Anna

Kristoff's plan was solid enough. The camp, consisting of about 30 tents and twice that many men, was spread out on a large clearing, with a dense forest to the north and west, a clearing to the south, and a large, rocky hill on the east. They arrived from the south just before sundown, the rested horses making better time than Alarik had predicted, but Kristoff said that was okay, it just gave them more time to prepare. Anna, Cari, and Silas were to provide archery cover from the hillside, while Leila, Liam, Baldur, and Alarik created a distraction at the southern end of the camp. Meanwhile, Alan and Kristoff would sneak in from the forest to the north, find and rescue Elsa, and go out the way they came in. After Elsa was safe, the three of them were to circle east to the hillside, picking up the archers, then continue on to the southern end and stage a fighting retreat as a single unit, hopefully with the Ice Queen's help. That was the plan, anyway.

That went down in flames as soon as Silas, always so keen-eyed, noticed a disturbance radiating from the edge of camp. A man, clad head to toe in black robes unlike the practical light armor the rest of the enemy wore and flanked by four men, came from the forest to the north and walked to the center of camp, entering the largest tent, which they had already assumed contained Elsa. Every soldier he passed bowed deeply, almost reverently. Immediately guessing the new arrival had to be the Master, and as such, Elsa was in serious danger, Kristoff had hastily ordered a new plan. Kristoff and Alan would rush straight for the tent the Master had entered, while the rest of the company tried to cover their advance.

With any luck, Elsa would be there too, and they could kill the Master and rescue Elsa in one fell swoop, ending the threat here and now. And really, it had gone better than expected- at first. The eight of them easily overpowered the outer sentries, and Alan and Kristoff were nearly halfway to the tent when they were ambushed by a group of soldiers nearly 40 strong. Anna knew they had been expected, it was the only way the ambush could be so effective.

The fighting was bloody and brutal. Anna had tried to stay back with her bow, felling several enemies. But the numbers grew too great, and she drew her dagger and dove into the fray before they could cut her off from the rest of the Queensguard. She accumulated half a dozen new wounds of varying severity, from a large bruise on her upper arm to a deep cut to her left thigh, but most infuriating was the cut above her right eye, the blood running down and obscuring her vision.

She parried a blow that would have killed Cari if it had landed, slicing the attacker's throat before twisting around and cutting the legs out from a man who was about to swing a heavy mace at Baldur. He fell, screaming, and Leila finished him off with a sword through . Anna raised her blade too slow to parry a blow, but Liam cut the man down before his strike could land. But for all their skill, they were still going to lose. Anna could feel it. They needed Elsa's powers if they had any hope of winning.

Kristoff seemed to realize the same thing. Kristoff had skill with a blade, but his ferocity and aggression were his true allies. He let out a savage roar and charged directly at the ranks in front of him. Those who were quick enough lept to the sides, those who weren't were trampled under his fury. Alan followed through the hole Kristoff had made, but then, the enemies ranks closed in again, and Anna was cut off as she tried to leap through. Cursing, she fell back and continued the fight.

A sword flashed to her right. She raised her dagger to deflect the blow, but she was too slow, and the sword cut deep into her dagger arm's shoulder. She screamed and dropped her knife, scrambling back frantically as the sword came whistling through the air at her now defenseless throat, only to be stopped at the last second by Baldur's shield. Throwing the blade to the side, away from Anna, he ran her assailant through the gut, then looked down at her.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"Can you fight?"

"Yes."

"Well come on then!" He pulled her to her feet, then bent down to pick up her dagger and slapped it into her off hand. As Anna prepared to dive back into the fight, she was distracted by Kristoff shouting Elsa's name. She looked through the ranks of enemies to see Elsa standing in the middle of camp, a feral looking man standing beside her. Her hands were raised at Kristoff and Alan, who were partially encased in ice, immobilizing them. Blades of ice were floating through the air at the two struggling men.

"ELSA!", Anna screamed. "NO!" Distracted by her husband's peril, she never saw the fist coming until it was too late. One of the enemy had been disarmed, and made do with his bare hands, his fist connecting squarely with her nose. Anna felt it break and her head snapped back, her weapon falling from limp hands. She landed heavy on her back, the air rushing out of her lungs. Her allies had not yet noticed, and she lacked the ability to call out, head spinning from the blow. She was all alone as the man placed a boot on her throat. "Die…", he hissed through bared teeth. "Just die…"

Anna was thrashing desperately, but it was no use. The man was too heavy, and too full of hate. Anna felt her vision blurring and dimming, the man's face twisting and blurring, then the weight on her throat lessened tremendously. The man's foot was still on her throat, but the rest of him was flying through the air limply, bleeding from a dozen places.

