Jump Into the Fog

I Just Hope It's Your Bones that Shatter, Not Mine

Jump Into the Fog

Chapter 20

 

“We feel nothing so jump into the fog.

I just hope it’s your bones that shatter, not mine.”

 --

            They consulted with Pabbie one last time before taking off toward Arendelle. Usually Anna would wear a smile around Kristoff’s family, but tonight she was focused, with no room for distractions. Sleep would not come to her; bags dwelled under her eyes, as whenever she closed them the images only became more and more explicit, more terrible. Images of Hans hurting Elsa, images of Hans smirking, images of Elsa blissfully happy with him.

            She was ready, in her mind.

            And in her body, her muscles tensed at just the thought of Hans spending one more moment with her sister. Her swords hung at her hip; her magenta cape gone in an attempt to cloak herself from prying eyes in favor of her now-dark clothing. Anna piled her messy hair in a tight bun atop her head, not wanting her long locks to get in the way of her battle.

            Earlier that day, she sat right outside where Sven resided, absently picking at stray hay. Her face could only frown nowadays in heavy thought—she could not smile until she knew Elsa was safe, and Hans out of the picture forever.

            Olaf approached her as she drew her knees tight to her chest, his usual smile gone for once. “Anna, are you ready for tonight?” he’d asked, sitting right beside her.

            And usually, Anna would give the snowman a weak smile back and lie, just to make him happy.

            Not now.

            “Trust me, Olaf, ready is the last thing I am,” she’d confessed. She only had hours left to prepare, yet she was spacing. She could picture herself defeating Hans, sure, but killing him…?

            That would have to wait for when the moment was right, when it came to her. Picturing that bastard abusing and using her sister enraged her, and with a tight jaw, she could feel herself more and more up to the task of going through with this.

            Kristoff probably suspected what Anna planned to do, but at the moment she was far too focused on this mission to care. Like Elsa, Kristoff would forgive her one day—did no one realize she was only doing this for the good of Arendelle?

            She took his hand, squeezed it as Pabbie explained just how cautious they needed to be. This mission would be quite taxing—even more so if they weren’t careful. Anna nodded sharply, stepping closer to Kristoff as if these could be their last moments together.

            She couldn’t think so negatively, though. She had to picture herself at the end, attaining her goal and getting Elsa back to her.

            “Thank you, for everything,” Anna told him, a modest and serious look gracing her face. Desperately as she would have smiled, she still couldn’t bring herself to do so yet.

            Soon, though. Soon she wouldn’t be able to stop grinning.

            They mounted Sven at sundown, a chill going through Anna as she continued to prepare herself as they started to run toward Arendelle. She could do this. She had been preparing months for this night, and now it was here, staring her right in the face.