Chapter Seventy

Hell of a Christmas Morning

ANNA

At some point in the night, Field Marshal Kane had finally decided to pull the Imperial Horde back for the night and called for a ceasefire. Anna had lost all track of time, what with the seemingly never ending onslaught of artillery strikes and waves of Exonian light infantry trying to get past the defences on the ground. But somehow, the Coalition had held fast.

She also hadn't seen Kristoff since that…moment…at the coast, as he was still busy making sure the various divisions were organised into their waves before his staff herded the soldiers like flock onto the Highlander ships. The whole administrative side of things must have been a nightmare, ensuring that the soldiers that made up each company, battalion, brigade and division were all accounted for.

As far as she could tell from the brief reports she'd had time to glance over, the first and second waves were already on board the ships and were ready to set sail at first light. That meant the Vjormans, the three Molcorran divisions as well as the two Xerflorian divisions were all accounted for. Prince August and Marquess Horatio, were in charge of those two waves and would liaise with the naval captains or commanders in charge of those ships.

However due to nightfall, the ships that were meant for the third and fourth waves had no choice but to anchor in the deep and wait for first light. They couldn't risk colliding with the ships already docked at the coast of Fort Steinfall, which meant the third and fourth waves' evacuation were delayed. It made Anna extremely jittery, because every moment they spent in Fort Steinfall could mean one second closer to the Imperial Horde breaking through their defences and laying siege to the fortress.

Alone in her quarters, Anna tossed and turned on the cot. She hadn't really been able to sleep at all, apart from a few moments of unconsciousness. What with all the chaos going on, it was a wonder she'd even been able to get any shuteye.

And all the while, thoughts about her near demise danced and lingered about, the image of Talya revealing herself seared in her mind. The girl who'd claimed to be a simple envoy had jumped in front of the descending cannonball, freezing it in mid air and hurled it away with her sorcery to save her life and countless others. Talya had saved them all, but Anna couldn't help but still feel remarkably suspicious and apprehensive about the girl.

She'd been right to feel guarded against her the first time, and now she knew why. Talya had lied to both sides. According to the Agrabanians, she'd first appeared before King Aladdin as an Arendellian ambassador on behalf of Anna requesting aid in evacuating the Coalition. And then when the military aid was approved, she'd sailed ahead to the continent the Coalition was on, appearing before Anna as an Agrabanian envoy from the king and bringing good news of the King's voluntary aid.

The mysterious girl had played both sides, then had been forced to reveal her magic to save countless Coalition soldiers, including the Agrabanians as well as Anna and Kristoff. If she were an agent of the Empire, she would've just let them all die from that artillery strike. So that certainly ruled out the possibility that she was an imperial loyalist.

But then who is she? Talya had demonstrated the rare abilities of an Elemental Sorceress. The only other person who could conjure up ice magic like that was Elsa. Pressing Talya afterwards gained no answers, apart from the same replies she'd received: that she would explain everything once they were safely on the ships, and that she was here to help. That much Anna believed. There was just something about the girl she still couldn't put her finger on, as though she was still harbouring some secret. But what else could it be? Unconsciously, Anna's eyebrows knitted together. Who the hell is Talya and what is she doing here?

She could take it no longer. Rising from the cot, she got to her feet and exhaled with a long breath. I'm not going to get any more sleep, that's for sure.

Carrying her lantern, she walked through the dark, quiet corridors of the tower, debouching out into the open. It was snowing again, and still pitch black. A couple more hours before the break of dawn, before the first and second waves could set sail and make way for the third and fourth waves - and before the Imperial Horde started bombarding them again. No doubt by now Kane's reconnaissance scouts would've informed him about the ships docked at the coast, which meant he probably knew about their evacuation plan. He would throw everything he had at the fortress to kill as many of the Coalition as he could before they could escape.

"Your Majesty," Frederick whispered.

