Chapter 20.5 - The End Of Time Interlude

The first thing Anna could feel when she woke up was air, fresh air, rushing into her lungs. Oxygen flowed through her lungs and blood, life restored to her broken body. She then lurched up and coughed and sputtered, having returned to the land of the living.

Groaning Anna rubbed her head. She looked down, seeing her clothes were still wet from jumping head-first into a moat. Not one of her brighter ideas admittedly. Patting her chest, Anna felt more water flow from her mouth. How long had she been under the waves?

Taking a look around, Anna could see she was by a small freshwater stream, lying on the bank of it. How she had gotten here, she didn't know, but she was thankful to be safe. She then remembered leaving Elsa... again. She sighed.

What a fool she had been. She should have just pulled Elsa into the water with her... but then Hans would have had more reason to chase her, to pursue then, and Elsa would have gotten killed. No, Anna would go back for Elsa, someway and somehow.

As she sat up and looked around, she heard a voice calling to her from a nearby set of bushes. "Oh, you're finally awake."

Turning to her side, Anna saw the familiar form of a woman with raven black hair in a pixie cut and wearing a brown tunic walk towards her, a sword holstered on her back.

Getting up, Anna rushed to the woman, hugging her tightly. "Cass!" She exclaimed. "Oh gosh, am I glad to see you!"

Hugging back, Cass sighed. "I missed you too, Anna... I thought you had been killed in the invasion." She then pulled back. "But... it seems fate has been a good sport and kept you among the living for a bit longer."

"I guess so," Anna admitted. "How... How did I get here? The last thing I remember is jumping into the moat around Elsa's castle... and everything going dark."

"You must have been caught in the current," Cass explained. "I guess it must have carried you upstream. I was walking through the woods about a couple hours ago when I found you floating in the water over there. Trust me, you looked like crap... and still do by the way."

Anna then laughed. "Is that how you compliment your wife, Cassandra?" She teased, but then sighed. "Sorry... I guess I'm.."

"Hey, I'm used to that sort of humour," Cass remarked. "I'm a tough gal. Come on, we better get you somewhere safe before anyone finds us."

Nodding, Anna then started to follow Cass as they headed through the woods. Walking again was still a little iffy for Anna, as she stumbled on the rocks that were on the bank of the stream, but as she stepped onto the much firmer ground, she quickly got the hang of walking again.

If there was anything Anna could grasp from her current situation, she picked a pretty beautiful place to get washed up. These woods were so peaceful and serene, unlike the war-torn state that Arendelle was currently due to the occupation of Hans and his forces.

Wondering how long it had been since she made her escape, Anna skipped up to Cass. "So... how long have I been gone?"

"At least a day," Cass explained. "Hans already declared you dead a few hours ago. No one believes you survived your little stunt at the castle."

This broke Anna's heart a little. Poor Elsa... oh god she had hurt her so, so much. She really did deserve that slap from back at the castle.

Trying to keep up with Cass, Anna continued to follow her. "Have you... have you and Rapunzel seen anyone try to get to your place?"

"Not really," Cass stated. "Since Raps and I live pretty far up in the mountains, no one's really bothered to look for us here. Which is good, because that's where the survivors are going... the ones who've escaped anyway."

"Escaped?" Anna wondered.

Cass smirked. "Turns out your little breakout really was inspirational for the people of Arendelle. Some lucky souls have managed to get out of the city and we've brought most of them to our manor, but there's still a lot of them in the city."

"Still prisoners..." Anna remarked. "Arendelle is fucked... I'm never gonna get back home."

"Hey don't beat yourself up about it," Cass chirped. "I know things are dire right now, but all that matters is that you're still kicking. And no matter what, you're gonna get back to Elsa, even if we have to fight through all of Hans's cronies."

Anna laughed. "I don't think I can fight that many guys, Cass."

"You better, otherwise I'm not making you and Elsa the godparents of my baby," she then remarked. "Okay, look lively, Anna. Welcome to Casa de Corona."

Looking up, Anna saw the structure of the mansion where she and Rapunzel lived, only it was much different than its usual peaceful appearance. Most of the front gardens had now been taken up by tents of those survivors from Arendelle who had been driven from their homes.

Some were soldiers, some were shopkeepers, some were even whole families. It was a rather depressing sight, seeing all these lives torn apart by the ambitions of one selfish man. But these people were trying their best to move on, and Anna should do the same.

Stepping forward, Cass called to two of the people in the garden, who were helping aid the refugees. "Hey, Bjorgmans! Look who I found in the woods!"

The two figures turned around, revealing to Anna that they were Kristoff and Kristina. As she saw her best friend for the first time in days, Kristina ran out and hugged Anna tightly, spinning her around in her arms. "Anna!"

"Woah!" Anna exclaimed with a giggle. "Hey, big sis. Yeah, I missed you too."

Kristina pulled Anna close to her and sighed, holding her best friend. "God, I was so fucking worried... you have no idea how many times we thought you were really dead."

Laughing in the face of danger, Anna gave her a warm smile. "Well, you can't rid of me that easily. You should know that better than anyone." She pulled away and grinned. "So... how did you escape?"

"That is a rather long and very... very ugly story," Kristina remarked.

