Chapter Seventy Seven

After the Fire

ANNA

A part of her really couldn't believe this was happening. If a time traveller from today had told her a year ago that she would be in the position she was in now, she would have dismissed him as crazy. And yet, here she was. More accurately, here we are.

The rest of the Warriors and the League of Sorcerers, not in full force of course, but the closest few which included Elsa, Deirdre, Jade, Jordan and even Janus, all stood in a semi circle in the ruins of the small town of Quodrun. The hometown of Will Daltrey, who had fallen in battle.

"It's ironic, isn't it?" Anna couldn't help but say, as she stood in front of the group of friends who had gathered at a garden outside his now desolate house, which was surprisingly still intact after the occupation of the Empire. It was her turn to give her eulogy at a hastily put together attempt at a funeral. The last one she'd been at had been her parents', and the heavy atmosphere still felt depressingly familiar to her.

"When we first met Will Daltrey, the League and the Warriors were on opposite sides, but we could all agree and testify to one thing. That Will wanted nothing to do with the life of a sorcerer or a Warrior."

Her words were met by quiet nods and bowed heads. Everyone was dressed in black from head to toe, and incidentally it was raining too on this cold, gloomy and cloudy day. It was almost as if the weather was in agreement with their dark mood on this day of mourning.

"Now I think it's safe to say, he's earned his place as one of us, whether he liked it or not." She went on. "In spite of his desire for peace, he had the heart of a Warrior and protector. I wasn't there to witness his final sacrifice, but of one thing I'm certain. It was the noblest and bravest thing he'd ever done, and it will not be forgotten."

Anna blinked away tears and hobbled away in silence, as her sister moved to fill her position. Her foot, which had been broken by Hans, had been fully restored by Holli's powers, though the memory of the pain was fresh and as agonising as the sorrow she felt right now. Clasping her hands in front of her, Anna stood beside Kristoff and watched as her sister exhaled and cleared her throat.

"The first time I spoke with Will was when he was a prisoner of the Pilgrim. The Sixth Pilgrim." Elsa began. "I had this impression of him as a timid person frightened by his own power, much like I was in my earlier days. But standing here today, I realised that I could not be more wrong. He possessed courage that rivals any one of us here, and he knew deep down in his heart that to achieve peace, he had to do whatever was necessary, including sacrificing his own life to save thousands. And that," her voice cracked. "Shall never be forgotten. If it weren't for Will, thousands, including myself could have died that day. Will showed us what it meant to be brave, to put others before himself. And we will endeavour to live up to the standard he has set. May he always be in our memories."

As Elsa began to recite a prayer in Christian tradition to close the funeral, Anna shut her eyes and wiped away a tear as she leaned her head on Kristoff's shoulder. Things were so different now, and she longed for the simpler days when war wasn't on the horizon.

It'd been two days since the fierce battle of Arendelle, and the effort to restore order had been nothing short of chaotic and draining. If organising the exodus out of Arendelle had been challenging, then what they'd accomplished in ushering back the citizens to their city would have been considered impossible. The people were understandably afraid of going back for fear of the Exonians, and it had taken some convincing that the battle was over and a whole lot of organisation to get them back on wagons and carriages that would take them back to the kingdom.

The already exhausted military had been once again activated to help out with the return, filling the roles of road marshals stationed along the muddy track back to Arendelle. Kristoff, Matthias and Frederick had of course thrown themselves into the work of helping out and overseeing things, splitting their focus between that and tallying the losses after the battles.

Loss of life hadn't been as heavy as initially anticipated, owing largely to the Atlanticans' and the League's arrival on both fronts. Still, there had been a lot of carnage sown across both battlefields, bodies and weapons floating in the water or strewn across the valley in droves.

The Exonians had mostly scattered, while the rest who hadn't simply killed themselves to avoid capture. It was a radical move, but Eleanor being their ruler, it wasn't exactly a shocking move. Anna knew enough to know that Eleanor wasn't one who would tolerate failure or defeat.

Speaking of Eleanor, she had retreated from the battlefield together with General Kane, according to Elsa and the others, and since Hans had seemingly vanished into thin air after throwing himself out of the window, it was probably safe to assume that the Empress had extracted him too. Kane and Hans were after all her most valuable allies, and she very well couldn't afford to start building up her inner circle again from scratch.

Elsa had relayed the unfolding of events upon her return from the battle, and it still amazed Anna that Deirdre had somehow managed to knock some sense into her sister before the latter ended up getting everyone killed in her wild pursuit for conquest. Maybe deep down in her own convoluted way, Eleanor really cared for her own people and was doing all this for the evolution of her own race. But still…

"Amen." Elsa finished, and withdrew from the front. Everyone stood in a moment of silence as they gazed respectfully at the grave stone at the head of the small garden in Will's backyard.