Her eyes came into focus and she saw Frederick rising from a small, wooden stool by the side of the wall. Somehow, his uniform was still ridiculously immaculate and crisp in spite of the onslaught they'd faced earlier. His straightened hand flew to his brow in a textbook salute, his form rigid and upright. In the dark, Anna could vaguely make out the features of the exhausted commander.

"Frederick," she waved away his salute. "What are you doing out here?"

"Ensuring I am close by for command when the enemy inevitably starts shelling us again," Frederick looked at her. "And if I may ask in return, Ma'am, what are you doing out here so early? I know it is not my place, but you should be getting enough rest."

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted. "Something's just keeping me awake."

"Hmmn," Frederick said stolidly.

"I thought I'd just do a casual inspection to pass the time before the enemy starts shooting at us again. Care to join me?"

"Certainly, Ma'am."

As they walked along the walls in comfortable silence, Anna inspected the defences of the star fort that'd survived the previous evening's shelling. The Einsfeltai and the Danish artillery batteries were still in relatively good condition, positioned all around the fortress in an arc together with the League sorcerers. Most of them were asleep beside their guns or the crates of ammunition.

Probably somewhere along one of the walls, Talya was resting too. After her big reveal, she'd joined the sorcerers on the wall in defending Fort Steinfall, and had made an effort to avoid Anna since then, which wasn't exactly very difficult considering how busy she'd been. Anna knew that she didn't have the time right now to interrogate Talya. What good would that do while they were still in the middle of a siege?

While the rest slept, a few soldiers were awake and alert at each wall, watching the enemy camp and the ground beneath them. A couple of them saw the Field Marshal and the Arendellian Queen up and about, and ripped off crisp salutes in spite of their fatigue. Anna waved them back to ease, knowing they'd already been through enough. God knows they're in for more at daybreak.

Down in the trenches, Anna knew that the skirmishers had soldiers on watch as well. The Northuldra, Danish and Arendellians had fought extremely well, and the enemy had barely managed to gain an inch of ground. However, losses had been inevitable, though rather light by normal standards. Still, it pained Anna to know that some of those men and women down in the trenches would never return home after the war. She hoped they'd found peace in death that they hadn't managed to find in life.

"I'm sorry," Frederick said.

Anna turned to regard the Field Marshal whose face was shrouded in darkness but no doubt still stoic. "What? Why?"

"I wish the campaign would've gone differently. We could've won if it weren't for my inability to counter Kane's tactics," He said quietly, his voice still calm and neutral.

"Nonsense," Anna said sternly. "You're the best general I've ever known. Haven't you heard what the troops are saying about you?"

"No, Ma'am."

"They're calling you the best field commander of this generation," She gripped his arm. "You saved countless lives on so many occasions during this campaign."

He averted his eyes. "And lost so many more."

"Look at me, Fred," Anna waited for him to meet her eyes. "Kane is a wild card and Hans is an unpredictable monster. No one could've predicted their tactics as well as you did. You've done more than any general, field marshal or even king is expected to do. And the men admire you for it. I admire you for it." She squeezed his arm. "You're not just a father figure to me, Fred. You're a hero."

He gave a small smile. "Maybe if I were younger, I could've been a Warrior like you."

"You are a Warrior, Frederick Valquerson," she grinned back. "And we are going to survive this. We're going to retreat, regroup and bounce back."

"I do hope so, Ma'am," Frederick had a faraway look in his eyes. "You know, there was a time when your father and I were on campaign together, back before I was even a captain. I've often wondered during these past months what he would've said if he got to see us fighting the Empire today."

"And what would he have said?"

"That he couldn't be more proud of you and your sister," Frederick nodded at her. "And so am I, Ma'am. It's been a privilege to see you both grow into the strong, courageous young women you are today."

"That's sweet, Frederick," Anna gave him a light hug. "I just wish I knew if Elsa and the others are still alive," She looked into the distance, suddenly feeling rather depressed at the notion of having to abandon them in Exon. "We're running out of time."

