Chapter Sixty Two

Return of the Empress

ANNA

"Black powder?" Anna echoed curiously.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Tons of it." Field Marshal Frederick said. His hands were laced behind his back, standing straight with decades of military decorum. As usual, he had an unreadable look on his face as he looked straight at what remained of the Confederation in the large command tent.

Sometime the night before, King Uxzas must have vanished because no one could find him this morning. Some thought that he'd ridden away from the Coalition in one of his magnificent tempers, while others believed he just needed time alone to think.

But Anna knew better. Uxzas was a lackey of the Crimson Order, and now that he'd failed his masters in preserving the CAST, the Order would exact vengeance against the king.

In her mind, Anna pictured the brown cloaks appearing in Uxzas' tent in the middle of the night and dragging him off to whatever lair they'd crawled out of. She shuddered slightly at the nightmarish thought. What if the brown cloaks decided to attack any of them at night? How would she or the others be able to stop them?

Anna tried to shake the thought out of her head. What's done is done. The Order wanted to tie up loose ends with Uxzas, and it was highly likely that no one would ever see him again. In spite of her disdain towards the man, she still felt sorry for him.

If the remaining Confederation members were enlightened with this revelation, they didn't show it on their faces. After all, they had more pressing matters at hand. The Coalition had made decent progress - relatively decent in winter - and was now outside the town of Netheide. According to the map provided by Frederick's cartographers, the route they were taking through Netheide would take them to the Empire's capital in the shortest amount of time. The only problem now was how they were going to cut straight through a populated city deep in the heart of Empire territory.

"Please enlighten us, Field Marshal." Duke Helmsley said. Now that Uxzas was gone and he was the next most senior representative, the Duke of Wellingbrook was essentially the new de facto head of the Confederation. Things were more or less the same with Uxzas gone, since both men had common interests and goals in seeing the campaign through to the very end regardless of the cost.

"The reconnaissance unit has spotted munition caches around the city." Frederick went on. "Not many Exonian soldiers spotted, seemingly just enough to keep the city under its thumb. But I fear it might be a trap."

"Nonsense." Horatio waved a hand dismissively. "The town's too small to be a trap. It can't even hide that many soldiers."

Anna suppressed the urge to snap something rude at Horatio. If the Order had to whisk away someone, why couldn't it have been the hot-headed marquess?

"The problem is, we can't be certain of that. The terrain and infrastructure-"

"It's your job to be sure, Field Marshal." Helmsley sounded impatient.

"Apologies, Your Grace. But our scouts dare not range too far for fear of being ambushed and cut off from the rest of the Coalition." Frederick said. "Therefore, this is what I propose." He nodded at Kristoff who laid a huge sheet before the Confederation members, and parts of the large map curled over the edge of the small table.

"We need to consider an alternative route." Kristoff announced. Apparently he and Frederick had been spending a lot of time planning this, for there were pencil markings, sketches and annotations scribbled on various parts of the terrain.

Helmsley looked appalled. "I beg your pardon?"

"What I said." Kristoff replied, with no patience for decorum. "We need to consider an alternative route. Here." He jabbed his finger at the spot on the map labelled 'Netheide'. "We have to assume that Netheide is compromised. That means our quickest route to Exon is out of the option. Our next fastest route-" he traced his finger along a faint pencil line. "-is through the passes here, where we will take this road down to the southern border of Exon, the wide plains of Luftzeit."

"You want us to ascend another range of hills in this weather?" Helmsley sounded incredulous.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but it can be done. Trust me, I used to be an ice harvester in the mountains."

Helmsley made an irritated noise. "This is ridiculous."

"Listen, it's the only option we have left." Kristoff argued. "We can't send the Coalition straight into Netheide without knowing what odds are stacked against us."

"For all we know, the Imperial Horde has retreated all the way back to Exon!" Horatio banged the table excitedly, making Anna and the others jump. "These cowards won't stand and fight. We need to be fast, cut through Netheide and catch up with these Exonian dogs and attack their rear. They'll be forced to turn and fight, and we can perform a double envelopment to crush Hydrech's remaining forces!"