His body had never been found, so this was the best that they could do for him, under the circumstances. The fact that he had no other living family had also made things a lot less messy, but also rather disheartening.

When the funeral service was concluded, Anna followed the rest out of the village and back towards Denmark, where they would drop Melody off next. The girl had made it clear that she was going to stay with her people this time, which came as a blow to everyone, but they understood that it was time for Melody to take her place by her parents' side.

"You alright?"

Anna glanced at Kristoff, who looked concerned. "Nope." She admitted. "Not really."

Kristoff tried to find something comforting to say, but failed.

Anna shook her head. "It's alright. You don't have to say anything."

He wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. We'll figure this thing with the Confederation out."

As if things hadn't already been chaotic enough, the news of what had happened in Arendelle had spread to the rest of the Confederation of the North. The reports were vastly different, when Anna had been called to a hastily assembled summit to verify the claims.

Some had heard that Arendelle had been hiding monsters in their dungeons, unleashing them upon the Imperial Horde and the world beyond. Others said that Arendelle was providing a safe refuge, harbouring wizards and witches, inundating Arendellian culture with sorcery and poisoning the youth with magical fantasies. Even more radical and outlandish reports had claimed that the witch called Elsa, widely known as the Pilgrim of the League, had commanded her sorcerers to begin an invasion on Norway and the surrounding kingdoms, working hand in hand with the villainous Empress of Exon.

One thing that everyone agreed on and were right about was this: that sorcerers were living among the regular humans, and the common perception of magic and sorcery had been uprooted and re-established as a sort of modern military force. That of course, was unacceptable, by Confederation law and standards.

King Uxzas of Molcorra, the most senior member and Head of the Confederation, had proposed a new continent wide law to have all sorcerers considered as enemies of the Confederation. With the reputation of the League already on shaky ground to begin with, the majority of the Confederation representatives had agreed to the law without hesitation, leaving only Anna and two other members in disagreement. However, the three of them had no choice but to comply, otherwise trade regulations and other bilateral relations would be negatively impacted.

Anna had literally been given no say in the matter, and she found that she had the most to lose. But there was nothing that could be done, but to bite the bullet, for fear of the Confederation declaring war on Arendelle for their sorcerous culture. They'd just survived one war, they couldn't afford to court another. Her sworn duty as queen was to do what was in the best interest of Arendelle, and that meant abiding by the new law of the Confederation…at least for now.

With a heavy heart, Anna had no choice but to relay the outrageous news to Elsa and the others, all of whom had magic and were therefore considered outlaws. It pained Anna so much to see the look on Elsa's face when she realised that the two of them could no longer be together, as the latter was now branded as a dangerous witch and a criminal to be caught.

"We'll figure something out." Kristoff said. "I promise."

Anna nodded. We have to.

Before long, they arrived at the beach outside Denmark's castle, where many citizens of Denmark were waiting on the sandy coast and Atlanticans were floating in the water, all awaiting the return of their princess.

MELODY

Melody stood in front, putting on a smile and waving. Just minutes ago they had been mourning the death of one of their friends, and now she was going to take her place by her parents' side. The timing of things wasn't ideal, of course, but it had to be done. She'd avoided her responsibilities and identity as the Princess of Denmark for so long that it had taken an occupation to bring her home, much to her regret.

If there was one thing she knew for certain now, it was that a chapter of her life was just beginning anew. She wasn't exactly saying goodbye to her friends amongst the Warriors and the League, even though it felt that way, but she was definitely going to be spending a lot less time with them and more time invested in the affairs of her kingdom.

As much as she was dreading the idea of being drowned in all these responsibilities, she knew it was the right thing to do. First and foremost, she was the Princess of Denmark, and she was going to embrace that. The people of her kingdom and the Atlanticans had gathered to celebrate and remind her of it.

As she drew nearer, the cheers of the people grew louder as they recognised their princess approaching, followed by an entourage comprising of League members and Warriors alike. She swallowed and did her best to keep the smile on her face, waving graciously as she passed by scores of men, women and children alike, not to mention the Atlantican soldiers and civilians, as well as her grandfather King Triton himself.

"It's something, ain't it?" Tracy hissed by her side. "Having an entire celebration in your honour?"

Melody blinked and stared at her.

"All these people gathered to honour your bravery and acknowledge your greatness as the heroine of the kingdom."

"Please stop." Melody's cheeks were beginning to flush red. "It's bad enough already that the entire kingdom of Denmark and Atlantica are here to watch. I don't need you whispering a commentary in my ear."

"Right. My apologies, Your Highness." Tracy waved mockingly.

Melody resisted the urge to scowl at her with so many people watching, but instead continued to beam at the masses before her. If this was what her life was going to be like going forward, maybe it wasn't too late to turn back. Before she could decide otherwise, she reached the end of the coast, where her parents the king and queen were waiting for her.