After requesting that Frederick return to his post to catch some rest, she decided to circle round the interior of the fort one more time before retiring to her room again. Annoyingly, exhaustion had caught up to her quickly and she found herself feeling the need to sit down and catch her breath. She still didn't have an explanation as to why she was feeling so tired lately, yet she couldn't seem to get a good night's sleep. And then there was the whole nausea and blurry vision. She shook her head. Am I starting to lose it?

The peace and quiet of the morning broke as hushed whispers filled the air, growing quickly into a commotion coming from somewhere in the middle of the courtyard where the remaining divisions of the Coalition were camped.

For a moment, Anna's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the enemy had struck? She hurriedly descended the stairwell that led to the courtyard where rows upon rows of tents were still pitched. It was easy to pinpoint the source of the commotion, as more soldiers were emerging from their tents to stream towards it, carrying lanterns and oil lamps that lit up the courtyard in warm hues.

"Excuse me, coming through, please let me by, thank you," she called out repeatedly as she set down her lantern beside someone's tent and squeezed through the press of the soldiers who were by now causing quite a din. Many of them recognised her and parted immediately, and there quickly formed a convenient path for her to get to the centre of it all. As she got closer, applause started to grow, and cheers rang out till the noise was thunderous.

Well that certainly rules out the enemy's presence. What's going on? Anna thought in bewilderment. Then, her eyes widened as she debouched from the sea of humanity. It can't be.

"Well, a bloody Merry Christmas to you too, ya pigs!" Tracy called out cheerfully above the clapping and good-natured whoops. "Glad you could all come out in force to welcome us back."

Surrounded by the Coalition soldiers, Elsa, Tracy and Janus stood in the centre of a wide circle looking as if they'd just survived a war of their own. And with them was a blonde girl whom she didn't recognise. They noticed Anna as she stood gaping at them.

'Is…is it really you?" Anna stuttered.

"Anna!" Elsa bounded forward and enveloped her in a tight hug.

The crowd of soldiers erupted once more into another round of cheers and claps, this one louder than the first.

A wave of relief washed over Anna as she embraced her sister and wept cathartic tears. "I…I thought I lost you again!"

"Never," Elsa's voice soothed her, calming the emotional storm within her.

"It's so damn good to see you all," Anna finally pulled herself away from Elsa to acknowledge the rest of her friends, and also the stranger with them.

"You're a sight for sore eyes yourself, or however that saying goes," Tracy quipped back.

Janus nodded at her, still masked and hooded. It warmed Anna's heart to see that both Elsa and her lover had made it back together.

"You're all alive," Anna choked. "I…I can't believe it."

"Believe it," Tracy rolled her eyes. "But you wouldn't believe the hell we've been through."

"I can only imagine," Anna agreed and glanced round. "Where's Jade?"

"We…" Elsa trailed off.

"It's a long story," Tracy answered on her behalf. "Best if we tell you later."

"Hmmn. Alright then," Anna turned to the stranger accompanying them. "Who's the new girl?"

"Ah…" Elsa glanced knowingly at Janus who shook his head. "Also a long story."

"I'm sure we can find somewhere better to talk," Tracy jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the commotion that'd failed to die down. "Somewhere where we can at least hear each other."

"Yes, yes, of course!" Anna grabbed Elsa's hand and turned on her heel. "Follow me. I'll send someone to fetch the others."

###

"Hell of a Christmas morning, ain't it?" Tracy grinned.

Anna motioned for them to get comfortable as she herself collapsed into a comfortable chair. She'd brought them to Fort Steinfall's officers' mess which was spacious and well furnished, and conveniently empty at this hour in the early morning. Wherever the hell her friends had been, it looked like they could use a little comfort and luxury.

Elsa had requested for the stranger who'd arrived with them to be given a place to rest and wait for them. For some reason, Elsa was being rather coy and secretive about who the mystery girl was. Anna knew enough to know when her sister was keeping something from her intentionally. I should know by now.

