Chapter Seventy Nine

The End of the Long Winter

ELSA

Desperately, Elsa looked around as she squeezed through the press of the crowd. Hundreds of Coalition skirmishers and sorcerers had piled onto the last ship and they'd just set off from the coast about ten minutes ago, leaving behind the Empire on the shores of Fort Steinfall. It'd been nothing short of a miracle, the fact that most of the Coalition had managed to escape with their lives, and just in the nick of time too. Elsa could still feel her heart thumping in her chest, the adrenaline still lingering from the ferocious battle they'd just fought and survived.

But in all the chaos of the evacuation, Elsa still hadn't managed to find Janus, Tracy and Peggy. After the sounding of the retreat, Melody and herself had arrived just before the stampede. They'd managed to spot Eleanor and Deirdre, who'd been one of the last ones to board after helping to screen the retreat with their powers. Anna and Kristoff, along with the mysterious Elemental Sorceress called Talya, had been there to receive them. But Janus, Tracy and Peggy were still missing.

She found Anna at the stern of the ship, looking back at the coast in the distance. Her sister looked to be so deep in thought that she didn't notice when Elsa stopped beside her.

"Anna," she called to her.

Her sister snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at Elsa. "You still haven't seen a medic for your wrist?"

"Later," Elsa shook her head. "I need to find them first."

"Any luck?"

"None. I have no idea where they could be," She paused and looked to her sister in consternation. "You don't think-"

"No," Anna said firmly. "Damn it. No. They're here somewhere. I'll have the entire ship searched till we find them."

"Don't bother," Kristoff came up behind them both. "I found them. They're in the sick bay."

Elsa felt relief and anxiety sweep over her all at once. "The sick bay?"

"Come on," Kristoff said. "I'll take you there."

"You know where they are?" Melody said as Elsa came back to where she'd left her and Deirdre waiting on the deck, surrounded by hundreds of exhausted, wounded soldiers and sorcerers.

"The sick bay," Kristoff said, leading them down the stairwell to the lower levels of the ship. It was dimly lit, dank and crammed full of sailors and soldiers bustling about in different directions, but they stopped to salute the Arendellian royals as the Warriors passed them by. Doors to the quarters were open, and Elsa could see that many of those quarters had been converted into medical bays for the countless injured during the battle. Groans, screams and moans filled the hallway, and a chill ran down Elsa's spine. What if…

"Here," Kristoff stopped outside a door at the end of the hallway.

Elsa peered in, along with the rest. Inside were a multitude of beds all cramped into a single room, with barely any space for navigation at all. Soldiers in all colours filled those beds, being tended to by the regimental surgeons. But in spite of all the activity in the room, her eyes zeroed in on three familiar figures near the corner.

She rushed into the room, carefully weaving between the beds to get to where they were. Tracy and Janus lay in separate cots, the latter with his face and shoulder bandaged. Worry stabbed through Elsa's heart as she quickened her pace further. Peggy, who'd been nodding off in a foldable chair between them perked up when she sensed Elsa and the others coming towards her, and hurriedly got to her feet.

"Elsa," Peggy said in relief, clutching Elsa's arms. "I'm sorry, the medics just got done with them. I wanted to come find you but-"

"Are you hurt?" Elsa cut her off as she studied the girl. Apart from some cuts on her face and arms, Peggy looked to be alright, though her clothes smelt heavily of smoke and guts, and were stained red to the point she didn't know what colour the girl had been wearing before the battle.

"I'm fine," Peggy said. "But…"

"What happened?" Elsa asked. She could already guess what'd happened to Tracy. The portals of purple mist that'd opened to let the Coalition skirmishers onto the coast were unmistakable. The exertion had probably drained Tracy to the point of collapse. But she'd seen it happen before, and knew that Tracy would soon be on her feet again.

"Tracy just needs some time and she'll be fine," Melody said with assurance. True enough, the former sea witch gave a groan and shifted on her side.

"And Janus?" Elsa stared at his still figure. His shirt and jacket had been removed, and she could see a few bruises and cuts on his body. But most noticeable was the tightly wound cloth around his face that obscured his left eye.

"He…he tried to protect me," Peggy said in a quiet voice. "I was helping one of the sorcerers and my back was turned. The next thing I knew, I saw him like…like…" she trailed off with guilt writ across her features. "I'm sorry. It was all my fault. If I hadn't gone back…"

"Is he…" Kristoff trailed off.

"He's alive," Peggy said with a weak voice, and everyone visibly deflated.

"Thank God." Anna looked relieved.

