Chapter Thirty Seven

Recovery

ELSA

Frankly, Elsa was surprised that she was still alive. Not that she felt like it though. A splitting headache numbed her senses when she finally awoke, and her entire body felt dull with pain, especially her legs which were sore from nine hours of non-stop walking.

It didn't help matters when she sat up in shock upon opening her dry eyelids. Exhaustion and pain overwhelmed her and her vision immediately went gray and spotty, and she had to lie back down in a daze.

"Oh good, you're finally awake. I was starting to wonder if Holli's magic actually worked."

"Of course it worked!" A second voice squeaked indignantly.

Weakly, Elsa turned her head to see Tracy and Holli getting off a crate and coming to her side. Her eyes darted around. She wasn't in a desert anymore, that was for sure. Her surroundings were dimly lit by a few candles which cast long shadows of unopened crates against the walls, and she found that she was lying on a thin mattress, which was a thousand times more comfortable than sun-baked sand in a scorching desert.

"Here," Holli held out a glass of water to Elsa's lips, and she drank greedily. It felt good, to finally have that cool, smooth liquid wash into her dry throat.

"Where am I?" Elsa was surprised that her voice was not as hoarse as she thought it would be, though it was nowhere near back to normal.

"Back in the Insurgency base." Tracy said.

"How are you feeling?" Holli asked anxiously.

"Terrible." Elsa feebly pressed her palm against her forehead. Her skin still felt dry and brittle, though it was better than before. She realised that she had no idea how much time had elapsed since she had passed out. "What time is it?"

"Ten past eleven." Holli glanced at a clock on the wall. "You've been out for more than six hours."

Elsa found that her head was all fuzzy. "What happened?"

"Honestly, I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle either." Tracy started. "All I remember is Bravo Team completed our goal and I teleported everyone back. The magic strain drained me and I was like out of it for a while. When I woke up, Ivon told me that you, Jade and Will had been captured. Melody left to find you and the others, but when she didn't return, I guessed that something happened to her."

"Something happened to her?" Elsa echoed.

"Yeah, it was really weird. When I finally felt strong enough, I used my magic to try and pick out her location but I couldn't find any trace of her signature. No emotions or senses to tap into. Nothing." Tracy spread her hands wildly. "Then Deirdre came back in a hurry and told me everything. Melody saw the Empress, Anna and Maui up in the club's upper levels and used her bow and arrow to mount an ambush. After that, there was nothing. No trace of Melody, Anna or Maui. Nothing."

Elsa was beginning to remember fragments of what had happened in the course of the last two days. "I remember now. When I was locked up, Eleanor told me that she used her powers to send the three of them to another world, whatever that meant."

"I don't know," Tracy admitted. "Deirdre told me that she didn't know that her sister had powers. At least we know they're not dead." That last part was a small relief to Elsa, at the very least. "If they were, I would have sensed it with my magic. Anyway, I decided that since they didn't manage to save you, then I would have to. So I tracked you down to a desert on the other side of the world. And in the nick of time too. That Hans guy was about to pull the trigger."

That very last bit Elsa vaguely remembered. Someone had come to save her before she had passed out from the pain and exhaustion.

"I blasted Hans away and teleported you back here. You were in critical condition and really on the brink of dying and there was nothing I could do with my magic. So I called in the expert." Tracy hitched a thumb at Holli.

"When Tracy teleported back to Arendelle to get me, she didn't have time to explain but when I got here, I knew what to do." Holli explained. "You were severely dehydrated and almost suffered a heat stroke. And in those chains, you didn't have any access to your powers, which made your condition worse. You were quite literally half dead, but after we cut you free from the cuffs I dosed you with a powerful spell, so you should be feeling back to normal in a couple of hours."

"What do you remember?" Tracy frowned. "How did you end up in the middle of a desert with Hans anyway?"

"After the trial," Elsa began sluggishly, struggling to sit up. "We were taken away to separate cells. Then this morning, Hans claimed me as his prisoner. He…he forced me to follow him out into the desert and threatened to shoot my legs and drag me through it if I refused."

She shuddered and her throat went thick. "I was out there for hours, being scorched by the sun without food or water. He forced me to walk for miles without rest, and I collapsed a few times, but he wouldn't let me rest. I slowly began to lose all hope that I was going to make it out of there alive. And then when my legs finally gave out on me, Hans, he…"

"Did he…" Tracy paused.

"No, no." Elsa shuddered at the thought. It hadn't happened, but she was mortified to picture Hans taking liberties with her while she had been weak and half-conscious. Thankfully he hadn't. "He didn't…but he…"

Here Elsa felt tears begin to run down her cheek and she hugged herself tightly. "He was laughing the entire time. It was so frightening. He was going to kill me." Her voice cracked. "I…I can't believe I almost died out there."

"Hey, it's alright." Tracy put her arms around Elsa and gave her a light squeeze. "It's over, you survived."

"I know, it's just…I never came so close to dying before. It was like in that moment, I knew that it was the end for me. And there was nothing I could do to stop him. I was prepared to die."

