A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Life has been very hectic lately.

A lot of my focus over the last few months has been centered on the election. I was very nervous leading up to it, but I hoped that once it was over, my anxiety would fade and I could get back to life.

Unfortunately, the heartbreaking result ensured that didn't happen, and writing has been difficult since then. I'm sure a lot of you understand my feelings.

But life must go on. As one of my favorite authors once wrote, 'Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.' Hopefully, this chapter will provide some.

Eugene blocked and parried like a madman, but the onslaught of blades was beginning to break down his defenses. He'd run as long as he could, darting back up the stairs before sprinting along the wall. But it hadn't been long before the Prince had been cut off, leaving him no choice but to fight.

Only the skill he'd developed through hundreds of hours at the training grounds had enabled him to survive this long. His blade whirled through the air, deflecting attacks with the speed and economy of movement that Thomas had drilled into him. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be long before quality was overcome by quantity.

He'd managed to maneuver himself into the best position possible, keeping all of his opponents in front of him as he gradually backpedaled along the length of the rampart. Yet that would only delay the inevitable. All of the dozen guards that he faced were fighting to kill. Eugene, on the other hand, knew that his opponents were simply men doing their jobs.

None of them knew that they were following the will of the most evil entity to ever set foot on earth. And so he struck only to wound, inflicting stabs and cuts on his opponents that (while not lethal as long as they were properly cared for) would keep them out of action for the rest of the night.

Taking the high road gave his enemies a significant edge, but Eugene had a handful of advantages working in his favor that had so far kept him alive. The width of the ramparts was such that only two or three of the guards could confront him at a time, and their close proximity ensured that they were often hindered by one another. Eugene's training and experience made him individually superior to any of his adversaries; four had already fallen to the ground thanks to wounds he'd inflicted.

But while the narrow space they were fighting in prevented the guards from bringing their numbers to bear, their ability to take turns (and their gradual reinforcements) made it all but inevitable that they would outlast him. Already, fatigue was starting to set in. One mistake, one false step on his part...and it would all be over.

Eugene broke off from his sprint, turning back to face the mass of guards chasing after him. Surprised by his boldness, they hesitated in their approach. The Prince brandished his weapon forcefully, attempting to project confidence. Terror clutched at his heart, but he refused to let these men notice the slightest sign of fear.

He wasn't ashamed to admit that he feared death. To never see his wife again...never meet his child...it was a possibility too horrifying to even contemplate. But the aching in his muscles made it clear that such an outcome was becoming increasingly likely.

It doesn't matter. The only thing worse than dying during this war would be to live to see Elsa cover the world in ice. I'll do whatever it takes to stop that. Right now, he needed to keep the guards' attention for as long as possible. He couldn't win this fight, and he'd never be able to climb back down the wall in time and flee into the city. And something told the Prince that they weren't in a mood to accept a surrender.

Keeping them off of Anna's trail...that was all that mattered now.

The guards at the head of the mob were approaching again. Then, a loud grunt at the back of the mass of men made them stop. Slowly, the dozen odd guards parted ways, allowing their newest reinforcement to step between them.

Eugene suppressed an involuntary shudder. Stepping towards him now was a colossal figure. At least six feet tall and well built, he brandished a massive broadsword in his two meaty palms. A hard, grizzled face was adorned by a mane of black hair that appeared to be graying ever so slightly. He wore a guard's uniform just like any other, but he was clearly no ordinary soldier. His fellows backed away deferentially, allowing him to approach Eugene alone. His steps were slow and purposeful, and he wore an expression of absolute self-assurance.

The Prince was ready. This man lifted his broadsword easily and certainly seemed to know how to use it, but Eugene had trained against this type of opponent before. The lack of available space was a problem, but if this man's allies stayed out of the fight (and they seemed, inexplicably, content to do so) the Prince was relatively confident that he could dart around the cumbersome broadsword and, with luck, cripple his enemy in a single movement.

Then the man lifted one hand off his broadsword, brandishing his palm at the Prince. And Eugene realized that this was a type of opponent that he had never been trained for.

Eugene's body suddenly felt three times as heavy. A massive, irresistible weight grasped at all his limbs. The...force was so great that, within moments, he found himself falling onto his knees. A cry of pain escaped from his mouth as his joints hit the stone and all but cracked under the pressure.

