Eryn's eyes slowly fluttered open as he stirred from his state of unconsciousness. He lifted his head, racking his brain to remember what happened last night. All he could remember was Elsa and Skyne and…

ELSA!

Eryn shot up before gingerly laying back down. His chest ached like it was on fire. The bullet he took felt like a tender massage compared to this. As his eyes adjusted from his slumber, he soon realized he wasn't back in the infirmary. Eryn slowly sat up and let out a sigh. He was in a small room of stone, with a wooden door to his left and the only light coming from a barred window at the very end. Eryn slumped his shoulders as he laid back down. He knew exactly where he was: the dungeons. How long had he been knocked out? Judging by the sunlight beaming from the window, a few hours at most. Eryn fell back onto the stone surface he laid upon. He knew that his time was limited here. There was only once place left for someone like him after the dungeons. Eryn wondered what was in store for him. Would he swing from the gallows? Beheaded? At this point Eryn didn't care. He simply accepted his fate, whatever that would be. Skyne was right: he was born a nobody and now, he'll die one too.

As Eryn thought about the end, all of his thoughts came back to his father. For the past three years, Eryn dragged his father's name through the mud and for what? The promise of fame and notoriety? Guess it was all for nothing, then.

Suddenly, he heard a loud jangling noise coming from the door. Eryn carefully sat up to see who was coming to visit. Elsa stepped through the door, her hands folded in front of her, bearing a look of seriousness upon her face.

"Leave us," she said to what he assumed to be a guard just out of his periphery. The door slammed behind her, leaving the two of them alone.

"El- I mean, your majesty," Eryn said, "This is, uh, unexpected."

Elsa took a seat on the stone slab opposite of him. Her face turned into an icy glare. Eryn could feel his spine shiver as her eyes pierced his soul.

"Well," Elsa said with as much venom as she could muster, "You certainly have a lot to explain, Mr. Odrikson…"

Eryn cringed as she said his actual name. "Y-yes, your majesty."

"You lied to me, made several attempts on my life, endangered my family, conspired with an enemy of Arendelle, twice, and murdered the highest ranking general in Arendellian history!"

Each deed Elsa listed off felt like a stab in the chest by an icy knife.

"You best have an explanation for your actions, Mr. Odrikson, because what you say will determine your fate."

Eryn thought long and hard as to what he would say. He felt like nothing he could say would save him from death, so the only option was to be as honest as possible.

"Your right, I did lie. I'm not the son of a noble or anything like that. I'm not even from Weselton. I'm just a nobody from the town of Karnisvarne. My father was a soldier in the Arendellian army when he died in an avalanche, with my mother following soon after. They died without anyone caring about their passing, save for me. I wanted to avoid that fate no matter what."

"And that meant becoming a killer?"

"At first, that meant becoming a soldier. I enlisted at 18, a few months after Linaeus. I had hoped that military life would get me the notoriety I was after. That was, until I saw General Garrigheim… defile a young woman. After I killed him, I wanted nothing to do with Arendelle."

"And is that where you encountered Arendolk?"

"Yes, the general had it. Skyne promised me that he would make me famous if I helped him. He didn't say how, just that he needed to find something. I did that for three years before I was contacted to return to Arendelle."

"By who?"

"According to that letter I gave you, the Duke of Weselton. I had no idea he was the one who hired me, nor did I know about the Westergaard or the governor."

"You tried to get me alone in Fjellby so you could kill me. You had multiple chances to do so, so why didn't you?"

"At first, I thought you royals were all the same, lethargic snobs who didn't care about who they stepped on. But now, after getting to know you, I can see that I was wrong."

Elsa pursed her lips as she processed this information. Eryn could feel his heart race in his chest. It felt like it was ready to burst out of his chest.

"Alight," Elsa said after what felt like an eternity, "I can believe you were ignorant of the conspiracy at large, and your ignorance of Skyne's true plans, but accusing General Garrigheim of rape? That's a serious charge to make against a hero of Arendelle."

Just then, a knock came upon the large wooden door. Elsa started to say something, but the door swung open, revealing Linaeus holding a strange book.

"Forgive the interruption, your majesty," he began, "but-"

"Linaeus, can't this wait?"

"I'm afraid not, Elsa. I… made a trip down to the military archives to verify Eryn's claims about General Garrigheim and… he was right."

Eryn and Elsa looked at him with surprise. "Excuse me?" they both said in unison. Linaeus said nothing as he handed Elsa a small black leather book.

"This was the general's personal diary… you might want to look at some of these entries."

Elsa flipped open the book and began reading. Her jaw dropped as she flipped through the pages. She slammed the book shut, her face paler than normal, before handing it back to Linaeus. Eryn could only imagine what was written in that journal, causing his stomach to churn.

"I've seen enough!" she spat, "Thank you, captain. I'll deal with this later."

