When the army stormed through the gates, they were answered by a hail of gunfire. A lot of men went down before even setting foot in the city. Even so, it was a pure numbers game, and the defenders quickly found themselves overrun. House by house. Building by building. The army of the Southern Isles drives through the city, up the hill to the castle.
For Anna, the experience of being caught up in such war had been galling to say the least. She could only watch helplessly as men cut each other down. In such close quarters, swords were drawn. Knives slashed back and forth. Men cutting each other down, eviscerating each other. Blood and limbs flying everywhere.
It would be the better part of a day before they arrived outside the castle.
Setting up outside the main entrance, Hans strategized with his men about how to get inside, and what the quickest way to neutralize Elsa would be. "Remember…" He said. "There are civilians and government officials inside. They are not to be harmed in any way, is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." His captain responds.
"As for the ice queen…leave her to me."
Hearing a scream, Anna follows it to find one of Hans' men stabbing one of Arendelle's defenders to death. "Stop that!" She yelled. "What are you doing?"
The soldier drops the lifeless body, the poor man's throat having been slashed. "Imperialist dog. He deserved to die." He wipes the blood off his knife, then sheathes it. He then walks away without another word. Elsewhere, the scene is played out over and over. Those wounded are getting a quick end.
"Your men are killing the wounded!" Anna runs back to Hans. "Tell them to stop." Hans shifts nervously on her feet. He says and does nothing. "Tell them to stop, or the deal is off."
That got his attention. "Fine. Captain, tell the men to take the wounded to camp as our prisoners. Make sure their wounds are tended to, and that they eat well."
"Yes, sir. Right away."
"Is that better?" Hans asks Anna.
"It's a little better."
"We need to find a way to breach the doors." Hans continues. "We can't get our cannons up here." He thinks for a moment. "Bring up our battering rams!" He yells.
"Hans. I might have an idea. I just need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
"Depends on what you have in mind, your highness."
The sun was setting when the battering rams finally broke through the doors. After non-stop booming, the ancient wood cracked and splintered. The defenders inside tensed up, guns trained on the massive doors. With fingers on the triggers, they were more than ready. If they were going to lose, they were going to make sure to make it a costly victory.
Except that's not what happened. A tiny, white flag on a stick appears in the doorway. Without a single gunshot being fired, Anna squeezes through. "Hello." She offers timidly. The soldiers whisper excitedly to themselves. "Your highness." One of them bows deeply. "You're returned."
"I have. Where is Elsa? Where is Her Majesty?"
They lead her to just outside an ante room adjacent to the throne room. One of them knocks on the door. No answer. He tries again. Again, no answer. One of them opens the door, leading Anna inside. "Your majesty?" He whispers reverently.
Elsa is bent over a table, facing away. Papers and maps are hopelessly strewn about. "How many times do I have to remind you that I don't want to be disturbed?" She hisses. Anna noted how Elsa's dress had been replaced by an armored form fitting outfit. A sword hangs on her hip.
"Not even for family?" Anna whispered.
Elsa turns, anger still burning in those bright blue eyes. "Leave us." She orders the man. He leaves with a quick bow, closing the door behind him. He hurriedly heads back to his post.
"Elsa…it's been a long time." Anna half-smiles.
Striding across the room, Elsa gets within a few inches of Anna. "TRAITOR!" Elsa screams in her face at the top of her lungs. The accusation echoes off the walls. "How dare you show your face around here after what you did!"
"W-What did I do?" Anna stammers.
"Running off to the Southern Isles, and now you bring their armies to my doorstep? Some sister you turned out to be!"
That last comment stung Anna hard. "Elsa, please, listen to me. No one else has to die today. End this."
"You mean you want me to surrender?"
"Yes!"
It happened so fast, Anna didn't even see it coming. Elsa's hand lashed out, striking Anna hard on the cheek, leaving a small bruise. "You're pathetic." Elsa said. "No wonder I hate you so much."
Anna blinked away a couple of tears. No way she would give Elsa the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Instead, she straightens up, standing her ground. Then, it happened. Sounds of gunfire. Battle. Men fighting and dying. "No…" Anna whispers. "It's too soon!"
"What's too soon?"
