A/N: Ingrid is not happy with the Duke's death for one reason: how would Connor feel if he found out someone else had killed Charles Lee? Food for thought.

Chapter 9: Family Business

"I'm telling you, that woman is up to something."

"What do you mean, your aunt? What makes you say that?"

It was a couple hours later. After settling in and recuperating from all the traveling, Anna and I came back to the stables. I had just finished showing her the book on Shay. While Kristoff was feeding Sven, I sat on the edge of his pen, my back propped up against one of the posts, sharpening my Rope Blade.

"Because it's weird, and strange her being here!" Said Anna. "And because I'm a good judge of character."

I snorted. "Who was it that agreed to marry Hans ten minutes after she started talking to him? Wasn't that you, dear sister?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "I was young and naive." She said.

"You met me the next day." Replied Kristoff.

"Younger!"

I laughed. "Although you gotta admit, Kristoff. She can see things better now. She predicted an ambush right on the ship taking us to the Enchanted Forest on her own. She's gotten to be a much better judge ever since."

"Thank you, Asgeir."

I nodded, and went back to sharpening my blade.

"Anyway, I just want to make sure we're asking all the right questions." She said.

"Like what?"

"Like is she really even our aunt? Or is she just some imposter trying to worm her way into our family?"

"Anna, look at her! You can't see the resemblance?" Said Kristoff, not buying it. "Oh yes! The ice power thing! There's that!" He grabbed the bucket of carrots from the pen and carried it away.

"Maybe!" Said Anna. "But if she's really our aunt, why isn't she in the family portraits? The royal records! There's no trace of her! It's like-"

"She never even existed." I finished for her. "It's the same case for me. I don't show up on anything in our family tree."

Anna's eyes lit up. "And why is that?"

"Agdar was trying to hide me from the public eye. It might be the same case for Ingrid. Mother may have tried to hide the truth from the kingdom."

Anna beamed, glad to have me on her side. "See? Asgeir gets it."

Kristoff glanced at me. "Isn't it his job to not trust people?"

"Sure." I replied. "If they show up red on my Sight. I focused on Ingrid when I first saw her, and she glowed crimson. She wants me dead, therefore."

Anna looked a little afraid by that statement, but she held her ground. "So she has ulterior motives."

"At least towards me, yes. I can't say for sure what they are, though. I don't trust her. That is certain."

"So how are you two going to find these answers?" Said Kristoff.

Anna shifted uncomfortably. "Your family." She said.

Kristoff raised an eyebrow, pouring some hot cocoa into a mug from a thermos. "Careful." He said. "Grand Pabbie's still a little miffed that you postponed the wedding."

"What gives him the right? It's not him getting married." I said.

Anna smiled, taking the cocoa. "I can handle Grand Pabbie. Will you go back to the castle and cover for me? Watch Elsa, while I'm gone?"

Kristoff put his hands on his fiancé's shoulders. "If it'll put your mind at ease, of course."

"Oh, but Kristoff, you have to be careful of what around her." She said, uneasily. "We might not exactly have told her what we discovered in the Enchanted Forest."

Kristoff was dismayed. "You lied to her?"

"Of course we did, brother." I said. "What else were we going to say? Templars, no matter who they are, can't help but cause misery where they go."

Anna agreed, despite that I was calling out both her parents, not just her father. "Telling her our parents wanted to take away her magic? I just have to find the right moment. And Asgeir needs to find a place to hide the hat."

"That could take a while." I said. "I may have to take it to another realm for all I care. Rumplestiltskin may not be the only one after it."

"So what's your plan, Asgeir?" Asked Anna.

I gave my blade a few licks of my whetstone. Another gift from the sisters, for my birthday. Magically enchanted to sharpen any blade to a condition as if it just was smithed. "Matthew may have some of the answers we're seeking. I'll talk to him."

"Great." Said Anna. "We have our plan. Kristoff?"

"Right, right." He said. "Of course. You know I'll support you, no matter what. Unless I think it's really dumb. Then I'll tell you."

Anna grinned. "Thank goodness I haven't hit really dumb yet."

"Can I get you supplies for your journey?" He offered as Anna embraced him.

"You're sweet, but no." She said. "I'll stop by Oaken's on the way. You'll see me as soon as I return."

She kissed him. I glanced up from my blade, then back down and awkwardly gave another few licks to my blade, despite it being sharp enough to slice a diamond in half.

"Speaking of, Anna. I need to pick up the new shipment of crossbows from Oaken for the new novices. Can I at least go that far with you?"

Anna nodded. "Just that far. I don't want to think my brother's turning into my babysitter."

I nodded, jumping off the pen's edge. Anna walked out of the stables, along with Kristoff, who went to get more feed for Sven.

I glanced at the reindeer. He grunted at me.

"Yeah, I guess it has been a while since we talked, buddy." I said.

"Snort, snort, grunt."

"Just you and me for now. And our eavesdropper."

I turned around, seeing Ingrid step out from behind the pillar. She had heard the whole thing. I had been hearing the whispers for most of our conversation, but kept quiet.

Ingrid and I looked at each other. She had eyes like Elsa's, ice blue. But they weren't friendly or even happy like my sister's. They were cold, emotionless, and above all, broken. It was almost like I could see the insanity in her own eyes. People these days refer to this as the "crazy eyes", which is self explanatory.

I looked her dead on, straight in the eyes. I didn't say anything, nor she to me. But she knew that everything bad I had said about her less than five minutes ago I had intentionally said so that she would hear.


Anna and I hiked up the steep mountain trail. Oaken's was quite the distance from the town, but we both agreed it would raise Elsa's suspicions if we took one of the horses from the stables.

Ingrid was one of the many things on Anna's mind at the moment, but she asked me something that made me realize there was more to it than that.

"When did you kill your first man, Asgeir?"

I glanced behind at her. The path we were on put me on higher ground than her, so I was even taller than her. Elsa and I were around the same height.

