Disclaimer: all the characters, locations and itens in this work are trademarked by Disney, Sega and Ubisoft, unless noted otherwise. All original characters, if not related to existing characters, are owned by the author.

Chapter 3 - The Lady and the Tramp

Jason and Captain Rose had to wait to be heard.

As no one in Arendelle knew of the death of the monarchs - everyone on the Sea Diamond who had witnessed the conversation between Jason and Berget, had been persuaded not to spread the word -, Kai had rearranged Princess Elsa's agenda (although, at that moment, she would attend as regent) so the two travelers were the last ones to be heard today.

Jason took advantage of the moment to rummage through his luggage, searching for the leather bag with the violet Chaos Emerald that had been delivered by Berget.

It was easy to find it, as the crocus coat of arms made it clear where the jewel he was looking for was, since he had no intention of getting rid of the white jewel he'd stolen from the Egghead - he knew what the Chaos Emeralds, when assembled, were capable of doing, and if he kept at least one in his possession, he could avoid a catastrophe. Even more so, considering the legends he had heard in his personal hell that was his year in the Doctor's lab… Especially one related to the mythological Angel Island.

"Mr. Smith, Captain Rose", Kai called, pulling Jason out of his thoughts - the Lord Chamberlain had opened the door and halfway into the waiting room. "Her Royal Highness is finalizing a meeting with the Council, she is already aware that you are awaiting an audience. You will be the next to be heard."

They both nodded, and Kai to returned to the Throne Room. Rose, who looked a bit uncomfortable at the prospect of meeting the princess, turned to Jason and asked. "What are your plans at Arendelle, Mr. Smith?"

Jason looked at Rose for a few seconds before answering. "Honestly, I don't know, Captain... I'm most likely going to try and enter the Hunters' Guild, since my father taught me how to hunt when I was a child. Now that my family is in the hands of the Southern Isles, I need to get a job to survive - that is, as long as the princess accepts my application for political asylum. "

Jonathan Rose nodded before speaking. "Given all that has happened, and who your family is, I believe your request will be accepted without major problems."

"Thank you for your support, Captain. That means a lot to me", Jason said, giving the sailor a brief smile as he played with his luggage. "And you, will you continue to route between Arendelle and Corona? Or do you have other plans?"

"Well, I don't always stay on this route, I alternate between routes that pass through Soleanna, Empire City, Mazuri, Avalor, Spagonia, Arendelle and Shamar, so... I can say that this work allows me to travel and experience the world, but…"

"But?" Asked the young man, raising a bluish eyebrow.

"But I've left my youth behind, and I think it's time to retire... my daughter, Amelia, whom my wife and I call Amy, is already a grown woman, and she's about to get married. I've missed too much of my daughter's life during my service in the Corona Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy after I was discharged from the military service, so... I think it's time to retire, but I still have to talk to the board of the Merchant Navy to establish deadlines."

"I see, Captain. I…" Jason began, before being interrupted by the clatter of doors being opened and Kai's deep, resounding voice in his most professional tone.

"Her Royal Highness will receive you now, sirs."

Jason and Rose nodded as they got up and walked to where the Lord Chamberlain was. "Remember what we have agreed upon, I will introduce you both and tell the reason for the hearing. Just answer what the princess asks, so that we don't run the risk of the news being said before the right time."

"Is there ever a right time to tell someone that their parents died?", muttered Jason to himself, incredulous. The two nodded once more, and Kai opened the gate for the two of them to enter the Throne Room.

The exile blinked incredulously at the room: it was ample, decorated with crocus coats of arms, as well as portraits of men and women wearing military uniforms - which would seem strange if Arendelle hadn't been the first country to allow female military service. Jason assumed the pictures depicted the deceased rulers. A wooden throne, also decorated with the crocus, was at the back of the room, which was much like the room in which he had been in his vision - though the Throne Room was reasonably smaller than the room where the ball occurred in his vision, or hallucination, he wasn't sure.

An eighteen-year-old woman sat on the throne, looking at the two strangers with some curiosity, although her posture conveyed seriousness and composure. She had platinum-blond hair tied in a French braid, and a pale blue dress that seemed to be shining, reflecting the rays of the evening sun. Her blue eyes, almost heavenly in tone, were glowing with anticipation about the possible significance of this audience.

