Trigger warning: There is a scene that depicts an execution scene.
Thanks as always go to hybrid-rain as always for being an inspirational canyon, promoting this like mad, and helping me with this chapter, sporadic-tiger for agreeing to be my proofreader and nitpicker and once again helping out with the Olaf scenes (seriously Olaf would be this quasi-intelligent sounding abominable child without her help), and frickfractals, the-perfect-girl-is-gone, and fyeahkristelsanna for promoting and recommending my fanfics. And of course, thank you readers for your favourites, follows, and reviews.
For Syaoran: Anna's suicidal thoughts were caused more by feeling ashamed of herself and failing Elsa.
There were many reasons why it was inadvisable to work within the comforts of her bedroom. And there was only one reason why Elsa still persisted on sitting on her bed with stacks of paper on either side of her. That reason was currently slumbering in front of her, curled up in the blankets and snoring. She was pleased Anna was slowly recovering from her ordeal. A day where the most productive thing either of them did was eat Olaf's weight in chocolate seemed to have helped. And Elsa was certain her kingdom could spare her one day to help her sister rest and repair herself.
Sadly it seemed like she only had a day. Although she wanted an entire week or even just another day to spend with Anna, she was still the queen. However she had no desire to leave Anna's side which was why she bade Kai to bring all of her work in her chambers. Inevitably she would be asked to leave but until that moment came, she remained in bed with her sister.
The blankets rustled and Elsa looked up to see Anna slowly begin to rouse herself.
"Still here, Elsa?" she mumbled sleepily as she suppressed a yawn, her eyes still closed.
"Yup," she replied, putting down the paper she was reading and taking off her glasses. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine, I spose," Anna managed to say just before she opened her mouth wide to unleash a spectacular yawn.
Elsa smiled and said, "You know, you're absolutely adorable when you yawn with your hair like that. You look like a little lion."
"Rawr," Anna said and immediately the two sisters giggled joyfully. Elsa leaned over to hug her but before she could actually do anything, there was a knock against her door.
"Who is it?" she called, leaning back.
"Kai, Your Majesty," he replied through the door. "The Spymaster would like to see you in your study."
"Very well. Tell her I'll be with her shortly." She looked down at herself and made a disgusted sound. "Need to change into something better," she muttered as she got up from the bed and went into their closet. As her eyes looked for something to wear, she couldn't help noticing her sister's side. After she had coaxed Anna into taking a warm bath, she asked Gerda and Kai to restore her clothes and clear away the broken mirror. It was a mark of their loyalty and compassion that their only words had been words of concern for the princess. She decided on a simple blue gown and made a display of putting it on. From the bed, Anna watched her sister struggle for a minute, then sighed exasperatedly, and clambered off to help her.
"Thanks, Anna," she said when they were finished. "This shouldn't take long so hopefully I'll be back soon. We can go out to the gardens today or…do whatever else you like."
"Actually…" her sister said. "I have my fencing lesson this afternoon."
Elsa pursed her lips in concern. While Anna have yet to bring up what she did since she returned to the palace that day and Elsa didn't want to mention it, she felt that engaging in a sport like fencing so soon would be detrimental to her recover. On the other hand, perhaps what Anna needed was some time in the open air and doing something that she loved and she knew she was getting good at. Also Elsa wasn't too sure how close she was to the line between concerned and overbearing nor was she certain how much of her presence would become smothering to her sister.
"Okay," Elsa said, causing Anna to beam.
"How's Olaf doing?" she asked, returning to the bed.
Elsa sighed as she thought about the little snowman and replied, "He's still a little shaken by what he saw but I think he's doing all right." I hope so at least…
"Poor guy…he shouldn't have seen that."
"No one should have," Elsa said. "You were right, Anna. I should have been harsher on this stupid cult before any of this could have happened." She was about to leave when Anna called, "Elsa?"
"Yes, Anna?" she said, turning around to face her sister.
