The leaves beneath Anna's feet crunched as she jogged to where she was supposed to meet the group. When Anna did not see them she started sprinting to the edge of the river, only to bump into Queen Elsa, herself. Literally.
"Oof!" They both said as they crashed into each other. Anna had stumbled a couple steps back, but the queen had backed up dangerously close to the river's rushing waters. Anna reached out when the Queen's foot had slipped halfway over the edge and pulled her to safety after a few heart pounding milliseconds went by.
"I can handle myself," Elsa snapped, brushing off her dress after snapping her hand out of Anna's grip.
Anna bit back her annoyance at the Queen's attitude, but quickly reminded herself of who she was dealing with. A Queen who just escaped a death squad. Luckily, Anna had gotten there before the killing had started. She now lead the group away from the mansion, and pursuing soldiers, down a path she knew would eventually connect to a road that ran through the area. Anna had walked casually with the group, between them and the steep cliff that doubled as the edge of the path.
The little girl with the raven black hair from earlier had separated from her peers at the center of the group and now walked beside Anna. Anna glanced to her side. She could tell the girl had more than a few things on her mind. It was in the way the girl fiddled with her fingers and peeked up at Anna when the girl thought she wasn't looking that got her attention.
"What is it, pup?" The redhead asked, placing an ungloved hand on top of the girls head as an act of comfort.
The girl had become less distraught since their escape and had dried her eyes, which were now fixated on the ground. "You killed all those guys back there, right?" she asked, her voice small and meek.
Anna nodded once, looking to the child's eyes that were now gazing up at her.
"Did you have to?" the girl asked, looking up to Anna with some innocent emotions tied between hope and fear.
Anna's face hardened slightly and she looked forward to the path ahead. "Yes," she said, "or they would have come after all of you. They were bad men and they would've done really bad things to you and the others. So yeah, I had to." She looked back to the girl, the corners of her lips twitching up. "I let one live, though."
"You did?" the girl asked. Anna nodded at her. "But why? Will he come after us again?"
"He might," Anna allows, "but if he does, he knows he won't be getting away again. If anybody touches any of you, I'll rip them in two."
The girl's face scrunched up. "What about all the blood and stuff?" she asked. "It's just so," she shivered, "ew."
Anna chuckled slightly and replied, "Nothing some soap and hot water can't get off."
"Oh," the girl murmured, and went back to twiddling her fingers. "Do you think you could show me how?"
"How to what? Use a sword?" Anna asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Mhm," The girl hums. "I want to protect the Queen, like you!" The little girl's face lit up with a spark of excitement.
"We'll see," Anna said. "If we have time on our journey to your new home, then yes, I will be happy to show you. But we're gonna use sticks, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."
"Yay! This is gonna be fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The girl squealed, and skipped a few paces before she turned back to face the older woman. "My names Peyton!" she said, looking at the redhead as she walked backwards down the path. "What about you?"
"My name is Anna," Anna replied, and smiled a little.
"Anna," Peyton said, testing it on her tongue. "You have a very pretty name, Anna."
Anna let a full smile spread across her cheeks. "Thank you, Peyton. Your's is beautiful, as well. I've never heard it before, and I've been almost everywhere!"
"Wow! Wait, doesn't that make it unik?" Peyton asked.
"Unik?" Anna questioned.
"Yeah! It means there's only one in the whole wide world!" the little girl said, spreading her arms out wide.
"Oh, you mean unique?" Anna asked.
"Yes, that's what I meant!" Peyton said.
Anna giggled, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder as they walked.
Anna didn't notice the Queen eavesdropping on the two as they interacted. Peyton had always been the quiet one, and it was strange seeing her open up to a total stranger. She let herself smile when she saw the grin on Peyton's face. Not only that, but the one on the stranger's face as well. This is nice for a change. Thought the Queen. I wonder how long it will last. IF it will last.
Anna stopped the group when they finally got to the road. She brought them into the edge of the woods that overlooked the cobblestone path and told them to stay low and out of sight as she walked to the center of the road. The group watched as she put her hand up to her mouth and whistled. She stood still, out in the middle of the road, waiting for something to happen. Moments later, hooves could be heard on the road and finally, her horse came into view. She smiled as it slowed and stopped in front of her.
"Hey, boy." She raised her hand to his forehead and turned to the group, waving them out to her. They all ran out to her. The kids were first, wanting to pet the 'pony,' as they called him. The ladies followed, trailed by the Queen who held her arm nervously while eyeing the animal's owner. Anna reached under Peyton's arms and lifted her up onto her horse, and as she first sat atop his back, her eyes grew wide. Anna then put a second and third child behind, the three youngest, behind her and drew the reigns over the horse's head to lead him from the front. Elsa had her reservations about allowing the children on an animal she didn't know was domesticated. For all she knew, this was a mustang from the Western Plains and Anna was leading them to a trap. If she was leading us to a trap, do you really think she would kill her own men? Her mind raged against itself. Well, no, but-
But nothing! She's helping you, get over it. Elsa sighed and stood next to Anna who was still smiling at Peyton as she showed the little girl how the reins worked.
Anna took notice of the Queen's presence almost immediately, turning to her with a small smile on her lips.
Elsa's face turned pink as she looked away, avoiding eye contact. "So where do we go now?"
Anna's smile fell and her brow furrowed slightly. "I actually hadn't thought of that. Give me a min-"
"Wait, you don't have a plan? I thought you were here to rescue us!" Elsa said, distressed.
Anna's eyes fell to the ground and she shifted her weight onto one foot. "Actually, I need to talk to you about that. But not here. Later, okay?" Anna looked up to the Queen's eyes, which looked worried. As soon as their eyes locked together, the feeling looked as if it disappeared. "Its just I know where to go. You can trust me." A corner of her lips raised.
The Queen sighed, closing her eyes for a moment and opened them, looking back to the redhead who had a small amount of hope glimmering in her eyes. "Okay."
Anna nodded and took the reins and turned the horse around, facing West. As she started walking, she turned to her left to see the Queen. Elsa, she thought. Even her name holds beauty that rivals gems. Elsa, herself, noticed and as a result produced a small smile in response, her cheeks turning an almost unnoticeable pink. Anna smiled back and turned to look back at Peyton who was giggling as the horse swayed her from side to side as it walked. That was something she had no idea about; how fond she was of children. Sure, she had the odd job that involved families but to interact with them? Anna seemed to be a natural - at least from what Elsa had seen. Having gotten this far, Anna hummed an old song to herself and went back to leading the horse. She knew where to go now. It was the last place the King would look and if he ever found out, she knew the area better than anyone. They would be safe there. Home.
Been a while! Sorry I haven't updated this story in a long time. I know a lot of people like it, it's just my brain has kind of been weird lately. I think im back on track with everything now. Hopefully, you will have seen i updated all my other stories as well, so go and check them out! Who knows, you might like them! Hope this is enough until i get more time to myself.. As always, Favorite if you enjoyed, Follow if you want more, and leave a review telling me your thoughts, emotions, comments, questions or queries etc.. Thanks guys!