Through his terror, the Prince realized what was happening. Countless hours spent in coerced education centered around science and mathematics 'A Prince needs to understand the finer points of the world!' jolted back into his mind. Gravity, the attractive force that kept all individuals confined to the earth, had suddenly been multiplied.

Unfortunately, all of that education did nothing to give Eugene a way to resist. Observing the air, it was clear that this man's power was affecting a roughly three-foot radius, centered on the Prince himself. If he could just move a few feet away... But it was hopeless. He poured every last ounce of his desperate strength into the muscles of his legs, but he was barely able to move an inch to the side.

They expected this to happen. Eugene knew, even though most of the guards probably didn't, that the man currently keeping him pinned to the ground with a motion of his hand was a member of the Faithful. Elsa had anticipated that someone would try to free Drell, and placed a powerful mage at the Tower to prevent that from happening. The Prince opened his mouth, prepared to utter a desperate warning to the guards about the ruler they were truly serving...and even that was too difficult for his muscles to manage.

His arms fell to the ground. Eugene's wrists cracked against the stone, the sound only muffled by the clang of his sword as it landed right beside them. There was sprinting coming from behind him now...evidently some guards had been smart enough to circle around and hit him from the back, though he couldn't turn his head to see.

It didn't matter now. The Prince was rooted to the ground, and the enormous mage was now hurrying towards him. In his right hand he held the broadsword, and the Coronan saw the man's muscles tense as he prepared to swing it down at Eugene's neck.

As the swipe began, Eugene closed his eyes. He wasn't ready to die. Not now, when he had so much to live for. The Prince couldn't accept his death...was not prepared to face it. Yet the world apparently didn't care. He sent out one last desperate command to his body, begging it to move, and the only response was to shift his neck a millimeter closer to the blade.

CLANG!

Eugene's eyes shot open to see the most astounding sight they had ever witnessed. The edge of the broadsword hovered six inches above his neck. In its path was the tip of an icy blue blade, somehow intercepting the much larger weapon despite its massive disadvantage in leverage.

With a roar, the broadsword was yanked back. Its owner moved to place both hands on the hilt, and with that, Eugene was free. He scrambled away madly, but the Prince had been all but forgotten by the mage. He heaved his weapon forward at his new target: a small, young woman with strawberry blonde hair.

"Anna!" Eugene yelled. The former Knight paid him no attention, raising her sword in a one-handed grip. It was a block that should have hardly deterred the broadsword. But when the blades met, it was the larger sword that recoiled fiercely. Anna's arm barely budged.

The mage recovered, launching himself into a second attack. Anna's arm was a blur of motion as it easily parried the strike off to the side. Her entire body spun, flowing with the momentum and lashing out with a kick at the man's chest. And suddenly a man of over three-hundred pounds was flying through the air, as the petite young woman who had done the deed remained rooted in place, smirking.

Several shouts broke through the night as the mage found his fall halted by the bodies of his allies.

Anna whirled towards Eugene. "Well? Get going! I can hold them off for long enough. Go!"

Finally, shaking himself out of his shock, the Prince jumped to his feet and sprinted towards the ledge. Anna was already moving to engage the remainder of the guards. Four of them scrambled to engage her, attempting to surround the young woman within the narrow confines of the ramparts. They attacked from every direction, each blow intended to kill.

As he vaulted over the ledge, Eugene couldn't resist the urge to briefly turn back and watch. Anna's blade was a whirlwind of steel, intercepting every strike long before it could reach her. The first wave of men fell in seconds, powerless against her inhuman speed. Their only advantage was the former Knight's reluctance to kill, and even that proved to be little defense against her prowess. Two kicks to the stomach, an off-handed punch to the shoulder, and a glancing blow of steel to the thigh were all it took to remove the first four men from the fight.

The last Eugene saw of the battle was a second group of men moving to engage Anna, none of whom managed to conceal their hesitation. Then he was beginning his descent down the wall, and the fight was out of view.

Ordinarily, he would never have abandoned a comrade to fight alone, but the Prince had the distinct impression that his friend was in little danger.

\

It was as if the power had never left her. Anna effortlessly moved her blade through the air, countering each and every move her opponents attempted to make with absurd ease. She felt just as strong and fast as she had ever been, and even her skill seemed to be mostly intact.

