I don't own Frozen or any Characters.
Valkyrie at War 7:
Rating: K
Characters: Anna
Summary: Arendelle under siege again and Elsa poisoned Anna had to try and find a way to fight an enemy army much larger than her own. How will Anna find a way to defeat such difficult numbers.
Anna was amazed at how fast the Captain was able to make the trip to Kristinasund. When headed south it took three days to Kristinasund then another five days to Denmark. The captain made the trip back to Kristinasund in three. As soon as Anna arrived she went to work luckily Kristinasund saw the fleet moving past and the governor there called for a militia to be formed. The militia had been training for nearly a week by the time Anna arrived. Amazingly enough three days after Anna arrived Admiral Regar's fleet and Major Chorak arrived.
"We had the most favorable winds you Highness I have never seen our ships sail so far so fast" Admiral Regar spoke.
"Are our ships and men are they ready for war" Anna asked looking at both men.
"The fleet is ready but we don't know our enemy strength is though" Admiral Regar started.
"The men will need a day or two to recover but they will be ready to fight for you tomorrow if you need them Princess" Major Chorak finished.
"Weselton staged a coup of Westro. They were able to take over the entire country with little to no blood shed. They got Westro's navy and army to reinforce their losses at the first battle" Anna explained. "I heard that Westro had three galleons and four frigates and an unknown amount of men".
Admiral Regar and Major Chorak both nodded their heads after hearing the information. "What about the Queen your Highness why hasn't she just froze the fjord and threw her ice warriors at them" Major Chorak asked. Anna's chest tightened and she had trouble speaking.
"I have been lead to believe that the Queen might have been poisoned. Right now I have no other information as to her health" Anna said quietly as she pulled Guard Captain Rolo's letter out to show the men.
"Betrayal again" Admiral Regar yelled in anger for the first Anna had ever seen. "Do these rats have no honor" Admiral Regar then threw his cup that was on the table across the room and it shattered against the wall. The Admiral then grabbed the table and started to slow his breath. "I apologize your Highness for my outburst" Admiral Regar then bowed to Anna.
"It is ok Admiral you reacted better than I did" Anna said with a small smile on her face. The smile and words caused the Admiral to angle his head and wait for more. Slightly embarrassed Anna continued "I might have leapt across the negotiation table and started strangling the Weselton Delegate" Major Chorak started laughing "and then when the King and two Princes were able to drag me off him I stomped on his hand with the heal of my shoe probably breaking some bones" when Anna stopped even Regar was laughing.
"You are Freyja reborn your Highness there is no way Weselton can stop us now" Major Chorak exclaimed between laughs. With the mood a little lighter Anna was about to start when Admiral Regar said.
"Wait you jumped across the table. You were at a formal event right so you were wearing a dress". Anna could only nod her head and both mean began laughing again even harder this time. Anna kept it to herself that she wasn't wearing pantaloons but a small undergarment that, Melody said, the women wear in the heat.
Finally when both men finished laughing Anna finally spoke up "Alright men how do we take back our city"?
"I had men dropped off south of Kristinasund before the ships came into dock in order to start scouting and killing enemy scouts so they don't warn the enemy of our presence. There is no guarantee that they don't already know the fleet has returned. I also have men traveling to put eyes on Arendelle itself. The governor here said the last report was from two days ago and the enemy was not attacking the walls nor had the fleets engaged each other" Major Chorak pointed at the map as he explained.
"That last report put the Weselton ships in a defensive circle at the mouth of the fjord. They will be ready to turn and attack either direction easily. If only we could communicate with Arendelle we could coordinate a pincer attack and trap both the navy and the army" Admiral Regar place little ships on the map where the defensive circle was.
"A pincer attack will work for the navy but my men are greatly outnumbered. Even if the both Kristinasund and Arendelle put every man women and child into the attack I still think we would be out numbered" Major Chorak said grimly.
"Maybe I should have accepted help from the other leaders" Anna said discouraged at hearing the numbers.
"No" both men spoke in unison. Major Chorak then waved Admiral Regar to continue. "Arendelle can win its own wars your Highness we don't need to be in debit to some foreigner" Regar said and Chorak just nodded his head in agreement.
"Then how do we do it" Anna asked but both men just stood in silence staring at the map of Arendelle. Men Anna thought. They won't ask for help even when they can't solve the problem. "When the Army finds out that we burned Aston they will surly assault the walls. I hope that we won't have the same problem as before so it shouldn't be as easy to get into the city. There are more men and our defenses have been shored up. If we attack outright we will lose. If they attack the city we can attack from behind but I'm not sure if we will fare any better that way. We need to divide the army up into more manageable amounts" Anna said finally coming up with an idea but how to divide the enemy up.
They three of them spent the entire day in that room trying to come up with a plan and still had nothing. Anna had laid her head down on the table in frustration and was playing with one of her braids. Anna knew that they wouldn't be able to keep the fleets return a secret for very long eventually an enemy scout will see them and report it. Anna started to pick up her braid and dropping it from increasing heights.
"Major why is the east wall the weakest point" Anna asked without raising her head up and still playing with her braid.
"Years ago an avalanche land slide mix leveled the old east wall and crated a large flat area to where an army can set up. It is in range of the wall to attack but you could theoretically set up siege engines like catapults and trebuchets to bring down the wall" Major Chorak responded and then continued to inspect the floor or his shoes.
"Do we know if the east mountain avalanche has happened this year yet" Anna asked at random. Anna's mind was wondering from subject to subject.
