Chapter Forty One
Saving the Snow Queen
ANNA
"Wait." Janus said before Tracy could open a second portal in the Crossing Zone that would let them into the city of Korynes. "When we step out, stay close. We can't afford to lose sight of each other. There's going to be chaos in the streets."
"Not forgetting that we're still fugitives." Maui added. "We don't want the Coalition soldiers turning their weapons on us.."
"Can we get on with it and find Elsa already?" Anna said, feeling impatient. "We'll be fine, I promise. The Coalition soldiers recognise me. It wouldn't be polite if they were shooting at the queen."
"I'm more concerned about the Exonians." Deirdre muttered under her breath.
"Alright. Do it." Janus nodded at Tracy, who drew her hands apart and opened a second Crossing Point.
Light streamed into the Crossing Zone, and the sounds of fighting could already be heard. Screams, musketry and cannon going off serenaded Anna's ears like an elaborately constructed soundscape. She took a deep breath and emerged from the Crossing Point first.
The landscape before her was like a painting from hell. The city of Korynes was a literal war zone, with soldiers in green mixed with blue, brown and yellow firing at the ones in red, scurrying from house to house and across streets.
Musketry rattled through the air, and overhead the cannons continued to discharge fire. Solid round shot flew from behind the Warriors, sending death crashing further into the Exonians' territory and sending fragments of buildings flying.
Stone walls were chipped or totally gone, brick roofs collapsed and some houses completely disintegrated from the after effects of cannon fire. Rubble lined the streets, in some instances piling all the way up to the ankles.
The roads were a ruin, cracked up cobblestones jutting out every which way, making it a hell of a terrain for the soldiers to be fighting in. The infantrymen who were used to fighting in formed battle were obviously having a rough time, shooting it out in the streets and from house to house. Only the skirmishers were thriving, as evident by the Northuldra and the Danish, both of whom made for an unstoppable force.
Where Anna and the rest had emerged was not far from where the skirmishers were advancing, pushing back the enemies in red to another set of houses, where they would light up the entire house with pink-white muzzle flashes obscured by thick white musket smoke.
Light cavalry rode through the streets too, every now and then, the cavalrymen firing carbines into a mass of Exonian soldiers hunkered down behind rubble and crumbled stone. Cavalry sabres met hurried parries of the bayonets, and some horsemen were thrown from the saddle by a ragged volley from the Exonians.
It was utter chaos, to put it simply. Anna had never really been in the heat of battle quite like this, surrounded by people charging each other all around, fighting hand to hand in some instances. Lead balls flew all around, zipping and whining, hitting walls which exploded into dust and plaster.
"Sixth Company, forward!" A lieutenant in yellow shouted somewhere up ahead.
So apparently they had teleported to where the Xerflorians were attacking. Thankfully though, they were behind friendly lines - if they could even be called friendly. A soldier in yellow gave the Warriors incredulous looks as he passed them by with musket in hand. For a moment, Anna thought he recognised them, but he just shook his head and hurried along to join his advancing company.
"Tracy! Are we close enough?" Janus raised his voice to be heard above the musket shots and incessant explosions of stone and rubble.
"I'm trying, but there's a hell of a lot of interference!" Tracy had her eyes closed, standing in the middle of the street that was currently free of fighting, but soldiers all around were running past them.
"Interference? You don't say." Deirdre's eyes followed the trajectory of a howitzer projectile as it screamed downwards and a huge boom followed at a disturbingly close distance, sending men and stone flying and shrieking.
"I meant sorcerous interference," Tracy explained. "It's as if someone has been blocking the signals, but is now deliberately allowing me to get through."
"That…doesn't make any sense." Anna watched another soldier half a street in front of her take a musket ball in the skull and jerk backwards.
"Can you get a lock on?" Janus asked again. "Or do we need to go closer?"
"Yeah. That way." Tracy pointed southeast, her eyes still closed. "I need to get closer to pinpoint Elsa's life essence. Right now I still don't know for sure where, but it's that way."
Anna looked in the direction. There was heavy fighting in that area, perhaps too heavy. She rounded on Janus. "Janus, you're the strategist. Can we make it through?"
