Chapter Sixteen

Premonitions

MELODY

"Wake up."

Melody opened her eyes which felt dry as dust, to see Maui by her side gently shaking her shoulder.

"We need to keep moving." Maui said, his voice low and hoarse. The skin on his face and hands looked dry. It felt strange, looking at him in such a vulnerable light, but there was still a friendly and lively twinkle in his eyes.

She gave a soft groan and stirred, her body feeling numb and stiff from the effects of the blizzard which was still raging on outside the mountain. Her body felt like it'd been run over by a horse wagon, and her legs screamed in protest at her.

Glancing around, she saw that the others were already awake. Deirdre was warming her hands over by the fire which had by now died down to a small flame, while Janus was busy checking his weapons to make sure they were all still intact. They both looked mildly refreshed, though it looked like an hour hadn't been anywhere near sufficient. Still, it couldn't be helped. They had to keep moving.

"Did you manage to get some rest?" Melody asked, noticing Maui's slumped shoulders.

He shook his head, a rueful smile on his lips. "Someone had to keep watch. We don't know if the Exonians are lurking around these parts."

"Maui," Melody dragged out his name, feeling both vexed and grateful at the same time. "No one would have found us here. You should've rested after the hell we've been through the past days. You're not immortal anymore, you know."

Maui grimaced. "All too well." He patted his meaty legs and levered himself to his feet, extending a hand to Melody.

She took it, and he hoisted her to her feet like she was a bundle of hay. He might be human now, but he was still as strong as a bull.

Giving him a grateful smile, she put a hand on his thick, muscle laden arm. "We're heading into the lion's den. You gotta be doubly careful now that you don't have your powers to even the playing field."

He rolled his shoulders and they gave a pop. Suddenly, he grinned. "Who would've thought that when I crossed the ocean to find you on that beach that day, we'd both end up here stuck in a blizzard in the very heart of the Empire?"

"Glad you haven't lost your sense of humour, even if you have lost your demigod powers."

"Don't worry about me." He thumped his wide chest. "The Chancellor is about to regret ever giving us trouble."

"Here's hoping." Melody glanced at the other two, who were coming over to join them now. "You guys ready?"

"No," Deirdre said sourly. "But we don't have a much of a choice, do we?"

"Let's make this quick." Janus had his free hand fiddling with his mask to make sure it was snapped on securely, and the other hand clutched his bow. "Get into the capital, find the entrance to the castle, ambush Hans and make him tell us where the Order is holding the others."

Deirdre scoffed. "You make it sound so easy."

"It won't be." Janus growled through his mask.

Melody knew how desperate he was on this mission. After all, the only woman he'd ever loved was in the clutches of Lord Magnus and the Crimson Order, and Hans was responsible for it.

"But we'll do it." Maui said, thumping his fish hook against the ground like a cane. The sound echoed lightly through the miners' cave. "We'll save our friends and get the hell out of here."

All talk of taking down the Crimson Order was long gone by now. Melody knew as well as the others that this mission they were on was already a risky one, what with the four of them coming out here by themselves. Engaging the Order and all the Mage Slayers in their home base was suicide. No. The important thing was to find Elsa, Jade and Tracy, and escape intact.

Deirdre sighed as if disappointed. "Could have found better ways to die." With the wave of her hand, she set off further into the cave, the others following closely behind.

It'd already gone dark outside the miners' cave, and moving further into the tunnels only made it all the more difficult to see. Melody, who was right behind Deirdre, had to stretch out her arms slightly to feel about, just in case she stumbled and collided into Deirdre. Behind her, Janus and Maui brought up the rear, cautious not to lose their footing as well.

Deirdre lit her own hand on fire, and the warm glow of light threw the tunnels into immediate visibility. The warmth was welcoming too, as the tunnels they were traversing were cold and damp.

"You sure no one will know we're here around these tunnels?" Melody whispered to Deirdre ahead of her.

