The Quest For Hope

The Battle: Chapter Sixteen

Elsa stared hard at the tunnel opening. "Yes," she thought to herself, feeling a wave of relief and confidence roll over her. "This is where I am supposed to be, just as I saw. Now, if I only knew exactly how I was supposed to do this."

She paused for a moment, letting the cool breeze brush the wisps of hair out of her face. The cool temperature cleared her mind and allowed her to focus for a moment. Her eyes shifted up.  She gazed at the trees, their soft and vibrant greens filling her mind with peace, the soft chirp of birds easing the knots of fear in her stomach. Even the dirt offered her comfort, the aroma of a fresh morning, pine needles and morning dew, the sweet smell of life. It was a vast difference from the musty containment of the tunnels and a huge departure from the smoky destruction of her village.

She had to move.  In theory, she knew what she was there to do. It had already been laid out.  According to Hawthorne's Theory, she had to draw the men toward her so that they would surround her, and then the king's men could surround them in surprise and attack. The plan's simplicity did not calm the pounding of her heart.

Elsa lifted her eyes and looked straight as Kristoff and his siblings. "Kristoff," she said softly, trying to keep her voice as quiet as the whispers of the wind. "I need you and your siblings to help me."

Kristoff's eyes lit up at the request. He lifted his dusty hand to his brow and bowed forward theatrically. "Anything our princes's requests."

His siblings stared at him, fear in their eyes. Their strong arms gripped the hilts of their swords, and their faces were set firmly. They nodded in agreement.

Elsa tried to contain her excitement. Despite the fear and dread she felt creeping up and tightening in her stomach, a clam awareness grew in her heart. Each pound of her heart was like a drum, guiding her forward to the next movement.

Grabbing a stick from the ground, she does a quick formula in the freshly scuffed dirt. Sweeping circles and crosses depicted their movements. The siblings' eyes opened wide as they looked at her, to the ground, and back to her.

"This could work, Princess," Kristoff said, clapping his hands together. "This could work." He looked around to be and quickly spoke to his siblings.

Elsa looked up around and saw the morning sun reaching through the canopy above, stretching its ray's to the ground, warming them with each stretch of its arm.

The group made their way slowly away from the tunnel entrance, careful to remember it's exact location. Everything had to go according to plan. They moved stealthily, quiet as deer in the forest.
Finding Hans's men were easier than expected. These were rough men, and their path through the forest had been trampled carelessly. A worn path used by the deer and elk had been widened to at least ten feet. The bushes stomped, the flowers trodden down-every-thing they passed by bore the mark of the mercenaries.

The air grew louder. Strange grunts followed cruel laughter. The birds became silent, the sky seemed to loom darker from the smoke, and the air took on the pungent smell of unclean bodies, blood, and grime. They were almost there.

With a quick nod from Princess Elsa, Kristoff and his siblings climbed the nearest tree and waited. They took quick looks around them and marked their paths.

The fear and apprehension that had disappeared as they were walking came back threefold. Her face felt cold, her fingertips tingled, and her stomach was so tense she felt paralysed for a moment. Taking deep breaths, she stepped forward slowly, then stronger, getting into position and looking up for the signal. It took a moment to find the three siblings in the trees. They had found a way to blend in, their dirt-stained pants blending into the branches, and their green robes hiding them in the leaves.