The message written in blood

The corridors through which Anna was taken were bustled with people. The crew came and went, their footsteps echoing in the wooden corridors.

The man held Anna tightly by the arms, and after what Ener had told her, she was a little more afraid to say something. In addition, the whole ship was surrounded by the deep sea with no land in sight so far. All she could do if she wanted to get out alive was to try and obey, though her stubborn and brave spirit wouldn't let her behave like that so easily.

They turned right and after several steps, a giant rectangular hole in the wood appeared before them. That was the entrance, Anna thought, to the bedrooms of the crew. Fabrics and blankets were lying everywhere and there were also some water spots on the floor. There were two lines of bunk beds stuck to the wall –one line on the right and the other one the left- made of the same material as the rest of the ship. The space between the lines was narrow but wide enough so that two people could pass between the beds.

An old man approached them with a broom, a dustpan and a few rags, which he handed Anna abruptly. Then, he left.

"Go ahead and do the mopping and all those things woman are made for. The captain ordered you to clean it all before midnight. I don't want to see a single stain on the floor. I'll come back in a few hours." The man who was grabbing her, released her completely and went the same way on which the old man had come. Until he was out of sight, Anna took a step toward the dormitory. She couldn't escape. She had nowhere to go, and Ener had intimidated her a bit. Besides... It was cleaning and doing the chores, just like her servants on Arendelle were told to do every morning.

Anna sighed, and stared at all the tools she had been given. Truthfully, she had never touched one of them in her entire life, except once or twice to pretend that she danced with a handsome stranger in the Great Hall of Arendelle. Beautiful choreographies she'd taught to herself for the events of the royalty. She had never used them to clean. However, she had seen many times the servants doing the chores. She had an insight on how to do it. Anna was not silly. Clumsy yes, but not stupid.

She began by the water spots. She put the broom aside, knelt on the floor with a rag and began carving. After a few minutes, a strange smell reached her nose.

It was alcohol.

...

Simon opened his eyes completely altered. He felt his heart beating at an unstoppable speed while his eyes adapted to whatever was around him. It took him a while to go back to reality. His forehead was bathed in sweat, and his hands holding the parchment were no different. With his free hand, he was looking desperately for something to hold onto. When he felt the cold stone floor on his palm and he could clearly distinguish the houses far away in front of him, he finally calmed down.

He rested his head on the white door. It was not the first time he had nightmares. As a child, he still remembered the frightening dreams he had when his dad went on board for the last time and never returned. Still, he had never gotten used to it. Perhaps he had accustomed to those dreams, but never to his own emotions that came during and after them.

However... This time was different. It was not the dream he was used to.

He gazed at the front looking for the town clock, but then he remembered that it was in the village, meters away and not inside the castle. But the sky was black, with clearly visible stars twinkling in the dark. The full moon rose overhead. He mustn't have slept more than two or three hours, according to his calculations.

He exhaled, stood and turned to knock on the door.

The door opened slightly and the guard who had previously doubted if he should let Simon in or not, made a sign with his hand, indicating him to come in. Simon obeyed without thinking twice. He smiled at the guard while the door closed behind him.

"Go ahead and do what you have to do." He whispered while nodding to the other side of the door. Simon turned where he pointed to and found the other guard sleeping in a chair. He frowned. How could…?

"Come on." The man told him. "Upstairs, the first hall to the right. Second door."

Simon nodded his head in thanks and headed for to the stairs, running, but at the same time careful not to wake the other guard. He knew where the queen's room was, he didn't need to be told. It wasn't his first job, after all.

He turned right, and passed the first door. The walls were covered with dark shades of pink and orange just as he remembered, and the bottom half was white wood (which to the surprise of himself, he had not noticed before). But he recognized the door, that was where the queen entered, he remembered, after a few tears shed on his first assignment.

Gently he knocked on the door. He waited a few seconds in silence, and seeing that there was no answer, he knocked again with the same level of kindness.

"Queen Elsa?" he asked lowly, without actually whispering.

Only the sound of air filled the halls..

"Queen Elsa." He repeated and waited, and silence he obtained.

He let out an inaudible sigh. He bit his lip, thinking for many seconds what he'd say. Nervous inside and gentle outside, he spoke at last.

"Princess Anna will be fine. It is totally different from all the people I've ever met in my life. From what I've seen of her, she has courage. She's strong. And not only that, but…" he made a little pause. "Anna has a good heart. She cares about nothing but your happiness, and if you're sad… she is too."

There was silence for a moment. Then a broken voice that made Simon shiver, rang through the door.

"You do not know anything about her."

