The mass of Arendellian civilians surrounding the bonfire became engulfed in chaos once again, much like during the avalanche, except this time man turned on man.
People fought with swords and other weapons they could find, while parents screamed, ushering their children away from the violence.
"Come on you guys, we have to get out of here!" Anna yelled, slapping her hands on Hannah and Jess's backs and pushing them into a run from behind while Kristoff followed with Sven to cover their backs.
They tore out towards the forest to gain protection from the tree cover, but more of the men were waiting to capture them from the other side.
"Where do you think you're going, girl?" One of the oppressors snarled at Jess as she tried to dodge him. He grabbed her by the forearm, picking her up and swinging her over his shoulder.
"NOOO! HEY LET GO NOW!" Jess shrieked and kicked.
"JESS!" Hannah screeched and tackled the man to the ground, surprising both herself and the brute.
Multiple of his friends entered the scene attempting to take Hannah away.
Anna let out a battle cry, clenching her fists, and diving into the pile in the girls' defense.
"ANNA!" Kristoff roared, also joining the fray.
The pathetic brawl looked like a bunch of dogs wrestling over a toy, and in any other scenario (preferably one were she was not the toy), Hannah would have found it hilarious.
At the other side of the bonfire, Elsa and Benji stood back to back fending off the doctor and other townsfolk. Benji whipped his tent mallet this way and that, while Elsa shot ice spikes at every oppressor who came at her.
"I can't hurt them, they're still the people of my kingdom!" Elsa exclaimed to Benji over the shouting.
"They want to kill the girls, Queen Elsa. They brought this upon themselves!" Benji retorted. "We will see this through to the end, I swear it."
Back over at the "dog fight" two men had been knocked unconscious through unfortunate contact with Anna's fist, but five others were still coming at them.
The odds of getting away unscathed from this fight was unlikely, and winning it was even more unlikely.
Suddenly, though, a strange screeching sound echoed through the trees. It was louder and more high pitched than the cries of fear rising from the citizens, and it drew attention immediately.
Everyone squinted into the darkness in the direction of the screaming. A man, completely shirtless, came bolting out of the tree line and into the center of the clearing making inhumane noises as if he had gone mad.
Hannah locked eyes with Jess.
"MAVERICK?!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Hey Kristoff, need some help?" A warm familiar voice sounded from behind them.
Kristoff looked up through his sweaty blonde locks at the origin of the voice.
"Anders!" Kristoff cheered upon seeing his friend from the safe lodge.
At once, the ice harvesters came sprinting out of the woods, rearing their pickaxes in the air and fighting off the remaining attackers. The harvesters were significantly stronger than the average citizens, so they had the attackers pinned down in no time.
Not long after, all the treasonous citizens had become restrained, and the chaos eased with the glow of the northern lights.
"I thought the Ice harvesters were headed north to escape the tremors?" Kristoff questioned Anders in the aftermath with a friendly pat on the back.
"Yeah we were, but it became too dangerous even to be on the mountain; ya know, with the avalanches and all." Anders remarked. "We figured we'd meet up with you guys in Arendelle, but on the way there, we heard all the ruckus and came in to help when we saw what was goin' down."
"You came just in the nick of time too..." Kristoff chuckled, shaking his head.
"Queen Elsa, lovely to see you again." The kind doctor Lionel bowed respectfully when he approached her.
"Lionel!" Elsa grinned, pleased to be reunited with her acquaintance, as well as being in the presence of a doctor who was not a traitor.
"I am here to offer my services to anyone injured." He spoke kindly, despite his stiff voice.
Soon, the citizens loyal to Elsa were settled back in their tents, as they attempted to sleep for what was left of the night.
Hannah looked over at Jess who was sound asleep next to her on the ground of the tent. The slushy grass could be felt under the tent material, and was definitely a downgrade from the silk sheets in Arendelle, but it wasn't the sleeping conditions that was bothering her. Anxiety crept through her every time she thought about anything pertaining to the alignment. Uncertainty tended to make her reluctant in any instance, but in this case, it meant life or death. She was fearful that her wish to go home wouldn't be strong enough to work, because she knew in her heart of hearts, that she wanted to stay. The only outcome of that, though, would be death for everyone, so it wasn't an option- it just wasn't.
Hannah turned over onto her stomach and shoved her face into her pillow. She needed to get some sleep; for tomorrow, they would be arriving at the Troll Valley on the eve of the Wishing Star alignment.