Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 29: Interlude

Anna crept down the palace corridor, keeping her steps silent and swift. Elsa had been missing for almost two months, and Anna wanted answers. She was sick and tired of her parents dodging her questions about her sister every time she brought it up. 

Sinking into a low crouch, the ten-year-old princess of Arendelle rounded a corner, relieved that here was only a maid with her back turned.

Years of isolation had taught Anna to have quite the imagination. She spent her time pretending to be an undercover spy or a pirate lord. Her escapades around the castle had also let her discover secret passageways and the workings of the guard postings. Anna had gotten very good at sneaking around unnoticed.

She headed for the war room, where her parents held all their important meetings or private conversations. The war room wasn't much of a war room. It was more of a cozy study in Anna's opinion. Comfortable couches and divans surrounded a hexagonal table littered with unused strategy maps. A few bookshelves sat in the corner, and a few weapons were mounted on the walls, but only for decorative purposes.

Anna descended several sets of staircases, until she reached the floor above her parents. Stealthily, she evaded a few guards before entering an empty bedroom, neatly furnished and well dusted, but widely unused. Pushing open the door to an adjacent closet, Anna could now pick out the muffled voices of her parents. Even though it would make noise, she shoved aside a heavy chest, covering a grate that was laid in the floor of the closet but the ceiling of the war room. She could now hear and see her parents almost perfectly. 

"Those maids are plenty loud," her mother was saying, glancing upward towards Anna where she thought the maids must have been cleaning. Anna kept to the edges of the grate, so if her mother and father looked up they wouldn't be able to see her.

"At least no one will overhear us," her father pointed out. 

"That seems to be the only thing going well lately," Iduna sighed wearily, brushing a few loose strands of chocolate brown hair from her face. 

"Has Pabbie reported any success with the plan?" Anna's father asked in an agitated voice. Anna wondered what was wrong. She knew Pabbie to be the Elite ambassador, but she had only met him once in her life.

"Quite the opposite," her mother answered. She was perched on a pale blue loveseat next to Agnarr. They were dressed as they usually were. Her mother was clad in a orchid pink traditonal Arendellian dress while her father boasted his military attire.

Anna glanced down at her own clothes. She was wearing a light green version of her mother's dress and had put her ginger hair in two braids on either side of her head.

"What do you mean?" Agnarr questioned.

"Pabbie admitted that he made a mistake. Avan wasn't the priest we were looking for. Pabbie was keeping information from me, but he said that Avan was part of a cult that was searching for Elsa for some mysterious reason. Apparently, he informed his superior, a man named Kynes, of her location. North told Pabbie that there have been murders, disappearances, and odd incidents surrounding Skyara, particularly Elsa and her arrival. Pabbie was instructed to investigate us. Do you think the Elites suspect?"

Anna's mind was whirling. Avan? Organization? North? What did this have to do with her sister? Was she in trouble? Why were her parents keeping this from everyone? And, most importantly, what was Elsa doing in Skyara? 

Her father and mother were talking anxiously.

"I fear..." her mother paused, "I fear that the Kelpie was not released. At least not with the intention of killing Elsa. I fear Avan released something far worse."

Anna let out a small squeak. Killing Elsa? What? Why? And what was the Kelpie? She wanted to rush down the final flight of stairs and demand answers.

Suddenly, the window of the war room creaked and swung open. A small creature glided in, landing in the center of the table.

"Oh," her mother said, surprised. "A Mynx!"

"A what?" her father was clearly confused. Anna felt the same way.

The Mynx, which Anna thought looked a lot like a griffin dropped a letter on the table and soared out the way it came.

Iduna grabbed the letter and broke the seal.

"It's from Pabbie," she informed Agnarr, quickly skimming the contents. Her face fell as she read the words.

Anna leaned forward. She was too far away to read the cramped scrawl of the letter, but she had to know what it said.

"What does it say?" Agnarr asked, concerned.

"It- it explains everything. Oh gods. Pabbie's dead. And- and there's a fifth god-" her mother sank into her seat, her face stark white.

"What do you mean?" Agnarr tugged the letter from her limp fingers and read it himself. His expression hardened, and he set the letter on the table.

"We need to prepare for war. I'll notify the guards. We need messengers to be sent out to our allies. If what Pabbie says it true... then it won't be good for Arendelle. Stay here, Iduna. I'll send maids for you. Maybe we should send Anna away..." Anna's father trailed off, deep in thought.

Not a chance, Anna thought fiercely. She wasn't going to be carted away when her sister was in danger. Especially if a war was coming. First, though, she needed to figure out what the letter said. Then, she would have to find Elsa. And what was that about a fifth god?

"I am sorry, my Elsa," Iduna murmured, so low that Anna had to strain to hear her voice. "I only wanted a quick death for you, but this is so much worse."

A quick death? Why did her parents want to kill Elsa? She was their daughter. Didn't they love her?

Anna sprang to her feet, determination clouding her thoughts. Get the letter. Get to Elsa. 

Before it's too late.