Hey guys. I'm back...after a four month break. A lot of other stuff, a great deal of it bad, some quite good, but I managed to get this out. After the apparent anniversary. And Femslash February. Thank you for your continued patience with me as I try to wrap this up as well as your continued support whether it is leaving a critique or a review, favouriting and following it, recommending it for the pleasure of others, or any combination thereof. Thank you so much.
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen and its characters, plots, etc and I do not make or intend to make any profit from this.
Elsa waited impatiently outside their room, a snowflake floating and slowly expanding above her palm. The combined squad of both her and Anna's guards were also with her but they stood rigidly and silently from a comfortable distance. Her emotions swirled like a storm inside her, threatening to run free and with them, her powers. The defeat today was devastating to both her kingdom and her confidence but what occupied her the most was the occupant resting in bed behind the door. Her snowflake quivered as thoughts of Anna buckled her delicate control over her powers. "Conceal, don't feel" hadn't been particularly wise advice but she strived some middle ground between that and letting loose her powers and freezing all of Arendelle. Again.
Anna is fine, she's safe now, she whispered to herself. She loves me and I love her.
But despite her self-reassurances, the snowflake still shook. Maybe not as much as before but enough for her. When it grew to twice the size of her hand, it exploded in a puff of snow. Biting her lip in frustration, she quickly waved the snow from her hand just in time for the door in front of her to open, revealing the Royal Physician.
"How is she?" Elsa asked immediately.
"Your Majesty, Her Highness is well. Mild to moderate contusions at the torso and limbs as to be expected. Her Highness reported a particular blow towards her left shoulder but it seems her armour bore most of the blow because I found no sign of fracturing there. Just a higher concentration of bruising. No other fractures I could find elsewhere but her ribs felt tender, according to her. No head trauma, surprisingly. Minor cuts along her arms but nothing severe."
Elsa sighed in relief. "Thank you, Doctor," she said. "I apologise for pulling you from your more immediate duties but you understand I was…"
The doctor nodded and said, "Quite well, Your Majesty. I did consider giving her a simple sleeping draught but Her Highness simply fell asleep after my examinations. Should I leave it with you in case she will require it?"
Shaking her head, Elsa said, "No, no. I'll make sure she gets her proper rest. I'm sure other people will need it and I'm more than certain that's what Anna would want."
"Very well, Your Majesty. Good day."
With a short bow, the doctor walked off. Despite what he had just told her, Elsa opened the door by a crack and peeked through to see her beloved sister nestled in blankets and getting some well-deserved rest. Content, Elsa quietly closed the door and said to Anna's guards, "When she wakes up, please have someone tell me."
"Yes, Your Majesty," four of the guards chanted, bowing where they stood. They then took their posts at both sides and opposite of the door while the ice guardians Elsa made stood directly in front of it. The rest of the guards followed Elsa while she went to the council room where, for the second time today, her military and City Watch commanders were waiting for her. It was only mid-afternoon and already Elsa felt like collapsing next to her sister. But that would not do for a queen.
When she entered the council room, she was met with the usual greetings and quickly took her seat, noting the distinct absence at her side. "Please report," she said.
Papers were shuffled and slid across the table before the Lord Commander stood up.
"With regret, the southern part of our kingdom has fallen into enemy hands. With almost all of the military fighting at other fronts, the defence rested upon less than seventy or so City Watch officers, unprepared to effectively deal with the invaders."
"Do we know how they got in?" asked Elsa, one of many questions that plagued her after the day's battle.
The Lord Commander grimaced before he replied, "From what I could determine, the gates were opened from inside. Whether it was turncoat soldiers or agents hired by treacherous lords, we don't know. What we do know is their plan. The mercenaries encountered there were to rush as far into the city as they could and hold it until reinforcements came. It is thanks to the efforts of our men they didn't take more from us."
"But how could Hans's mercenaries attack on three…" Elsa said when the answer to her question came to her. "Of course. Hans never intended to attack from the fjord. Not yet at least. The burning wreckage from the icebreaker would stop any ships from passing until it burned itself out. What are our losses?"
"Of the Army, one hundred thirty-six, Your Majesty. Most of them were from the northern gates but we can presume the soldiers at the southern gates were killed. Of the City Watch, forty-nine. Wounded, another sixty or so from both the military and the City Watch."