"Yes, ma'am," Linaeus bowed and left the two of them alone once again. Elsa returned her attention to Eryn, her scowl returning to her face.

"You should consider yourself lucky, Mr. Odrikson," she said, "It seems that you were indeed correct about the General." Eryn could feel his heart rapidly beating in his chest. It almost felt like it would break his ribs with how fast it was beating. "I believe this, along with your sacrifice and willingness to face Skyne alone, should acquit you of all crimes."

"I underst- wait, what?!" Eryn gawked, expecting her to sentence him to death. Elsa's scowl turned into a warm smile.

"Anna and Linaeus put in some good words for you. That may have also swayed me a bit."

Eryn was at a loss for words. He couldn't understand how he got this lucky in his entire life. His face lit up as a grin overtook his face.

"Th-thank you, Elsa!" he exclaimed, his heartbeat easing up.

"However, there is one thing you still need to do..."

Eryn's face went pale as she spoke again.

"What would that be?"

"You need to regain my trust, Mr. Odrikson. I didn't exactly forget that you lied to me for an entire month."

Eryn felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach as he went pale.

"How can I do that, Your Majesty?"

"I want you to hunt down all of your former allies who had a hand in this assassination attempt. Do this, and you'll have regained my faith in you."

Eryn thought about Elsa's words for a moment. "Alright, it shall be done." He sat up again, but the pain in his chest forced him back down once more.

"The doctors say you can't move on your own for a while. I'll have some guards down here to escort you to your room." Elsa stood up and walked over to the door. She knocked on the door as it flew open. As she stepped through to the other side, Elsa turned back to Eryn and said, "Arendelle thanks you… Eryn." With that, the door closed behind her, leaving Eryn all alone.

A thousand thoughts surged through Eryn's mind at that point. Even after all of this, she was still showing him mercy. He couldn't remember the last time that happened. Eryn placed his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

I guess you are looking out for me up there, dad. Eryn thought.

A few months later…

Rolond pulled out the bar of heated iron from the furnace. Carefully, he walked it over to the anvil and placed it on the flat surface. Once it was secure, the small man wasted no time hammering the orange molten metal into shape. Rolond was slightly baffled at how three farmers broke all of their plows at the same time, but he wasn't about to turn down some extra coin. Jobs like this made the day go by that much faster. As he hammered away at the iron, he could overhear his wife, Astrid, shouting.

"ROLOND!"

Rolond groaned as he placed his hammer down. "What is it, ya daft woman?!" he shouted, walking towards the house. Astrid met him at the door, her snow white hair draped over her stout shoulders.

"Ya won't believe who's here!" she yelled, her voice weathered by the years. Rolond gave her a confused look as she led him inside. His eyes went wide as he saw Linaeus sitting in his living room.

"Linaeus, lad, is that you?!" he gawked. He walked over and shook the man's hand, "And here I thought ya went and forgot about us!"

"Hard to forget someone like you, Rolond," Linnaeus chuckled, "How have things been?"

"Eh, aside from the usual shit we've been dealin' with, not much has changed around here."

"Any word on Malia? I was told she was here too."

Rolond shot a look over to Astrid, "I, uh, had no idea ya knew her. The only person who knew her was-"

"-Eryn?" a mysterious voice said behind them. Rolond and Astrid turned around quickly. The queen stood at the entrance of their house. Rolond's face went stone cold as he eyed her.

"Ah, Yer Majesty…" he said hesitantly, "To what do we owe the… pleasure?"

"I'm here on behalf of both Eryn and General Torvond," Elsa gestured to Linaeus.

"Wait, if you know Eryn… then does that mean…?" Rolond's body tensed up.

"Don't worry, he's still alive."

Roland let out a short sigh as he eased the tension out of his body, "What happened to him, then?"

"Official Arendelle business, I'm afraid," Linnaeus replied.

"Heh, didn't expect him to turn like that."

"Well… he's turned a new leaf, as it were."

"Alright, but why is the queen here? Didn't think you'd give ol' Karnisvarne a visit."

"I'm here to right some wrongs, Mr. Abhramson. Starting with what happened to you."

Rolond was stunned into silence by the queen's words. He was unsure if she was telling the truth or not.

"I-I beg yer pardon?"

"I understand you never received the proper compensation for your service to Arendelle under my grandfather."

The sound of something jingling behind him grabbed Rolond's attention. Snapping his neck around, he saw Linaeus place a few large bags on the floor. Astrid walked up to one, undid the string, and let out a sharp gasp. She pulled out several gold coins, glistening in the sunlight. Rolond fought back tears as he walked over to the bags. He knelt down to take a fistfull of coins and brought them to his face. A single tear rolled down his face as he faced the queen again.

"Th-thank ye, yer majesty," he choked, "y've done me and m' wife a great service."

