Meekness: Uncommon patience in planning a revenge that is worth while.
– Ambrose Bierce
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=
Elsa, Gunnarsson, the Admiral and a troop of Marines rode into the town and followed the road to the marketplace and then to the causeway leading to the castle. As they approached they saw a group of Weselton men waiting for their arrival.
The Admiral halted his troops a few yards away from the enemy. He leaned over to Elsa and spoke softly, "Are you sure about this, Your Majesty?" She nodded and waited for Gunnarsson to dismount and hand his reins to the Admiral.
Elsa dismounted with Eric's help and handed the reins of her horse to him. "I'll be fine. Keep observing the castle and watch for the signal," she whispered as she tried to reassure him. Her practice at concealing her own emotions kept him from seeing the gut-wrenching fear in her heart. She was afraid for herself, but far more strongly for Anna.
She turned and walked up to the enemy officer. "I'm ready. Let's go."
He waved two of his men to take her, and they twisted her arms behind her and tied her wrists. This treatment of their Queen caused a stir of anger in her troops and a few kneed their horses forward before a bellowed, "STAND FAST, DAMN IT!" by the Admiral held them back. He glared at the Weselton men. "Is that necessary?"
The Weselton officer sneered, "If you think we'll trust the Snow Queen, you underestimate us. Now, go! We have a deal, carry out your part of it if you ever want to see the Princess alive again."
Eric had remounted his horse; with a reluctant tug on their reins the troop turned and rode away from the castle.
When they were out of sight the officer turned to Elsa, who was being held by the two soldiers who had bound her wrists behind her back. He stepped closer and backhanded a hard slap across her face. The blow cut her lip and made her stumble to one knee. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. A small patch of ice formed on the pavement where she knelt. She glared up at the officer. "What was that for?"
"A lesson. The first of many. You are helpless, and your kingdom belongs to us. Don't forget it." He gestured at the men, and they roughly yanked her to her feet. "Let's go see your sister."
The little group walked across the causeway through the courtyard and into the castle. The men strode briskly, pulling Elsa along and letting her stumble to the ground when she couldn't keep up. This was intentional, a ploy to degrade and humiliate her, as they would roughly grab her hair to pull her back to her feet and then laugh at her pain. The courtyard was full of the rest of the Weselton troops and servants and others of Elsa's castle staff. Her people had sullen, hostile looks on their faces and there was a low growl of anger when they saw their Queen being mistreated, but the invaders had muskets and bayonets and looked more than ready to use them.
"Conceal, don't feel." There was no sign of Elsa's inner turmoil on her face or in her bearing. She was the Queen, and she would show them the dignity of a Queen. The men didn't notice the small footprints of ice she was leaving on the pavement.
They entered the Throne Room, full of Weselton soldiers and more of Elsa's servants and subjects. On the dais, the Weselton Commander sat sprawled arrogantly on Elsa's throne. Anna was on her knees next to him, appearing to be unhurt. She wasn't bound, but two men flanked her with unsheathed swords, clearly meant to threaten her if she attempted any escape.
The little group with Elsa walked up to the dais. One of the soldiers holding Elsa kicked the back of her legs, causing them to buckle. She lost her balance and fell forward onto both knees. His sword nicked her cheek, a silent threat warning her to submit.
Her bun had loosened into a disheveled braid over her shoulder and her bangs dangled over her forehead. There was a small trickle of blood from her temple where one of her hairpins had cut her when they had pulled her up by her hair. Blood from her cut lip still stained her chin. On her knees, bound, hurt, she was defiant, even though her eyes had fear in them, fear for her sister, for Anna, eyes only for her, not the enemies who had taken them prisoner or for the sword at her throat.
"Are you okay?" she asked Anna. This cost her another blow that sent her sprawling to her side.
"Shut up, witch!" snarled the thug who had slapped her.
"Elsa!" Anna tried to run to her sister, but was held back by one of the soldiers guarding her. She attempted to pull free of his grasp and failed. "Elsa!" she cried again as tears began to run down her cheeks.
"Let her go," ordered the Commander. "Let the poor distraught Princess comfort the Witch Queen."
Anna ran to Elsa and helped her sit up. She wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in the crook of Elsa's neck.
