Chapter Fifteen

The Night before the Storm

Author's Commentary:

Once again, thank you for the reviews :) They mean a lot to me. I hope to be able to paint our characters realistically in this darker universe that they live in. It does have a much heavier tone than regular Disney, doesn't it? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it so far. Check out my previous stories set before this book, as they do tie into what's going on in the present day. And do leave a review :)

ELSA

Arriving back in the castle and bidding the Warriors good night, Elsa trudged towards the wing where her old bedroom was. When she had started out the day waking up in her personal laavu in the forest, she wouldn't have dreamt that it would land her back in her old bedroom in the castle, waiting to embark on the biggest mission of her life the very next morning.

Melody, Anna and everyone else had chipped in to come up with a plan to take down the Empire where it was. And it wasn't exactly a bad plan either. Tracy, Vonco and Rikhard had teleported into Denmark to spy on it from the inside. Tracy could teleport them in and out, while Vonco had the ability to vanish into the shadows and Rikhard could make himself invisible. These were all traits that helped them to reconnoitre the entire kingdom and get a sensing of what was going on in the city.

Unfortunately, nothing they had reported painted the situation with a single glimmer of hope. Denmark, like they had predicted had fallen to the Empire, though not without a fight. The upside of the Imperial Horde invading Quodrun was that Denmark had a slight heads up that the Empire was at their doorstep. However, it didn't do them much good as they had little to no time to prepare for the attack.

It had pretty much been a textbook siege and storming on the part of the Imperial Horde. There had been some fighting in the streets though with little result. Various units had been put together hastily by Denmark's military in an attempt to fend off their attackers and get people to safety, but they had been crushed without much resistance. The Empire had made short work of them.

Tracy and her team had arrived just in time to witness the last spurts of effort by the Denmark army before they were cut down. Most of the army were still in their base preparing to support the first wave that had been sent out, but the base had been attacked by the Imperial Horde. The army had literally been beaten and held prisoner in their own base before they could mobilise.

The Empire had quickly turned Denmark's army base into a Prisoner of War camp and had commandeered the supplies of the army, ranging from artillery guns, muskets, gunpowder, rations, boots, water and other essentials. And the worst part was, the army could do nothing about it.

The rest of the city they had scouted and explored had already fallen to the Empire with no trace of the defensive military presence. The soldiers were occupying the streets, patrolling and marching innocent civilians away. The rest of the civilians who got away were in disarray, hiding in their homes or frantically trying to escape.

Those who tried to escape were either shot down or rounded up. It was futile to escape anyway, since the kingdom had been surrounded, though the common people didn't know that. There were even rumours of a local rebellion being formed, a group of locals who came together to start a resistance force against the Empire.

Somehow, Tracy and her team had also learnt that the Empress had moved her headquarters to the castle of Denmark. That was a first. It marked the first occurrence of the Empress shifting bases so that she could be much closer to the action. It was an opportunity and potential weakness that the Warriors could possibly exploit later.

Meanwhile, Elsa, Melody and Maui had been teleported by Tracy to a nearby ridge where they had surveyed the kingdom and evaluated the situation from an outside perspective. Melody had known of a spot overlooking the kingdom, and coincidentally too.

She had explained to them that in her early teenage years, she spent her time exploring the places around her kingdom when she was on school break, and had chanced upon a peaceful spot where she could watch the sun set over her kingdom. Who would have known that this spot would turn out to be a valuable reconnoissance vantage point years later when her kingdom was under occupation?

From outside the kingdom, the situation didn't look any better. The entire kingdom had quite literally been cut off from the rest of the world as the bridges had been blown up or blocked. Soldiers had been posted around other entry points, spanning an arc from land to the docks as far as Elsa and her allies could see. Whoever had commanded them to seal off the city was smart. Forcing the people to remain in the city and having no choice but to subjugate themselves under the Empress' rule. Elsa guessed that it was probably Kane's idea.

However, there was one bridge that had been left intact, the one that the Warriors had discussed earlier. It was of course guarded heavily as well, but no one could go near it even if they wanted to. The bridge was located near the castle, which was also heavily fortified and protected by the Exonian soldiers. It was going to be their exit route when the Empress decided that it was time for them to continue their campaign.

