Chapter Thirty

A New Hope

ANNA

The march was still ongoing, but the weather wasn't getting any better, unfortunately. The rains were getting heavier and seemed to last longer, making the already cold winter climate even more bitter and frustrating. Every night, the winds and rain threatened to blow away the pitched tents. In some instances, tents had collapsed under the incessant rain and howling winds of the night. Anna and Kristoff had their own tent collapse on them while they had been sleeping.

Thankfully, Kristoff and her had managed to get out from under the mess, but it left them both feeling rather embarrassed in front of their own soldiers. Word spread fast that even the Queen's tent which was the most sturdily built had collapsed, and that didn't exactly help morale where the weather was concerned.

Daytime wasn't exactly better. The snow came on and off like an indecisive child, and the roads grew tougher. With snow and mud, the pace was plodding, and by the end of the day the soldiers' uniforms were coated quite liberally in mud and wet with rain and melted snow. Progress was slow, and morale was slipping away bit by bit with each day.

Anna couldn't blame the soldiers, for she herself wasn't thrilled at the idea that at the end of all this constant marching through bad terrain a bloody battle was waiting for them. In the soldiers' case, it was worse, since some of them would be dying at the end of it. The fact that they knew it too didn't make it any easier.

As the days wore on, there were more and more stragglers that had fallen behind the rest of the column. Today, the Arendellians formed the rear of the Coalition's column, and at the end of the march, Frederick had dispatched a squadron of Arendellian cavalry to round up the stragglers. Long after sundown when the camp had already been made, those who had fallen behind began plodding and staggering into camp, exhausted and sorely needing a change of uniform.

At this rate, they would reach the City of Korynes in another…Anna recalled what Kristoff and Frederick had been discussing and calculating earlier today. Three days. Three days to another battle with the Imperial Horde, who were by now ready and waiting for the Coalition to approach their stronghold.

No doubt General Hydrech and the reinforcements from the Imperial Horde had arrived, making Korynes an unfavourable battlefield for the Coalition. Sure, the Coalition had the numbers, but the terrain wasn't favourable and the Exonians held a much more desirable defensive position and had plenty of time to dig in.

Anna really wasn't looking forward to another battle - especially not on the snow-covered landscape. Again, she contemplated appealing to the more hot blooded Confederation members to halt the campaign for the winter season, but something told her that it would be a fruitless exercise.

Uxzas, Helmsley and Horatio were adamant about pushing on, insisting that they were close to victory. And so, there was a change in plans, which Frederick would be briefing his general staff about shortly. Now that the Arendellians had settled in camp and the stragglers had been rounded up, the dinner would be set in Uxzas' Tent.

While Kristoff went ahead to find Frederick in preparation of the brief, Anna found Melody in her own tent near the centre of the Danish division. Her tent wasn't as large as Anna's, as the princess had been rather insistent about not given anything luxurious, preferring to be seen as an equal to the troops.

Hence, her tent looked like any other officer's, but was just slightly larger and had Danish sentries positioned outside her tent to guard it. The pair of soldiers outside Melody's tent were dressed in crisp and neat brown, in spite of the rain and snow, presumably having changed into a new set after they had made camp. They saluted Anna and announced her arrival to Melody.

Anna slipped into the tent, shedding her purple travel vest which was still a little damp from the day's rain, and tossed it over a foldable chair. Looking around, she was quite amused to see that her friend's tent was rather spartan. It appeared that Melody was living with just the bare bones of furniture and supplies, befitting of her own personality and nature. Her friend had never been one to be waited on or to indulge in luxury.

The interior of the tent consisted of a small bedroll and beside it stood an oil lamp, and a small trunk containing her belongings that made it look like she was just on a week's journey. On the other side of the not-so-large tent, a simple table stood where meals could be had, and two foldable chairs. That was it. Anna didn't know whether to feel impressed, or to once again encourage her friend to at least get a few more items to improve her standard of living.

The girl herself was poring over a few pieces of paper at the table, studying it with great intent. Her forehead was creased with concentration as her eyes flicked across her notes.

Anna made a show of clearing her throat. "Melody?"

Her friend looked up from whatever she had been doing, having completely forgotten that Anna had come to see her. "Oh. Hi. Sorry, I've been a little occupied since we made camp." Melody waved her over. "Come, see."

Curious, Anna walked over to Melody's side of the table, and Melody spread out the few pieces of paper for her to see. Squinting, Anna could make out the faint pencil drawings of multiple diagrams, with elaborate writings scribbled beside it in very small handwriting. The words were almost impossible to read, for they had been jumbled up in a haste, and arrows were drawn everywhere, linking up to various points in the diagrams, with an array of labels and other stuff that Anna didn't really understand.