This was exactly what Elsa had hoped for. Pretending to weep herself, she nuzzled Anna's neck, putting her lips to the younger girl's ear. "Don't react to what I'm saying. For our lives, keep crying," she whispered.
Louder, she simpered, "Oh, Anna, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" and kept whispering to Anna. She knew they didn't have much time to talk. "You must escape within the next three days. Get out of the castle through the secret passage and up into the hills. There will be Marines waiting for you. Understand?"
Anna kept sobbing, "Elsa!" but Elsa could feel her slight nod against her shoulder.
The Weselton Commander waved at one of the men, who grabbed Anna and pushed her back onto the dais. One of the others pulled Elsa onto her knees facing the Throne.
The Weselton Commander stood and addressed the room. There were some of the servants of the castle, plus what members of the Arendelle nobility that the Weselton force had been able to round up in a quick sweep. Two members of the Royal Council and the Bishop were in the small crowd as well.
"Let me tell you what will happen now, you rabble. My force controls your harbor and your town. I hold your Queen and her sister prisoner. Their lives are immediately forfeit if there is the smallest action in resistance to my men as they gather the tribute we are here to collect. " He glared at the crowd.
"Here is the agreement your Queen has made with us. We have her word that she will not use her powers to escape or resist us. Her sister is hostage to that oath. Neither of them will be harmed as long as that parole is maintained. Your Royal Marines and Navy have withdrawn under the same agreement. They will make no attempt to rescue your Queen or the Princess."
The Bishop stepped forward. "Why are you doing this?"
"The Duke of Weselton sent us to take vengeance on Arendelle and the Snow Queen for the insult given to him at this," his voice full of scorn, he gestured at Elsa, "monster's Coronation."
"We will be collecting a tribute from this kingdom to repay that insult. You will be given precise instructions of what is to be brought to the docks and loaded on our ships. On the morning of the third day from now we will sail. Your Queen and your Princess will accompany us to insure our safe passage back to Weselton."
The Commander waved at Elsa, "Take her away. I'm sure this castle has a dungeon we can … borrow."
The soldiers pulled Elsa roughly to her feet to take her to the dungeons, but she shook them off and stood proudly as she spoke to the Weselton Commander, defiant.
"Commander, we have an agreement, but I say to you now, I demand proof that my sister is alive and well twice a day, or I will consider your oath forsworn and no longer binding on me!"
"You are in no position to demand anything, Your Majesty!" he sneered at her. "One gesture from me and that sword at your throat would send your head rolling across the floor. We could kill you now, and your forces could do nothing!"
"You are wrong, Commander. My forces will know immediately that I am dead, will know that you are forsworn and will fall on your troops in a rage beyond your ken. I may die, but so will you. There will be no escape for any of you!" She lifted her chin and spoke her promise to him. A growling rumble of hostility flowed through the crowd of Elsa's subjects in the room. It reminded the Commander that he only had 200 troops to control an entire town; if he provoked them enough, they would tear him and his men to pieces, hostages or no hostages. The Queen and Princess were his only leverage.
He considered what she had said. How would they know she was dead? He had no idea, but the woman clearly believed it. Who knew what her magic could do? He decided to humor her. She still could do nothing confined in a dungeon under guard. "Very well. I will send your sister to see you in the morning and in the evening. Now, go!"
His men dragged Elsa away. She cast one last look at Anna as they left the room. "Be safe, Anna. We'll get through this." She saw the anguish in her sister's eyes as she made a motion as though to reach out to Elsa. The door slamming behind them cut off Elsa's view of Anna as the Weselton men pulled her down the hallway.
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=
The soldiers pushed Elsa along and followed one of the castle servants down to the dungeon level. Her servant had been reluctant to cooperate, but a sword threatening his life convinced him, so he was showing them along the clammy corridor with a lamp in his hand to light the way.
