READ THIS NOW: This is not the whole fic. I will explain at the end as to why this has been posted, and what happened to the original Argos.
The Captain
Summer
"Protect. Serve. Obey."
These are the words by which he lived. Halden had been the captain of the royal guard for over twenty years now, but this simple vow still guided his every action. It was his bitterest admission to know that he had failed the King and Queen when, instead of insisting on accompanying them on their voyage, he had instead acquiesced to remain in Arendelle and take care of the princesses. What use is a bodyguard who lets his charges drown in the stormy Atlantic? It had been the day of the royal funeral, where, clad in armour sombre black, Halden had stood in front of the graves and recited his vow, promising that he would not fail the royal family ever again.
"Protect. Serve. Obey." The order of his commandments was important; he had forgotten this in relation to the King, but he would not do so again for Queen Elsa. His first duty was to protect, his second to serve. Only when those two requirements were met would he obey.
It was thanks to this vow and this reaffirmation of his duty that Halden now found himself lurking outside the Queen's royal bedchambers like some common prowler. Queen Elsa had made her position clear: royal guards were not necessary within the castle's walls, and she would not tolerate any man posted outside her chambers. Instead, she insisted that they protect the perimeters and, should all the castle posts be full, any spare guard should take the time to assist the city watch in maintaining peace in Arendelle. Halden had protested and had insisted on keeping armed men patrolling the castle, haunted by the consequences of his choice to obey his King before protecting him. Unfortunately, Queen Elsa was far more powerful than any to ever sit the throne before her, and after a straight week of Halden's patrolling guards being barred from going within fifty metres of the Queen's chambers by five-foot thick sheets of ice, the Captain had been forced to give into Her Majesty's demands.
But just because he had withdrawn his guards, it didn't mean that Halden had any intention of leaving the Queen undefended. If his needs to protect and serve conflicted with his need to obey, Halden had sworn to choose the former over the latter. Thus, he set about replacing various stewards and maids with his own men and even went so far as to discreetly hire the famed warrior women of the Fa Order from the East in order to maintain the deception. He still wasn't comfortable (a dagger and several concealed throwing knives were hardly a replacement for good steel and sturdy armour), but Halden supposed that it would have to suffice.
Until it didn't.
She tried to hide it, but Halden was no fool. He had won his place as Captain over two hundred other hopefuls not merely through his combat prowess, military background and steadfast devotion, but primarily thanks to his keen eye and constant surveillance. Nothing could slip by him, not repeatedly. And Halden was beginning to see a pattern. On nights when the Queen dismissed her guards and instructed her staff to not bother her in her chambers for the night, the following morning Her Majesty would always show up to court wearing long-sleeved dresses with high collars, exposing not an inch of skin, even in summer. Of course, Queen Elsa was immune to climate, and could have easily worn a fur ballgown with a woollen hood in the middle of a heat wave as nonchalantly as she wore thin silk robes while standing in a blizzard. However, she was generally averse to flaunting her abilities and tended to respect those around her by mimicking their weather-appropriate fashion. So why would she go against norm on those particular mornings?
Halden got his answer when, from his spot to the Queen's right with his broadsword resting in his gauntleted hands, the sharp tip piercing a hole in the rich carpet, he noticed Her Majesty tugging at her high collar. The day had been long and she had sat through over thirty cases brought forward by peasants, merchants, ambassadors, envoys and nobles as they all demanded her royal attention, and it wasn't even mid-morning yet. Clearly, the Queen was becoming tense and irritated, and the restrictive clothing that cloaked her skin was doing little to help. Halden watched attentively as the Queen pulled at her collar irritably, fairly certain that it wasn't due to poison but paying close attention nonetheless. And then, as she stretched the collar out for some air, he saw it. A bright red mark in the shape of lips, shining cheerfully on Her Majesty's slim, pale neck.