Anna's eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration. "Is this the plan to break in?" Since her sister and friends had been thrown in Stormtide Prison a few days ago, Melody had been working hard to come up with a feasible plan. Now, it seemed that Melody had drafted it out in detail on paper.

Melody nodded. "I strung together all the coherent ideas into a few possibilities. Since we don't know the layout of Stormtide, I had to come up with various plans as to how we can infiltrate the prison. I consulted General Ivon on military fortifications, since Stormtide used to be a fort used by armies in the old naval wars. He gave me several tactical ideas as to how Stormtide could work as a fort, and from there I worked out several possible plans for different scenarios."

Anna watched in amazement as Melody pointed at the first diagram and began explaining her well-thought out strategy for the first possible layout. The words sounded foreign to Anna, for she was no student of sieges or infiltration. It just made her feel better knowing that the plan to spring the Warriors was a remarkably detailed one.

"When though?" Anna said when Melody had finished elucidating her plans. "When are you and your team going to go to Stormtide?"

"Probably tomorrow night," Melody answered. "I'm estimating that Stormtide would be a day's journey or so from our next campsite, but I won't know for sure. The only thing we know is in what direction Stormtide is."

"That's not good." Anna muttered to herself. Within the next few days, the Battle of Korynes would take place, which meant that she wouldn't be able to go off with Melody and the others. There wasn't enough time to make it there and back before the battle started. It was too great a risk.

Studying Anna's expression, Melody seemed to know what she was thinking, and said: "Look, I know you want to come with us and rescue our friends. But the battle…"

"I know, I know." Anna half-growled. "But-"

"We'll have it well in hand," Melody said before she could protest. "Oliver, myself and two others from the Insurgency days. We'll be more than enough to topple Stormtide. I promise."

Anna drew in another breath, wanting to argue, but she knew that there was no disputing facts. And the fact was, there wasn't enough time. If they started out tomorrow and took a day to Stormtide, the return journey would be another day, and that made three days in total. That was assuming everything went smooth. The time for hiccups and being caught in bad weather hadn't been accounted for yet, which probably meant at least another day or two of travelling. By that time, the siege to take Korynes would have already begun, and she couldn't risk not being there when it fell. The Confederation needs me there. My people need me there.

"You're torn between wanting to save our friends and your commitment to your people." Melody said perceptively. "I know."

Not just our friends. My own sister too. Anna nodded slowly. "Why does it have to be so hard? To have to make hard decisions like this all the time?"

"The burden of being in power, I suppose." Melody shrugged. "I know a little bit about that myself."

Anna sighed.

"Don't worry," Melody put a hand on Anna's arm. "I'll bring Elsa and the others back safely. You have my word."

Nodding again, Anna swallowed the lump in her throat. She hated the fact that she had to choose. The burden of being in power, as Melody had put it. Sometimes she really wished that she wasn't queen with all her responsibilities, and didn't need to jostle with the rest of the Confederation to ensure the campaign didn't go off the rails.

A frantic scratch came at the tent flap.

"Yes?" Melody answered in a loud voice.

A corporal poked his head in nervously at first, and then scurried into the tent, saluting hurriedly. "Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness." His voice carried an unconcealed air of urgency.

"What's going on?" Anna said. The corporal was dressed in Arendellian green, meaning he had come all the way from the Arendellians' side of the camp.

"I bring a message for you, Ma'am." The corporal unbent. "An urgent one. A man in a black hood and mask rode towards the rear of our camp. He was carrying weapons, and the pickets at the edge almost shot him down, but he insisted that you knew who he was. He said that he had news about-" the corporal lowered his voice. "-Her Royal Highness. Princess Elsa."

Man in a black hood. Anna's eyes widened as she connected the dots. Janus had escaped Stormtide. She shot a glance at Melody, who seemed just as taken aback by the news, and turned to the corporal.

"Where is he now?"

"We're holding him at the edge of the camp." The corporal said. "As a safety precaution."

"Quickly. Ride back to the edge, and tell the pickets to let him enter my tent." Anna instructed. "I'll be there along shortly to meet him."

"Ma'am," he sounded uncomfortable. "Your tent? Are you sure it's a good idea to-"

"Now please, Corporal." Anna said a little more sharply than she had intended.

The soldier shot up like a stiff rod, saluted and then hurriedly excused himself from Melody's tent to carry out her orders.