JANUS
"This is going to get messy." Janus grimaced, his heart working into overdrive. He took a deep breath. "Maui, stay in front with me. The rest, stay close behind and watch our backs."
There was still fierce fighting in the streets. A company of Arendellian soldiers were hiding behind a makeshift rampart constructed by the Exonians, taking turns to fire at the enemy across the street which were hunkered down in a blockhouse, firing out of a window as narrow as a loophole and looking more like fortress embrasures.
The Warriors stayed in the alley between two houses, with Janus and Maui in front. They would need to punch through the company of Exonians before they could head further southeast. Janus turned to Maui, who grinned and nodded.
Then without warning, Maui bounded out from behind the wall, charging straight past the firing Arendellians and ignoring the musket balls that zipped all around him.
Someone screamed from inside the blockhouse, and the enemy musketry turned to focus on the demigod. The lead balls pinged and ricocheted off Maui's skin as if they were raindrops on the surface of a stone, and Maui charged towards the blockhouse.
Collinding into the side of the building shoulder first, the wall exploded into fragments of plaster, and he barrelled straight into the ranks of Exonians inside. The dust cleared quickly, and the remaining Exonians were exposed inside the house with nothing but pathetic remnants of the wall left behind by Maui's charge.
"Fire!" An Arendellian lieutenant yelled.
The company of soldiers lit up the blockhouse like Christmas, and Exonians fell one after another like rag dolls, punched off their feet by the volley of musketry and absolutely defenceless.
"That's our cue. Move!" Janus beckoned to the rest of the Warriors to follow him, and they left the safety of the alley, in plain sight where the Arendellian company could see them crossing.
The company of soldiers erupted into cheers, raising their weapons in gratitude. The lieutenant in charge caught Janus' eye, gave him a quick nod, and then turned back to shout orders to his men to move up to the next street.
Janus heaved an internal sigh of relief. At least we won't have to fight our own people.
Joining Maui in the ruined blockhouse, the Warriors were careful not to trod on any of the fallen soldiers. The floor was stained with blood, and the entire place smelled of death.
"How about now?" Janus asked Tracy.
"Yes. Yes, I've got it!" Tracy's voice rose excitedly. "Elsa's in there with Hans. That building!"
Janus turned to see where she was pointing. Further down another couple of streets, a multi-storied building stood untouched by the siege. It looked like a hotel of some sort, judging by the exterior which was designed to attract tourists or travellers with extra money to spend.
Smoke billowed around it, but so far it seemed that the artillery guns hadn't managed to reach it. Not yet at least. But if the mobile artillery gets closer…
"We need to move. Now." Janus urged. "Before the artillery brings that building down."
The sense of urgency heightened, especially on Anna's features. "Alright, let's move. Quickly."
The band of six Warriors moved from street to street, finding it bogged down by excessive fighting. At least in this part of the city, the Arendellians were at the helm, which meant that the sorcerers could still operate without being impeded. The soldiers in green seemed to respect them and turned a blind eye to the Warriors' presence, choosing instead to stick to cutting down the men in red who were increasingly beginning to fall back.
Before too long, the Warriors had reached the base of the building which Tracy had indicated. Janus looked at the entrance. It was blocked and barricaded, as if the locals inside were trying to protect themselves and hope the fighting would pass them by.
"I don't get it." Anna said, and Janus turned his head as he unhooked his bow from his back. "Tracy, you said Hans is with Elsa."
"Yeah."
"Why wouldn't he try to escape? Why would he barricade himself in?" Anna frowned. "He knows that the city has fallen to us already. Why is he still with Elsa? It doesn't make any sense."
"Maybe he's just insane." Janus said, nocking an arrow and shooting it straight into the rubble. The arrow exploded upon impact, dust, wood and rubble flying in all directions. Smoke cleared quickly to reveal an opening as the remaining debris rolled and crumbled around the barricade.
The Warriors raced across the street and through the entrance, only to find it well guarded by Exonian soldiers in red, waiting with muskets levelled.
"Down!" Janus pulled Anna to the ground behind a large reception table while Maui used his body to shield Tracy and Jade.
A volley of musketry crashed, lead balls flying straight for the intruders, and Deirdre lashed out with a heat wave, melting the musket balls in mid air. Molten metal fell to the ground uselessly, and Janus leapt up from behind the table, signalling to the rest to capitalise.
