The Queen's golden mare charged down the center of the fjord, the water always frozen solid before she reached it. The rhythm of the hooves was almost calming. At least it would have been if her nerves hadn't been drawn taut like a new recruit's bowstring on guard duty. She knew exactly what she needed to do. The dream woman had explained it thoroughly, and had assured her that it would work. If only there had been a safe place to test it. But even before she started, there were other pieces that must be put in place.
She leapt from her horse without slowing when she reached the ocean's edge. At a barked command, it turned and galloped back towards the city. It had been trained well. The vast expanse of water and waves before her crackled in frustration as it fought her power, but to no avail. Within seconds, it was just as solid as the land it surrounded.
The ships were not yet in view, thank goodness. She wanted them as far out as possible for what she had planned. Wind howling across the ice was the sole sound on the beach that day, and she strode intently south over the water to meet it.
Her gaze panned from east to west, a humorless smile gracing her lips as she watched her army rise to accompany her. Many of their forms were taken from the denizens of the ice forest, but several, like the towering snow golems, were of her own design. She was glad that Marshmallow wasn't here to see this. Poor guy probably wouldn't be so happy at being so seriously dwarfed by his new brothers. Brutish monsters that would have resembled bears if bears had lashing tails, spiked backs, and three horns. They loped easily across the newly-formed tundra despite their impressive bulk. She couldn't see the beasts flying in the dark, swirling thunderhead above, but she could feel their presence. Hundreds upon hundreds of her creations poured up from the ice to follow her lead.
Long, sharp, and gleaming with a faint amber light, her sword appeared in her hand. She looked at her new army, and was exceptionally glad that they weren't the type who required rousing speeches to encourage them. She didn't think she could have handled that at the moment. Instead, she just gathered the woman's instructions to the fore of her mind, and leapt into the air.
A conjured icy gale carried her aloft, easier than she expected despite the woman's assurances that it wouldn't be as difficult as it sounded. Within seconds, she was looking down on her force from the roiling clouds above. It was working. Their plan was going to work. Her laughter echoed through the storm like thunder.
Anna's studded leather armor fit snugly. Was it too tight? No, no it was fine. The tanner had gone over it for the last week to make sure it was perfect. She was just being paranoid. Tendro had said that would happen. Apparently it was common for soldiers to come up with scenarios in their mind to freak themselves out before a battle. It didn't mean they were cowards, it was just something they had to learn to overcome. She supposed she was lucky that the scariest thing her mind could come up with was a tight set of armor.
That wasn't true, of course. She felt nothing but stark terror when she watched the sky in the distance towards the sea. The storm had to be Elsa's doing, she knew, but that could not calm the churning of her stomach when she thought of what might be happening out there. And here she was, stuck on a stupid wall, powerless to help her love.
You are helping, though! Elsa was right, you would just be a distraction to her, and that would only put her in even more danger.
Stupid reason. When did listening to reason ever do her any good? It didn't matter that it was right. What mattered was that she wanted to help. And whatever her logic might tell her, standing here with her bow and shield did not feel like helping.
"Anna!" She jumped. She must have been even more nervous than she thought.
"Oh, hey, Olaf."
"Remember how Kristoff said that he was going to be up on the North Mountain? And how he said that it was because he wanted to make sure the Guards up there had everything they needed, but you said it was because he couldn't fight his way out of a-"
"Yes! Yes, Olaf, I remember." Several of the Guards on the wall were chuckling. She gave them a glare that they pretended to acknowledge. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm pretty sure that's him and Sven riding down here in an awful hurry right now," he pointed up at the mountain's slopes. Sure enough, there was the valiant, pungent reindeer king himself.
Oh no, what if he had seen something on the sea? Did he see something happen to Elsa?!
Panic clamped her throat shut, and her gloved hands gripped the parapet until her knuckles hurt. Reason came to the rescue. The distant storm raged on. Elsa must be okay. Her throat ached from the tension, but she could breathe again.