"Their bodies?" she asked, her gaze turning from the Lord Commander to the Home Secretary and back again.
"Being cleaned and prepared," replied Secretary Hovland. "The ones we could recover at least. The wounded are being treated at Eir Hospital along with some thirty wounded civilians. I understand you have special arrangements for our fallen."
"Yes, yes," Elsa said, lifting her mind from thinking of all the lives spent to defend her. "I plan to freeze the bodies to preserve them from rot until proper arrangements can be made and respects can be paid."
"If we live to make them," muttered one officer.
An uncomfortable silence fell at the table as every eye turned towards him. He looked defiant at first but soon withered under their collective gazes.
"We will," Elsa said. "We will. Continuing with this line of inquiry, how many has the enemy lost?"
"Five hundred fifty dead," recited the Lord Commander. "And among our custody we have some forty, forty-five prisoners of war. They have been turned over to Mistress Julia for now."
"Good," Elsa said, leaning back against her chair as she rubbed her left thumb over her right knuckles. She took a moment, trying her best to not look at any pair of the eyes peering at her for her orders. She felt more like an animal in a menagerie than she did a queen.
"Send word throughout the kingdom," she said finally. "Any civilian is welcome to take shelter within the palace or in their own residences if they prefer. For those living under the enemy, let them know that we have not forgotten them and we will deliver them from the enemy soon. I want a full count of our remaining stores. Secretary Hovland, you will work with Master Englestad and see to the distribution of winter cloaks and firewood among our people. To relieve pressure at Eir Hospital, I am opening the Royal Infirmary to public use. I want new patrolling schedules and patterns and I want to see them for myself before they are to be enacted. Understood, gentlemen?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," they chorused.
"Good," she said. "Now if you'd excuse me…"
And after gathering all the papers in front of her and without further explanation, she got up and exited the room. She was confident there was more to discuss but she couldn't handle being in that room a second longer. Besides there were places she had to go before the day was done. As she walked from the council room, Elsa saw Kai approaching her from the corner of her eye and said, "Kai, what is it?"
Somehow managing to bow and walk in pace with her at the same time, he said, "Mistress Julia requests your presence at her office."
Elsa's eyebrows came together. "Very well," she said, pushing her wandering thoughts aside. "I'll see her now. Kai, I'll like you to prepare an itinerary for this afternoon."
"Yes, Your Majesty," he dutifully responded. "Which destinations?"
"The northern gates, Eir Hospital, and… And the fatality camps."
If Kai had any objection to those locations, he didn't mention them. "It'll be done, Your Majesty."
He bowed once more and peeled off from her entourage. As they walked towards the Spymaster's office, Elsa passed by a window overlooking what was left of her kingdom and stopped. Most of the harbour walls couldn't be seen behind the massive ice wall she raised. The harbour was almost completely frozen from all the magic she had been using and the roofs were covered with snow. For the second time, winter had come early to Arendelle. She rubbed her hands together before turning away from the mirror.
She'd only been to Mistress Julia's office once since she ascended to the throne so it took some time for her to remember how to get there and arrive at a hallway with several identical doors. However only one of them had a pair of men at it, lounging casually against the wall. While their hands were in their pockets and the two were engaged in casual conversation, their eyes darted all over the deserted hallway. One of them saw Elsa and her guards approaching and hit his partner in the shoulder. Both men straightened up and faced them.
Undeterred, Elsa continued walking until one of them opened the door for her. The door was swiftly closed behind as soon as she passed through. Her attention focused towards her spymaster standing behind her desk. On top of said desk was a box of some sort.
"Your Majesty," Julia greeted, curtsying. There was something off about her voice. Normally clean of all emotion except amused disinterest, there was a slight heat in her words that Elsa had never heard before. "Apologies for the inconvenience, but this required your most urgent attention." She gestured at the box.
"Well, what is 'this'?" Elsa asked, approaching her desk.
"A gift sent from the Ordo Malleus," Julia said.