"I was nine. It's considered an initiation to some Assassins what I went through. The man was attempting to sell our secrets for protection from Queen Regina in Misthaven. They took him into a room, tied him to the chair, gave me my tools, and told me to kill him."

"Gosh."

"I wanted to make it quick and get it over with, but Matthew told me that it wasn't what the masters wanted. They wanted to truly punish him for what he did to us. Until he was crying and begging me to put him out of his misery, I would keep hurting him."

We continued walking before I saw a log off the path. I sat down, and Anna did the same.

"What we seek is a better world, Anna. How we do it is the exact opposite than better. The guy lost four fingers, three teeth, and his dignity before he begged me to stop. I made it quick as I could after that.

"The point of it all was the Assassins wanted to see what would happen to me after that. Most people would break down in grief for having to do that. Other psychos would find some kind of thrill out of that. But they got what they needed out of me: the middle ground on that emotional stage. To take lives not for fun, or not because it must be done, but because it's a form of accepting who one is as an Assassin. It's that middle ground that makes an Assassin the best at what he does. Now I want to know: why did you ask?."

"I keep thinking back to the barn. When we were with David. How I cut that guard's throat when they tried to ambush us. He was innocent, Asgeir. And I took his life.

I turned right around, and put my hands on her shoulders. "Hey. He was not innocent. He blindly followed Peep's orders because he was paid by her. And if your positions were switched, with him behind you about to grab you, he would kill you and not even twitch. Anna, there is only one acceptable reason for someone outside the Order to take a life: Did you have any other option?"

"W-well, I-"

"Anna." I said, slowly. "Did. You. Have a choice? I didn't see you fight that guard, only take his life. So I ask you that in those few seconds I took my eyes off you, did he come close enough to taking your life?"

Anna looked down for a few seconds in thought, and then nodded. "He almost grabbed me."

"Then there should be no guilt to doing that, Anna. It was you or him. But I know you. Don't ever consider taking a life again like that. This life as an Assassin is not the one for you, and I can't see you taking the hood. It's not who you are."

Anna hugged me. "I know, Asgeir. I just needed to make sure I did the right thing with that guard."

Climbing up the steep path, we soon were at the top, at the edge of a clearing. The large cabin sat in the middle. As we walked towards it, I noticed a small creek cutting through the field. Anna seemed to be super cautious with it, because she went so much as to jump over it. I just casually stepped over it as we headed across the field and inside the cabin.

"Yoo hoo!"

The air was thick from the heat coming from the sauna. Oaken sat at his desk talking to a younger woman with auburn hair as Anna and I stepped in. Anna waved and I have a quick nod.

"Right..." I muttered, leaning against the shelf beside me while Anna approached the girl from behind.

"But you just said they were nice." She said to Oaken, clearly in the middle of a conversation with him.

"I've heard." He replied in his thick accent.

The girl sighed, clearly hoping that Oaken could have led her to whatever she was looking for. "Please help me. I just lost my mother and-"

Oaken's face fell. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Uh, trolls can't bring life, but I can help soothe you." He offered. "Have you tried the sauna?"

When I first came here for ammunition, Oaken offered the sauna to me seven times. It clearly was his pride.

"Uh, no. Thank you." Said the girl. She rolled up the map, and started for the door.

Anna approached her. "Need some help?" She asked.

"Uh," said the girl, a little surprised. "Well, I was trying to find the rock trolls. But this map is not being too helpful."

Anna smiled. "Oaken means well..."

"Ja!"

"But you don't need him, or a map. I can help you." Anna's eyes lit up. "I'm on my way to see them! Come with me!"

The girl perked up. "Really? Thank you! Uh, I'm Belle."

Now, I hadn't heard of Belle yet, but that was because her movie wasn't out yet in the Land Without Magic. However, I had read the story, so I was a little familiar with her. This must have been before she met the Beast.

"I'm Anna." Said Anna, shaking her hand.

Oaken interrupted the moment by calling over. "Friend of Anna's! Half price on the sauna!"

I laughed. "You got my order, Oaken?"

"Oh, ja! I'll be right back with it!"

He went into the back room while Anna introduced me.

"This is Asgeir, my brother."

"Pleased to meet you, Belle." I said.

"So you're picking up an order?" She asked.

"It's for his...guild." Said Anna. "He was just seeing me up this way, then he heads back to town."

I nodded. "Yes, Anna. Plus I have to report back to them anyways. It's been a while since I've checked on them."

Oaken came back carrying a box about the size of a trunk. Of course, being the big man that he was, he was carrying it like it was nothing.

"Ja, Asgeir! Here it is!"

He placed it on the table. I flipped the latches open, and took one of the crossbows out. A reddish mahogany finish, and the metal mechanism on the bow's draw had the Assassin logo. I peered down the sights to test it.

"Exactly what kind of guild does your brother belong to?" asked Belle with concern as I placed the bow back.

"...hunters." Came Anna's squeaky reply.

I nodded. "I may need to borrow a horse to get this down to the village."

"Oh, ja. Not a problem. Anything else?"

I pulled my air rifle off my back. "Regular ammunition refill. Thanks."

With that, Anna and Belle left. Anna smiled at me with reassurance, even though I felt nervous that it was the first time in a while I had let her out of my sight for more than ten minutes. I couldn't help but feel that sense of dread that there was a chance I wouldn't see her again.


I returned to the castle an hour later. I figured it was important that I notify Elsa on the Duke's fate before heading to the hideout. This was a political move against Weasel Town as well as against the Templars. As far as I knew, the duke had a granddaughter sympathetic to our cause that would restore order in Weasel Town. But if Elsa didn't know about the rat's fate, she should.

I walked in as Ingrid was teaching Elsa. The room was covered in frost all around.

"Asgeir!" Said Elsa. "We're just in the middle of a lesson. Is there something you need?"

I glanced at Ingrid, then spoke up. "I'm speaking on behalf of the Assassins now, Elsa."

Elsa nodded. "Yes. What about?"

"Alone, Elsa." I said, gesturing to our aunt.