"Anna! Are you alright?" Olaf was riding his larger brother's shoulders and looking down at Anna with concern.

"Olaf!", Anna shouted. Or rather, tried to. Her throat wouldn't allow the word to form. Rather, she just nodded her head and tried to stand up. Still woozy, she had almost fallen, but Marshmallow caught her and allowed her to catch her breath. When she was standing under her own power, Olaf tapped Marshmallow on the shoulder.

"She's okay, Marshmallow! CHAAAAARGE!" Marshmallow roared and leaped forward, ripping his claws into anyone unfortunate enough to be within twenty feet of him, and with one vicious blow, slew two men it once. Anna had begun to run back to her allies, who had been carried away from her amidst the battle, when the first fire arrow flew. It embedded itself in Marshmallow's arm, rapidly melting through.

"NO!", Anna screamed. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" But another fire arrow followed the first, then another, then another. Soon, nearly a dozen arrows were sticking out of Marshmallow's body, which was melting rapidly, even as he tried to continue forwards, still trying to defend his friends. Olaf was on the ground now, desperately pushing his brother's snow back into place, trying to encourage him. But it was no use. Marshmallow gave a sad wave and a smile to his smaller sibling, then he was gone, no more than a puddle on the ground.

Olaf still stood over him, unable or unwilling to comprehend that he was gone, begging for Marshmallow to come back to him, himself melting in the flames. In just seconds, he was gone too, nothing but a few sticks and a carrot floating in a puddle. As Anna watched, the puddles met, the smaller mixing and mingling with the larger until it was impossible to spot a difference. Anna was sobbing now, her mind a blur of memories of the pair, from meeting Olaf on the way to the North Mountain, to being chased by Marshmallow, to eventually visiting Elsa's palace and turning the tables, running around the ice castle while the enormous snowman (fruitlessly) tried to hide from her, laughing with him when Olaf did something silly, Marshmallow hugging her, picking her completely off the ground while he struggled to apologize for scaring her when they first met….

Anna realized with a start that she had stopped running, only to then realize that everything had stopped, and everyone, friend and foe, was staring at her- no, not at her, behind her- at that the temperature was dropping by the second. Anna whirled around. Her sister was rising slowly into the air. Her eyes had gone pure white, and there was crackling blue energy shooting all around her. Snow began to whip furiously around her, sending her clothes and hair flying around under the force of the gale. The being Anna's sister had become made eye contact with her, and Anna found herself perfectly encased by a half-globe of crystal clear ice.

The men around her sanctuary began to panic, pushing, shoving, and trampling each other in their mad dash to escape. A blast of awesome magnitude emanated from her sister, ripping apart ground, tree, and man with equal devastation. Enormous pillars of ice began bursting from the ground, throwing the survivors high into the air just to fall down into a razor sharp thicket of twisting ice. The wind was blowing with the force of a hurricane, laying waste to everything it fell upon. The screams of dying men filled the air, and Anna's protective globe had been stained red with rivers of blood. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the air was still, and silence fell. The globe around her shimmered and disappeared.

The bodies of the slaughtered lay in droves, many of them not still in one piece. Anna could have walked from one edge of the camp to the other without touching the ground. It was too much for Anna to take. She collapsed to her knees and threw up. She felt Cari approach and put her arm around her. Leila was comforting Baldur, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind while he knelt. The young man had also vomited, and there were tears streaming from his eyes. Silas was silent, as always, but Anna noticed tears were shining in even his eyes. That's when the enormity of what Elsa had just done hit Anna. Oh my God! Elsa! In her horror, Anna had almost completely forgotten about her sister.

Anna limped over to where Elsa had collapsed. Alan and Kristoff were there, trying to wake her with no success. Prince Heins stood stunned behind them, staring around in shock at the raw magnitude of Elsa's power. Anna ignored them all and fell to her knees by her sister. Cradling her head, she began to rock back and forth softly.

