing my kingdom when they arrive in yours," she shrugged. "I can certainly use my voice as the wife of Lieutenant Xander."
Anna narrowed her eyes, judging the offer given by the Therondian. "Cassandra... why are they visiting Arendelle, exactly?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps it's a stop-by. I know for a fact that Arendelle is located somewhere in between the route you'd take from the south all the way to the north where Berk is located," Cassandra explained. "So, you know, stopping for resupplying and potty break."
Anna bit her bottom lip, readying herself to ask something controversial. "Cassandra, why are you telling me this? You do know how much I despise them for doing this. Are you not scared or something?"
The lady shrugged. "To be honest... I am anything but a Therondian. I am Therondian simply because I was the wife of Lieutenant Xander of Therondia and I am the mother of Lord Gideon of Therondia. How I became the two of these so-called titles is... well..."
Cassandra felt uneasy, her listeners could tell this. However, they remained waiting for her to continue.
"Okay, to give you a slight background; I was a wanderer, roaming the earth in search for my destiny on my horse, Fidella. Upon arriving Therondia, I met Xander, who was the love of my life. I thought... Perhaps destiny could be in the form of a man? But um... we were rash. I was pregnant outside of marriage. I loved the man, but we were too stupid to not play it safe. I was initially... 'okay' with the idea, though it took me weeks to fully accept the motherly life ahead of me. Xander helped me out during the process, and he succeeded. I loved him for wanting to take full responsibility, until his behavior around me and the boy made me realize... or suspect..." she shook her head in denial. "I don't know. That he might have done this simply because he wanted an offspring for his own. Xander was passionate with the boy. But around me? It's almost like I never existed... It'd be a lie if I said that he never hit me..."
Cassandra looked up to the faces of sympathy. "Agh... I don't mean to self-pity this much, but—"
"I'm sorry to hear that, Lady Cassandra," Valka cut in.
Anna crossed her arms. "Yeah... me too. I can't imagine a man who would dare to do that."
Cassandra chuckled once. "It's just a hunch."
"Still..." Anna stuck her bottom lip out.
"By the way, what title do you hold in Arendelle? You seem to be quite the royalty," Cassandra asked.
"I'm the queen," Anna replied. Right away, Cassandra's eyes widened to the max.
"The queen?"
Anna smiled with one end of her lips. "You heard me."
The next thing that widened was Cassandra's jaws. "Ahh... okay... Your Majesty."
Anna let out a quick snort. "No need for that."
The trio remained in silence. Cassandra was still taking in the fact that she had been interacting with the Queen of Arendelle herself, though in reality, it was not much of a big deal. Both Valka and Anna returned to watch the view. They noticed that it was a tad brighter than usual, a clear sign that dawn was to arrive upon them. This reminded Valka of something.
"Ah, yes, Anna," Valka cleared her throat. "Obviously, we have a fallen one. And for that, we must hold a funeral."
Anna bit her lip uneasily. "What do you have in mind?"
Valka turned around and pointed to one of the lifeboats hanging by the sideport of the ship. "We can decorate that boat and use it for the funeral. I suppose you've seen a Viking funeral previously?"
"Yeah," Anna sighed, though she was smiling. "Twice. Back in Berk during our visit, and back in Arendelle."
Valka raised a brow. "In Arendelle?"
"Oh, yeah. I never mentioned. Your son held a Viking funeral for the Arendellian guards that were killed when the Therondians we imprisoned broke out," Anna did the same thing; a sigh with a smile. "They were the Therondians that were supposed to bring Hiccup to their human-trafficking market. Elsa specifically requested him to do the job, since Hiccup is... well, his story has spread across the kingdom, let's say. So, the people of Arendelle have a special respect for him."
A warm feeling presented itself inside Valka's heart. "... Good to know that my son is well known in Arendelle."
Anna shrugged. "Well, it was because of the wool you exported, mainly. But the story of what happened in Berk also spread. Maybe Hiccup was asked by a random passerby or something while strolling about. I dunno."
