.
~E~
Elsa 6
Act II
~E~
Waking up next to Hiccup for the second time felt about as good as the first. Despite the secrecy both practiced, it made the start of her day rather brighter. He was well and gone by the time her handmaidens entered, and if the young servants noticed anything amiss, they kept their silence.
The day was a whirlwind of activity, as the previous. More reports flowing in, more worried citizens and dignitaries to placate, more military plans to go through and authorize.
There was no midnight visit that night, much to her disappointment. Hiccup had sought her out and explained that he would need to remain by the side of his draconid friend that night. Elsa wisely kept her tongue, though acid burned in her thoughts for a few seconds regarding his pet beast. He'd had Hiccup for over five years, all to itself. She'd had a measly two nights. Still, she understood that she was being unfair, unused as she was to being denied things she wanted, so accepted his reasoning with but pursed lips.
He made it up to her the night after that though, and her complaints were gone before she had time to properly form them.
Exploring her relationship with Hiccup was almost enough to make her forget what was happening around her. She could, if she'd tried, ignore the increasingly worrying meetings and reports, the increasing stress that being queen carried, and the heavy feel of the atmosphere. Like something was building. Like things were coming to a head.
Even with that wonderful distraction now in her life, Elsa was not fooled. She'd sworn off denial years ago, and wasn't about to start now. The bad feeling, the sense of dread deep in the pit of her stomach had not vanished. As the week progressed, it only got worse.
It was five days after she had first shared her bed with Hiccup that the stressful stalemate was finally broken.
She was in her office when it began. She was reviewing some papers when an officer all but burst into her office, unannounced. After the first, half-panicked and vague report, Elsa instantly sent the summons for her war council to convene in the map room.
She went there first, opening a map of Arendelle, one much more detailed than one would find among the citizenry.
Soon, the top brass started trickling in, until the room was nearly full with either officers or guards. Most anyone of military rank was present. Elsa raised her eyes when the Commander General came, and the two exchanged crisp nods.
"What do we know?" she asked into the room, her voice steady in the respectful silence.
"The attack was a complete surprise," a younger officer replied. He must have been the one who sent the messenger to her. "The installation's defenses were overwhelmed in minutes."
"What's the situation right now?"
"From what we can tell, there's maybe two or three dozen of them in the engineering installation. After clearing the guards, they went straight for the storage facilities."
Elsa frowned. "The warehouse of the disassembled war engines?"
The man nodded. "From records, all the machines that had been crafted so far, meant for various outposts and cities, were stored in there."
"How many in total?"
"About a dozen functional engines, my Queen."
Elsa's growl of frustration was drowned by the murmuring of the brass around her.
"Silence!" she ordered, a soft glow of frost on her right hand enough to direct everyone's attention to her and obey her command.
"What are they doing with them? Are they being transported away?"
Another man stepped forward, this time older. "We've surrounded the installation with all nearby troops. From what our scouts could tell, they're actually assembling the machines on the spot."
"Why would they do that?"
"It seems they mean to use the facility as a defensive position."
Elsa's brow creased further with the complications. "Is that viable?"
"With this many war machines in strategic positions, I'm afraid so."
Elsa took a second or two to gather her thoughts. Then her gaze swept the people in the room. "Gentlemen," she said, "I need not explain to you the danger of having an enemy stronghold this close to the capital. What are our options?"
The Commander General took a step forward. "Our best option right now would be to surround them from a safe distance and wait them out. Surely their supplies will run out sooner or later."
One of the other officers addressed the General. "But what if they use the position and our distraction to facilitate an assault? It'd be easier for them to breach our borders en masse if they have men and a stronghold on the inside. We can't just let them have the facility."
"But a direct attack on entrenched siege engines would be suicide!" another one chimed in.
The room erupted into chaos as people started arguing back and forth. Elsa herself stared at the map. The siege works installation was several kilometers away from the city of Arendelle, but it was sufficiently close that such an open offensive move was both shocking and worrying.
To think, the installation had been recently revitalized as a proactive measure after Hiccup's reveal. Those engines were meant to discourage dragon attacks. Now, they were being used against them. Was this punishment for their hubris? Warmongering had never been Elsa's way, and she'd had a bad feeling about this from the start. Nevertheless, she had authorized this. The blame lay solely on her.
Her thoughts raced once again. On second thought … she wasn't the sole person responsible. She had given the final word, but this hadn't started from her.
"I will have order in this room!" she shouted, and her glare was enough to silence most, which drew the attention of the few that hadn't, until silence reigned once again.
She felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, and it was heavy indeed. Every eye in the room rested on her, waiting for her orders. She was expected to resolve a situation that she didn't know how to deal with. Letting the enemy control a heavily defended area near the capital was insane, but so was ordering an attack on such a fortified position.
"How did this happen in the first place?" she asked in the silence.
"My Queen?"
She didn't look up at the person asking the question, her clenched hands on the table in front of her.
"How did this happen? How did they know about the facility? How did they overwhelm security so easily?"
"We … don't know. It shouldn't be possible that they managed to mount an attack in such numbers undetected. They knew exactly where to strike and how to enter. I have no explanation for this, my Queen."
"I do," she murmured, ignoring the younger officer and instead turning narrowed eyes at Shad Mertok, who looked steadily back at her.
"How many people knew of the installation and its purpose?" she asked.
"Several, my Queen."
"How many people knew of its defensive measures and guard patterns?"
"Less, but still a few over the chain of command."
"And how many people had access to the assembly plans for the machines?"
"Some mechanics and some in the upper echelons."
She nodded along, she knew this already. "And how many people knew all three of these things?"
This stymied the General, whose mouth opened and closed again. His brow furrowed in thought.
"The people with enough authority in enough areas to know all of these … three people, my Queen."
Elsa nodded again, her hard stare never leaving him. "I am one of those people," she noted, "you are the second."
"Your Majesty, surely you're not implying-"
"Where is the third, General?" she cut him off. Her words made him blink in confusion for a second. "Where is Protector Divisive Vren?"
Heads turned and murmurs erupted among her officers as they tried to find the Divisive among them. They couldn't. Elsa had already noted that the man was not here. Her eyes never left Mertok as he, too, cast his eyes about.
