Elsa's POV

It was night. Snow had started falling and I couldn't sleep. The army was camped out in the small valley between the two Dragon Hills. We had received intelligence that the invading army would arrive in two days time.

I wandered among the tents, trying to calm my nerves. In two days I would fight in my first battle. In two days I might die.

"You have the poisoned arrows, right?" a soft voice asked. I slowed down, pausing beside a tent. The voice sounded like it belonged to Hans. Was he having a difficult time sleeping as well?

"Of course I do," Thorn's gravelly voice responded. "One for each commander."

So they were prepping for the battle. Poisoned arrows seemed a bit underhanded, but who was I to judge? I didn't know as much about war as Hans or Commander Frost did.

"I even have one picked out just for Frost," Thorn's voice continued. My heart skipped a beat. I leaned closer to the tent canvas and held my breath.

"I trust you chose a painful one?" Hans asked.

"Of course," Thorn replied. "Deadly Neander. Only one antidote, extremely painful, deadly. The perfect thing to bring down the upstart commander. He'll be dead within a day."

My heart was pounding within my chest. They were planning on assassinating Commander Frost, along with who knew how many other people! It would be a devastating betrayal, sure to cripple the army in one blow.

"Nothing stands in our way," Hans said happily. "We're in the perfect position to hand over the capitol."

"What about that boy? Alexander?" Thorn asked. "He seems like the heroic loyal type. And he's dead dangerous with that bow of his. If he tried to stop us, it could cause problems."

"If he tries to stop us, it'll be too late," Hans replied. "Besides, I have arrows that aren't Marked Arrows. Any one of them could work for young Alexander."

My stomach twisted itself into knots. I knew all about Marked Arrows. It was an old superstition. If an arrow was carved with the initials of a person, eventually that arrow would find them and end their lives. I had no idea if it was true or not.

I backed a couple of steps away from the tent, my feet crunching in the freshly fallen snow. The conversation in the tent abruptly fell silent. They had heard me. It was time to run.

I turned and sprinted away as fast as I could. Hans' tent was at the edge of the valley. That meant they would see me long before I could reach any of the other tents. I would have to try to hide in the trees.

I stumbled through the bushes, feeling thorns scratch my arms and tear at my clothing.

"Find him! Split up!" I heard Hans' voice command. So there were more of them. How many people were in on this? I glanced back and saw that I was leaving a trail of footprints. It wouldn't take long for them to find it, and then to find me.

I stumbled ankle deep into frigid water and shuddered. I had run directly into the Rainbow Serpent River which cut past the Dragon Hills. It was the perfect way to hide my trail.

I began marching my way upstream, fighting against the rushing current. My legs were already numb and I wondered how long it would take before I got frostbite.

I stumbled over a large rock and plunged into the river. I managed to catch myself with my hands and keep from going under, but I was still doused in a large splash. I didn't have the strength to stand back up on my numb legs, so I crawled put of the river and huddled at the base of a large tree. If Hans or the others found me, I doubted I would care. I was too cold.

I don't know how long I waited, but I do know that by the end I was completely numb. I was almost beyond shivering which couldn't be a good sign. I forced myself to my feet and stumbled back in the direction I figured camp was. My standard issued fleece uniform did nothing against the cold since it had frozen itself. I focused on just taking one step after another.

"Elsa?" a voice whispered. I blearily raised my eyes from the ground.

"Elsa!" the voice repeated, louder and more panicked. A shape appeared from ahead and slightly to my right. It was Kristoff. He held me up by my shoulders as he stared into my face.

"Elsa!" he repeated. "Can you hear me? What are you doing out here?"

"Spies. In the woods," I told him. He took off his jacket and put it over my shoulders before picking me up in his arms.

"We've got to get you warmed up," Kristoff said. He hurried back to camp and brought me into one of the tents.

"You need to change into a dry uniform," Kristoff told me. "Otherwise I can't take you to the medical tent without them finding out you're a girl."

He left the tent and I changed into a dry uniform. Already I was feeling better. When I exited the tent Kristoff took me to the medical tent. They worked quickly to warm me up and I settled into a blissful slumber.