"I made Hans promise to give me enough time to talk to you. To try and resolve this peacefully."
"And he broke that promise? Shocking." There was no mistaking the sarcasm.
The troops swarm through the castle, killing anyone standing in their way. When troops break into the room, Anna finds herself caught between them and Elsa. "What's it going to be, Your Majesty?" Hans asks gravely. "Your life, or your throne?"
Anna notices that one of Hans' personal guards has his finger on the trigger of his pistol. Anger burns in his eyes. "Please, Elsa, I am begging you. End this."
"Don't beg." Elsa said. "It's unbecoming."
"I'm ending this now!" The guard declares. He leveled his gun at Elsa.
"No!" Anna screams. Bang. Anna takes the bullet square in the chest.
"Arrest him!" Hans orders. The other guards jump on the would-be assassin.
Elsa catches Anna as she falls to the floor. Anna gasps for air as her blood pours from her, pooling on the floor. "Somebody do something!" Elsa pleads.
"Get Kristoff up!" Hans shouts. "NOW!"
"Anna, hang on. It'll be OK, I promise!" Anna's color slowly drains from her face, her eyes go wide as she coughs up even more blood. "You're going to be just fine."
Kristoff runs up, completely out of breath. "Here's how this is going to go, Your Majesty." Hans speaks calmly. "I'll give him the order to save her life if you surrender. Your throne, or your sister. Pick one."
Suddenly, it all became clear. The vision. The ruined city. The crushed castle. Anna's dead body.
BEHOLD, FOR THIS IS MY LEGACY
It all made sense. With Anna convulsing in her arms, and tears in her eyes, Elsa made the only decision she could. "Help her."
"Will you surrender?"
"Yes, I promise!"
With a nod, Hans gives Kristoff the order. Elsa backs away so he can work. "Keep your guns on her." Hans orders. "If she tries anything, kill her." Elsa is quickly surrounded, rifles pointed at her. She doesn't see them, however. All she sees is Kristoff hurrying to stop the bleeding, and stabilize Anna. "I can save her." Kristoff said. "But not here. I need to get to the medical chambers."
"Do it."
Kristoff scoops up Anna's limp body, and carries her off. "Now, Your Majesty, we will discuss terms." Hans asserts.
"Only if Anna survives. If she dies, I will bring down this castle, killing everyone inside. And you will have nothing."
Hans knew he was trapped. They were on her grounds. He turns to one of his guards. "Tell Kristoff he better perform a miracle."
"Yes, sir. Right away." He takes off running.
Elsa sat quietly in her cell, looking out the window. A small blue bird stopped by. Its head twitches around, looking this way and that. It sings a few notes, then flies away. The first few days of spring came upon Arendelle. By now, the snow would be melting, giving way to green grass and beautiful trees.
Inwardly, part of Elsa did love spring. She loves watching all the flowers bloom, and all the baby animals and birds that made themselves known.
The door to her cell opens. Anna steps in. Elsa had no word about Anna's condition. From the whispers of the guards, she gathered it had been touch-and-go for a while with Anna seemingly drifting in and out of consciousness. Now, Elsa is relieved. Seeing Anna standing there, she knew her prayers had been answered.
Anna waves the guard off, who locks the door behind her. "Hello, Elsa." Anna whispers. Elsa gives Anna a big hug, who promptly winces in pain. "Oh! I'm still sore."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."
Anna rubs her chest. The bullet had been removed, all surgery successful. She would recover, but there was no hiding the scars. "It's fine." Anna sits on the opposite bench. "I'm sure you heard."
"I did."
While recovering on her hospital bed, Anna had been handed a decree for Elsa's execution. All Anna had to do was sign it. It would be her first official act as queen. Anna looks down at her feet. She had so much she wanted to get off her chest. Now, sitting here, with the opportunity, the words wouldn't come.
"If you have something to say, say it." Elsa said. "Tomorrow's too late."
Anna looked at the barred window as a gentle breeze came though. It felt good on her face after being cooped up for the last several days. "Why did you do it?" She finally asked.
"Which part?"
Anna sighs. "All of it!" She exclaims. "Was it worth it? Was it worth all the killing? Was it worth all the death and destruction?"