"Captain Tendro!" came Kristoff's voice. "Anna!" she could hear him yelling at the Guards as she ran along the wall, "You! Go get the Captain and the Princess! There's-"
"What is it?" she called.
"Oh, Anna! They're coming!"
"What? Who's coming?"
"Weselton! Or… The Southern Isles maybe? I don't know… I never learned the flags. But someone is coming, and they are not with us!"
Her gut twisted. "How? They couldn't have gotten past Elsa."
"They must have landed in the night. There's no sign of ships, but there are hundreds of longboats along the coast. They'll be here any minute! Where is the Captain?!"
"I'm here." Somehow even arriving late, the man was still a pillar of reassurance. "This is unpleasant news. Where is that snowman?"
"Right here, Captain Tendro, sir!" Olaf managed an awkward salute that knocked his head onto the ground next to his feet. It looked up at his body, clearly confused as to what had just happened.
"Not uh… that was weird… not you. The big one."
A deep growl came from in front of the gate. "What do you want?" Marshmallow boomed.
"Will you go with some of my men to try and harry the attackers?"
"Yes." The ice giant started running off towards the mountain.
Tendro obviously hadn't expected such quick obedience, "I didn't mean right… dammit. You, you, and you. Grab your platoons and go with him! Hit and run! Don't let them catch you. Do whatever it takes to slow them down."
The sheer number of ships was astounding, but once the water around them was solid they lost a lot of their threatening factor. Huge golden hailstones tore chunks from masts, riggings, and soldiers alike. The Queen of Arendelle's fury reigned.
Hundreds of arrows soared up towards her from the men below, but each one was caught in the violent gusts of wind dancing around her. Maintaining her windwall, she allowed herself to plummet to the quarterdeck of a Coronan flagship below.
More arrows from all directions made it to within several feet of her before zipping off into the sky again. She knew the wind wouldn't let them touch her. A team of ferocious looking men rushed up the wooden stairs at her. The Queen cocked her head slightly to the side. This wasn't right. She was power incarnate. She had just raised a supernatural army from nothing, frozen the untameable sea, and flown into battle at the head of a conjured tempest the likes of which no man had ever seen. And these men were not afraid.
A wave of her hand brought a barrier of hailstorms that battered the men back to the deck below. Her anger reveled in their forced retreat. Her logic told her that something was very wrong here. A swipe of her arm brought a blade of ice just overhead, cleanly severing each of the ship's masts. Again, she took to the skies.
Her army had arrived. They lined the armada, snarling and snapping at the crews. Golems stood at the fore, absorbing arrows, heedless of the multitude of shafts protruding from each of them. Each one roared its own challenge at those who would dare call down their Queen's wrath.
A winged form circled her in the clouds. She sent it down to the crippled flagship with specific instructions. Only a moment later, it returned with a screaming sailor in its talons. Screaming in anger. Not fear. A bare whisper of energy hovered like spider's silk over the man's head. The sensation was completely foreign to her. The Queen reached out and gripped the man's face, peering into his eyes. They were hollow. There was no compassion there, no joy, no fear, just hate. It was as if everything that had made him human had been stripped away, leaving behind a killing machine.
Save them.
What?
No answer again. But she knew she hadn't imagined the voice that time.
"Um… can I come inside? I mean, they're almost here and all."
The Ice Master wasn't wrong. The invaders were rushing around the mountain's base towards the walls. Their synchronized footfalls were close enough to be heard by everyone in the city by now. The defenders waited stoically as the promise of battle descended upon them. And the delivery boy fled behind the safety of the walls.
Anna couldn't blame him. Not everyone was cut out for this sort of thing. She was pretty sure that she wasn't either, but not nearly as sure as she had been when her training had begun. It had been an intense couple of months, and she had to admit that it was an exciting thing to finally get to put her practice to use. She inspected the quivers leaning against the wall in front of her for what must have been the tenth time since they heard the news. Everything was still in order.
You can do this. Just like practice. Raise, inhale, draw, aim, exhale, release. The mantra ran through her head over and over. Soothing in its own way.
