Frozen: The Blackest of Tidings

Chapter 7: Cracked Crown

WOOD CREAKED as the waters rushed around him, his thoughts encasing him in a world of worry as he balled his hands before him and stared off into the horizon. It was set in stone and every outcome would be on their heads; the Table was going to war against the Order.

Messenger sparrows had been sent and the monarchs returned to their respective kingdoms to gather their armies. Arendelle would start off first as it was the furthest from the Order's fortress and their ships had set sail. Balder sat in his cabin aboard one of the kingdom's vessels, awaiting their arrival onto the island Elsa and Anna had set off to.

Though the safety of the sisters was a source of great concern for the councilman, he could not shake off the feeling that something was amiss. Bjarke had brought this to him before their departure and it plagued his mind ever since. The decision to declare war was nearly unanimous and he indeed believed it to be their only course of action, but something did not sit well with him.

There was a vague sense of unease within him, like his thoughts were not completely under his control. It felt like someone was pushing him down the course of action he was on and yet it felt like the decision was his. He warred within his mind to figure out what the turmoil was, but came up with nothing.

He huffed and stood up, moving across the floor up to the door of his cabin and began to walk down the upper deck. He shrugged off his concerns and decided to focus on the task at hand; the war was going to happen and there was no avoiding it. Since most of the Order's legends proved to be a farce, the Table would be able to eradicate them without any trouble. Eight armies against one, the odds were definitely in their favour.

HER HEART sank as her eyes took in the writing, the letter's message feeling like a prophecy of doom. Rapunzel never truly trusted Hans and though he had become King of the Southern Isles, she could still see the mischievous prince who tried to kill her cousins. Elsa and Anna had sworn to never speak his name after he was declared King and she decided to abide to it. Despite that, there was no doubt that the letter was true; even he would not stoop so low as to lie about something as tremendous as this.

The question was how she would react; could she send her men to wage a war she felt they would certainly lose? Such circumstances were what led her to leave Arendelle and return to her kingdom which she believed was more peaceful. She just found out that she was pregnant and needed a calm environment as she felt too much stress would be detrimental to the health of it, but such a desire was quickly becoming a luxury.

Turning to her husband who approached her, she stitched her brows, handing him the parchment without saying a word. Recognizing the look on his face, she sighed, taking a seat on the chair in her office. He wrapped the paper up and placed it on the table, looking her in the eye.

"What do we do, Eugene?" She furrowed her brow.

TORGEIR STUCK his head above the rock, letting only his eyes peak over before he sat back down. Turning to his left, he looked at the Queen with concern as her face seemed lost, captivated by the glow of the chest she held. Anna blinked, snapping out of her daze and peeped behind the rock, looking at the fortress in the distance.

"What do we do now?" Anna turned to her sister. "Elsa?"

"I ..." Elsa sighed, shutting her eyes as she sobered. "Dunno." She huffed and turned to Anna. "We ... we've gotta find a way to get in there; it's where the chest's pointing at."

"Do you see those beasts roaming it? They would kill us the moment they see us." Torgeir stifled his voice to a whisper. "We should get back to the forest and find somewhere to hide."

"Look around, the forest's too far off; if we run, they're gonna kill us!" Anna pointed at the forest whose trees peaked just above the rocky terrain.