"Could you…" She slowly raised her arms and Elsa knew exactly what she wanted. Quickly walking towards her, she took her sister's hands and kissed each one. Then she placed them over her cheeks and held them there for a while, allowing them to warm her face.
"I love you, snowbug," she said.
Anna smiled and said, "I love you, too, snowflake."
Elsa gave Anna's hands another kiss and promised, "I'll see you soon." She gently closed the door behind her and walked briskly towards her study with her guards behind her, trying her best to ignore the tiny pangs her heart made as she moved further and further from Anna.
When she arrived, Mistress Julia was already seated in front of her desk, calmly reading through her black folder. And though her back was turned towards Elsa, she seemed to notice her as soon as she entered because she got up from her chair, turned around, and dipped into a curtsey.
"Your Majesty," she greeted as Elsa walked towards the other side of the desk.
"Mistress Julia," she said after she sat down. "What news do you have to report?"
Julia took her seat and slid the black folder towards her. "Inside are the reports by the Chief of City Watch concerning both the Soliuan incident and the Ordo Malleus agitation, signed confessions from Captain Brandeis, Mr Rubik, and one of the organisers from the Ordo, receipts for letters of credit with both Captain Brandeis's and Mr Rubik's name, and letters found on-board the Soliuan."
"What have you managed to get from Mr Rubik?" asked Elsa. "I understand he was resistant to the City Watch's efforts to question him."
"He was," Julia said. "But once we had him, we were able to get him to divulge more information."
Elsa narrowed her eyebrows at her. "I seem to remember emphasising to you when I took the crown that I did not believe torture was an effective method of extracting information and I'm more than certain I forbade its use."
"And no torture was used, Your Majesty. We simply gave him a choice."
"Which was?"
"See his crew hanged for the attempted assassination of the Queen of Arendelle or cooperate and be allowed to take full responsibility and punishment for the actions of his men."
Elsa frowned but said, "I suppose that's fair given the circumstances. So what did Mr Rubik have to say?"
"He says that he received a letter concerning a job nine days ago, the 10th of August, from an anonymous benefactor with a letter of credit for five hundred ducats. Naturally he had it exchanged to verify the account and received its full amount in gold. He told his new employer he accepted the job. Three days later, another letter of credit for another one thousand ducats and a letter detailing his exact instructions. He was to retrieve two dozen children from a specified building, bring them and his men to Soliuan, and once out in sea, send the distress message he was given to us, and when he had received a response, dock upon our harbour and attack you and your sister."
Elsa stood up and began pacing behind her desk. "So Mr Rubik was told to use the children in an elaborate ruse to attempt to assassinate me and my sister. It takes a certain type of personality to risk the lives of innocents like that."
"That certain type of personality is rather pricey then. In addition to the money he already received, he was promised fifteen hundred ducats for either your or Princess Anna's death and should he managed to kill you both, an extra one thousand ducats. So fifty-five hundred ducats in total."
"Glad to hear my sister's and my lives weren't bought cheaply," she said bluntly. "More importantly, what do we know about his employer?"
"Well he's obviously wealthy. Captain Brandeis and his crew were paid four thousand ducats and he was willing to pay five thousand five hundred to Mr Rubik and his men. That's nine thousand five hundred ducats for a single job."
"You said that they were paid with letters of credit? That means account numbers that can be traced to accounts held in banks."
"Yes, but identifying the banks that hold those accounts will take some time and it will take more time and some convincing to persuade them to give us that information. They're highly valued for safeguarding the privacy of their clients. It's doubtful even the demands of a kingdom will make them part with their code. In any case, these accounts can be held under assumed names as well. As long as the gold deposited is real, the banks would hardly care, especially if some of that gold goes into their pockets."
Elsa rolled her hands into fists and ground her teeth in frustration. "So what can we do?" she asked as frost slowly crept from her feet.
"Well, I never said we had to ask for that information. My plants in most of Europe's banking institutions were sent the account numbers yesterday and once they get them, they'll start working to identify the accounts."
"Speaking of your seeds and your plants, did none of them tell you of this plot? No one abroad, in the banks, anyone?"