"You're in shock. But that's understandable. He tortured you, Elsa." Holli said soothingly, placing a gentle hand on Elsa's knee. "But you'll be fine. You're safe now. Give yourself time to rest."

Tracy offered Elsa another sip of water and she gulped it down, swallowing hard to remove that lump in her throat.

Breathing deeply, Elsa laid back down with Tracy's help, and she rested her head on a sack filled with black powder, which was supposed to pass as a pillow. The trembling of her shoulders began to subside and her sniffles grew quieter as she felt sleep washing over her again. And then she succumbed to it. But this time, it wasn't in fear or acceptance of defeat.

There was a comforting sense of security in knowing that she was safe, miles away from the villainous Hans who had very nearly ended her life. And then everything went dark.

###

When she awoke again in the morning, she felt so much better and much more like her usual self. The effects of the dehydration and exhaustion had more or less worn off, and her skin was a lot less parched now. Her previously cracked lips were no longer very dry. They didn't hurt when she moved her mouth, so that was a huge improvement.

Elsa rubbed her wrists which were still hurting from where they had been chaffed by the magic dampening cuffs. There were still red marks on her wrists that were probably going to take a while to fade. Finally there was some circulation of blood flowing through her hands again.

She looked around the room. This time she was alone. Tracy, Holli and the others were probably resting as well. Much deserved too. Slowly, she swung her legs over and touched the ground. Getting to her feet, she wobbled a little under her own weight before she steadied herself. Then she slowly staggered out of the room to find Deirdre, Holli and the senior Insurgents gathered around a large round table.

When they saw Elsa emerge from the room, they dropped everything they were doing and turned their attention to her.

"Elsa!" Deirdre hurried to her side, and so did Holli.

"How are you feeling?" Holli asked.

"Still slightly traumatized, thanks."

"Did he hurt you?" Deirdre was seething as she spoke.

"Not really." She lied. He had done much more to her psychologically than he could have ever done to her physically, she reflected in retrospect, and she definitely didn't really want to broadcast her traumatic experience in front of all the insurgents.

"When we get him, I'm going to see to it he gets some payback." Deirdre said darkly.

"If we get him. I don't know what happened to him after I passed out."

"I'm sorry we couldn't save you, Elsa." Ivon came forward, his face written with guilt. "If we stopped to come back for you and the others, none of us would have made it out alive. But it doesn't mean I don't regret my decision."

"It's okay," Elsa tried her hardest to smile. "I understand. Did we succeed?"

"Yes." Charlotte said gratefully. "Thanks to your sacrifice, we now have a large supply of firearms and ammunition with us, and we've armed the common people with three quarters of it. They've now rallied to our side, and we stand a better chance at crippling or destroying the Empire once and for all."

"Wait," Elsa suddenly felt her heart sink and she glanced round at Deirdre and the rest. "The Empress, she has powers of her own! She used them to send my sister, Melody and Maui to another world, she told me."

"I'm sorry." Deirdre apologised. "But we didn't know about my sister's powers. Even I didn't know she had gained powers for herself. Our friends seem to have vanished off the face of the earth."

"That's because they literally did. What about Tracy's powers? Did she manage to-"

Deirdre shook her head. "She tried again, but she still couldn't get a lock on their locations. Apparently her powers are limited to this world."

Elsa groaned softly in exasperation. "Then how are we going to find them?"

"I don't know." Deirdre said, almost inaudibly.

"We're still having a hard time wrapping our heads around the whole 'other worlds' thing, if it's even true." Holli added.

Elsa sighed. "And what about Jade and Will?"

"I sent a team out to sweep through the city for them." Ivon assured her. "They're going to find them and bring them back."

"Janus!" Elsa remembered, a flood tide of recent recollections of events suddenly rushing back in to her one by one.

"Janus?" Charlotte cocked an eyebrow. "Who's Janus?"

"Prometheus, the man in the black hood who came with the First Imperials." Elsa explained. He's on our side!"

"Wait, Prometheus is here too?" Holli looked alarmed.

"I'm sorry, I don't follow." Ivon scratched his beard. "I thought you got rid of his body?"

"He's not working with the First Imperial Guard." Elsa avoided answering his question. "He's not with the Empire." She also neglected the part where he used to work with them, but had made the choice to stand against them to protect her. They didn't need to know that. "Janus is on our side."

Charlotte frowned. "I'm sorry if I find that hard to believe."

"It's the truth." Deirdre backed Elsa up. "When I accompanied Melody to the Maine, we saw the mercenary stand up for Elsa and the others, and even challenged Kane to a fight for their release."

"He must have lost though," Charlotte said grimly. "Because according to our scouts, early this morning General Kane set off with the Imperial Horde to continue the Empire's campaign towards the other side of the sea."

"Arendelle." Elsa glanced at Deirdre, despair flashing in her blue eyes. "They're headed to Arendelle."

"Don't worry, Tracy is already back in Arendelle warning Kristoff." Holli said. "They'll be prepared."

"I hope so." Elsa bit her lip. "We're running out of time."

"We still need your help here, if you're feeling up for it." Charlotte said. "But I understand if you want to sit this one out."

