Chapter Sixty Seven

The Parley with Hans

ANNA

Halfway back to the hills, her carriage was met by a hasty messenger on horseback with an urgent message. The Consul of Exon had accepted the request for a parley. Anna ordered the driver of the carriage to speed up, and the carriage jostled furiously back to the camp, though nowhere near as fast as Anna would have liked.

By this time, the sun had long since set, and the night sky was ominous with a slightly purple hue, as though it was going to rain again. Eventually though, they made it to the command tent, where Elsa, Janus and Frederick were waiting for her.

"I got the message." Anna said as she leapt down from the carriage without waiting for her guards or servants. "Is it true? Hans wants to meet?"

Elsa's expression was tight as she nodded. "In the middle of the field, in half an hour. He promises that it isn't a trap of any sort."

"We know what his words are worth." Anna said acidly. "Still, if Eleanor accepted the offer to parley, there might be hope that we can call off this whole thing."

"I doubt so, Your Majesty." Frederick had a wary look about him. "We could get one of the captains to go down to talk with him instead. Forgive me, but I believe it's too risky to allow you both to go."

"Frederick, we've been over this already." Elsa said firmly, like she had already argued with him before Anna had arrived on the scene. "We're going."

"Yes, Your Highness." His tone marked him as reluctant and worried, though anyone not acquainted with the general wouldn't have been able to pick up on his subtle nuances. "I'll arrange for the Queen's Guard as well as a squadron of cavalry to go with you two, just to be safe."

"I hardly think-" Anna hesitated. One could never be too safe around a cunning wolf like Hans. "Alright."

"Why do you think Hans is going down to the meet?" Elsa asked, when Frederick had excused himself to arrange an escort for them. "I didn't think the Empire would actually accept."

"Neither did I." Anna said. "To be fair, no other kingdom has really had a chance to properly prepare for the Imperial Horde's attack. We're in unchartered waters here."

"I'm coming too. It's not safe out there." Janus said, and caught Anna's eye. "Your Majesty." He added quickly.

"Alright then." Anna blew out a breath. "Let's go see what Hans has to say."

###

Hans, as expected, was fashionably late. After all, in this hastily arranged parley, the Empire had the upper hand and could do things on their own terms. It made Anna want to gnash her teeth at the thought, but there was nothing, in all her authority as queen of Arendelle, that she could do about it except wait.

When he did arrive, he was flanked by a good number of Exonian soldiers, dressed in their muddy red uniforms. Hans himself was dressed in a white shirt with a maroon tailcoat in the military style, with golden epaulettes on his shoulders. The red tails of his coat flapped about in the breeze as he drew nearer on his stallion, and dismounted casually, followed closely by ferocious looking soldiers with muskets in hand.

As usual, he had a sly look on his face that screamed that he was in control, with all the subtlety of a villain whose sole purpose was to cause as much harm to the queen as possible. Thankfully we have Janus with us if anything goes wrong, not to mention the cavalry and the Queen's Guard backing us up.

"So," Hans adjusted the fit of his tailcoat. "I hear you wanted to parley." He turned to Elsa. "I see you're still a little sore about our…encounter. Wasn't the chandelier and that slap enough?"

Anna watched him rub his cheek, and she turned to Elsa, who looked very uncomfortable.

"Where's your boss?" Elsa asked, ignoring his question.

"Her Imperial Majesty regrets that she cannot be in here in person." Hans said, with all the mock formality of a politician. "She's upset about the loss of her latest acquisition."

Latest acquisition? "Those kingdoms were never hers. Neither were they yours." Anna kept her tone level. "I called this meet because I wanted to extend an offer."

"An offer?" Hans raised an eyebrow in intrigue. "Like the one we made you? Because as I recall, that was a gloriously fabricated ruse. No hard feelings though, I'm sure you weren't actually considering marrying me in an attempt to save Arendelle."

"Of course not." Anna said mildly, but could feel her temper rising. The fiend had a knack for getting under her skin, and apparently Elsa's too. "I want to offer the Empress and her forces one last opportunity to retreat. Our army is ready for yours, fully prepared for whatever you have in store."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"There's no need for bloodshed." Elsa added. "If you get the Empress to call off her dogs, we'll call off ours, and no one will die tomorrow."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Your Highness." Hans said chillingly. "People will die tomorrow. Exonians, Arendellians, but most importantly, the two of you. But the Empress will keep you alive long enough to see your kingdom razed to the ground, By the time this is all over, there'll be nothing left of your home but blood, ashes and smoke."