"Still, he is known for something. Would you like to shoot the first arrow?" Valka offered, smiling. Anna gasped as a reaction.
"I... would be honored. But I think the mother is supposed to do it. Not that I do not want to, but I think the honor is rightfully yours," Anna replied with a sheepish tone.
"I'm pretty sure you've known my son longer than I have. For God's sake, I left him for twenty years," Valka smiled, but only to remind of the irony. "Another thing that I dearly, though partially, regrettably, wish I hadn't done.
Anna pondered for a moment. She was true; perhaps Anna had known the Haddock longer than his own mother had. At least, judging from the amount of time they'd spent together, Valka's statement might very well be true.
"Very well... if you insist," Anna shoved her arms.
"Sorry, if I could just ask," Cassandra cut in. Valka and Anna turned to her. "What happened to those Therondians that escaped from your prison?"
"Well, other than killing some of my guards on their way out, they also held me, Hiccup, and a little girl named Iduna as hostages to reach their ship in the dock. I think we sailed for a couple of hours... that is, until my sister came to rescue us."
"Mkay. What did you do to the Therondians?" Cassandra asked.
"We piled them on lifeboats, sent them to a deserted island with Nokk's help, and sank their ship," Anna answered.
"I... would've dropped a death sentence," Cassandra blurted.
"I was going to. But Hiccup made me realize that, well," Anna blew a raspberry. "I didn't have the guts to do so by saying that he himself didn't have the same thing. The deserted island idea was his idea. You could say that I was a different person back then. This journey has definitely changed me. I have ended so many lives, and those lives changed me."
Anna looked up to the Therondian, shaking her head slightly. "I'm really sorry for your husband..."
"... It was self-defense. I would've done the same, quite frankly," Cassandra shrugged. "It's gonna be hard for the boy, but... I'll make sure he gets through it."
Anna bringing up that specific topic brought a sense of uncomfortableness to the atmosphere. Valka decided to reduce the density.
"This journey has certainly changed Hiccup's life, too," Valka added. "Did he tell you... about... how I..."
Not wanting to continue for the shame she would have if she were to say it, Valka let Anna guess what she was on about. Fortunately, Anna got the right idea.
"About the... first kill?" Anna asked.
Valka secretly wished that Anna had used another word, but she let it slip by. "Yes. I saw the change, literally, on his face. It was most likely the hardest choice I have ever taken during my motherhood. But knowing that we were going to free the dragons from these... brutal people, I had to do it."
"I can imagine..." Anna spoke lowly. By reflex, Anna entangled her arm with Valka's and rested her head on her shoulder. Valka was taken aback on the inside, and so was Cassandra, who was watching her with a weirded-out expression. Realizing of what she did, Anna released her arm right away.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"
Valka's chuckle cut Anna off. "It's fine, sweetheart. It's really sweet of you."
Luckily, it was not bright enough for Valka to notice that Anna was blushing madly for her reflex. However, soon, the horizon on the far east brought dawn in, which was the direction the ship was heading to. The trio turned around to face the rising sun and were consumed by its beauty right away. Perhaps, the dawn for the grief and sorrow they were in was still yet to come. God knows how long. But they were certainly not complaining for the dawn they were enjoying at the moment.
"It's beautiful..." Anna spoke.
"It is," Valka and Cassandra spoke in perfect unison.
The trio feasted on the beauty of nature. The sight of the sunrise, the cold air, the smell of the ocean; with these three, Mother nature tried her best to soothe them, and it was working.
"So... when do we best hold the funeral?" Anna asked.
"Nightfall," Valka confidently replied.
Anna's POV
It was now nightfall.
Apparently, the only person onboard who didn't sleep at all was me. Eventually, after breakfast, my body forced me to catch up some sleep. Despite sleeping throughout the day, it was one of the most unpleasant sleeps I've ever experienced. Even if the cut were to be exposed to the slightest pressure, it would still cause an excruciating pain, resulting in me being able to sleep only in one position. Not to mention the dreams that took place; the dreadful dreams that displayed Hiccup's death.