"Where is he, Shad?" she asked him.
His gaze returned to her, and he looked anxious, if only just a bit. "I don't know, your Majesty."
"Tell me now, General," she said, her eyes hardening, Hiccup's words echoing in her mind as fury welled within her. "Tell me now while you still can. Where is the Divisive? What are you planning?"
"Planning?" he asked, eyes widening. "I don't know where he is, but surely there is a reasonable explanation for-"
"Guards," Elsa interjected, "arrest this man."
Everyone held their breath for a second, shock evident in their expressions. The guards were the first to snap out of it, urged by their Queen's direct command, and moved in on the General.
"This is a mistake, your Majesty," Mertok said as the guards reached him and tied his hands, "this is not the time for such drastic measures."
"Save it for your trial, General," Elsa shook her head. She had to put things in perspective. She couldn't let this get personal. Even she, no matter how much she wanted, could not ignore the facts. She couldn't consider or second-guess herself now.
"It's the dragon boy, isn't it?" Mertok accused. "Don't think I haven't seen. He's the one who poisoned your mind with these outrageous ideas, isn't he?"
Elsa well and truly glared at him. "I have heard enough of you. Guards, take him away while we search for his accomplice, and make sure-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence, as at that time the floor beneath them and the walls around them were rocked, as if by a sudden earthquake. Her ears registered the sound of an explosion, muted and distant but still evident as the very castle itself shook.
When she spoke, her voice was exasperated and ever so slightly shrill. "What now?"
A few officers and guards exited the room in a hurry, leaving the rest of them inside to wait. The tremors stopped. A second, more muted explosion was heard. Then, silence.
A minute later, a pair of guards came back in.
"The castle is under attack, my Queen. Infiltrators on the lower levels. Many. Multiple engagements with the garrison."
Elsa's eyes widened. An outright attack on her castle, in the heart of her territory? Absurd. Nay, impossible.
After her first impression of these news, the gears in her brain started to turn. The full implication and danger of the situation didn't take long to dawn on her.
"What are you waiting for?" she addressed the brass in the room who were, even now, watching her. "Go to your posts. Gather your men. Repel them!"
There was a chorus of agreement followed by a scramble as everyone left, leaving her with her guards and a pair of officers of the Royal Guard, including the Commander of her guard himself.
"You all," Elsa said, her gaze going over the remaining guards in the room. Seven of them surrounded her. "With me."
"My Queen," the Commander of the guards interjected." It would be safer if you stayed here. We can guard you more easily in your office."
Elsa gave the older man a harsh look. "I am the Queen of Arendelle, Commander. I'll be damned if I stayed cooped up while we're under attack. Come with me, and take him as well. We'll escort him to a cell pending his trial."
Leaving no room for arguing, Elsa exited the map room, the guards rushing to follow her, dragging the bound Mertok along.
When they left Elsa's office and entered the hallway the guards arranged themselves around her. The Commander and two others were walking ahead, keeping an eye open. The fighting had not reached the upper levels yet, but they would take no chances. Behind Elsa was the bound Mertok, surrounded by the rest of the security detail.
As they walked and headed to the lower levels, Elsa's ears caught the sound of fighting from below. The clanging of weapons, the screams of the wounded and the yells of the fighting. Her hands clenched.
They met few people as they were on their way, as most guards had already headed down below and the servants were hiding for their own safety.
Two levels down, Elsa's mouth opened in surprise after they rounded the corner of a hallway.
"Olaf?" she asked before she registered the desire to.
"Queen Elsa, such a joy to see you safe!" the little snowman exclaimed from the other side of the hallway as he rushed towards them.
When Olaf got closer Elsa's eyes widened. His own personal storm cloud was beginning to cover it, but the snowman's right was colored red, and the stick that served as his right hand was bent at an angle. Elsa had the sinking feeling that that wasn't paint.
"What happened, Olaf?"
"Terrible, terrible stuff, Elsa! Oh, why did this happen, why did-"
"Focus, Olaf!" their group had reached the snowman by now, and Elsa kneeled down to be on his level. The little man looked anxious, and the blood on his side was more evident than ever. Olaf shook his head, throwing off some snow in the process.
"Right, right. I was going to get help! I was helping him walk but he couldn't move anymore so I thought I'd find someone and-"
"Olaf! Who?"
"Oh, sorry. Chief Haddock, of course."
"Hiccup's hurt?" she asked before she could stop herself, voice shrill and eyes wide. Her hands held onto Olaf's head. "What happened? Is he okay? Where is he?"
"He was fighting a bad man, but I gave him a nice whack! He was losing a lot of this," he pointed his stick hand at the blood on his side, "but he was conscious last I saw him. He's three corridors down. I couldn't move him anymore so-"
"Take us to him!"
"Oh. Right, you count as help, yes? Right this way!"
Olaf started running back the way he came, and Elsa followed along with the guards, wishing all the while that the snowman was taller so he'd move faster. The guards shoved Mertok until he matched pace, keeping in the same position in the group.
"He's through here!" Olaf exclaimed when a corner came in sight. "The left side!"
With this knowledge, Elsa and her guards overtook Olaf, leaving the little snowman lagging behind as they hurried.
Elsa was the first to turn the corner and what she saw made her stop in her tracks, her limbs freezing in place in shock as her guards fell into place around her once again.
She saw Hiccup. He was leaning heavily against the wall, halfway across the corridor. His tunic was painted red in patches, and Elsa could see blood stains on the wall and the floor, evidence of his attempts to drag himself onward. There was just so much blood.
He had a knife stuck on his right shoulder up to the hilt, and another through the palm of his left hand. The way he was standing completely still, the only sign of consciousness was the fact that he hadn't dropped to the floor just yet.
Elsa heard the yell and it took her a second to realize that it was her, screaming his name in horror.
Several things happened in a short span of time.
His eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice and widened in recognition. His eyes flickered to something behind her, and his body spasmed with effort as he shouted her name in warning, voice panicked. "Elsa!"
