Chapter Sixty Three

The Powder Keg

ANNA

A long silence dragged out as Anna and Deirdre glared at Eleanor, and Eleanor glared back. Tensions ran high, so thick that it could be felt tangibly, and Anna was ready to drop to the ground if Eleanor lashed out with her demonic powers.

At last, Eleanor shook her head and sighed. "It's a real shame that it's come down to this. I like to think that we could've been real friends."

"Friends? With you?" Anna couldn't help but scoff. "You don't have any friends. You just use people. Like you're using Hans."

"I'm not using him. I love him!" Eleanor snapped. "He's the one person who cares about me and loves me for who I am. He's the only one left who's still in my corner."

"Are you so sure about that?" Anna tried hard not to smirk. She knew what Hans was really up to, and apparently Eleanor didn't. The poor, deluded Empress had no clue.

Eleanor bared her teeth like an angry tiger. "What are you talking about?"

"Are you really sure Hans is on your side? Does he really love you?"

"Of course. I would know."

"I thought I did too." Anna conceded. "Until he revealed his true colours and my sister and I almost ended up dead by his hand."

"That's because you're both damned fools." Eleanor spat. "I'd know for certain if Hans has been working to undermine me."

"Are you willing to bet your life on that?" Anna couldn't conceal the smirk any longer. "How much do you really know of his intentions? What has he been doing with all his spare time?"

"He's loyal. He would never-"

"And yet, you're beginning to consider it." Anna said, watching Eleanor's eyes begin to water. "Can you really trust your lover?"

"Shut up."

"I've heard it from his own lips," Anna went on, looking over at Deirdre who seemed to take pleasure in nodding. "We all have."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Eleanor snapped.

"Hans was in Korynes." Anna said. "Did you know that?"

The look on Eleanor's face told Anna she hadn't.

"Aren't you curious about what he was doing in Korynes instead of being his desk in the Chancellor's office?"

"Stop speaking in riddles, damn it."

"He was there on his own special mission. He was trying to learn information from us for his master." Anna paused dramatically. "The High Priest."

There was a very brief look of recognition that flashed across Eleanor's eyes. She stiffened.

"You know who that is, don't you?"

"You're lying."

"Hans admitted it himself. He's been working for the Crimson Order. And by the looks of it, so have you." Anna said triumphantly.

"You're lying!"

"Am I?" Anna spread her hands. "How do you think we know about the Crimson Order? Unless someone in their employ talked? How much are you willing to bet it wasn't Hans?"

Tears rolled down Eleanor's face and she rubbed her eyes furiously. "You're lying." She said more weakly.

"Face facts, Eleanor." Anna said. "You've been too blinded by love to realise that your beloved Chancellor has been working behind your back for his own nefarious schemes and didn't tell you about them. Why do you think that is?

"Have you perhaps been too charmed by him like I was?" Anna went on. "That you've just been seeing what you've wanted to see? A tall, handsome man who's willing to give you everything and be so understanding and supportive at every turn?"

"You're wrong." Eleanor choked, wiping her face with the back of her hand. Her voice grew hysterical as she sniffed. "He loves me! He loves me! He would never…"

"And yet we know about the Crimson Order." Anna said mildly. "Believe me or not, that's up to you. I've planted reasonable doubt in your mind. Now you can go on trusting your beloved Hans, dismissing everything I've told you as lies. Or you can open your eyes and start asking the right questions."

"No…no…no…" Eleanor repeated like a mantra, muttering under her breath. "It's not true."

"Who's the High Priest?" Deirdre suddenly surged forward and grabbed her sister by the collar, distorting the shape of her dress. "Tell us!"

"Let go of me." Eleanor snarled, swiping her sister's hands away and backpedaling. "I should incinerate you both right now."

"For what? Telling you the truth?" Anna asked.

"Shut up!" Eleanor screamed at the top of her lungs, so loud that Anna was sure the soldiers at the bottom of the hill would've heard it.

"Chew on that, Eleanor." Anna said. "Chew on that the next time you look into Hans' eyes and see his 'perfect man' facade."

Eleanor seemed to consider this for a second, and Anna poised herself again, ready to dive low if Eleanor suddenly attacked in a rage.

Instead, Eleanor giggled under her breath. "Your Coalition burns today." Eleanor's voice was eerily calm. "I will make sure of that."