"He passed out after he got Tracy safely onto the ship."

"His eye," Elsa could feel the lump in her throat. Tears were already uncontrollably streaming down her face. What if Janus is blind? She couldn't bear the thought, and stifled a sob as Anna pulled her into her comforting embrace.

"Holli," Melody said. "She'll know how to help him."

"I'll find her," Deirdre offered.

"Thank you," Elsa dried her eyes, breathing heavily. Janus had rarely ever fallen in battle. To see him hurt and lying motionless like this…

"Come on," Anna put her hands on Elsa's shoulders and firmly moved her away. "Let's get you some help for your wrist."

ANNA

"I don't want to sound like a pessimist," Horatio leaned forward at the small, round table at the centre of the war room, looking round. "But let's just review where we stand. The Coalition is in ruins. We lost the war. And with Uxzas gone and Helmsley a damn traitor, the Confederation is down to just you, me and August now."

"And me," Melody said dryly.

"Oh, right. No hard feelings." Horatio turned to her. "It's just been a while since you've shown up to one of our little group therapy sessions. Where did you say you went again?"

"Horatio," Anna said sharply. "Not now."

The marquess narrowed his eyes but kept silent. Thankfully.

After escaping Fort Steinfall yesterday, the Confederation had arranged a council of war to decide their next steps moving forward. And so, the Confederation members had all converged on the ship Anna was on to hold their discussions, though it seemed like things weren't going very well.

"Well, we didn't exactly lose the war," August broke the awkward silence at the table. "We retreated to fight another day."

Horatio scoffed. "You know, August, I think you lost your right to say that when your division wasn't even on the battlefield this time."

"Neither was yours." August pointed out.

"Please. Had the Field Marshal agreed, I would've been out there with my cuirassiers to meet those lightweight dragoons on the coast road and given them hell."

"And you would've likely died out there too." Anna said frankly.

"Better a glorious sacrifice than a long life as a coward and loser," He shook his head. "And that's exactly what we are now."

"No," Anna set her jaw. "We retreated so that we could live to fight another day."

Horatio sighed. "Come on, be honest. You really think we're in any condition to fight again?"

"We'll let Field Marshal Frederick be the judge of that." Kristoff said. "It's been a day but we're still going through the casualty reports and assessing our losses."

"Doesn't take a genius to figure out that we're screwed, Your Highness."

Kristoff met his gaze. "And here I thought you were never one to back down from a fight, no matter the odds."

"There's a difference between brave and stupid. Look at what they threw at us!" Horatio banged on the table with his fully healed arm and gestured to the small window where the vast ocean lay beyond. "Their whole damn field army and…and monsters now? How do we fight that?"

"We did it yesterday." Melody said.

Horatio scoffed. "Yeah, and barely got away with our lives. I get it, I know I wasn't there, but can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me we'll survive another onslaught?"

"We'll find a way, but first we've got to get to Agrabah," Anna said as calmly as she could manage, despite the growing annoyance within her. "I'll arrange a meeting with the king, and maybe he can provide us more military support."

Horatio sighed again and threw up his hands. "Look. All of you. You know better than anyone else that I'd be happy to fight. But this is a lost cause. We all lost the war. The Empire won the moment we began plotting our retreat." He stood up. "I'm sorry, but you know I'm right. The sooner all of you accept that, the better." Turning on his heel, he walked out of the war room with slumped shoulders, missing the strut or flamboyance that he'd arrived for the campaign with.

A long silence passed as Anna, Melody, August and Kristoff stared at one another, all weighing what Horatio had said.

"I hate to say it, but he's not entirely wrong," August broke the silence again. "We've fought the Imperial Horde, the emperor's elite Blitzguard and even some strange assassins with powers. Those we can handle. But monsters now?"

Anna glanced at Melody, who grimaced. It'd been impossible to contain the news, ever since the skirmishers started recounting their experience in the trenches yesterday morning. By now, the entire Coalition as well as the Agrabanian Highlanders probably knew about the Soulless that'd been on the battlefield along with the Mage Slayers.

"Look, I know it seems bleak now, but there has to be a way," Anna said. "Without us, the Empire will regain all the ground we fought to liberate, and who knows where they'll stop?"

"He won't," Kristoff grimaced. "With that kind of power at his fingertips, he won't stop until he has control of every nation in this world."

The Vjorman Prince shook his head. "I've never seen anything quite like this before. Do you really think we can make a difference anymore?"