"Tensions are high across Europe, Your Majesty, and mercenaries find themselves summoned in times like these. And they are often hired through secured bank accounts so it's impossible to predict which mercenary group is being hired by whom to go to where. Plus, this plot, if you will forgive me, was rather simple and involved very little people. Only the captain, the mercenary leader, and their benefactor and it appears they kept communications minimal. The captain was thoroughly unaware of the mercenary plans. He believed they were hired to protect the children."
"Very well, then" Elsa said. "Let's move on to the Ordo Malleus. Start with what your seed was doing that day."
"You would be pleased to know that this time he presented his fruit earlier. A message before the march that said during the morning sermon, the bishop announced that an attack on a printing shop owned by the Facets of Snow. The fruit came to me at which point I immediately contacted the Home Secretary and told him to rally the City Watch. Had he not sent the message, the situation could have easily escalated into a riot. Also he was among those not required to take part in the attack so he managed to get this to me from the bishop's office."
Julia fished out a scrap of paper and placed it on the desk. Elsa walked over to pick it up and read: Tomorrow would be a good day for a walk. Innocent enough but she knew exactly what this meant.
"So Bishop Mathesien knew about the attack or at least knew that something was going to happen that day. I doubt he's the benefactor. I've read your report on his resources and he clearly does not have ten thousand ducats to spend on a distraction. I wonder how much of his actions have actually been his then. Have the falcons arrived yet?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The one for the bishop is almost fully trained. We just need to make sure he recognises which birds to attack."
"And the one for Hans?"
"Will be trained when it arrives at Weselton. That might take considerably longer. Do you suspect him as this benefactor?"
"He would make the ideal suspect, especially if he has access to the Duke's resources. But there is also the possibility of the Southern Isles though. They might hold some grudge over the humiliation of their exiled prince and their soured reputation. Perhaps even the Duke himself."
"The Duke of Weselton is a simpleton with lots of gold," stated Julia bluntly. "But there are those in Holstein besides Hans who can act on his behalf."
Elsa pondered over that possibility. Maybe she was irrationally focusing on Hans. "I'll think about it…" she said, picking up the black folder and noting just how thick it was. "Anything else?"
"There is…one other thing," Julia interrupted. Elsa stiffened at her hesitation.
"The people, both common and noble, are beginning to question your ability to rule, Your Majesty. Between the increased activities of the Ordo Malleus and the Soliuan attack, they are concerned that you are able to protect them."
"How many?" Elsa asked.
"Estimated about ten percent of the city according to my plants. Lord Gutherson in particular has been rather active in encouraging doubt among the nobles."
"I see…" she said as the frost reappeared. She didn't know how to react to this piece of news or what she could do. This wasn't something that she could solve by hosting another public ice skating rink or having her covert agents spread counter-rumours. Obviously, the best course would be to find this benefactor. And if he was who she thought he was, it wouldn't be too much of a trouble to send either Julia or her Lord Commander to Weselton, drag him from whatever hole he crawled himself into, and publicly try him for the crimes. Just there was a substantial lack of evidence and although she could wield her royal powers like a hammer, how much longer would it be before the doubts to her reign reappear and even increase? She also couldn't imagine the King of Holstein being particularly receptive to her intruding into his kingdom after she pushed that trade deal on him and could easily drum up opposition against her from the foreign powers. No, the safe thing to do was to wait for Julia to gather the evidence needed, no matter how long it took or how much it frustrated her.
"What would you like me to do, Your Majesty?" Julia asked.
"If you haven't done so already, begin investigating all potential suspects for this benefactor," she commanded. "While it's my belief that Hans is behind this, I will need proof before I can proceed. And if he's not, then I need to know who. Do nothing to Lord Gutherson for now. He has few friends in the nobility but if I attempt to censor him, he may find more sympathetic ears. The five men in our custody, what is to be their fate?"
"Tomorrow there will be an arraignment for all five and should any of them plead not guilty, they will be publicly tried by jury and presided by the High Justice, unless you want the honour."