Before a confused Anna could ask what she was talking about, a portal of purple mist opened up just behind Anna and Deirdre, and out burst Melody and Tracy, soaked to the bone. The next thing Anna knew, Eleanor had vanished into thin air.

"Did we just see the Empress?" Melody asked. Her hair was dripping wet, and her clothes were soaked till they clung to her skin.

"Yeah, she tried to bargain with us." Anna heaved a sigh of relief. Now that Eleanor was gone, it felt like a great weight had been suddenly lifted off her shoulders. "Tried to get us to retreat and leave her alone."

"And w-what did you t-tell her?" Tracy shivered. She too was soaking wet.

"Go to hell, or something along those lines." Deirdre said bluntly.

Anna nodded. "And she knows that we know about the Crimson Order. She's involved somehow, I saw it in her eyes."

"And she didn't attack you both?" Melody asked in amazement.

"Surprisingly, no." Anna shrugged. "I thought she was going to bite my nose off when I told her about Hans working behind her back."

"That's-that's good." Melody looked quite pleased. "You might have just turned the tide of the war."

"How so?"

"Planting doubt. Turning the enemies against each other." Melody said. "This can work in our favour."

"Hey." Tracy interrupted them, waving for their attention frantically. "S-something's wrong d-down there."

Anna frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know if my s-senses are wonky or something. Could be, after that s-shark attack shenanigans we just went through." Tracy rambled, glancing over at Melody who looked as confused as Anna.

"Tracy!" Anna raised her voice a little, gripping the girl's shoulders. "What are you talking about?" She had a bad feeling about this in the pit of her stomach.

"I don't know what exactly or h-how, maybe chalk it up to me being a Ha'naeth. But I'm suddenly sensing a whole lot of black powder. You know, the kind that soldiers use for their guns and-"

"Yes, yes, black powder. We know." Deirdre said impatiently.

"-and explosives." Tracy finished with a shiver. "It feels really weird. Their black powder's s-scattered everywhere. It's like the soldiers are sitting on a powder keg just waiting to go off."

Then it hit Anna. Her face grew pale, and without a word, she whirled round and started scrambling down the hill. Damn it, I should've realised! Anna let her mouth gape open in horror. Hydrech left the Imperial Horde behind for a suicide mission. They're going to ignite the black powder around Netheide and send the whole town up in flames!

As she made a mad scramble to descend the slope, she could feel the eyes of a good number of reserve battalions with their eyes on her. No doubt they were intrigued and bewildered to see the Queen of Arendelle sprinting down the hill like a madwoman. She almost slipped a few times and tumbled the rest of the way in front of them, but thankfully she didn't. It would've been humiliating, to say the least. Eventually, she reached the bottom of the hill and began pushing through the sea of humanity.

"Stop!" Anna screeched at the top of her lungs. "Pull them out! Now!"

The soldiers began to make a path for her as she squeezed through, and all gave her puzzled looks with no time to salute her as she raced past. Once or twice, she almost tripped and dragged a soldier down with her. Then somewhere near the middle where the general staff was, she bumped into Duke Helmsley.

"Your Majesty, what's the meaning of all this shouting?" Helmsley asked in bewilderment. "We can hear you shouting from a mile away!"

"Where's Frederick?" Anna clutched his arm. "He needs to stop the attack, now!"

"What? That's ridiculous!" Helmsley stuttered, fiddling with his collar. "What's gotten into y-"

Anna pushed past him, knowing that he wasn't going to be of any help. "Where's Field Marshal Frederick?" She shouted desperately. "We need to pull out now! It's a trap!"

"Anna!" A big hand grabbed her arm and jerked her to a halt. She whirled round to see an absolutely confused Kristoff, with Frederick by his side. "What are you doing? We're almost winning!"

"It's a trap!" Anna blurted out, almost unable to enunciate her words clearly in her frenzy. "Pull them out! Pull them out now!"

"Your Majesty." Frederick said firmly in a loud voice. "What trap?"

"The munition caches. The black powder around the city. It's a suicide mission!" Anna explained quickly. "The Empress. She was up on the hill. She told me that the Coalition would burn today. This was a trap from the get go. They were luring us into the fight, and now they're all sitting on a powder keg! The Exonians are going to ignite all the black powder in their caches around the city. Netheide will be destroyed, along with half our army!"

