Kanada smiled as he read the propaganda posted on bridge. It was a nice bridge really, and the poster was a poster.
"Oh Hans... don't you ever change." The poster lacked any subtleties whatsoever. In essence, it was a portrait of Hans and his signature manure-eating grin. "THE SOUTHERN ISLES NEEDS YOU!" Of course, it would only be a matter of time before they enacted a bullcrap draft law and swelled its army, but you had to give him credit for trying, Kanada thought. There were hundreds of identical posters all posted all over the bridge in some horrific collage of Hans faces.
Still smiling, Kanada looked to the bridge which he stood on. Sturdy, he thought. Made out of wood, fenced on both sides and covered on top by a roof, the sheltered bridge was shady to say the least and provided some cover from rains of arrows. Indeed, a nice spot to have an ambush. It was even a nice day out. Bright and sunny. He didn't envy his compatriots one bit.
According to the dead drop, Saren and Corteno were setting up a seperate ambush point in the Mistraiton Woods, several miles from their location. If he was going die in a fight, he thought, at least it would be in the bright sun of the Southern Isles and not a shallow grave in a possibly haunted wood.
Kanada laughed aloud at his own thought. Dressed in traveller's garb, drab and plain, the only thing that would identify him as a Arendelle agent would be the shiny ice pendant given to all special forces members. He felt it through the cloth of his tunic. The cloak that covered him concealed his weapon of choice, a longbow and his quiver of arrows. Every so often he would jovially strum the bowstring, a habit he had developed after picking choosing his speciality.
He whistled his favorite tune to pass the time, then hummed it even louder.
"Let it go... Let it go... can't hold you back anymore..."
Yes, undercover clandestine special operations missions were the best!
"SHHH!"
A sound came from underneath the bridge.
Kanada stopped and shook his head.
"Oh Rech... you should just let it go man." Kanada kicked a leaf off the bridge and watched it fall slowly on the water's surface. "What good are civvies if you don't act like a civilian while you're wearing them?"
What seemed to be a sigh emerged from underneath the bridge.
"C'mon man, get up here!"
Fingers suddenly emerged from below on the side of the bridge and gripped the fence posts. A grunt came, followed by heavy panting, and then a person finally pulled themselves up from the side.
"You look like crap."
The figure climbed over the railing and landed on the bridge with a resounding thump. Wearing a hood in addition to his already dark clothing, it seemed that Rech was going for shady back alley alchemist look, a professional alchemist like Kanada himself could appreciate. Long, concealing cloak, hood pulled up tight, pouches upon pouches strapped to his torso, and last but not least the creepy mask that obscured all of his face, yes, Kanada's partner Rech would have fit in in the shadiest parts of Arendelle.
Kanada couldn't help but be amused at that mask though. Completely devoid of human anatomical characteristics other than the eye holes, it was eerie, to say the least. He had been a little freaked out the first time he had seen it, but now, Rech was like his best friend. Almost.
"C'mon Rech, smile a little huh?"
Rech was not amused... or rather, Kanada couldn't tell if he was or not. Rech rarely spoke. Kanada wondered if he could. It had only recently occurred to Kanada that he had never seen his face as well. Rumor had it, no one ever had.
But rumors were for those who had time to gossip. Like it or not, Arendelle's most efficient partnership was had an objective to complete. The ambush would go underway.
Rech merely stared at the calm waters of the river with his arms crossed. At his side was a greatsword, the only part about him that seemed to shine in contrast with his black uniform. Perks of being a blacksmith, Kanada guessed. That had been the extent of what he had gathered on Rech's past anyway. He felt guilty, but shook it off.
"Copper for your thoughts, Rech?"
Rech said nothing. He didn't even move.
"Don't be like that. It's your birthday soon isn't it? How would you like a nice painting?"
Rech simply stared into the river.
Kanada had to wonder though. Why did Saren and Corteno suddenly decide to split up? Some tactician Saren was, Kanada thought. Wasn't there only supposed to be one courier delivering the message? Something seemed off when they received the dead drop, but he wasn't one to question his superiors, even as one as indecisive as Saren.
Kanada frowned, but quickly changed his expression into a grin. He didn't know why... and he would probably never know why, but he enjoyed working with the mute bastard regardless of the circumstances. Kanada was funny enough for the both of them, he thought.
