Raynold

(A/N: More speculation in this chapter, a good bit of it, but it's mainly contained to a single section of it rather than the whole thing. It was kind of me sorting out various ideas I have for directions that I could take this, so if you have preferences out of the options given, or suggestions of your own, let me know about them.)

Thord hung around on the sidelines as a new stranger was presented before Elsa and Hans. Kristoff and Anna had brought him in while the king and queen were holding court. He wasn't entirely sure what was happening here, but both king and queen looked overwhelmed and shocked, and the guy just… didn't fit somehow. Like Sir Kay and Elsa's handmaiden Soredamer. They didn't… mesh, in a way he couldn't explain. Maybe he was just being paranoid. But seriously, the guy's mannerisms? They seemed a little, he didn't know, archaic maybe was the word? Or he was just really respectful and proper. Or was seeing something in the Queen and her King that Thord still couldn't see.

"You're welcome here, Sir Bedwyr. For however long you desire to be," Elsa finally finished, still sounding a bit overwhelmed.

"Gra… my thanks, my lady," the man, this 'Sir Bedwyr', said. What had he been about to say, Thord wondered?

"What is your country of origin, Sir Bedwyr?" Thord asked. Yes, blatantly out of turn, but he was dying to know!

"Britain, my lord," the man replied.

Thord's ego was stroked by the use of the title 'my lord', and he stopped asking questions, taking instead to puffing himself up in pride and self-importance, Hans noted in a measure of annoyance. "You're very welcome here, Sir Bedwyr. I leave you under the care of Sir Kay. He'll show you where everything is and get you acquainted with the palace," Elsa said.

"My thanks, your majesty," Bedwyr replied.

"Rise," Elsa said. Bedwry did so. Kay stepped forward to take him off to wherever.

After they left, there was a beat of silence. "I like him," Thord declared.

"You would. He called you 'my lord'," Hans said, rolling his eyes.

"Hans, Thord," Elsa warned, giving them both 'the look'. Both frowned but backed off one another with huffs. Elsa rolled her eyes. Just then the throne room doors burst open and Elsa gasped in surprise, sitting up straight along with Hans. Matthias and his guardsman tumbled into the room, wrestling with a viciously struggling young man who was clearly giving the lot of them the fight of their lives. They managed, finally, to drag him in and throw him down at the feet of the thrones. He sprawled on the ground gasping painfully, bleeding and half-cackling.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Hans demanded. He pointed at the man. "Who is he?!"

"Matthias, what happened?" Elsa asked in concern, taking on a more reasonable tone than Hans'.

Matthias, wiping a bloodied mouth and nose and panting heavily, said, "He's a thief, your majesty. A rogue caught outside of the city in the process of robbing innocent folk of everything they had that was of value." Thord straightened a bit at this, seeming a little more intrigued.

"So a bandit," Hans said. "Cut off his hands and be done with him."

"You love testing how much I'll put up with, don't you Hans?" Elsa dryly said, pinching the bridge of her nose hopelessly. He smirked to himself. Elsa looked at the young man, who was shakily rising on hands and knees panting for breath and bleeding worse than Matthias was. "What is your name, stranger?" The man laughed bitterly and clammed up, saying nothing. "Why were you committing this crime? Are you poor? Starving? Do you have a family you can't provide for on your income? A sick loved one you want to help?"

"I did it because it was fun and I was out of practice," he scornfully replied with a sharp laugh. Thord's eyes lit up and he smiled a shark-like smile, now thoroughly intrigued. He chuckled a bit, a dark undertone in it. Elsa cast him a warning look, then turned her hardened gaze on the culprit who was proving a bad influence on her cousin. She and Anna had worked too long and too hard on Thord to have him regress because this kind of example decided to waltz into his way.

"If you find this so amusing, Thord, maybe you'd like to join him in his sentence? Old time's sake," Hans bit. Thord's smirk instantly vanished and the man cleared his throat, looking awkwardly away from the scene. Elsa smirked approvingly at her husband, who winked at her.

"Once a thief always a thief!" the newcomer spoke boldly and brashly up.

"Take him away! Now!" Elsa ordered. "Maybe after he's smartened up a little, he'll be more willing to answer my questions."

"You can be harsh," Hans said in a measure of amusement.

"Don't even," she warned.

"As you command, my Queen," Matthias replied, bowing to her. He had his men wrestle up the stranger and swiftly they swept him out of the throne room.

There was silence between Elsa, Hans, and Thord for a moment. "Your concern for my progress is touching, dear cousin," Thord finally spoke up, tone softer and more genuine than he'd meant for it to be.

Elsa sighed, massaging her temples. "Am I right to be concerned?" she asked.

"Perhaps," Thord replied. "Once a thief always a thief."

"There are a couple things called free will and willpower that completely negate that phrase, you realize?" Hans said.

"It's more accurate, maybe, to say that once you have the skills of a thief, you'll always have them," Thord said. "You'll always know how to pick a lock, pick a pocket, jar a window, pry open a door, find entry points, move silently… You don't have to use them for thieving itself, or for any crime at all really."

"But you will," Hans said.

"How long did it take you to get over your bloodthirstiness and treacherous nature, again?" Thord bit a little harshly. Elsa braced for a fight.

"Touché," Hans said, relenting. Elsa sighed in relief, relaxing a bit.

"Lifestyle changes of that kind of magnitude aren't made in a day," Thord said. "Yeah, I'm probably going to regress. Probably already have. Check around your possessions, your highness. By the way, this is yours. No one was touching Southern Isles blood money with a fifty-foot pole, much less anything with your father's mark on it."

Thord pulled out a pocket watch and threw it at Hans, who caught it looking startled. He stared down at the watch silently. His jaw twitched. He scowled at the trinket and shoved it agitatedly into his pocket. Elsa looked concerned. "Memories I'd rather not bring up," Hans dryly explained.

"His father's mark of death," Thord said. "Southern Isles history 101. The old king would make a show of 'forgiving' someone what they owed in debt, or forgiving them for a crime committed, and 'gift' them with that watch. It was actually a mark of death. A sign for his precious harbinger to know who was next on the chopping block." For a moment it seemed like Thord was going to go on, but he decided he wanted to keep breathing instead, when he saw the dark and wicked scowl that was making its was across the king-consort's face.