"Elsa… come back to me Elsa. Look, we came all this way." Anna had begun to cry. "Elsa, come back. What am I supposed to do without you? You can't leave me all alone. You saved us." She noticed that the rest of the company had gathered around her. "Please, Elsa. I can't… I can't be queen… without you. You have to be here to see my children, Elsa. They need to know their aunt…" The tears were flowing faster now. "You can't leave me again… I only just got you back. Please come back to me, Elsa. I love you…"

The tiniest cough. So small, Anna wasn't even sure she heard it. Then another, the tiniest bit louder. Elsa stirred in her arms. "E-Elsa?", Anna gasped. Blue eyes slowly opened, unfocused and afraid. The blue eyes found the teal.

"Ann… Anna?"

"Elsa!" The redhead buried herself in Elsa's arms, who winced and cried out in pain. Anna recoiled. "Elsa! You're hurt!"

The blonde smiled weakly and coughed again. "Well, I wasn't... here for my health, Anna." Anna smiled sadly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"How badly are you hurt?" Elsa shook her head.

"I don't… honestly know," she whispered. "I'm so afraid, Anna…"

Anna choked back a sob. "Help me turn her over," Anna said. Alan bent down and gently helped Anna roll Elsa onto her stomach. Anna gasped when she beheld Elsa's wounds. "Oh, Elsa…" she whispered. Her sister's back was a battlefield, angry red welts and jagged cuts, all crossing each other haphazardly. The wounds would not heal well.

WHAM! Kristoff's fist connected with Hein's jaw, and he was knocked completely off his feet. He landed on his back, hard. Kristoff stomped towards him. "Kristoff," Elsa called weakly. "Leave… leave him alone." Kristoff turned around, a stunned expression on his face.

"Elsa, he brought you here! He's why you're- he's why- why-" Kristoff faltered under Elsa's gaze.

"Kristoff. He had no choice. He was betrayed, the same as me. Tricked..." Elsa's voice faded into silence.

"It's... true." Heins had gotten to his feet, and despite his heavy breathing, he stood straight and proud. "It's true, I was betrayed as well. All I did, I did for love of my brother, Hans. Despite what he had done, he was still my brother. But now I see the true error of my ways. The identity of the Master, and my brother Hans, are one in the same."

"What?", said Alarik. "How is that possible? He was still in captivity!"

"I do not know. I can guess that the Dreamwalker had something to do with it. What Hans promised him, I cannot even begin to guess. He was stripped of the title of Prince of the Southern Isles when he was found guilty of his crimes. He had nothing left."

"And where is the Master now? Where is the Dreamwalker?" Anna jumped at the unfamiliar voice, then realized she had never heard Silas speak before. "They must be held accountable for their crimes. We did not all survive this day." Anna's heart clenched at the thought of the two snowmen.

"What… what do you mean?" Elsa called weakly.

Anna took her sister's hand. "Elsa… Olaf and Marshmallow melted. They… are the only reason I'm alive now. They saved me." Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking from the corners.

"No…"

"Can you fix them?" Anna whispered.

"I don't know. I have to try. Take me to them, please…" Anna and Kristoff went to help Elsa up, but they were stopped by Heins' hands on their shoulders.

"I will carry her," he said. "I owe her that much." Anna and Kristoff both looked at Elsa, who nodded. They stepped aside to allow Heins through. Bending down, he very carefully picked up Elsa, who despite his care could not keep a cry from escaping her lips. Cradling her in his arms as he would a child, he walked with a gentle stride over towards the widening puddles. When he arrived, he set her down and put her arm over his shoulder, taking almost all of her weight. Elsa extended an arm. The puddles began to move, separating once more, beginning to take shape. Elsa's brow was furrowed in concentration, tears steadily streaming from her eyes. For an instant, Anna thought she saw the beginnings of what might be Olaf, but then Elsa dropped her arm.

"I can't do it. I can't separate them. They're too far gone…" Pulling her arm from Heins' grasp, she collapsed to her knees, head in her hands. "I can't save them…" Anna rushed over and dropped down next to her, hugging her sister closely to her chest. Cari joined next, wrapping her arms around the sisters, then Baldur, then Leila, Alarik, Liam, Alan, even Silas, and finally, Kristoff. Heins stood to the side, not wanting to intrude, clearly not feeling as though he deserved their comfort. Then Anna lifted her head and looked at him. She nodded slowly, and at the same time, Kristoff extended an arm in his direction. Night began to fall, and the group huddled in their shared grief and sorrow.