Chapter Sixty Six

Wrath of the Empress

ELEANOR

Losing wasn't exactly an entirely new experience to her, though it was certainly not pleasant. Eleanor had been on the receiving end of it for years in her rivalry with her sister. Her parents constantly compared them both, and Eleanor was always found to be on the losing side, sorely lacking whatever exemplary qualities Deirdre had.

And then for a while, she felt like she had won. Her sister was out of the way, presumably dead, and she had gotten rid of her parents. She had established an alliance with the Crimson Order, getting the army she wanted, and had conquered a great many cities and kingdoms. The Empire of Exon was going to be the most destructive and powerful force to ever exist in the continent, and possibly the world. No one was going to challenge her reign.

Until someone did. The League of Sorcerers. That damned Snow Queen and her sister, the Queen of Arendelle. And their friends too. Worst of all, Eleanor had just learnt a few hours ago that her sister Deirdre wasn't dead at all. On the contrary, she was working with the Snow Queen and her cohort of do-gooders.

When Eleanor had said that she enjoyed a challenge from her opponents, she had expected to emerge victorious in the conflict. But now, she was realising that they were far more formidable than she had given them credit for. Especially Elsa. The Snow Queen. The Seventh Pilgrim of the League of Sorcerers. She was living up to her reputation, and more. Did I bite off more than I can chew?

Eleanor thought that her days of losing were long behind her, reduced to painful memories of feeling inadequate and unloved throughout her childhood. But no, the day had come again when she had been forced out of Denmark. Her First Imperial Guard had been crushed, her stronghold had been penetrated, her prisoners freed, and she herself had no other option but to flee and abandon Denmark with her lover.

Forced to retreat. She gritted her teeth and gnashed them. No, this was too humiliating. This could set a dangerous precedent for the other kingdoms and cities she had conquered. What if they decided to rebel and revolt against the Empire? There would be chaos and bloodshed.

That was the least of her worries. Her alliance with the Crimson Order was already shaky, as it were. She had already crossed Lord Magnus and she wasn't eager to fail at keeping up her end of the bargain. If he decided to strip away her powers and call off the entire alliance, or worse…

So far he hadn't made his presence or authority known, thankfully. Neither him nor his acolyte Brother Salvadore had reared their heads since the fishing shack, though Eleanor didn't dare to delude herself into thinking that the Order didn't have any other well placed agents and spies in place amongst her subordinates. She gritted her teeth at the thought. And here I thought I knew who was in charge here. If I ever root out the traitors, whoever they are, there would be hell to pay.

It was unnerving not knowing if Lord Magnus was unaware of her retreat from Denmark, or if he knew and was simply keeping quiet to watch her with his beady, wrinkled eyes. Either way, there was only one option she was left with, which if she failed to execute successfully, would mean worsening her already strained alliance with the Crimson Order.

She had to win the war and crush every single member of the League of Sorcerers present on the field of battle. None of them could escape alive. It wasn't like she was being forced to do something she hated though. Knocking the sorcerers off was part of her task, but she was going to enjoy doing it, for all the trouble she had been put through. Eleanor resolved to make them all regret their intervention in her campaign. Especially the Snow Queen.

"Eleanor."

She looked up from her deep introspection and met the gaze of Hans, who was seated opposite her in the carriage.

"Are you alright?" He inclined his head towards her, watching her in concern.

"I'm fine." She answered. "Are you?"

"Apart from my pride, nothing else's hurt." Hans said sourly. "I'm not done with Elsa yet."

Eleanor gritted her teeth. "Me neither."

They were now on their way through the forest in the dark of night, travelling towards the head of the forest where the Imperial Horde had made its camp. Hans and herself were going to rendezvous with General Kane to find out if his forces had made good progress.

It was raining too, making their journey across the muddy, congested terrain a fairly difficult one. The horses assigned to pull their carriage weren't faring very well, and Eleanor had no choice but to put up with it. She had her own thoughts to drown out the clattering of wheels over rocks and the constant bumping about.