They arrived at a cell door. The soldiers cut Elsa's bonds and shoved her into the dungeon where she fell heavily, catching herself on her outstretched hands. The circulation returning to her hands burned like fire, or ice. She stumbled over to sit on the pallet opposite the door and rubbed her wrists to get the feeling back, then surveyed her surroundings. Her whole body was sore, the cut on her cheek and the scrapes on her knees stung, her head ached from where she had been pulled about by her hair, but she knew this was just the beginning. Once her nerves calmed, she was sure to feel the full brunt of her injuries. She really wasn't looking forward to that, but first she had to get her bearings. She looked around to assess her surroundings.
Unlike the one Hans had used to confine her, this dungeon had no window. The only light came from the lanterns the servant had lit in the corridor outside the cell. One of the guards looked at her through the small barred slot high in the door and snarled, "No funny stuff! The first sign of trouble from you and your sister dies! Understand?"
She nodded grimly at him, then dismissed him from her thoughts. Now came the waiting. She trusted Anna to figure out what to do from the hint she had given her. She slumped against the dungeon wall, glad that the cold didn't bother her. This time she didn't even have a blanket. She chuckled without humor as she thought about the fact that for the second time in three months she was a prisoner in her own dungeon. What sort of Queen kept landing in her own dungeons? She was sure it was some sort of record for the monarchy of Arendelle.
She glanced at a bucket on the floor next to the pallet and shuddered in distaste. It could have been worse; there could have been no bucket. She wondered idly if they would bother to feed her, but dismissed that as of no concern. She wouldn't starve to death in three days. And if she was still here in three days she would be on her way to Weselton with Anna, with no way to avoid the death waiting at the end of that voyage without condemning her sister as well. She thrust that thought away and settled herself on the pallet. She would try to sleep as much as she could to conserve her strength. If all went as planned, she would need every bit of it to use her magic to defeat the Weselton men.
Her last thought before she dozed off was of Anna, and a prayer that her sister would stay safe.
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=
She woke up screaming.
She sat bolt upright looking around frantically, her hands grasping the edge of the pallet, freezing it.
A lantern appeared at the barred window of the cell and a rough voice yelled, "Hey! Shut up in there! Or I'll come in and shut your mouth for you!"
She cringed against the wall, breathing heavily and struggling to get herself under control.
"That same nightmare. I should have expected it," Elsa thought as she took a deep breath and tried to slow her pounding heartbeat. It took a few minutes before she could finally breathe normally again and suppress the terror that had woken her. It was the dream of her earlier imprisonment in a dungeon, waiting for Hans to come and kill her.
She noticed the ice and gestured to dissolve it. Standing up, she began to pace, wringing her hands together as she did. With no window Elsa had no sense of time. She could have been asleep for minutes or hours. She was too tense and fearful to have any appetite, her stomach heaved at the thought of food.
Now her injuries demanded more of her attention. Her neck ached from being jerked hard when they pulled her up from the ground; her jaw throbbed where she had been struck. She brushed at it gingerly and looked to see that her fingers were sticky with blood. Her screaming must have opened the cut lip again. She wiped her hand on her skirt and resumed pacing, wincing as her skinned knees brushed against the fabric of her skirt. It was painful to walk and a headache pounded in her temples.
There was a commotion in the hallway and the sound of a key turning in the lock of her cell. Elsa moved as far from the door as she could and prepared to protect herself with her magic if she had to. One of the fears gnawing at her was the possibility that they would decide to kill her out of hand and damn the consequences. Any time someone came to her door it could be her executioner. Even without nightmares she would sleep poorly, waking at the slightest sound. Already she felt exhausted by the constant need to hold herself alert and ready to defend against any threat; she worried that she would be slowed by her injuries.
The door opened and Gerda stepped in carrying a tray with a bowl, a pitcher and some towels. Another maid carrying a tray followed with what appeared to be a bowl of stew, bread and a mug.
Gerda gestured with her head to indicate the maid should set her tray on the pallet and leave. They locked the door behind her, leaving Gerda alone with Elsa. "Your Majesty. I bring you a late lunch, and some remedies for your … injuries. If you would sit, I will tend to them and then you can eat something." Gerda tried not to show her dismay at how battered Elsa was.
Elsa had almost fainted from relief when she recognized Gerda and her assistant. "Ye...yes, thank you, Gerda," she stammered, then moved to sit on the edge of the pallet. The savory aroma of the stew aroused Elsa's hunger; something she hadn't thought possible. A very Anna-like tummy rumble gurgled in the stillness, causing Elsa to squeeze her eyes shut and think of her sister.