"No one knows about these catacombs. Not anymore." Deirdre sounded rather confident as she led the way through the tunnels, the ball of fire sitting in the palm of her hand. "The only records of the castle layout are in my parents' library, and Eleanor's too stupid and lazy to have discovered them there. We'll be safe."

"Right." Melody lapsed back into silence, though the niggling feeling at the back of her mind wouldn't go away. Even with Deirdre's reassurance, she knew something was off. Something was going to go wrong. Her instincts were urging her to turn everyone back, to leave this cave, to return to the Coalition and retreat out of Exon as fast as they could. But she knew she couldn't. They'd not come this far into Exonian territory only to turn back now. Not when Elsa, Tracy and Jade were still captives of the Crimson Order.

As they advanced through the tunnels, the feeling inside her grew from a whisper into a scream, until she felt immensely uncomfortable. Her instincts had rarely ever been wrong. Paranoid, she cast a glance over her shoulder. Maui and Janus were right behind her, and she caught Janus' eye. He was expressionless, his face behind the mask, but she could tell that he knew something was off about it all too.

"What's the matter?" Maui asked in confusion, sandwiched between the two archers who were exchanging curious looks.

"I just feel like something's…wrong about all this." Melody came to a stop and the rest did as well. "I don't think it's just me."

Janus nodded. "It's not. I feel like there's something we must have missed. It feels like we're walking right into a trap."

"Of course it's a trap." Deirdre snapped, whirling around. "I think it was clear enough when Hans goaded Elsa into turning herself and Tracy in. He, Magnus, my sister and the whole damned Order are trying to divide us up and pick us off one at a time. What do you think we signed up for?"

"It's much more than just that." Melody insisted. "My gut is telling me that this…this…"

"…is exactly what Hans wants." Janus finished for her.

She glanced at him again. So he felt it too.

"Then we better not disappoint." Maui thumped the curve of the fish hook against his palm. "He might know we're coming but he doesn't know where we're going to strike from. We're the only ones who know about these tunnels, which means we still have the element of surprise. I say we use it and ambush him."

"These catacombs," Janus said suddenly. "We never stopped to think. What if they're down here somewhere too?"

Melody felt a chill run down her spine, and it wasn't just from the cold. She hadn't thought about that, and now the prospect of it being true made her feel even more unsettled. "We're not prepared to run into them."

"Then let's not." Deirdre said impatiently. "I know the way to the castle from here. We just have to make it there quickly and quietly."

"How much farther?" Maui asked as they began walking again.

"We should be near the city walls." Deirdre replied without looking over her shoulder. "The walls were fortified a few centuries ago to withstand cannon fire." She pointed at the ceiling of the catacombs. "See those?"

Melody looked up. There were inverse protrusions from the ceiling, almost like they were stalactites, but in thick, stubby blocks.

"The foundations of the city walls, etched and embedded into solid rock." Janus noted.

"Yeah." Deirdre said. "We should be crossing under and into the capital now."

"And how long from here to the castle basement?" Maui asked.

Deirdre looked like she was deep in thought, racking her brains to remember. "An hour's walk?"

"Damn." Melody said under her breath. Her legs were still sore, but she tried to shut out the pain and went over contingencies. There was no telling what they would run into when they got to the castle…if they even managed to make it there without being caught by one of the Mage Slayers.

The walls of the tunnels began to grow narrower, till they only permitted the Warriors to walk in a tight column, squeezing through the rocky passages one at a time. The ground evened out, which was good, for they'd nearly tripped a couple of times already. As they journeyed further deep below the capital, it began to grow warmer.

Melody was perplexed by this until she noticed the pipes running along the sides of the tunnels. These were thin and rusted over, blending in with the rocky walls of the narrow tunnels. They ran over one another, branching out here and there to numerous different smaller pipes, which looked ready to burst at any moment and flood the entire catacombs in hot sludge.

"Careful not to touch those." Deirdre called back, her voice low now. "They probably carry fresh hot water into different parts of the city."