Anna had never enjoyed fighting. Sparring, yes, when there were no real stakes involved. But not fighting. Non-lethal or not, she hated to willfully inflict injury on opponents, especially those who were misled rather than truly malevolent. Yet she couldn't deny how good it felt to have her powers back. For over a year, it had been as if her arms and legs had been weighed down by heavy chains, remembering what freedom felt like but unable to so much as taste it.

Now, she simply felt alive.

By now, Eugene would be down the wall and have begun running to their rendezvous point. Soon, Anna would join him, and the three travelers would be hurrying into the forest. With any luck, the dense foliage and moonless night would make their getaway one of relative ease. Still, the guards of this city had horses on hand, while her group did not. There was no leeway to take chances. Anna would not be leaving this wall until all her enemies were disabled or running in terror.

Two of the last men facing her had just chosen to take the second option, throwing down their swords and bolting down the ramparts. It would be some time before they gathered their wits and summoned help...and help was not close at hand. The majority of this garrison, over twenty men in all, were lying wounded and unconscious at Anna's feet. Any pursers would know that a large force would be needed to overcome her, and that would take hours to assembled and organize.

Her fist smashed against another man's temple, and with that, the last of her opponents had been vanquished. Anna was just about to vault over the ledge and jump down the length of the wall when she noticed one man climbing to his feet.

It was the big one. The very same guard who had somehow disabled Eugene earlier. He was almost certainly some kind of mage, probably one of the Faithful sent to keep watch on Drell. If that was the case, it was best that he be killed now. The Goddess's defenders needed to be thinned out as much as possible prior to their final confrontation.

She sprinted towards him, but was only halfway there when the mage's hand stretched out once again. Anna cried out in horror as an unseen force fell onto her body. The mage's power was pulling at her, attempting to grab her limbs to the ground...they suddenly seemed ten times as heavy. A dark smile broke out across his face as the former Knight halted in her tracks.

But his relief was short-lived as Anna remained on her feet, took a deep breath, and continued forward. She wasn't moving nearly as fast as she had been previously, but she was moving. It wasn't easy, but Anna could resist the force acting on her body enough to stand. And continue fighting.

As she approached him, still moving faster than most humans could manage, he dropped his magic and grasped his broadsword with both hands. Anna lifted her blade with one hand and struck hard, but she was still somewhat disoriented by the aftermath of his magic. Her blow landed off center, and the mage managed to deflect it to the side.

Fortunately, he was in no position to retaliate. The force of the attack knocked him off balance, stumbling towards the inner ledge of the wall. Anna's free arm swung out before he could recover, sending him careening into the air, over the ledge, and down towards the courtyard below.

Anna had been confident that the attack would kill him, but she had underestimated his magic. Halfway through his descent, the mage's palm splayed out once again. Whatever magic he had used before was now being employed in reverse. The speed of his fall slowed tremendously, and his feet gently touched down into the grass. Then he was running for the interior of the prison.

Damn! Anna could chase after him and strike the mage down, but it would cost her valuable time. Eugene would be near the rendezvous point by now, and any delay could prove fatal. If the mage found reinforcements, finishing him off could take several minutes. It would have been best if he had been killed, but the man she'd faced tonight was far from the Faithful's most powerful magic wielder. Anna was confident that, if they met again, she could best him quickly.

With that happy thought, Anna ran towards the opposite ledge and vaulted over it. She hit the ground barely a second later, no worse for the wear.

\

Kristoff and Eugene bombarded her with questions immediately, but Anna insisted that they be miles away from the city before the talking began. She grabbed Eugene in her left arm and Kristoff in her right before sprinting into the forest. It was hardly a dignified method of travel, especially for the two men Anna was carrying through the woods, but it was efficient. They never so much as heard their pursuers, and after an hour of running, they agreed to set up a fireless camp.

Anna told them how she'd pieced it all together. Everything that hadn't added up before finally made sense now. The first kidnapping attempt, Anna's powers, Kayla heading her off at Eldora, Elsa's apparent betrayal. Those lines of prophecy in her dreams. The two men were somewhat hesitant to believe her, Kristoff more so than Eugene. Thankfully, the Prince seemed to have regained faith in this cousin-in-law by this point, but Kristoff certainly still had doubts.

It didn't matter. Anna was certain. Thanks to Drell, she had finally managed to connect the dots. Elsa had been possessed by her previous incarnation, the goddess of winter. She'd never turned against Anna; everything between them had been real. And as that realization had dawned, her powers had started to return. That was the last proof Anna had needed, and soon, her magic had come back in full force.