Anna had to admit that Horatio, in spite of his youth and fiery penchant for conflict, had a point. The method was sound, but the risk was far too great.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree." Prince August said slowly.

Anna felt her heart sink. She'd always had August in her corner, even though he was the most neutral and objective member of the Confederation. But now, it seemed that the odds were tipping against her three to one. She desperately wished that Melody was here, but she was still far away and deep in the ocean looking for answers about the Crimson Order.

"However, there is a risk," August went on. "We don't know what's waiting for us in Netheide, but we don't have a better chance. Like Horatio said, we'll save a lot of time and even have a chance to catch up to Hydrech's rear. If we can stop them from getting back to Field Marshal Kane's reinforcements, we might actually have a chance of finally turning the tide of this war for good."

"Yes." Helmsley sounded pleased that things were going his way. "If we allow Hydrech's forces to return to Exon and regroup with the rest of the Imperial Horde, we might not have a chance at all. We need to cut through Netheide."

Anna opened her mouth to protest. "Your Grace-"

"Furthermore," Helmsley ignored her. "This is our best chance to resupply ourselves. We need to get to the munition caches in the city and seize their black powder stash."

"If the enemy is waiting for us, they're going to guard those caches with their lives." August said. "We should be careful."

"We will." Helmsley sounded confident, and turned to Frederick. "Field Marshal, prepare your orders."

"Very well, Your Grace." Frederick's voice was strained, which was the closest thing to explicit displeasure on his part. "We will resume the march, but we'll take the necessary precautions to defend against ambushes."

Gritting her teeth, Anna had to force herself not to speak. She knew that this time, there was no stopping the Confederation. They had a valid point, but she was still extremely unprepared to take that risk. She didn't want to risk precious Coalition lives unnecessarily, but they were right. They had to cut Hydrech off from Kane's forces while they still had a chance. But no matter how she psyched herself into seeing things from their perspective, she couldn't shake the niggling feeling inside that something was going to go terribly wrong.

###

"I should've listened to my instincts." Anna lamented to Deirdre as she watched the battle from a hill a safe distance away from Netheide. "Now look." She gestured angrily at the landscape of white before her.

The Coalition had resumed their march shortly after the ending of the Confederation's Council of War. They'd filed into the city as a compact column for maximum speed of manoeuvring and also because the streets of Netheide were rather narrow. Somehow, they'd managed to squeeze both light cavalry dragoons and cavalry cuirassiers along the flanks of the column to protect it. The Vjormans and Molcorrans made up the vanguard of the column, and now they were having the worst of it.

As Frederick had feared, it was a trap. The Exonians had apparently evacuated almost everyone, emptying out civilians from their houses, but keeping just enough to maintain the semblance of a city under occupation. The houses were jam packed with Exonian soldiers who had been lying in wait for the Coalition's column to pass through. Suffice to say, it was a nightmare.

The Coalition were prepared for a fight but a melee was always a messy affair, and the entire column's formation soon dissolved into fighting from street to street and house to house. Judging by the way things were going, Anna could only guess that Hydrech wanted to wear them down as much as he could. Most of Hydrech's soldiers had retreated to regroup while a third of them remained in Netheide to slow down the Coalition. Essentially, this was a suicide mission for the remaining Exonians, but that didn't seem to bother them.

Thankfully, Frederick had the wisdom to position most of the column a distance behind the vanguard. While the Vjormans and the Molcorrans took the brunt of the fighting, Frederick, Kristoff and the general staff would periodically feed troops from the Einsfeltai, Xerflorians, Danish, Northuldra and Arendellians into the town of Netheide to support their allies and to hold their ground. Time wore on painfully but the Exonians still held on. Fighting in the streets was always a bloody business, and it was taking a heavy toll on both sides.