She watched as Elsa and an unmasked Janus sat on a small couch, resting their heads against each other. In that moment, she felt really glad for them both, but at the same time resolved to resolve the tension between her and Kristoff when they were safely on the ships and sailing off towards Agrabah.

There was a knock on the door of the mess hall, and it opened to reveal one of the Queen's Guardsmen. "Your Majesty," he announced. "Your guests, as requested."

Melody, Deirdre and Kristoff entered together, and their eyes lit up the moment they saw the rest of the returned Warriors.

"You're…you're all back!" Kristoff had a look of disbelief on his face as he opened his arms and hugged Elsa and Tracy, then thumped Janus on the back.

"Well of course. We weren't going to spend the rest of winter in that cursed place," Tracy said matter-of-factly as Melody and Deirdre exchanged hugs and greetings with everyone else. "Whew. Do you realise it's been close to a month since we've all been in the same room?"

"Wait," Janus said sharply, his eagle eyes sweeping round the room. "Where's Maui?"

Anna drew in a sharp breath and watched as Melody and Deirdre tensed. Kristoff looked as confused as the rest of them, having not been filled in yet given his hectic schedule.

"Righttt…" Tracy drawled with a frown. "I just noticed. Where is he?"

"He…" Deirdre said softly. "He didn't make it."

"What?" Elsa said in dismay, her sentiment echoed by the shocked looks on Tracy and Janus' faces.

"We made it to the capital to try to find you guys," Melody explained, her voice quiet and guilt ridden. "But things quickly went south."

Anna felt a pang of sympathy for her. It mustn't be easy telling your friends that you were the one responsible for the death of one of your own.

"We found Eleanor in the dungeons and made a deal with her to help us take down the emperor. We fought him and…we found ourself seriously unprepared," Melody glanced at Janus. "That's when you disappeared. And now we know it was to find the others."

Janus nodded wordlessly. He too had a mildly guilty look on his face.

"Hans was going to kill me," Melody went on. "But Maui saved me. He took the emperor head on, knowing he was vulnerable and out of his league. But he did it anyway and-" she swallowed. "He was stabbed."

"Oh my god," Tracy murmured.

Anna watched as Melody blinked away unshed tears. Dismayed, she noticed that Melody's hands had begun trembling again.

"But Hans knew what he was doing. He gave Maui a mortal wound, knowing it wouldn't kill him immediately. He wanted him to bleed out slowly over the course of days, knowing we couldn't help him," Melody's voice was filled with anger. "Eleanor managed to get us out of the city, but her demon was stripped from her by Hans' and we were stranded. Maui was bleeding out in the snow and we would've died out there or been caught by the Crimson Order."

Melody paused to suck in a deep breath, dropping her eyes in the process. Deirdre placed a hand on her shoulder as she continued shakily. "Maui…he knew we needed to keep moving to survive. So he…he asked me to…to make it quick. To end his life painlessly so that he wouldn't slow us down." She let out a large sob and pressed her palms against her eyes. "And I did it. I…I'm so sorry. I killed Maui. I killed my friend."

"Shit," Tracy was the first to break the silence and stepped forward to envelope her best friend in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry."

"I killed him," Melody repeated through hard sobs and heaving shoulders. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't let Hans…"

"Shut up," Tracy's own voice cracked as she held Melody's head against her shoulder. "Just shut up."

Allowing her tears to roll down her cheeks, Anna exchanged a glance with Elsa. Her sister had teared up too, drying her eyes as she sniffled, her head resting against Janus' arm. The man himself was silent, his eyes dry, but there was a deep sadness to his features as he stared at the ground.

Kristoff too was equally quiet. He offered Anna a hand and she slipped her hand into his. No words were needed.

"It wasn't your fault." Elsa broke the silence this time, her voice still a little shaky. "You…you did what you thought was right. I don't blame you. We don't."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, the atmosphere mournful and sober.