She stepped up to the raised platform to join them, and hugged her parents.

"It's good to have you back, Melody." Her father embraced her tightly.

"It's good to be back." This much was true. She did miss being with her parents.

Turning to face the masses, Melody raised a hand to indicate she was about to speak. Her eyes flicked to the front of the gathered crowd, where she saw the survivors of the Insurgency: Charlotte, Ivon, Oliver and the others waiting for her to speak.

As the crowd fell to a hush, she gave the insurgents a small nod, and they nodded back in acknowledgement. Melody cleared her throat and began in a loud voice.

"Esteemed people of Denmark-" she turned to the sea where the Atlanticans were gathered. "-and Atlantica. Thank you for taking the time to join me here on this rainy day, to celebrate our victory over the Empire of Exon. No enemy can hold us down, and we've proven it. Many of you may think that I've had a huge part to play in fighting against the cruel occupants. But to the contrary, I've contributed as much as every one of you, with your fighting spirit and undying loyalty to our home."

Melody paused, stealing a glance at her friends, before continuing. "Which is why I'm announcing today that I will be devoting more time to oversee and help reconstruct what has been torn down. To restore Denmark to its former glory, and greater still. People of Denmark, I am here to stay."

She finished just in time, because the cheers and roars of the crowd would have drowned her out anyway. Smiling and waving, the proud voices of her parents and the chants of the masses sounded distant in her ears as she reflected on what this meant.

This is the end of her chapter with the League and the Warriors. Her days of flying across rooftops and fighting magic wielding tyrants were over. As the forlorn realisation set in, she glanced over at Tracy, Elsa, Anna and the rest who were waiting at the sides, and gave them a feeble smile.

###

"This really is the end, ain't it?" Tracy said, when they were finally alone and the crowd had dispersed.

Melody nodded ruefully. She had requested some time to say her goodbyes to her friends, whom she wasn't sure when she was going to see again. "Don't put it like that. You know that I've been running from my world for so long. It's time I finally got back."

"No need to tell me." Tracy grinned. "I was the one egging you to come back here, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Melody rolled her eyes playfully at her closest friend. She turned to the rest who were gathered round. "Don't worry, I promise I'll see you all again."

"You better." Maui said playfully. "If you don't come visit us sometime, I'll have no choice but to fly by and pluck you from your palace like the first time."

Melody laughed and glanced around at the League members and the Warriors who were about to part ways with her. This, as Tracy had so aptly put it, was the end for now.

She sighed. "Truthfully, I don't know what this new chapter holds for me, but I hope it brings me back to you guys someday. Somehow."

"Aww, don't worry. It will." Anna said. "We'll figure something out. As it happens, I have something in the works and might be needing your help really soon."

"Oh?" Melody regarded Anna with a raised eyebrow.

"It's still a little sketchy at the moment." Anna scratched her nose. "A work in progress. But I'll reach out to you when it's ready."

"Of course." Melody smiled and turned back to Elsa. "I'm sorry about how things turned out for you and the rest."

Elsa blew out a long breath. "We'll have to adapt, I guess."

"I'm sorry Denmark won't be able to offer you and the rest safe refuge here." Melody said. "The Confederation of the North has warned that it will consider any kingdom who offers aid to sorcerers an enemy and a threat to be dealt with."

"Cheery bunch, aren't they?" Jade said sardonically.

Elsa shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll work something out with the sorcerers."

Melody patted her on the arm. "It'll be alright. Janus will take care of you." She regarded the former enemy with a slightly stern glance. "Won't you?"

"Of course." The ex-mercenary gave a slight, but reassuring nod.

"Right then." She pursed her lips and tried not to let her voice crack in front of all her friends. "Till we meet again, then."

"See ya." Tracy gave her a hug, and the gesture was followed by embraces from the rest of her friends who had been with her on all the adventures.

It brought tears to her eyes, and she choked slightly and fought hard to regain her composure. Eventually, they parted through Tracy's conjuring of a Crossing Point, and Melody stood alone on the beach. As she basked in the silence apart from the drizzle, Melody sighed. It had been a fun two years. With that, she turned and walked back up the beach to the castle where a new chapter of life was waiting for her.

Author's Commentary:

This is definitely not the last we will see of Melody. She will continue to be a major player, albeit in a different way than she is accustomed to. We'll see how she adapts to her new life and role in Book 4. In a way, we're going to see Janus fill her ex-position in the Warriors, seeing as he has a similar skill set with a much more mysterious demeanour. He will be taking a more important role in the sequel :) But for now, like Melody says, this is the end of her time with the Warriors.

Stay tuned. We aren't finished with this arc yet :)