12- Awakening

Anna was riding her white horse across the burning fields and smoke, the White Castle collapsed to rubble behind her, the shelling explosions continued and then she turned her head to look at Kristoff.

"We did it! Krisfoff, we have to…"

Then came the great blast, her horse collapsed, the ringing sound in her ears would not allow her to hear anything else and…

"Kristoff!" Anna screamed, for real this time.

Anna abandoned her nightmare and awakened all of a sudden, finding herself lying on a bed in the middle of a small and pleasant room. A large window to her right showed her a view of a beautiful forest, and to her surprise, she was wearing a clean blue nightgown instead of her military gear.

Her hair smelled very good and her body was clean, with just a little of discomfort coming from her injured arm and the right side of her head…

"Kristoff!" Anna cried out, sitting up and looking all around her- "Where are you?"

There were a few seconds of silence, and then Anna, still very surprised, suddenly heard the steps of two people walking upstairs in a hurry. They whispered something that she could not catch, and then the wooden door was opened in a haste.

Kristoff came into the room followed by a young woman of long and fiery red hair, both of them remained wearing the military uniform of Arendelle and they looked delighted to see that Anna was finally awake...

"Anna!" Kristoff said, hugging her with great relief- "We thought that maybe that hit had really damaged something in your head… How do you feel?"

Anna looked around more carefully, and slowly she realized that this mysterious room was perhaps not really unknown after all…

There was something in the paintings, the bookcase and those purple curtains that ringed a bell in her head, Kristoff stared at her with a worried look in his face and then Anna finally recalled what place that was.

"My mother's Summer House at the Forest of Snowhall" Anna whispered- "Wait! What happened after I hit my head? Did we win the battle after all?!"

"You have to see the bright side, Kristoff!" the red-haired girl said, beaming at Anna- "At least she did not lose her memory or something…"

"Who are you?"

"Alice Snowflake, your Highness" the girl replied, the pride clearly visible in her startling green eyes- "General Alistair is my father!"

"Oh! Good, nice to meet you, Alice…"

Anna covered her eyes with her hands after she felt a sudden headache, and then the pain coming from her injured arm became a little stronger.

Kristoff was observing her with great attention just in case the Princess would display any unusual behavior, and Alice laughed out loud when it became clear that Anna was just fine...

"Yeah, everything has been according to Elsa's strategy so far" Kristoff explained, sitting on the bed beside Anna- "Except that you nearly got killed, I mean… We rescued thirteen hundred soldiers from the White Castle, and we have managed to inflict very serious casualties to the Southern Isles Army!"

Anna inhaled very deeply and then she sighed with a stupendous relief, letting herself fall back on the bed and looking at the ceiling. Kristoff caressed her hair with a smile, and Anna was happy to hear the wind and the birds singing outside.

"Alice, could you please find Anna's uniform and cloak?"

"Sure!" Alice replied, already on her way out of the room- "The Sammel Line is ready for battle and awaiting your command, your Highness… And you know what? We all are incredibly proud of you!"

"Kristoff, do we have food or something…?"

"What? Oh yes, you must be starving! Come, Alice has been devouring everything we brought but there might be some bread at the kitchen…"

Kristoff supported Anna as she got out of bed, and this time the Princess moaned in pain as her injured body supported her weight once again. Alice seemed to be looking for the uniform somewhere in a different room, and then the three of them began a rather slow and careful journey downstairs.

"Watch it, big dude! This is the Princess of Arendelle!"

"I know who she is!"

Anna was delighted to enjoy a slice of bread with cheese at the garden, and for a few precious moments, the war seemed to be a million miles away...