There was silence. "Why do you keep it?" Elsa finally, and almost timidly, asked Hans.

"Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it," Hans replied bitterly. "It was… a gift my mother gave to him besides… Her hope was that I would purify it of the taint that had consumed it by turning into a sign of hope instead of despair. I didn't, so let's drop it. You know what happened to mom." Elsa was quiet. Hans was too. After a moment he sighed, closing his eyes. "It was helpful if there was a big family surrounding the target. Then whoever had the watch was the mark, and if the mark had gifted the watch to a family member out of good grace, they were punished by watching that beloved family member or friend die in their place, whether they fessed up or not. Then it was the harbinger's call, my call, whether to put the mark to death as well or let him or her live on in grief and sorrow and regret. Eventually people caught on and the watch generally stayed with the mark it was intended for. Except when said mark wanted to see someone else dead, but at that point there was no tricking daddy's little grim reaper. I was a mirror, after all. There was no hiding from the mirror."

Silence. "Thank you. For choosing to share that with me," Elsa said. It wasn't easy to hear, no, but she knew much of Hans' past wouldn't be. It was why she rarely pried. He let bits and pieces slip in every now and again, and it made her feel relieved because it was a sign of trust. Trust so deep that neither she nor Hans had ever thought the prince would be capable of it. That he was now was… it was good. So good. It meant he wasn't bottling it all up as much as he used to, which meant he didn't have to shoulder a lot of those burdens alone anymore. "How did you determine who would live or die, when…" She trailed off. When victims had gifted the watch to loved ones, she inwardly finished.

Hans was quiet. "Depended on my mood. There were some… static factors that never changed. 'Principles', if you could call them that… Like if it was parent and child… Only child…"

"Twisted mercy," Elsa quietly said. Hans hummed. He really would rather not talk about it. He didn't need to. She knew him well enough, now, to guess at what one or two of his principles had been. If a child ended up dying in their parent's place, the parent would follow in death guaranteed. At least if there were no other children in the picture. Again, twisted mercy. It was harder to guess for other family dynamics and she didn't want to try. She didn't want to look into that past, and she knew he never wanted to think back on it again either, whenever it could be helped.

Awkward quiet. "I should probably go," Thord said, sounding a little ashamed of what he'd said.

"Yeah. You should," Hans replied. Thord winced. Elsa gave Thord an rueful but reassuring smile and turned attention to Hans, leaning on his shoulder and holding his arm. He sighed, resting his head on hers. Thord grimaced and took the cue to leave. This was getting sickening now. And making him kind of wish for things he had no business wishing for. Besides, he was… curious about this new prisoner who had come in.

Frozen

It wasn't long before Thord found himself staring into the cell where the thief had been locked up. Said thief was leaning against the wall defiantly, smirking like he'd just won some big victory. "Nothing to smile about in here, friend. You were caught. What's there to be smug over?" Thord finally chose to say.

The thief seemed startled, looking quickly up at him and blinking in surprise. He frowned a bit then smirked. "It was a challenge," he replied.

"And you failed. Been out of the game a bit too long, I think," Thord said.

"Practice, perfection, and all that," the man answered, shrugging casually.

"Now you're rotting in a cell," Thord said.

"I won't be for long," the man replied.

"Some grand escape planned? Do tell," Thord said, smiling easier now and letting his guard drop a bit.

"That's my secret," the man replied.

Thord pulled a set of keys from a pocket. The thief started, sitting up a bit and looking suddenly interested. Thord chuckled. "This is what a thief still in the know can do," he practically purred. "I can let you out. Sneak you from this castle too. No one would be the wiser. Slip the keys back into the jailer's pocket, the both of us are in the clear. No secret plan needed."

The thief was quiet, considering this. "There's a catch," he finally said.

"I need you to help me with something," Thord confirmed.

"A heist?" the thief asked.

"It's… complicated. But I have the money and you have the drive and supposedly talent, with a little practice time, so you're going to help me regardless of what the favor I ask is, because gold," Thord said.

The thief was quiet, pondering the words. "You've captured my attention," he soon said.

"Good. Then let's get you out of here," Thord said. "Don't try anything. It's really not going to be worth the effort. Plus I'm armed, so, there's that."

"Maybe I wanted to be caught and you're just leaving yourself open to defeat," the man replied.

"Yeah. Right. Whatever man," Thord replied, tossing the keys to the prisoner, who snatched them from the air with a smile and set about unlocking the barred doors. They had yet to move him to a stronger cell. Their mistake, not his.

The thief pushed the door open and tossed the keys back to Thord. "Let's go then," he said. Thord nodded, a wicked smirk playing across his lips, and beckoned for him to follow.

Frozen

In record time they had slipped out of the palace via one of Thord's many discovered escape routes. "You're good," the thief remarked, impressed.

"Thanks. I know," Thord replied, rubbing his nails on his shirt. "What was your name again anyway?"

Silence for a moment. "Raynold," the man finally answered.

"Raynold? Wow. Lot of Arthurian names these days. What's with the sudden trend?" Thord asked.

"Arthurian?" the thief asked, playing dumb. Of course, he might well and truly have been ignorant of it. It wasn't exactly a commonly known Arthurian name.

"Kay, Bedwyr, Raynold, Soredamer… Getting kind of freaky actually," Thord said. "A few of Hans' brothers took Arthurian-style names too, come to think about it. Either as aliases or born names."

"Uh huh… Who was Raynold?" the thief, Raynold, asked.

"Some guy who attacked Lancelot when Lancelot was disguised as Kay. Ganged up on him with a couple other Knights of the Round Table, Gautere and Gyllymer aka Guillomere, who thought they were attacking the inferior-to-Lancelot Kay and ended up getting the surprise of their lives. If memory serves, Raynold was among the knights killed fighting Lancelot and his soldiers when Lancelot went to rescue Guinevere from the stake," Thord said.

"That bitch deserved what was coming to her," Raynold near snarled, practically spitting out the words.