She is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, Jason thought, rushing forward not to be left behind by Rose and Kai. When the three men came within ten feet of the throne, the Lord Chamberlain stepped forward and, with a respectful bow, and announced. "Your Royal Highness, I present Captain Jonathan Rose and Mr. Jason Ryan Smith."

"Mr. Smith, Captain Rose, Your Royal Highness and Regent, Princess Elsa of Arendelle."

The two foreigners bowed to the princess; as he lifted his head again, Jason could not help noticing how close Elsa was to the queen that had appeared in his vision; the only difference was the braid - in the vision, it was well crafted and pinned to her head, while the young woman he was seeing was using a simpler French braid in comparison.

Another thing he could see, paying close attention, was a small shadow in her eyes. A shadow that existed on the other Elsa, though for different reasons.

It was the mourning that insisted on not disappearing.

"Welcome to Arendelle, gentlemen, how can I be of service to you?", greeted the princess in English as perfect as that spoken by her Lord Chamberlain - apparently, Jason thought, I will not have to do translation work during the hearing.

Rose glanced sideways at Kai before nodding; fulfilling what had been agreed upon, the Lord Chamberlain began to speak. "Captain Jonathan Rose is the commander of a ship, the Sea Diamond, which belongs to the Coronan Merchant Navy; one of the routes made by the vessel connects the Royal City of Arendelle to Helios, capital of Corona. Two days ago, when the ship was already on its last few miles before arriving at Arendelle, a castaway was sighted, holding onto a piece of a ship that had sunk that dawn."

"Yes, and... and what does this have to do with our kingdom?" Elsa asked, not understanding the reason for this audience, which had been requested at the last minute. "If the castaway is from Arendelle, it would be better to wait for my parents to return from the official visit to Spagonia... although they should arrive any minute now, so I do not understand what you have to talk about."

Kai swallowed hard before continuing his narrative. "The castaway was a native of Arendelle, and that was where Mr. Jason Ryan Smith had been called for, since, according to Captain Rose, he knows several languages. The man spoke about a ship that had been caught the night before by a storm, and he was the only survivor... before he died right there, on the deck of the Sea Diamond. According to Captain Rose, Mr. Smith and the ship's doctor, Dr. Wolfgang Petersen, the castaway suffered from hypothermia, but died from a pulmonary hemorrhage, as his lungs were pierced by the ribs."

Elsa blinked, clearly confused, before turning to Rose. "I'm sorry to hear that, Captain, but I still do not understand what the Crown has to do with this shipwreck. If the man was from the Royal Navy, this matter is to be dealt with by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and if he was from the Merchant Navy, it's a matter to deal with the Navy's board. Unless he's a Royal Guard, then the Crown would be directly involved."

Knowing that this was exactly the case, Jason looked sideways at Kai and waved a hand indicating that he would like to speak. With an indecipherable expression, the Lord Chamberlain nodded, and Jason turned to the monarch before speaking for the first time. "Your Royal Highness... my name is Jason Ryan Smith, I was aboard the ship and I helped rescue the castaway. I would like to clarify a doubt. "

The princess nodded slightly, allowing him to continue his line of reasoning.

"How many Royal Guards are out of the castle at the moment?"

If the princess was even more confused than ever by this question, she did not show it - instead she put her hand to her chin and assumed a thoughtful position for a few seconds. "In addition to a detachment of 40 men and women accompanying my parents on their official visit to Spagonia, each ambassador abroad has the right to bring a Royal Guard to their team. But... right, now I have the following question, Mr. Smith: What do you actually want to know?", she asked, in a determined tone, which didn't show any objections.

Jason swallowed hard. Now, he would have to say what had happened, since there was no chance of an evasive answer without annoying the soon-to-be-queen. Glancing at Rose and Kai, he nodded (and received two head-nods from the old sea-wolf and the Lord Chamberlain in response) before turning to Elsa. "Your Royal Highness... or, rather, Your Majesty, the castaway we rescued and who died aboard the Sea Diamond is Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Berget of the Royal Guard, who was aboard HMAS Vålerenga."

The princess's eyes widened, beginning to link the dots.

"He told me that the ship was struck by a storm three nights ago, and that it sunk due to the violence of the waves, which broke the vessel in half."