The revelation stunned him. Queen Elsa was hardly the first monarch of Arendelle to take on a lover, but normally the royal guard's captain would be well aware of it. Halden had read the personal journals of every Captain to have served before him in the great leather-bound book in which the Captain would write the tale of service from beginning to end, and never to his knowledge had a Captain been duped by his charge in regards to illicit rendezvous with a special someone. The idea that, somehow, Queen Elsa had successfully managed to hide her amour's existence from him for so long shook Halden to his core and made him burn with shame. He could not let this continue.
Of course, the amour's existence was of little concern to Halden. His vows said nothing of questioning the morality of his monarch's decisions, only the risk they could pose. He cared little of the scandal that could be caused should anyone discover Queen Elsa's lover. Instead, he was far more concerned with the identity of this faceless man. To be able to so stealthily sneak into the Queen's bedchambers for so long without Halden noticing could only mean that this unknown paramour was not only a part of Her Majesty's court but lived or served within the castle itself. The notion was extremely troubling to Halden; any person who had unlimited access to not only Her Majesty's bed but also to the castle itself was a threat, a risk, a perfect inside man. He was a security risk that must be dealt with, and swiftly.
But who could it be? Halden spent most of his days standing firmly behind Queen Elsa, a mountain of a man who would easily dissuade anyone from getting too close to the Queen with his glare, his five-foot claymore, or just his presence alone. In all that time, he had never seen the Queen make any particular close contact with any man, regardless of station or class. She was always professional, cool, collected. She might grace some with a slim smile and others with a withering glare, but that was all to be expected from a monarch who must encourage allies and silence dissenters. Halden ran through the list of any man capable of seducing his Queen.
He swiftly dismissed the Royal Ice Harvester from his list of potentials. The man might share a close bond with the Queen, but their friendship was strictly platonic, and the blonde man was far too fixated on the Princess and far too pure and noble to worm his way to Princess Anna through her royal sister.
After the debacle with Prince Hans, Halden was fairly certain that none of the visiting dignitaries could be the culprit. If anything, Queen Elsa seemed to treat all her interactions with her various suitors with distaste, a concealed exasperation and annoyance visible on her face only to Halden and others as familiar with Her Majesty whenever some prince would get to one knee and kiss her hand. Besides, none were here long enough to warrant such continuous secrecy, and Queen Elsa's habits stretched far back, starting just a few months after the Great Freeze had been lifted. None of them could be the mysterious lover.
Could it be the comely new steward? Halden had seen him stare longingly at the Queen often enough when he brought Her Majesty the day's reports when he thought no one was looking. He was definitely handsome enough to qualify as a potential paramour, but Halden was not entirely convinced that Queen Elsa would ever stoop so low as to take a boy whose voice hadn't finished breaking as her lover. Having sexual interaction outside of wedlock was one thing, but somehow Halden was doubtful that Queen Elsa would go so far as to commit herself to a boy.
It was primarily due to this uselessly short list of potentials that Halden now found himself crouching by Her Majesty's bedchamber door like some mundane peeping tom on yet another night when the Queen had dismissed her staff from the keep. If he had managed to draft an effective shortlist of candidates, he could have instructed the spymaster to keep a close eye on them and he would've had his answer within the month. As it stood, though, Halden could just imagine the spymaster laughing the Captain out of her office when she looked at the names he had compiled. With no other option to turn to, Halden was forced to perform the honestly humiliating act of trying to see through a keyhole. It was a necessary embarrassment, though: the Queen's safety would always place higher than his pride.
To Be Continued
Read This
So, I guess some explanations are required. I've made a list; I try to be professional like that.
1) Firstly, as to why there have not been updates: I have been extremely busy over the course of this year. I recently finished high school, and have started university. This required me to leave home, and move away to an entirely different continent. As a result, I've been extremely busy trying to settle down, as well as deal with homesickness. Also, I underestimated the workloads of college, and am struggling to cope as is. In addition, I recently joined an e-sports team (laugh it up, I write fanfiction, obviously I'm a nerd), and that has further put commitments that I have to adhere to. As a result, I've had little time and less inspiration to write. However, I will do all in my power to finish this fic at least: I feel I owe you wonderful people that much at least.