After both Elsa's team and Tracy's team had returned to Arendelle to regroup and go over their findings, it was already late in the afternoon and everyone was tired. Still, they pressed on. Together, the entire team had evaluated the situation. In the end, Melody and Anna had made the final decision that there was no other choice but to abandon the idea of freeing the kingdom by military might.

Elsa, Melody, Jade and Deirdre would go undercover and pose as tourists trapped in Denmark at the time of the invasion. They would attempt to locate the rumoured rebellion and infiltrate their ranks without revealing their real identities. They would need to keep a low profile, which meant not using their powers.

On the other hand, Anna would be accompanied by Will, Maui and Tracy posing as servants, and travel to Denmark under the guise of wanting to enforce bilateral relations with Exon and make a bargain for peace. This was all just a ruse, of course, as the real mission was to get close enough to the Empress and her senior officials in order to ascertain their threat. Anna would lead her team on that front, as she was the only one who could get close enough to the Empress to learn about her.

In the end, they would all find a way to regroup discreetly and go over their findings again before deciding the next course of action. It was all well and good in theory of course, but Elsa knew enough to know that the mission didn't always go according to plan.

Elsa trudged back up the stairs to her room. By the time everything had ended, it was already nine in the evening. The others had been given accommodations in the guest wing of the castle, and really all she needed right now was some time alone to clear her head before the mission the next day.

Someone cleared his throat, and Elsa nearly jumped out of her skin. In her exhausted and absentminded state, she hadn't noticed that someone else was in the corridor leading to her room. She blinked and saw that Frederick was waiting patiently near her door.

He bowed. "I hope I didn't startle you, Your Highness."

"No, no, not at all." Elsa lied hastily. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, actually. I just came by to check how you were doing. It's been quite a long time since I last saw you." Frederick said.

"That's sweet." Elsa smiled. "Thank you, really. I'm fine."

"With all due respect, Your Highness." He said slowly. "You don't look fine."

Elsa bit her lip. The intelligent officer always had a way of seeing right through her and knowing when something was wrong. Maybe it was because of all the time he had spent watching over Anna and herself as they were growing up.

"You're right, I'm just really worn out. Just this morning everything was going good, and now I'm back here in the castle."

Frederick glanced at her curiously. "Is being back here really so bad?"

"No, I didn't mean it that way." Elsa corrected herself quickly. "I just-"

"Feel freer outside the confines of your duties in Arendelle."

Elsa sighed. "Yes."

"And tomorrow you're headed out for your next mission, I hear." Frederick clasped his hands behind his back. "It sounds like you won't be getting back to that life of peace anytime soon. I'm sorry about that."

"Thank you, Frederick. You were always one who understood me." Elsa put a hand on his broad shoulder.

"Anytime, Your Highness."

Elsa smiled. "While we're at it, you can drop the formalities. You can just call me Elsa. I'm no longer the queen, you know."

"Oh no." Frederick raised his eyebrow which was his equivalent of exclaiming that he was appalled at the suggestion. "I couldn't possibly do that and feel at ease. Honour where honour is due."

"Fine." Elsa laughed. "Whatever makes you comfortable then."

Frederick nodded. "I shan't disturb you from your rest then. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"And probably the days beyond that too." Elsa muttered. "Good night, Frederick."

"Good night, Your Highness." Frederick bowed and excused himself.

Elsa chuckled to herself and opened the door to her old bedroom. She stood at the doorway and looked around, suddenly filled with nostalgia. It'd been a while since she had been back here. Her old bedroom was filled with memories of her time when she was growing up and when she was hiding away from the rest of the world, afraid of what people would think if they knew she had powers.

And now tomorrow, she was going to have to hide them all over again, for the sake of the mission. Elsa shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of the day ahead. All she wanted was to rest and enjoy the last few hours of peace before heading into war-torn Denmark tomorrow.

Elsa kicked off her shoes and grabbed a fresh towel from the drawers. Her things were exactly as she had left it. It was quite probable that Anna didn't have the heart to change anything after she had left. She took a long, steaming hot bath, feeling the hot water cascade down her body and melt away all her worries for the moment. Being back here isn't all bad.