"No, please, not what I'm thinking," the princess murmured anxiously as a thin layer of frost began to spread around the throne. Turning his attention to his luggage, Jason withdrew the leather pouch with the Chaos Emerald.

"According to Berget, the king and the queen threw a bottle with a message to the sea before delivering to him a leather bag with Arendelle's supreme jewel for security reasons. Before he could reach a lifeboat, however, a wave threw the lieutenant into the ocean, and he returned to the surface in time to see the ship being broken and sunk with all the people who were on board... "

The ice continued to spread through the throne room, at the same time Elsa's blue eyes began to fill with tears; she kept murmuring "not true..."

"...including your parents, Your Highness. According to Berget, there were no survivors, and three days have passed since then, which makes survival chances almost impossible. I... I'm sorry", Jason finished; in the next second, he felt a snowflake landing in his face.

In a few seconds, the Throne Room became a winter wonderland - it was covered by a layer of ice and frost from the ceiling to the floor, and a thin but persistent snow fell upon the room.

"Your Highness?" Kai stammered, approaching the future monarch. "Wh... what can I do?"

When Elsa spoke again, her voice was devoid of any emotion. "Alert the council and begin the funeral proceedings. We will not have bodies to bury, but the memories of my parents will be respected nonetheless... and, as regent, I decree an official mourning of thirty days."

Kai nodded, before asking... with some fear. "And as for Captain Rose and Mr. Smith? The captain has his ship, but Mr. Smith fled from Westside Island, which, as you may recall, was occupied about a year ago by the Southern Isles and Weselton."

"My family was taken as a prisoner to the Southern Isles, Your Highness, and I spent a year imprisoned in Westside, under the yoke of a Weselton scientist. It was a few weeks ago that I finally managed to escape, and I took a ship to Avalor - from there, I went to Corona and from there I took the Sea Diamond to Arendelle. I came here in order to apply for political asylum, but I do not think that's important now", he said, hugging himself in an attempt to protect himself from the cold.

Elsa did not say anything for several minutes - she seemed to be staring at the three men, but a more thoughtful person would realize that her mind was gone. The intensity of the snow increased in the meantime, making Jason hug himself tighter - the heavy robe which he'd put on as the ship docked at Arendelle helped to reduce the feeling of intense cold, but it was not enough.

"Kai, prepare a guest wing room for Mr. Smith, and make sure he's well taken care of during his stay at the castle. Prepare an escort to accompany Captain Rose back to his ship so that we can bring Lieutenant Berget's body back to receive due respect from his family and friends. And tell the heralds that my parents' death must be announced throughout the country, the mourning period begins from the moment they inform each city", said Elsa, in the same emotionless tone she had assumed from from the moment she learned that her parents had died; at the same time, the snow was decreasing in intensity.

Glancing briefly at the two foreigners, the monarch turned to Kai. "The hearing is over, gentlemen, I... I'm retiring to my room. Mr. Smith, the Lord Chamberlain will take you to your quarters, and Captain Rose, a detachment will be selected to accompany you to your ship." She rose from the throne, with an indecipherable expression. "Gentlemen."

The three bowed before turning to leave the Throne Room. When Kai finally closed the door after Jason and Rose left the room, the tears that Elsa had been holding up until now began to run down the princess's pale face.

The snow, which had stabilized, began to grow again in intensity until it became a storm occupying the entire Throne Room - however, the monarch's heart had been destroyed by an even greater storm.

First, her sister. Now, her parents. She was completely alone.

Hours later, Jason was in the room that had been designated for his stay in the castle, until he had the hearing with the princess about his request for political asylum. The young man had been lying on the bed for almost an hour, staring at the Chaos Emeralds he held in each of his hands - with the princess's intense reaction to the death of her parents, the return of Arendelle's supreme jewel had been completely forgotten.

However, it was nothing that could not be resolved without further complications.

The biggest problem, however, was whether his asylum request would be accepted - he really wanted to stay in Arendelle, no matter how much he knew his cousin would welcome him in Soleanna.

In fact, he was sure she would want to kill him when she discovered that he had moved to the far north of the world, not to the Mediterranean.