Gerda moistened a towel and began to gently clean the blood and dirt from Elsa's face and hands. She asked Elsa to create a small amount of snow in the bowl, then used it to soothe her bruises. When she had finished that, she pulled a hairbrush out of a pocket in her skirt and said, "May I re-do your braid, Your Majesty?"
Elsa nodded, and turned a little on the pallet so Gerda had better access to her hair. It was only the work of a few moments for Gerda to loosen the disheveled braid, brush out the snarls and tangles, then re-braid Elsa's hair neatly and lay it over her shoulder.
"Now for lunch, Your Majesty," and Gerda picked up the second tray and sat on the pallet beside Elsa, holding the tray so that her Queen could eat comfortably.
By the time Elsa had finished the thick, meaty stew, buttered bread and a mug of milk, she felt her strength returning. "Thank you, Gerda," Elsa whispered. "I feel much better." She glanced at the door; no one was peering through the window, but they could still be listening. Elsa pitched her voiced even lower, "Is Anna okay?"
Gerda cast a glance at the door as well, then nodded. "We'll take care of her, Your Majesty. And we'll take care of you as well. Stay strong." Her voice was so low that Elsa almost had to read her lips to understand her.
Standing up, Gerda placed all the plates and pitchers on one tray, then stacked the second tray underneath and picked up the entire collection. "I'm finished here!" she said loudly so the guards could hear her. Silently, she mouthed, "Stay strong," again to her Queen, then walked to the door reaching it just as it opened. The door slammed shut as she left and Elsa heard the key turn in the lock again.
She sat quietly for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of well-being that the food had given her. She yawned. Elsa decided that she should try to sleep again. Although it was possible that they had let Gerda tend to her as a ploy to lull her into a sense of security, it was more likely that they really did want to keep her alive. For now. She had to risk it. Without sleep she would be too weak at the end of the three days to accomplish anything. Elsa lay down again, arranged herself as comfortably as she could and fell asleep.
There were no nightmares this time.
Elsa heard the sounds of someone unlocking her door again and came instantly awake. She sat up on the pallet, and then stood, holding herself ready to defend herself.
When the door opened, it was one of the Weselton men holding Anna by the arm. She was gagged. It seemed that the Commander was not so trusting as to allow them speak to each other. Elsa had to admit grudging respect for the man's cleverness.
"Your Majesty, may I present your sister, alive and well as we agreed," taunted the man in a sick caricature of courtesy.
Anna had a scowl on her face that quickly changed to an expression of affection mingled with concern as she looked at Elsa and absorbed her battered condition. "Elsa, are you okay?" was muffled by the gag but Elsa heard the love in her sister's voice without any trouble at all.
"I'm fine, Anna. What about you?" asked Elsa, but before Anna could make any reply she was yanked roughly out of the cell and pushed into the arms of another guard in the hallway.
"We agreed to let you see her, not have a tea party. She's alive and well. You've seen her. We're done here," barked the man. Then he left, slamming the door behind him. The key turned in the lock and Elsa was alone again.
"Okay, it's the evening of the first day. Three more nights. Three nights before ..." Elsa pushed the pessimism down. She knew Anna would find a way. She had to find a way.
Elsa sat down on the pallet again. She leaned back against the wall, closed her eyes and tried to keep herself from icing over the cell. It would be a very long three days.
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=
After the assembly in the throne room, Anna had eaten lunch in the kitchen with little appetite. Elsa's instructions about escaping were distracting her from almost everything else. She needed some quiet time tonight and maybe have a little chat with Gerda.
Pushing escape plans to the side for the moment, she had spent the afternoon in the stable with Sven. He was glad to see her. Kristoff had gone off with the Admiral to meet Elsa and hadn't come back. Olaf was nowhere to be found. When Anna came into the stable with a handful of carrots for him, he pranced and snorted and brayed his relief that he hadn't been abandoned and that at least one of his friends was back.
