19- The Sammel Offensive
Anna covered her ears with her hands, she steadied herself on her brown horse and tried very hard not to cry, the very ground shaking as Arendelle's artillery opened fire against the Southern Isles armies.
The guns atop the Sammel Line's hills were not as heavy as Tannya's defenses, but the sheer number of shells fired caused a deafening and thunderous hell that could be heard many miles away…
"Please, let the shelling stop them" Anna whispered, her hands unable to protect her ears from the awful growls of her artillery- "Please…"
Alistair, Matthew and many other commanders and Cavalry leaders escorted Anna, and also Kristoff and Alice were there. They were already mounting on their horses with the sabers in their hands, awaiting for orders at each side of the Princess.
A huge blast after another would shoot shell after shell, a true storm of death unleashed to defend Arendelle-
Thousands of Arendellian soldiers awaited deep in their trenches the order to charge, the Cavalry divisions were ready in front of the Line and meanwhile the forces of King Hans continued to advance…
"They will get the first hit any moment!" Alistair screamed to Anna above the shellfire, observing the enemy troops by means of a telescope.
Anna could see in the distance the hundreds of Cavalry riders that commanded seventeen thousand soldiers through the snowy grounds of the valley, they truly were a formidable force and then the first shells reached the ground:
The first explosion blew apart three riders and their horses, the second hit a frozen lake causing a storm of ice and snow, the cavalry took another blow and seven more shells hit the troops killing dozens of men…
"All Forward!" cried out the leader of them all, an impressive man of murderous eyes pointing his saber at Arendelle's lines- "For the Southern Isles!"
The courageous riders and also the Infantry behind them began to disperse as they heard the shells coming, trying to avoid the direct hits and taking cover behind rocks to escape from the shrapnel as they advanced-
Anna realized that her artillery would not stop seventeen thousand men, they were simply too many and they would soon reach the Northern edge of the valley despite taking heavy casualties…
It was the moment of truth, everything was ready to defend the Sammel Line and Anna, gathering courage out of nowhere, hoped that she was ready to command her forces to the most dangerous battle that Arendelle had ever seen.
"Father" Anna whispered, looking up at the sky- "Give me the strength…"
The artillery stopped firing after the enemy armies crossed their range of attack, the wild cries of battle reached the Arendellian trenches and Anna knew that this was the moment at last:
She made her horse advance a few yards, and then she turned around to face the thirteen hundred riders that she would command to battle…
"They shall not pass!" Anna cried out, unsheathing her sword- "For Arendelle!"
Anna faced the valley once again, she pointed the sword forward and then she rode towards death with a high cry of battle, her green cloak rippling in the snowy wind as Arendelle's Cavalry charged after her.
The ringing bells were the signal for the Infantry to attack, they all grabbed their bayonets and muskets and immediately the soldiers began to emerge from the trenches to charge into the valley like an incredible swarm…
Twenty thousand men were ready to give everything in the great battle for Arendelle, inspired by their incredible leader and encouraged by the very freezing wind and the snow falling from the sky.
They thought of their families back home, they knew that they were fighting to defend everything they loved...
Anna looked like a legend riding at the head of them all, and there, seconds before the armies would face each other in battle, she began to recall all of the brightest and happiest memories of her life:
All those days playing with Elsa in the snow, all those wonderful birthdays, her mother reading fairytales for her as she fell asleep, the camping travels with her sister, all those Winter nights admiring the Northern Lights and her father teaching her how to ride a horse for the first time…
Then Kristoff and Elsa appeared in her mind, and Anna had no way to know that at those very moments Elsa, crying in solitude, remained at her frozen balcony holding her portrait and thinking intensely of her.
Arendelle's cavalry opened fire with their muskets, Anna crossed enemy lines beheading a Captain and then the armies clashed at last...