However, it was better this way: not only could he rebuild his life unnoticed, but there were also less chances of meeting agents of the Doctor - after all, most of the Westside Island refugees had moved to the country, trying to start their lives from scratch after the Southern Islers' and Weseltonian's invaded their island.

And considering all that had happened during his escape from the laboratory, it was no surprise that the Egghead was desperate to capture him again… and the white jewel he had stolen during the escape.

And the worst thing is that the Doctor knew absolutely everything about his family, which made refuge in Soleanna a high risk bet.

Jason let out a sigh - it would not do any good to mumble the possibilities of what might happen if he had caught another ship in the port of Helios, what mattered was that he was safe and sound in Arendelle. And if everything went according to plan, very soon he would begin working in his new profession.

On the way to his room, Kai had said that the Arendelle Hunters' Guild was not very large, but they were always willing to accept the admission of a new member as long as he proved he had the skills necessary for that profession.

The word was that the guild leader, Adéwalé, was one of the toughest men the country had ever known - a former slave who had fled the captivity in the West Antilles years ago and fought tooth and nail to reach a land where slavery had been abolished decades ago. Now he was the most skillful hunter among his peers, and a fairly strict man in the choice of a possible apprentice - he only accepted the best among the best.

That said, it was not surprising that he had only had three apprentices over the twenty years he was in the Guild - most of the young people joining the organization were trained by other experienced hunters.

Therefore, being trained by Adéwalé was a real honor - one that Jason was going to achieve, even if he had to kill and die for it.

And no, he was not saying that as a figure of speech - after all, what was one more death to a man who had wanted posters scattered all over Weselton, accused of fifteen homicides during the flight from the laboratory?

Jason came to the conclusion that thinking about what-ifs wouldn't do any good at the moment - it was best to try to rest until the actual funeral. Only after his next hearing with the princess could he try to decide what to do about his old life.

"Well, Kai told me that all I had to do was ring a bell at the entrance of the room for a servant to take care of me. Let's see if this system works", muttered Jason, depositing the Chaos Emeralds on a nightstand beside the bed and getting up to the door, where a small bell was attached to a frame on the wall with a cord attached to the instrument.

Pulling the cord, Jason could not help but notice one thing: the bell was made of ice, with a snowflake decorating the same. Two minutes after the sound of the bell echoed through the bedroom and down the hall, the door opened, revealing a tall, thin woman in a green dress - the same green as Kai's clothing. She appeared to be middle-aged, with her brown hair beginning to silver, and a kind smile on her face - which, however, did not reach her eyes.

Jason guessed that she already knew the fate of Agdar and Idunn - however, as the news of the death would only be announced the next day, it was still not possible to wear black clothes in mourning.

"Good night Sir. My name is Gerda, I am the Chief Maid of the Royal Castle of Arendelle. How can I help you?"

"Well, ma'am-or miss?", Jason asked, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Mrs. Amundsen, since Kai Amundsen, the Lord Chamberlain, is my husband", replied Gerda softly.

Still embarrassed by the previous question, Jason decided to explain the reason for the call. "Well, Mrs. Amundsen, it's just that I arrived in Arendelle a few hours ago, and I have not taken a shower yet, so…"

"I understand, Mr. Smith. Well, don't worry, I'll send a maid to prepare a bath, do you prefer hot, warm, or cold water?"

"Well... warm, I guess. Thank you very much", said the exile. Gerda bowed slightly before turning around and leaving the room, probably to delegate the task of preparing a warm bath in the bathroom adjacent to the room for a maid.

Half an hour later, the refugee was preparing himself to enter the bath after thanking the maid who had filled it with warm water, as he had requested. His attention had been drawn to the fact that, even though she was only fourteen years old (yes, he had asked her age), she already knew what to do, which meant experience.

It was only after she had explained that in the castle, most of the staff began to work in their respective professions as a child, which he understood because this did not seem to catch anyone else's attention.

Because if this happened in the coastal palace on Westside Island, a few eyebrows would certainly rise - but that was the price of moving to a country on the other side of the world; cultural shock.

Nothing he couldn't get used to.

Taking off his traveling tunic, Jason noticed the two tattoos that adorned his shoulders: on the left side, was a blue hedgehog, curled up in a ball; on the right was a rose of the winds. According to his parents, those tattoos had been there since he was a baby, and no one had a clue as to how they had appeared there.