Her eyebrows furrowing, Elsa carefully opened it and peered inside. She quickly covered the sudden gasp leaping from her mouth upon seeing a man's severed head inside. The eyes and ears had been removed, leaving dark holes coated with dry blood in its place. Most repulsive yet curious was the little seedling poking between his lips. With trepidation, Elsa gently pulled back his lower lip, just enough to see that his mouth had been stuffed with dirt.
Jerking her hand back, she tore off her glove and threw it into the roaring fire to her left before turning back towards Julia. "This was your seed in the cult," Elsa said.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Julia said, her voice taking a dark tone. "As to how they knew, I suppose that's a mystery we won't be solving anytime soon."
"You mean to say the cult were responsible for allowing our particularly unwanted guests in?" asked Elsa.
"Perhaps," Julia simply replied, closing the cult's "gift". "As of now, I'm still as much in the dark as the rest of us."
"You haven't heard back from your seeds?"
Julia shook her head. "While I don't doubt I will eventually hear from them, I've had nothing but complete silence so far."
Elsa's eyebrows furrowed once more and by that rate, they were going to be stuck like that permanently. She sat down at the chair in front of her with a sigh, shifting her seat an inch away from the box.
"It could have been worse," the spymaster said.
Looking up with astonished eyes, Elsa repeated, "It could have been worse?"
"Our protocols during a city assault is to move all civilians closest to the walls to the palace. But because we thought they weren't going to attack from the south, we only moved the people in the northern half. If we'd also evacuated people from the southern half, what's to say the infiltrators would have engaged in some act of sabotage?"
After reflecting on it, the queen sighed and said, "I suppose that was a distinct possibility. But I can't dwell on what could or couldn't have been. The people will be looking at me to make a move now that I've lost half of my kingdom. Otherwise they might just give Hans the other half and my head with it."
Julia nodded sympathetically.
"I'm planning to visit a few areas in what's left of my kingdom," she continued. "The northern gates, the hospital, and the casualty camps. I'd… appreciate some eyes with me."
"Expecting trouble?" asked Julia as she slid a piece of paper across her desk and began to make some notes, all the while her brown eyes still upon Elsa.
"Obviously," the queen replied. "But I prefer if the trouble isn't given a chance to happen."
"I understand. Also, Your Majesty, there's another thing I must tell you about. Regarding a certain personage…"
Hans rode upon his horse through the opened gates with his chest puffed out in triumph. The fact that he still had the other half of Arendelle and the palace to conquer and the sisters to subdue hardly mattered to him. What mattered this very moment was that he succeeded. What he couldn't achieve through charm and duplicity he did through force of arms and, well, more duplicity. He rode past his mercenaries lining the streets while crowds standing behind peered anxiously between them.
He turned to the nobleman by his side and asked, "Is it common for people of Arendelle to greet their king with such little fanfare?"
Lord Gyldenløve replied, "Patience, Your Majesty. I daresay many of them are in shock over the swiftness of your victory. They will welcome you properly in no time."
Hans simply shrugged. Before long they had arrived at Lord Lindahl's substantial estates where they were greeted by a whole slew of banners proudly flying the arms of almost all of the Arendellian nobles. In front of the assembled men stood the lord himself. A tall, slightly pudgy man dressed in red that made Hans think of a rooster. He bowed deeply, with his fellow nobles and entourages following suit.
"Your Majesty," he said when he recovered. "An honour and a pleasure to meet you properly."
"Lord Lindahl," Hans greeted. "I thank you for your support in our struggles against the Queen."
"Of course, of course."
Hans dismounted from his steed and together they entered into the lord's substantial house. The lord led him to a large parlour. The fire was already roaring, surrounded by chairs arranged in a semicircle. The centre chair was of better quality than those on either side of it with furred armrests. In front of the fireplace was a small table with several glasses on top of it. Lord Lindahl waved his hand towards the centre chair before sharply turning his gaze to a corner and snapping his fingers. Just as Hans walked and settled into his seat, a valet appeared from somewhere with a bottle and began pouring a rich golden liquid into the glasses. Meanwhile more men filed into the room, including Lord Gyldenløve, Bishop Mathesian, and Director Fossen. Eventually all the chairs were filled and the glasses removed from the table into the hands of the new authorities of Arendelle.