Ingrid blinked, but Elsa spoke for her. "Whatever you want to say to me, you can say in front of Aunt Ingrid. I trust her."

*But I don't.* I thought, scratching my stubble. "It's about the Duke." I said.

Elsa's smile dropped. "What happened?"

"He's dead. When Anna and I were in the Enchanted Forest, we met up with some of my brothers there. They were on a mission to kill a Master Templar out there, and requested my help. It was the Duke, and I was the one to bring him down."

Elsa didn't say anything for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. This was only on behalf of the Assassins, right?"

"Yes. Although I partly took him down thinking of how he tormented the three of us for so long. You, me, Anna."

"Yes." Said Ingrid. "He did such horrible things."

So she knew the Duke as well. I needed to get to Matthew soon.

"I've heard of his granddaughter." Said Elsa. "She might be open to reinstating an alliance. But I understand that the Duke couldn't stay if he was a target of the Assassins."

"By your leave." I said to Elsa. I headed off into the hallway, leaving my sister behind with the real demon of this family.


After Elsa and Matthew had reached a good point in negotiations, we were able to restore our hideout. Hidden in the catacombs underneath the castle and the surrounding town lay our underground fortress. It was where I stayed often if I was in Arendelle on Assassin business without Elsa or Anna knowing I was there. We had placed numerous entrances to the catacombs around the castle, but the one I was closest to was a true hidden door cliché.

In the library, at the fireplace lay the door. The secret lever was a candelabra twenty feet away from the fireplace. The switch was placed so far away from the fireplace, so that one trying to get in wouldn't find it. You'd expect the switch to open a door be right beside the door itself, not so far from the door. I pulled it down, and the fireplace sank down revealing the entrance to the hideout. The wall opposite of the passage inside showed the Assassin insignia, and a hatch in the floor. Opening the hatch revealed a ladder, and I climbed down.

Matthew was in the middle of a meeting with Jason when I walked in. He grinned, then gestured to Jason.

"Listen, Jason. This'll have to wait."

Jason glanced up at me, then grabbed me in an brotherly embrace.

"Nice to see you're not dead, Asgeir."

"So am I." I replied, pulling away. "Death is so boring, especially now. The crossbow shipment should be in the delivery chute.

"I'll be back to talk later, Matthew." He said. "Until then, time to teach these novices how to shoot worth a Templar's arse."

Matthew waved as Jason turned away. Jason was one of the few Assassins who preferred his ranged weapons to his blades. He still knew how to use his own twin hidden blades, but his pride was a long sighted rifle slung to his back, similar to my air rifle. He was our best shot. Even better than Ryan, thank god; he never missed a shot in his life, and was as kind as he was brave. He had met the sisters a couple times, and gladly agreed to continue as an Assassin with their support. Although what differed him from myself was I was the only Assassin who would dare use something Shay thought was good. When I saw the air rifle in the stockpile as I picked my weapons when I was a kid, Matthew told me that no one had used that rifle since it was assembled.

Matthew slid forward a flagon of ale as I sat down. "There's no doubting what you want to talk to me about, is there Asgeir?"

"I met Ingrid." I replied. "She recognized my own hood when it wasn't even raised. That makes me think that she's had a history with us, and suffice to say, with my father especially."

Matthew took a long swig of ale. "Did you know your father taught me personally? He and I shared a fraternal bond in the same way that you and I share. He was my own Mentor. It's why I took you under my wing specifically when he passed."

"Passed" meaning Agdar took his head off with the great sword of the Arendelle royal family.

"He loved everyone he fought alongside, Asgeir. And he had plans for you. Then that damn woman came and everything turned to shit. I was praying so hard she would never return from that urn."

Now this was getting interesting. "What the hell happened?"

Matthew leaned forward, hand on top of his flagon. "Let's start by saying that your resentment of magic is something you took from your when I raised you."


*Matthew POV*

When your father and I were assigned together as brothers at arms, he was 17, and I 15. I can remember back when things were simpler. Back when I could walk through Arendelle without worrying that someone would shoot me. Daniel and I knew Ingrid, just as she told you. But she may not have told you about Helga. Helga was the middle child of the sisters. Once there were three, but now there are none. None fit to be among us.

King Harald was a dear friend of ours when I was a novice. He remembered how our Mentor at the time, Maunu , saved his life on a few occasions when they were younger, and ended up providing us with more support than we could ever imagine.

Daniel and I were known as the messengers of the Order for King Harald. That evening we headed through the firelit town across the bridge to the castle.

With us in attendance at such an important occasion, we had to ditch our hoods for proper attire. We both wore what we could, but the difference between us was that I chose to go as much as I could and wear the epaulets on my shoulders, and Daniel did not.

"They're stupid, Matthew." He said to me when I asked why. "Why wear such a ridiculous article when no one at this party will even recognize us to begin with? Any Templars there haven't seen our faces. No hood and a dress coat is all I think we need to ensure no one recognizes us."

Daniel was a carefree Assassin in some respects, but he taught me everything I knew. He either had no respect for one thing, or fiercely believed in it. Almost never a grey area.

The guards at the front of the palace stopped us.

"Invitations." They said.

Daniel and I presented our invitations, both stamped with Harald's personal seal. The guards took note of this, and ushered us in.

"Enjoy your evenings, Mr. Vollan. Mr. Ness."

We both walked into the large ballroom. The ceiling reached a height that I wasn't even sure I could count, and the guests seemed to glow with royalty. It angered me how Templars lived like this and us Assassins got the short end of the stick; more than half of the guests were known Templars throughout several kingdoms and lands.

We found our host with two of his daughters towards the center of the room. Daniel stepped up and bowed, twirling his hand.

"Your Majesty." He murmured. "Your Highnesses." He said to Gerda and Helga.

I followed suit as the two princesses curtsied. King Harald was thrilled to have two of his own friends join the celebration.

"It is truly a pleasure to have you both gather for my name day, Master Edward." He said to Daniel. "What with all that has happened."

A recent assault on one of our hideouts to the far northern regions of Arendelle had nearly destroyed the homestead. But luckily, our brothers endured with our help.

