Anna had just about managed some sleep and they headed out as soon as it was light enough. Hans was leading the way. She let this be rather than asking where they were going; she was mostly lost in her own thoughts as she repeatedly went over if there was anything she could have done for the family. If she had bothered to take more interest she might have been able to do something. However it was not her fault the raiders did what they did, nor was it her fault that the family made the mistakes to let it happen. It was the stray thought "you didn't even ask their names" that was haunting her. She repeated a lesson from one of the more jaded old mercenaries to herself.
"Attachment gets you killed," she said quietly,
"Look out for yourself first," followed, she muttered these to herself. It was a mantra that had served her well and got her this far, despite this she had recently been forced to ignore it when Hans insisted on leaving the hidden supplies exactly where they were. She had followed his wishes partially to avoid the hassle but mostly to try and quell some of the guilt she felt. It was not working.
Her lack of attention made the uneventful journey go by quickly. There were times on the way where the landscape with its glistening snowfall on a backdrop of mountain ranges reminded her there was some beauty in this world. Though it was sullied by what the snow represented, every picturesque winter vista was a reminder of Elsa's power. They had headed east, they were moving toward Arendelle. It was not until they reached a small village that either of them spoke.
"Here," he said without any further elaboration, Anna did not care to ask. They had stopped outside a cobbler's shop.
"Just stick with me," Hans said before entering.
"Afternoon Hans," the cobbler said.
"Hi Sigmund, any room out back?" Hans asked.
"Who's ice-face?" Sigmund asked, Anna stayed silent but would discourage him in a less than polite manner should he use that name again.
"Just let us through," Hans said.
Sigmund walked over and slid a wall-panel away to reveal a staircase leading underground.
"Wait, that isn't who I think it is is it?" Sigmund said, he seemed more suspicious than curious.
"Have I ever steered you wrong?" Hans said, Sigmund did not seem satisfied but they descended the stairs anyway. They left the main store behind as the panel slid-back in place. A series of torches were set up along the narrow stairway, the sound of talking and laughter started to echo through. She guessed there were about a dozen or so people inside wherever these stairs lead judging from the noise bouncing around the walls. Hans lead her through to a red door, he knocked on it. A slim panel moved away to reveal a pair of eyes, one green and one blue.
"Password?"
"Just let me in Nat," Hans said. There was a slight giggle as the door flung open.
"Great to see you again," Nat said as she bumped fists with Hans. She had short hair and wore all-black.
"Brought a friend I see," Nat stepped forward, pushing Hans to the side to get a closer look. Anna stood there, perturbed by the fascination.
"Something got you good," Nat said as she lifted her hand near Anna's face. Anna's hand started to twitch slightly, she was about to grab Nat's wrist to stop this but caught Hans giving a slight shake of his head. This was an unknown environment so she did not want to take the chance of unnecessary provocation just yet. Nat touched Anna's scars.
"Not even cold, hmm," Nat said. She walked back into the room shortly after. Anna grabbed Hans before he was about to follow her.
"Is everyone going to do that," she said through gritted teeth.
"Just don't do anything aggressive," Hans said. The fact he had not really answered the question was far from reassuring. The room was a large open space; the floor was cluttered with all sorts of baggage and items with a vague path forming a sort of maze around the room. Various people were milling about and in the centre a ring was set-up where two people were sparring with wooden weapons, neither of whom were holding back as the impact of the hits could be felt by everyone.
"Take it easy you two," Hans said, Anna stood back and watched him. He was in his element as he greeted each person in the room one by one. He knew all of them, each greeting him like an old friend.
"Hans!" The enthusiastic voice carried over from the far side of the room. A youthful girl, a teenager at a guess, started running toward him. She had a long plaited ponytail that swung from side to side as she weaved around and over the scattered objects. She bounded through the various obstacles, navigating so easily she barely lost any speed as she jumped on Hans to hug him, nearly knocking him over in the process.
"Hey you, not causing anyone much trouble I trust?" he said to her.
"Me? Trouble? I don't know the meaning of the word," she replied. Anna was taken aback by everything she saw. She did not know what to think, so far she had just assumed Hans was playing some sort of game but as she continued to look around the room the adoration everyone had for him was evident. In processing all these sights she started to get lost in her thoughts again, standing there contemplatively as she ignored everything around her.
"Anna," Hans said, he stood there with the girl's arms still wrapped around him. How long had he been trying to get her attention? It was only until she heard her name that her mind returned to the present surroundings.
"That door at the far end of the room, go through there and I'll catch up with you." He said.
Anna went about following these instructions, when she moved off she realised everyone was watching intently. Even the two fighting in the middle had stopped. There were occasional murmurs but she mostly made the trip through the maze of clutter in silence, a silence even worse than the one at the farm. The final obstacle was a man standing between her and the door.
"Move," she said.
The man said nothing, just stood his ground and glared down at her. She met his gaze, the fire in his eyes was met with her cold, unblinking stare. He broke this showdown by looking over at Hans. He was given a gesture by Hans to back down, whatever the problem with her was had been quashed by Hans as the man moved out of the way. She continued to wander about Hans; he was well liked and commanded a very high level of respect. Perhaps there really was something to this resistance.