Anna set her jaw. "We can. We'll find a way." But internally, she was just as unsure as the rest of them. Was she just in denial of the truth? That Hans had really won this time? He'd bonded with the Eternal King, taken control of the Empire and forced the Coalition out of Exonian territory. The facts were clear as day, no matter how adamant she portrayed herself. Hans had won after all.

MELODY

Melody stared at Tracy who stood at the entrance of her quarters with a bottle in hand. "Are you sure you should be drinking that?"

"I don't have to drink it alone," Tracy waved the bottle in a bid to entice her. "The Arendellians managed to salvage some good liquor from Steinfall's stash. Would be a shame to not try some."

"You just got better, you know."

"I told you, I'm fine now. Like you said, t'was just exhaustion, that's all."

"Still…" Melody didn't have it in her to argue with Tracy right now. Not like it will stop her anyway. Instead, she just shook her head. "No thanks. Maybe another time."

Tracy gave her a strange look then shrugged. "Alright then. It's your loss though."

"Wait," Melody said as the girl turned to leave for her own quarters.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're okay."

"But are you?" Tracy looked her dead in the eye and tapped on her skull with her free hand. "It doesn't take a tactical genius to know something's not right with you."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Tracy strode into Melody's quarters and kicked the door shut with her foot. "This is still about Maui, isn't it?"

"And what if it is?"

Tracy sat down beside her. "I know you still see him as though he's alive. Normally I would say that's a good thing but you're just torturing yourself at this point."

Letting out her breath in a long sigh, she reached into her pocket and fished out Maui's tribal necklace. She held it out to Tracy. "This was Maui's."

The sorceress took it and turned it over in the palm of her hand. "It's lovely."

"I took it off his body the day we buried him." Melody said, trying not to break down again. "I carried it with me as a reminder that because he's gone now, it's my burden to bear now. My curse."

Tracy handed the necklace back to Melody. "I don't think it's a curse. I wish I have the chance to see him again, even if I know he isn't real."

"He's a manifestation of my guilt."

"Or maybe it's a part of you that keeps him alive because he was our friend. It's a way to remember him by."

Melody sighed. "I guess that's one way to look at it."

"It's up to you how you want to interpret his presence," Tracy said. "You could continue torturing yourself with guilt or you could see things through a different lens. If I were you I'd start coming to my senses and treasure his company while it lasts."

"Who would've guessed you harboured so much wisdom?"

Tracy grinned. "You'll be alright. I know it. And I'll be here when you need me."

"I knew I could count on you."

"I knew I could count on me too," Tracy stood with bottle in hand. "I'll catch you later."

As the door closed behind Tracy, Melody exhaled deeply and turned back to the window to watch the waves from the privacy of her own cabin that'd been assigned to her by the Agrabanian Ambassador. Thankfully there wasn't any lack of space, for the Highlander vessels had been built to ferry entire armies. The Coalition's soldiers had all been assigned shared bunks for the long journey ahead, but the Warriors were privileged enough to have their own living quarters assigned to them. Which was just as well. Melody felt like she needed the personal space after everything that'd transpired.

She looked down at her quivering hands with spite. Ever since Tracy's spell had worn off, her condition had returned to plague her again. The strength, the power, the bravery she felt…they were all gone. And it'd reduced her back to the shell of the girl she once was, and she detested it. Holli was right. Using spells or potions to temporarily restore her strength wasn't the answer. She needed to find a permanent solution to her problem.

"It's ironic," Maui slid up to the window alongside her. "Remember when we were all on a ship like this one?"

"Yeah," Melody said. It'd been when they were trying to stop Kane from inciting natural disasters meant to kill millions of people around the world. Back when their little band was made up of five Warriors and no more. Back when things were simpler.

"I miss those days," Maui heaved a deep sigh. "Not the eco-terrorism bit. But things felt easier to deal with when we just had Kane and his bunch of mercenaries to worry about."

"I know what you mean," Melody turned away from the window and gestured to her surroundings. "Back before all of…this."

"I wonder what Moana would think of us now."

"Very subtle, Maui."

"What?"

Melody glanced at him. "I know you want me to find her. Tell her about all that happened. Tell her about…" she dropped her eyes. "You."

"Damn right I do," Maui dropped into a chair which creaked beneath his weight. "You were trying to take the coward's way out back at the coast road."

Melody frowned and crossed her arms. "No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were going to get yourself and Elsa killed trying to fight the cavalry."

She puffed out her chest indignantly. "No, I was trying to make a real difference out there, and so did Elsa. We both knew the risks."