"Father," Said Helga. "You must excuse me, but there is someone who you absolutely must meet."

She hurried off, but not before flashing a bright smile at me. I shifted. As hard at it may come for you to believe, Asgeir, I was once a young boy who wanted to find that which your sister Anna and Kristoff have. And despite her oncoming betrothal to many suitors, no doubt many a line of Templars, I will admit that I had some feelings for Helga.

"How have you managed, Adam?" Asked Gerda.

It was my own alias that she was saying. I nodded. "It has been tough, but our brothers are holding steady. You have been very generous, King Harald."

Harald beamed. "Of course. I am forever in your debt as a friend."

Helga walked over with a younger man on her arm. He had thick glasses and a heavily waxed mustache. I felt my eyes flash, and almost drew my hidden blade at the sight of him. The Duke was a known Templar, just like most of them here. But I felt a sort of responsibility to Helga if I could take this man's life right now. I could see it in her eyes. That familiar look in any young girl's eyes the moment that she sees the suitor that she knows she wants desperately. Daniel held up his hand with such a small gesture, then shook his head. Restraint was another thing he taught me back when I showed more recklessness than professionalism.

"Father," said Helga. "I would like for you to meet my new friend, the Duke."

The sniveling twerp gave a quick bow. "An honor, Your Majesty." He said.

Harald raised an eyebrow. "Duke? What brings you to Arendelle?"

Precursor sites, was my guess.

"I'm on a diplomatic mission." Came his reply. "Part of a semi-permanent envoy. I shall be staying for quite some time."

Semi-permanent? But that meant only one thing if the Duke was involved. Daniel knew it, and looked at me with that look that showed me he understood. The Templars were setting their sights on Arendelle, for some reason.

Helga, nor Harald knew of the Duke's involvement with the Templars, and I felt a sinking sense of dread as she smiled at the Duke.

"Welcome to my kingdom." Said Harald. "Do you find it to your liking?"

What wasn't there to like? The mountains and snowscapes were nothing like anything I could ever see, even in the Land Without Magic.

"She's beautiful." Said the Duke, looking at Helga, then stuttered. "Uh-um-uh, it's beautiful. Yes. I like it here. It's lovely. As is your daughter. I'm humbled she would even consider a dance with me."

I scowled. He wasn't even being subtle at this point. But with so many guards in the room, Templars alike, and Daniel watching on, mentally begging me not to slit this man's throat, I had to hold back. I took a step back, slowly.

Helga smiled teasingly at the Duke's statement, until he finished his sentence.

"I mean, would she?" He asked.

"I would consider it." She replied.

Harald sighed. "It always starts with a dance." He laughed.

As the band struck up, Daniel and I sat down with fresh mugs of ale off to the side of the dance floor. Daniel shook his head.

"We all got our weaknesses, Matthew. Don't let yours lose your hood."

I took a long swig. Killing a target prematurely without approval from a mentor was considered forbidden now by our standards. Apprentices in the Order refer to this as the "Arno Law".

"If the Duke is here on a mission, then we may be compromised." I said.

"I know. But this is something we need to bring back to the council. If we report this, we can stop the Templars from latching onto this place before they even take so much as a step through the border."

Daniel stopped, glancing around in interest. He must have sensed something. Not every Assassin is gifted with the Sight, just as there are those rare folks that hold the sight outside out Order. I wasn't lucky enough to possess the Sight, but Daniel helped me along the way.

"Edge of the ballroom, by the west entrance."

I got up, and started over. The west entrance to the ballroom was one of the smallest, making it very little in terms of traffic. Daniel didn't tell me who or what was there, nor could he, since the Sight would only tell him of a person of interest, not why.

I made my way over, instantly spotting who I was looking for in the shadows. I stood beside her, and she slowly glanced at me. It was a full minute of silence, looking on at the dancers before we spoke.

"It's not easy, is it?" I said.

"Never, Matthew." Replied Ingrid. "But I can't possibly be seen, knowing I'm a danger to everyone."

Daniel and I found out about Ingrid's powers when we were in our teens, and swore on the Brotherhood that we would keep her secret.

"So don't be a danger to innocents." I said. "You could join us and serve something bigger than yourself. Pass the throne onto Helga."

Ingrid glared at me, not amused. I had asked her many times to join the Order since she spent her days hiding away, where either myself or Daniel would run into her. She would make a good Assassin.

"I refuse to join a brotherhood that glorifies killing, regardless of their motives. I understand what you are saying, Matthew, but I can't be near anyone. Anyone at all."

She started crying, and started for the door. I could only stand and watch as the tall blonde ran off. Daniel placed a hand on my shoulder as he walked up behind me.

"Let's head back." He said. "It's for the best."


"And you said that the Duke is one of the potential suitors for Princess Helga?"

"Yes, Mentor." Said Daniel. "The Templars are clearly locking their sights on Arendelle."

Maunu, our Mentor glanced at me. "Matthew. I notice that you haven't said much since you invited yourselves into my office."

I nodded. "With respect, Mentor, I think it the best action to strike fast and quick. Get the Duke out of the picture, and soon. Send a message to the Templars that we are protecting this kingdom."

Maunu wasn't one to respect the opinions of novices. He thought it would only crack his authority if he listened to people who were much less experienced than him. "It would not serve the best interests of the Brotherhood, novice. Not until we have a list of the Duke's benefactors. Who knows how many Templars are hiding in the shadows? No, I don't think it the best course of action. I want you and Master Daniel to keep watch on the princesses and give us regular reports. Dismissed."


We next saw the sisters a week later, Asgeir. They had been in Misthaven on some kind of business that they kept secret from Harald. Daniel and I scaled the walls of the castle and climbed into a window of the eastern wing. Gerda was walking through the hall when Daniel whistled.

Gerda smiled as she saw us. "Nice to see some friendly faces, boys."

Daniel pulled his hood down. "How have you been, Gerda?"