She heard the telltale sound of crossbows being armed at the same time as she sensed movement behind her, hearing the heavy, rushing steps of someone pouncing. Mertok was right behind her!
She turned instantly, hands gleaming with frost and magic, but she didn't make it in time. The Commander General slammed into her with his whole mass, and there was nothing Elsa could do but fall, disoriented from the hit and the drop, magic dispersing from her hands.
She'd been too slow. Too slow in suspecting him, too slow in arresting him, too slow in stopping his rush against her. She was going to die here, crushed under the weight of the man she'd foolishly trusted beyond all reason, probably with a hidden knife shoved in her side, all because she was too weak to do what she should have done long ago.
The General was a big man, even in his old age, and his full weight bore down on her as he landed awkwardly on top of her after having tackled her to the ground.
"Protect the Queen!" she heard the voice of her Commander of the guards shout, wrathful and terrible, but it seemed as if far away.
The knife that Elsa expected never came. After a few seconds of no piercing pain, she opened eyes that she had instinctively closed, and sound rushed back to her. She heard the noises of fighting in the corridor, the cacophony of steel on steel and shouting, though she couldn't see its source.
She felt wetness trickle down to her, but she didn't have time to think about it. Mertok's weight on top of her was smothering her, almost cutting off her ability to breathe. He wasn't moving at all, which made finding a hold possible. She pushed, as hard as she could. She shouted with the exertion, but she did manage to push the unmoving Mertok off of her and to the side.
She took a deep breath, trying to bring her senses and her mind back in focus. She tried to sit up and scramble a few steps away from her traitorous General, lest he attack her once again.
Her eyes locked on Mertok. The wetness that she'd felt earlier seeping through her dress was blood. His blood. Face down as he was, Elsa could see two crossbow bolts lodged into his back.
She raised her eyes, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Her guards were fighting each other and she was unable to make them out individually with their identical uniforms.
Her thoughts were frozen, her brain mute as she tried to process what she saw and what it meant. Mertok had rushed and tackled her, but his hands were still bound and he hadn't stabbed her with anything or tried to hit her. In the span of time that between tackling her and hitting the ground he had been shot twice.
Had Shad just … saved her?
She crawled the meter separating them, limbs trembling. She touched shaky hands on his shoulder, uncertain.
"Sha-... Shad?"
No reply. She reached with her hands under his arm and heaved, trying with great effort to turn the much bigger man. She managed to bring him to his side.
"Shad?"
There was a small stream of blood from his mouth, joining the small puddle that was beginning to form around him. His eyes were glazed over. Unmoving. Unseeing.
"No no no no no…" She kept repeating denials under her breath, trying to find a sign that he wasn't gone, that he wasn't dead.
Shad had saved her. Shad had shielded her with his body and taken the bolts that would have killed her he had saved her he wasn't a traitor he was innocent!
She took his head in her lap, trying through eyes foggy with tears to find a sign of life. There was no denying the glassy look in his eyes, or the lack of pulse on his neck that Elsa tried to feel in between chest-wracking sobs. Her trembling fingers failed to find anything. Shad Mertok was dead.
Elsa's cry of anguish was supernaturally loud. All around her, glass frosted before cracking into a million tiny pieces, and the people still standing close had to stop what they were doing and shield their ears from the magical onslaught. Frost slithered across the walls unbidden, freezing anything in its path, turning everything parch white.
When Elsa stopped her incoherent scream, she realized that the fighting around her had stopped.
Five of the guards lay dead, killed by their fellows. The only ones remaining were her Commander of the castle guards and another. Both were injured, but not severely. Elsa directed furious eyes at them even through her tears, one bloodied hard raised with frost forming all around it.
"My Queen, wait!" her Commander implored. Both of them let go of their dripping swords, letting them clatter to the ground, before raising their hands in a pacifying gesture.
"We are loyal, your Majesty," the Commander said, putting his life in her hands. Elsa turned her eyes to the other guard, a younger blond man.
"Now and always, Queen Elsa," the man said, meeting her gaze steadily. Elsa idly noted that he was bleeding from a cut on his stomach.
"And them?" she asked, nodding towards the dead guards.
"Treasonous filth," the Commander said, anger rising to his voice as he spat on the ground.
"Except him," the younger guard said, kneeling by the side of one of the bodies. "He too was loyal, my Queen."
"... thank you," Elsa said, turning her eyes back down at Shad's corpse. Her fingers clenched around bits of his uniform as she rocked ever so slightly back and forth, trying to come to terms with all that had happened.
Perhaps if she hadn't had him arrested, he would be alive right now. Perhaps if she'd been more effective, all of this could have been avoided. If she'd only-
A hacking cough derailed her thoughts. Her eyes widened. Of course!
She turned, rising to her feet on shaky limbs, and ran as fast as her half-ruined dress allowed her towards the form of her viking lover. A sickening trail of blood marked his slide against the wall to his current position, sitting on the ground with his back propped up against it. He was bleeding from a few wounds, the most severe of which being the two knives stuck to his body. Olaf was by his side, but the little snowman couldn't do much.
She'd lost Shad today. She'd be damned if she lost Hiccup too.
She knelt by his side, and it was then that she realized that she knew nothing of healing, nothing of taking care of the wounded. Her ineptitude birthed a burning anger within her.
"Hiccup? Hiccup, can you hear me?"
Her frantic calls did reach him, as evidence by the turning of his head towards her, the halfway opening of his eyes and the small upturn of the sides of his bloodied mouth.
"Hey," he said, and it was barely above a whisper, but she heard it. She laughed, relieved beyond words to find him still alive. She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her dress.
She turned back to her two remaining guards. "Get help," she ordered. "Find a doctor. Go, now!"
She half-expected to have to order them again after they refused to leave her alone, but the Commander gave her only a tight bow of the head before turning and starting rapid conversation with the other surviving guard as the two turned and began running down the hallway.
It was just the two of them now. Them two and a snowman among the bodies of the dead.
Her palms gently cupped his face. "Hiccup, please talk to me. You're gonna be okay. Just hang on."
The viking grumbled, making an attempt to sit up straighter before abandoning it with a pained grunt. If nothing else, he seemed to be fully regaining consciousness.