"Not particularly," Elsa said.
"Very well. If they, however, plead guilty, then you can decide their sentences now. Otherwise he will consider them for you."
She was about to dismiss that as well when she stopped herself. She realised that she had to have a say into the sentencing. To do otherwise would to reinforce the belief she was incapable of ruling and it would be an injustice to both Anna and the two men who lost their lives in the attack.
After a minute of thinking she said, "For the captain, persona non grata status. For the three Ordo organisers, fine equal to the damages they caused and imprisonment in the mountains. The jury or the Council can decide the duration. And for Mr Rubik…hanged until death." Then a thought came to her. "The crossbowman who shot at my sister, is he still in our custody?"
"Mr Pierre Gurdon? Yes, he's due to be sent away with the rest of Mr Rubik's crew."
"Charge him as well."
"But, Your Majesty, we made a deal with Mr Rubik that we would let his men go if…"
"If he cooperated and took full responsibility of his crimes. Which, if I seem to recall, was the attempted assassination of me."
"Correct…" she began when her eyes glimmered with realisation. She smirked widely and mirthfully and continued, "Of course, Your Majesty. I'll see to it that Mr Gurdon is charged with the attempted assassination of Princess Anna and that his proceedings are done separately from the others. I assume you want the death penalty for him as well."
Elsa nodded. It was a nasty piece of politicking but one that she would defend forever. It was her sister the man shot at, after all, the love of her life, her raison d'être. She wanted it to be known what happened to those who tried to hurt Anna. And hopefully this would also silence those who questioned her capability to rule.
Her smirk remained on her face as she said, "Done. I'll make sure these wishes are carried."
"You have my thanks, Mistress Julia," Elsa said. She was near the door when Julia called, "Oh, and Your Majesty?"
Elsa turned to her and raised her eyebrows.
"Please convey my sympathies to your sister," she said. Her words didn't nearly surprise Elsa as the fact that her smirk was gone from her face.
"Again, Your Highness."
Anna gritted her teeth as Lord Halvert's sword hit her for the fifteenth time this afternoon. Not only had she lost every single match since they started, but she noticed that her techniques had become sloppier, her movements less controlled, and her reflexes slower. Pretty much she was screwing up in every way possible. In fact, she was certain she had found new ways. And each time all Lord Tight Pants said was "Again, Your Highness". As if he expected her to find some way of improving on her own. This time though she wasn't having any of it. With a disgusted sound, she threw down her fencing sword onto the grass, the hilt quivering upon its landing. Then she tore the mask off her head and tossed it with such force that it sailed to the other side of the garden.
"What am I doing wrong?!" she yelled. "You know I'm making fifteen hundred bajillion damned mistakes but you're not telling me what they are. How the hell am I supposed to learn if you're not even going to teach me?!"
"I've already taught you what you need to know," Lord Halvert simply said after he removed his own mask.
"So what?! Am I too stupid to remember them or use them?! Or am I just that horrible of a student you've given up on me and you're only here is because I pay you?"
"You and I both know you are an excellent fencing student and I'm certainly not here because I'm paid to."
"Then what?! What, what is it?"
Lord Halvert tucked his sword under his shoulder and walked towards her. "Everything you know is here," he said, placing his index and middle fingers on her temple. "But you have to know it here as well." His finger slide down to over her chest. "Once it's in there and you've accepted it, then you will truly know."
"I don't get it," Anna said, a touch less angry than she was before.
"I saw what happened to that training dummy, Your Highness. Your emotions give you strength and power. Fear, anger, love, they all do. Now, I want you to focus and control them so you can use them more effectively."
"Okay…" She had no idea where he was going with this. "How?"
"Start with telling me what you were thinking when you were with the training dummy."
Anna dipped her head down and said, "I…imagined that the dummy was him." Hopefully he knew who she meant. "And I was the only one who protect my sister from him." She expected she sounded mad at this point but Lord Halvert seemed to understand.
"And today, what have you been thinking, Your Highness?" he asked.