Kristoff swore unintelligibly while Frederick immediately responded quickly by turning to his runners.

"Tell the generals and colonels to pull them all out. Everyone is to fall back to this position. Now!"

The runners sprinted off in different directions, as if knowing exactly where the officers were stationed. Swiftly but surely, something was being done to save the soldiers, and Anna heaved a small sigh of relief.

But right then came the first explosion. A fountain of flames shot high in the sky, bright orange and black smoke against the stark white snow. The first cache had been ignited.

There was suddenly a shared air of urgency that could be felt amongst every man in the field. Shouts and screams were mixed with commands from the officers and sergeants, trying to herd their men and get the battalions to fall back.

The second cache erupted on the other side of the small town. And then the third. By this time, soldiers in all their different uniforms were mixed together and disorganised, all clambering to get out of Netheide before they could be blown sky high. All organisation and military discipline disappeared, all formations having dissolved into a huge mob of soldiers frantic to escape with their lives.

Another explosion went off, adding to the thick smoke that rose into the air. The bright orange flames now seemed to light up the surroundings like the sun against the dark grey clouds. No doubt hundreds or thousands had been caught in some of those explosions, both Exonians and Coalition soldiers alike.

Anna felt hot tears pressing to her eyes and blinked them away. This was cruel. How could the Exonians torch one of their own towns and murder their own brethren? And the sorcerers who were amongst them…Maui and the others…She prayed fervently that they would escape unscathed.

"Anna!" Melody's voice rang out from somewhere behind, and Anna turned round, just as another explosion rocked the town.

Melody and the others had come down the hill after Anna and were pushing forward to where she was. After a lot of squeezing, they reached her position with much difficulty.

"We saw the explosions." Tracy was out of breath. "Is the Coalition pulling out?"

"Yes. They…they're evacuating now. Thanks to your warning." Anna regarded Tracy with grateful eyes. "Thank you."

"I knew something was wrong the moment we stepped onto that hill." Tracy mused. "Just a spot of luck I guess."

"You saved thousands of lives." Kristoff said, having heard the latest report from one of the generals. "The last battalions made it out of the city. You all did it." He glanced round thankfully at Anna and the others.

"They're…they're safe?" Anna could feel her knees growing shaky.

"We're clear of the city!" Frederick announced, raising up cheers and shouts from the soldiers all around. Their voices reverberated across the mountains and above even the ongoing explosions and eruptions from within the city.

Smoke continued to rise from the city, fire and rubble burying Exonians and the minority of the Coalition soldiers who hadn't been able to make it out in time. It was a miracle, Anna decided as the people around her hugged each other in relief and continued cheering. They'd walked into a trap and escaped without being entirely decimated by Eleanor's dastardly plan. Even though people had died, it could have been a lot worse. Most of them were still alive and in fighting shape, and that was a win in her book.

###

The aftermath of the battle - or evacuation - was messier than usual. Soldiers had to be organised back into their companies, battalions, brigades and divisions, and cavalry had to be sorted back into their squadrons and regiments. The only units that weren't in complete disarray were the artillery batteries.

Suffice to say, it was a general mess, and there was a lot of work to do. Even the sorcerers who had been engaged in the siege earlier had to be rounded up. Unfortunately, not everyone had made it out alive. Apparently quite a few of the newer sorcerers had died in the city. Some of them were the refugees who had sought refuge with Elsa and the League, only to sacrifice themselves in battle. The thought of it brought pangs of sorrow to Anna's heart, and she tried not to think about it.

"Are you alright?" Maui asked as he came through the crowd of disorganised humanity, and Anna was saved from her thoughts.

"Me?" Anna balked. "I wasn't the one caught in the powder keg! Are you alright?"

"Demigod remember?" Maui gave her a reassuring grin. "I'm fine. And most of us are too. What about you?"

"I'm alright." Anna said. Behind them, smoke continued to billow as the snow fell and the fires raged on. The hidden sun was beginning to set and the fires seemed to be glowing brighter as time passed.

"There!" Melody pointed at a spot in the distance, and Anna turned to see where she was indicating. She squinted.

Out in the stark white landscape, two figures were walking the way the Coalition had come. As they drew nearer over the next few minutes, Anna could make out the two figures - one a man, and the other a woman. Strangely familiar.