"... hurts," he said through grit teeth.
"Knives tend to, yes," she replied, tone dry for a moment. Her gaze lingered on the metal stuck on his arm. "Should I … remove them?"
He gave a shake of his head. "No, or I might … bleed out before help gets here."
"Is there anything I can do? How can I help?"
"Help me … sit straight."
Gently, Elsa placed one hand on the armpit of his good arm and the other around his back, helping him sit up better. She noted that the knife that was stuck in his palm was Hiccup's own dagger.
"It looks worse than it is," he said after another grunt of pain. "I'll live."
Elsa's relief at his words was almost palpable. She had to wipe the welled up tears once again at the same time as another laugh escaped her lips. Her hands were painted red, Shad's blood mixing with Hiccup's.
He wheezed, gurgling for a second or two, before gathering his strength enough to speak again. "It was … the Divisive. He ambushed me."
That made sense, even if it made Elsa purse her lips in quiet fury. If it wasn't her, and it wasn't Shad, that only left one remaining option.
"Is he …"
"Dead," Hiccup said. He spoke slowly and with difficulty. His breaths were short and rugged. "He would've gotten me but … your snowman saved me."
"Olaf did?" Elsa asked, looking at the sentient pile of snow with wide, surprised eyes. He beamed under her look, even if he turned away in embarrassment.
"He nailed him with … a snowball. Great aim, that one. You should've seen it, it was-" his speech was interrupted by another hacking cough, a sign that he was overworking himself. Elsa put a soothing hand on his chest and another on his shoulder.
"It was brilliant," he concluded.
"I … I'm glad you're alive," Elsa said, finding no better words, none more sincere, to say.
Another soft smile graced his lips, looking quite macabre on his bloody face. "Thanks."
Ignoring the red sheen on her hands, she took gentle hold of his face and planted a kiss on his lips, as soft as she could make it. The taste of blood was irrelevant to her need to profess her relief and happiness at his survival.
Hiccup laughed into her lips; a soft, wheezing sound. She stopped when she felt him tense from another stab of pain, and pulled back.
His gaze landed somewhere behind her and his smile vanished, replaced by a look of pain. Just as Elsa was starting to worry that his condition was getting worse, he spoke.
"I saw what … the General did. I … I'm sorry. I was … wrong about him."
Her hands trembled again as another wave of anguish hit her, but she fought it down, anchoring herself to Hiccup's presence next to her.
"Remember when you told me about your father's passing, Hiccup?" she asked.
He gave a weak nod. "Yes."
"Do you … do you think Shad might have felt the same? He wasn't my father, but…"
"I'm sure the old guy could think of-" A grunt of pain, quickly overcome. "Could think of no end more fitting than trading his life for yours. Parenting is on the mind and actions, after all. Not just blood."
Elsa contemplated his words in silence, broken only by his occasional wheeze or bloody cough.
Help arrived soon, more guards flooding the corridor and several doctors making their appearance, some with already bloodied aprons and hands, signifying that they'd already been at work earlier.
Elsa had to leave Hiccup's side so the doctors could have space to work. His eyes searched her for a frantic second as she rose to her feet and backed away.
"I won't be far," she assured him. He said nothing, focusing on answering the doctor's' questions as they set about removing the knives and treating his wounds.
Elsa turned towards the carnage from earlier, seeing several servants carefully wrapping the bodies and carrying them away.
A doctor walked up to her. "We'll have to move the Chief, but to a room on this level. I'd rather avoid taking him through stairs to the hospital ward."
Elsa gave a curt nod. "There's plenty of suitable rooms. The drawing room in the next corridor should have enough open space for you to work."
The doctor thanked her and returned to his fellows. As the healers carefully carried her viking lover away, Elsa close behind, her mind turned to other matters.
Her Commander of the guards had returned to her side, waiting for orders. She turned to him.
"I want to know exactly what's going on in the castle and what happened. Get me reports from all levels."
"Yes, my Queen." Her orders were relayed to several lower ranked officers who left, looking for regional commanders and squad officers to gather as full a picture as they could and report back.
She followed the doctors into the drawing room, but maintained a respectful distance, mindful of getting in their way. Hiccup cursed and made plenty of scathing remarks, but he was otherwise a cooperative patient with a surprisingly high tolerance for pain, from what the medics would say. Elsa tried not to watch the proceedings exactly, seeing sharp scalpels and wads of string and blood basically everywhere, but she still wanted to be nearby.
On the other side of the makeshift surgery, Elsa received the reports from her officers as they eventually returned. It was the Commander who stepped forth to talk to her.
"Speak."
"It was a coordinated attack," the Commander said. "At some unknown signal earlier today, several of the guards revealed themselves to be traitors, surprised the gate garrison and allowed access into the castle to several brigands. Fighting erupted throughout the lower levels."
Elsa frowned. "Was their force strong enough to potentially capture the castle?"
The old soldier shook his head. "Not that we noted, your Majesty. Even with the sudden treachery of several of our number and the confusion it caused, we were able to rally and the engagements turned in our favor. We eventually cornered them and got the upper hand. Most of them are dead, though some surrendered when defeat became obvious."
"What was their objective, then, if not the takeover of the castle?"
"I would hazard a guess that they were planning on precision strikes against key figures in our administration."
It took but a moment for Elsa to understand his meaning. If they wanted to reach and kill the priority targets, then that meant …
"Where is Anna?" she demanded, the beginnings of panic making her chest feel constricted.
"The princess was on the second level at the time the attack began. Majority of the fighting occurred around her position. From what we managed to gather, the group sent after the princess comprised of most the enemy forces that weren't sent after you."
"Is my sister alright? Where is she? Tell me!"
"The Princess is safe, my Queen. Despite the ferocity of the enemy in trying to reach her, they could not get past the dragon."
Elsa blinked in confusion. "The dragon?"
He nodded, and Elsa didn't miss the sheen of disbelief and wonder in his eyes. "Yes. Chief Haddock's dragon arrived almost as soon as the fighting began, and it seemed very intent on guarding the Princess. Rather successfully, I might add. Without it, we might not have rallied in time to save her."