"Whoa! Wow, harsh enough?" Thord said. "I mean, true love friend. Kind of hard to deny."

"Don't make me sick. What Lancelot and Guinevere had was never any kind of true love! Maybe on Lancelot's part, but on Guinevere's? That's pushing it. Bordering on pushing it with Lance too. They were in love with the idea of one another, that's what they were in love with. Lancelot was delusional enough to think that that was real. Guinevere was stubborn enough to keep denying the reality until it was too late to matter," Raynold stated. "This was all her fault! I mean it was all her fault, that whole fiasco. I'm sure King Arthur would love to deny that, if he existed which he doesn't, but he's as delusional as Lancelot I figure."

"Or you are," Thord bit, frowning.

To his surprise there was silence. "Maybe I am," Raynold finally said. Silence. They were both stopped now, and this was getting awkward in ways Thord didn't understand or like. He felt like he was missing something here. Something big. He hated that feeling. "At least the guy died loyal to his king while trying to defend Arthur's honor," Raynold finally continued. "Too bad Guinevere's rescue was a success. That save cost too many good knights their lives. More lives than she was worth… At least in my eyes. Guess not in Arthur's or Lancelot's."

Thord shifted. "You… you can't know that," he finally said. He wasn't sure why he felt like that was what he should say, they were only stories after all, but… apparently those stories were really personal to this thief. Maybe he'd gone through something similar in his own life that kind of echoed that whole fiasco? "Sometimes 'was it worth it' is a question worth asking."

"Not if you're not sure you want to know the answer," Raynold replied, starting to move again.

"If it's not the answer you want, you get over it and push through. I mean, I assume they were all friends. Really, really close friends. Who probably would understand at least somewhat why Arthur or Lancelot would think that way. They probably loved too, so they'd know how crazy it can make you," Thord said. Ugh, he was starting to sound like his sappy cousins. Raynold snorted a laugh but otherwise still looked disheartened. Thord winced. "I mean… for what it's worth, I'm guessing a lot of the knights who died that day were knights Arthur loved dearly. And Lancelot too. I know it, in fact. I've read the stories. I think that the answer to the question would probably be no… No, it wasn't worth it. But honestly both sides of the fiasco would have done well to ask that question. I mean, was ensuring the execution of a woman Arthur didn't even actually want dead, and who at that point might have even been accused of something she didn't actually do, worth going to battle with dearly loved and sworn brothers for? Sometimes you just have to let things go in the end or put your foot down on something, honor be damned… Within reason." Oh yeah, Elsa and Anna were rubbing off way too much on him. He really had to stop keeping their company, he decided. Laugh, laugh.

Raynold sighed, closing his eyes. "Maybe. But we're not debating Arthurian mythos right now. You wanted me for a plan, so give me the details. I'm dying of curiosity," he said.

Immediately Thord dropped the Arthurian subject matter, smirking wickedly. He was more than happy to get away from the subject and return to normal. "I was hired by pirates and smugglers to procure for them the greatest treasure of Arendelle," Thord said.

"Ooh, sounds juicy. What is it?" Raynold asked.

"That's on a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know. Point is, the treasure isn't something I'm much inclined to hand over to them for… reasons," Thord said. "So, I went to the pirate captain who hired me and offered him an ultimatum. Namely, if I could find him something even greater than the greatest treasure of Arendelle, would he accept that instead? He said he would, but see I'm on a time limit. I have a month, maybe two, to either bring him the greatest treasure of Arendelle or impress him with something better. I may have found that something better." Raynold listened intently. This was getting interesting.

Frozen

Until they stopped for lunch, the two made small talk and went over vague plans and ideas. By this time Matthias and his men were probably searching for them, so they had to be sure to stay one step ahead at all times. "So, what's this treasure greater than the treasure of Arendelle?" Raynold eventually asked.

"Elsa and Anna recently told me about an enchanted forest they'd sought out, beautiful and large and magical and filled with powerful beings just waiting to be harnessed and used for personal gain. Maybe a few of them won't be able to be harnessed no matter what they try, but that's Xe's problem not mine. He'll get something out of it at least. Something more than what he'd get just laying his hands on the treasure of Arendelle. I think. Hope. I need backup, is the premise of this endeavor. Backup pretending to be from this secret forest. I'll tell you everything that I was told about it. It'll be enough to sate Xe's curiosity; then they'll be off, and Xe won't ever ask for the treasure of Arendelle again. Theoretically. Not when he has something greater."

"So, you need me to help you sell a lie," Raynold deduced. "And barring that?"

"Seize the treasure of Arendelle. But I'd really, really, really rather not," Thord said. "The enchanted forest promises more anyway. Northuldra, I think the people were called. Not sure what the place itself was, but call it either Northuldra or Ahtohallan. Ahtohallan was what the river was known as?" Raynold gave him a look. "It was convoluted, okay?! And made precious little sense. I mean, Anna and Elsa are lily white. So was their mother. I mean the indigenous tribes around here aren't exactly of a dark complexion, but they're darker than that for sure. Who'd even start to guess Anna and Elsa were descended of one of them? They barely even share the features. Either someone's lying or their dad's genes were a lot stronger than their mom's, which is a rarity and a half. I look darker than them, and their mother did too but only barely, so yeah."

"Their mom was probably only half Northuldra herself, or if she was really that pale probably even just a quarter. It would explain her paleness. If her Northuldra genes were already that diluted, Anna and Elsa's skin color and features would easily be explained," Raynold said.

"I suppose. Just the whole thing doesn't make a lot of sense. But neither do Elsa'a powers I guess," he said.

"Can I get a story here? Because now I'm totally lost," Raynold said.

"Right. Sorry. Might help you make more sense of it," Thord said. With that he began narrating what he knew of the whole situation and its connotations. Raynold listened in silence, taking it in. When Thord was done narrating the story and a few other things that seemed important or pertinent to it, Raynold had at least a bit more clarity over the situation. "So, thoughts?" Thord asked.