"It's them." Tracy squinted as well, her sorcerous senses aiding her sight. "Elsa and Janus. They're back."

Truthfully, in all the chaos that had been going on the past two days, Anna had had no time to worry for the others who were on their separate missions. Melody and Tracy had come back, waiting for the other two to return before sharing what they'd learnt. And now that Elsa and Janus were back, they could all finally make some progress. Anna heaved another long sigh, feeling another load taken off her shoulders. Elsa and Janus were safe.

The Warriors walked out to intercept Elsa and Janus, who were still moving towards them slowly. They left the chaotic mess of the Coalition camp, and met them halfway out into the stark white plain. When the duo arrived and Anna got a good look at them, she was both surprised and not at the same time. It seemed like they had both seen some action, bearing a couples of scars and wounds, looking a little the worse for wear.

"Elsa. Janus." Anna was the first to speak, moving forward to hug Elsa. "You both look like you've been to hell and back."

"May as well have been." Janus muttered. He was still wearing his mask and hood, though he favoured his ribs.

"What happened here?" Elsa gestured at the mess of soldiers behind them and the fire that was still blazing bright in the distance.

"Long story." Anna said. "In short, the Confederation walked us all into an ambush and Eleanor had her soldiers burn black powder caches in the city. They lured us in and almost succeeded in killing us all if it wasn't for Tracy's intervention."

"Naw, it was nothing." Tracy waved a hand nonchalantly.

"We managed to pull our people out," Melody added. "But not before a lot of them died in the fire together with the Exonians."

"Wh-" Elsa's mouth hung open slightly. Apparently she was having a hard time believing what she had just heard. Janus, on the other hand, had his expression hidden behind his mask, and Anna imagined him to be looking grim.

"So there's that," Anna finished. "Wasted a whole lot of time and lives. So now we need to take an alternate route to reach the capital of Exon." She spread her hands and let them flop to her side limply in a defeated manner. "What about you guys?"

"Well," Elsa began with a half cautious-half sheepish look on her face. "We might have gone and done the one thing you told us not to."

Anna felt the blood drain from her face. "What?"

"We fought our doppelgängers." Elsa winced. "We didn't exactly have a choice."

Closing her eyes, Anna exhaled and put a hand to her forehead. "And nothing happened since then? Nothing strange?"

Elsa seemed to consider this. "Not that we know of."

"Yet." Janus added.

"But on the bright side," Tracy said. "You both got away fine."

"Relatively." Elsa glanced down at a scar on her arm.

Anna followed her gaze. "Your arm."

"It's nothing." Elsa waved away her concern. "Just…a little gift from my evil twin who calls herself the Snow Witch."

"Snow Witch?" Melody repeated incredulously.

"Gotta admit, has a nice ring to it." Tracy looked impressed. "Snow Witch. Sounds way cooler than Snow Queen."

Elsa rolled her eyes.

Anna considered the consequences. There appeared to be none so far, in spite of what Hiro had warned her back on his own earth. Maybe there really was nothing to worry about. Hopefully. "And what about the device?" She asked.

"Ah." Elsa side-eyed Janus.

He looked away.

"No no no, don't tell me you-" Anna trailed off.

"There was a scuffle," Elsa began slowly.

"Damn it." Anna sucked in air through her teeth.

"We opened up the portal and we were almost through…and then my doppelgänger shot an ice blast at me and I dropped it. We couldn't risk going back for it. Our cover was blown and we couldn't compete against our counterparts, so…"

"I don't believe it." Anna mumbled, her head in her hands. "And now the device is in their hands."

"It was my fault." Elsa admitted regretfully. "My doppelgänger was cunning. She's unhinged and powerful, perhaps even stronger than I am. And she was going to kill us both if we hesitated."

"Look, what's done is done." Maui said. "We can sort all of that out much later, once we've dealt with the Crimson Order."

"He's right." Deirdre said. "We've got bigger problems to worry about right now."

Anna sighed and threw up her hands in resignation. "Alright. What've you guys got for us?" By the way Elsa and Janus were exchanging glances with Melody and Tracy, Anna instinctively knew that she and the others were in for a long juicy meeting.

"Let's not talk out here." Anna set off back towards the crowd, and waved for the others to follow. "We'll find my tent first. Then we can have somewhere to discuss this in private."