I'd be lying to say if the pain was not bothering me. And now, I had to make the world's most perfect arrow shot to honor Hiccup and Toothless.
All of us lined up by the starboard side of the ship, including Nokk. We lowered our sails to remain stationery on the water to specifically hold this funeral. After decorating the pyres with flowers and anything pretty we could find in the ship, Both Eret and Astrid lowered the lifeboats and let them float away from the ship.
It was now the time to initiate the funeral.
Valka, who was next to me, started, "May the Valkyries welcome you... and lead you through Odin's great battlefield."
"May they sing your names with love and fury, so that we might hear it from the depths of Valhalla, and know that you have taken your rightful places at the table of kings..." She paused, nodding to us to lit their arrows. Understanding the command, all of us lit our arrows. Once mine was lit, I grew more nervous.
Valka continued, "...For a great man and his dragon have fallen. A chief. A son. A friend. A lover. A Berkian."
She was done with her speech, and gave me the nod. I raised my bow and aimed upwards. With a glance, I briefly measured my angle and my aim and pulled my string. I could feel my head playing with me. I released the string, but disappointment immediately painted my face as the arrow didn't even reach the boat.
I clicked my tongue. "I-I'm sorry... give me another chance..." I quickly grabbed another arrow, lit the tip in a bucket of coals, and set it on my bow.
"Calm down, Anna," Valka reminded. "No need to rush. Take a breather, release once you exhale."
I took her tip into account. With the same adjustment, I aimed for the boat, took a breath, released it, and let loose of the string. I could tell that it was a much better shot, but the same result occurred; the arrow didn't land on the pyre. It missed.
I let out one big sigh when a hand landed on my left shoulder. I turned to it and noticed Cassandra. "It's alright. You're getting there," she assured with a smile.
"Okay, okay..."
Once again, I took another arrow, lit the tip, set the arrow on my bow, and aimed up. With improvements here and there, I let loose of the string in a perfect unison with when I exhaled a breath. Finally, the arrow landed on the pyre, starting to burn it.
With the first arrow finally landing on its target, which sadly took three times, Valka turned to the other end of the line where my sister was. She was to fire the second arrow to Toothless' boat. She did the same procedure and landed a perfect shot on the boat. Of course, her perfect shot impressed me, and made me disappointed with my clumsiness in the same time.
After the two boats were finally set on fire, the rest followed. They shot their arrows. Having more experienced than I was in archery, every arrow shot landed on the boats. The sight only added more insecurities onto the shoulders.
"Valka... I'm sorry... I ruined the moment," I said, shoving my arms together after putting my bow away.
"Oh it's okay, Anna," she grabbed my shoulder to make me look into her eyes. "You didn't ruin anything. It's the effort that counts. With your current state, I'm amazed that you made it in the third attempt. Besides, third time is the lucky charm, right?"
I smiled for her appreciation. "I guess... thank you."
"You're welcome, Your Majesty," she deliberately addressed me with the so-called proper address. However, contrary to that, she pulled me into a hug and kissed me right on the bandage that covered the cut on my head. Weirdly, the gesture of affection didn't hurt at all, while a slight press of a finger would've hurt.
I didn't even get to return the hug when she already let go. The gesture was brief, but I was taken aback by its meaningfulness. In that moment, motherly love was defined. I could tell so because the last time I felt something this close was when I bid farewell to my parents before they departed to Ahtohallan.
It was safe to say that I was touched, for I had not felt something like that for years. I wanted to cry when Mrs. Hoffman clanged a spoon against her cauldron, making me instantly pull that one tear that was about to escape my eye. "Who's hungry?"
"Come, let's eat," Valka said, coming over to the cauldron.
"Uhh... I think I'll eat later," I excused myself as I walked to the cabin. Inside, I walked through hammocks that were set for the other Vikings to sleep in. My sister and I, on the other hand, got the bed instead. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I hugged a pillow and began to think of what I just experienced moments ago.
"Anna?"
I turned to the door where my sister was. "You're not gonna eat?"
"I will eat later. Thanks," I responded and looked away. I sensed her footsteps as she approached me and sat by my side.