Elsa slowly shakes her head. "No. It wasn't. But you need to understand this. The Southern Isles were always going to go to war. It was inevitable. We needed to strike first. If I could've shown them what we were capable of, they would've backed off. It didn't work."
"I don't believe it…I can't believe I'm hearing this."
"It is the truth." Elsa insisted.
"This never would've happened if our parents had been here."
"About that…"
"Yes?" Elsa gives Anna a look. That one look that says it all. "You didn't."
Elsa nods her head. "I did. I conjured that iceberg. Took everything I had. I thought the effort was going to kill me. It almost did. Which is why I was completely out of it when you came to get me. I was still recovering."
Anna's jaw drops. "God, Elsa…"
"You saw what happened to me. You saw how they treated me. They were afraid of me. They were angry. They hated me. They just couldn't accept me for who I was, and they punished me for that." Elsa's voice drops to a near whisper. The memories that she tried so hard to push from her mind came flooding back. "The beatings. The exorcisms. The physical torture. That was just our parents? The guards, on the other hand? They loved using me to satisfy their…urges."
Elsa let that hang in the air. Anna had been furious with Elsa's revelation that she killed their parents. Now? Not so much. "Elsa…I am so, so sorry that happened to you."
"It doesn't excuse what I did. I know that. Which is why you have to sign that decree." Another rumor that had been floating around.
"I can't do it." Anna said. "I can't kill my own sister. You're the only family I have left."
"Anna, you have to. You're queen now. These are the kinds of decisions you're going to have to make. If you can't, or won't, do this, then the people will revolt."
"Then what?"
"Then they'll remove you from power. Violently. Keeping me locked up in here, or even exile, are not options. Anna, you have to do this."
Anna knew she was right. Anything less than death wouldn't be true justice. "Alright. I will if I have to. I just don't understand how you can be so calm about this."
"Because crying and panicking won't help anything. I'm certainly not going to try to escape either, so don't even think about it. I won't live the rest of my life as a fugitive."
Anna nods in agreement. It would seem that all it took for Elsa to see reason was Anna having a near brush with death. Not a long, protracted war. Not the countless deaths. Her own sister taking a bullet for her. A damn shame, really.
"Is that a wedding ring?" Elsa asks, pointing to the ring on Anna's left ring finger.
"It is." Anna adjusts it.
Smiling, Elsa rises to sit next to Anna. "Tell me…" She takes Anna's hand in both of hers. "Is it Kristoff?"
Anna blushes. "How did you know?"
"I'm your sister. I know these things. The way you too would smile at each other. The way you blush when anyone mentioned his name. The way you too were always sneaking around together."
"Yes, it is him."
"I'm so happy for you." Elsa reaches to hug Anna, more carefully this time. "Congratulations."
Anna hugs her back. "Thank you." She whispers. Thinking that this would be the last time they would see each other, Anna hugs her as tightly as she dares, this time not stopping the tears from flowing.
Anna releases the hug first. She stares into those crystal blue eyes, committing them to memory.
"Just do me a favor." Elsa asks.
"Sure. What is it?"
Elsa reaches up, gently touching Anna's cheek. Her fingers positioned just right. "Remember me."
"I will…" Anna loses her sense of balance, nearly blacking out. Elsa catches her, returning her to a sitting position.
"Are you OK?"
"I'm fine." Anna shakes her head. "Just a little woozy."
"You've been through a lot recently. You need to get some rest. "That's a good idea."
"Even now, I'm still looking out for you."
With a small smile, Anna gets up, knocking on the door. The guard that had been standing there the whole time appeared. "Yes?"
"I'm ready."
The door opens. As Anna goes to leave, she takes one last look at her sister. There was nothing left to say. Nothing left to do. Well, not exactly true. Drying her eyes, Anna turned to leave.
"I know what I have to do." Anna said. "I just don't know if I can." She told Kristoff. On her table, the decree for Elsa's execution stares her in the face. "It has to be done, I know. But she's still my sister."
"Do you love her?"
She let that question hang in the air. "I don't know." She finally admitted. "I don't know if I can forgive her either."
"After everything she's done? That's only natural. No one ever said forgiveness was supposed to be easy."