"The 'elements' are Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Ice was never counted as one because water encompasses ice, in theory. Electricity never counted as one either. If we start counting Ice, we need to start counting Electricity aka Lightning, so there's actually six 'elements'. Ice beats water, water beats fire, fire beats ice. Water and Earth are evenly matched, scenario dependent, and there's a whole other complex tangent that could be gone into with alliances and whatever, but that's not really important. The complication is that none of those things are actually elements, per se."

"Huh?" Thord asked.

"People used to believe that the earth was made up of only four elements. Earth, wind, fire, and water. Everything that was, stemmed from one of those four things. Water stemmed ice, for instance. Lightning isn't so easily explained away, so if a fifth element were ever to be argued, I'd figure lightning would be said element over ice," Raynold said. "I'm guessing the misconceptions about the elements is still prominent these days. I learned otherwise regarding them from a very wise old man who taught me once, long, long ago. Putting it plainly, there are elements then there are forces of nature then there are seasons. Earth, wind, fire, water, and I suppose for argument's sake ice and electricity, are called 'elements', but are actually forces of nature confused for elements. The most prominent and easily identified forces of nature."

"They mentioned someone, or something, called 'Vertigo' once," Thord remarked.

"Vertigo? That would be a force of nature too I'd think. One that's less easily identified," Raynold said. "Not going into that whole thing though. Now you mentioned both an Ice Maiden and a Nokk?"

"Ice Maiden didn't factor into their adventures, that was just a point of confusion for me regarding elements and forces and whatnot. The 'Queen of the Glaciers', they called her," Thord said. "The Nokk I'm not sure about."

"Let's clear this up right now. The nokk, aka neck, is not a single entity. There are many nokk and many different types of nokk. Neck aren't elements, they're fae. Beings of nature, like elves and fairies. Probably water sprites. Sprites are pretty diverse, even more than fairies and elves. Point is, they're Fair Folk. Fair Folk whom the Northuldra seem to emulate more than they emulate other indigenous peoples in the sense that the Northuldra are so in tune and connected to the spirits of nature. There are a million questions left unanswered here. Either your cousins got wrapped up in the biggest conspiracy slash con of a lifetime, there's just genuine misunderstanding all around, or the Northuldra are a tribe made up of the decedents of changeling children. Part fae anywhere from half bloods to less bloods. Changeling children who were raised by or bound themselves in marriage to your run-of-the-mill Indigenous peoples, thereby assimilating into their culture and ways but also keeping at least in part the ways of their faerie ancestors," Raynold said.

"Get to the point," Thord said.

"Unless the Nokk was a particularly special Nokk, and it doesn't sound like it was though I could be mistaken, there's no way it could possibly be one of the 'elements'. If we assume ice and water are one element, Elsa is just plain the fourth 'element'. That either completely tanks the concept of the five elements as a whole, or it means the fifth element is definitely not ice but electricity. Which just complicates things more. So, scrap the whole concept of elements and stick with the reality. They're forces of nature plain and simple, and ice and water are still counted separate. Elements are not actually a thing, not like you know them. Forces of nature are. The nokk is neither. It is of the Fae and if it claimed otherwise, it was playing a faerie trick. All fae are beings of nature, and all nokk are water sprites. Of course I could be wrong, Elsa is a special human so who's to say there isn't a special nokk, but it's highly doubtful. Nothing about it that you've told me seems particularly out of the 'ordinary' for neck."

"Ice would technically be called freezing, wouldn't it? If it's a force of nature?" Thord asked.

"You're getting off-track. My working theory about all of this? Elsa is cause, Ice Maiden is effect. They work in tandem. My second theory? They share the force of nature like the stone giants and nokk do. Same could maybe be said for Hans and the fire lizard. Hell, if I start speculating, maybe Elsa and the Ice Maiden, or Elsa at least, is Father Winter's unwitting partner and an embodiment of the winter. That or the Ice Maiden controls ice only while Elsa has authority over ice, snow, and all other aspects of winter."

"Or Elsa and the Ice Maiden are two separate aspects of Elsa," Thord said.

"You're over complicating it again," Raynold said. "Really you need more information on the Queen of Glaciers to see how she differs from Elsa, but again, I theorize that while Elsa is the cause, the Ice Maiden is the effect. Going back to speculation in line with my first theory, Elsa is ice, snow, cold, etc; Ice Maiden is glacial movement, freezing, cracking ice-flows… Basically they're in a mutually beneficial relationship. And they're both subject to Father Winter. Elsa wouldn't have her position as Snow Queen if he hadn't allowed it. Nor would the Ice Maiden, and the Ice Maiden predated Elsa."

"Your main theory is that Elsa is a vassal," Thord said.

"More or less. I'm thinking Father Winter at some point in the past started dividing up his duties slash power. Ice Maiden first, Jack Frost next-unless Jack Frost is just another name for father winter-and Elsa last. He gave the majority of his power to Elsa who was already closely bound to nature, and in doing so subjugated both Jack Frost and the Ice Maiden to her, assuming Jack Frost isn't Father Winter himself. Probably for reasons we'd best not delve into. Spicy family history maybe. On the other hand, it could be darker than that and Father Winter disappointed some deity that oversaw the seasons, or winter alone, and so ended up split apart and placed inside three different vassals, possibly more, by that deity. Vassals who, once amalgamated, would give rise to him again, but that seems overly complicated. Possible, yes, but complicated. Most likely scenario is Father Winter, if he isn't a deity of winter or a deity of seasons himself, wanted to semi-retire and handed his mantle to a mortal child he was fond of, or whose mother or some other ancestor was someone he was particularly fond of. He passed his duties on to the Snow Queen and faded into the background. Would explain why he chose a mortal to take on the position. Because if he wanted back in the game, he'd just have to wait until she died or until his use for her was up, at which point he could let her die, if this thing that Elsa's becoming ascends beyond a purely mortal plane. Still mortal at the core, but able to have her lifespan extended," Raynold said.

"Man, you could speculate on this for years," Thord said, shaking his head. "If my cousin is just an aspect of Father Winter that upon death will become part of him again, that's probably the kindest outcome because the alternative is that Agnarr wasn't actually her father," Thord said.

"Which just mixes back with my theory Father Winter was particularly fond of her mother or of another female ancestor of hers, possibly a grandma or great-grandma," Raynold pointed out.