Her voice was hopeless. It transmitted a huge sadness and tragedy that Simon could almost feel the tears of the queen in the air.

"No, you're right. But anyone who has seen her walking around the halls or the village feels the same joy, the same… happiness she's feeling at the moment. She makes other people smile just by looking at her." He licked his lips, thinking about his words. "That powerful is her presence."

There was silence for a few seconds until the queen's voice was heard again.

"How did you get in?"

Simon could not help form a small smile.

"The guard fell asleep."

Simon could almost see the frown of Queen through the door, and he'd have sworn that his words made her smile, even if it was just a small one. He knew it was almost impossible, but at least he had tried. He'll never know.

"And... what are you doing here?"

Simon's face became serious.

"I think you already know the answer."

...

Els's heart sank when she heard those words for the second time in her life coming from the same boy. Simon Strand... Since his arrival and his intervention in the war, everything had turned more difficult. She had to admit it: the kidnapping of Anna was his fault. If Simon hadn't...

No, there was no time to think about it.

Finally, for the first time in a long time, she could lift her head. She leaned on the wooden door, but did not stop hugging her knees.

"It's another letter. From the Southern Isles." she said.

On the other side of the door, she heard nothing for a few seconds.

"Yes." Simon replied at last.

Elsa closed her eyes. Kristoff was right, Simon was right. She had to rise from the ashes, Anna was in danger and the more she was sitting there doing nothing, who knows what her sister was going through.

And that precisely was the reason her spirit couldn't afford to think objectively. Not knowing where her sister was, not knowing what those unknown people were doing to her, not knowing if she was suffering or not.

Not knowing if she was still alive.

Those thoughts alone made her vision blur. The unknown, since she was a girl, was what made her tremble and filled her with fear.

After a few seconds trying to relax, she stood up, the fabric of her blue dress (wrinkled every day that had been locked), he turned to the door and opened it settled.

Simon's pupils dilated when the door opened, revealing the queen with her hair a bit disheveled and her bright dress. However, this time, although small blazes were still in the dress, it didn't transmit an air of elegance and beauty but one of sadness and/or indifference.

The window let the moonlight in.

Simon could not help but feel the queen's suffering.

He sighed and handed the parchment in his hands to His Majesty.

Elsa took the enrolled paper. Then, she turned to see Simon.

"Thank you." She whispered. "You may go now"

Simon nodded, and returned by the velvet carpet on which he had arrived.

Elsa watched him go, and until there was no trace of him, she went to het room and closed the door behind her.

Her hands trembled slightly less than the last time she had received a letter from the Southern Islands. She untied the red ribbon that came with the parchment, and immediately a separate paper fell to the floor.

Elsa frowned.

She picked up the piece of paper that had fallen and unfolded it. There was nothing written, so she turned the paper the other way around and read:

This, Elsa, is your first commission.

Elsa felt her heart stop for a moment and her hands remained static. The pupils of her eyes turned small to give way to her blue iris. She felt the tears starting to accumulate in her eyes. She kept reading.

The ship where Princess Anna is, we all know who's it from. It belongs to one of the most powerful leaders of the seas that surrounds us. He, as you yourself found out, is able to do anything to achieve his goal, which still remains a mystery. However... I have my resources. The ship is heading into the realm of Eindriði, east of Arendelle. According to my calculations, the ship will arrive there in nine days maximum. I know it's a lot to you, but believe me, they'll take her alive. They won't kill her. I will send you a letter when I know they have reached their destination. It would be best to attack them at dawn or morning, pirates have that strange habit of getting drunk all night. I sent my men in a boat along a different route to get to the same place. You will do everything you can do with your powers and we will attack them from behind using the storm as a distraction.

My most sincere affection,

King Edward South Islands.

Elsa closed her eyes for a moment, unable to believe what she was reading.

So, it was finally her turn in the game.

...

The door creaked open. Inside, there was no sign that anyone had been there in the last three days. Simon sighed.

Trevor had gone since the battle had begun. And Simon had hoped that at least he would stay until the end to say goodbye, or more optimistic, that he'd stay longer. After all, he had come on the same day of the attack. But as soon as Trevor arrived, he was gone. And Simon tried to understand, he really did. But he couldn't and Trevor was the one that didn't understand that he was no longer that ten year old boy who needed to be protected after the death of his parents. He thanked him for everything he had done for him, but wasn't this what Simon's mother wanted? Wasn't this what Simon owed to the people of Arendelle? Mustn't he fight to protect the walls of his home?

Simon closed the door behind him and walked to his room. He took the blue uniform of the army off and placed it in the drawer beside his bed. He put his clothes to sleep on, which were only a shirt and some old brown trousers, both a little broken.