Elsa directed grateful eyes at Hiccup, but he was still lying on the makeshift operating table. Though the operation itself seemed to be over, he was still having a hushed and rather tense conversation with the one doctor that still remained by his side. Bandages lined most of his torso, and his injured hand had been wrapped in a sling.
In lieu of thanking Hiccup directly, Elsa turned back to her commander.
"Him," she noted.
"My Queen?"
"The dragon is a he," Elsa clarified at her subject's confused look, "and his name is Toothless. Remember this, Commander."
He bowed his head. "Of course, your Majesty. Many will thank the majestic beast before tonight is through for helping save the Princess. Toasts will be had in his honor."
Elsa nodded. "You mentioned different groups of assailants?"
He nodded, grave expression returning. "The largest number of intruders tried to make their way to the upper levels. No doubt attempting to reach you, your Majesty. They were intercepted at the stairway, where the fiercest fight was had. The second largest group, as I mentioned, went after the princess. Several smaller squads went after other members of the council and members of your administration."
The feeling of dread and resignation returned. "What are our losses?"
"The biggest hits seem, until further notice, to be the loss of the Commander General and the Minister of Finance. Unfortunately, we could not save the Minister."
Elsa remembered the portly merchant who had served as her financial advisor for years. His loss would be greatly felt. Her hands clenched.
"Who else?"
"Lady Elai is injured, but stable. None of the other major targets perished, but the number of royal guards lost has reached twenty on last count, and is expected to go higher as more information seeps in."
So much death. So much treachery and senseless loss of life. And for what?
"Thank you, Commander," she had the wherewithal to say. "Is there anything else?"
"Not for the moment, but we are still working on learning as much as we can."
"Report back to me as soon as you have anything new."
"It will be done, your Majesty."
He bowed before turning on his heels and exiting the drawing room. Many guards were standing watch just outside. Elsa knew they must have been at least a full squad. No one wanted to risk anything with danger so recent.
Elsa let out a sigh as she rubbed her eyes. She made her way to a basin filled with lukewarm water that had been brought in. She'd already cleaned most of the blood off her hands and face with a towel earlier, but now that she had a few minutes of quiet she could use the water for a more thorough job. There was no saving her dress, though.
The water felt cool against her skin, and it seemed to wash away weariness as well as blood. She let out a heavy breath as she dried her face with another clean towel.
Her gaze eventually landed on Hiccup, still resting on the makeshift table the doctors had made for him. It seemed like the operation was complete, as even the last doctor had left. It was just the two of them now.
She walked up to him and kneeled next to his form, taking hold of his good hand.
"Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey," she said in reply. Not a greeting she used often, but it would do. "How are you feeling?"
He grimaced. The doctors had done good work cleaning him so they could work, but there was still blood in his hair. His ruined tunic had been cut up and removed. A fresh one lay next to him, folded, awaiting use. For the moment, Hiccup was clad only with bandages from the waist up.
"Better," he said. "Worse in a way, but better. I'm no longer numb so it stings more, but that's a good sign."
"I'm glad."
"More importantly … how are you?"
Elsa shook her head. "It's still early. Too much. I can't think about the lost right now. I can't afford to. There's a lot of things to deal with first."
His lips pursed in a thin line.
"I … understand." It was obvious that he didn't like it, but he did not disagree.
"I was told Toothless protected Anna."
Hiccup smiled now, the first smile she'd seen from him since this whole debacle started. "I'm glad to hear Anna is okay."
"Did you send Toothless?"
He nodded. "As soon as we heard the commotion start, I sent Toothless straight to her. I was making my way to find you when I was ambushed by the Divisive. He … overcame me."
The grimace on his face had nothing to do with the pain from his injuries, if Elsa had to hazard a guess.
"You were still healing from your previous injuries, were you not?"
"That is no excuse."
"You're being too hard on yourself, as usual."
"But-"
"Thank you," Elsa interrupted him. At his confused look, she went on to clarify. "For sending Toothless to save Anna. For separating with him at such a crucial time, just for our sake. For risking your life to save mine."
"I couldn't help you, in the end."
"You don't always have to, Hiccup. I'm alive. I'm here."
His hand in hers tightened, almost imperceptibly.
"That's all that matters," he said.
Elsa wasn't sure where the conversation would go from there, but she was trying to figure out the best way to kiss him without aggravating any of his many wounds when the doors to the drawing room were flung open.
Tension broken, both turned their heads to the entrance. There, the dragon Toothless was trying his best to fit through the door, succeeding after a few seconds of effort, and covered the distance between the door and Hiccup's bed in one jump.
Even Elsa, who was not familiar with the dragon, could make out the very clear worry in his mannerisms and frantic behavior. While Hiccup spoke to it in soft, soothing tones, Elsa examined a curiosity on it. The dragon was no longer fully black and, upon closer inspection, Elsa realized that there were great lines of fabric wrapped around its torso, held in place by tightly secured leather belts.
The dragon had been injured, she realized. This makeshift dressing was probably the result of her doctors and maybe even veterinarians trying to help him. Elsa's stomach tightened at the view. The area around his wound had been cleaned, but Toothless' head still carried dried blood all over it. Most of his limbs were painted red, too. Elsa refused to let it bother her, not when the dragon had become like this saving her sister.
Toothless had been suitably calmed a couple of minutes later and settled himself on the ground next to Hiccup, his crouching form still taller than he was on his makeshift bed. Hiccup's good hand had been repurposed to patting his friend between the eyes.
"Hiccup," she called gently, getting his attention. "I need to go. I want you to stay here and rest, alright?"
His brow furrowed into the beginnings of a frown. "Perhaps I should-"
"No," she cut him off, voice level but firm. "You've done enough, Hiccup. I want you to stay here and rest. Promise me."
He seemed like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. After a few seconds of deliberation, he gave her a nod, lips pursed. Smart man.
"I'll be back later," she promised. "Get well soon."
She left the impromptu hospital room. Now that even the last remaining pockets of fighting had concluded, it was time to get back on top of the situation.