"You're okay?" She asked.
I rested my cheek on my pillow to look at my sister. "... I ruined it. Took me three times to get it right," I let out one long sigh. "While you fired it perfectly."
She smiled. "I knew you'd feel that way. Your head is still concussed after the hit. Being able to aim is already impressive."
I rolled my eyes away and looked down. "And it's not just that, actually. It's Valka. How could she be so... passionate around me? We've only known each other for a couple of days, and out of nowhere, I feel like that she's our mother! Did mother posses her body or something?"
Elsa laughed at my statement. It took me a while to realize how ridiculous it sounded.
"No, Anna... Valka is just... kind. That's all," She pulled me closer with an arm. "For someone who has not mothered her own son for twenty years, Valka still knew the ways, even if she applied them to you. A mother never forgets, after all."
"Yeah..." I let out another dramatic sigh.
"Anything else in your mind?" She asked.
"I guess... since she reminds me heavily of mother... it also reminds me of her current whereabouts... out there, with Hiccup and Toothless," I bit my bottom lip. "And father, too."
Elsa turned away, entrapped in whatever she had in mind. I merely stared blankly into the floor until shut my eyes and buried my face in my pillow. I proceeded to weep again for the countless times. Elsa said that I had cried several times in my sleep. But unlike normal people who would just wake up during crying, I didn't.
Out of the blue, I sensed the ship moving forward once again. But this time, I could tell that the ship was moving faster.
I unburied my face from the pillow to look at Elsa. "You told Nokk to continue the journey already?"
"I did, yeah. But this time, I told him to go faster," she slightly smiled.
"Why?"
She looked down. "King Adam of Therondia and his people might very well be already in Arendelle. We must be there for our people."
That made me realize of the work ahead. There might be more bloodbath. More killing. More losses. Who knows?
"Land ho!"
Hearing the signal, I rushed out of the cabin and was immediately greeted by the scorching heat of the noon. The sunlight blinded me briefly, forcing me to adjust to the brightness. Having done so, I walked to the railing by the portside and looked over to the front of the ship. There it was; the entrance to the fjord of Arendelle, located between two lines of mountains. I've dearly missed the sight of my own home, and it was all thanks to Nokk who has been working nonstop.
We entered the fjord and it was only a matter of moments until my kingdom came to sight. Growing more impatient, I stood by the bowsprit of the ship to really arrive 'quicker'. Once we were near the watergate, I could feel the artificial current Nokk would make was no more. We relied entirely on our sails to move around. With Astrid on the wheel, she steered the ship to enter the bay and park in an empty spot. During the process, I noticed Arendellian guards and servants coming over to our parking spot to welcome us. Inevitably, some villagers were attracted, too, by all the fuss.
Once parked, we dropped an anchor and lowered our sails. Coming over to the portside, I could see Kai placing a plank of wood to bridge the dock and our ship. I adjusted the plank and locked it into place to ensure the safety once we use it to cross.
"Queen Anna!"
"Your Majesty!"
I looked down to my people, and right away, they stopped their cheerful and warm greetings once they saw me. It was most likely because of the bandages and patches that I had all over myself. "Hello!"
I was the first one to cross the plank. Kai was there to make sure that I wouldn't fall by the end. "My Queen, whatever happened to you?"
"Well, battle wounds. What can I say?" I chuckled. I looked behind to see the other Berkians following me. Since the bridge of the dock was cramped, I gestured the crowd to give space as I walked to dry land with Kai. There, both Gerda and General Mattias welcomed me with the same shocked manner, along with some other villagers.
"Queen Anna, are you okay?" The General asked.
"I'm fine. I'm recovering fast. Worry not," I waved a hand.
Gerda circled around me to have a thorough look. "Are you sure? These patches do not seem to be properly applied."
"Mm... Then Elsa should have more practice in applying bandages, I guess," I smiled sheepishly.
"Oh, where is she?" Gerda asked.