"We're here." Hans rapped on the window of the carriage, and Eleanor slid the stained, fingerprint stained glass aside. The wind outside carried droplets of rain into the carriage, spraying straight into Eleanor's face. She narrowed her eyes and shielded her face as she surveyed the camp.

The soldiers were still about their business, cleaning their weapons under the shelter of their miserable, floppy looking standard issue tents, while others were seated in circles, talking while eating. Some others were trying to start a fire, which was more or less a futile exercise given the strength of the wind and the rain.

Those of them who recognised their Empress in the carriage shot up hastily and bowed. As the carriage passed through the camp, the soldiers in the immediate vicinity hastened to acknowledge their supreme ruler, and Eleanor allowed herself a tiny smirk. At least it seems that they're still ready to die for me without question.

They passed by a few regiments before Hans indicated a large tent up ahead as the carriage began to slow. "There." He said. "Kane's tent."

"Good." She said. The carriage came to a halt, the wheels stopping over a rock, causing it to tip to the side slightly. Opening the door of the carriage, she didn't wait for her servants or any of the remaining soldiers of the First Imperial Guard to assist her. Landing on the soft muddy ground with a squelch, she cursed as mud splattered on her dress.

"Eleanor, calm down." Hans said in low tones as he landed nimbly beside her. "We'll get them this time round."

"That's what I'm trying to ensure here." She almost growled at him, and felt a stab of guilt as she realised he was just trying to care for her. "I-I'm sorry." She said more mildly this time. "It's not you, Hans. It's-"

He took her hand and squeezed it affectionately. "I know."

She led the way up a slope towards Kane's large and spacious tent, one befitting an officer of his rank. He was the commander of the Imperial Horde after all, so it made sense that he got the most luxurious accommodations, by military standards at least.

Giving the sentries posted outside Kane's tent an acid stare, they bowed and made way for her and Hans quickly. Not bothering to announce her presence, Eleanor pushed aside the tent flap and barged her way into the tent, trailing mud across the canvas.

Inside, she found General Kane sitting behind a portable writing desk, with a lamp hanging overhead and a map spread out in front of him. Tools such as a compass, dividers, rulers and pencils. There were carefully placed markings on the map, with scribblings at the edge to indicate certain notes about the terrain and the deployment of his troops.

Kane looked up briskly when he saw Eleanor enter, and glanced at the mud she had trailed in, but neglected to mention anything about it. He stood up and bowed. "Your Imperial Majesty. Welcome to the Kreshein Forest."

"Is the Imperial Horde ready to march on Arendelle tomorrow morning?" She asked sharply.

Kane nodded. "All three divisions have orders to move out at first light, and we should be deployed on the hills and the field within the hour."

"And what about your gunpowder?" Hans glanced at the rain outside. "From what I know, your muskets aren't going to work if your powder is wet."

"I hope you don't presume to tell me what to do with my army, Consul." Kane said thinly. "Rest assured I gave out orders to have all weapons and supplies kept dry."

"I should hope so." Hans said. "Because if you screw this up tomorrow-"

Kane narrowed his eyes at Hans. "Or would you rather take command of the Imperial Horde? You would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Just do your job tomorrow, General." Eleanor intervened before her two allies could tear each other's throats out. "We can't afford to lose tomorrow. I want the word put out to every soldier. 'No quarter.' There will be no prisoners this time."

"Your Imperial Majesty?"

"Arendelle will not only fall," Eleanor licked her lips. "Arendelle will burn."

Now it was not just Kane who looked surprised. Hans too inclined his head towards her in befuddlement.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Kane said cautiously. "I thought you wanted Arendelle under our banner."

"As far as I recall, I don't owe you an explanation for my motives." Eleanor said harshly. "Kill every soldier, every sorcerer and every civilian. Raze Arendelle to the ground, but leave Queen Anna and the Snow Queen to me. I want them to see their legacy destroyed and the hope extinguish from their eyes before I kill them myself."

