Post Frozen 2 AU prompt/headcanon: Hans starts a war between between the Southern Isles and Arendelle. Unbeknownst to Elsa and the others, he has Anna, who they believe died the day the dam broke, locked up
it's difficult to make such a thing in a short drabble! but here we go tehehe
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"They will find me. More importantly, they will avenge me. All of Arendelle will hunt you down, Hans. You will lose. Severely."
By that last insisted word, Anna made sure she understated 'very very badly injured' without saying the word death.
Not only she wasn't a fan of using that word, especially with the recent wounds that got opened in hers and Elsa's hearts when investigating on their parents' death, but since Hans had told her that all of Arendelle and Northuldra thought she was gone, the term felt bitter on the tongue.
As his answer, however, Hans didn't say anything. He simply made a head gesture to one of his goons, who knocked Anna in the face for the third time in a row. The redhead grunted and stumbled to the ground, unable to use her hands to retrieve balance and avoid nearly breaking her nose on the stone, because they were tied in her back with handcuffs. She coughed blood, her jaw hurting.
The handcuffs. Hans really was a fan of them, wasn't he? Anna gulped at the memory of the night Elsa had told her about the dungeon and how she froze hers. As she did, she felt the taste of her own blood down her throat, along a ball that had formed there with her emotion. Damn, Elsa. How much she missed her in this very moment. She forced the ball down and faced up again. Chin up. That's what Elsa would have said. Don't cry. The sole mental image of her sister could bring her to tears but she had to stay strong. To show Hans and all the Southern Isles soldiers that she was better than them. To show them that they already lost. For gods' sake, she had survived a bottomless pit. She had seen Olaf died. She had gone through Elsa's mourning. She didn't even get to say goodbye to Kristoff, the last thing she touched of him being his hand, from which she had slipped before the big fall. So she could face those soldiers. She could stay strong.
But how come it was more difficult to cope with them than it was with giants? She had so much more courage when she attracted the attention of enemies the size of mountains. Here she felt so weak, so ashamed, and powerless. She coughed another drop of blood, the spit joining the others that previously landed on the cold stone of the ground.
A soldier suddenly barged in, panting and visibly panicked.
Hans didn't like that at all. His plan was perfect, and the idea of something new displeased him. "What is it?"
The Southern Isles goon tried to catch his breath. "Th-the... The Queen, Sir..."
"What, the Queen?"
Something deep inside Anna awakened, like a long vanished fire that had received a spark. As her soul ignited, she opened her eyes, staring at the stone ground, listening close.
The soldier's voice trembled. "She... She is alive, sir. I heard the Northuldra say that she got back when the mist lifted. She..."
Anna saw his silhouette on the ground. He was pointing behind him.
"She knows, Sir. She knows where we are."
Now Anna's heart made a flip. She startled, her body filled with an energy she didn't know she had. How long had this day been? How many events had she been through? How come she still had some strength? She felt like the dam had drowned her ages ago. She was anew.
"HOW??" Jolted Hans, enraged. "How the HELL does she know where we are? How can she possibly KNOW?"
Only silence followed his question.
On the ground, something moved and attracted Anna's attention, but only her could see. The small puddle of blood started to ripple, and drops of dark red slowly lifted up to float in the air. Anna's eyes widened in surprise, but she smiled with a silent gasp.
Water. There is water in blood.
"Water has memory..." She muttered in a hoarse voice.
Hans didn't finish turning to her to make her repeat what she had just said when suddenly the whole place blew up in an explosion of wind, a tornado sweeping them all except for Anna.
It was so powerful that the redhead had to close her eyes. When the whistling of the wind calmed down, she opened them; but it wasn't because the noise had stopped. Two caring hands were on her, one placed on her shoulder and one holding her cheek. She knew them more than anything. They were cold, cold by stress, by sadness, by anger.
But never did they feel so warm.