The lieutenants along the wall were shouting orders to their sergeants below, who relayed them to Arendelle's nervous troops. Almost none of them had actually seen fighting before. The kingdom had known peace for so long that veterans like Tendro were almost a thing of the past. That was all going to change in the next few minutes.
The enemy crested the last of the foothills between them and the walls. A command rang out across the battlements. Hundreds of shafts leapt into the air, arcing gracefully before beginning their descent. The quiet as they fell was loud. Anna had heard the phrase that silence could be deafening, but she didn't truly understand until now. It was as if her whole body was aching for them to land, almost like she was begging everything to just get on with it.
Men screamed. The ones in front who fell tripped those who ran behind. Those who were tripped got trampled. Another wave of arrows was loosed. A Weseltonian bannerman fell, his standard planted firm just before he died. It was fascinating in a morbid way. It seemed like no matter how many fell, more were there to replace them.
Anna was holding a bow. She was supposed to be using the bow. Ullr curse her for a fool. She nocked an arrow to her string and let it fly. She couldn't have missed by much more if she had tried. It had only vaguely even gone in the right direction. Maybe if her hands would just stop shaking… when had that even started?
Get a hold of yourself! You're a Princess, and your home is under attack. Your people need you. Your sister needs you.
A deep breath. Another shaft. Raise… inhale… draw…aim... exhale and… release. She didn't see it hit, but it disappeared somewhere into the mass of charging men. She considered that a good shot, especially when compared to the first.
Another breath, another arrow.
The frozen army surged forward at the Queen's unspoken command. All she could do was hope that they were able to understand clear enough. Corona's colors meant incapacitate, not kill. Something was wrong with her cousin's men, and there might still be hope for them. The vengeful angry torrent chained inside her demanded that she enter the fray soon, but she had one more ship to find before letting it go.
Below, she could see the berserkers, the name she had given the bearlike creatures, leap easily aboard the stranded vessels and overwhelm the crews. Marshmallow's enormous brothers didn't even bother with boarding, and just smashed their way through everything in their path. Her valkyries, the winged monstrosities, swooped down and snatched several men up at a time before hurling them back to the ice where they lay unmoving. She hadn't chosen names for any of the rest of her various creations, but she supposed there was still time. Not that having a name would make them even more fearsome. They seemed to be devastating her foes just fine without them.
It was a horrific sight, but it was necessary. If she didn't stop these men here, they would be murdering her own people. Her loving, caring, innocent people. No way was she was going to let that happen. She steeled her stomach as her next target came into view. Winds propelling her, she made a beeline for the largest Southern Isles banner she could find.
The top deck was empty. The soldiers had probably charged off across the ice, thinking they would have a better chance without the ship being torn up from beneath them. They were probably right.
She was about to leave in search of another vessel when she heard a sound like a chair scraping across wood. Without hesitating, she blasted a hole in the side of the Captain's cabin. A man adorned in the highest military livery looked up from a writing desk.
"Do you mind?"
Well, that wasn't exactly what she had been expecting. The winds churned around her, ripping books from the shelves and tearing loose planks from their fittings. Her blue eyes shone with their own light, freezing the man in place. "Who. Are. You." Her voice was cold. Colder than she had ever heard it. She was the Ice Queen, and this man was going to answer her question.
He stood from his desk and gave a wobbly bow. There was something wrong with his eyes. "Prince Lars, of the Southern Isles. Who are you?"
One of Hans's brothers. This cretin was partially responsible for her home being attacked twice now. It took all of her will to keep from freezing him solid where he stood. She settled instead for ringing him with icy spikes that grew ever so slowly towards him. "You're in charge of this armada?"
Something in his eyes shuddered, and he seemed to lose focus for a moment. "I… what? Who are you? I'm a Prince, you know!" He glared at her, and that strangeness returned. "I'll answer none of your questions, girl. Whoever you are."