"It has been hard this last week. Although Ingrid has been going outside our room more often."

That was quite a surprise to hear. "No kidding?" I asked. "What changed her mind?"

Gerda smiled, although uncomfortably. "We visited a wizard. He gave Ingrid a solution to her...ice problem."

There were plenty of wizards in Misthaven, but few could do something at that kind of level. Daniel narrowed his eyes as he read Gerda's expression like a book.

"What did you have to give up to Rumplestilskin for that?"

Gerda was surprised, but did not show it. "I never said it was Rumplestiltskin."

"You didn't have to."

Gerda nodded, then scratched at her left wrist with her right hand. I noticed right then what they had to give up.

"The ribbons?" I asked. "That's a tall order, even for that bastard."

The sisters took three ribbons off a kite when they were children. That was the day when they discovered Ingrid's powers. They swore they would never leave each other. The ribbons served as a sort of symbol of their bond.

"Ingrid insisted. She's afraid, Matthew. She's afraid that she'll hurt someone. We had to give up the symbols of our sisterhood for protection."

Gerda's eyes lit up. "You've done a lot for my family before, boys. Can you do it again? Please talk to Ingrid. Show her that she isn't what she's made herself out to be."

Daniel waited a moment before he nodded. "We'll do what we can, Gerda. But I can't promise anything. We inspire fear for most, not take it away."


Gerda told us that we may find Ingrid in the gardens towards the edge of town. Why she'd go that far escapes me, but we indeed found her. And Helga with the little snake. Helga smiled as we approached.

"Impeccable timing, boys." She said to us.

The Duke eyed us with dread. "Assassins!" He spluttered.

"Damn straight." Replied Daniel. "Care to explain what's happened, Your Highness?" He asked Helga.

"The Duke is nothing but a liar and a scoundrel." She said, Ingrid watching on. I stood outside the steps of the gazebo with Daniel right beside Helga.

"Thank you for saving me the trouble of considering taking your worthless hand in marriage." She sneered.

The Duke glared at his formerly betrothed. "How dare you."

"We shall see to it that your 'diplomatic mission' here is over!"

Daniel smirked. "Run along back to Weaseltown, you little prick."

The Duke stared hard at Daniel and adjusted his glasses. "It's pronounced Wesleton!" He snarled. "And I am it's Duke! I do not take orders from you, Assassin! Nor this princess! Believe me, when Arendelle learns the truth about her, they shall side with me!"

To that remark, Daniel glanced at Ingrid, and gave her a short nod. One clearly out of support for her. I stepped up behind her, staring down the Duke. I too helped the innocent, and that meant siding with my brother's childhood friends.

"Ingrid is my sister." Said Helga. "And I love her for who she is." She turned on the Duke. "And so shall everyone else!"

The Duke smirked. "Oh, really? Is this why you hide her away from balls, and royal dinners? Why no one has laid eyes on this freak?!" He pointed at her with such a dishonorable way, I would have cut his hand off if I could go back and do it again.

"Watch your mouth, weasel! You're out of line, now!" Growled Daniel. He started for his blade.

"Mock me all you wish, Assassin. But the people deserve to know what their future queen is. Before I'm through, all of Arendelle will know your secret!"

Ingrid's eye started twitching. Angrily, or psychotically? I've replayed the memory so many times I forget all the details, and I especially have so much trouble what happened next. Of course, we all don't remember exactly how a friend dies when things become this hostile. Especially when you had feelings for that friend.

"When they find out how dangerous your sister really is, you won't have to hide her any longer! Because they'll lock her up and throw away the key!"

"Enough!" Commanded Helga. Clearly she had the kind of voice of authority that a queen needed when she snapped it. Even I was shook off a bit by it. The Duke however, was not.

"Because that is the only fate befitting a monster!"


I said it already. It's gone through my head so many times, I'm not even sure I remember how it happened.

When I heard that Ingrid was taken from that urn, I watched her carefully without her knowing I was there as she walked the castle corridors. I now know that she lost her sanity long ago, and I believe it was at this moment when she lost it.

How do I remember it, Asgeir? Ingrid lost her temper so hard, she struck Helga. Right in the heart. The Duke ran off, and Helga fell to the floor from her frozen heart. As Ingrid started wailing for her sister, praying that she could undo this, your father did the last thing I expected out of him. Maybe he thought that he needed to ensure that Ingrid didn't hurt anyone else, or maybe he was just doing his duty. But he did it anyways.

"Hands up!" He commanded, his flintlock dead straight on Ingrid's head. "Get on your knees and show me your hands!"

"Daniel!" She sobbed. "Please!"

Helga seemed to be choking as the ice spread throughout her body. Were we staying our blades from the innocent like we were supposed to? I didn't realize until later that your father was doing his duty. He was aiming his gun at the one who needed a bullet in her head, and quick.

"Daniel?" I asked.

"Get him, Matthew. Find the son of a bitch, and end him!"

"But-"

"That's an order, novice!" He snapped, still aiming his gun at Ingrid. "Get that Duke, now!"

I hesitated, Ingrid watching me, hoping that I would stand between her and the white hooded devil holding her passport to the afterlife. And I ran. I ran for the Duke, hoping I could catch up to him. I did, but I didn't kill him.

I tackled him as he was nearing his guards, which were at the bottom of the hill we were atop in the woods. They didn't see or hear the struggle between us.

"Hands off, Assassin!" He wrenched free of my grip.

I pulled my own flintlock, and aimed at him. "Your efforts here will throw this kingdom into chaos, weasel. One heir is dead and another is grief stricken over killing her." I said. "I could kill you right now and get this over with. Follow my orders."

I lowered my hand and dropped the gun. "But what will that give us? War. Your friends will all think that this was a move by Arendelle for political gain of some sort, and then too many more will die. I need to do something else."

I opened my Phantom Blade, and shot him in the neck. Nowhere near a fatal hit, but it would give us something else.

The Duke fell to his knees as I walked up.