She reached the far end and walked through. This room was much smaller and had a table in the middle with a large map strewn across, flags were planted in it marking different areas. The man that was studying it noticed her as she walked in. He was well built with cropped blond hair and a beard with tinges of grey starting to come through. She was sure she had seen him before but could not quite place why.
"Wow, you've changed," he said.
"Do I know you?" she said.
"I suppose not. I left the empire behind the same day you did, attacking that snow golem didn't give me a lot of options" he said. He put out his hand,
"Jasper by the way."
As she wearily shook his hand the penny dropped, he was the guard that saved her life when she escaped. The hair was different and he was looking significantly older but there was no mistaking who he was. She had momentarily blacked out after being hit by the golem on the day that changed everything. She had only managed a brief glance of this man before she started running on pure adrenaline to make it to the tunnels. This revelation explained how the resistance got off the ground in the first place and how they knew Anna was not hiding away in Arendelle's Palace. This was both a man with direct imperial knowledge and one of the few who knew exactly what had happened to her.
"You knew all this time and only just found me? Then you chose Hans as the one to do it?" she said.
"I kept an eye on you through some old friends and a few contacts, you didn't think the old mercenary teachers you travelled with took you under their wing out of the goodness of their hearts did you?" he said.
"Too lazy to do it yourself?" Anna snapped back, suddenly the idea that everything she had achieved and everything she did to survive influenced by an unseen figure. It was a concept she found disturbing.
"You started acting on your own accord far quicker than I anticipated and I was busy laying the foundations for the resistance. Some of my recruits did manage to track you down from time to time. Your habit of brushing people off and moving on before anyone could even say hello made things tricky, eventually I sent out Hans just to get your attention," he said. It sounded like Hans had been with this resistance a long time, it made the reception he received when he got to this place make a little more sense, but there were still a lot of pieces missing.
"How did you even get him to join you?" she said. It seemed odd for Hans to have joined a selfless cause.
"It happened about six years ago, word was getting around a guy was asking about you and questioning Arendelle's authority everywhere he went. The destruction of the Southern isles had recently happened so there was plenty of doubt amongst the people of Elsa's leadership myself included, so I found him and we got to talking. After that we started a group to try and secretly hold in check what the empire did or at least mitigate some of the damage. I stayed in the guard so I could keep a close eye on proceedings," he said. Anna was still in Arendelle back then; no-one had even told her that Hans was free, alive and looking for her. Being kept in the dark was just another reason she was glad to have left it all behind.
"Hans agreed to that?" she asked.
"He kept telling me this was merely a way of getting revenge on Elsa and a way of getting to you, six years later and he was so wrapped up in his role that he didn't even want to be the one to look for you in the first place," he said.
"He didn't want too?" Anna said. She made a mental note of their determination to find her, it was significant as there was little she would know that Jasper was unable to find out.
"I'd been asking him for the past few years to take up the search, it was only a few months ago that he finally agreed," he said.
"I don't understand," she said. She had assumed so much, like with the family at the farm she had become so insular that she never bothered about even basic questions about those around her.
"In honesty neither do I. The stuff he went through, going from royalty to hard labour. Spending a year in that prison just to come out into a burning home and a nightmarish world around him, it would break most men." Jasper caught himself on this before continuing.
"Hell it probably did break him, his home was gone and what little was left of his family were practically slaves to Arendelle. He was probably looking for you as he had nothing left to turn to. No other familiarity in his life left," he said.
"Then he found this resistance as a way to move on and I became a reminder of his past," Anna finished for him. What was his role in the resistance and why did he get so involved without some sort of angle? She knew she was still missing something.
"Speak of the devil," Jasper said as Hans appeared in the room, he made a point of closing the door behind him.
"Why is Freya here?" Hans said, he sounded angry.
"She wanted to see you, it's been months and you know I can't say no to that face of hers," Jasper said.
"That better be the only reason she's here or I swear Jasper I will make your life hell," Hans said.
Jasper seemed weary of Anna's presence as Hans anger rose. It was frustrating as she had a lot more questions but took the hint and left, she could hardly ask Jasper anything more whilst Hans was right there anyway. However she could find out who everyone else was and have them fill in the gaps about Hans. This plan was quickly dashed as the hostility of everyone in the large room toward her had not died down in her brief absence. She was once again the centre of indignant attention. Before she could say anything the girl that had hugged Hans came up to her, she had large brown eyes and wore a short hooded cloak over a light top and trousers.
"We should probably go outside," she said.
"Are you Freya?" Anna asked.
"Yes, come on we can talk outside," she said. Anna could feel all the eyes in the room drilling into her, she knew if she stayed she would get angry enough to lash out and cause herself all sorts of problems. She took Freya's offer, it seemed like she would be the best person for providing some answers that was unoccupied and it looked like no one else was willing to talk to her. They navigated the maze, on the way Anna spotted and managed to swipe a bottle of a drink that looked very strong amongst the scattered mess. It had almost been a full day without a mind-numbing substance of any kind, Anna was amazed she had coped this long. When they reached the top Freya slid across the panel, undeterred by a protesting Sigmund as they left the main store.