Elsa had loved her. She probably still did. It was the happiest news Anna could have hoped for, far more fulfilling than even the wondrous return of her magic. Yet it was accompanied by a realization nearly too bitter to face.

"I failed her," Anna whispered, staring at the ground. "I could have saved her from being possessed, and I let a little girl stop me with some soothing woods. Worse, I...I fell for that fucking act! Elsa's past incarnation...the goddess...whatever she is, needed less than an hour to convince me that everything had all been a lie. How could I have believed that after everything Elsa had done for me?!"

Eugene shifted closer to Anna, wrapping a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "You weren't alone. We fell for it too. Rapunzel, Thomas, and I have all known Elsa a lot longer than you-"

"But you didn't know her as well as I did. Not even close. I know you loved her, but...it's not the same. Elsa was everything to me. I was her servant, her protector, her lover...her fiancé. When she needed me most, I failed in every one of those roles," Anna replied, struggling to hold back tears.

Eugene shook his head. "You caught on. It didn't take you long to realize she was cursed in some way. Only when using a True Love's Kiss completely failed did you start to believe it. Then she tried to kill you, Anna. That was probably a fairly convincing that she actually hated you."

The former Knight's guilt remained, but he did bring up a good point. Why hadn't True Love's Kiss worked for them when it had for Rapunzel and Thomas? She loved Elsa. Elsa loved her. That should been enough to dispel any curse. The only explanation was that this type of possession somehow did not count as a curse, though it certainly seemed to fit the description.

"I still should have known," Anna protested. "We all know that I'm far from the smartest woman on the planet, but I should have been able to piece it all together with or without Drell's help."

Eugene was about to respond, but Kristoff beat him to it. "Speaking of Drell...did you try to get him out? I know what he's done, but frankly, we need all the help we can get," the ice harvester noted. "Didn't he want to come?"

Anna frowned. She still wasn't sure how she felt about her old teacher. The former Knight knew his intentions had been good, and admired his passion to protect the world. But she would never condone the killing of dozens of innocents that had occurred under his orders. Wanting to get off the subject as soon as possible, she provided her companions with the simpler version.

"He would have. But he was in no shape to get out of that Tower. Even with my powers, I couldn't have taken him far. And they've been...rough...to him. He won't be back in fighting shape for months. There was nothing more he could have done for us," she answered stoically.

Anna moved to leave Eugene's embrace, but the Prince held on. "Anna, this isn't your fault, he said firmly. "Yes, you were fooled. But remember, you had more faith in Elsa than anyone. If what Drell said about your powers is true, then you didn't really accept that Elsa had betrayed you until after she'd beaten you half to death and left you to stew in the dungeon."

"But I still-"

"No! There is no 'but still'. Anna, we can only have as much faith in others as we have in ourselves. After all that's happened throughout your life, you don't have that much confidence in yourself. You can't believe in someone else more than you believe in yourself. How many times have you been betrayed by those who you thought cared for you? For twenty years, the world never gave you reason to trust others. Do you think spending a year with anyone, no matter how good they are to you, can erase all that? You're only human, Anna...well, mostly anyway."

At that, the former Knight couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"Look at Elsa. She was fooled by someone she'd known for decades...someone she had complete trust in. Is it really fair to blame yourself for losing faith in your judgment of Elsa, while letting her off the hook for never wising up to the act of a spymaster who played her like a fool for decades?" Eugene prompted.

Anna's teeth clenched. "This isn't Elsa's fault!"

"No, it's not. And it's not yours either. The only people who deserve blame are the goddess and her Faithful. If Elsa were here, she would say the same thing. Well..." he amended with a small chuckle, "She'd probably be blaming herself and completely forgiving you. I'd probably have to give her a pep talk too."

She actually felt a little better. "Thanks, Eugene," the former Knight replied.

No, she corrected herself. Not former. Only the Queen could rescind a Knighthood, and Elsa had never done such a thing. Anna was still and had always been a Lady of Arendelle, betrothed to the monarch herself. Even if no one else recognized that fact.

The Knight gently squirmed out of Eugene's grasp, so she could face both of her friends. "I...think I owe you both an apology. For the way I've been acting, I mean. My life's been...terrible, but that's no excuse to be a complete ass to the people who are trying to help you. And...I'm sorry."