"You can't die yet." I said, looking down on the pathetic twit. "It would be too risky. I just shot you with a new poison we have developed. Everything you saw back there, you'll be aimlessly rambling on about for months, maybe years to come. They'd call you crazy, and you'll be put in a ward. No one will believe you, despite your insistence, and if you're smart, you'll back off from Arendelle when they lock you up and throw away the key. Then maybe, after years of therapy, you'll think that everything you saw was just a bad dream from long ago, and move on."

The Duke fell back into the pine needles. The first effects of the poison were unconsciousness. "May the Father of Understanding guide me..." He murmured.


I walked back towards the gazebo, and as I saw what awaited me, I fell to my knees. Gerda sat on the steps in tears, a strange looking urn in her arms. Daniel sat beside her. As I approached, he looked up.

"Is he gone?" He asked about the Duke.

"No." I replied. When Daniel almost started to yell at me, I interrupted with my reasoning. "It would mean war for Arendelle if the Templars found that one of their own was killed here during his 'diplomatic mission'. The Templars would blame the King for something we did. I shot him with the new dosage."

Daniel opened his mouth, but then understood. "Valid point." He replied. "That might be even better for him. The Templars are one man down for a few years."

I would have killed him then if I could go back, Asgeir. You did much more than kill just any Templar. You killed the man who stole Ingrid's sanity. Had I acted, Helga might still be alive. Gerda might still be alive, with no fear of her own daughter.

"What is that?" I asked, cautiously about the urn.

"Ingrid." Breathed Gerda.

Daniel quietly explained briefly as Gerda mourned. That urn was also given to the sisters by Rumplestiltskin as a "Plan B" should the gloves not work. It was meant to seal people too dangerous to stay in society inside the urn, never to be found again.

Gerda silently held the urn out towards us. Daniel silently took it. "I know where it should go." He whispered.

Gerda smiled at us. The very last smile I ever saw on her face. "I'm going to the trolls." She said. "No one must remember either of them, Helga or Ingrid. Otherwise Arendelle will burn."

Daniel shook his head. "Are you mad?!" He said. "Memory magic isn't a solution! It's more problems! Who's to say something like this won't happen again?"

"It won't." Replied Gerda. "Take the urn, and hide it. Hide it wherever you think it should go. Just get it out of my sight. And get out."

"What?"

"You were supposed to protect Helga, and instead you let that monster kill her!" Gerda snarled at us. "I don't want to see either of you, or any other Assassins ever again!"

Daniel and I had no more words. Nothing left in the line of trying to reach out to Gerda. Both her sisters were dead because we failed to act. Not much hope left now. We only turned and walked away.


Daniel and I found a place for it. An old cave from a deteriorated precursor site, it had eroded to a small cave in the mountainside after the Piece of Eden connected to it was removed years before then. Daniel placed the urn where the Piece once stood with a heavy heart. He had a weakness for the sisters, too. Something about his long friendship with them made this one of the hardest actions to deal with.

"We can't forget this." He said after he placed the urn down.

"Why?"

"What if the Templars find this place? Ingrid could be used as a weapon against us. We both only stood by instead of protecting her when Gerda sealed her in that urn. We need to remember this so that we can protect this cave. If we forget who Ingrid was, it would put us at a disadvantage."

"So how do we do that?"

"Magic beans." He replied. "Whatever spell the trolls unleash on the kingdom, it won't affect us since we'll be in another realm. A Land Without Magic."


*Asgeir POV*

"Daniel and I reported to Maunu that we were needed in another realm on urgent business. Your father and I spent a week in the Land Without Magic until we were certain that the spell was cast. Then we returned."

"And Agdar? How did he factor into this?"

"With not that many options left for suitors, and only one daughter left, Harald married Gerda off to Agdar, a Templar prince from another kingdom, within the year. After that, we were forced underground to avoid the Templars. Half of them didn't even know we were right under their very noses. Until you were born. Then Agdar ordered a purge of the Brotherhood, and Gerda, a full fledged Templar by this point, concurred, rallying all the troops of Arendelle to find and kill the Assassins. Harald could not oppose his daughter by this point anymore, because his heart gave out three months before you were born. You know the rest."

"I do." I replied. "But I don't understand something: the Duke remembered Ingrid. His last words to me before he died was that Ingrid was a monster as I am. How did he remember?"

"That was a side effect. The poison I shot him with somehow protected him from the spell. I guess he was so insane from it, the spell ignored him. No use taking the memories of someone who lost their mind."

"So what does Ingrid want with me and my sisters?"

Matthew shrugged. "A number of things, I'd imagine. Best I can guess is that she's readying to kill us all. Freeze the kingdom again."

By how Matthew said it, you'd think he was talking about a football game coming up that weekend. I had slightly more intense feelings about this.

"What do we do?!" I pleaded.

"What do we do?" Matthew echoed. "Tell me what to do, and I'll follow those orders, Asgeir."

I nodded. Matthew needed me to take charge for this one, and so I would. "Evacuate the kingdom. Get at least half of the citizens of Arendelle out of here and get them to Corona."

"Corona? Even after Ryan?"

"Especially after Ryan. We need to look past the Rogue's death and focus on the citizens' best interests. Felix will have to listen and understand that we need his help. Avoid any and all collateral damage we can from Ingrid's wrath. And take Olaf with you."

"Take me where?" The little snowman had just waddled in on his snowballs for feet.

Matthew sighed uneasily. "Don't ask me how he got in here. My best guess is that he figured it out by some godforsaken miracle."

I knelt down so that Olaf and I were around equal eye level. "You're going to be taking a trip with Matthew, Olaf."

Olaf grinned, excited. "What kind of trip?"

"A holiday." I replied. "Somewhere warm and sunny all year round."

Olaf nearly lost his head (literally) when I said that. Matthew shook his head, grinning.

"Stupid little snowman." He murmured. Matthew liked Olaf okay, but sometimes he still found it ridiculous that he was talking to a snowman, and he talked back.

I nodded at Matthew. "Get them out of here, and the beans. We're going to need as many as we can, so if we have any seeds or saplings, get them and harvest the beans that we can."