Anna turned to Melody, quivering with excitement and nervousness entwined. "You know what this means?"

Melody nodded, and grabbed her coat. "Let's go."

###

Hurrying back, the two girls arrived back at Anna's tent to find that the soldiers had acted with professional speed and efficiency. An unmasked Janus was already seated on a chair in the tent, guarded by two soldiers who were standing beside him, with two more outside with muskets shouldered.

"Your Majesty. Your Royal Highness." The guards inside pulled Janus to his feet and straightened up when Anna and Melody had pushed the tent flap inside and entered.

"Thank you, gentlemen. We'll be fine." Anna waved the guards away.

"Tell the guards outside to take a walk and excuse yourselves for dinner." Melody called after them. "We'll be needing some privacy."

"Your Majesty." Janus sketched a slight bow when they were finally alone and they were sure that the guards were safely out of earshot.

Anna looked at Janus, who looked rather the worse for wear. He was in his tight fitting blacks, which were coated liberally with mud and dirt, and bits and pieces of twigs and dried leaves clumped to his clothes as if he had just bashed through a dense forest. He was sweating, tousled hair clinging in a few clumps and his eyes had dark circles around them. His face was also more gaunt than she had remembered, cheekbones hollow and brown eyes exuding exhaustion.

"Sit down," Anna waved at the chair when she saw him reeling a little. "You look awful."

Janus collapsed back into the foldable chair which creaked under his weight. Groaning softly, he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I came as fast as I could. I didn't stop for food or water along the way. I just knew I had to get here." His voice was slightly hoarse as if he hadn't had enough water to drink.

Anna hurriedly darted across her tent and pulled out a tin of dried meat from her trunk, and Melody fetched a mug of water. Janus drank from it greedily, and stuffed a large serving of the dried meat into his mouth, chewing vigorously and swallowed.

"You escaped from Stormtide." Melody dragged out two more chairs for her and Anna to sit across from Janus.

"I did." He said tiredly as he chugged water.

"Is my sister and the rest-" Anna trailed off anxiously, her voice quavering in anticipation of the answer.

"They're fine." Janus chewed another mouthful of dried meat. "We all came up with a plan for me to escape to get help."

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"Only you escaped?" Melody asked, her tone slightly pointed.

"In Stormtide, the prisoners are forced to wear magic dampening collars." Janus explained. "It neutralises their magic and abilities. But of course it didn't work on me. I'm a regular human, but the guards didn't know that. So I stood the best chance of escaping alone, so Elsa and the rest helped to stage a riot to stir up confusion and a distraction while I broke out of Stormtide. I got rid of the collar once I was back on the mainland, and then I acquired a horse from a nearby village and rode hard after the Coalition."

"How did you manage to find us?" Anna asked.

"The small villages and huts along the way. They pointed this way."

"How far is Stormtide?" Melody asked.

"About a day's journey. I got out last night." Janus leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes. "We need to go back. To save the others. To save Elsa. Please."

"We will." Melody said. "How do we get to Stormtide?"

"We need to ride about a day's journey that way." Janus pointed in a general direction. "Then pass through a thick forest and cross the river to the island."

"And you know the layout of the island? The prison?" Melody asked hopefully.

"Yes."

"Don't you see?" Melody turned to Anna, her face lit up with hope. "We can rescue the others. We know the layout of Stormtide now."

"That's great." Anna could feel the exhaustion from the day's travel wearing off suddenly as she was filled with adrenaline. "We can-" And then she remembered that she wouldn't be able to go with them. She deflated again.

"We heard the report that the Blue Wolves shot one of you." Melody said. "By the description, it sounded like Jordan."

"Is he alright?" Anna asked. She had very nearly forgotten in all the talk about rescue, and she instantly felt guilty.

To her dismay, Janus dropped his eyes and shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. "Jordan…he's dead."

"Shit." Anna ran a hand through her hair, and glanced helplessly at Melody, who looked equally at a loss for words.

"How's Jade and the rest holding up?" Melody finally managed.

"It's been difficult…especially for Jade. Obviously she's taking it the worst. She fell into depression after her brother died in her arms."

Anna muttered another curse under her breath, and felt tears pressing hotly against her eyes. She shut them and blinked, her vision blurring slightly. "The Blue Wolves. They have to pay for this."

"It's…it's not just the Blue Wolves." Janus said tightly. " We found out that there's something else too."

"Something else?" Anna repeated, her throat still thick. What else could there be at this point?

His expression was very grim. "Something's wrong in Stormtide. Very wrong."