29- Daylight
Anna emerged from her royal bunker to discover a gray and white sky, an image of such unbelievable beauty that she had trouble to understand its nature at first… she blinked with surprise and protected her eyes with her hand, not sure why there was so much light.
The Princess of Arendelle had almost forgotten what daylight looked like, and for a few moments she almost forgot about her long imprisonment in the darkness below…
Anna enjoyed the blissful feeling of the freezing wind against her face, but when she looked around her heart and spirits collapsed once again: The campsites had been reduced to ruins and ash, the fires remained burning everywhere, every hospital had vanished and the trenches had disappeared as well.
Even the guns atop the hills were damaged, perhaps beyond repair… the great Sammel Line was now just a shadow of what it had been, and the Generals, Captains and soldiers seemed awestruck as they emerged from the bunkers everywhere.
"Anna, please let me support you" Kristoff said, holding her right arm as they walked together on the snow- "Do you feel any better?"
Anna remained in silence for some time, just looking all around at the devastation caused by the artillery attack. Kristoff thought for awhile that the Princess was affected by this view, but Anna's blue eyes began to lose that weird, unnatural stare and clearly some life was returning to them…
"My sister said that they might send a ground offensive, when the shellfire was over" Anna said, looking up at Kristoff- "She said, take the Crackers out and prepare to open fire…"
"Why would they do that?" Kristoff asked, surprised- "They must think that we are all dead, that our bunkers were destroyed…"
Anna and Kristoff came to a halt beside the remains of a field hospital, a ravaged trench was nearby and they looked together towards the South across the valley. The landscape was beautiful and snowy, but Anna knew that this charming scenery concealed the danger that would come…
"Exactly" Anna replied, holding Kristoff's hand- "What if we were truly decimated? Just a few survivors trying to rescue the remains of fallen comrades… What would you do if you were Hans and you believed that?"
"I would… send a great offensive to finish us off…" Kristoff said- "Elsa was right, we need to get ready as soon as possible!"
"General Alistair!" Anna called, her voice already better by now.
Alistair was coordinating the evacuation of casualties from one of the medical bunkers, but he turned his head at the sound of Anna's voice and soon enough he joined her and Kristoff.
"Your Highness…"
"I want all of our Crackers pointing at the valley, and ready to open fire" Anna explained without emotions, colder than the snow all around them- "We are expecting an enemy offensive any moment…"
"Yes, your Highness!"
Alistair dashed to inform the other commanders, many riders were sent immediately to spread Anna's orders and very soon the soldiers, dazzled by daylight but ready to fight, began to take the mysterious Cracker guns out of the bunkers.
All of the Crackers had been saved from the attack, and Anna smiled as she witnessed how one of those mysterious guns was cleaned and installed not far from her. The heavy machine was carried by three men and set on a tripod, and then Alice came dashing and carrying something that Anna had never seen before.
"Here, Kristoff!"
It was like a long strip of bullets all connected to each other, the projectiles were aligned side by side ready to be fired and Kristoff, alarmed by what they were doing, connected this strange form of ammunition to the left side of the Cracker…
"Let them attack us" Alice gasped, looking into Anna's eyes- "I really want them to come, your Highness…"
"Alice, do you feel alright?"
Anna had noticed that Alice's eyes looked a little mad and strange, not to mention that her voice was harsh and her hands were shaking in a quite unusual way…
"I am... not sure… and you?"
Anna would not reply, and instead she just looked at the wintry valley thinking of her enemies. She already had some ideas about what the Crackers would do, and began to understand why Elsa had wanted them to use these weapons at precisely the right moment.
"What are you waiting for, Hans?"
The five hundred Crackers were ready to defend the ravaged but defiant Sammel Line, and at those very moments the armies of the Southern Isles were getting ready to attack…