"I guess…I know what I have to do. I just don't know if I can."
"It's not about 'can' or 'cannot'. It's a question of 'will you?'"
"I don't think I have much of a choice."
"You always have a choice. The question is, are you willing to accept the consequences of that choice?"
Anna knew he was right. There was no getting around this. If Elsa was allowed to live, the people would riot. Then, it would serve the idea that there's no such thing as justice. Is that what she wanted her legacy to be?
With some ink and a signature, she signed Elsa's death warrant.
The morning of, it was business as usual. A frenzied crowd had gathered around the platform. The guards struggle to hold them back. A lot of the people were armed. Simple tools or improvised weapons, but armed nonetheless. No match for the men decked out in armor and swords, but they were outnumbered.
On hand to watch this gruesome ceremony were the new Queen and King of Arendelle: Anna and Kristoff. To her left and behind her was Hans. He stayed to make sure everything went smoothly. He even had a garrison oftroops on stand by in case things got out of hand.
At precisely 9:00 A.M. Elsa was led out of her cell in chains. "Move it!" One of the guards escorting her shouts. "I said 'Move it'!" He shoves her hard, knocking her down. This tugs at Anna's heart. Before she can do anything about it, the guards violently yank Elsa to her feet. She half shuffles, and is half dragged, to The Block.
"I don't think I can watch this…" Anna whispers.
"Then don't." Kristoff reached for her hand. "Close your eyes."
"Elsa of Arendelle!" An announcer calls out. "For your crimes against the crown, you have been sentenced to…death!"
The crowd is whipped up into a frenzy. They try to push forward for a better view, the soldiers trying to keep everyone back. Keeping her eyes down, Elsa is knelt down, her head pinned to hard wood block.
"Kristoff…" Anna said. "Promise me something."
"Anything."
"I want her buried in the family crypt. Next to our ancestors."
"Of course. I'll get it done."
"Thank you."
Anna tenses up as the seconds tick by. Then, with a single swing of the heavy axe, it's over. Anna felt like she had taken another bullet, and flinches when the blade connects.
Anna knew she should be crying. Instead, she felt…nothing. She had somehow felt like she was floating. Slowly opening her eyes, she can see the crowd. She can see the executoner holding Elsa's head aloft, much to the joy of the viewers. None of it registers.
"THE QUEEN IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!"
At this appalling sight, Kristoff charges forward. "Stop this!" He orders. "Have a little respect!"
"Respect for a power hungry, blood thirsty tyrant? I don't think so, Your Majesty."
"Take her down to the crypt, and bury her with what dignity she has left. Is that understood?"
"It will be done, Your Majesty."
Feeling another wave of nausea coming off, Anna turns to head back inside. "Your Majesty? Are you feeling OK?" Hans asked. She hears him like she's underwater. And she feels like she's swimming through a thick, soupy fog. Making her way inside the castle, step by step, she heads towards Elsa's old bedroom. Laying on the bed, the tears begin to flow freely.
Anna reached for the pillow, burying her face in it. Her chest heaves as the sobs threaten to erupt.
Instead, from somewhere deep inside, Anna just screams. As if her very soul is being split in two, she let's loose with inhuman wailing. It was as if all the pain, anger, and frustration she had experienced was coming out. As the day passes, her wails echo through the castle. She screams until her throat is so raw, she can't produce another sound.
Outside, the castle begins to melt. Eventually, the original castle and its ancient stonework are revealed. Anna didn't even see it as she had passed out. She only roused when she was shaken gently. She grunts, sitting up. Something she realized is that she hadn't moved a muscle. She was still curled up, clutching the pillow.
As her vision clears, she finds Kristoff standing over her. "Yes?" She said.
"Are you OK?"
"I…feel fine. Why do you ask?"
"You've been here for two days."
"I didn't mean to worry you."
"It's fine. Dinner will be ready soon. Are you hungry?"
"I could eat something."
"I'll have the table set then."
"Thank you…darling."
He leaves. Anna inspects herself in the mirror. A smirk appears, spreading into a smile. With a small gesture, a palm-sized crystalline snowflake appears. It settles in her hand. "I'm back." She sneers. She crushes the snowflake