Her guards around her at all times, Elsa toured the castle, inspecting the damage and overseeing relief efforts. The dead had been gathered, traitors separated from the loyal, and being cared for by the appropriate people. Most of the outsider invaders had been identified as Grandlandians. Their birthplace did not necessarily implicate the nation itself, but the chances of the country not being involved were minimal at best.
News from the city outside the castle were flooding in, too. The citizenry of Arendelle was horrified that the castle had been under attack yet overjoyed at the survival of the Queen. The prevalent emotion right now seemed to be open shows of support for her and rather loud calls of vengeance. The guards of the castle were all natives of Arendelle, with families of their own. Such a strike would not be forgotten nor forgiven easily. Elsa was inclined to agree with her subjects in this.
Even several hours later, however, they were still struggling to piece together a proper timeline of events, and new information continued to trickle to Elsa as the various teams completed their investigations.
The Commander found her in the hospital ward, as Elsa was about to leave from visiting the wounded. With a jerk of her head, he followed her outside into the corridor. The guards gave them some space.
"What news, Commander?"
"Bad ones, I'm afraid."
"Go on."
"A few of the invaders managed to escape in the commotion of the fighting. It took us a while to understand exactly what happened, but we have eyewitnesses of the city confirming several men escaping into the streets with horses, and then out of the city."
"What efforts are being made for their capture?"
"We've sent messenger birds, my Queen. With the army in motion in the borders and nearby cities, they should not get far unless they abandon the horses and hide in the mountains. Even there, we should find them."
The nervousness in the grizzled soldier's expression made her think there was more. "What else?"
"We just got word from Madam Gertrude. The men that escaped, they were part of a smaller team that went after the servants. When they escaped, they took someone with them. A hostage."
Elsa's eyes widened slowly. "Who did they take?" she asked, even though she feared that she already knew the answer.
"A young lad by the name of Arnod Sherner," the Commander replied. "I'm not sure what they hoped to accomplish or what their goal was, but-"
"Save it," she cut him, thoughts racing. "I know why they took him."
They'd taken Ernie. Poor, young Ernie. He'd spent most of his life living and working in the castle. So helpful, friendly and earnest that it'd taken the newly arrived Chief Haddock a single look to instantly decide that he'd befriend the boy.
Elsa did no doubt that it was exactly that friendship that made him the target of this kidnapping. Their adversaries could not have been more transparent if they'd left a taunting calling card behind.
Elsa turned to the older man, jaw set. "We need to find them, and get him back," she bit out. "Do you hear me? We can not allow one of our own to be subjected to kidnapping and God knows what else. Send teams after them. I want Ernie back here in time for breakfast tomorrow. Am I clear?"
The Commander seemed troubled. "My Queen, I understand that every single life is valuable, but to expend such military effort for one servant boy at such a crucial time seems-"
"That's an order Commander. Arnod Sherner, like everyone in Arendelle, is under my protection and I will not abandon him. Relay the orders immediately."
"Yes, your Majesty!"
As the Commander of the guards hurried away, Elsa tried to figure out a solution to the current mess. What would she do? Ernie was gone, in a clear attempt to draw out Hiccup, whose friendship with the servant boy was not exactly a secret. It was a smart move on their behalf, Elsa had to agree. Of all the people they could use as leverage, Ernie was the only one not heavily guarded.
What did she do now? Did she tell Hiccup? Surely not. Her viking lover, God bless his soul, was courageous and brave and had a noble streak a mile long. He'd no doubt walk right into whatever trap their enemy planned to spring on him by using Ernie as bait.
On the other hand though, did she have the right to keep the knowledge from him? Ernie was his friend, much more so than the boy was hers, who'd only spoken to him infrequently and briefly. He deserved to know, especially if her people failed to save him. Furthermore, could she even hide it from him? The viking chief was smart, he'd soon look for his friend and realize that he was gone. Trying to hide it was probably not a wise course of actions.
Elsa didn't know what to do. After some deliberation, she resolved not to keep it from him for long, but to wait a bit for any potential news and for him to get better before springing such an awful surprise his way.
The rest of the evening went this way, with the castle and the city still reeling from attack. It was a miracle that Elsa managed to get any sleep at all that night, with all the matters vying for her attention, but manage it she did, collapsing to her bed for an exhausted slumber at an indeterminable time of night. She'd paid a visit to Hiccup before heading to her chambers but found him fast asleep, the dragon Toothless standing silent vigil next to his sleeping master.
She slept heavily, but not for long, and it was back to work the following day. Bathing and dressing were the only relaxed times of that morning, as she even had to have breakfast in her office, so little was her available time.
She visited Marina in the hospital room as the older woman recuperated. She convened with the merchant's guild regarding a potential replacement as both guild leader and financial advisor. She held a meeting of the military brass regarding the appointment of a new Commander General that led nowhere.
News still arrived from every corner of her kingdom, reactions and reports and queries and communiques. Few of those were interesting, fewer still useful, but still she went through them all.
It was well past noon when she got her first bit of concrete news. Judging by the face of her Commander as he walked into her office, however, it probably wasn't good.
"What now, Commander?" She couldn't help the edge of frustration that leaked into her tone. If the older man minded, he didn't show it.
"Reports from the scouts came in, your Majesty. The escaped infiltrators were spotted."
"But not captured?"
"No, my Queen. They … they broke through the perimeter of the captured siege engineering facility, and are now hiding there, out of our reach."
This was definitely not going to make her budding headache any better. "How did they get in when the entire area was surrounded?"
The older man grimaced. "Our men did not expect an assault from outside the perimeter. The fiends surprised them and ran through before our people had time to group or react. On the positive side, at least now they can't get back out."
Elsa hardly considered that a plus. If her assumption on their plan was true, then it hardly mattered if they would run out of food in a few weeks or months. They would have achieved their goal long before that.
"Commander, how well informed are you on the situation regarding the captured facility and our troops in the area?"
Elsa knew that the man had been thrust into a position where he had to, momentarily at least, cover some of the duties of the late Mertok, which covered affairs from beyond the castle walls.
His lips pursed. "Well enough, my Queen. I have been monitoring the situation through field reports."
"Is there any way to launch a successful assault on the premises?"