"At least that's what you told yourself. You told yourself that Elsa was ready to make the sacrifice along with you, but she couldn't leave you to face the cavalry and die by yourself. She was a real Warrior. She wanted to be there to keep you alive."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You convinced yourself that you were willing to die out there on the coast road. The truth is, you would've rather died fighting than to have to face your guilt."

"That's not true."

Maui shook his head with a forlorn smile. "Deny it all you like, but deep down, you know that I'm right. After all, I am-."

"My conscience. So you keep telling me," Melody pressed her eyes tightly together, willing him to go away and leave her alone to brood.

"You keep trying to run, but you know you can't. Taking the easy way out and dying isn't the answer. You're going to have to face up to yourself sooner or later."

Irritably, she opened her eyes to find him still sitting there. "And does that include Moana?"

"She deserves to know the truth about what happened, don't you think?"

"Damn you, Maui," She pounded her shaky fist against the side of the wall. "Why do you do this to me?"

He stood up with a chuckle. "Melody, this is all you. Deep down, you already know what you need to do. You just needed someone to tell you."

Hot tears came to her eyes and she sank down hard at the edge of her cot. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he put a meaty hand on her shoulder. "But it's the end of the long winter. The nightmare's finally over. Once you and the others get to Agrabah and things settle down, you can seek Moana out and give her my tribal necklace. You can make it right."

She looked at him with teary eyes. "Can I?"

"Yes, you can," He gave her a hearty smile. "I believe you can."

Sighing, she rested her head on his broad shoulder. "I really miss you, Maui."

"I miss you too."

ELSA

"How is she holding up?" Elsa asked.

"I don't know, really. She's been mostly quiet since we escaped Fort Steinfall." Deirdre looked over her shoulder at the closed door of her shared cabin with Eleanor. Her expression soured further. "I thought she would've wanted to take this time to reconcile now that we're all safe and away from the Empire. But instead, nothing."

"Give her time," Elsa said. But she couldn't bring herself to believe it. A part of her still harboured deep mistrust and animosity towards the former Empress, even though she'd witnessed her aid the Coalition yesterday. It was impossible to forget what Eleanor had put her friends and family through over the past year. Could she really reconcile that monster with the girl who claimed she just wanted to be Deirdre's sister again?

"You don't believe it yourself, do you?" Deirdre demanded accusingly.

"I'm sorry," Elsa admitted. "I'm still having a hard time trusting her."

"You trusted me."

"I did." And Deidre had been right.

Deirdre and Elsa locked eyes for a good few moments. The former relented. "Maybe you're right." She sighed and looked away. "Having to turn against the Empire she built must've been hard. After everything she did to gain it, and now she's lost it all. She can never go back," Deirdre paused pensively. "I suppose I know how she feels."

"Then talk to her," Elsa offered. "I know you're not one for all that heart to heart stuff, but maybe it's what she needs to hear. Maybe after all this time she's still longing for her older sister to take the initiative."

"Maybe."

"And what about you?"

Deirdre looked up defensively. "Me?"

"After what we've been through yesterday, I mean," Elsa said. "Are you alright?"

Deirdre gave a light scoff. "You know me. I'm a survivor."

"Deirdre."

"I'm fine, alright?" the fiery sorceress nearly snapped. "It's all just…a little much to process. Everything we saw yesterday was a goddamn nightmare. My people trying to kill us all…" Her hard expression softened slightly. "Sorry."

"It's alright."

"It's just that everyone else has forgotten that the Exonians are my people too."

Elsa put a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't."

A tiny smile broke through Deirdre's harsh demeanour. "And what about you? How's your hand?"

Elsa lifted her hand and flexed her right wrist. "Still a little sore, but otherwise all healed." Thank God for Holli and my sorcerous biology.

"And what about Janus?"

Now it was her turn to let her expression sour. "I don't know. After you brought Holli to the sick bay, she spent quite a while working on something to help him. She told me to get some rest while she worked on his wounds."

"His eye. Is he-"

Elsa felt tears prickling her eyes again. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Elsa swallowed down the tightness in her throat.

"Is he awake yet?"

Elsa bit her lip. She felt guilty that she hadn't been able to be by his side as much as she would've liked. But now that she was back, she had responsibilities. As the Pilgrim, she owed it to the sorcerers of the League to make sure they were alright. Similar to what the military was doing, she, Deidre and some of the senior sorcerers had spent time going through their ranks to identify who was still with them, who among them were injured, and who hadn't made it.

