A/N: So, the two voters were for Anna to remain by Elsa's side for the war. And now, since only they voted, you ALL must live with their choice! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The ending has been decided according to where she was placed, and now, all I have to do is write. Only two chapters left until this fic is over, and crunch time for me. If you have yet to look up AtomicRedBoots, you need to. Right now. Otherwise you are wasting your life.
WARNING: This chapter contains vast amounts of graphic gore and violence. The war is neigh, NEIGH! Seriously though, don't even try to complain about it.
With love,
Korrupted.
Shout outs-
CobaltDusk: Well, whatever happens, just know that people voting on it may have changed the outcome for better or worse. And now, since I know you love the fighting scenes, enjoy the update of bloody battle!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Frozen or the characters. Good ol' Walt does. I'm just that horrible aunt who takes them out for a wild night and returns them way too drunk and probably with pictures of them doing things that they really shouldn't be. This is loosely based off of the AU Frozen artwork from AtomicRedBoots. Check. It. OUT.
Ames, Alejandro, and Kristoff stood among the royals, Anna standing over a map on the table with her family around her. "Their position is in this valley, and I suspect they will send a courier with an ultimatum before daylight. Rapunzel, how would the Legion fare in this weather?"
Green eyes narrowed in consideration. "Fairly well. I had them train in extreme conditions. The Mama and Papa both thought it would be wise as well." She admitted, her left hand idly resting on the whip that was on her left hip.
"Good. Eugene, what of your Raiders?"
The man scratched his scruffy goatee, a slightly worried expression on his features. "They aren't used to conditions this extreme, but they will adapt. The horses may prove sturdier than the men."
Anna nodded in thought, running her left hand through her hair. Weselton and the Southern Isles were still marching closer, and at this rate it was only another hour or two before the army would be in sight of the castle. What were they going to do? "Reine Elsa, Alejandro has the smallest of troops, so I suggest that we divide the weapons so he has the best." Ames stated calmly.
"Hmmm, that indeed would be wise. However, as you have less troops than I, I recommend you have the better armor. It would make up for the more pitiful weapons." The woman countered.
Anna looked from Ames, to Alejandro, to Elsa, suddenly considering her own troop placement. Alejandro would easily be outnumbered on the field, and Ames having the worst weapons meant that they could break mid-combat to leave his army at the mercy of their foes. Could she leave the two men to risk death with a clean conscience? However, Elsa was he queen, her sister, her lover. She had to by her side in battle, she had a duty to her people and their Ice Queen. "And I will be with Elsa's troops." She stated firmly, making her choice.
The eldest woman frowned heavily. "Anna, it may be better for you to accompany Ames, or Alejandro." She began, but the strawberry blonde simply crossed her arms defiantly.
"No. My queen and country need me. And I will not be leaving you in need, so you will not be able tell me to do otherwise."
Elsa sighed, rolling her eyes as Rapunzel giggled. "Don't get too used to giving me the orders, dear. Otherwise I may have to punish you for your insolence."
'Oh Gods, please do.' The princess knight mentally pleaded, instead smirking triumphantly. "On the battlefield, it's my rules, Your Majesty."
The doors opened to see a guard enter grimly. "Your Majesty, Your Highness. Three couriers bearing the Weselton colors requests an audience with the both of you in the throne room to discuss a possible resolution before warfare." He stated rather eloquently.
The sisters exchanged worried glances, both making their way towards the door as the queen worried her lower lip, deep in though while they walked through the halls. Anna would be able to keep her safe should it be any kind of ambush, but what if the enemy learned of Anna being the only person she truly loved? She had to hide her love, she decided as they entered, pulling up her cold mask of indifference instantly. 'Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show.' The platinum blonde told herself, seeing the three men waiting for them patiently, snow encrusted on their clothes due to her enchanted blizzard outside. 'Make one wrong move, and everyone will know.' "Gentlemen, what do your leaders want with us?" She questioned in a tone that matched the icy cold just through the windows.