"My suspicion is that Elsa is the original Snow Queen. Which means at best Father Winter was actually her real grandfather on her mother's side, because another option with her mother is that Iduna was adopted by the Northuldra and grew up knowing them as her parents and family when in actuality, her father was something much more. Hence the reason she and her daughters were don't really share the features or tone. Or Iduna was indeed half or quarter Northuldra with her actual father still being Father Winter," Thord said.

"Whatever it is, we can't know if for sure right now, maybe not ever, so it's probably best not to overthink it. It's a distraction," Raynold said.

"And a lot of our theories assume Father Winter exists," Thord pointed out.

"Oh he does. The question isn't whether he exists, it's whether 'Father Winter' is the nickname for some deity or other, or whether Father Winter is his own entity stemmed from one," Raynold stated.

There was a beat of silence. "This is fun," Thord finally said.

"Bouncing ideas around usually is," Raynold said, smirking. "Uh, what were we doing again?"

"Right! The pirates and their smuggler allies," Thord said, deflating visibly now and starting to shy back a bit, slowing his step.

Raynold's expression softened, an amused smile crossing his lips. "It'll be okay. I know how to sell a lie," he reassured.

"No guarantee Xe won't just kill us outright when he learns what he wants to learn," Thord said.

"He won't be satisfied with the Northuldra alone for long. You're still of use to him when he inevitably goes after the greatest treasure of Arendelle again," Raynold said.

"Uh, inevitably?" Thord asked, looking uncertain suddenly.

"Men who lust for gold and land and power are never satisfied with gold and land and power, no matter how much of it they amass. They always want more. It's only a matter of time before he harries you again, but next time you might be better prepared to defy him. This seeking after the enchanted forest buys you time. Time you desperately seem to need," Raynold said.

"You're… experienced for such a young man. Who was so easily caught," Thord said.

"I have my secrets," Raynold replied. Thord raised a curious eyebrow but eventually shrugged, letting it go.

Frozen

Thord waited with bated breath as Xe digested everything he'd been told. Raynold had played his part like a pro. Even almost had him convinced. He considered pushing just a bit more to tip the scales in his favor, but he held back just in case speaking backfired on him. "An enchanted forest, nature spirits, a mysterious tribe that could well be half-fae, a river of memories… You've found the holy grail of power now, haven't you?" Xe eventually said in a measured tone.

"Stumbled on it, more accurately," Thord replied.

"Hmm… I'm impressed," Xe said. Thord knew that didn't guarantee anything and nervously fidgeted, twiddling his fingers in a nervous tick. Raynold was surveying their situation and plotting out an escape route for them. Either that or he was trying to figure out if just the two of them could take on the force of pirates and smugglers surrounding them. The answer, FYI, was flat out no. A big no. They couldn't take on a force this big.

"We're screwed if he doesn't bite," Thord murmured to Raynold grimly. "I shouldn't have brought you into this. I actually liked you too."

"Sir emperor, I advise thee for to withdraw thee; what dost thou here? …For this day one of Arthur's knights was worth in the battle one-hundred of ours," Raynold murmured in turn.

"What?" Thord hissed.

"We focus on escape, if he doesn't bite. You don't worry about the fighting part. Leave that in my hands," Raynold said.

"Because you could take on one-hundred solo?" Thord hissed incredulously.

"I won't have to," Raynold replied. A beat. "But yeah, I could," he added with a bit of a proud and boastful smirk. Thord gave him a dubious, disgusted, and somewhat unimpressed look.

"You've caught my attention, Thord," Xe suddenly said. Both snapped back to attention, facing the pirate again. "Do you know where this place is?"

"Uh, w-well no?" Thord said.

"I assume your companion would," Xe said. "Seeing as he's from the forest."

"I haven't been there for many, many years, sir," Raynold said. "It was sealed long ago and whether or not it is unsealed now, I know not. But… we could find a map. Or speak to those who do know."

"I expect the both of you back here in two days' time, then. With the map in tow," Xe said.

"And… you'll leave Arendelle alone? Right?" Thord asked.

Xe smirked. "My men and I will leave Arendelle alone." Thord breathed a sigh. Raynold watched him warily with a suspicious frown. Why was he so desperate for Arendelle's greatest treasure to be left alone? "On your way. The both of you." Thord bowed once more. Raynold followed suite. Swiftly the two turned and left the cave in which the pirates and smugglers were holed up.

Frozen

"Wow there's a lot of them," Raynold remarked, looking around with a frown as they made their way back out of the cave. "It's like an army."

"Don't meet anyone's eyes," Thord muttered. "Just keep moving and don't slow down."

"What possessed you to get chummy with these sorts?" Raynold asked.

"Greed, okay?! Greed. And revenge…" he answered.

"Revenge?" Raynold asked.

"It's… just a gripe I had with my cousins. I figured I was the rightful heir to the throne and they took exception. So did fate. Long story short a theft went wrong, I didn't get what I was looking for, they 'defeated' and exiled me," Thord said. "So naturally I was bitter. The pirates and smugglers promised revenge on top of greed because Xe had issues with the Arendelle royal family too, and the Southern Isles."

"What was the treasure he wanted from Arendelle? Something that could defeat them?" Raynold asked.

Thord gave a frustrated sigh, drawing his fingers through his hair. "Gods, what is with all of you and thinking so materialistically? You'd think with all my cousins' emphasis on love and family they'd figure to look more outside the box than that! For gods' sake, Arendelle's greatest treasure is Elsa and her child!"

Raynold stopped dead in his tracks, eyes popping wide open. Holy sh… "Are you insane?!" he blurted before he could stop himself.

"Yes! Which is why I've been trying to fix this!" Thord replied. "Pretty sure they'd be happy with Hans and the child too, since Elsa is Arendelle technically, but either way it's just no!"

"What, did you expect to sneak in one night and steal the queen from her bed or something? How did you even plan to carry it out?" Raynold asked.