"About…what I did," she said.
"And what did you do?"
"I failed. I tried to help my sister because, you know, there were those awful rumours about her and I thought if I helped these children and found them homes until that whole crisis was over, it would look good for her. And it would show her Council and the people that I wasn't just a useless princess. But instead it was all just a trick and now all people are ever going to think is how I let a bunch of people in to attack us."
"So do you think you failed Arendelle or failed Her Majesty?"
The answer came to her as automatically as breathing. "Elsa."
"How? How did you fail your sister?"
"I failed her when I let those men into our harbour and almost got us killed. I failed her when she had to stay and clean up my mess while all I could do was run back to the palace. I failed her when I tried to make her look better but instead made everything worse. I failed her when I tried to show her that I can help her rule Arendelle but instead only showed her just how pathetic and useless I really am!" She collapsed onto her knees and screwed her eyes shut to keep the tears from appearing. But in the end, the tears still leaked past her eyelids and she said, "I just can't do anything right, can I? I'm just a stupid little girl who never learns."
She heard him kneel down in front of her. "Your Highness, you must understand that we all stumble," he said. "We all have our failures. You, me, even your sister. But we must not do is let those failures define us."
"But that's what people are going to do!" she protested. "That's all they're going to remember from now on."
"People will think what they like to think. You know there are people who think your sister is a witch. There are others who think she's a goddess. Some think she is pretty; some think she is hideous. You shouldn't care what they think. The people who will matter are the only ones you let matter to you."
Anna pondered on what he had said…after she got over the shock that someone thought Elsa was ugly. "But you don't understand…no offence, Lord Halvert," she quickly amended, realising that blowing up at her fencing instructor hadn't exactly been the smartest thing to do. "I'm a princess. There are things that people expect of me. And I don't want to be just someone who's there in case something happens to Elsa or be a brood mare sent somewhere as part of a deal."
"And I know that, Your Highness. I cannot imagine the burdens placed upon you since you were born. But there has been expectations placed on me as well. Expectations I couldn't meet."
"Like what?" she asked, instantly regretting her words after they came out. She had a feeling she was pretty close to prying into his private affairs.
"Like ensuring the family name lives on. I was the only son and my parents were disappointed I couldn't give them a grandchild. That probably aggravated them more than the fact that I had a partner."
"You mean like a fencing partner?" she said although she knew very well what he meant.
"He is that, yes. And then some."
"And he's someone you let matter in your life?"
"Yes. There are people who think…interesting things about me because of who I love but I've learned to let no one's opinions except his have any impact on my life."
"And this will help me in fencing…how?" asked Anna, wondering how this conversation went from her mistakes to Lord Halvert's personal life.
"We'll come to that. Firstly whose opinions matter the most to you?"
"Elsa's," she replied instantly.
"And has Her Majesty ever told you that she thought you failed her or she thought you were useless or stupid?"
"No…but she wouldn't exactly say that."
"Would she do something like that? Keep something from you because she thought it would hurt you?"
Anna had to think about the answer to that. It was true that Elsa kept her powers a secret from her and distanced herself from Anna during their childhoods. She knew why she had to do that but at the same time, if either she or their parents had just told her why she couldn't see Elsa, she wouldn't have grown up thinking her sister thought she was boring or useless or whatever else she had thought when she was a girl. And now…Elsa said she would never close the gates between them again. And Anna really, really wanted to believe her. But could she?
She took a deep breath and said, "No." Her voice sounded hesitant at first but then it strengthened. "No, she wouldn't. Not anymore."
"Then remember that, Your Highness. Remember that no matter how many people think you have nothing to offer, no matter what hundreds of people think, the one person who matters the most to you still believes in you."
She closed her eyes and tried to think of Elsa, putting every ounce of attention her mind possessed into focusing on her sister and her love, her faith, and her devotion in her. A task she found difficult as thoughts of the Ordo Malleus, of Soliuan, and of the Council as well as memories of her failures floated around, trying their best to pry her focus. She squeezed her hands into fists so hard that her nails had almost pierced through the gloves. She was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed Lord Halvert had left and gone to retrieve the mask she had discarded. She opened her eyes when she felt confident in the reins she held over her thoughts and emotions.