"It should be me who's thanking you, Mr. Abhramson. Your duty to Arendelle should be recognized."

"I've been waitn' near ten years fer this! I had te slave over the anvil te make by!"

"Consider this your retirement fund," Linaeus lifted himself off of the couch as he stepped toward and placed a hand on Rolond's shoulder, "We're sorry this took so long, Rolond."

"Thank ye, lad. And Yer Majesty. Tell Eryn I said thanks as well."

"We will," Elsa replied, "And thank you once again for your service."

Linaeus walked over to Elsa as Rolond and Astrid embraced, both sobbing wildly. The general and queen made their way out the door and back onto the street. Few people stopped to look at them, and those that did either gawked or scoffed at them.

"That was incredibly kind, Elsa," Linaeus said as they walked down the street, "that man means a lot to me and Eryn."

"It was the right thing to do," Elsa replied, focusing on the road ahead of her, "it hurts to see this place in a state like this."

"At least these issues are being addressed now, that's all that matters."

"Well, now that we're not forced to keep so many soldiers in the north, Søderlund can get some long overdue attention. Now, where to next?"

"Ms. Malia, Your Majesty. But, um, if I may, I wish to talk to her alone."

"Oh?" Elsa raised her eyebrow.

"I feel like I need to apologize to her directly. I denied what happened to her for years and I need to make it right."

Elsa pondered his request for a moment before saying, "Very well, Linaeus. Send her my regards if you will."

"Yes ma'am!" Linaeus made his way down the street until he was out of Elsa's sight. As she wandered through the village, Elsa made several mental notes about what needed to be done. She'd need to discuss things with the governor, some city planners, and quite possibly some engineers. Of course, this also meant more and more meetings and massive amounts of paperwork. Elsa's head began to hurt simply thinking about the bureaucracy that she'll be subjected to over the next few months.

Her mind wandered over to Eryn. Part of her felt sympathetic to him, having to grow up in such a dreary and desolate place. The other part of her questioned if pardoning him was the right move. Regardless, she knew that he needed to be under strict supervision if he was to continue working with her.

Then there was what Skyne said all those months ago. What did he mean by a child of Ahtohallan? Was it a real place? Did it have to do with her powers? These questions raced around her head like a swarm of insects. This would require much more research and investigation on her end.

One thing at a time, Elsa, she thought to herself as she walked down the road.

XXXXXX

"YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!" Markus screamed, squirming around as Eryn led him to the soldiers out front of the tavern. His hands were bound behind him with iron shackles as several patrons looked on in horror. Markus's face was beet red, matching the color of his hair and beard. Eryn simply rolled his eyes and shoved Markus along.

"Oh wow, how original…" Eryn muttered as he kicked the door open. Two fucking weeks he'd been chasing down Markus. Jormund and Fili were easy to grab, but Markus was the problem child as always. Ever since Maldonia, Markus was the biggest pain in the ass, challenging Eryn every step of the way. In a way, Eryn was glad to put this asshole in his place.

"I heard how you killed Twiggy, bastard! And the blood pact you made with that knife of yours. You really think you're better than us?!"

"It's called turning a new leaf, smartass. You should've tried it."

"Don't give me that shit, I know why you're doing this, Odrikson!"

"Don't even think about it you-"

"All of this because you want to fuck the qu-"

Eryn drove his fist into Markus's face. Markus's nose let out a loud crack as Eryn's knuckles stung. When he approached the guards, Eryn threw Markus to them, who fell onto the dirt before them.

"Here's another bastard." Eryn spat, "Careful, he's a bit bitey."

"FUG YOU," Markus spat through his broken nose. The guards hoisted him off of the ground and dragged him over to the prison wagon. One of them flew the door open while the other threw Markus in. Markus screamed aloud as the guards slammed the door shut, muffling his screams.

Eryn watched the display with his arms crossed. He was one step closer to his true freedom. Just five more ringleaders and he'd be a free man in Elsa's eyes. In a way, he should at least be happy about that, so why wasn't he? His thoughts dwelt on her remarkable kindness. It almost felt like she was setting him up for when he returned with the last man. She didn't seem like the person to betray him like that. Then again, he would deserve it, given the situation that caused them to meet.

That's when he felt it again, the congestion clogging his chest. It felt like there was a swarm of bees lodged where his heart should be. Eryn raised his fist to his mouth as he coughed furiously. Whatever it was, Eryn made a mental note to visit some kind of physician about this.

Stay on task, Eryn, he thought as he joined the guards back on the wagon. With the crack of the reigns, the wagon darted down the dirt road as the tavern disappeared out of sight.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this. I'd also like to give a special thanks to the reviewer who gave me the idea for Eryn's shadow powers. Now, although this story is over, that doesn't mean I'm done with Eryn. Stay tuned, and thanks again for reading!