I turned around to see the line of Berkians descending down from the ship. By the end of the line, my sister was talking to Nokk, probably expressing her gratitude and bidding farewell to the water spirit. Once done, the water spirit dashed off into the fjord. She did have some patches on her own; on her hand, her bicep, and on her ankle. So, Gerda's reaction was pretty much similar when my sister walked over to me.
"Hi there Gerda, General," she greeted nonchalantly.
"Goodness, Elsa, you look terrible!" Gerda covered her mouth.
"I know. Some proper bath would be awesome," she chuckled. "Oh, before that, Anna, we need to find our guys a room to stay in."
"Ah yes, Kai. Could you please find a place for our fellow Berkians to stay? There are fifteen of them. Perhaps the Olson's has some space," I suggested. My request made him raise a brow.
"What happened in Berk?" He asked.
I shook my head, still in denial of the result of our journey. "I will explain everything later on. For now, we need some proper beds for these men and women to sleep on."
Kai nodded obediently. "Very well."
With that, Kai went over to the pack of Berkians, who was simply chatting to each other, waiting to be taken to somewhere else in the kingdom. He gestured them to follow his lead.
"I'll see you guys later!" I waved my hand, and the Berkians returned the gesture with the same thing as they followed Kai's lead into the village, piercing through the crowd of Arendellian villagers who were watching the Berkians in awe. By the corner of my eyes, I spotted Cassandra and Gideon in her arms following the pack.
"Cassandra!" I called.
The lady turned to my call and walked over to me. "What's up?"
"You're coming with me. Come."
I gathered my advisor, my sister, Cassandra, and my military officers in the meeting room of the castle. Once the last officer sat on his place, I immediately stood up to initiate the meeting.
"Right, without further ado, I thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming over to this sudden meeting. I am here to break some news. As you have seen, we have returned home with some new companies. Here is Lady Cassandra of Therondia, the wife of a lieutenant of Therondia," I gestured to Cassandra, and my listeners were taken by shock within an instant. "But she's our ally. I can tell that for sure."
Cassandra stole a glance to me, smiling slightly.
"And some Berkians... fifteen Berkians. Or should I say, the last Berkians," my voice cracked by the end, growing slightly more emotional.
"Pardon me, my queen," General Mattias cut in. "But where's Chief Hiccup?"
I looked away, "He didn't make it, General."
He breathed an 'oh'. "I'm terribly... sorry to hear that."
"He died not in vain," I placed one hand on my hips. "His sacrifice saved countless others. We already commenced a funeral for his death on our way to here with the usual Viking funeral."
Everybody looked down with a sorry expression, not brave enough to look up to me after the bad news.
"Anyway, according to Lady Cassandra here, and some other sources, I heard that the whole Therondia are moving over to New Berk, their newly claimed land. Now, most of Therondia have already arrived at the place, but there are some who still have not. And they are planning to stop by our kingdom, are they not?" I turned to Cassandra, who replied with a nodding.
"General Mattias," I called, and the man looked up to me. "As you've heard, Therondia is a force to be reckoned with. What they've done to the people of Berk is... unforgivable. But they have..." I shook my head, trying to find the best way to describe what I wanted to say. "Paid the price. So, I need you to ready your men for the worst possibility when they arrive at our kingdom."
"Very well, but could you please kindly explain what you mean by 'paid the price'? I'm sure most of us are confused," General Mattias replied. The others bobbed their heads, agreeing.
"I do owe you an explanation, huh? Very well. Erhm," I cleared my throat. "By the time we arrived at New Berk, we set a base that was hidden away behind a waterfall. Of course, having real Berkians on our side, we had the knowledge of the terrain of the island. Or, we thought we did. On our return after a scouting mission, Elsa, Eret, a Berkian, Hiccup, and I discovered something underneath the whole island; a crater of an active volcano."
A simultaneous gasp escaped the mouths of my listeners.