One blond man stepped forward, offering a rolled bit of paper in his hand to Anna, the rime ice on her armor jutting out slightly with her agitation. "Prince Hans wishes to offer terms of surrender to you and your forces to avoid any... Unfortunate deaths that war may cause."
The queen stiffened at his words, ice blue eyes flicking over to her sister in worry as the memory of Kristoff's vision resurfaced. She buried the trace of emotions just as quickly as it had come, watching the princess break the wax seal, open the scroll, and read the contents aloud.
"Ice Queen Elsa of Arendelle, we send you these terms in hopes that we may avoid war amongst our peoples. We will withdraw our advance upon the surrender of Arendelle and..." Her voice trailed off before growing to one of outrage. "And the Ice Queen Elsa to our custody for execution?! Is this your fucking idea of a joke?" The scarred woman shouted, hurling the scroll back to the man.
"Princess Anna, we request that you consider our terms as to avoid unnecessary war." The man with mousy brown hair urged, stroking his mustache before stepping towards the platinum blonde. "War may destroy everything you lo-"
He was cut off by the tip of a frozen blade pressed to his throat, a thin trail of blood moving down his skin. "One more fucking step... If you take one more Odin damned step towards her, I swear that you will have stumps where your fucking limbs are." She growled in a deadly tone, the ice on her armor growing, sharpening, chilling the air from the rapid temperature drop it created.
Elsa stiffened in worry, but kept her expression blank. "Stand down, Anna." She ordered, watching the knight reluctantly withdraw her sword.
The blond man cleared his throat softly. "It also goes on to state that Prince Hans would be willing to take Her Royal Highness, Princess Anna as his consort. To allow her to live in luxury instead of..." The words faded from his lips as the temperature plummeted, this time the queen enraged.
"We decline these terms and will see his forces on the battlefield. Now, get out. You have overstayed your welcome." She snarled, frost edging onto their clothing from her rage. How dare they even think she would allow anyone to touch her Anna! Oh, she will make Hans suffer for such insolence.
The trio all but fled the room, Elsa walking over to her sister and pulling her into a firm embrace, hiding her eyes in the crook of the freckled knight's neck. "I won't let him touch you. I love you so much, Anna. I can't let him-"
Anna halted Elsa's words by placing a hand under her chin, lifting her face, and kissing her deeply, leaning into her queen's slightly taller form. She felt the woman return the gesture, wrapping her arms around the ice wielder's shoulders. The princess understood exactly what Elsa was feeling; she would rather die than see her sister harmed, let alone killed.
They didn't see the pair of grey eyes watching from the slightly open doors, the figure backing away from the throne room with the utmost stealth to follow his companions. Hans would be so very, very proud of him.
Anna and Elsa made their way back to the study, but passed Tarzan and Jane in the hall, the strawberry blonde looking at them in confusion. "Are you two leaving?" She inquired, still trying to think of he man as her brother; it was bizarre.
"Not really. We are just going to ready the Legion. You won't see us again until after the bloody battle, so, best of luck." Jane replied, pulling her hood back up to hide her features from view.
Tarzan looked at the two sisters he never had known before, his blue-green eyes intent. "See after. Stay safe. Jane stay with Tarzan." His voice was still that gruff tone, rough and untamed.
Elsa placed a hand on each of their shoulders, rime ice sprouting on their cloaks, much to the man's dismay. When she removed her fingers, the ice shifted and lay on their shoulders like armor, her expression softer than usual, yet still guarded. "This is part of my ice. May it protect you both. Ms. Porter, Tarzan... I wish to learn about you both after this war is through. Therefore, you both must survive."
Jane smiled under the shadow of her hood, her lover reaching out to his long lost siblings as well. His calloused fingers gripped their forearms, both women feeling something surge into their bodies as well; something wild and untamed. As he removed his hands, the English woman spoke for him, knowing that more than likely he had a mouth full of fangs after using his ability like that. "Tarzan gives you some of his magic as well. May it lend you some of his speed and strength in battle. Our Legion is waiting, love. Come now."