With the muskets spent, it would take the Exonians time to reload. Time which they did not have. Janus was the first to engage, vaulting over a makeshift firing bay made out of thick stacks of laundry, slamming his bow's riser into the nose of the nearest soldier and spinning to deliver a roundhouse kick to the back of another soldier's neck.
Maui was the second to reach. His enormous frame smashed clean through whatever defences the Exonians had constructed, barreling into an entire squad of soldiers who were too slow to get out of the way.
Blasts of fire and lightning followed from Deirdre and Jade, and Tracy unleashed the full potency of her black magic. Dark, purple mist shrouded the room, descending upon the soldiers and they began to choke and collapse.
Tracy shot a tendril of purple darkness towards the next nearest soldier still standing, impaling him in the chest. She withdrew, and almost took a bayonet to the back, but Anna slammed a light wooden chair over the would-be-attacker's head with enough force that caused him to sprawl to the ground in a heap.
Slinging his bow across his back, Janus drew two daggers and began carving through a knot of soldiers in his way, moving with such grace and fluidity that left the soldiers no time to react or defend themselves. Before long, the entire foyer of the building was clear of soldiers, and the Warriors stood victorious in the ruins.
"Hans is definitely behind this." Anna said, bending over with hands on her knees. She was sweating after the lengthy exertion, hair tangled and messy. "He'll throw away all these lives to protect his own. He's still here."
"Which means Elsa is too." Janus glanced at Tracy.
"Yeah. She's…downstairs in a basement of some sort." Tracy had a frown set on her face. "I don't get it. We're this close and I still can't get a firm lock on. Something's very strange."
"Another sorcerer's presence?" Maui asked. "Someone like you?"
"No…stronger than that," Tracy looked disturbed. "I don't know."
"Let's go before more show up." Anna took the lead.
The Warriors ran down the length of the foyer to explore the building for the basement, and found a switchback staircase leading down into a deeper part of the hotel. As if the place wasn't already dimly lit enough, the basement was worse, and a few more soldiers were downstairs, posted on the landing between the first floor and the basement.
"Back!" Maui shouted as he sprung in front of the others and a lead ball ricocheted off his body, hitting a wall.
Five muskets fired raggedly, raising clouds of smoke that covered the dark stairwell. Janus sprung out from behind Maui's huge frame, nocking two arrows and shooting them straight into the nearest guards.
Leaping off the stairs, he cut through the air neatly as two more lead balls zinged past his rotating body, narrowly avoiding his flesh. A dagger whipped out, striking a soldier in the temple, and he went down without a sound.
Landing gingerly on his feet, Janus dove low and charged straight into one of the last two soldiers, barreling him into the wall with so much force that the wall broke, plaster coating both the soldier and Janus. Futilely, the man tried to swing his bayonet at Janus but he blocked it with his elbow and smashed his nose with his other forearm.
"Look out!" Tracy screeched from behind.
Janus felt flames licking out just behind him, the heat tickling the back of his head through the hood. Pivoting on his heels, he saw the last remaining soldier on fire, flailing and dropping to his knees screaming before going silent as he died. His eyes flicked up to Deirdre who was halfway down the stairs, and nodded to her in gratitude.
"Come on." He motioned for them to follow him.
"I can feel Elsa here." Tracy confirmed as they all descended down into the dark basement. "And Hans is definitely with her too."
Janus fingered the knife on his belt. "Maybe it's just as well."
ELSA
Someone's upstairs. Elsa could hear a commotion nearby, though muffled by the steel door barring her exit. That, and the ropes that still bound her to the chair.
The nearby cracks of the muskets could be audibly heard, as if coming from upstairs, and she could hear shouting, though she couldn't place the voices. It was evident that the siege had already been a success, since the hotel she was in was so far into the city and there was fighting just outside.
The dark room she was in was empty except for herself and Hans. The two dead bodies had been cleared up and the pool of blood mopped up, though crimson still stained the ground, reminding her that two lives had needlessly been wasted, and guilt filled her again.