Kristoff smirked. "It wasn't that ugly. I mean, you did impale one guy... maybe two or three. You know kiddo, I think I lost count."

Anna giggled. "I see the family bonding is going well."

"Oh, these two have been bonding non-stop," Cass chuckled. "I haven't seen this much unmanly blondeness since Rapunzel tried to train with me back when we lived in Corona. But I digress. I think you guys deserve some food. You've all been through a lot."

Feeling her stomach, Anna couldn't agree more. It felt like it had been ages since she had eaten and she would pretty much eat anything at this point. She then nodded. "I agree... especially since I kinda just woke up from a near-death experience."

Kristina rolled her eyes. "Trust you to escape in the most dramatic way possible. You always were a drama queen feisty pants."

Anna laughed as she followed the others into the manor house, hoping to finally get a chance to take a break from this ordeal.

xXx

Just a few minutes later, Anna and her friends were sat in Rapunzel's sitting room, Anna now wearing some ice harvester clothes that Kristoff had given her to replace her very wet clothing.

Relaxing on the sofa she was sitting on, Anna sighed. She was supposed to be feeling at peace over all this, over how she was finally getting a break from the chaos that had been the last few days.

But all that was on her mind was the suffering and pain that Elsa and the rest of Arendelle were under now that Hans was in control. She had to go back there, but she couldn't save anyone in her current state.

Breaking her silence, Rapunzel then entered the room, carrying a tray of freshly baked cookies in her hands. As Rapunzel arrived, Anna noticed that the blonde's belly had grown in size, showing that her pregnancy was progressing well.

"Grubs up!" Rapunzel chirped as everyone took the cookies and began eating. As everyone filled their stomachs with the freshly baked treats, Anna smiled and looked up at Rapunzel.

"You look well, Rapunzel," Anna told her. "How's the baby doing?"

"Oh, he's doing fine," Rapunzel giggled, patting her tummy. "Well, we think he's a he anyway. I think he's sleeping right now, since he's always tossing and turning inside me."

Anna cooed and smiled. "You're gonna be a great mom, Punzie."

Cass kissed Rapunzel's cheek. "Raps, as much as I'd love to keep talking about our baby, we need to focus right now. Arendelle has fallen to Hans, and we need to take it back."

"Cassandra has a point," Kristoff added. "We need to come up with a plan to free the capital city from Hans's control and drive him and his forces back to the southern isles."

"Well, we're clearly gonna need an army to take care of that," Anna remarked. "Arendelle does have an army right? Elsa often spoke about her kingdom's military prowess."

"We've got one hell of a big one," Kristoff replied. "But when the invasion happened, most of the top commanders were executed during the attack. Most of the military is now in the other cities, miles from Arendelle. It could take days to get a message out and no one here is of any rank to command them. Can't have an army without a general."

Anna sighed. She had to take on this responsibility, if she was going to save Arendelle and the woman she loved. "Then I'll take charge. I'm Elsa's fiancee, and her wife by default. So I have an authority that should exceed any general."

"With all due respect, feisty pants," Kristina added. "You can barely plan a date, let alone an entire war strategy to free your girlfriend's kingdom."

"I can manage it, Kristi," Anna insisted. "You and Cass better start training. If I'm taking command of the Arendelle military, I'm gonna need some top notch fighters at my side, and you two are pretty damn good in a fight if I must say so."

Cass smirked. "Always wondered when I'd get a chance to use my sword again."

"I'll try and get in touch with some friends of mine," put in Kristoff. "You're gonna need all the help you can get, Anna."

"Thanks, Kristoff," Anna accepted, as the ice harvester then left the room. She knew that the responsibility she was taking on was massive, but at the end of the day, this was Elsa she was going to fight for and with warriors like Kristina and Cass at her side, she would win.

Helping her wife up, Cass held her hand. "Then let's get you to bed so you can lie down and let our little one wriggle as he pleases," she giggled, before escorting the blonde woman out of the room.

Now alone, Kristina looked at Anna, giving her a rather frank expression. "You sure you can handle this Anna? I'm not questioning you, but are you really sure you need to be the one to take charge here?"

"Sis, I'm partly to blame for Hans coming here," Anna told her. "If I hadn't met Elsa, all this crap wouldn't have happened. This is my mistake that I have to fix... and I'm sorry you ended up getting dragged into it too. I guess... this isn't how you imagined visiting Arendelle huh?"

"Nope, but to be honest, I think this is more fun," she said, patting Anna's shoulder. "Come on, princess. I'm pretty sure you need some rest after your long day."

Anna yawned, realising how late it was starting to get already. "Yeah... I should turn in. It's been one hell of a day."

"It certainly has," Kristina agreed, before walking out of the room and leaving the new general in peace to rest for the hard times ahead, times that would either bring peace back to Arendelle, or plunge it into an even darker state.

Whatever would happen, Anna would fight for Elsa, until her dying breath.

xXx

Author's note: I figured ya'll would need this little mini-chapter after what happened to Anna. Don't worry, she'll be saving Elsa from that bastard Hans. I promise you that. They will be reunited. After that... well excuse the pun, but only time will tell ;)

See you soon!