"Either lure her out with false pretense or, more likely, prepare the way for Xe's invasion. Slip out in the dark, open up the gates to Arendelle, and leave the castle doors wide open. Drug the guards or get them involved with a diversion crime, then let Xe storm on in unhindered with his pirates and smugglers and whatever other bandit riffraff he managed to collect and yeah, basically steal the queen from her bed. Or the king. Whichever proves the easier mark. Hell, even just the baby itself if they decided self-preservation was the way to go. Elsa and Hans can fight back, an infant couldn't." Silence. "What, nothing to say now?" Thord testily asked.

"So, you were for sure planning on actually going through with it?" Raynold asked.

"Damn right I was. I had it plotted out to the finest detail. Kidnapping is basically just stealing sentient objects. Thief and kidnapper skill sets are more or less transferable. But then Anna and Elsa came at me with their soft-hearted dream and their tender love and their forgiveness and mercy and their family is forever bull, and you know what? It felt good! It felt good to be cared about and respected and-and loved! I started to make something of myself and against my will or better judgement I began slipping closer to them, then before I know it suddenly the thought of going through with it had me feeling physically sick. So I put it off and put it off, but I couldn't put it off forever and at some point I had to face Xe again, so I did and went with the distraction idea. Get his mind off kidnapping the Arendelle royal family and onto something bigger. Or at least something that could come across as bigger."

"Like the invading and conquering of a magical forest and all the powerful entities within it. Oh that's clever," Raynold said.

"I make it my business to be clever," Thord replied with a prideful huff.

"Stupid, but clever," Raynold amended. Thord frowned at him in annoyance. Raynold shrugged.

"Maybe I was stupid to agree to this whole thing in the first place, but there's no way this can go wrong. I'm not opening those gates for them. Absolutely not. They'll have to go for the enchanted forest instead and in the meantime, I can work up the nerve to tell my cousins what I did and alert them to Xe's plot so they can be prepared in case the pirate comes after them next. Or they can be prepared for if they go to try and save Ahtohallan from him, at least. This is foolproof. I've bought them the time they'll need to be able to gear up to end this once and for all, and unless a really big spanner is thrown into the works, nothing is going to screw this up now. My mistake is fixed and hopefully they'll still be able to look at me after I confess what I nearly did. But if not, then at least my conscience will be clear," Thord said.

"It's always the solid plans that end up with the spanner thrown into the works, and I think that as soon as you get back to Arendelle, you need to tell them the truth about what's going on," Raynold said.

"Why?" Thord demanded.

"Because your cousins have powerful and influential enemies, if stories are to be believed, and some of those enemies are fae. The Fair Folk are notorious for screwing up the best laid plans," Raynold said. "Manipulation and plotting is their game, and it only takes one detail overlooked to make this a thousand times worse than what it already is. So yeah, the sooner you tell your cousins the truth and warn them, the better."

Thord was quiet. "I'm… afraid to," he said.

"Afraid of them or the king?" Raynold asked.

"Neither. I'm… I don't want to lose what I've gained…" he said.

"You don't want to lose your family now that you finally have one," Raynold said. Thord was quiet. "If you warn them then you might lose them. If you stay quiet hoping for the best, then you will." Thord was silent and spoke no further of the matter, but the words churned around in his head again and again and he knew he couldn't deny their truth.

Frozen

Xe stared at the stranger before him warily, wondering how this man had stumbled upon them. Perhaps he had deliberately sought them. "What is your business?" he asked the man, who his men and the smugglers had captured and bound.

"To help you have your cake and eat it too," the man replied.

"Meaning…?" Xe fished.

"I know your intent," the man replied. "To take over the enchanted forest. But your previous intent was to subjugate the Arendellian royal family and obtain that kingdom for yourself."

"It still is. And the power I gain in Ahtohallan will ensure that the second endeavor is successful," Xe said.

"You don't even know the way, and the map they bring you if they bring a map at all will not be accurate and will lead you on a wild goose chase. The Queen would never hand over the location of that forest. Least of all to a cousin she doesn't even fully trust. You need to force the queen herself to lead you there," the man said. Xe frowned there was something off about this man he was speaking to. He couldn't quite place it yet, but it unsettled him whatever it was.

"I'm listening," the pirate eventually said.

"When Thord returns with the map, take it from him and let him go, but follow him. I can ensure he never knows you're there. Follow him right into Arendelle, spread out your men to lie in wait until you give the signal, and take a group of your pirates and your allied smugglers with you, as well as the ones I offer you. Send my men on ahead and they will ensure all the guards are otherwise occupied. They will lure them far away, and they will handle Matthias and his men. Matthias they'll keep alive for potential use in future. The rest will be slaughtered. In the meantime, Thord will enter the palace through some secret method that he knows that the guards won't have covered. You and yours will pursue him and seize him the minute you can. Subdue him but do not kill him. He's of use to you. He will be the key that opens many doors for you... When you've subdued Thord, spread through the palace silently killing off any straggling guard you may come across and anyone else you deem in the way. Better yet, everyone if you're bloodthirsty enough. When it seems most of the threats are neutralized, send the smugglers to the lighthouse. Let them do what they will to the keeper, then have them put out the light. No aid will be able to come from the sea, and in the darkness of the night, the men you previously spread out throughout the town will emerge, with some of mine to help them, and swarm Arendelle, killing whoever dares stand in their way and taking captive whoever they can take captive. Ensure that the guard towers have been neutralized so no alarm bells will be rung that warn the palace too soon about the attack. Converge on the palace all as one and then make your way up to the wing, where the royal family rests. I think you can figure out what to do from there. My men will be there to help you. Don't be afraid of being overpowered. The queen will be forced to retreat. I guarantee it."

"This is the Snow Queen," Xe said. "You can't overpower her. Not that easily."

"This is the Snow Queen who loves too many too deeply. Keep her sister and her brother-in-law and their child alive. Keep Thord alive. Keep Matthias alive. Keep whatever servants you can alive," the man said.

"Then by that logic could we not force her submission and subjugate her?" Xe asked.

"You want the forest too, don't you? When Arendelle falls, Elsa will retreat to Ahtohallan to start building up a retaliation and forming a plan to free her enslaved subjects and her family. When Arendelle is subdued and firmly in your grasp, leave a man you trust, or me, to keep firm hold of it and go after Elsa. Take Thord with you, on that little trip. For leverage or a potential ally, if Elsa's bond with him can be broken and he sees she never really cared about him."