What was wrong with these people? Something had infected the Coronans, and apparently at least one of the Southern Isles Princes too. With a wave of her hand, Lars found himself cocooned from neck to toe against the wall in a solid block of ice.
"Lars. I am going to count to five. You are going to tell me who is in charge of this attack. And then you're going to tell me where I can find him. If you are not done talking by the time I am done counting, then you are done. Do you understand?" She did nothing to impede the frost that coated every word, leaving no doubt behind that she spoke true.
The conflict in his eyes told her that he believed her, and that she was right. There was something in there, giving orders. But it wasn't alone. She was willing to bet that Lars was in there as well, fighting.
"It's… aaaahhhhh it hurts! It's the Duke, but he's not here! We're just a decoy! Make it stop…" And then it did. His eyes went red and blood trickled from his mouth as his head lolled onto his icy prison. Just like Emil.
What the Hel… Wait, decoy? Oh no… ANNA!
There were just so many! Anna wasn't sure how long it had been since she had run out of arrows, but it felt like hours. Arendelle's troops had long since retreated into the safety of the walls. Not for the first time, she wondered why nobody had thought to guard the shoreline where the longboats had landed. She supposed it didn't matter now. The past was in the past, as her sister always said.
A quick glance seaward told her that the storm was as harsh as ever, meaning that Elsa was still alive. She didn't know what she would do if those stormclouds faltered. Hopefully there would be no cause to find out.
An ugly, mustached face popped over the wall, followed by a burly, armored body. She didn't slow her jog, nor give him time to react before hurling him backwards with her shield.
"Ladder!" she called, not for the first time. Her soldiers rushed to her aid and used their pronged staves to topple the siege device back down atop its owners. "Thank you!" She wasn't even sure that they could hear her over the cacophony of the battle, but it cost her nothing to attempt to keep up their morale. They were her men after all.
Dismay ran over her as she turned back to the wall. All along its length, armored foes were cresting the top. There were just so many… She would not stand for it. This was her home.
A scream built in her throat as she ran. It probably wasn't the most terrifying war cry of the day, but it was everything she had. There were several shocked faces that saw her a half-second too late before tumbling to the ground below. But not everyone was so unlucky. A sword clanged against her shield, and she spun with it to lend momentum to her next strike. The man was obviously not expecting a counterattack from a woman without a proper weapon. The end of her spin was also the end of his time on the wall.
A pair of enemies behind him now knew they weren't dealing with a mere frightened woman, and came at her cautiously. Tendro had taught her how to handle multiple opponents. This would be easy. Just like training. Unlike training, one of the men lowered his axe to hurl a dagger from his hip straight at her. She barely caught it on her shield in time, and gasped as the second man charged. Instead of sticking around, she leapt back and took a defensive stance. It was lucky she did, for another vibration in her hand told her the man wasn't out of daggers.
Defense wasn't going to work for fighting these two apparently. They would eventually just catch her off guard, or force her off the wall. Mr. Daggers lunged with his axe. She feinted a step back, then stepped over his weapon and bashed him on the top of the head. As he fell, she swung the shield hard into his surprised comrade who tumbled down into the courtyard where the remnants of her army was now fighting for their lives. A quick look told her that despite her little victory, the wall was lost.
Unless something changed, they were going to lose this battle. They were going to lose the city. Elsa was going to come home to… well… not home. If only Marshmallow was here. He hadn't come back from his mission. She hoped against hope that he was still alive and fighting.
She ran down into the courtyard to join her soldiers. A single Guard stood alone against three men. The Princess evened the odds by charging in and leveling one before dazing the other. The Guard dispatched the third quickly. He gave her a nod of gratitude, and they moved together through the vicious throng of combatants, each watching the other's back.
Minutes had passed, and several more soldiers had fallen to her bashing before she was knocked to the ground from behind. Her shield lay beneath her, and her partner's corpse lay on her back. Metal boots stomped around her, splashing mud and blood across her face.
I am not going to get trampled today!
