PARIS, 1340
Elsa had come upon many a beggar during her beat of the city's cobbled streets. They would swarm like gnats as she passed, dirty hands scrabbling at her billowing cape. They would hiss ragged pleas in her face and curse when she pressed on, offered nothing. One vagrant was much the same as any other. It came, then, as an uncomfortable surprise when Elsa was suddenly faced with compassion for one.
The day had begun quite like any other. Elsa woke in the barracks at the crack of dawn. She took care, as she always did, to dress in precise sequence: breeches, shirt, boots, chestplate. As usual, she buckled the sword with the red and blue jeweled handle around her waist and secured her blue cape last.
She then took to rousing her men, slamming a gloved fist on each headboard, going down the line, entreating them to rise. Boots clicking the hard floor, Elsa paced between the beds, shouting orders and reprimands, dealing blow after vocal blow until each guard was ready to herald the new day - to terrorize the city with unflinching justice. They marched out in well-trained order, polished armor gleaming in the early morning sun. The night watch gradually stumbled into the barracks and fell heavily upon the newly emptied beds as the next outfit relieved them of their positions out in the city.
Before Elsa could take to the streets herself, she had a report to file on the execution of a gypsy that had transpired the day before. She settled at her desk, firmly upright and dipped a quill into her inkpot, ready to lay line after line of perfect, orderly prose thick onto the parchment in front of her. With consternation, however, she perceived the lack of substance in the inkpot, her systematic morning churning to an unbearable halt. Elsa blinked, perplexed, at the tip of the quill which lacked the black liquid that would be, under normal circumstances, suspended from it.
The Captain of the Guard let out a frustrated huff, setting her palms on the table and pushing out the chair with a scratch as she stood, the end of her sheathed sword clanking as it hit the seat. She was out of the door and into the streets within seconds, cape sweeping behind her as if in direct compliance to her agitation.
Her spirits lifted somewhat as she began to wind her way through the peasant throng of the bustling streets. Sun had that effect on her - she often spent much of her time in dungeons talking to criminals or in the barracks penning endless reports.
Thankfully, because of her standing, as well as her domineering presence, the sea of civilians parted easily for her as she marched purposefully to her destination - the shop she knew she would find her badly needed pot of ink. Out of habit, her narrowed eyes meticulously scanned her surroundings, taking in the dilapidated buildings still dripping from the last summer rainfall. She saw the faces - pale and clammy, red and pouched, some with mouths pulled infinitely down, some whose very existence seemed to seep sensitivity.
All of this Elsa passed, thoughts wandering idly, until a flash of red caught her attention.
It was a girl - a beggar, by the looks of the rags swathed around her thin frame. Her messy red hair was tied in twin braids that hung limply on either side of her freckled face. The girl was holding what looked like a piece of bread in a hand from which glinted a silver ring, and the other was being held tightly in the clutches of one of Elsa's men.
Elsa paused in her jaunt to watch the proceedings, wondering why she was so interested in an occurrence that she would ordinarily let unfold without a second thought.
"You stole that bread, thief!" Elsa could hear the guard perfectly, though he was facing away from her.
"No, I bought it!" The girl had courage - she was staring down the guard, anger marring her features. The guard shook her roughly and pulled her closer. Elsa saw the girl turn as far away as she could in disgust when she found herself in such close proximity to the man.
"Don't you lie to me," the guard spat in the redhead's face, making her flinch away.
"Let me go!"
Elsa's legs, without her realizing, were taking her straight to the pair. Just as the guard had wrapped his free hand around the girl's waist, pulling her flush up against his own body with a smirk, Elsa spoke up.
"Lieutenant!" Both faces turned to her in abject shock. Then the guard registered who had spoken and snapped immediately to attention with a curt, "Captain!"
The girl, although finally released, did not move. Instead, she stared Elsa down, defiance in her eyes, waiting for another attack - almost challenging Elsa to advance. Elsa met her gaze steadily, taking in the sight of the girl. She was almost as tall as Elsa herself, and stood with a straight back, jaw clenched, eyes shining.
"What is your name, girl?" Elsa said, not knowing what else to say.
"Anna," she said, taking an aggressive step forward. At the movement, Elsa once more noticed the plain silver ring on her hand. "Did you steal that ring too?"
If possible, the girl's face hardened even more. "I haven't stolen anything."
Elsa examined her for a few more seconds before turning away and waving a hand carelessly, indicating that the girl was dismissed.
Without hesitation, Anna turned on her heel and scampered away. She disappeared as she turned down an alley up ahead. Inkpot completely forgotten, Elsa went in haste to follow the girl, throwing an "at ease" to the guard who still stood at rigid attention behind her.
Elsa had just reached the mouth of the alley and spotted the redhead at the other end before she disappeared again down the next street. With alacrity, but making sure to keep a safe distance, Elsa continued to shadow the beggar girl until the city opened up to the Seine. Elsa hovered at the corner of a nearby building as she watched Anna climb lithely over the low wall that separated the street from the drop off down to the river. Her red head disappeared once more as she clamored down the slope and Elsa took the opportunity to approach the wall tentatively, not wanting to be caught spying.