"And no one's maintained them all these years?" Janus said incredulously.

"No." Deirdre said flatly without looking back.

It wasn't long before they encountered a crossroads. The tunnel forked into another three passages, and two split off to the east and west. The centre passage continued straight in the direction of north.

"Where do these two lead?" Maui asked.

"I…don't know." Deirdre pursed her lips, but pointed ahead. "But I know this one takes us to the castle."

"For all we know, Elsa and the others are being held prisoner somewhere down those tunnels." Janus remarked, gazing into the abysmal looking tunnels which were pitch black.

"We don't know that for sure." Melody said cautiously. "And we can't afford to split up now. Not when we're this deep in enemy territory."

"She's right." Maui agreed. "We stick together for now."

Janus paused for a moment before relenting. He nodded his head. "For now." He fished out a chalk from one of the many compartments on his mercenary outfit, and pressed it against the wall. It left a white mark against the reddish brown walls of the tunnel.

"What's that for?" Deirdre asked.

"Just in case." Janus said, pocketing the chalk again, and indicated the centre tunnel. "Let's move."

The four continued down the centre tunnel, this one growing even more narrow than the last. It came to a point where Melody, who considered herself thinner and more lithe than most, was rubbing shoulders with the uneven rock walls of the tunnel. Obviously Maui and Janus weren't having an easy time.

"Are we near?" Melody asked.

"Yes, but keep your voices down." Deirdre's voice had dropped to a hiss. "We're very near the castle dungeons, and from there we can find our way up."

Melody raised an eyebrow. "Castle dungeons?"

"In the old days, the dungeons were used to house the refugees from the civil war." Deirdre explained, her voice barely audible anymore. "My ancestors would use the tunnels to provide safe passage out of the capital for them, that is, until it was turned into a dungeon for the worst scum of Exon."

"Charming." Janus said dryly, and Melody could hear him adjusting his grip on his bow.

Melody herself drew the metallic contraption from her backpack, and it uncurled itself into its full length. Her bow rested snugly in the palm of her hand, the weight of the weapon familiar and welcome given the circumstances. Checking her quiver too, she was satisfied to find that all her arrows were still there. She hadn't realised it, but she had been sweating. Her skin was now slightly oiled with perspiration, an uncomfortable change from the blizzard which had them all swathed in thick jackets and wolf fur.

The tunnel began to slope upwards, growing gradually steeper until the Warriors reached a set of ancient steps. They climbed the flight to the top, where an old iron gate lay in front of them.

"We're here." Deirdre whispered.

"This doesn't lead to the basement, does it?" Janus asked.

"Unfortunately it does." Deirdre grimaced. "Blame it on the architects of this damned place. We're going to have to ascend up from these dungeons." She cast a look over her shoulder at the rest, who were lined up in a tight column behind her. "Just stay on your toes, okay? I don't know what we're going to find in there."

Melody and the others nodded. Without warning, Melody's stomach flopped, and she had to catch herself from flinching. The premonition was growing stronger now, a harbinger of the evil that lay ahead of them.

Extinguishing the fire in her palm, Deirdre gripped the lock and great latch of the iron gate with both hands. They glowed orange, red hot from her sorcery, and the iron began to melt before the Warriors' eyes. Within moments, the lock and latch of the iron gate became little more than hot wax, still glowing from the heat Deirdre was applying to them. Deirdre gave the gate a little tug, and it swung outwards, giving a noisy screech which seemed to reverberate and throb in the cramped tunnel.

Wincing, Melody tightened her grip on her compound bow, her other hand ready to reach for an arrow. They waited in the same spot for a minute or two, and when they were all sure that no one was going to pounce on them or ambush them, they finally moved into the dungeon. It was far more spacious in the dungeon, which came as a refreshing change even though it was - well, a dungeon.

It was instantly more breathable and less stuffy as compared to the cramp catacombs, though the air smelled foul and stale. Moonlight seemed to filter in through what few cracks existed between the stone slabs that made up the ceiling of the dungeons, which told Melody and the others that they were finally near the surface. Looking around the wide and long dungeon, they found the place utterly devoid.

