Featured image “Snow Queen and Guardian Angel” by Arute (@ast05water)
“Tell me, child, have you heard of how Huang Gai of Wu endured a heavy beating by Zhou Yu, also of Wu, to fool the Wei warlord Cao Cao into thinking that they despised each other? Once Cao Cao had recruited Huang Gai, Huang Gai and Zhou Yu sabotaged him.
“In the art of war, if one is willing to suffer pain and another is willing to inflict it, such mutual connivance can fool even the most powerful of leaders.” – Yixin, to Anna
*
It was a crisp and fresh spring morning as Anna, Elsa, Tileke, Alan, and Michael awaited the final invasion force of the Russians, which consisted of a single, gentle individual. Gulls squawked above the harbour, waves lapping gently at the wood.
Soon after Sora had crushed Elsa and forced Anna to surrender, Katina herself would arrive on her flagship, all set to place her Russian governor or puppet-ruler before the throne of Arendelle. To bring the kingdom to heel, to rule it from behind the scenes, dictating how Anna would shape domestic and foreign policy… all on behalf of the Romanovs.
Once Arendelle was subjugated, the entire Scandinavian peninsula would serve as the Russian launching pad into Western Europe. At last, all Eurasia would be united under the banner of Katina, avenging centuries of repeated incursions and sackings of Russia at the hands of European powers.
That plan, of course, was one that Anna planned to foil. She stood in the evacuated village square of her small kingdom, flanked by Elsa and Tileke. “This will be simple,” she said quietly. “Russia no longer has a feasible invasion force thanks to the destruction of their Baltic Fleet and Grand Duke Nykras’ death. But their guardian angel, Sora, could overwhelm entire armies.” Her aqua eyes shone. The memory of recent events was roiling inside her.
Continue reading “The Battle of Arendelle, Part One” →