He furrowed his brow, thinking it over for a minute.
"A successful assault would not be impossible," he allowed, "but assaulting such a heavily entrenched position would lead to catastrophic losses. Those war machines would tear our men apart before we could get close. Even with only a few dozen defenders, it would be a bloodbath."
Elsa feared as much. It had been mentioned before, but she had hoped something new might have come to light in the meantime.
She dismissed the Commander, staying alone with her thoughts, half dozen guards notwithstanding.
She had to tell Hiccup. He deserved to know, of that she was certain. The problem was that, if she knew the viking chief at all, he would try to do something rash, and this she could not allow. Deceiving him was surely not the right course of action though, was it? He would know soon enough that the youth was gone and that he wasn't dead, and he would demand answers that she would have to give, and that would damage his trust in her while also accomplishing nothing.
She had to tell him. She would. She would also make sure that he did not do anything stupid or crazy.
She made her way to the drawing room that served, even today, as Hiccup's impromptu quarters, seeing as he had not yet been cleared to go back to his assigned rooms in the above floors.
After instructing the guards to wait outside she knocked a couple times before letting herself in. She saw Hiccup still laying on his bed and gave him a smile as she came in and closed the door behind her. She moved towards him, accepting his greeting and offering one of her own.
She examined him critically. He looked better. Much better. He wasn't pale anymore, and he had washed and changed clothes. His arm was no longer in a sling but his injured hand was completely wrapped and immovable. Similarly, bandages were visible underneath the tunic he wore.
The illusion of good health was broken when he tried to move, sitting up and turning his body towards her. He didn't make a sound but she noticed the setting of his jaw and the slight tremble of his fingers at the strain on his shoulder. Even these simple movements were evidently painful.
She moved a chair next to his bed and sat.
"I came by yesterday," she said, "but you were already asleep."
"You should have woken me. I've slept too much as it is."
"I couldn't, you needed it."
"I would have liked to see you, though."
She gave him a smile at that.
"So, what's new on the outside world?"
She gave him a brief summary of all that he'd missed, at least the common knowledge stuff. The bodycount, the capturing of the infiltrators and the unmasking of traitors. She talked to him briefly about the captured facility outside of Arendelle.
And then, as she had decided to do, she told him about Ernie. She told him how the few escaping invaders had taken a hostage and run off with him. She told him that they had managed to unite with the occupants of the facility.
He listened to her without interrupting, even if his eyes widened and his fingers clenched at hearing about Ernie. When she was done, she sat in the silence and observed him, tense but patient. Hiccup's reaction was slightly different that what she'd expected. He had not exploded with questions or anger or tried to run off yet. Instead, he sat there, thinking, his brow furrowed. He took a minute or two to process her words, no doubt thinking everything over in the way that had so impressed her since she'd first met him, all those weeks ago.
"What's being done to retrieve him?" he asked her eventually, voice level and tightly controlled. Of course he would ask. He'd need all the information to make conclusions, Elsa had known that. But she knew that her answer would not satisfy him.
"The area is completely surrounded," she said. "Sooner or later, they will…"
She trailed off at seeing Hiccup shake his head.
"He'll be long dead by the time they run out of supplies, you know that."
Elsa did, but what could she say? "We cannot just storm the place. It's equipped with over a dozen war machines that would mow our soldiers down before they reached them."
"Any day we dally reduces the chances of Ernie surviving," he said as he brought his legs over and touched them on the ground. He was already wearing his prosthetic.
He turned to Toothless and gave a low whistle. The sleeping dragon's ears twitched, and his eyes opened slowly.
"Get up, bud. We're heading out." To emphasize his words, Hiccup got to his feet. He looked shaky for a second, but he controlled it and made to start walking.
Elsa was on her feet and had a hand on his chest before he could move.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Hiccup gave her a look as if she'd asked a stupid question.
"I'm going to go get Ernie back."
He made to walk around her, but she moved with him, blocking his way.
"What are you doing?" he echoed her.
"I can't let you go."
His eyes narrowed. "I don't need your permission."
"Hiccup, you can't go there. Those machines, they were created as a defense against dragons and there are over a dozen of those!"
"Thanks for that, by the way."
Elsa let out a growl of frustration. "You can be angry about that later. The point is, can't you see that this obviously a trap for you?"
"Of course it's a trap!" he yelled, making her freeze at the sudden change in volume. "Of course I know it's a trap!"
"Then why?!" she replied, her own tone rising to mirror his own.
He glared at her. "What choice do I have?" he said. "I can't just leave Ernie to rot. I have to go."
"You can't. You're injured."
"It doesn't matter!"
"You'll be shot out of the sky before you even land! What about Toothless?"
That seemed to give him pause for a bit and Elsa allowed herself to hope, but she realized that it was for naught when his jaw set in a show of determination.
"We'll think of something."
"Hiccup, listen-"
"No," he cut her off, placing his good hand on her shoulder, "you listen. Yes, flying over there is a terrible idea and yes, you can't in good conscience have your troops storm the place and get slaughtered. What about Ernie, then? Do we just leave him at their mercy and hope for the best?"
Elsa had no answer to this. She bit her bottom lip, averting her gaze downwards. He was right, wasn't he? Realistically, the best option would be to leave Ernie to his fate, considering that neither of the two rescue options ended well for anyone. But was that truly right?
"Ernie is in this position because of me," he continued, expression softening. "These people are trying to draw me out. If I don't go, they'll assume their reports were wrong and kill him. I can't let that happen. He is in danger that he didn't sign up for, that he was unaware he could be in for when he got to know me. I owe it to him to take responsibility."
"But-"
"Hush," he stopped her, tone gentle. "I want you to listen to me. If I don't make it back-"
What? "Hiccup-"
"Listen," he said, stopping her. "If I don't make it back, their attention will be focused entirely on you. I want you to do as I say and not as I do, and be careful. Their attack here will have both emboldened them and made them reckless. If you outmaneuver them just one more time, it will be over. The endgame is now."
"What about Berk?" she asked, looking up at him again. "What about your people? What will happen to them if you die?"