"Do you feel better?" asked her fencing instructor.
Anna nodded with more certainty than she thought she had. Lord Halvert extended his hand by which she used to lift herself up.
"Today, when we first started, your mind was already clouded by your doubts and the thoughts of your failures. And each time you lost, those doubts increased and strengthened, did they not?"
Anna nodded again.
"Do you know why?"
"Because I kept losing," she said. "And every time I lost, I just became reminded of my failures."
"So you understand. Good. Now, we're going to try one more bout. And this time I want you to focus on Her Majesty. Focus on the thought that even if the entire world thinks ill of you, she still believes in you."
She took a few minutes to gather that focus. Last time she did something like this, she thought of him and how she would protect Elsa from him. Now, she thought of how proud Elsa would be of her sister as her own valiant defender. She thought of them ruling and defending the kingdom, side-by-side, never apart. She then wrenched the fencing sword out from the ground and accepted her mask when Lord Halvert offered it to her.
"I'm ready," she declared, placing the mask on.
The two entered into guard position and waited. Then her fencing instructor moved first, inching closer to her. Anna instinctively retreated back and thus began their dance for the sixteenth time. Beads of sweat dripped down her face under the mask as she tried to keep control over her thoughts. They were as well-behaved as a frenzied stampede, kicking and wailing and screaming. Over and over they reminded her that she was always going to fail no matter what she did. And each time, she cracked a mental whip to cow them into silence. But once her focus became fairly stable, she noticed that her movements became swifter and more precise. There was a sense of purpose in them as opposed to simply reacting to Lord Halvert's movements.
After what seemed like hours to her, she finally noticed an opening in her instructor's defences that she immediately exploited, quickly batting his sword aside and lunging forward before he had a chance to recover. Lord Halvert looked down to see the point of Anna's sword against his chest and lowered his sword.
"Well done, Your Highness," he said, removing his mask, and he would have continued had Anna not dropped her sword and given him a bone-crushing hug.
"Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much for helping me." She released him and then placed her hand over the right side of her mask. "And umm…sorry for yelling at you like that," she added sheepishly.
"It's okay, Your Highness. I understand you're going through a lot and it will be some time before you truly conquer your doubts. But I want you to know that I firmly believe in you. You have improved so much since we first started these lessons and I could not be any prouder of you. You are by far the best student I've had the privilege of teaching."
For once, Anna was glad she was wearing the stupid fencing mask.
Anna was normally a very heavy sleeper but these haven't been exactly normal times for her. For the fourth night in five days, she found herself stuck somewhere between sleep and wakefulness when she felt her sister disentangle herself from her body.
"Elsa?" she whispered.
It was very apparent her sister had not expected her to be still somewhat conscious. She just froze where she was, halfway out of bed.
"You're going to the execution, aren't you?" Anna continued, rolling over to face her. It was less of a question and more of a statement.
Elsa's head nodded and asked, "How did you know?"
"Papa," she replied. Even in the dark, she could tell her sister's face had contorted in confusion. "He said that a queen must see the people she sentence to death in their last moments and when we execute someone, we do it at the break of dawn so their souls can rise with the sun. And so they can face their death with dignity and not be gawked at like some carnival animal." She paused for a minute and asked, "Can I go with you?"
To her surprise, Elsa did not refuse her or insist that she went back to sleep but instead she asked, "Why?"
Anna sat on the bed and thought about it, trying to figure a way to explain what she felt in words. "I don't know how to say it…" she finally said. "But I feel like I need to."
"Anna," Elsa said, walking around the bed to sit next to her. "You know it wasn't your fault. There was no way you could have known those men would be there, that they would attack us like that."
"I know that," she said. "I've been thinking about it with Lord Halvert and I know it's not my fault those guys used the children to attack us. But I only know that here." She placed the tips of her index and middle finger against her temple. "I need to know it here." She moved her fingers over her heart. "Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to move on."