"I'd have thought there'd be more prisoners." Deirdre muttered.

"My thoughts exactly." Janus said, but then pointed. "Look. Over there."

Melody looked over at where he had indicated, and saw that at the end of the very long dungeon, there was a bundle - or a figure - huddled in the corner. Against her better instincts, she tread lightly and cautiously across the stone slabbed floor towards the figure at the opposite end of the dungeon.

As she drew nearer, her eyes could make out wild red hair.

"Deirdre." Melody whispered to Deirdre, who was right behind her.

But Deirdre had already caught on faster than Melody had. She pushed past Melody and marched straight for the figure in the corner.

"What are you doing here, Eleanor?" Deirdre stood over her sister, a shocked look on her face.

Eleanor made a peculiar noise, and seemed to notice the intruders for the first time. She cocked her head curiously as Melody and the others drew nearer to surround her and Deirdre.

"I could ask you the same thing, sis." Eleanor croaked and looked round in amusement. "And friends."

Melody sized the Empress up. She looked nothing like the ruthless tyrant they'd fought back in Denmark and Arendelle, but simply a sorry shell of her former self. Clad in her night clothes, she appeared to be of absolutely no threat to them at all. It was then she noticed the magic dampening collar around her neck.

"Who did this to you?" Melody asked sharply. "Was it Hans?"

Eleanor made another sound, this one louder. It almost sounded like an upset sob.

For a second, Melody was taken aback when Eleanor's features twisted into a sudden snarl.

"That bastard's been playing us all for fools." Eleanor snapped, "He's been planning this betrayal since the beginning. Using me all this time."

"What for?" Janus asked. "What's he been planning?"

Eleanor let out a half snarl, half spit. "Hans made himself the Emperor of Exon!"

Silence reigned as Melody and the others exchanged alarmed looks. Evidently, this had not crossed any of their minds at all.

"We can take him." Maui said confidently, breaking the silence. "So what if he's Emperor? He's just one man."

"You don't understand," Eleanor's eyes were wild. "He's planned for everything. He counted on being attacked."

"What are you saying?" Melody asked sharply.

"Hans. He made a deal with the devil." Eleanor suddenly grasped at Deirdre and looked round in desperation. "He made himself the new host of the Eternal King."

Melody's heart skipped a beat.

"What did you say?" Janus' voice was like a dagger, cold as ice.

"He's the new Eternal King." Eleanor said in despair. "There's no stopping him now."

This changes everything. Melody felt her world spinning, finding herself speechless at this newfound revelation. For all her tactical planning and forward thinking, she had not anticipated this in the slightest. Anna and Elsa were right. Hans really was the most cunning and intelligent villain they'd ever faced. He had been the greatest threat all along but had gone undetected this entire time, accomplishing all his goals without even raising a single red flag.

"This…this is bad." Maui's expression had gone rather grave. "If Hans is the new Eternal King…"

"We can't ambush him." Melody gritted her teeth. "He'll tear us apart."

Pushing past Deirdre, Janus drew his dagger and pressed it against Eleanor's throat, just below where the magic dampening collar ended. Deirdre opened her mouth to stop him but no words came out.

"Janus!" Melody hissed, whirling round.

"Tell us where Elsa and the others are." Janus growled, one arm pinning the former Empress to the wall, and the other pressing the point of the blade lightly against her skin, drawing a trickle of blood. "Or I swear to God I'll punch a hole in your throat right now."

Eleanor let out a strained snort, no trace of fear of him on her face. "You think you scare me? I've seen what Hans is capable of. I'm not afraid of you. Any of you. You should be afraid. Very afraid."

"Where are they?" Janus' voice rose a little, evidently losing some patience.

"Last I saw Elsa, she was fighting Hans." Eleanor said, shaking her head. "I don't know about any of the others. The bastard must be keeping them somewhere secure."