Every time she came across a name that she had to cross out, a pang of sorrow and guilt stabbed her in the heart. Yet another sorcerer who'd died because they'd decided to join her cause, believing that she would protect them and lead them to victory. And she'd failed. Many of the sorcerers who'd fallen hadn't even been fully trained yet, with the vast majority of them being volunteers who'd signed up with her because she'd liberated them from Stormtide prison or saved them from the CAST and given them a home with the League. And now they were dead or wounded, and that made her feel even worse than before.

It'd taken a full day of sorting through all of it before she'd found the time to step away from her duties and find out how her own close friends were holding up in the aftermath of yesterday's siege.

"Elsa?"

"What? No, not yet I think. But I was just on my way to see him when I decided to drop by and see how you and Eleanor were doing."

"We're fine." Deirdre said firmly. "You should go be with him. He needs you. Go."

Elsa nodded and watched Deirdre close the door to her shared room with her sister before leaving for Janus' quarters. After things had settled down considerably yesterday, the regimental surgeons had moved Janus to his own private cabin to heal in a quieter, more conducive environment. It was just as well that Janus' quarters wasn't down in the lower levels of the ship where the sick bays were. She couldn't bear seeing so many soldiers and sorcerers injured or dying, the scent of blood and flesh reminding her of the atrocities they'd just escaped.

Thankfully, Janus' quarters wasn't too far from Deirdre's, so she had no trouble finding it. Inside, she found Peggy sitting in a chair beside the cot where Janus was fast asleep. The girl had a faraway gaze in her eyes, and it didn't look like she'd heard Elsa enter.

"Peggy," she said in a low voice as she walked towards the bed.

The girl spun like a cat, her hand immediately flying to her belt where a couple of blood stained knives rested. She relaxed when she saw who it was. "Elsa."

"How are you holding up?" She looked at her descendant. It was still weird to think of Peggy that way, and there was still a whole lot she didn't understand. But the girl did seem genuinely concerned for Janus.

"I'm alright. I think," Peggy cast her eyes down to the ground. "I'm sorry about what happened. It's just that I was so eager to fight alongside the Warriors of old that…"

"It wasn't your fault. He would've wanted to keep you safe any way he could." Elsa looked down at Janus' resting form, his left eye still bandaged. "And how is he?"

"I don't know," Peggy grimaced, a cloud of guilt hanging over her head. "He hasn't woken yet."

Elsa shook her head. "Peggy, we need to talk. Outside."

"Okay," Peggy said quietly and followed Elsa out to the corridor where she shut the door behind her with a quiet click.

"I know about Talya's secret." Elsa said.

Peggy's eyes darted up to meet Elsa's. She opened her mouth, then closed it.

Elsa waited a long moment, studying Peggy's expression, which was well masked, probably with some training. Finally, Peggy spoke again.

"How did you know?"

"My sister saw her in action. Said she froze a twelve-pound round shot in mid air and saved the lives of everyone on the coast," Elsa said. "She's an Elemental Sorceress, like me."

"And?"

"And Anna says this Talya lied about being an Agrabanian envoy sent by the king himself, but was discovered when the real ambassador showed up." Elsa stared hard at Peggy. "Sound familiar?"

Peggy levelled her gaze. "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"Don't you think it's a little too coincidental?"

"What is?"

"That there are two mystery girls in our midst who've been lying about who they are?" Elsa folded her arms. "You told us you came from the future to make sure we don't die during the war."

"I did."

"And you said you came with a partner."

Though she didn't wear a mask like Janus, her expression was just as unreadable, which Elsa had to admit was very good.

"You can drop the act. Doesn't take a genius to deduce that you're connected to this Talya. An Elemental Sorceress like myself, and a spy as skilled as Janus?"

Peggy said nothing.

"Once we got back to Fort Steinfall and I heard Anna's story, everything began to make sense. Or do you think we ancestors are fools?"

Another long silence, before Peggy finally relented. "No, I don't."

Author's Commentary:

I always knew that there had to be a casualty of this battle. The stakes were too high this round for everyone to get away scot free. I know I've already killed off a few of the Warriors' allies, but there still had to be some consequences. A fallout was necessary to cement the realism of this battle. And there's only one man who could take it and live to fight another day.

Janus was the perfect choice because of how his relationship with Peggy has been set up. From someone who didn't trust her in the beginning to saving her life at the end, his injuries are a small price to pay from his point of view. Now that he knows Peggy is family and accepts that as fact, he'll stop at nothing to defend her as well as Elsa.

Don't worry, his character arc isn't over yet, and neither is Peggy's. We'll see her dealing with some of that guilt as her relationship with Elsa and Janus progresses further. We'll see where that takes us in Book 6 :)