"New Berk was a volcano, after all this time," I crossed my arms. "We also learned that the Therondians were about to sell the dragons overseas after capturing them from the Hidden World, the secret haven for the dragons, east of New Berk and nine days of sailing away. Once the last shipment from the haven arrived, that's when we started raiding the nation. Yes, our number was nothing compared to theirs, but with the dragons, we managed. The bitter part is... Hiccup, and his dragon, Toothless, sacrificed themselves to keep us safe from the threat of this... dragon maniac who was his old enemy, riding on the neck of a dragon in the size of a mountain. And there were two of them!"
"The man or the dragon?" Kai asked.
"The dragon! Two mountain-sized dragons under the command of Drago Bludvist, the man who killed Hiccup's father," I explained. My listeners were dumbfounded by the answer.
I continued, "His sacrifice, unfortunately, involved triggering the active volcano. Fortunately, we were nearly done with the raid. So, by the time the volcano was causing havoc on anything nearby, we still managed to escape on the very last minute."
Resting my fists on the table, I looked up to stare blankly at the table. "I suppose I do not need to clarify whether or not Hiccup died when triggering the volcano again," I said, sternness coloring my tone, a clear signal that I didn't want to be reminded by his name for the next couple of moments.
"Very well, Queen Anna," General Mattias replied. "I will tell my men and women to be ready. One question, though. Wait, make it two."
"Fire away," I nodded.
"When are they arriving?"
"Perhaps later this evening. Or tomorrow dawn. We do not know for certain," I answered.
"Once they arrive, what are you planning, exactly? An ambush? Or do we wait for them to make a move? What are they doing exactly by stopping by? A mere resupplying or something?" He asked again.
"Perhaps they merely want to resupply," Cassandra replied. "But knowing this is Therondia, knowing what they've done to the people of Berk, we must stay vigilant."
The General seemed to grow suspicious to the response. "I mean no offence, but Your Majesty," he turned to me. "Can we really believe the wife of a Lieutenant of Therondia? I mean, you knew that your people were raiding the people of Berk, and for Pete's sake, are also taking a part in the human-trafficking market! So why 'stay vigilant' now?"
"That's where you'd be wrong," Cassandra replied calmly. "The monarch kept their role in the market and the invasion of Berk in secrecy. Even as the wife of a lieutenant, I was not allowed to get to the top of the island by my own husband as they were still 'redecorating' the island. I was told that the island had no natives but the dragons that made the original Berkians perish from existence. I was under the delusion that Berk was an empty piece of land."
The response colored the General and the others surprised. They exchanged each other looks and whispers.
"What she said," I gestured to Cassandra. "Thank you, Cassandra."
"You're welcome," she replied.
"So yes. I would like to wait for a move from Therondia themselves. If they were to pull something suspicious or threatening, do anything that would ensure the safety of our people. But again, we wait for their move. Once they arrive, we will greet them in the normal courtesy, with the smiles and all," I explained. "How many ships do you reckon there will be, Cassandra?"
"Three quarters of their armada were already in New Berk. So, a quarter. Perhaps we're talking about twenty-five ships?" Cassandra estimated.
"Well, that is still quite the armada. Hence, we cannot risk making the first move. We're a small kingdom, I'm afraid—"
"You have me."
All of us turned to Elsa, who was offering herself.
"Yeah, no. Whatever you have in mind, I will supervise it," I rejected, making her roll her eyes away, which I cared none, too. I walked over to a cabinet by the other side of the room and grabbed out a map of Arendelle and its surroundings.
"Right, time to make some strategy..." I undid the scroll of the map and placed it on the table. Everybody in the room circled the map by leaving their seats. "Of course, they will come from the fjord," I pointed my index finger to the fjord on the map. "What do you have in mind, General?"
"We could... set several points to place cannons and several soldiers to man them along the coast," he suggested. "Perhaps in every several hundred meters."
Using a ruler, I measured the length of the coast of the fjord. After I came up with a number after comparing it to the scale of the map, I turned around to the triangular window that gave the view of the fjord.
"Four kilometers... Wait."
On the line of horizon, my eyes spotted a tiny speck. I approached the window to have a better look.
My worst horror was confirmed. "They're already here!"
Pardon me. Mattias is now a general. In previous chapters, I addressed him as a lieutenant :P Sorry Mattias.