The uniform and the pajamas were the only clothes he had. Not that it mattered to him, of course. He had everything he needed to live well, and that was enough, at least for him.

Carefully he leaned over the bed, crossed his arms behind his head and watched the boring wooden ceiling.

...

A sword pierced the body of a child, who was about seven or eight years old. The cry of the small baby pierced his ears like knives and the blood trickling from his womb took strange shapes, like the shadow of a whirl or wine falling off the shelf.

A woman's voice reached every corner of his skin, ripping every piece of it. He saw his own hands filled with a scarlet red liquid. He gasped as the landscape changed and everything went black. He looked everywhere looking for the soul of the child who had died, and a second after a teary-eyed woman appeared carrying a baby wrapped in a pink fabric. Soon the angle changed and now his vision was in the eyes of the woman watching the child.

The baby's skin was gray, his eyes unblinking. He was dead.

A third scream was heard, a blackness enveloped all around him and sounds of bells began to fill the air. Then, slowly, a stone bridge was appearing and behind it the houses of the village stood up high. The villagers ran to the gates of the castle, but it was too late.

Bombs fell from the sky, full of fire and soon all the people was embraced in flames.

Then all became smoke.

...

A boy with blue eyes and black hair opened his eyes. His heart was about to pop out of his chest. Faster than before, he calmed down.

It was the third nightmare in one night. And, indeed, he couldn't take it anymore.

He slowly sat down on the wooden bed. He took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling to which he had fallen asleep.

His vision blurred and a liquid began to fall from his eyes. He took a hand to his cheek and felt a teardrop on his skin. After that, he began to cry.

But without groaning. All silent.

...

"Captain" someone called on the other side of the door, outside his cabin.

"Pass" He ordered after taking a sip and putting the bottle of wine on the table.

The door opened and one of the ship's crew came through it. He carried a paper on his hand.

"I don't know how, but they found our location. A trained bird has come up with this letter for you."

Ener frowned, but then he smiled slightly.

"I didn't know those birds still existed." he said, and the man handed him the letter.

Ener took the bottle again and took another drink.

"By the way, how is Princess Anna going downstairs?" Ener asked.

"She's doing fine." said the pirate, placing his hands behind his back in rest position.

"Just fine…" Ener said. "That sounded a little iffy, don't you think?*

The man remained silent, without looking down.

Ener sighed.

"I'll myself go to see how want work she's done. Meanwhile, you can go"

"Yes, Captain." The man made a small bow and then headed to the door.

Ener did not need to read the paper to find out where it came from. He unfolded the parchment just after the boy had closed the door.

In the yellowed paper, written with scarlet red ink, read:

Captain Ener Sjöberg, King of the Seas of Lundberg. Or should I say, Thorbjorn Hroðgar?

Ener stopped in short. His hands began to tremble, soon followed by his head and his entire body. His vision blurred and suddenly the room where he stood was filled with smoke and small orange lights, while the walls burned like paper being fired. The lights became increasingly larger, and soon flames lit up the room.

An echo with indefinite words rang in his ears and a piercing scream filled his lungs for him to stop breathing.

When he felt the oxygen stuck in his throat, finally the red color disappeared and he was as back in the cabin of his own ship, with wooden walls and everything as he remembered. He made an effort to stabilize his hands, but still he had trouble.

He read the letter, although it was difficult in the state he was in. His vision had returned to normal, but he didn't stop feeling the small electric shocks all over his body that made him tremble.

I want to make an arrangement for Princess Anna. I will go straight into business: I need the location of the land to which you're going. Lets avoid taking it by force, okay? Or is it perhaps you want everyone to know about the 26, Hroðgar?

Ener shook again, and this time without even thinking, he took the pen beside him and quickly turned the piece of paper. He wrote something in it, but the word seemed no more than a few scribbles that someone had done seconds before dying.

...

Author's note: Hello everyone! It's me, GoldenRose2110. I just wanted you to know… I don't know if I had mentioned this before, but my original fic –this fic- is in Spanish. I have to translate everything and it's a slow process, so I'm sorry if there are some grammar errors. Also, my apologies for taking so long to update, but the reasons are the same: I prioritize my fanfic in my native language. It's easier and faster to update because I just write the chapter and that's it, but in English it is different. So I want you to know that if I take a while to update it's because either I'm still writing the chapter in Spanish or I'm translating the chapter. I'm really sorry. I promise I'll try to update as soon as I can. I'll to get better at it.

Thanks for sticking with me and not giving up on this fanfic!

Love,

-Ame. (GoldenRose2110)