Together, the pelt clad duo left the sisters behind, the women finally returning to the study to see their cousins, the dignitaries, Oaken, and Kristoff awaiting them. Rapunzel rest her hand on the whip on her belt, the poisoned blade on the end currently sheathed in a leather case, a cast iron skillet next to it as well. Eugene gripped the hilt of his sword firmly, Kristoff and Oaken both standing with arms folded over their chests. Ames and Alejandro worried their wedding bands, but remained resolute, clearly ready to do anything they were ordered. Anna stepped forwards, her lips set in a grim line. "Alright, let us decide the placement of our troops. The war will begin shortly."
Hans sat upon his chair, cup of hot mead in hand. The tent flap opened to reveal the Duke with the three messengers he had sent. "Gentlemen! How did it go?"
"About as well as you had predicted, Your Highness. They declined your terms of surrender, but Varrick saw something." The black haired man stated, motioning to the grey eyed blonde.
Varrick stepped forwards, kneeing respectfully to his prince. "I have discovered the ice whore's weakness. She and the princess are lovers. To kill Anna would be to kill Elsa."
The auburn haired man smiled at his soldier, raising his mead slightly in a toast. "Well done indeed, Varrick. You will be rewarded greatly for your service after the war. This shall be the final battle. Dismissed." He told them, the trio leaving him and the mechanized man alone.
The red occulus light moved to rest upon the younger man's face. "So, our objective is clear." The Duke stated in a clear voice, his eye alight with joy.
"Indeed. Our dear Elsa chose to fall in love while at war with us. But, love is an open door. It can allow happiness," his hazel eyes narrowed dangerously. "or pain. We will show her what kind of agony can enter her heart through that door."
Hans downed the last of his tankard, standing suddenly and leaving the tent with a deadly purpose in his face. "We move out now! Prepare yourselves for war!" He shouted loudly, his men cheering.
Anna stood beside Elsa in the blizzard, the snow clinging to her armor as they waited. Oaken and Kristoff were two hulking figures among her men, though her cousin stood on the other side of the queen. Where Maximus as Eugene were was anybody's guess, and not a soul knew where the Pascal Legion was lurking. Through the thick sheet of wintry cover they could see an approaching force slowly making their way towards them, banners flying proudly at the head of the men. The strawberry blonde woman stepped forwards and turned around, looking at her men intently. "Today, we end this! If he so much as touches the queen, I swear I will kill one hundred of your idiots!"
Her men stood straighter, their jaws set. Whether it was in determination or fear, she didn't care as long as they got the job done. This was her sister's life at stake, and there was no price she was unwilling to pay to keep her lover safe in this battle. The opposing army marched closer still, halting when a respectful distance remained between them, their leaders sizing up the forces. Hans and the Duke wore special glass goggles that kept the snow from their eyes, the young prince noting that he had less troops than their foes; however, he had an ace up his sleeve that only the Duke was aware of. "Infantry, CHARGE!" He commanded, the order rippling throughout his forces, the men marching forwards with weapons drawn.
Anna set her jaw, Ames and Alejandro both calling their men to meet the other fighters as they surged forwards, roaring with furious excitement. Ames unsheathed his sword as the attackers dashed closer, his Spanish comrade hefting his large axe into the air and bringing it down directly into the skull of a Weselton soldier, his helmet giving way as blood poured from his split head and wrenching it free with a sickeningly wet squelch. He showed surprising agility and dexterity, using his armor to deflect strikes and his axe to sever limbs, the crimson fluid spraying death across the snow, the blizzard raging on. He heard a horn in the distance as his blade tore open a Southern Isles man's gut, his intestine spilling out of the wound as his foe gurgled in agony, the gore being stepped on by fighting men around him. Suddenly, he witnessed in utter disbelief as some of his own men turned on their fellows, changing the tide swiftly. "Madre de Dios!" He shouted, now on the defensive as he fought off a Weselton swordsman as well as a Spanish warrior.