Lord Lindahl stood up, glass in hand. "Before we begin, allow me to make a toast," he said, turning towards Hans. "To His Majesty, King Hans. Long may he reign."
"Long may he reign" echoed the men present while Hans smiled thinly at his host and raised his glass before sipping from it.
After the lord pulled an impressive draught from his cup, he sat back down and said, "Now, to the affairs present."
The conversation or rather conversations swiftly began, many of them bleeding into each other to create a cacophony. Often Hans was asked for his input or support in debates that made the arguments between his most belligerent brothers look civil. But eventually after a considerable time had elapsed and a couple of bottles of brandy were consumed, the foundation of the new government was established and written for posterity.
"Very good, gentlemen," Lord Lindahl announced. "I do believe it is time for dinner. Now we've managed to secure an excellent selection from the Snow Queen's hands…"
But before the lord could finish, the door into the room burst open and Klaus stormed in with a furious rage, his face as red as his coat.
"They killed him!" he roared to no one in particular. "My flesh and blood, and they killed him. That monster witch and her harlot sister!"
Hans winced at the volume of his voice but otherwise made no reaction. Not even as he waded and shouldered through the men with his arms outstretched and tense. Yet for a minute, Hans thought Klaus meant to strangle him and for a minute it seemed Klaus wanted to. But then he collapsed to his knees right at Hans's feet and buried his head in his hands, his sobs nevertheless still audible. Hans did what he could. He took the man into his arms and patted his shoulder while bidding him assurances.
"We'll avenge him," Hans said, his promises whispered into Klaus's ear. "Don't worry. We will triumph over those sisters. And you shall have your vengeance."
"What, whatever you need," Klaus managed to say between sobs. "Our father's resources are yours. As long as I kill the witch."
"And they will be put to good use, I swear," Hans said. He stood up, bringing the bodyguard up with him. "Come, get yourself cleaned and have dinner with us. Afterwards, I believe we will be planning our next military course and I welcome your input."
"Your Royal Majesty, a moment," came a voice. All eyes turned towards the bishop, who for the most part was rather quiet.
"Yes, Your Excellency?" asked Hans.
"There is one matter I believe requires your most urgent attention."
Hans's eyes flicked from the bishop to Lord Lindal who looked rather taken aback.
"I was hoping to settle that matter later…"
"But this poor man's plight has made me realise its importance," Bishop Mathesian interrupted.
"Very well," Hans said, suppressing a sigh. "What is it?"
Instead of a reply, Mathesian simply asked him to follow him and follow Hans did. He, his host, and Klaus. They didn't have far to travel when they came upon a rather simple door, the most remarkable detail of which was that it was currently guarded by a single man. Upon seeing them, the guard immediately opened the door while the bishop lit a lamp. The light illuminated a cellar, in which three figures could be seen, bound and gagged.
"And who are these?" Hans asked, staring down at them from the top of the stairs.
"Heretics, Your Majesty," the bishop replied harshly. "They still worship the false queen and remain loyal to her."
"I see…" Hans simply said. And though he could guess the answer, he asked, "What would you like me to do with them?"
"Punish them, Your Majesty," Bishop Mathesian stated. "Their souls must be purged with fire before they can be saved."
The bishop's answer did not disappoint but it nevertheless bothered him. It was plainly obvious the bishop was not willing to settle for anything less and from the way the morose look on Klaus's face was replaced with gleeful anticipation, it was clear he found the bishop's suggestion most favourable. At the same time, death by fire was an agony he was hesitant to give even to the Snow Queen and her sister. Never mind how his new subjects would see this act especially his trepidation reception into the city. Yet on a similar notion, though the act may be frightening and appalling, it may encourage those still under the enemy to turn against her…
With a nod, Hans said, "As you wish."
Her eyes still closed, Anna woke up from her slumber with a loud yawn, pushing her arms away from her.
"Elsa! Elsa!" she heard Olaf cheer. "Anna's awake!"
She then felt the vibrations made by his tiny footsteps on the mattress waddling towards her before feeling the snowman's body snuggle perfectly against hers. Anna opened her eyes just in time to see Elsa approach them and give a hug of her own.
When they had all let go of each other, Anna took her time to look around her, noting that the sky outside was bright orange with a small layer of dark blue on top. "What time is it?" she asked.