Hiccup pursed his lips, taking some time to formulate his reply. "I am where I am today because of who I am," he said eventually. "The people of Berk trust me because they know me. I would not be able to live with myself if I left Ernie to his fate, even if that means depriving Berk of my leadership. I would never be able to face myself or my subjects, knowing that I took the coward's way out and left him to die."
And wasn't he just hitting the bullseye again? He made a compelling argument, she had to admit. How would he consider himself worth leading if he abandoned his people just because the alternative put him at risk? An idealistic view, perhaps, but one that Elsa herself shared.
More importantly, however, Elsa realized that his words resonated with her to that degree because they also applied to her. Ernie was not a viking, he was her subject. His parents had entrusted him to the crown's care. He was not a combatant, he was not prepared to lay down his life for his Queen. And maybe he had been kidnapped to draw Hiccup out, but Hiccup himself was a target because he insisted on protecting her.
And if Hiccup was compelled enough to risk his life against such long odds for one of her own people, what did that say about her? Were her only choices really to either let her lover fight her own battle and probably die in the process, or to let a civilian under her protection die because it was more convenient?
Neither, she realized. Neither of the two options were acceptable. She would have to take responsibility and stop hiding.
Hiccup shook her out of her musings with a gentle shake. Her eyes returned to him, her own hands gently touching the hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry to put you through this," he said, a sad smile on his lips. "But I have to go."
"No," she argued. "You don't."
"Elsa?" His tone was confused. Alarmed. He looked down and his eyes widened as he took in the ice slowly climbing up his feet, locking them in place.
Her hands holding his were doing the same, spreading ice over it that slowly moved to his elbow before proceeding over his chest.
"Hey, stop this!"
She refused to let him walk into an ambush designed specifically for him in his heavily injured condition. Even if he were fully healthy, she would not.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup. But this is not your fight."
"No Elsa, don't do this! Please, just listen-" he pleaded as he struggled to free himself from her ice. It was useless, however, as it had already taken his limbs, spreading over his torso and reaching all the way to his neck.
"Forgive me."
She kissed him, then, her lips doing their best to communicate her feelings to him in a way that words failed to, even as she poured her magic through them, feeling the warmth of his lips fade to the cool sensation of ice over several seconds.
When she opened her eyes and leaned back, Hiccup was completely frozen in a block of ice, good hand reaching for her but unable to move from inside its prison.
Elsa looked at him for a few seconds, regretting having to do this and doing this sort of thing to him, before turning her eyes to the dragon Toothless.
She was fully prepared to freeze him, too, if the Night Fury jumped to the defense of his master. Her magic was ready, waiting only for her command to spring forward. At such close quarters Toothless could not jump straight at her without harming Hiccup, and he could not maneuver fast enough to dodge her rays of frost.
Such vigilance proved unnecessary, however. Toothless was still laying down, one paw over the other, though he was watching the proceedings with narrowed eyes, lowered ear flaps and obviously tense muscles.
Still, the big black dragon had made no move, only watching her even as she froze Hiccup and took some steps away from him.
She regarded the mythical beast for a few seconds, their gazes meeting. Elsa was not sure to what degree the dragon could understand her, but she knew he was intelligent, that he loved Hiccup as much if not more so than she, and that she owed a lot to him. Least of all, her trust.
"Watch over him," she whispered to the dragon. "He will not understand."
Toothless gave no indication of assent or otherwise, continuing to follow her with his green eyes. After a few seconds of this stalemate, Elsa averted her gaze. She gave one last look to Hiccup's frozen form before heading to the door.
Outside, she met her guards.
"You," she said, pointing to one of them, who immediately straightened. "Find the Commander of the guards. Tell him to have the perimeter around the captured siege works facility tightened and ready to move in at my command. Let him know that no one is to follow me unless specifically ordered to do so."
"You're … going somewhere, your Majesty?"
Only to fulfill her duty. Elsa's lips formed a thin line. "Go," she ordered. The man hastened to bow and obey, leaving down the corridor.
"The rest of you," she said, addressing the nearly dozen guards arrayed around her. "Stay in front of this door and guard it with your lives. Let no one inside."
"Your Majesty," one began, "we need to-"
"These are your orders," she cut him off with a glare. "And you will obey. Is that clear?"
They all bowed, giving her shouted assents. Satisfied, Elsa gave them a nod and walked away, now alone.
She headed downwards to ground level. People greeted her as she passed, servants and guards and officers and civilians, and she greeted back, giving no indication of what she was about to do as she headed for the royal stables.
On the way, a single thought sent frost over her body, covering her dress and transforming it into the sparkling white one she liked so much. Her circlet lay secured on her head, proof of her station and nobility.
She would not let Hiccup attempt to save one of her own people in his injured condition. She also refused to leave Ernie to die without doing something. She would not send her soldiers on a suicidal march against war machines she should have known better than to have built.
It took only a single order for the stable master to prepare her horse for her; a beautiful, white specimen of the finest, sturdiest breed.
She would not play to her enemy's hands. She refused to play their game by their rules. She would not relinquish her viking lover to their hands, and she would not wait idly in her castle for them to finally be ready to kill her. Long had they been a thorn in her side while she stayed in her tower and relayed orders. Too long had they prodded her, testing her reactions and defenses while she preached restraint and mercy. Too long had they threatened the stability and people of her kingdom. She would abide by it no longer.
She had just settled her dress and mounted her horse when Anna appeared, running into the stable and coming to a skidding halt next to her.
"Elsa!" the redhead shouted, unable to say anymore as she fought to catch her breath. "I heard from the Commander. What do you think you're doing?"
Elsa could not bear to look at her sister. Instead, she took hold of the reins, and gently prodded the horse, preparing it.
"What a queen must," she replied, before letting out a loud exclamation and prodding the white stallion harder. The horse whinnied and rose to its hind legs for a few seconds before beginning his run, already building up to a full gallop.
Anna's shouts went ignored and soon could no longer be heard. People hastily moved out of her way on the castle bridge, then Arendelle's main road as she headed outside her capital and towards the occupied installation.
For the first time, the Snow Queen would ride out, and her enemies would rue the day they thought to challenge her within her own domain.
~E~