He took a step forward, and the soldiers of the Queen's Guard immediately moved forward swiftly and professionally, muskets at the ready. Janus put a hand on the sword at his hip, and Elsa quickly placed a hand on his to stop him.

Anna levered her eyes back at Hans, who chuckled calmly.

"If you're going to have me shot here, go ahead." He said calmly and spread his hands. "By all means. Do it. Send the message. Within the hour, the Imperial Horde will mobilise in the dark and charge straight into Arendellian territory. It'll be messy, but we all know how it'll turn out." He watched the faces of those around him, an eerie calm on his features. "So go on then, kill me."

Anna lifted a hand, and the soldiers backed off to a safe distance, but not too far out of musket range. Elsa had also gotten Janus under control, which was a relief. Elsa's new boyfriend was a bit of a wild card, really, and Anna didn't know if he was going to lunge and spit Hans with his sword.

Hans shook his head as if disappointed. "I didn't think so."

"Look," Anna said tightly. "If the Empress had already made up her mind that she wasn't going to back off, then why did she even waste her time with this meet?"

"Because," he licked his lips dangerously. "She wants you to know, as do I, that you-" he looked at Elsa. "-and your precious League of Sorcerers have made her very upset. In her past attacks on other kingdoms, it's never been personal. But now, it is." He returned his attention to Anna. "You've put yourselves in her crosshairs, and now she's going to see to it that Arendelle is wiped off the world map."

Anna matched his gaze defiantly. "You're both insane."

Hans laughed in an amicable way, totally unsuited for the heavy tone of the conversation. "Well, I thought you would say that." He glanced at Elsa again. "And as for you, like I said, I'm not done with you yet."

Anna watched Elsa narrow her eyes as she stood her ground, her hand still on Janus' to prevent him from doing anything rash or unpredictable.

"We'll see." Elsa growled hoarsely.

Hans nodded, and then back-pedalled slowly. "Rest up. Tomorrow's the big day. What we've all been through together, it all comes down to this. I sincerely wish you all the best of luck. May the Empire of Exon reign forever."

"He's insane." Anna said to Elsa when he and his wretched soldiers had ridden their mounts back the way they'd come.

"No doubt about that," Elsa glanced after them. "This was a waste of time." She turned to Janus and touched his arm. "Thank you for not killing him."

"The thought did cross my mind."

Anna sighed. "We should head back. I need to collect Maui and go back down to the coast road to join Kristoff and Matthias."

Elsa nodded. "Let's go."

Back on the hills, Anna hooked up with Maui and headed back to the carriage that would take them back to the coast road. Thankfully he had been briefed on the plan too, so that saved her the trouble of having to fill him in. She was quite relieved actually, that the demigod would be fighting alongside her. Nothing like having a powerhouse on our side of the battle.

"I don't like this." Elsa said for the fourth time as they neared the carriage.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time." Anna muttered. "Me neither, but we've faced bad odds before haven't we?"

"We have." Elsa nodded uncomfortably. "But with Eleanor it's different."

"How so?"

"Well first there was Kane. I mean, we can all understand that he's doing all this because he wants his family back." Elsa explained. "Then there was Ingrid, who did all those horrible things because she didn't want to die. Even Hans, he just wants to be someone of significance and to be out from under his family's shadow."

Anna frowned. "I don't see your point."

"But Eleanor," Elsa's face was grim. "As far as I can tell, she's doing all this…" She waved a hand at the opposite hill where the Imperial Horde was camped. "…because she wants to. Because she can, and she's not going to stop. She's a wild force of nature, and that's something we've never fought before. I don't even know if the League and the entire army can stop her."

Elsa's words hung heavy in the air as the two sisters looked at each other, both uncertain of their fates tomorrow. "Don't worry, Elsa. We'll stop her." Anna took her sister's hand and squeezed it as they stopped outside the carriage. I have to be the optimist around here, because if not me, then who? "I have to go."

"You sure you'll be alright?" Elsa asked anxiously.

Anna sighed. Her sister was going to stay on the hills to fight the Imperial Horde with the rest of the division. Why did it always seem like circumstances were separating the two of them?

"I'll be fine." Anna said. "At least I won't be charging into soldiers and cannons like you are." She opened her arms and hugged Elsa tightly. "You better be careful out there tomorrow."

"I will."

"You better not die on me, or I'll be very angry."