"What if we can't capture Thord alone? He seems to have found a close companion in a man named Raynold," Xe asked.

There was silence. "What?" the stranger darkly and dangerously asked.

"A man named Raynold came with him," Xe said. "I sense he is the sort of person you don't want to cross in a fight, though I'm not sure why."

There was dead silence. "This… complicates things," the man eventually said.

"So does the fact you haven't factored in the King Consort," Xe said. "I would assume kill him if possible?"

"No. He is of use to me," the man answered. "I have a plan for him." He considered the situation. "Raynold is not of any concern. He won't follow Thord back to the palace. I'll deal with him presently. In the two days it takes Thord and his friend to return to you, I'll have determined how to handle this 'Raynold'. And whatever other spanners in the works there may be."

"I'm not convinced you will," Xe said, considering the situation.

"Perhaps… This plan may need to be delayed somewhat," the 'man' said.

"How do you mean?" Xe asked.

"Never mind. Your ultimate task is to make certain Thord comes with you to Ahtohallan. You'll need him," the man said. "Whether you trap him by kidnapping or lies, it doesn't matter. Make sure he is in your clutches either way. I need to investigate the matter of this 'Raynold'. Even if when he returns with the map you have to tell him to come back in another week's time or more, do it. I will signal you when we are able to put the rest of the plan into place. Leave everything to me."

"And what will you ask in exchange for all of this?" Xe questioned. By now he suspected it wasn't a man he was speaking to at all...

"Hmm… The Snow Queen and the Fire King, for a certainty. What else I ask for, though? That's none of your concern. If you want these things, you will do everything I've told you to do," the 'man' replied.

Xe was quiet. "Very well," he finally relented.

"Good. There is a possibility that in two days I'll have come up with a solution to the Raynold matter. If that's the case, you'll know. I'll deliver you a message saying as much. If not, buy me and yourself more time. I will be on my way now," the man said.

"If you can escape the bonds," Xe challenged.

The stranger smirked. "You're clever, I'll give you that. You know already that these mortal bonds will not hold me..." he said.

"Show me what you are," Xe said.

"So be it," the man said. And he did, and the pirates and smugglers were struck with terror and horror. A chill ran up the pirate usurper's back, and for the first time in a long time, Xe felt he had made a serious, serious mistake…

Frozen

When Thord returned, he was greeted with exactly what he'd expected to be greeted with. Hence the reason he walked right up to the front door instead of sneaking in another way. Elsa stood there, arms folded and eyes cold, looking highly unimpressed. Hans' expression was more or less stoic, leaning towards icy. Thord paused. "Where's the thief?" Elsa asked, backed by Sir Kay and Sir Bedwyr and of course her handmaiden Soredamer.

"The thief has a name," Thord replied.

"Care to share it?" Elsa said.

Thord was silent, shifting a bit and biting the inside of his cheek as he debated. "Not in particular," he finally said.

"What was his name, Thord?" Elsa somewhat dangerously asked. "And what did you do?"

"I let him go," Thord said. "After securing a promise he wouldn't be hassling any more innocent people on the road."

"And you trust he'll keep it?" Elsa asked.

Thord was quiet. "I… paid him off," he replied. It was a half-truth, he'd technically taken the guy into his employ actually, but saying he paid the guy off was more likely to put him back in Elsa's good graces. Hopefully. He had in a way paid him off, after all. With wages and steady work.

There was a beat. "You what?" Elsa asked, seeming a bit thrown by this.

"I paid him off," Thord said with a shrug.

"No you didn't," Hans said. Thord gave Hans a spiteful look. "Tell us the truth," he said. Elsa's gaze was hardening again. Damn Hans to hell. Thord was starting to feel like a trapped animal.

"I paid him off by 'employing' him. Men who steal are typically men who can't find jobs or don't have satisfactory jobs," Thord said.

"He claimed that he was stealing for fun," Hans said. "Either he played you or you're letting yourself be played to cover for your own sort of scum. What was his name, dammit Thord?"

"His name was Raynold," Thord said. Kay, Bedwyr, and Soredamer all stiffened up looking shocked.

"Your majesty," Sir Bedwyr murmured quickly. Elsa turned curiously to him. He whispered something to her and her eyes slowly widened. She looked at Hans, who seemed curious, and murmured something quietly to him in an undertone.

"Oh son of a bit…" Hans began before stopping himself. He let out a frustrated huff, throwing up his hands and walking back inside shaking his head. Thord frowned curiously. That was strange.

Elsa watched after him then turned to Thord. "Raynold is acquainted with Bedwyr. He seems to confirm your suspicion about the man not having a job. If you wish for him to be in your employ, so be it, but that generally isn't something that's in your authority to decide, Thord."

"Because I'm still on a trial period," Thord bit.

"I didn't say that," Elsa replied.

"You didn't have to!" Thord practically snarled at her.

"You're putting words into my mouth!" Elsa said.

"I'm reading your thoughts! You aren't as subtle as you'd like to think!" Thord snapped angrily back.

"The fate of prisoners is the monarch's to decide," Elsa said, struggling to keep her tone even.

"Fine. I'll be sure to be a good little boy from now on," Thord said.

"Don't patronize me. Don't you dare!" Elsa said, sounding offended.

"Just get out of my way. Or am I out of place in expressing annoyance with her royal highness so blatantly? Too disrespectful Elsa? I'm sorry! Permission to go back under house arrest again, or would you rather put me under real arrest this time for my flippancy?" Thord said.

"Don't tempt me," Elsa growled. Thord barked a laugh and made to pass by, but Kay stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest and stopping him, glaring harshly down on him. "You go when the queen says you can go," he said evenly.