The brown cloaks were also nowhere to be found, leaving only Hans behind with her. She could not fathom why he had chosen to stay in spite of the raging battle outside. He had a chance to run, but instead he stayed with her. Why? Jaw tight, Elsa considered the possibility that he just didn't want to let her go. He's sick.
Hans' mean streak had vanished, his frustrations seemingly laid aside for now. Instead, his dark blue overcoat was brushed and free of blood speckles, his hair was neat, and he had a calm demeanour once again as if he held all the winning cards. He's delusional if he thinks he can still win.
"They're coming for you." Hans said to Elsa as he paced the room and stopped behind her chair. "Your friends must really love you if they're willing to charge through a battle to get here."
"Of course. But you wouldn't know anything about loyalty or friends, would you?" Elsa looked straight ahead and tried to match his calmness.
He just laughed, resting his hands on her bare shoulders, and squeezed lightly like one would do to a close friend. "Oh, I know enough about friends. How to find the right ones to work for you."
"Well, mine aren't just coming for me. They're coming for you too." Elsa smirked. "You had your chance to run."
"And what? You're going to order your friends to kill me?" Hans let out a chuckle. "I know you better than that. You and your lot are a sanctimonious bunch who let your morals get in the way of what needs to be done. If I were you, I'll kill me before I can stir up any more trouble. But no, you're far too short sighted and narrow minded for that." He shook his head as if disappointed. "Don't say I never offered you the chance."
"We don't need to kill you." Elsa said boldly. "But I'll make certain you'll spend the rest of your life in a cage."
His grip tightened on her shoulders, and she imagined his face twitching. She knew that if there was one thing that could rattle him, it was the memory of languishing in prison for two years for his crimes.
"Still think you're in charge?" Elsa asked placidly.
"Absolutely." His tone was unreadable as he squeezed her shoulders. "I am in complete control."
Something about his reluctance to run and save himself made Elsa feel uncomfortable. More so that she did around him anyway, but she really couldn't fathom why he hadn't run yet. Did he have a death wish? Well, it was too late now.
Footsteps approached outside the door, getting increasingly louder and then they stopped. There were voices. Voices of people she recognised. Anna, Janus, Maui…
"They're here." Hans said, drawing a knife from his coat pocket and placing his free hand against her collarbone. "Your friends have arrived."
The steel door dented once and flew off its hinges as Maui slammed his gigantic frame into it, leaving a huge imprint of his shoulder on the door. In filed the Warriors after Maui. Janus came next with Anna close behind, followed by the others.
Elsa felt the blade of the knife hovering just in front of her neck, Hans' hand steady and unmoving, as if threatening to move an inch and slice her throat. His control was incredible, and he wasn't even fazed or nervous.
"Welcome, everyone." Hans said pleasantly. "I'm sure that in one way or another, you know who I am." His wolfish eyes flicked over to Anna. "It's good to see you again."
"It's over, Hans." Anna said, her voice tight and her face written with indignation. "Drop the knife and let my sister go."
Hans chuckled. "No, no, no. You're not the ones giving the orders here." Elsa could feel his other hand stiffen on her collarbone while the blade seemed to inch nearer to her neck. Ever so subtly, she tried to move her wrists to find some slack from the ropes. "Or have you forgotten? Your dear sister's life is still in danger."
"You wouldn't." Anna said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, I wouldn't?" Hans goaded her.
From the corner of Elsa's eye, she could see Janus' hand move ever so slowly towards his belt, where he kept an array of small blades.
"Ahh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Hans said, his eagle eyes catching sight of Janus' almost imperceptible movements. "If I get hurt, your sweetheart dies. Simple enough. Or is that a risk you are willing to take, mercenary?"
Janus hesitated.
"Go on then." Hans smiled. "Call my bluff. Kill me. But I'm fairly certain your queen wouldn't allow that. Would you, Anna?"
"You're surrounded, Hans. How do you expect to get out?" Anna raised her hands, inching closer to where Elsa and Hans were. "I know you're not the type that's willing to gamble with your life. You won't kill Elsa or you'll lose all your leverage."
"Perhaps you're right." Hans said, the point of the knife pressing gently against Elsa's soft neck and drawing a tiny drop of blood as Elsa winced. "Or perhaps I'm tired of waiting to get my revenge for all that you and your sister have done to me. Maybe I want all of us to go out with a bang."