"Aye. Anything else?"

"Don't wait up for me. I'll be there."

"Where are you going?"

"To find Anna. She's up in the mountains with the trolls! If Ingrid is targeting us, I'd reckon she'd go after the one who's all alone right now!" The fear for my blood spread through me faster than the Swifthearts could run.

I bolted out the door and for the exit to the hideout at Matthew started gathering the Assassins to initiate the evacuation. But I knew in my divided heart that despite my efforts, and how fast I would run, I could not catch Anna in time.


Storm clouds started rolling in, and the wind whistled louder than even I was comfortable with. I clambered up a fallen tree propped against another, and started flying through the branches. I flicked my wrist and shot my Rope Blade out, pulling myself faster through the woods.

With such a storm coming, there was no doubt in my mind. Ingrid was trying to silence Anna and me about what we found. Why she would hide something like this escaped me. Sure, I now knew that she really was a monster, but if she hadn't done this, I would have let it go. Information. It was all I wanted.

I jumped off the last branch and shot out of the wood into the clearing. It was at the base of the West Mountain, which held the path to the trolls. I shoulder rolled, and looked over.

Ingrid already had Anna. From what I saw she had knocked her out, because she lay unconscious at her feet.

"Leave her alone!"

I looked up and saw Belle up on the path. Anna must have fallen. Or Ingrid pulled her down.

Ingrid looked up at Belle, not seeing me. "You'll have to excuse us." She called up to her. "But this is family business."

"I agree!" I called.

Ingrid looked over at me. I flicked my wrists, extending my blades.

"Nice for you to make this easy for me." She smiled.

I responded by shooting my Rope Blade out. Ingrid froze it in mid air with incredible accuracy. Then threw something towards me. It rushed through the air so fast and hard, I couldn't catch it, and fell back unconscious as it hit me smack in the head.


Anna often wondered how it was that I could escape almost any prison. I had my ways, but the main reason I learned to escape so well is because of my heritage. I break people's chains and help them think for themselves. So naturally, I would know how to break my own chains. The Templars would call me a mad dog that refuses to listen to reason. I would think of myself more as a free eagle. But nothing would enrage me more than a prison that I could not escape from.

I woke to the voice of that damned witch.

"Anna. It's time to wake up, dear. You too, Asgeir" She spoke my own name with such venom.

I groaned as I shook myself awake. At first glance, it looked like a strange prison. I was locked up in what looked like an iron maiden with my head poking out of it, placed about ten feet off the ground from a small pole with a chain wrapped around it as a perch, the ceiling only a foot or two above me. But the hay that lined the ceiling confused me greatly, until I saw Anna beside me and realized I had it backwards: I was hanging upside down, swinging by a chain from the ceiling. Ingrid looked down at me across from the iron bars of our cell.

"What the-?" Moaned Anna, as she stood up. "Where am I?"

"Exactly where you belong." Replied Ingrid.

I shook the maiden frantically, feeling it swing like a piece of bait in the woods. I spat towards Ingrid in disgust.

"Let us the hell out!" I cried.

"You can't just lock us up in here! Elsa won't stand for it!" Said Anna.

Ingrid blinked. "Even when she finds out what you were planning?"

"What?" Said Anna in disbelief. I too was confused at what Ingrid was saying. She was taking this too far for what we were doing.

Ingrid turned the object over in her hands. It was the hat's box, although I was feeling too dizzy to focus with the blood rushing to my head, and the tufts of my shaggy black hair obscuring my view.

"You were planning to use this to strip away her magic." She said.

Anna shook her head, frantically trying to plead her case. "No. That's not why I had it!"

But there was no negotiating with a broken mind. "Really? Then why didn't you tell Elsa about it?"

"That thing has magic that none of us can control or understand, Ingrid!" I yelled out. "We're ants playing with the toys of gods!"

Anna glanced down at me. "We just didn't know how to tell her the truth. We found it with a man that our parents sought out. They went to him looking for a way to strip Elsa of the thing that makes her special!"

Ingrid frowned at her. "And now you're following in their footsteps."

I swung the cage even harder. Anna and I had been there for Elsa as often as we could in these last few years. No matter what, wherever I was, I would come back to my sisters if I heard a cry for help. Ingrid had been here five minutes and was already pointing fingers at us, making me look like the bad guy. She would make a remarkable Templar.

"HOLD YOUR WORDS, CRAVEN!" I roared. ""Anna and I were going to give it to the Assassins and take it to where even it's master couldn't find it! That thing is too dangerous for any mortal to handle!"

Ingrid only stared at me. "Such bold words coming from a bastard. Learn to respect your betters."

There it was. The one word I knew she would use against me. If Anna or Elsa used it, it would be like saying I was an honored soldier to the kingdom. But when I heard it, I only smirked.

"I don't have 'betters'! I'm an Assassin! I bow to no one! You got some nerve trying to shred us apart at the seams. But I guess you could consider it a hobby. I mean, let's not forget what happened to our other aunt."

Ingrid's eyes flashed. I had finally hit that nerve. I knew what no one else outside the Assassins knew. That Helga died by the hands of her own kin.

"Yeah." I snarked. "I know exactly what happened to her. Matthew told me everything."

"Same with the rock trolls." Said Anna, before quickly adding in. "Well, they told me what they knew. I don't know what Asgeir heard."

"The Assassins or trolls shouldn't talk about things that they don't understand." Snapped Ingrid.

"They know better than you think!" I replied.

"What happened to her?" Whispered Anna.

Ingrid blinked again. There was something about how she blinked that reflected just how much of her mind she had lost. "Some secrets are better left buried."

"I don't understand." Said Anna.

I scowled, feeling another wave of dizziness hit me. "I do. Those secrets are buried in the ground just like your own kin, goddamned bitch! But some of us never forget the things that we see as we watch them unfold!"

Although she didn't show it, I could tell Ingrid was shocked at my foul mouth. Most words that I used as insults were considered to be very offensive in Nottingham. You learn a few when you spend many a night in taverns with drunken outlaws.