"A little past eight," Elsa replied, settling down on the bed. She leaned towards Anna to brush some errant strands of hair. "How do you feel?"
"Still a little sore. And…" Before Anna could finish, her stomach grumbled. She followed that with a small shrug and chuckle.
"I'll have that handled," Elsa said, getting up. "Give me a second."
Anna's eyes followed her sister as she went the door, gave a whispered command to whoever was out there, and then returned.
"Someone's going to be here soon with some soup for you," explained Elsa.
"Thanks, Elsa," Anna said, smiling contently at her.
Elsa shook her head. "No, thank you. You did a great job defending Arendelle. Far better than I did today."
Anna felt warmth creep up her cheeks at the praise. It was one thing for the military officers or even Lord Halvert to tell her she did a good job. It was something completely different to hear those words from Elsa, mostly because Elsa wasn't like everyone else. Every word of her was genuine…which made it more difficult to hear her blame herself for the day's events. As if Elsa was supposed to protect the entire kingdom all on her own, even with her powers. But being reminded of her "great" deeds suddenly made her smile droop, prompting Elsa's eyebrow lower.
"Anna, what's wrong?" she asked, scooting a little closer to her sister and placing a hand on her shoulder. Anna tried smiling at Elsa but it did nothing to convince her that something was bothering her.
Anna sighed. "I killed today," she admitted, twisting the comforter in her hands. "A lot of people. And I…I didn't feel bad about it. But I should, shouldn't I? I know that I did it to help Arendelle and protect people and all that but I still killed people. It's still a sin," she finished softly, looking down at her knees. The thought of looking at Elsa suddenly became too painful for her. She then felt Elsa's cool hand trail down from her shoulder to her elbow and then up again. At first she tensed at the sudden sensation but she gradually relaxed, feeling her worries slowly slip away.
"Anna," Elsa said, continuing to stroke her arm. "I had to freeze almost two hundred bodies so they wouldn't rot while we wait for the siege to end. But we would have lost much more if you weren't helping us. You didn't kill those soldiers for money or for power or for pleasure. You did it for love. Love for this kingdom, your friends, for Olaf here. And your love for me."
Anna smiled again and this time it felt real to her. "I know," she said, holding Elsa's hand against her arm. "I'm just worried, s'all. I don't want to end up this monster who enjoys killing. You know, like him." His smile still haunted her at times, the way he leered at his sister as he was bringing his sword down on her. She'd rather die than have Elsa see a smile like that on her face.
"Oh, snowbug," Elsa said. "I promise you, you are not be going to be like him. In fact, I will make sure it never happens. Provided that you stop thinking like that."
"If it helps, Anna," Olaf said from his corner of the bed. "I think you are and always will be a good person."
Anna grinned at the little snowman. The little snowman always had a way of making her feel better. She leaned forward to pat him in the head. Olaf took the gesture as an invitation for another hug.
"So what's been going on?" Anna asked over Olaf's head, squeezing his body against her chest. "You know, while I've been sleeping. Where's Kristoff?"
"Kristoff is getting his rest right now," Elsa replied. "Or so he said when I saw him an hour or so ago. He's been transferred to your guard. The Lord Commander is with his fellow advisors devising a strategy given the change in our situation. The Home Secretary and the Royal Treasurer are busy making sure all the rations are going as smoothly as possible. And Mistress Julia is going through all the stuff in Director Fossen's office." At the last sentence, Elsa sounded displeased, as if his name was a piece of spoiled food in her mouth.
"Fossen…the Foreign Affairs guy, right?" Anna said, distinctly remembering the rather unpleasant fellow. "What happened to him?"
"Apparently he's been working with Hans ever since this entire siege started and probably before then and we would only just found out about it."
"What?!" Anna exclaimed, sitting up with her back as stiff as a board. She pounded her fists against the mattress, causing Olaf to leap away from her in shock. "That little treacherous no-good devious little snake!" She tried to see what other memories of the man she had. "Wait, didn't he tell us about the Solian?"