Kane nodded impassively. "I'll put the word out. And when it is done…you'll keep up your end of the bargain?"

Eleanor fixed him with an icy cold stare. "You don't get to tell me what to do, General. We aren't friends, and you'll do well to remember that."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."

"Eleanor…" Hans began, but she cut him off.

"I understand you're keeping one of them prisoner here, General?"

"Yes. We found her and the other Warriors trying to blow up our supplies back in Fort Kroxendal. We'd be utterly cut off if we hadn't already begun establishing the supply train and transporting the supplies via the coastal waters." Kane said. "She and her friends almost halted the march."

"I don't care if this army has to drink their own blood and eat one another to survive." Eleanor said coldly. "I want this war fought and won, understood?"

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." Kane looked displeased.

"So where is she?"

"She's back there behind the curtains." Kane motioned at a barely lit area at the other side of the spacious tent where the bedrolls were.

Someone scratched at the tent flap, and Eleanor whirled round stiffly. A young soldier with freckles and red hair peered nervously into the tent.

"Your Imperial Majesty," he bowed nervously, and turned to Kane, snapping a salute. "Sir."

"What do you want?" Eleanor snapped.

"The-there's a messenger outside." He stuttered. "From the Arendellians. He says the Queen of Arendelle is requesting a parley."

"Oh, is she?" Eleanor said nastily, and turned to Hans. "Hans, be a dear and educate her on the change in my plans. Queen Anna deserves to know that she and her cohort made this personal."

"With pleasure." Hans darted out of the tent, and so did the soldier.

"Your Imperial Majesty-" Kane started.

"Get out." She said, and walked towards where Kane had indicated. When Kane had departed, she pulled aside the curtain roughly.

"Oh, hi there." A girl with dark hair sat cross legged, her wrists locked in magic dampening cuffs. She had an accent that placed her as someone from the southeastern continent, and Eleanor knew for a fact that she was one of Elsa's lackeys. "I'm Jade."

"I don't care who you are." Eleanor crouched down to eye level, staring straight into the eyes of her prisoner. "I just want you alive long enough to see your friends burn and die screaming when my army crushes them."

"You must be the Empress everyone's been talking about." Jade said. "Deirdre's sister right? She never talked about you at all. I gotta say, I expected you to be…crazier looking."

"Sticks and stones." Eleanor shook her head and scoffed. "That's all you've been reduced to? I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"We'll see how surprised you'll be when your army gets decimated tomorrow." Jade grinned.

"Oh, no. The only thing that's getting decimated is Arendelle. I'm going to raze it to the ground." Eleanor said nastily.

"And I thought you were all about conquering kingdoms." Jade genuinely looked surprised.

"I did, until your friend the Snow Queen and her snot-nosed cohort made this personal. I'm going to see to it that all of you regret ever getting involved. You walk into the middle of a crossfire, you're going to die. All of you. And so will Arendelle."

"That's pretty dark, don't you think?"

"Joke all you like, but tomorrow, everyone dies. I will personally make sure of it." She hissed. "The Arendellians. The League of Sorcerers. The Snow Queen and all who follow her. They will all fall and burn. And when the battle is over, when the sun sets, when Arendelle lies in ruins and I turn my ambitions to the continent beyond," Eleanor stood up, a sick, determined smile spreading across her contorted expression. "The legend of the Snow Queen and her League of Sorcerers will be worth nothing at all."

Author's Commentary:

Chilling, isn't she? Eleanor is getting more and more unhinged, and temperamental too. Her character is such a joy to write, because she's just such a horrible human being. She's like one of those toxic young ladies in the grocery line who will make the cashier's life miserable for no reason at all. And yes, the fact that Eleanor's chapter is chapter 66 was a complete coincidence. It wasn't planned.

And that ending monologue…whew. I personally think it's some of the best villain monologue I've written thus far. What do you think? Let me know :)