"What we did to you?" Anna echoed. "You were the one who tried to ruin our lives."
"That's far enough, Anna." Hans warned her, taking the knife off Elsa's neck and pointing it at her sister. "Please don't force my hand. You should know I'll do it."
He's stalling. Elsa thought. But for what? He knows he can't risk it, and he has no cards left to play. She decided that she wasn't going to give him a chance to employ whatever trick he had up his sleeve. There was only one logical thing to do.
Drawing in a breath, she slammed her weight backwards against the chair with so much force that it knocked into Hans and sent him stumbling off balance. Immediately, Janus surged forward like lightning, dragging Hans to the ground and far away from Elsa.
As she leaned backwards, she lifted her feet off the ground and felt the the entire wooden chair toppling backwards. It hit the ground hard and shattered into a hundred splinters of wood. The ropes slackened a little as the wood it was tied to broke, and Elsa hurriedly struggled to sit upright and undo her restraints.
Her friends rushed to her side, with Tracy and Anna assisting her in freeing her wrists from the ropes which chaffed her skin painfully.
"Are you alright?" Anna asked anxiously as her fingers fumbled with the ropes.
"I'm fine." Elsa assured her.
"Did he hurt you?" There was indignation and anger in Anna's voice.
"No." Elsa lied. He hadn't hurt her physically, but he'd done far worse. Mental torment, which the bastard excelled in. "I'm alright, I promise."
"Oh, Elsa." Anna undid the last of the knots and threw the rope aside. She enveloped Elsa in a bear hug, squeezing all the breath out of her. "I'm so glad you're alive. I've been so worried about you."
"I missed you too." Elsa rested her head on Anna's shoulder, finally feeling genuine comfort after months of anxiety and unrest. "You have no idea how much."
"Good to have you back, Elsa." Maui grinned, thumping her on the shoulder.
"A hell of a plan. I hope it paid off." Deirdre gave her a small smile.
"Funny, I don't remember you being so supportive of it." Elsa raised an eyebrow as she was helped to her feet.
"I wasn't."
"Well, at least the rest knew. Janus and I didn't. You could've at least told us you were gonna pull a stunt like that back in Stormtide." Tracy complained.
"It was a little hard to let you in on the plan when both of you were locked in 'the Hole'." Elsa pointed out. She missed the friendly banter with her friends.
"Oh. Fair enough." Tracy shrugged.
Jade stood behind quietly, looking better than she had in a while. She still looked downcast, but at least she was up and about again with the Warriors.
"Thank you for coming." Elsa beckoned to Jade for a hug, and she accepted it. "I hope you're feeling better."
"A little. I'm going to make sure whoever is behind all this pays." Jade growled.
That reminded Elsa. Hans. She whirled around to find Janus still on top of the villain, landing blow after blow across his face.
"Janus!" Elsa shouted. "It's alright! I'm safe, i's over!"
"It's over," Janus landed another vicious strike that bloodied his gloved knuckles. "When I say it's over."
"Stop!" Anna surged forward to put a hand on Janus' arm. "Remember the promise you made me. We need him alive."
"He deserves to die," Janus growled as Hans simply chuckled between ragged coughs.
"I agree. Totally." Anna said. "No one deserves that more than him. But we can't kill him. We need him to talk, remember?"
"Janus," Elsa knelt down beside him. "Look at me."
He inclined his head to look at her through his mask.
"I'm fine." Elsa touched his bloodied hand affectionately. "You saved me. It's over."
Slowly, Janus lowered his arm and unclenched his gloved fist. He turned to her, and embraced her in a tight hug.
"Well, I have to admit that was a little unexpected." Hans smirked. Blood dripped from Hans' nose and lips. He laughed again, spitting blood onto the ground.
"You've lost," Elsa said coldly as Janus released her from his embrace, and she stood over Hans. "It's over."
"You think you've won?" He asked mockingly.
"Yes, I do." Elsa said plainly, returning his wolfish gaze. However, something gnawed in the back of her mind, telling her that things weren't exactly as they seemed. Hans' calm voice from before echoed in her mind like a bell. I am in complete control.