Thord stopped, glaring up at him, then seemed to realize how far out of line he'd stepped and almost visibly shrank in on himself. He stopped, though, and bowed his head low in a measure of shame and embarrassment, but also a measure of hurt. Maybe he just didn't know his place yet, but he felt it was more likely that he was just another face in the crowd after all, in the end… He'd known better, he told himself. He'd known he would never actually be a part of Anna and Elsa's little family unit. It was a closed circle, and he was the dot in the middle with nowhere to go. The sisters were sisters, to start, who'd grown up together, and both Hans and Kristoff had been in their lives for years and goodness knew the crap they'd gone through together, so he was never going to be one of them. Ever…

"Get into the castle, Thord," Elsa said, sounding exasperated as she massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Yes majesty," Thord murmured, walking passed her and her entourage quickly without looking up. Hans, hanging around on the inside, watched after him and frowned a bit, looking a little concerned. The king grimaced, glanced at his wife, looked after Thord, then sighed. This wasn't something to involve himself in. This was Elsa's situation to handle.

Elsa came in with the others, who departed quietly. "Did I do the right thing?" she asked nervously.

"He has to know there are boundaries. Every person has to know. Anna needed to learn her boundaries too. So did I and I probably still need to learn them, and Kristoff stayed in line pretty well, but still. Boundaries aren't bad things. What you're going to need to do now, though, before you press it more, is let yourself and him cool down then talk to him in private. Reassure him of your reasons behind this reaction, reassure him you still… care about him."

"Love," Elsa sternly corrected

"You barely know him," Hans immediately retorted.

"It's a family thing," she said.

"And what? I wouldn't understand?" Hans bit. He reigned himself in with a sigh. "Sorry. Just… I still don't trust him. Especially after this stunt. The point is, he needs to know that what you did isn't just because you don't trust him. Unless it is. Then explain to him why that is, and I don't know, do what you did with me, I guess. This is your situation to handle, Elsa. Only you're going to be able to make him understand why you acted like this, and either he accepts it or he gets defiant, but even if he gets defiant the words are still going to sink in. He's rash but not ignorant or closed off to agreement."

Elsa sighed. "Why is this so complicated?" she asked.

"Same reason it was so complicated with me," Hans replied, shrugging and leaving.

Frozen

Thord lay in his bed glaring frustratedly at the roof, throwing a ball up at it and catching it again. Eventually there was a knock. "Thord?" Elsa called gently, and a little nervously, out. Thord glared at the door spitefully and focused again on tossing the ball. Elsa winced at the silence and couldn't help but think this must be something like what Anna had felt when Elsa used to ignore her. "I'm sorry I got upset with you. It's just… I don't want you to… You've come so far in such a short time! I didn't… want to see you throw it away. And maybe you think a thief is what you are and all you'll ever be, but you don't… You're more than that. Don't cheapen yourself, if that's what you're doing." Silence. Just a steady thumping of a ball. "Maybe you don't want to change? If that's it then so be it, but you're still family. I can't say I'd agree with your life choices, and family or not if you're caught you'll be sentenced the same as any other thief, but that doesn't mean me or Anna will stop loving you?"

Thord paused, frowning a bit, and sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're really, really terrible at this, just so you know," he said. She breathed a sigh of her own, resting her forehead against the door. At least it was a response. "Look, believe it or not, the idea of going back to that lifestyle isn't as appealing to me as you fear it is. Coming from that background, though, I can understand the minds of people like Raynold. So yeah, I let him go and I shouldn't have, I should have argued his case to you first, but look, I'm not in the habit of trusting people and I've certainly never actually had anyone I could rely on before or count on to have my back, so forgive me if I'm having trouble believing you and Anna are different. You barely know me and for all any of us know, I'm so distant a relation to you that it's laughable."

"But we've chosen to take you in as family nonetheless," Elsa said. She turned around and sank down against the door. "It's… it's been just me and Anna for a long, long time now. Rapunzel was never around for the longest time because her own tragedy was playing out, so we never even met her until shortly before my coronation and never met up with her much after because we all had kingdoms to rule and adventures to go on. We're still more distant that we'd like to be. Besides that, Anna and I had each other already. Female presences were heavy in our lives as was. Male? Not so much. There was dad and that was about it. Then you came into the picture and it just felt like there was this… this shift. I don't know how to explain it, but you were always there at the back of our minds. We never had a… brother… We never had much for male relatives at all. It was like this… breath of fresh air that we didn't even know we desired, and it felt… it felt good. Unique and different and special in a way I don't know how to describe and barely understand myself. When you came back, we just knew we wanted to have you in our lives. Or at least try. Now here you are, and it still feels so surreal but… but I'm happier than you know that you came into our lives again… I just want you to be safe and content. I just…"

"You want to protect me," Thord murmured, staring up at the roof. "Keep me close so you don't have to lose another member of your family again."

Elsa was quiet. "Something like that," she quietly replied. "Yes… Maybe that exactly."

Thord was quiet. "Big sissy wants to protect little brother," he teased after a moment, a smirk dancing across his lips briefly.

She gave a half-laugh that came out as a relieved one. The tension seemed somewhat broken now, at least. "You sure I'm older than you?" she asked.

"I'm actually not. I might be older than you, in fact," Thord said. "Not something we ever really addressed."

"Your figuring you were the rightful heir to Arendelle implies you were pretty sure I was younger than you at least," she said. "So little sissy wants to protect big brother, maybe."

Thord chuckled. His smile slowly fell, though. "And big, or little, brother wants to protect you too… And Anna," he said after a moment.

"Good," Elsa said. "The more eyes on Anna the better."

"Not you?" he teased.

"Oh on me too," she said with a laugh. "But you as well. Seems handfuls run in the family."

"We're all pretty stubborn an independent at that. More than we should be, probably," he said.

"I agree," she replied.

"I'm… sorry I went behind your back, Elsa," he said.

"It's alright," she replied.

Silence. "I… Elsa? There's… there's something I… I want to tell you?" he said.

She frowned curiously. "What is it?" she asked.

He was quiet. "I…" he began. He stopped, sighing heavily and closing his eyes. He felt a headache coming on.

"Thord?" she asked.

"It's nothing. Maybe later. I'm tired and I'm getting a headache. Can we… maybe talk tomorrow?" he said.

"Of course," she replied, standing up in concern. "Do you need anything?"

"No. I'll be okay," he replied. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Elsa said in concern. She walked away and Thord shoved the heels of his palms into his eyes with a groan. Why was this so hard?