2) Argos was deleted off FF by the admins on the grounds that it contained content above the indicated rating. Apparently, explicit sex is considered too much for M, regardless of the smut that is rampant on the site. Watching You, Watching Me and Facets were also deleted under the same rules, which I'm extremely disappointed about, as I personally consider the latter to be my magnum opus Furthermore, people seem to have a misconception regarding the process of deletion; some appear to be under the belief that I willingly took them down. Let me explain: they were deleted by the admins. That means that the admins took them off the site; the only part I had in the process was a notification sent to inform me that they had been deleted, and the reasons why there were taken down.
3) Regarding controversy about the second chapter of Argos, The Dancing Master I am fully aware that it borrows heavily from the character Syrio Forel from the book series emA Song of Ice and Fire/em. Yes, plebs: I read A Song of Ice and Fire, and prefer that to watching Game of Thrones. However, to those who believe that it is outright copying, and that Argos was deleted on grounds of plagiarism: how dare you. How dare you accuse me of plagiarism. Let me explain: there is a thing called tribute and fanfiction. Let me blow your minds: there is nothing on this planet that is completely original. Everything is inspired by something else. However, I understand that there may be misgivings, and thus I will acknowledge the series from which I drew inspiration. That is not what angers me. What angers me are the comments that others said in response, which were along the lines of the following: "I am disappointed in the author".
That sentence infuriates me more than words can express. Who are you, to judge and dismiss me, with no justification beyond unsubstantiated rumours spread by those who themselves know nothing about the incident? Under what rights do you sit on your high horse and lord some sort of moral superiority over me? No one ever has the right to judge another without having any idea as to the circumstances.
4) Which leads me to my last point. Let me explain something: fanfic writers have *gasp* lives. We have commitments and responsibilities in real life which, to speak frankly, are far more important than posting writing on the Internet. And sometimes, it's honestly exhausting. Typically, we start out writing simply out of a desire to have fun, or to share with the fandom, or to contribute to the community. However, when there is enough of a following, we are encouraged to continue. However, at some point, we start to feel as if we are required to post a new chapter, as if we are suddenly on a contract to post more. And it's because of certain members of the fandom who act self-entitled.
Listen: fanfic writers are not required to post/edit material just because you want them to, and just because you support them, it does not mean that you get to judge them. Just as I disapprove of those who do not acknowledge and thank those who support and encourage them, I have as low an opinion of those who act like selfish children and demand more of those who have no responsibility to listen to them. Thankfully, Argos has maintained a relatively smaller reader-base, and I am so thankful and grateful to those of you have stuck with me, or even those who just supported me initially and then (as is your right) moved on. However, there are those who have not been so fortunate, and having this begin to be exposed to me as well has given me fresh perspective on my fellow writers, and the cyber-abuse they've suffered. So I'm saying this early, so that this doesn't build up and stress me out: please don't be assholes. The Internet has enough already: try and maintain the civility and friendliness that most fandoms possess. Do not be the toxic minority which ruins it for everyone.
5) Lastly, and this is the good news part, I guess: I am uploading Argos to my new account on Archive of Our Own. I strongly urge you to support them as well; they are a relatively newer website where users can post their content, and they have little restrictions. Simply Google "ao3 4mation", and you should find me. Facets and Watching You, Watching Me are there as well. I will most probably be posting most of my material there in the future, so as to avoid further conflict with the FF admins. Unless it's T or under, I will no longer be posting to FF. Also, they don't make me have to edit my whole thing because they ****ed up my formatting.
So, that's it. It was a bit of a rant, yes, but I feel like these are things that need to be said. Once more, I thank everyone in the Frozen fandom, even those of you who have been less than amicable, and particularly to those of you who are amazing enough to support contributors to the community. Truly, most of you are so amazing, I would gladly melt for you.
Keep writing, keep reading, and keep being awesome everyone
With love
4mation