After a good twenty minutes, she emerged from the bath and dried herself before throwing on one of her old magenta nightgowns. It fit snugly and it reminded her of a time before she had decided to explore what was outside of Arendelle's walls and if there was really a voice calling out to her.

She flopped onto the bed and groaned. The bed was so soft that she literally sank right through it, creating a dent with her body. It felt so good, especially after a long day like this. She rubbed her tired feet and closed her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. Just what she needed. A moment of peace.

A knock came at the door and Elsa let out a soft groan, sinking further into her comfortable bed. There goes my moment of peace. "Who is it?" she called out, too lazy to get up.

"It's me. Anna."

Elsa bristled at her voice. She wasn't exactly on the best terms with her sister right now. Of course, she still loved Anna to bits, but the fact that Anna had kept the threat of the Empire's approach secret was something that made her furious and utterly upset. How could Anna neglect to tell her something that important and try to justify it?

Nevertheless, she brushed aside her anger. Maybe they could work it out. She cleared her throat and tried to sound mild.

"Come in."

Anna opened the door and poked her head in cautiously, like someone afraid to enter a tiger's cage.

"Come in, Anna. I'm not going to hurt you or anything." Elsa said, neglecting to make the effort to sit up.

"Something's not right." Anna said, still slightly apprehensively as she walked into the room.

"Oh?" Elsa played it cool like she didn't know what Anna was talking about. "How do you know?"

"You know, they say siblings' minds are connected. We have the same blood running through our veins."

Elsa sat up. "Fine. What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing." Anna said. She sat down beside Elsa. "You don't have to say anything. I just…don't want us to leave things on a bad note like last time. We argued and then you got kidnapped by an evil witch and seemingly turned evil against us. Let's not have a re-run of that this time."

Elsa stayed quiet. If Anna had something she wanted to say, then she should let her say it.

"We're splitting up into different teams tomorrow and we don't know when we're going to see each other again. I don't want there to be any unresolved conflict between us. I wouldn't be able to keep my head in the game if I knew that there was still some unresolved tension between us."

"Anna," Elsa finally said. Her sister was beating around the bush. "What are you trying to say?"

"Right." Anna laughed breathlessly. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Elsa couldn't help but let out a small smile which she tried desperately to conceal and failed.

"I guess I wanted to apologize. I know I should have roped you in and told you about the Empire of Exon." Anna said. "You had a right to know. I just thought that…maybe you were better off not knowing. The whole reason you decided to stay in the forest in the first place was so that you could be free from the burdens of duties in Arendelle and I wanted to respect that."

"Anna, I appreciate that. I really do." Elsa said quietly. "But this is different. This is bigger than anything we've ever faced before, and I would have liked it if you'd shared your burden with me. Isn't that what sisters are for?"

"You're right." Anna sighed. "I do need help. I can't carry the weight of the whole kingdom on my shoulders."

"And that's why I'm here." Elsa put her hand on Anna's. "We're going to fix this together."

This time it was Anna's turn to fall silent. Elsa waited for her to say something, but she didn't. That was uncharacteristic of her. Usually Anna always had something quippy to say.

"Anna, there's something else, isn't there?"

"Huh?" Anna looked at her. Elsa noticed that she had had a faraway gaze in her eyes that vanished the moment she had spoken again.

"You didn't just come here to apologise, did you?" Elsa asked.

"How did you know that?"

This time it was Elsa's turn. "You know, the blood running through our veins thing, it works both ways."

"Ah, right."

"So, you wanna tell me what's bothering you?"

"It's stupid, really." Anna laughed breathlessly again. "I don't know why I'm worried."

"Worried about what?" Elsa was alarmed to see that tears were welling up in her sister's eyes. "Hey," she brushed Anna's tears away gently with her finger. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me. You said it yourself, we're meant to share each other's burdens."

"It's stupid." Anna shook her head. "But I can't help but worry that I'm making the wrong choice here."

Elsa was slightly taken aback by this confession. "I don't understand."

"What if I'm doing things wrong? What if…deciding to meet the Empress head on doesn't work out? Am I neglecting my duties here in Arendelle?"