The League of Sorcerers had sent their own "battalion" to assist the Coalition. While Elsa, Janus, Melody and Tracy were off on their own missions, the rest of Anna's allies - Maui, Vonco, Holli and others - were all helping to balance the scales down at the battle below. Jade…was a different story. She'd been kept out of action since her betrayal back in Korynes. Anna felt bad and helpless to do anything about it, but the fact was that they couldn't afford another hiccup. They would figure out what to do with Jade when the rest returned.

Thankfully, it seemed like things were beginning to tip in the Coalition's favour now. But in spite of that, the Exonians were absolutely relentless and determined to take as many of their enemies with them as they fell. Anna watched as another battalion of reserves were fed into the city to combat the remnant of Hydrech's rear guard. How long can they keep this up? And how long can they keep draining us?

"Damned noblemen." Deirdre muttered. It took Anna a while to realise she was referring to the Confederation members. Indignation rose again, and Anna fought to keep it down. No use in pointing fingers now. The damage had already been done. All she could do was hope that the Coalition wouldn't sustain too many losses. They'd already lost enough to potentially cripple them in the final standoff.

She looked up at the sky. It was technically only midday, but already the sky was dark and grey. The snow was falling harder today, and the streets were already coated in white, making it infinitely harder for the soldiers on both sides to fight. This weather is a curse, Anna gritted her teeth. Why couldn't the campaign have started earlier during the summer?

"Anna!" Deirdre hissed, yanking hard on her shoulder.

"Ow, what-" Anna turned and her voice caught in her throat as she saw what Deirdre was trying to draw her attention to. Her eyes narrowed. "Eleanor."

The Empress of Exon stood a distance behind the two girls on the hill. How long she'd been standing there, Anna couldn't tell. Had she been watching silently them this whole time? Eleanor's strange demonic abilities were so unpredictable that Anna wasn't even sure that she knew all that the crazed tyrant was capable of.

Anna studied her. Eleanor had changed quite a bit since she'd last seen her during the whole debacle in Denmark. The Empress' hair was still fiery red but ragged, making it appear as though she'd just spent the day sleeping and had just woken up. It reminded Anna of her own hair when she used to be able to sleep in.

Eleanor's eyes were sunken, making her head slightly resemble a skull. There were dark circles around her eyes, which indicated lack of sleep. Her skin was even paler than Anna had remembered as well, and overall the Empress looked even more unhinged than she had been before. She wore a crumpled dark brown dress that looked strangely like a sleeping gown straight out of her bedroom. It even smelled like she hadn't changed for days, and of course, there was the scent of strong alcohol. Her collar sagged loosely to the left, baring her shoulder.

"It's great to see you." Eleanor finally spoke, eyes studying Anna intently as well. She broke her iron gaze and turned to Deirdre. "Sis."

Deirdre stared daggers at her younger sister, the one who'd caused her the love of their parents and so much more misery. For a moment, Anna was afraid that Deidre might just lung at Eleanor and drag them both tumbling down the side of the hill in a cat fight.

"I wish I could say the same." Anna said cautiously. The last time they'd actually faced off was in that club in the heart of Denmark, when Eleanor had revealed her hand and sent Anna, Melody and Maui to an alternate earth. The thought of it was enough to make Anna's hair stand on end as she levelled Eleanor's gaze. "You don't look too good."

Eleanor laughed hoarsely and looked down at her dress. "I must admit, I've seen better days."

"What are you doing here, Eleanor?" Anna asked tightly. "If this is supposed to be some kind of surprise attack-"

"No." There was a slight upturn of Eleanor's lips. "I've come to make you an offer actually."

"No thanks, I'll pass." Anna said flatly. "The last time you made me an offer, you wanted Hans to marry me, and that turned out to be a sick ruse in the end. I've had enough of your offers."

Eleanor watched her with cunning eyes, flitting with danger. It was absolutely impossible to predict what the mad Empress would do next. Then, her features seemed to grow more neutral.

"No tricks. A real one this time." Eleanor said. "I'm extending a hand out of courtesy, really."

