Aksel walked along with Captain Seward and Pollox, passing out cloaks to the citizens of Arendelle. He smiled at each one, assuring them that the castle would remain open for any who needed it. When their supply of cloaks ran out, they made their way back toward the castle, where they came across the Duke and Hans arguing.

"I will not hesitate to defend Arendelle from treason!" he heard Hans shout.

That took the Duke aback. "Treason?" he stammered, bumping into his guards.

Suddenly, a riderless horse appeared, frightened and stomping about. Hans caught it and managed to calm it enough for everyone to realize it was Princess Anna's. Murmurs went up around the proper, wondering where the Princess was. Aksel stared hard at Hans. 'It's as I feared,' he thought to himself. 'Now they're both missing. If we don't find them—'

"Princess Anna is in trouble! I need volunteers to help me find her!" Hans shouted, interrupting his thoughts. Several guards spoke up, willing to go. The Duke volunteered his two men, then muttered something to the two of them. Aksel wasn't sure, but from their expressions, it wasn't anything kind toward either woman.

he stepped forward, intent on keeping an eye on things. "I'll ride with you, Hans. We track things often in the North, even through snowstorms such as this." To himself, he thought 'And we wouldn't be going at all if you had sent an escort with her. So much for loving her.' Turning to his two men, he spoke quietly. "Keep an eye on things here. If ANYTHING looks out of place, I want to know about it when I get back." Their nods of affirmation were all the response he needed.

The group mounted horses and rode out immediately. Hans led them along the road at first, but the trail quickly began to erode, and the Princess' path veered sharply off the road. "Anyone have an idea to make this easier?" someone muttered.

Aksel was riding next to Hans, and drew up his reins. "Prince Hans, we should follow the horse's path. It will at least get us to where they were separated, and will give us some clue as to where she went."

"Are you sure, Prince Aksel?" Hans questioned. "We might do better to follow the road."

Aksel turned and locked eyes with Hans. "I've tracked men and game through worse storms than this with my brothers, Hans. We have a path that will get us close to her last known whereabouts. We should follow it. If we don't, it could be days before we find her, and she could be dead by then." With that, Aksel turned and rode off the road, following the Princess's path into the hills. Hans, at a loss for words, motioned for the others to follow.

They rode in silence for a time, each man keeping an eye out for movement. Eventually, the horse's trail ended in a massive tamping of the snow. Aksel dismounted and studied the area. "Something startled the horse," he indicated where it had pranced around, "and the Princess was thrown. She continued on foot. See here, one set of prints, small feet, but the snow all around them is disturbed, as if by a dress. We follow these from here." He remounted his horse and looked to Hans, giving him the opportunity to be the leader again.

"Lead on, Prince Aksel," Hans indicated. "You're our tracker. I hope you can get us to the Princess quickly, and before she is harmed." With that, Aksel spurred his horse, following Anna's path. The rest fell in behind him.

They crossed several hills in silence, when the trail suddenly stopped. Aksel dismounted again, looking around. He moved to where the prints ended, and noticed some fabric stuck in the tree. "Look here. This was part of her cloak." He looked around some more, searching, then pointed down the hill. "She fell here, and landed in that creek. She probably headed toward that column of smoke."

"Then let's move," Hans ordered. He spurred his horse, and the others followed, leaving Aksel to scramble onto his horse and catch up.

The smoke turned out to be a small trading post. Aksel went inside with Hans, who instructed the others to look around for any sign of the Princess. Inside, they were greeted by an interesting fellow.

"Yoo hoo! Big summer blowout!" the man called enthusiastically. Judging from his attire, he was the proprietor, Oaken. "Vat may I help you vith, my fine fellows?"

Hans spoke first. "Yes, have you seen a young woman recently? We're searching for the Princess of Arendelle."

Oaken nodded. "Yes. She vas here just yesterday, asking aboot the Queen. A young man took her to de source of dis storm."

"And where would that be, sir?" Aksel asked quickly.

"I dink he said de North Mountain. Yes, dat is vere dey ver headed," Oaken told them.

Hans and Aksel looked at one another, thanked Oaken and hurried back outside. "Our destination is the North Mountain," Hans told the group. "Who knows the way?"

"I do, my lord," one of the guards answered. "I was raised not too far from it."

"Then lead us there, quickly," Hans ordered. "We don't have any time to waste."

They all spurred their horses, kicking up the snow behind them as they hurried toward their destination.