"We've got Kristoff to take care of Arendelle while we're gone." Elsa pointed out.

"And that shouldn't be enough. I was crowned the Queen of Arendelle. It isn't right that he's staying behind to govern things."

"He volunteered." Elsa replied. "How else would we have done it? Have Kristoff meet the Empress instead under the false pretence of wanting to introduce reindeer herding to Exon's culture?"

To Elsa's relief, Anna sniffed and giggled a little at that joke.

"Anna, we're all grown adults. We make our own decisions and we stick with them." Elsa said.

"Agh..I know it's stupid." Anna sniffed and took a deep breath. "But I can't help but wonder if what I'm doing leads to Arendelle's eventual destruction. What if the Empress slaughters us and we aren't able to protect Arendelle from being consumed by the Empire? Or what if the Southern Isles destroys us completely before the Empire can even arrive? I don't want to go down in history as the queen who caused her entire people to be wiped from the face of the earth."

"Anna!" Elsa was appalled. "That's nonsense! You're not going to cause the downfall of Arendelle."

"And how would you know?"

"Because I know you." Elsa took Anna's hand in her own and clasped it tightly. "You're intelligent, and your heart is with the people. You wouldn't be doing this if you didn't think that this was the right thing to do."

"I don't know if this is the right thing to do."

"What does your heart tell you?"

Anna paused. "That given the circumstances, this is the only logical way forward."

"Then follow that instinct. And remember your own mantra." Elsa smiled reassuringly. "Just do the next right thing."

Anna laughed and squeezed Elsa's hand. "Thanks Elsa. I knew I could count on you for some advice."

"That's what sisters are for." Elsa said. "And don't worry, I'm sure that Kristoff is more than capable of holding down the fort while we're gone. He's the man for the job."

"Guess I got engaged to the right guy, then." Anna grinned. "And what about you?"

"Anna, you've asked me this a thousand times." Elsa rolled her eyes. "No, I haven't found anyone yet."

"Who knows?" Anna said with a little more liveliness in her voice. "You might find your special someone on this particular mission."

"I'm pretty sure the reason I'm going to Denmark isn't to find a life partner." Elsa said dryly. "Anna, this is essentially the most dangerous mission we'll be embarking on. This is bigger than anything we've ever faced, together or separate. And you're telling me that I'm going to have time to explore my feelings for a potential life partner?"

"Just saying." Anna shrugged. "You never know."

"You make it sound like I'm going to fall in love with one of the Exonian soldiers or something." Elsa blanched.

"That's totally not what I was implying." Anna burst out laughing.

"You know what? I think it's time I went to bed." Elsa said, quickly wanting to avoid carrying on the awkward conversation any longer. Whenever it came to matters of the heart, she wanted to just curl up and ignore that empty feeling inside.

"Alright. It's going to be a long day ahead tomorrow." Anna gave Elsa a tight hug and got off the bed. "Sleep tight. I'll see you tomorrow before you leave for Denmark." She walked out of the room and closed the door.

Sinking back into the bed, Elsa closed her eyes. Anna was right. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. Surprisingly, in spite of the fears and anxieties swimming about in her head, she had a good sleep. Maybe she really was that drained or it was because she had made peace with her sister before heading off into the biggest mission of her life yet.

Author's Commentary:

I think that after watching Frozen 2, we all had this larger than life perspective of Elsa, and perhaps she felt the same way too, riding off into the sunset. However, even though its fiction and all of these are fantasies and stories, they do hold a certain truth. My main challenge in writing this particular sequel after the previous two is that this story takes place after such a grand and epic event such as Frozen 2, and I had to find a way to follow up after it.

Elsa finds herself being plunged back into interactions and stuff as featured in this chapter. Things that are slightly more mundane and down to earth. And that's what life is about, isn't it? Like Elsa, we have these big, climatic moments which we'll remember for years, and then shortly after, we find ourselves back in the everyday life events. But the fact of the matter is, life goes on.

I don't know exactly how this little commentary relates to the story, but yeah I just felt like throwing it out here because this was what was in my head while writing the slightly less action packed chapters. Alright. Time for Elsa and her gang to head back into the unknown.