What was even stranger about the drawings is that when they appeared, they were very small; as Jason grew older, the tattoos grew larger and larger, until they acquired their current shape.

At least he prayed that Arendellian society would not have the same prejudices about tattoos that existed in other countries - he had already read that in places like Nihon, having such a design was a statement of a dark past; according to a book he had read, each criminal group had its own tattoos, indicating place of origin, gang status, years spent in jail, religious beliefs, and other information. Basically, tattoos formed a report about the person who used them.

During the time he was immersed in the bathtub, he noticed that as much as he was willing to live in Arendelle, overcoming the cultural shock would not be easy - travelling to Soleanna would have been calmer in comparison because of the similarities between the cultures of the two countries.

He only hoped that, over the years, that change would weigh less for him.

"Father?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think…"

"What, my son?"

"Do you think we'll ever find my sister one day?"

The man sighed softly at this question; since his wife and youngest daughter had died, his eldest son always asked at irregular intervals whether they would ever find the middle daughter, whose body had never been found in the ruins of the village in which they lived.

The fact that there was no body gave him hope, but, as it had been five years since the massacre - from which he and his son had only escaped because they had traveled to harvest ice on a frozen lake a few miles away the day before -, the father saw his prayers losing more and more strength; even the comforting words of his friends, the "love experts," as his son called them, did not soothe him as they had in the first few months.

"Kristoff, my son, the gods know that I would love as much as you would that we could find my daughter, my Anna Maria... but it has been so long since Mylai, and... sometimes I wanted to believe in the sun god of Time of Soleanna, and to be able to return five years in time to rescue my family."

"But, Papa…"

"Kris, my son... please do not talk about it any more. At least not for today", murmured the blond man, turning his face away so that his son would not see the tears in his teal eyes - the same eyes as his missing daughter.

Sometimes, Jonas Bjorgman wondered if one day this pain would pass - no matter how Grand Pabbie assured him, the fact is that every time he approached the ruins of Mylai, or saw any of the objects belonging to his wife, or his youngest daughter, he felt his heart shatter a little more.

Instead of diminishing, the pain only grew more and more.

Glancing at his son, who was picking up the ice-cutting saw while being watched by his pet reindeer, Sven, Jonas wondered if he could bear the pain in time to teach Kristoff all he knew about the profession of ice harvester - at the age of eighteen years, his son had a natural talent for this work, but Jonas always said that the work of a master was only completed the day he had nothing else to teach his apprentice - and that day still had not arrived.

Besides, Kristoff also had his own demons to deal with - Jonas knew that he and Anna had always been close together since she was born, thirteen years ago. The first time she'd crawled, she'd gone to her older brother, the first word she'd said was "Kris," all the firsts of her life had been with Kristoff - the two had a connection deeper than many people could dream of, Jonas thought.

It wasn't that the young man didn't love his mother and his younger sister, quite the opposite - but because of all that he and Anna had done together, the disappearance of the older Bjorgman girl had been harder for the younger ice harvester.

"Papa?"

"Yes, my son?"

"The equipment is ready, shall we? That guild said they could wait, but not for long."

"Okay, Kris, get the sled on Sven and go ahead. I'll be right over", said Jonas; after nodding, Kristoff went to do what his father had requested. As he watched his son and his reindeer headed for the partially frozen lake - it would only be 100% frozen in two months, at best - Jonas looked up at the starry sky and murmured. "I don't know who is listening to me at this moment, but I ask, from the bottom of my heart, that... that if my daughter, if my Anna Maria Bjorgman, is alive, that she can come back to us... that I want to see the freckled face of my little girl before I die."

Author's Note: A very angsty chapter I have to concede... but it was necessary for the story. And we will have new characters entering the next chapter, including the last of the three main characters - but she has a few changes...

And, with this chapter, I've decided to completely leave the scheduled updates - by now, every time I complete an advanced chapter (by now, I've completed chapter 11 - Blood Debt), I will update this fic as an intermediate chapter will be translated and sent for proofreading (Chapter 8 - Masquerade).

By the way, I love getting feedback (as every writer does), so, if you could be so kind, please leave a review, it's what fuels me to continue with this story - knowing that you are reading and sending feedback about it.

See you next chapter!