Anna slipped away in the night, all that was left of her was a note that read "Some wars can be finished before they start."
The message had not been found until later that afternoon, by then it was too late to stop her.
On the large ship Anna soon discovered that the sea is not kind to people new to her domain. Even the fastest and most agile ship Arendelle had to offer was tossed and turned in her powerful waves.
By the time the young woman arrived in the Southern Isles, she could not have been happier to step foot onto solid, unyielding land.
"Ok I made it...now what..?" Apparently the red head had not thought of anything past this point. Donned in her cloak she raised her hood and departed from the bay. Anna knew she couldn't just request an audience, if she mentioned she was from Arendelle she'd most likely be run through on the spot.
She was to small to wear the Southern Isle's armor and sneak in, but she was very good at climbing...
Being sure to keep her head low, and covered, Anna made her way towards the large castle in the distance. It might have been bigger than Arendelle's, though, needlessly since the Southern Isles were just as big if not a wee bit smaller than Arendelle. At least it seemed that way to her, Anna didn't know much about the surrounding kingdoms. Elsa would know, She thought to herself; after all she was the Queen, she had grown up learning those sort of things.
The sun was high in the sky by the time Anna reached the castle. Quite a long walk considering she arrived in the ports at dawn. The red head had expected it to be swarming with guards, but low and behold there were hardly any in sight. She should have counted on Hans' arrogance, for him to think that no one would have the gut to step to a man so shameless when it came to killing.
Now was not the time to let her anger get in her way, more than likely he kept most of the guards closer to him. It gave the illusion of arrogance, but the security of a coward. Keeping low and out of sight, the skilled climber began to scale the rocky wall towards a low window.
Once reached, she peered in, checking for occupants in the small dimly lit room. It seemed like little more than a spare room used for unwanted furnishings and other discarded miscellaneous objects. Using a small knife, she opened the latch from the outside and climbed in.
The musty air filled her nose, and it reminded her of a time not so long ago, a time when she would explore similar rooms in the castle in Arendelle. Elsa having shut everyone out after the death of her mother; she got lonely, and sought to drown herself desperately in something that took the pain away.
Anna shook the memory from her mind, mentally scolding herself to focus on the task at hand, and ventured out into the expanses of the castle's inner workings.
The halls were a maze, especially to a foreigner. Walls lined with paintings of past king and queens, princes and princesses. All looked so kind, so proud. Only one among them looked twisted, sinister in his gaze, only one. Hans.
How a man, no a creature, like Hans gets forged in a lineage full of noble men and women the world may never know. What misfortune did he come upon in childhood to turn him into the monster that he was now? A creature born of anger and hatred, with no problem slitting the throat of a man as soon as look at him.
The fates have a cruel sense of humor some times.
It was only when the young warrior heard voices coming from a near by room that she tore her gaze from the wicked man's painted likeness and back to reality.
"Your Majesty Arendelle could march at any moment, we have all the provisions we need. Shall we start loading the ships and preparing them for battle?"
A cold chill ran down her spine as she realized just how close this war was.
"Yes. Load the ships, give the order to ready the troops."
That had to be Hans, there was no doubt in her mind. Anna quickly hid as the other participant in that conversation left the room and headed down the hall, vanishing around the corner. She was careful as she slipped into the room, trying hard not to make a sound. Hans seemed preoccupied with something else for the moment. The red head got to the window before Hans spoke.
"That shade of brown really isn't your color."
She froze, barely able to breath as the man addressed who could be no one else than her.
The tall man turned to face her, revealing the object of his previous attentions, an object that happened to be a small knife.
"Oh Anna, did you really think I didn't know you were here?"