"Then we have no choice." Melody looked round at her friends, a grim look plastered across her face. "We have to go up to the castle. Elsa may still be up there."

"It's suicide." Janus released Eleanor from his grip and she slid into a seated position, slumped against the wall again. "We can't risk running into Hans, now that we know who-what he's become."

"But if Elsa's still up there, we have to save her." Maui insisted. "She would do the same for us."

"My reign, my legacy." Eleanor muttered furiously to herself as she thumped the back of her head against the wall. "Everything I've worked for, my empire, my people. Gone, gone, gone."

"You need help, Eleanor." Deirdre looked on at her sister in sympathy. "You've gone mad."

"Deirdre," Melody put a hand on the fiery sorceress' forearm.

"What?" Deirdre said sharply.

"We can use her on our side." Melody said, connecting the dots for the first time, as unorthodox and ridiculously eyebrow-raising as her idea was.

"You're joking." Deirdre looked at her incredulously. "She tried to take over your kingdom. I'd have thought you'd be the first to slug her."

"Our interests align." Melody tried hard not to think about the fact that Eleanor had been the one who had ordered the occupation of her home and oppressed her people just a few months ago. "She hates Hans, and we could use her help."

Deirdre's eyes widened and she shook her head, stepping away.

"Are you sure about this?" Maui asked. He sounded doubtful as well. "Don't forget who she is."

"I know exactly who she is. You don't have to remind me." Melody almost snapped. "But right now, she's our best chance at evening the playing field."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Janus said slowly. His face was hidden behind his ominous mask, but his body language told her that he wanted to run Eleanor through with his sword.

Melody nodded tightly and turned back to Eleanor. "I want you to listen very carefully."

Eleanor looked like her mind was somewhere far away, eyes unfocused.

"Do you want to get out of here, or not?"

Still no response.

"How would you like to get your revenge on Hans?" Melody tried.

The former Empress perked up, and her eyes gleamed. "He will pay."

"I propose a truce." Melody found it hard to say the words, when all she wanted to do was leave Eleanor here in the dungeon where she deserved to be. "You help us against Hans, we let you out of this dungeon."

"And what makes you think you can trust me?" Eleanor sneered. "After everything I've done?"

"I don't." Melody said coldly. "But it's your only chance to reclaim your throne from Hans. Or would you rather he usurp your inheritance?"

Eleanor stiffened. "What do you want?"

"Help us fight Hans. Save Elsa, Tracy and Jade. Stop this bloody war. And we'll let you walk."

The Empress seemed to contemplate the offer for a good long minute, and finally nodded quietly.

"No tricks," Melody warned sternly. "Or I'll see to it personally that you get what you deserve."

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, letting them sag. "What else could I possibly lose at this point?"

"Good." Melody turned to Deirdre. "Deirdre."

"You better be damned sure about this." Deirdre said in annoyance. "Because I'm not."

"Neither am I. But we're grasping at straws." Melody stole a glance over at Eleanor. "We need her powers to level the playing field when it comes down to a confrontation. She's our best bet of finding Elsa and getting out of this place alive."

Sighing, Deirdre moved towards her sister and put a hand on the magic dampening collar. It glowed red hot, and the metal expanded. It loosened, and Deirdre gave it a rough tug, pulling it off Eleanor's neck.

"Ahh." Eleanor rubbed her neck. "Who knew that one day your powers would come in useful in my favour?"

Melody watched Deirdre for any sudden temperamental actions, and was relieved that the fiery sorceress was keeping her emotions under control. It certainly mustn't be easy to work with her younger sister who'd sold her out and changed the course of her life forever. Instead, Deirdre simply shook her head and moved away from Eleanor as though she wanted nothing to do with her.

"So what now?" Maui asked. Janus continued to watch silently, all the while having one hand on his sword while the other clutched his bow.

"Now," Melody glanced over at Eleanor who was flexing her fingers and testing her connection to her own powers. "We find Elsa and the others."