"What in the bloody seven hells do you want with us?!" I cried out, swinging the maiden. This time, it swung so hard, I banged my head against the bars of the cell. Anna stopped the maiden from swinging me around wildly by grabbing the chain above me.

Ingrid leaned in close to the bars. "What I have always wanted." She breathed. "A family who will embrace me for who I am."

"Hah!" I called out. "Yeah! And I'm sure you'll find exactly that by doing all this, you shite!"

She narrowed her eyes at Anna, once again, ignoring me. "For a brief moment, I thought the three of us could be that family. You, me, and Elsa. But you showed me that plan would never work! You have nothing in common with Elsa and me. You are the odd woman out."

Five minutes. She was here for five minutes, and already trying to replace both of us in one swift movement by locking us up. Why did I get the feeling that this wasn't the only bit of it?

Ingrid turned to me. "As for you. You're even worse, Asgeir. You can't be any part of this family. You tarnish it with your Assassin heritage." She snapped. "You're a boy, so that can't work to begin with. You're also a murderer. A thief. A liar. And worst of all, you're not even purely of this family. All you are, all you'll ever be, is a bastard. And you forget your place in this world. That miserable old duke should have been mine to take from this world, NOT YOURS!"

I swung the cage forward. My hands were free under the doors of the iron maiden, but I knew that Ingrid was smarter than that. There was no escape, as much as I hated to admit it. If only she could see the large finger I was flipping her behind the piece of metal holding me down. I killed the Duke of Weasel Town, and after everything I heard about him from Matthew, how he tried to drive a wedge between my mother and her sisters, succeeded, and made one kill the other, I would kill him again. Only this time I would flay him alive instead.

"And you took Hans, who should have been mine. I would consider us even, but you crossed the line first, bitch." I growled.

"I suppose I'll have to find someone else to replace you, Anna." Ingrid said, ignoring me. It was a real case of the pot calling the kettle black by giving me the silent treatment every time I said something that put her in the wrong.

Ingrid turned, and started to walk away, before I started laughing. It was funny. The whole situation was both the worse I had ever been in, and the most stupid conflict ever. There was no need for there to be bloodshed. I had my answers from Matthew, and that was all. Then Ingrid jumped to conclusions, and made the worst possible choice ever: she chained me up. Only because I asked questions. But it was almost as though I could see the answers to them happening in front of me. Like I was reliving the memories of my father. Was I wrong in thinking that Ingrid killed Helga purposely? Not at all, if that same woman stood right before me, questioning my laughter.

I sniffed, pulling myself together. "Murderer, eh? Well I guess it takes one to know one!" I spat loudly at Ingrid's feet through the bars, her stepping back from my saliva. "I'm going to love slashing your throat in half when we get out of here, you frigid bitch!"

No words. No emotion. Her mind was broken like Anna's heart as she sat on the ground next to me. Ingrid only turned and walked off, leaving the guards to watch us.

"What happened to Aunt Helga, Asgeir?" Asked Anna. "How do the Assassins know this and not the rock trolls?"

I tried my best to keep my head straight. "Matthew knows some things the trolls don't. Some Assassins have developed antidotes to the trolls and their memory magic. But others have learned that the trolls' magic can only affect a certain area in a certain radius."

Anna understood. "You're saying it can only reach as far as..." She tried to figure out the distance.

"Arendelle." I replied. "Their magic only reaches to the boundaries of Arendelle. This all happened four years before I was born. Matthew explained to me that Arendelle once was a safe haven for Assassins as it is now. He knew Ingrid, Helga, and mother, and my father knew our mother very well, too. They were close friends as children, you see. Ingrid discovered her powers when her and her sisters were very young. They promised that they would keep it a secret, and they would never abandon each other. But things became more complicated, and they sought help to someone who everyone goes to."

Anna ran a hand through her hair with dread. "Rumplestiltskin."

I tried my best to nod, with the maiden clamped firmly around my neck. "He made them an offer. As it turns out, we know of both items that he gave the sisters. Elsa's gloves, and the urn."

Anna's eyes lit up. "He's the one who made Elsa's gloves?" She said in surprise.

"Something like that." I said. "No one knows how he gets these items, but he had them, and gave them to Ingrid. Then he also gave them the urn. The idea would be that if her powers got too much out of hand, they could seal her in the urn, never to be seen again. Think of it like Elsa when she ran away, but much worse. I've heard of many bad prisons, and then hell. But this was much worse."

"No wonder Ingrid is this way. She was in there for thirty years."

"No, Anna. That wasn't what broke her. Matthew and Father witnessed this event first hand. Helga was betrothed to a young duke in a small town, but he was scheming to ruin them both. It was that sniveling Duke of Weasel town. He tried to make a move on Ingrid, and when she refused, Helga came in and saw right through the duke's lies. When he threatened them both by exposing Ingrid's secret, Ingrid snapped."

Anna's mouth fell open. "No..."

"Ingrid froze Helga, and it killed her. I don't know how or why, and neither does Matthew. All he can say for sure is that he chased after the Duke, and then returned to find mother with the urn in her hands with Ingrid inside." I started feeling the dizzy spells return, and this time there was no stopping it. All I could do was nod solemnly to Anna as she said quietly "good night" to me.

A/N: "Boy! That escalated quickly! I mean, that really got out of hand fast!" No, but it really did. Anyways, I promise the next chapter will be up very soon as the Past Arendelle sequence wraps up, and Present Storybrooke can begin. For the superfans of Frozen, you might notice the reference to that creek as Anna and Asgeir approached Oaken's. I laughed so hard at that part in the movie. As for perspective changes, this is not the last time this will happen. I'm debating on shifting the perspective to one of the past player character Assassins in previous games (ie: Altair, Ezio, Connor, Edward, Arno.) But I am positive that at one point, we will see a perspective change to Shay. Those who haven't played Rogue are missing out! It was awesome, but too short. I will be back soon! Feel free to review/fav/follow