His armor save his life far more times than he had expected, taking up the swords of a few fallen warriors to help him combat his foes, hearing his own troops being felled by the surprising turn of events. When had Hans been able to turn some of his own men against him? Deep blues of the French forces also were fighting along side the enemy, the muscled man now worried for his old friend's safety. One blade slashed violently across the traitor's windpipe, hot blood shooting out of the opening like a geyser to color his plate mail red, flecks splashing upon his tan face and wild hair. He had to find Ames, had to ensure that the man was alright. He stumbled over the fallen form of a Southern Isles soldier, desperately blocking as a second man swooped in for the kill.
"Stay away from my friend, you scoundrels!" A heavily French accented voice growled as the heads of the men were cleaved from their necks, fountains of vermilion erupting from the stumps as bodies fell.
Ames quickly pulled the broadly built man to his feet, both rejoining the fray as they struggled against both the traitors and the enemy. An eerie howl slithered in from below the snow mound to their right, the unearthly sound making their bones shudder, eyes flicking around nervously as the battle raged on. Yet the mound appeared to explode, revealing a wolf far larger than anything they had ever encountered with a slender spear wielder atop his back, and another thirty spear bearers that leapt at their foes. Jane twirled her spear expertly as she remained atop the great beasts back, plunging it need into the bodies of Weselton men and the turn coat Frenchmen and Spaniards. "Tarzan, to the left!" She called, the wolf snapping his teeth at a man who had foolishly decided to come closer.
Rapunzel grinned and scurried off to help her fighters, drawing her whip out and removing the leather cover from the dagger end. She flicked the deadly length about, the poisoned blade opening terrible wounds upon those in her way, toxin seeping into their bloodstream to ensure death one way or another. Blood and gore mixed with the snow, the slurry a reddish pink concoction that sloshed under boots, at times organs being trod upon as well. The tide of battle was turning once again, the princess of Corona breaking a man's neck with her whip before stabbing another with her sword.
Hans watched the scene in frustration, deciding to abandon the conventions of war in his effort to be the victor. He raised his sword, shouting, "CHARGE!" And lead the attack, rushing the field to retake the victory.
Anna's sky blue eyes narrowed dangerously, unsheathing her ice sword. "Not a chance, fucker." The warrior princess hoisted it high, shouting, "PAINT THE FJORD RED! ARENDELLE, CHARGE!"
Her men roared as their blood began to boil; how dare they attack their home? The warriors of the Norwegian kingdom rushed the field as well, Elsa blasting left and right with her ice, frigid spikes tearing through bodies to leave the victims partially standing like a gruesome puppet show. The queen watched as her sister slash through men with reckless abandon, the berserker rage consuming the freckled knight as she battled. An oddly cheerful sound made it's way to the ears of the elder blonde woman, ice blue eyes glancing around for the source.
There, sitting on Marshmallow's shoulders, was Olaf. His behemoth companion bat away enemy soldiers and stepped upon them as he lumberingly ran through the battle, the smaller snowman squealing, "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee~!" joyfully, an absurd display of childish glee in the face of bloodshed.
Kristoff and Oaken fought back to back, one smashing skulls with a great hammer, the other using his stone-like fists. The large man bellowed loudly as the hammer connected with one of the rogue French soldier's faces, blood and grey matter spilling out of the other side of his skull while bone shards burst through flesh. Oaken had to admit, his armor was fairly light but kept him warmer than what should have been possible due to the troll chief's enchantments, even warding off many of the glancing blows to miss him entirely. He refused to let himself become too cocky, though; one wrong move would still see him skewered on the blade of an enemy. He looked up to see Anna and Elsa both fighting together, the princess lashing out with a sharp headbutt to one of the Southern Isles men's face before her ice sword ran through his throat, kicking the dying man off of her blade to block the next fool who targeted her queen. It was a beautiful dance of death that the young woman was creating, both terrible and captivating all at once to the former merchant.