Anna scratched Sven's chin and fed him the carrots. She filled him in on everything that had happened, ignoring the disgusted looks her watchdog threw her way. With any luck, the guard would think she was feeble-minded and pass that information on to the Commander. Every little thing she did in public was calculated to show how vapid and clueless she was. Anna didn't care if they thought she was an idiot; idiots didn't need close guarding and wouldn't be expected to have clever escape plans.
All she needed now was that clever escape plan.
"Wish you could come with me, Sven. But when I sneak out, I'll bring Kristoff and the Marines back with me, and we'll rescue Elsa. Then we'll all be together again, and we can go on a nice picnic," she whispered to him.
Sven snorted and barked. She knew he was agreeing with her and looking forward to it.
She buried her face in his fur as she hugged him. She didn't want the guard to see her sudden tears as her stomach lurched with fear; fear for Elsa, fear for herself. "Please let us be together for a picnic again."
Anna babbled her way through dinner, causing the Weselton Commander to consider instructing the Princess to eat all of her meals in the kitchen. He knew that pampered royalty like her were brainless and prone to talking about nothing at all to fill their idle hours, but he had never been forced to spend time with one before and it was driving him to distraction.
She was going on about some stupid reindeer and how she had missed him and she couldn't wait to see him again after dinner and feed him more of his favorite snack when the Commander couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up, Princess, you're giving me a headache!"
She snapped her mouth shut with and audible click of her teeth and looked hurt. She sniffled and looked like she would cry.
"Finish up that cake. You have a date with your sister."
"What?" she asked.
"You heard her little ultimatum. She wants to know you're still happily skipping around the castle every day or she'll bring down Ragnarök on our heads. I'll humor her as long as it suits me." He snapped his fingers and the soldier that had been standing against the wall came over and pulled Anna out of her chair and began walking her to the door.
After Anna had been presented to Elsa, the guard took her back to her room, pushed her in and closed the door behind her. She pulled the gag off and threw it to the ground, then went and sat on the window bay. "Elsa looked terrible. They're hurting her. I have to figure out how to get out of here."
The hint that Elsa had whispered in her ear had churned through her brain all afternoon. She had kicked herself for not thinking of it without the hint; that's probably what 'little Anna' was trying to tell her last night, only she was too tired to listen and had been distracted by the witch burning terror.
Shortly after they had been reunited three months ago, Elsa had begun to tutor Anna in the lessons of statecraft. She knew that while Anna had been educated well, the focus had not been on governance and protocol. Their tutors had assumed that Elsa would rule, would marry, have children that would inherit the throne and Anna would go off and marry some second son of a Prince and live happily if boringly ever after.
Elsa had learned that nothing in life was certain, and if anything happened to her Anna would take the throne as Queen. She was determined that her sister would have all the same tools her father had passed on to her. Anna deserved nothing less. For that matter, Elsa learned things from her sister as well. Thirteen years of seclusion didn't give a person much practice in social skills. Anna could teach Elsa how to actually enjoy the company of other people and have fun at parties.
One of the things Elsa had shown her sister was a secret that had been shared only within the royal family, a Crown Secret. There were hidden passages in the castle that could be used to move between certain rooms, and there was one that led outside the castle by way of the curtain wall that ran up into the hills. This last passage was intended to be an escape for the monarchs if the castle were to come under siege.
Sieges had gone out of style once cannons had replaced catapults, so there had been no use for that particular exit from the castle for hundreds of years. Until now.
Anna had been thrilled with the existence of the hidden passages; they appealed to her sense of mysterious adventure. It was easy for her to throw herself into the task of memorizing the paths and learning to follow them in the dark without even a candle to light the way. Now she needed to use that knowledge for real, with life or death consequences if she made a mistake.
She jumped down from where she was sitting on the window sill and went to the door. Out in the hallway, the guard grabbed her arm and said, "Where do you think you're going?"
Pulling her arm out of his grasp, she sniffed in her haughtiest manner and said, "Where I go every night; to the library for my snack and reading and maybe a nap." She began walking down the hall toward the library, leaving him to hurry and catch up.
Grumbling, he muttered as they walked, "Damn princesses. Tea and cookies and all that crap all the time. 'S a wonder you don't have to roll down the hallway like a fat pumpkin."
She ignored him.