For the first time this night, Kristoff smiled. "I'm just glad you're back to normal," he said.

Anna's mind flashed back to her conversation with Drell. No one ever stays the same. She was certainly in a far better place than she once was, but the same? No. Whether it was based on a lie or not, one couldn't spend over a year grappling with the darkness of her soul and come out the other side completely unchanged. Her optimism wasn't gone, but it had been tempered with harsh reality.

Even before Elsa's possession, Anna had grown into a far different woman than the naive peasant she had once been. Some of the changes had been good. Others less so. She would never forget the first time she'd killed. Even though it had been completely justified, and for the sole purpose of saving an innocent woman who Anna had already owed so much to, actually leaping down from that tree and stabbing the first kidnapper had been the hardest decision of her life. For weeks after, the memory had tormented her mind as she went to sleep.

Now? She'd decided to kill that mage tonight in an instant, simply because he posed a potential threat. If Anna had succeeded, his death would probably not have haunted any of her dreams. It wasn't that she liked killing, and the Knight would still never participate in the death of an innocent. But her mind had long since grown...tolerant of killing.

Anna had weathered poverty for twenty years without losing her idealism. But fighting a murderous conspiracy for over a year had hardened her, and losing her memories had only finalized the process. She truly realized, perhaps for the first time, that her innocence had been shattered long ago.

Maybe that was a good thing. With or without her powers, Anna couldn't stand against the Goddess of Winter as an innocent peasant girl. If she wanted to strike down the members of the Faithful and save Elsa from the darkness that had possessed her, Anna would have to make peace with the hardened warrior that she had become.

Because that warrior was going to make the Goddess pay.

\

Not Anna…

Responses:

Arekanderu: Yes, exactly.

DimmensionalLover: It does. It certainly does.

ClaireCooper: I'm hanging in there!

Dillautris: Yup!

CoolNickNack: She might not be so enthusiastic about killing the Goddess, since that would mean killing Elsa. Big debate coming up over that.

Amber21H: I don't advise shouting in public, but I'm glad people are passionate about this story.

Crazykrew616: Yeah, a lot of stories (especially Elsanna stories) like to gloss over 'court rules' and such, but they're part and parcel of realistic royal courts.

Gwiley16199: Oh, it was. I was looking forward to this.

JacklynFrost: Definitely a lot closer!

KnightInPaperArmor: It certainly is.

Guest 1: Yes, I do.

Thorneux: Funny HC. Picturing her as Lin Beifong is definitely a fair interpretation, though in my mind she is a bit younger. And evil. Obviously.

MilandaAnza: Finally!

Vidgamelords: No promises about the ending. Elsa is not evil, the goddess controlling her body is. And now Anna knows this.

Andilite: Sorry for the wait!

Noahn.n: It's been a hard few months, unfortunately.

WinterWolfDragon: Here it is!

BreeBear98: Spot on reaction.

Spooths: They knew about the ritual in Eldora that defeated the Goddess the first time. They didn't know that a second ritual would need to be performed to return the Goddess's mind. How would she have known who they were? After thousands of years, they'd gotten good at hiding. And if they had believed that Elsa wasn't yet the goddess, they simply would have warned her rather than killing her. 'Hey, whatever you do, don't go to Eldora'. Especially after Drell was captured and had nothing to lose.

AceVermin143: 43 days?

Guest 2: Thanks! What do you mean about Anna's vision follows her life exactly?

Cyrianu: There troubles are far from over, that's for sure.

Darthcadeus58: Neither can I!

Jydr: Yes it is.

.Sato: Hopefully this wrenches the heart a bit less.

ObsessiveImaginings: Oh, where it's leading…

FrozenChris: That chapter wasn't edited. I carefully planned what he would say and not say. As for Roman, he is a man. They had to get Elsa to Eldora in a specific way, where she wouldn't be on her guard. They didn't have much influence in Eldora, so they couldn't make a new trade agreement or something like that.

Coincidencless: No gods coming back. Anna, Eugene, Kristoff, and the trolls are all we've got.

PascalDragon: Not actually that difficult, now that her powers are back.

NEEDALIFE: My thoughts exactly.

333: I imagine it was a rather long read.

Guest 3: I am certainly alive.

Username92: Thank you!

Human: Wow!

HighonWords: Thank you so much!

TheChronicle: Good idea. I'll change that. Thanks for the long reviews! A lot of your questions will have to wait.