Elsa took her hand and patted it a couple times. "Okay," she said. "Let's get dressed."
Both Anna and Elsa were dressed in grey, placed minimal makeup, and did their hair in simple buns. Neither of them were entirely sure what the appropriate attire was for something like this. Anna couldn't remember the last time they had to execute someone. Probably before her parents thought she was of age to know these things. Or maybe they just kept it from her like a few other things she could mention. They were silent as they walked across the red carpet. Just as they arrived at the doors flanked by two guards, Elsa stopped and took Anna's hand.
"If, at any moment, you feel uncomfortable," she said. "Tell me and we can leave."
Anna nodded but she hoped that she wouldn't have to. The guards opened the doors for them and they walked into the balcony that overlooked the courtyard below them. Two chairs had already been prepared for them and Anna wondered if her sister knew that she wanted to come or if she had a chair for her just in case. As they sat down, Anna peered over the edge and saw the gallows already prepared to claim its victims, illuminated by the pale morning light, with the High Justice and his executioners standing on top of it. She also saw that there were more soldiers present along the walls and around the courtyard and the gates had been closed. Whether the additional security was only there for the execution or here to stay, she had no idea.
"You may proceed," Elsa called, her voice scrubbed clean of any emotion.
Anna heard a door open somewhere below them and footsteps drawing closer. And then she saw him, the man who led the attack against them, who tricked her in front of the entire kingdom, who made her feel like the greatest failure of Arendelle. For a man who did so much damage to her, he looked fairly ordinary from a distance. There was no way she could tell he was a mercenary leader. He was escorted by yet another pair of guards towards the gallows. She was a little surprised by how calm he was as he was led to his death.
When he reached the gallows and stood behind the noose, the High Justice said, "Stephen Rubik, you are sentenced to death for the attempted assassination of Her Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and the unprovoked assault on Arendelle in a time of peace. Do you have any last words?"
"I'm ready," he simply said. A black hood was brought over his head, then the noose was fitted over his neck. Anna took Elsa's hand and squeezed it as she watched the executioner pull the lever. She flinched, she winced, her free hand went over her mouth, and she was certain she gasped. But her eyes never strayed as Mr Rubik's body descended down the trapdoor with a sudden crack. Her breathing quickened significantly and she had to force herself to take calmer slower breaths. She then began to rise from her chair but she stopped when she noticed that Elsa remained seated. Were there more? she thought as she sat back down. She wondered if they were going to execute everyone who attacked them.
Once more the door opened to allow another prisoner to be led towards the gallows. This one was younger than Mr Rubik and he did have a certain charm that almost reminded her of him. He too seemed more or less at peace with the fact that he was going to his death. Meanwhile the noose was reeled back up and adjusted to accept its new victim.
Once again the High Justice announced, "Pierre Gurdon, you are sentenced to death for the attempted assassination of Her Highness, Princess Anna of Arendelle. Do you have any last words?"
Anna suddenly felt very cold and she had to release her sister's hand because holding it had become like holding a handful of snow. "Elsa," she asked, turning towards her. "What's wrong?"
Her sister did not reply but instead just stared down at the proceedings below. But Anna could see the frost covering her chair and the ice spreading from her feet and forming into icicles on the ground. What's more the ice had taken on a yellowish colour.
"Tell her I'm sorry," said Mr Gurdon from the gallows. "I'm so sorry." The black hood, then the noose was placed over his head and he too plunged to his demise. However Anna was too occupied with her thoughts to notice as she remembered the crimes the two men were sentenced for. The first one, Mr Rubik, was charged with the attempted assassination of Elsa while the second guy was charged with the attempted assassination of her. But why were they charged with different crimes? And then when she saw that Elsa had risen from her chair and was looking at her expectantly, she wondered why two and only two people had been executed.
"Anna, are you okay?" Elsa asked when she didn't respond.
"In our room," Anna replied sharply.