Inhaling deeply, Melody pulled away from Tracy. Anna noticed her folding her arms and tucking her shaky hands out of sight.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to save Jade either." Elsa announced woefully.

"We found her, but by then it was too late," Janus added. "Hans and Magnus were able to control and turn her into one of the Mage Slayers."

"We weren't able to figure out a way to bring her back, but we will," Tracy's face was set in determination. "I swear on my life I'll find a way to save her, even if I have to go back to the damn Dark Zone to find it. We will get Jade back, I promise."

Anna nodded. "We'll get our chance, but first things first. Tomorrow, we're getting the hell out of this godforsaken country. We have the Eighth Fleet of the Highlander Navy here to evacuate the entire Coalition off this continent."

Elsa's eyes widened. "The Agrabanian Highlanders?"

"Yeah," Anna answered. "Look, it's a long story, just like everything else. But we already have more than half of the entire Coalition on board their ships."

"And at the break of dawn, the rest of the ships will dock," Kristoff added. "We'll get the third and fourth wave boarded while slowly and systematically pulling back our defences bit by bit. If we're lucky, we'll be off the shore before noon."

"Only problem is," Anna said. "Kane and the emperor probably know it too. They're going to shell us with everything the Imperial Horde has."

"Wait, there's more." Deirdre said grimly.

"More?" Scoffing, Tracy rolled her eyes. "You'd think they're trying to compensate for something."

"When we were journeying across the plains and mountains, we were chased by…Soulless."

Elsa frowned. "Soulless?"

"We met someone who explained that the Eternal King has the ability to control the dead and that they're called the Soulless. The ones we faced were Exonian soldiers, but they were just mindless beasts," Deirdre explained with a haunted expression. "They had green eyes that stared right through us as if we were prey. We fought them off but it was as though they felt no pain, no suffering, nothing."

"That's it!" Elsa exclaimed. "That's what he meant by his little surprise."

Anna tilted her head slightly. "What are you saying?"

"When Hans had me subdued, he told me that he had a little surprise rendezvousing with the Imperial Horde. He must've meant this army of…of…"

"Soulless." A muscle jumped in Anna's jaw as her heart pounded faster in her chest.

"Hans isn't going to let us get away," Elsa went on. "He's got us cornered and he's not playing this time. He's been toying with us this whole way but he's different now that he has the Eternal King inside of him. When he first captured me weeks ago, he gloated he was going to take his time to have his way with me and savour his victory. But earlier when we fought him, he…he was ready to kill me," Elsa's hand went to her neck which had the healing marks of attempted strangulation.

Anna's blood boiled. Hans had tried to murder her sister and it looked like he'd very nearly succeeded. Somehow, she would make sure he paid for that. Somehow.

"So let's get this straight," Kristoff looked like he was about to throw his hands up and give up. "In a few hours, not only will we face the full might of the Imperial Horde, but we're going to face…zombies too?"

"Sounds about right," Anna said dryly.

"Damn," Tracy muttered. "Way to go ruining the Christmas mood."

"If they're going to hit us with everything, our priority is to hold out against them. Let as many of the Coalition board as possible before we retreat," Janus said. "Because apart from the League, we're the only ones who can."

"I agree," Melody finally spoke again. Her eyes were still red and her breath was somewhat shaky, but she'd mostly regained her composure. "We'll hold them off, but someone's got to give us the signal to retreat."

"We'll cue you," Kristoff said. "I'm overseeing the evacuation. The moment the last company's halfway on board, either Frederick or myself will signal for everyone to pull back."

"We'll have to run like hell," Melody added.

"That's not forgetting the enemy trying to shoot us in the backs." Janus said.

"That too." Elsa sighed.

"Hold on," Kristoff frowned, turning to Melody. "You said you all managed to convince Eleanor to help fight Hans. What happened to her?"

"Ah," Melody bit her lip.

Anna sighed. Well, it had to come sooner or later. She lifted her voice. "You can come in now."