She pushed herself up, barely able to find the strength to lift the armored body off her back. Just as she found her footing, she caught a two-handed blow from a flail on the face of her shield and was sent reeling. She tripped over another body, or maybe it was the same one, how could she even tell anymore? The ground slammed into her back and her breath was gone.
Her mouth was open. The air just wouldn't come in. It hurt to try and breathe, but it really hurt to not. The air came a little at a time, just not fast enough. A wicked looking man stood over her, spiked flail dangling from his hand. He grinned for a moment, but then stopped and looked up.
What was he looking at? What was… Wooooaaah… is that… is that Elsa?!
Weseltonians were pouring over the wall like a flood. The Ice Queen gave a grim smile. Freezing a flood was child's play. Enormous bolts of ice crashed down onto the city's walls, destroying siege ladders and attackers alike. A wide beam of frost erupted from her hand and cut off any escape route the invaders in the courtyard might have had. The tone of that part of the battle changed immediately, as the attackers suddenly found themselves on frantic defense.
Hurling two massive icicles below her, she watched as they exploded into frozen shrapnel, effectively clearing her a place to land. She lit gracefully into the crater, and drew her sword.
Bolts of ice flew like swarms of angry bees from her raised palm, while her blade cut anyone down who dared come too close. It seemed that not many would dare such a thing, so her rage demanded that she seek them out instead. The Ice Queen obliged. Her agile feet danced over her fallen foes as her shining golden sword struck down more and more to join them.
She didn't see men anymore. They were inside her kingdom. They had killed her people. The Queen saw only their evil, and she swept it from the world with each swing of her sword. She was anger. She was vengeance. She was justice.
A furious scream came forth, accompanied by an expanding ring of frost. Everyone it touched simply stopped. If they fell, they shattered. If not… they just didn't do anything. Ever again.
The men that were still alive no longer seemed interested in the wall or the castle. They were all in full retreat. The Queen's berserkers rose from the bloodied snow and gave chase. None could be allowed to return to tell the Duke what had happened to his precious plans.
She must find the Duke. Obviously, he was not here. Lars had been misled, just as she had. Her knees bent to propel herself again into the air.
Wait. Elsa. Stop.
What? Elsa? Who?
Elsa! Your sister needs you! And you need her. You cannot stop Weselton alone, no matter how powerful we are.
Sister… Anna!
A powerful gust of ice threw her over the wall. "Where is my sister?! Where is the Princess?!"
A hoarse voice called out, "I'm-" she coughed, "I'm here!" more coughing. Anna took a few shaky steps before being caught by a nearby soldier. She leaned on him and stood. Her sister was covered in blood, mud, and bruises. And she was the most beautiful thing Elsa had ever seen. A shake of her head seemed to help steady her in time to intercept Elsa's hug.
"Oh, ow, hi. Maybe not quite so crushing. You're wearing armor and I'm… a little beaten up here."
"You're okay. Oh thank Odin, you're okay."
"Me? I was worried about you! I had a whole army to watch my back. Did we win? Did you stop the Duke?"
"Not… not exactly. He's not here. Anna, he's got some kind of hold on Corona's soldiers. And the Princes of the Southern Isles. I don't know for sure who else, but I doubt it's stopped there. We have to stop him."
"Yeah! Where is he? Wait, we?"
Elsa gave a tired sigh, "Yes, we. I can't do it alone. I'm… I'm not strong enough, Anna. I've never been strong enough. You are my strength. I need you with me if we're going to stop this. You can say no. I won't force-"
"Are you kidding? You think I'm going to let the love of my life run off to stop some evil, wacked-out, voodoo-hypnotizing madman without me? Just try and stop me."
You're the luckiest girl in the whole world. She is the best thing that could have happened to anyone, and she happened to you.
"Catch your breath, we're leaving in just a minute, okay?"
"Why not right now?" the beautiful redhead demanded.
"You need some new clothes. You'll see." Elsa's shouted, "Someone get my sister some very very warm clothes, now. And be quick about it!" Anna looked very confused. The blonde smiled, "It's going to be a cold ride to Weselton, my love."