Elsa laughed weakly, and they both stayed in the embrace for a while longer. Anna could feel her sister's anxiety for her too, and patted Elsa on the back.

"We'll get through this." Anna said.

Elsa loosened her grip and stepped backward to look Anna in the eye. She nodded slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Anna." Her voice was tight.

Anna forced a reassuring smile, and nodded. "See you tomorrow, Elsa." She nodded at a soldier of the Queen's Guard, who opened the door of the carriage and she climbed in.

Maui, who had already taken on the form of a horse, gave a loud whinny and set off down the path in lead, with the carriage following behind.

Anna glanced out of the window at her sister, who waved at her. She waved back till the carriage went around the bend and the camp fell out of sight.

Am I ready for what the battle holds? Anna found herself thinking. Will Arendelle even be standing after tomorrow? Will we get rid of the Empire once and for all? She didn't know the answer to those questions, and she found that she was genuinely afraid to find out.

ELSA

Elsa bent and pushed aside the tent flaps. She couldn't stand up straight even when inside the tent, although it was already one of the biggest tents. By army standards, at least. A tent meant for the highest ranking officers had been hurriedly built for the princess and her "companion" on the crest of the hill, near where Frederick's own tent was.

No one had really been expecting the princess to be out here with them waiting for the battle tomorrow, but yet, here she was. Still, even the biggest and most luxurious tent by army standards had her bending over and unable to fully stand up straight inside. It reminded her of her time with the Northuldra, living in laavus with everyone else in a communal manner.

Janus was sitting in the corner on one of the bedrolls which had been laid out, with his mercenary garb laid aside. Unmasked, he looked up from sharpening his sword at Elsa who had just entered the tent.

"Are you alright?" Janus asked her.

She nodded and sat down on her own bedroll beside his, and began pulling off her muddied boots. "Anna just left for the coast road." She paused as she set them aside. "Do you think she's going to be okay? Should I have gone with her?"

"She'll be alright." Janus got up to put aside his sword together with the rest of his weapons. "I barely know her, but she seems like she can take care of herself."

"That she can." Elsa agreed, though still worried for her sister. "It's just that…this is different. Like you said, this is war we're talking about."

"She'll be fine." Janus sat down beside her again, and began taking off his jacket.

"I hope so." Elsa sighed. "I can't help but wish that this could have all been avoided."

"It'll all be over tomorrow." Janus said, peeling off his jacket and tossing it aside. He laid down. "We should try to get some sleep. We need to be up early tomorrow."

She looked at him. "Do you…"

He turned his head to look at her.

"Do you want to…you know…" she prodded her bedroll.

Janus blinked. "Aren't we already technically sleeping together?"

"I mean," She prodded her own bedroll again. "Together."

"Oh." He shuffled off his own bedroll and squeezed onto hers. The bedroll definitely wasn't very large since it was meant for one person, but somehow it managed to fit them both.

Why she wanted them both to squeeze into a tiny bedroll, she did not know. All she knew was that she wanted him physically close to her, just like the previous night. It was a desire she couldn't begin to fathom, neither did she want to try to. They both laid down together, bodies pressed against each other.

Unabashed in his presence, she used her powers to make her blouse disappear into little frozen droplets of ice.

"You know, you could have just done that yesterday and saved us both a lot of trouble."

Elsa chuckled lightly and trailed her finger across his chest. "Where would the fun be in that?" She still couldn't wrap her head around at what point she had found this new boldness and playfulness.

"Fair enough." He snuggled down in the bedroll, and allowed her to put a hand on his side. His own shirt evaporated into thin air, and they both laid bare, bodies close to each other.

Janus kissed her tenderly on the neck as her arms wrapped around his back, and her legs coiled around his thighs. He put his hands around her waist and gave her a light squeeze.

"Don't worry about tomorrow." He said in low tones. "It'll all be over soon."

Elsa nodded and sighed, putting her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Hans was right about one thing, she pondered as she felt herself begin to drift off in the lethargy and exhaustion from the day's efforts. Everything we've been through thus far, it's all come down to this. The battle tomorrow morning. And hopefully, we'll still be standing when the smoke clears.

Author's Commentary:

I always love writing scenes involving Hans, because he always exudes that sense of control over any conversation, and everyone around him knows that. He always has the upper hand, and that's what makes him such a good villain.

Building up that tension and impending sense of danger has been really fun to write, but the war has finally reached our heroes' doorstep. So stay excited, for The Battle of Arendelle is about to begin.