She peered over the wall and saw, to her astonishment, a group of seven or eight urchins at the edge of the bank. Upon seeing Anna approach, they let out a visible cheer and flocked to her. Smiling widely, she took the bread and broke it into meager bits which she passed out to the hungry crowd around her. Small hands grabbed at the bread, and Anna patted each disheveled head affectionately when the feast had been handed out. Elsa, despite herself, felt her heart break at the sight.
That night, after the inkpot had been purchased and the report finally written, Elsa allowed herself a few minutes' reflection on the events of the day, particularly those involving the redheaded beggar named Anna with a temper to match her hair, towards whom Elsa had developed a bizarre empathy.
As she mused, the candle at her desk cast a warm yet eerie light over her work space and snoring could be heard from the bunks around the barrack. A tired hand made its way to Elsa's eyes, fingers pressing into them as though to rid her lids of the image of the redhead's defiant eyes that had disagreeably burned itself there. Finally, the thoughts were pushed and locked away to a corner of the captain's mind and she readied herself for bed in preparation for yet another day.
The strange thoughts continued to remain locked away for quite some time. Two months had passed since the incident involving the redheaded beggar had elicited rare sympathy from the hardened Captain of the Guard. It was early August when Elsa received a letter announcing yet another execution that she was obligated to oversee. Her mind drifted as she skimmed over the particulars, not wishing to dwell, and soon refolded it and shut it deep within a drawer of her desk. The hanging was to occur at sundown the next day and Elsa was to question the captive that same morning.
For reasons Elsa could not fathom, she slept fitfully that night, a deep unease settling within her. The morning too brought an unpleasant feeling that something was terribly wrong. It wasn't until she descended the cold dungeon steps to the captive's cell and saw who was inside that she realized the reason for her disquiet.
It was the beggar girl, Anna. She sat on the floor against the wall, hugging her scabbed knees to her chest. Elsa's heart sank at the sight, and she inhaled sharply. The girl gave no indication that she realized her cell had a visitor. Elsa turned to the guard that had escorted her down, struggling to keep her voice sharp and commanding.
"Crime?"
"Robbery, Captain."
"This warrants a death sentence?"
"It happened one too many times, Captain."
Elsa could only nod.
"This was the only possession found on her person." The guard dropped a plain silver ring into her palm. Elsa closed it in her fist and said, "Leave us."
The guard snapped to attention for a moment before turning on his heel and stalking away. Elsa focused her attention back to the cell, catching the girl staring. Anna, upon being caught, quickly looked away again, fixing her gaze on the damp wall opposite.
"What have you stolen this time?" Elsa questioned, still struggling to keep up her imposing persona but withering nonetheless in the girl's presence.
"I didn't steal anything!" the girl huffed angrily.
"Was it for those urchins you take care of?" Elsa continued, watching the girl closely. For the first time, the captain saw fear flicker across the redhead's face.
"W-what?" she stammered. Just as quickly as it had come, the fearful expression was gone and replaced by mistrust and suspicion. "Have you been following me?"
Elsa fixed the girl with a stare, unsure of how to answer. When she took too long to respond, Anna said, "Are you going to take them away too? Isn't my life reward enough for you?"
Elsa felt as though she had been slapped. Even though the Captain of the Guard personified justice and mercilessness, the idea of Anna assuming Elsa alone had made the decision to end the girl's life for a petty crime was unbearable.
"You're all the same," Anna said with pure loathing.
Elsa could think of nothing else to say - she had been silenced by a beggar. She made an about-face and practically sprinted up the stairs, face stinging with shame. Never in her life had she run from an enemy, and yet here she was fleeing from a defenseless girl behind bars. What was happening?
Elsa found she was completely useless over the course of the day as she fearfully counted down the time until sundown. When finally she was called upon to report to the square for the execution, she walked with legs of lead and lungs of stone.
It was in a daze that Elsa watched the girl from her position ten yards away be led in chains to the hangman's platform and the noose secured around her delicate neck. Before Elsa knew it, the sentence had been read and the drum was thundering. The executioner gazed over at her expectantly. As Captain of the Guard, she was to raise her sword and orchestrate the pull of the lever with its descent. She swallowed, a hand reaching across her torso to grip the hilt of her sword. She could feel the rise of the red and blue jewels under her fingers.
Elsa looked at Anna, all alone, noose draped lazily around her neck, and met her gaze. It was, as ever, full of fearless defiance.
The Captain made her decision.
Instead of unsheathing the sword to raise it, she tightened her grip on it's hilt and recklessly sprinted headlong at the platform and the girl upon it.
A/N: Oh, the suspense! A reviewer asked me if this was only going to be eight chapters and my answer is no... but that's all the answers you're getting for now! Hope you guys liked Elsa's POV. I'm trying to update regularly but being an English major means lots of writing for school and not for leisure... so we'll just play it by ear. Thanks for the support!