"He did." Elsa let out a very unqueenly groan. "It seems the whole incident was their plan. Weselton pays for the mercenaries to get orphaned children here pretending to seek refuge. Fossen tells us about it as part of the trap. And all of this is probably done because of Hans. But why? Why go through that entire ruse? There had to be easier ways of trying to kill us." She looked down and pinched the bridge of her nose. Anna slouched back into her bed, equally confused, until she remembered what he wanted most. And then it made sense to her. Kinda.
"I know why," Anna said. Elsa looked up at her. "He wants us to look bad so when he comes here, people will like him more than us. They'll want to have him as king."
"So this Hans person wants people to love him?" asked Olaf. "By making them hate you two instead?"
"Makes sense," Elsa said. "We all know how good he is at deception."
Anna nodded sadly and reached for Elsa's hand, trying to convey all the support and love she had for her sister in that tiny gesture.
"He's not going to win," Olaf said.
Anna and Elsa both looked at the snowman in surprise.
"Olaf," Elsa said, recovering first. "That's very nice to say but…"
"He isn't," he interrupted in a snappish voice he used when he actually had something to say. "And do you know why?"
The sisters exchanged a quick glance before Anna asked, "Why?"
"Because he doesn't have love. He, the people with the giant dolls, all the bad people. They don't even understand it. You two do. True love. It brought Anna back and it helped Elsa control her powers. And it will beat all the bad people." He finished, folding his twig arms across his chest.
It was amazing that despite, or maybe because of, all that's been going on outside the palace walls and the mess they were all in, a few words could have such a difference. Anna and Elsa both dove for Olaf to envelop him in a great warm hug. And for a minute, Anna thought he was right. That they would win in the end. But then suddenly she heard something from beyond the castle walls. Anna felt Elsa tense up in her hands and knew that it wasn't just her hearing things. Still she asked, "Did you hear that?"
As Elsa nodded, the sound came again. The three broke apart and looked around the room confusingly as if they could somehow find the source of the mysterious sound. However neither of them could figure out which direction it was coming from until Kristoff burst through the door. His eyes widened when he saw Anna awake but otherwise didn't say much about it.
"Elsa," he panted. "You have to see this."
Elsa nodded and she gripped Anna's hand for a second before letting go but Anna grabbed her wrist.
"Anna, you need to rest," Elsa insisted.
In response Anna shook her head. Elsa gave her that resigned big sister look but nevertheless helped her out of bed and held her robe open for her. Olaf looked at them in confusion.
"Olaf, please," Elsa said, holding Anna steady for her first few steps. "Stay here, okay?"
The snowman nodded and the two sisters followed Kristoff out of the room and down the corridor. Anna heard Elsa ask Kristoff a few times what was going on but Kristoff said that he was only told to get them. Whatever this was for, she thought, it wasn't pleasant. Finally they saw Mistress Julia and the Lord Commander in front of a pair of doors that Anna knew led to a balcony facing the harbour.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness," greeted the Lord Commander. "Come quickly."
A pair of soldiers opened the door for them to walk through and Anna was greeted by a chilly breeze hitting her against her face. But the wind brought more than just cold air; it also brought the scent of burning wood. At first Anna thought another fire broke out in Arendelle but...
"Oh god," breathed Elsa, placing her hand over her mouth with her other entangled in Anna's.
A pillar of smoke coming from behind the ice wall scarred the sunset sky and while they may not see exactly what was happening on the other side, the sounds coming from there gave Anna a clear enough picture. She heard furious chanting and jeers but they weren't loud enough to cover the screams of agony. Screams that tore through her body like lightning. They're burning someone alive, Anna thought with horror. Her great idol died like that and when she found that out, she had nightmares for months. She couldn't possibly imagine what the people there was going through now.
Anna didn't know how long they stood there, listening to the screams slowly die out into the night, but as the sun finally set and the sky was plunged into dark blue, she felt anger course through her. Whoever did this had to pay. Hans, the stupid Ordo Malleus, didn't matter. And looking to her side and seeing her sister's face twisted the same way it was at Pierre Gurdon's execution, Anna knew she wasn't alone in that thought.
Now I will say there will only be a couple chapters until the end. When will those be out, I'm not sure really. I will also be doing another fanfic that takes place within the events of Frozen, featuring the Royal Council and just how Hans was suddenly able to order people around.
As always, I welcome any and all feedback or criticism you might have to offer.