47- A Fallen Friend

Anna lowered the sword, she looked up at the gray and snowy sky and then she broke down in tears, shaken and overwhelmed by joy and relief at the sudden realization that the war was over, that everything had passed…

All of the cavalry charges, all the shooting, all the awful shells and explosions would be silenced from now on… there would be no more sabers and no more grenades, now everything had come to an end and there would be no more death.

Queen Elsa drew closer to her sister with tears in her eyes, Anna turned her head to look at her, Kristoff, Alistair and Alice witnessed in silence and then both sisters hugged crying and sobbing for a long time after that…

"Anna" Elsa whispered, patting her sister on the back as they hugged- "Anna, it's over, there shall be no more war…"

"Elsa, I love you" Anna said, unable to control the flow of powerful emotions- "When I was… down there… so many times I thought that I would never see you again!"

The small group of people around the Queen and her sister began to disperse some time later, all of them ready to join the efforts to finish off the agonized enemies that remained alive here and there, find their own injured men and provide to them whatever medical attention that they could.

Alice and Kristoff drew out their swords and started to stab the few enemy soldiers that they discovered between the bloodstained snow, others were attending the injured Arendellians and then Alistair cried out all of a sudden...

"Matthew!"

The aging, once cheerful and grey-haired General laid on the snow beside his ravaged horse, right where both of them had collapsed after the explosion of a powerful grenade. Matthew was gasping and fighting to draw breath, and there was an alarming amount of blood coming from the shrapnel injuries inflicted to many parts of his body.

"Alistair?"

Matthew was looking at the sky at those moments, but he turned his head to look at his friends as Alistair, Alice and Anna dashed towards him and finally arrived at his side…

"Look at me, do not let go!" Alistair said, grasping Matthew's left hand with great strength- "The medical staff shall arrive any moment, and then we are taking you back to the Palace!"

"What happened?" Matthew asked, his soft green eyes gleaming slightly at the sight of Anna and Queen Elsa- "Is it over?"

"Yes, our victory is complete!" Alistair said- "Matthew, hold on…"

Alistair and his daughter tried their best to comfort the fallen General, but Anna had witnessed the last moments of a person too many times and she realized, heartbroken, that Matthew would not survive for much longer.

Their friend was already beyond the help of any doctor, and now all that they could do was to stay beside him until the final moment would come at last…

"Good" Matthew replied, looking at the sky once again- "I can depart in peace now, please let me go…"

Elsa kneeled on the snow, and Anna, standing up in silence, witnessed with teary eyes as her sister touched Matthew's face with great kindness and looked deeply into those cold and accepting green eyes.

"We can save you…" Elsa said, her voice breaking apart.

"I have fallen in battle fighting for my Queen" Matthew replied with great pride, looking at Elsa for a moment- "There is no greater honor…"

"Farewell, and thank you for everything…" Anna said, and they all remained in silence until Matthew stopped breathing and all light abandoned his eyes.

Alistair comforted his daughter as she cried, at those moments the first medical squadrons showed up at the ravaged forest and Queen Elsa, wishing to pay a special tribute to her fallen General, took off her own green cloak and covered Matthew with it.

Anna took a last look at the terrible scene of death and devastation all around her, she sighed, the tears were flowing nonstop from her eyes as she smelled the stench of blood in the air and after that, without saying a word to the others, she climbed on her horse and rode away from Vardeen as fast as she could.

"Anna" Elsa whispered as she stood up, staring at her sister until she disappeared very far between the trees- "What are we going to do?"

The war was over, the enemy had been annihilated and Arendelle was safe, but Elsa knew that her sister had been changed by everything that she had seen and done and the Anna that she had known would never come back…