"After the torture you've been through, no one can blame you." Ivon said gently. "It's your choice."

Elsa sighed and drew herself up. "I'm okay." She hoped her voice hadn't wavered.

"You have your own kingdom back home to defend." Charlotte continued. "I can't ask you to risk yours to save mine."

"Look, we're here to help. We have a stake in this too." Elsa decided not to mention the part where they were here to help Melody free her kingdom and rescue her parents. "The way I see it, we have a war on two fronts, and it's not going to go well if we split our focus. So we'll finish the job here, and then my team and I will teleport back just in time to deal with the war."

"Are you sure?"

Elsa didn't answer that, but walked over to the table to reaffirm her decision. She wanted to drop everything, crack under pressure and escape far away from all civilisation and never turn back. But then, people were counting on her, and she couldn't just let them down.

"Alright then. We should go over the plans again, for Elsa's sake." Charlotte said. "Now with the weapons on our side and the common people in our corner, we need to make another bold stroke…"

Elsa wasn't really paying attention at this point, for her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of her sister, Melody and Maui. Eleanor had taunted her with the knowledge that she would never see her sister or friends again. Where could they be?

###

Before long, the team that Ivon had sent out filed into the room, and with them was Jade.

"Jade!" Elsa exclaimed, and rallied to Jade's side. She was followed by Holli and Deirdre. "Are you alright?"

"Frost?" Jade blinked. "You're alive? I thought you were dead!"

"No, no, Tracy rescued me in the nick of time." Elsa explained, hugging Jade in relief. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be a single scratch on her. "Where were you being held?"

"Ughh…in some other part of the P.O.W camp." Jade rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't believe the smell of the place."

Elsa turned to Oliver, who was with the rescue team. "What about Will? Did you manage to find him?"

"Not yet, but we've heard things." Oliver said. "While we were rescuing Jade, we almost ran into the Consul who was giving out orders to a couple of soldiers."

Hans was already back so soon? He must have used Eleanor's powers at his disposal to take him back to Denmark after he lost Elsa in the desert. Elsa clenched her fist. She could feel her anger rising within her.

"Did you hear what he was saying?" Elsa asked through gritted teeth.

"Yeah. He was ordering the First Imperials to tighten security around the new prisoners."

Which are Will and Janus, Elsa assumed quietly. He must have gotten paranoid after I escaped his grasp, and wanted to make sure that none of the others got free too.

"But we managed to knock the ones guarding Jade's cell and got her out before the next detail could take over." Oliver said.

"Did the Consul say anything about where Will or Janus were being held?"

"Janus?" Oliver looked confused.

"Apparently the ex-captain of the First Imperial Guard is on our side now." Charlotte said skeptically.

"We've been hearing things." One of the insurgents from the rescue team added. "About how one of their own is a traitor. I guess it's true."

"We did hear something, actually." Oliver confirmed, and Elsa held her breath.

"The Consul was talking about moving up the timeline. He said something about making preparations for the mercenary's execution now instead of tomorrow and told one of the soldiers to spread the word."

Execution? Elsa's heart sank. Janus was going to die if they didn't do something now. "Do we have a clue where Janus and Will are being held now?"

"No, their locations are too well concealed."

"We should wait for Tracy to come back." Deirdre suggested. "She'll be back any moment now and then she can use her magic to find them."

And so they waited, thankfully not very long, though to Elsa, it felt like an eternity. When Tracy did pop back into the base through a Crossing Point, Elsa pounced at the opportunity.

"Tracy," Elsa said quickly. "We need your help to find Will and Janus."

"Janus?"

For the third time, Elsa explained the nature of the situation to Tracy, and frankly, she was getting tired of explaining that he wasn't evil and that he was on their side.

"You gotta be kidding me." Tracy mumbled and then sat down on a crate. "Alright, lemme try."

Elsa watched as she closed her eyes and left both palms facing up, entering a magical trance of sorts. It seemed like five minutes or so passed, and then Tracy opened her eyes.

"Anything?"

Tracy nodded. "Prometheus is still being held at the Maine club, and Will is in a local jail beside the Sulge River."

Kane had been cocky enough to keep Janus in the Maine, Elsa thought to herself. But it was not like Janus could just stand up and leave, not with that broken spine. She grimaced.

"We need to split up and rescue them." Elsa glanced at Charlotte.

"It's too big a risk," Charlotte shook her head. "What if you and the others get captured…or worse…"

"Charlotte, we don't have a choice." Ivon said. "They're going to die out there if we don't do something. I'll go with them."

The older woman sighed and conceded. "Fine, but you better make it back here, because I can't risk any more insurgents to save you."

"We won't get caught. Not again." Elsa said firmly and then shot a hopeful glance at Ivon. "Please tell me you have a plan."

Ivon thought for a second and then nodded. "I do. Alright everyone, listen up."

Author's Commentary:

Writing how one deals with trauma isn't easy. I hope I did a passable job in showing how Elsa is able to bounce back after having endured torture and a near death experience which would cripple anyone else with fear. The aim was to show how she still chooses to rise and fight back even after having survived torture and it hopefully shows that she's strong and unbreakable. Hopefully.