He could have stood there reminiscing for hours, the both of them, leaning on the wooden bridge in enemy territory, watching the birds fly by and the sun shine into their faces. It was this part of the job that he liked.
Rech coughed and Kanada turned around, alert. He gave Kanada a nod.
They were coming.
"Ready for this Rech?" Kanada felt at the arrow behind his cloak.
Rech nodded, the only sign Kanada needed.
"Then let's do it." They headed to their respective ambush locations.
Trees lined their side of the bridge, providing adequate cover for the bowman. Kanada equipped his bow and nocked an arrow in one swift motion. Easy. He had done it a thousand times. Easy as chocolate cake. It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. So much was at stake here, but Kanada was determined. For Anna.
A bead of sweat trickled down his nose as he aimed across the bridge. Any second now... he looked a split second to Rech. He was primed, under the bridge, ready to leap and strike, sword unsheathed.
Kanada smiled to himself again, unable to help himself. He thought to himself as he strained against his bowstring.
"Just like a troll under the bridge..."
SNAP
Kanada snapped his head around in time to see a dark figure charge at him, cover blown by the twig beneath his feet. Kanada had trained in close quarters combat of course, but with very little prior experience, his reflexes weren't as sharp as they could have been. He tossed the bow and arrow away and dodged as fast as he could.
THUMP
The attacker winged him and threw Kanada off-balance and onto the ground, but had slammed his entire body into the tree which Kanada had been hiding behind.
On the ground, Kanada could see his friend Rech fighting for his life. Two men had him surrounded on the bridge, all were armed and swinging. The ambushers had become the ambushed, it seemed.
Kanada's initial attacker stumbled and fell to the ground on one knee. This was his chance and Kanada took it. Grabbing into the bushes, he located his previously discarded arrow and counter-attacked. In a one violent motion, he slammed his knee into the attacker's face upwards, exposing his torso. Kanada took the arrow and brought it down into his chest.
Stunned and now with an arrow his body, Kanada's mysterious attacker slumped backwards, and leaned on the tree, clutching at the mortal wound.
Looking up, Kanada rushed over to the bridge, drawing his emergency dagger. But nothing needed to be done.
One of Rech's attacker was already incapacitated and disarmed... literally. Both arms had been completely severed from his torso, and he wandered the bridge, attempting to pick up the pieces of his body. It was almost comical in a dark way... Kanada could only feel pity however as he succeeded only in kicking one of his limbs into the water, losing it forever.
The other wasn't faring much better. Rech was doing some delicate work with his large greatsword. With the grace of a gymnast, Rech had managed to severely wound him enough to keep his limbs attached but induced rapid bleeding. By this point, the attacker was staggering around, trying useless swings at Rech, who dodged them easily. Like a chicken with the face of a monkey, it was pathetic. Blood ran everywhere, through the ground and into the waters below.
Noticing Kanada's survival, Rech gave him another nod. The last man standing finally dropped his sword, the clattering of metal on wood sounding the final bell in the battle.
In a swift motion, Rech decapitated his dying opponent. The head flew cleanly off his shoulders and landed in the waters with a resounding splash. It was over.
"Wow... sorry I'm late Rech!"
Rech only shrugged. The harmless, armless man was now on his leaning on the bridge railing, slowly bleeding out. Rech strolled up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. The enemy looked at Rech pleadingly, but said nothing. Rech dug around through his pockets, retrieved something from them, and finally pushed him off the bridge. The screams were muffled by the now fast-flowing river.
"Whoa... I hope he can swim. Hehe... heh... ah... that's not funny."
Rech hadn't a scratch on him. Kanada on the other hand had to brush the traces of grass and leaves off his clothes. He was impressed.
Rech handed Kanada the letter he had gotten from the thug. Kanada looked it over.
"Oh... shit."
They both headed over to Kanada's initial attacker. He wasn't in good shape, but he was alive, unlike the one without a head. He looked up as they approached, his mouth bloodstained.
Kanada did the talking. "How did you know we were here?" He tried to sound as intimidating as possible. "WHERE... ARE... OUR FRIENDS?!"
The thug, now clearly exposed as a Isles soldier, only laughed.
"Dead. Fuck you."
With that, Kanada brought his boot up and slowly pushed the arrow inside further into the dying man's body, his emotions now a storm.
"Sorry." Said Kanada.