Her sister nodded and they walked back to their bedroom. Once inside, Anna demanded, "What is going on, Elsa? Why was the second guy only charged with trying to kill me and not you as well? And why was Mr Rubik charged with trying to kill only you? And why did we only execute two of them?"
"Mr Rubik made a deal with us," Elsa replied coldly, looking away from her. It seemed she had not discarded her queenly mask yet. "He would answer our questions in exchange for allowing him to take full responsibility for the actions of his men."
"Okay, that's very noble of him for a mercenary leader, I suppose. So why did you have the other guy executed then? Did you lie to him?"
"No, we did not."
"Then what?" she asked, wishing her sister would stop saying "we" and "us". "What did you… oh!" The realisation couldn't have hit her harder if Sven had drove it into her. "You wanted to punish them both. That's why you separated the charges. So Rubik could talk to you but you could still punish Gordon or whatever his name was. He was the one who shot at me, wasn't he?"
"Yes, he was." Then she turned her head to look at Anna and suddenly she wished she hadn't. Her features were hard as if they were carved into her face. And her eyes, they looked cold and lifeless like they were actually made of ice. She had seen Elsa frustrated, annoyed, sullen, and irritated before, but she had never seen her truly angry. Not like this. Anna felt weak and her knees threatened to collapse under her stare.
"Why…?" she asked. "You didn't have to do that…"
"But I did, Anna," her sister said in what sounded like a stern voice but Anna knew better. "The man tried to kill you. The man was part of a crew who knowingly lied to you, to us, so they could have a better chance at killing you. The man took a crossbow, aimed at you, and pulled the trigger. If Olaf hadn't intervened, you would have died. Could you imagine what that would have done to me?"
She shook her head as she tried not to imagine her sister without her.
"Anna," Elsa continued, the ice in her voice slowly cracking. "Do you know how close I came to losing control? I was this close." She held her finger and thumb only a centimetre apart. "When I saw you on the ground and I thought you'd been shot, I was about to kill them all. In horrific painful ways and I wouldn't have cared at all. But do you know what stopped me?"
Again Anna shook her head.
"It was you. The thought of you. I knew that you would never forgive me if I killed someone with my own powers, with my own hands."
"But you still did…you still killed the guy who shot me," Anna weakly protested, well-aware that those were two different circumstances.
"So I did. When the sun fully rises this morning and the people wake up from their sleep, they will know what happens if they ever dare attack you, Anna." She would have sounded much more convincing if her voice hadn't shaken every so often. She turned her gaze away from her and looked out the window. Anna heard Elsa sigh deeply before she said, "Please understand, Anna. I was so scared I had lost you again. I love you more than anything in this world and if I lost you, I…I wouldn't know what to do. I'm not sorry that I took these actions but I am sorry if I scared you."
And the thing was Anna understood her sister. Hadn't she derived most of her strength from her desire to protect Elsa, from the burning love she held for her? Wasn't Freddie proof of what she would do for her? She tried to imagine if Elsa saw what her sister did to the training dummy and wondered if she would feel as shocked and maybe scared as she did now. A part of her pointed out that she simply hacked an inanimate object made of leather and padding while Elsa sent a real human being to the gallows. But if Freddie was made of flesh and bone and skin and he had killed or was going to kill Elsa, would she have been any different?
Anna sat on the bed, looked down at the floor, and finally said, "I think I understand, Elsa. I'm just not sure. I think I need some time to think it through."
"Okay, Anna," her sister said. Anna could hear her take a few steps towards her but stopped as if she thought better of it. She then turned and walked out of the room, leaving the door open.
So there was going to be another scene where Anna's comforting the family of one of the City Watch officers who died in the attack but this chapter was already long as it was and the purpose was already kinda fulfilled with her scene with her fencing instructor. And yes, I'm sorry this chapter was so long but I felt that this chapter definitely needed to deal with Anna recovering from the events of the previous chapter and to do otherwise would be a huge disrespect to her. I really hope you guys don't mind! The plot will continue on in the next chapter.