The snowflake melts away into a chill on her tongue, and unconsciousness begins to drag Anna beneath its velvet darkness. With sweat dripping from his face, the soldier raises his spear, failing to notice frost skirting along his gloves. He slams it downwards as the entire shaft freezes over, and the point stops short of Anna's neck by mere inches.
Horses neigh and grown men shriek at the blast of chill air emanating from the frozen statue before them. The ground quakes with icicles sprouting from each blade of grass, and a roar in the distance shudders the foggy air around them. Bound amongst the Russian Corp's surviving men, Anatasia's lips curl into a smile. She tilts her gaze up to the sky as a layer of sleet drapes the trail with a white blanket. The Weselton soldiers shut their eyes as a gust of icy wind cuts into their faces, only to open them again and recoil at the sight of their comrades impaled upon a flurry of ice spikes centred on the ice statue, now shattered into a multitude of crystals. Beneath the glittering icicles and snow settling upon the trail, a dark patch of red remains all that's left of the spot where Anna once lay bleeding to death.
Riding on hurricane of snowflakes above the clouds, the dragon sends trails of snow swirling beneath its wings as it tears through the sky. Despite the wind's howling, one of its passenger's sobs still resonate through the night air.
"Please, Anna," Elsa begs, cradling her sister's bloodied and bruised body in her arms, "just a little bit more."
She shields Anna's eyes from the ice tearing through the air as her dragon hurtles towards Arendelle. Her trembling hand hovers over the gaping wound in the side of Anna's head, but the memory of their childhood accident forces it back, and she presses the edge of her gown into the gash instead.
The dragon lurches downwards as the Castle's spires come into view between the clouds; Elsa clutches onto the reins with an ice-like fury radiating through her white knuckles, still criss-crossed with burn marks from the day before. The smell of Anna's blood drains all of hers from her face, and she grits her teeth as her sister whimpers into her hair.
Elsa shuts her eyes against the sunlight searing into her eyelids; the simple act providing a much needed respite from the droning voices wafting through the judicial chamber – but all she sees is Anna, lying motionless in the infirmary. Again. Because of her.
Half an hour into the coup's inquiry and Elsa's blood begins to boil over, sending sleet falling on all corners of the room. A pair of teal gloves conceal the burn marks on her hands, but the makeup on her face barely conceals the weal from where Adolphus had struck her. Across the chamber, the seven judges from Arendelle's Supreme Court sit; dressed in wigs and flowing robes, the men listen to the witnesses with hands poised on quills and gavels.
The chief counsel for the Arendelle Throne clears his throat over the sound of servants shoveling snow away from the dock, "We call to the stand, Captain Felix Sommer of the Arendelle Navy!"
Dressed in a crisp uniform with blood-stained bandages still visible beneath his hat, the captain limps to the dock and takes his stand. He casts a worried gaze towards Elsa slumped over in her throne, and shoots a defiant stare at the Judges. A court clerk brings out a document and lays it before him on a pedestal.
"Captain, the following document was found in your quarters on the night of the coup, would you care to explain to us its purpose, and why it was found in your possession?"
The captain stares at the parchment, creased and wrinkled where he had stuffed it into his jacket. The judges can't see it, but he clenches his fists behind his back as he starts his testimony, "This is an operational order issued from the Navy's high command, and issued to the commanders of all operational vessels in the Arendelle Navy. As Captain of the HMAS Norge, I received such an order on the morning of the coup."
"Before the field trials were to be carried out?"
"Yes, even before the dawn mustering."
The chief counsel adjusts his glasses and allows the scribes to catch up on their words before continuing, "And did it not occur to you that such a mutinous act is illegal?"
The captain looks down at his shoes and bites his lip, "I saw the other commanders with similar envelopes, and waited to convene with their counsel before deciding on a course of action. The meeting took place at midday, but the Princes from the Southern Isles warned us about the invasion fleet they were preparing, and how they would destroy the capital if we resisted the coup."
"What was the outcome of that meeting?"
"The fleet commanders conspired to passively resist the coup by halting all operational activities while still remaining under the command of the Admiral and the King of the Southern Isles. This would ensure the Capital's safety, while denying the Southern Isles control of our fleet."
"Unfortunately captain, your truce didn't last very long at all. Within six hours, a violent mutiny occurred which led to an enormous loss of lives and the disablement of most of the Fleet. From the accounts submitted by other commanders, it appears that riotous acts broke out on board your ship shortly after sundown. Given that the orderly conduct of the crew remains under your responsibility, would you care to provide an account of the events that transpired?"
The captain fiddles with his pocketwatch and clasps his fingers together. His voice breaks into a stammer, "I-It's the Princess. P-Princess Anna. She boarded the ship and then-"
"What?" Elsa's voice slices through the chamber, sending drifting specks of snow plummeting to the floor. Dozens of eyes snap to Elsa standing by the throne with clenched fists; her gown twisted around her body in a shimmering spiral of ice. "My apologies for interrupting, captain, do continue your testimony," Elsa commands, gripping the edges of her throne.
"Y-your sister, um, I mean – Princess Anna. She boarded the ship and she…she killed Prince Hans."
Elsa takes a step forward and leans over the bar, hanging onto every word leaving his trembling lips.
"After she killed him and several other men, the crew…followed her. They went along with her and she attempted to access the hold, following which we met resistance from the Southern Isles detachment and a mutiny ensued. The other ships saw us fighting and they caught onto the mutiny."
Elsa's eyes widen as the captain describes in vivid detail the torn-up bodies and trails of blood left in Anna's wake as she carved a path through enemy soldiers towards the hold where she was held captive. She gasps at his account of Anna freeing her from the oven, and the way she pummeled her way onto the deck with her body slung over her shoulder.
"…after the first cannons started firing, a seaman saw the Princess throwing herself overboard with her Majesty, and that was the last we saw of them."
"Thank you for your testimony, Captain," the chief counsel announces over his transcript, "Indeed, there is a gap in the account at this point as to the whereabouts of both her Majesty and her Highness. As Princess Anna is still incapacitated and unfit to testify, we would like to call to the stand, Her Majesty Queen El-"
"Enough!" Elsa's voice booms through the room. She dips her head and stares at the piles of snow littered across the room, and the panting servants freeze in position with their shovels. "I mean…I think we've h-heard enough for today," Elsa says, choking back a snivel, "we will adjourn until…tomorrow."
A tear slips down Elsa's cheek and blossoms into a snowflake as she flees the fog-filled chamber, crushing icicles beneath her slippers on her way out.