His line of sight turned to Elsa as he crushed another foe under his hammer, the sickening crunch of bones snapping reaching his ears. She was in her fur lined tunic and black leggings, looking deadly and majestic as ice impaled all those who approached the duo, the blizzard increasing in tempo. The sounds of growls pulled his attention back to his immediate surroundings, watching as Jane nimbly leapt from the back of the large wolf and thrust her spear into the head of a male who had been trying to sneak up on the German princess, ripping it out as her blue eyes coldly sized up her next foe, the wolf busy rending limbs apart from screeching soldiers. Oaken slammed his armored foot into a man's arm, breaking it before dealing the killing blow with his weapon, looking around for Kristoff worriedly, Eugene bringing in his cavalry atop Maximus, the Riders slashing viciously at those who stood in their path.
At some point of him trying to ensure everyone's safety, he had become separated from the other man, and now it seemed that the grey skinned magical being was attempting to fight off no less than ten men at once. It was a losing battle on his own, the armorer knew it and so he started making his way towards the exhausted chief, leaving a trail of bloody and broken corpses in his wake. He could see the physical toll the constant use of magic was was taking on the man who had poured so much into armor for this very battle; Kristoff had sacrificed his own well-bring to allow him a bit more rest. Oaken was all too happy to return the favor. He gripped a man in Weselton colors and broke his neck deftly, grabbing the newly made corpse by the leg to slam him into one of the others, both toppling to the bloody snow to be trampled by the fighting warriors around them. He felt a blade break through a bit of his armor, grabbing the offending weapon and stabbing the owner with it as another strike hit him, an axe head biting painfully into his side. "Grrraaaaaahhhh!" He roared in agonized fury, ripping it out and splitting open a skull with it, the men who had been focused on Kristoff mow turning on him.
Kristoff panted heavily as his right leg bled heavily from the gash on it, the limb barely willing to hold his weight by the time Oaken had arrived to aid him. He watched in horror as a spear impaled the powerful human, the man pulling it deeper into his own body to drag the soldier close enough to strike him with the hammer, crimson leaking from the corner of the Norwegian man's mouth. It was like watching Sven die all over again, the former human helpless, wounded, watching yet another person die for him.
Watching one of his very few friends fall in his place.
"NOOO!" Kristoff screeched, his magic erupting from his body violently, seeping into the mouths and eyes of the men who were stabbing the slowing man.
The soldiers began gagging, clawing at their throats as insects crawled out of their noses and mouths, maggots spilling from their ears as creatures poured from their choking bodies. A few were scratching their own throats open in an effort to breathe, but they all collapsed to the battlefield as anyone near them fled in terror, leaving Kristoff to limp quickly to catch the bloody form of Oaken as he finally collapsed. "Oaken, stay with me." Kristoff pleaded, his left hand trying to hold closed one of the many, many wounds that leaked blood at an alarming rate. "Stay with me! Think of your family, you have to make it back to them... You have to... Oaken, why...?"
The dying man grinned at the brown eyed troll weakly, struggling to sit up in spite of his injuries. He was so pale already, so cold despite all of the enchantments he had placed on his armor. "B... Beca...ause that is... vhat... friends d...do..." He took in a pain breath, coughing out more vermilion fluid. "N-now go, friend... Vin this var for us both... Ya?"
Kristoff blinked back tears, nodding at the dying soldier as Oaken numbly pressed the handle of his hammer into the troll's grasp. "Vin..."
"I will, my friend." He assured, his deep voice thick with sadness as he accepted the weapon.
He lay the man down slowly, Oaken giving him one last smile before the enchanted man turned away, standing awkwardly on his injured leg before charging with a roar of pain at the closest enemy fighters. He couldn't look back to wait for the man to pass on to Valhalla, but he would help Anna and Elsa win. For Oaken. For Sven. For all who had fallen before and after them, Kristoff the Chief of the Trolls would ensure the victory for Arendelle and protect the queen and princess.
He couldn't stand to lose his final two remaining friends.