"Courtesy?" Anna feigned incredulity. "I didn't know that existed in your vocabulary."

"You've put up a good fight, but you must know that in the end we'll both lose." Eleanor ignored Anna's insult. "My Empire will suffer, but so will your precious Confederation. Eventually, we'll both wear each other down. Our populations will dwindle, economies crash, and then it'll all come down to last man standing. Or in our case," she gestured at Anna and Deirdre. "Last woman standing." She sniggered at her own bad joke.

"So what are you suggesting?" Anna asked.

"Leave."

"Excuse me?"

"Leave now." Eleanor's eyes gleamed against the white of the falling snow. "While you still can."

"You've got to be kidding." Deirdre said acidly. "Not even convincing. I thought that even you would try and do better than that."

"I'm not finished." Eleanor shot an icy stare at her older sister. She turned back to Anna. "The longer you drag this out, the worse it'll be for you. The closer you come, the stronger I get. You have to know you can't win this war, not when you're this deep in my territory."

"We will beat you. Or die trying." Anna said steely. In all honesty, she really wanted to turn the Coalition back to Korynes where they could wait out the winter and amass their supplies and strengthen their numbers again before finishing the campaign when the snow thawed.

"Dying in the snow's a horrible way to go. You sure you want to do this?"

Anna glared at Eleanor quietly. Somewhere down below, Anna heard the officers yell for the next wave of reserves to enter the town of Netheide.

Eleanor took a deep breath and sighed. "Will it help to know that Kane is returning to the field to command the entirety of the Imperial Horde?"

"I don't care if Kane's back in the field or if he's taking a vacation in Agrabah." Anna said. "You can't stop us, not when we're this close to finally ending your tyranny over the continent." The seeds of doubt were already beginning to take root in her mind. What if we actually agree to her terms?

Eleanor's expression turned very sour. "I'm running out of patience. I'm trying to save your lives here, and you're too stupid to know it."

"You're pathetic." Deirdre spat. "Look how far you've fallen. You're grasping at straws now."

"I've been a better ruler than you'll ever be!" Eleanor screamed, leaning in close to her sister. "I've delivered stability and satisfaction to my Empire, brought countries to their knees, crippled the continent and subjugated kingdoms and cities under our banner. And what have you done? Run around with your merry band of sorcerers trying to play hero? What have you achieved, other than being hunted like a dog?"

"At least I know Mom and Dad loved me." Deirdre stared back into Eleanor's eyes. Her palms weren't glowing hot - yet. "They'd be ashamed of who you've become."

"You're wrong." Eleanor whispered. "I've surpassed them. The history books will remember my name for what I've done, which is more than I can say for you and your allies if you don't accept my generous offer." She rounded on Anna again. "Don't you see? I'm not trying to kill you. I just want you all to leave my Empire alone, and I'll leave you alone."

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it." Anna said.

Eleanor's lips curled into a snarl. "If you don't convince your precious cabal to turn the Coalition around, when the time comes I'll grant you no mercy."

"Funny, I didn't think you had any mercy to begin with."

Eleanor snorted. "You know, I should kill you where you stand and be done with it." Eleanor had a sudden wild spark of danger in her eye as she took a bold step forward. Her volatile nature was extremely unsettling. "It'd make things so much easier than having to bargain with you."

"Killing me won't change anything." Anna held out a hand to stop Deirdre from acting rashly. "If you kill me, the rest of the Confederation will retaliate."

Eleanor cackled like a witch. "What makes you think I can't kill them too?"

"In theory you could, but then what? We still have our allies back home, and something tells me they're not going to be happy if you murder half of the Confederation."

"Probably not."

"The war will go on." Anna continued. "Dragging out into the next year and beyond, depleting your resources, economy and good will with your people. Sure, it'll do the same to us too, and in the end, like you said, it'll all come down to who can survive the longest. Is that something you're willing to risk? Are you willing to risk your precious Empire?"