"I don't think so. After missing last years I would have bet money that it was going to go early this year" Major Chorak spoke but never looked up.
"Has the avalanche ever skipped a year before" Anna asked now just out of curiosity.
"Once when I was very young" Admiral Regar spoke this time. "It missed a winter then the next summer when the avalanche let lose it tore down the mountain and hit the east mountain range so hard it made it snow in Arendelle. We were able to have snowball fights and make snow men in the middle of summer" Regar smiled at the memories.
Anna stood and started contemplating the map once again. "Admiral how did it snow in Arendelle the east mountain is over a day's walk from Arendelle". Anna pointed at the map.
"I'm not sure Princess but I remember it snowing and the adults talking about the East Mountain Avalanche that year". Admiral Regar started looking at the map next to Anna. Could the snow have moved that far, what could have made the snow go up in the air so it looked like it was snowing.
"Admiral could the snow have come off the East mountain and actually have made it to the mountains of the fjord so that it threw the snow into the air" Anna dragged her finger from the mountain to the fjord.
"I never thought about it as a child but that would be the only explanation" Regar said tugging at his beard. No it would be too dangerous to Arendelle and its army to try and start an avalanche that could wipe out the city. Anna started to give into despair. Elsa might be dying and there is nothing Anna could do about it without going back to the negotiation table. Anna can't go back to the negotiation table because she wasted all her chips. Aston burned to the ground, they stole every ounce of tradable goods they could and she attacked the delegate and probably broke his hand.
"What are you thinking Princess Anna" Major Chorak asked standing and looking at her.
"Nothing it was a stupid idea and even more dangerous for Arendelle then the enemy army" Anna said as she buries her face in her hands.
"I would like to hear it" the Major requested.
"I was thinking about trying to draw the enemy army up into the mountains and then starting an avalanche that could bury half of them. But you can't control an avalanche let alone aim it and I would be putting our men in just as much danger as the enemy. Just saying it out loud makes it even more ridiculous sounding" Anna got up and headed for the door "I'm going for a walk" and quickly left before either of them could say anything. Anna just walked and walked, it was getting close to sunset and the air started to cool. Anna found herself at the militia training grounds there where archery dummies with training bows and arrows in barrels, wooden swords and shields in barrels and everything you can think of. Anna found herself at the archery range; she could go back to get her bow and use it but Anna didn't want to go back and run into the Major or Admiral.
So Anna picked up a training bow restrung it and started firing arrows down range. The simple mind numbness of the action of line up, pull back and release calmed Anna's nerves. It was starting to get harder and harder to see the targets as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. Anna realized that she didn't need to see the targets they weren't moving so she just continued until darkness surrounded her and the barrel was nearly empty.
"You know normally people would have stopped when they couldn't see the target anymore" Major Choraks voice called out from behind Anna. Anna quickly turned and saw him sitting at a table with a candle. It was just little lite that Anna didn't even notice it arrived.
"How long have you been sitting there Major" Anna asked as she unstrung the bow and put it away.
"Only about the last ten or fifteen arrows, let's go see how you did" Chorak grabbed the candle and started to walk downrange. "The Admiral started to get a little worried after it got dark out since you don't know Kristinasund as well as Arendelle, he thought you might get lost" Chorak held up the candle and Anna could see that all her arrows except one had hit the target. "What happened there" Chorak asked.
"It was the first arrow. I was unaccustomed with the bow. The first shot is always the hardest" Anna picked up the pieces of the arrow that had hit the brick wall behind the targets. Chorak started pulling arrows out of the target.
"You know the avalanche idea isn't as bad as you might think. Because of the yearly avalanche it has carved a pretty normal path down the mountain and into the valley below. You can't tell from Arendelle because you are looking down the path of the arrow but I grew up here in Kristinasund and from here you can see that the avalanche always takes the same path. It is a dangerous idea but it might be the only option we have. Admiral Regar thinks that once he attackes the enemy fleet Admiral Westerguard will take that as a chance to attack as well. All we will have to do is keep the armies attention until after our navy finishes off the Weselton navy. Regar is confident that he can win the sea battle, I am not sure if we can win the land battle but we don't have to win just keep them from attacking Arendelle until the sea battle it won" Major Chorak then starts to carry all the arrows back and Anna had to pick up the candle and fallow behind.
"You are talking about sacrificing the lives of hundreds of your brethren in the army and all the militia men here" Anna exclaimed as she caught up with the little bit of light.
"No I wouldn't sacrifice militia, nor would I need to. The avalanche idea is sound, unpredictable but sound. If it works then the army won't have to be sacrificed if it doesn't" Major Chorak dropped all the arrows back into the barrel "there isn't a man on this base that wouldn't gladly die to protect Arendelle, the Queen or You. It is a small price for us to pay" the Major then held his hand out for the candle.
"I don't want anyone to die for me or for Arendelle" Anna said sadly as she handed the candle to the Major.
"All men die your highness, but do all men really get to live. I have already sent men out to scout the path of the avalanche and were we can stand our ground if we need" Major Chorak then started to lead Anna back into town. Anna and the Major walked in silence as he led her back to the governor's house where Anna was staying.
After opening the door for Anna and bowing her inside Anna turned to the Major and said "If it is my plan that could send all those men to their death then I will stand with those men live or die Major" Major Corak opened his mouth to talk but Anna just kept talking "and I will order you and Admiral Regar to fallow my orders if I have to". Major Corak just closed his mouth and bowed again very low to Anna before leaving the room.