"Did you find her?" Elsa held uncle Adan by his shoulders, with immense anxiousness in her eyes.
"No, Elsa." Adan said. "We still didn't." Robin couldn't believe these words. It was already night, and Anna was nowhere found.
"She couldn't have been gone like that." Robin said. "She must be somewhere."
"We searched the entire city, your highness." guard named Elin said. "The princess is nowhere to be found."
"Then we will search the surroundings of the city." Elsa said, with determination. "And I will be with you. Passover is over and there is no reason for me to stay in the castle."
"Yes, your majesty." Grandan said.
"We will do like you commanded Elsa." uncle Adan said. Robin then caught Adan by the shoulder.
"Did you found anything? Part of clothes, anything?"
"No, Robin." Adan said. "Absolutely nothing." Robin then nodded to him, and Adan left the room. Robin then turned to Elsa.
"Aron has something to do with it." Elsa said.
"How do you know?" Robin asked her.
"I know." Elsa said. "This...this is his work. I must find Anna. I must!" Elsa then run to the door and opened them, but then instantly turned to Robin, begging with her eyes.
"Robin." she took his left hand. "You must stay." Robin was unsure, and he lightly shook his head.
"Elsa..."
"Robin, please!" Elsa didn't command, she talked with him as an equal. "I know you have duty to lord Ethac, but I need you to stay! If something happened to Anna, we must find her together! Please! I will not force you or command you, but please stay, that we might find our sister."
"Our sister", is what caught Robin and he nodded to her without thinking. Then Elsa smiled at him.
"Thank you." and she let go of his hand and went through the door.
Robin stayed alone and regretted that he just nodded to her. He couldn't just accept it like that. He should have said something like "I'll think." or "I'll talk about it with lord Ethac." But now, he just accepted it. I am in the greatest fight than ever before, Robin thought to himself.
When he came out of the castle, he saw someone very familiar climbing on his horse-captain Ehud. When Ehud turned and Robin met his eyes, Ehud stopped climbing and approached Robin.
Ehud was a sinwy, some six feet tall man, fifty years in age and he had a curly hair. There was great wisdom and father-like feeling in the face of this man.
"Robin." Ehud said and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him. But Robin had a serious expression on his face, and Ehud's smile disappeared quickly. Then Ehud exhaled.
"Listen, Robin." the captain said. "I and everyone knows what happened with princess Anna. We have to go, but you..." Ehud's grey eyes looked at Robin with care and wisdom, trying to help him.
"...stay." Ehud said. Robin was surprised.
"What?" he had to ask. He didn't believe his ears.
"I said-stay." Ehud said. "No, don't stay-go! Go and find the princess-your sister."
Robin started shaking his head. "I can't, I..."
"Robin." Ehud silenced him, his grey eyes looking right through Robin's. "Do you remember how many men there are at Longon now?"
"Around three hundred." Robin counted.
"Three hundred and fifty three, to be precise." Ehud said. "Do you remember how many swords there are?"
Robin didn't answer, letting Ehud to say it.
"Seven hundred." Ehud said. "There are also two hundred horses, three to four thousand arrows, a thousand axes, a thousand crossbows and bows, thousands of spears, tens of thousands of food supplies. Robin." he said and paused for a glimpse of time. "We will go well without you. We don't need you right now."
Robin didn't want to believe these words. This was one of three men he considered to be like fathers to him, and he didn't plan to abandon neither them nor his brothers at Longon, nor his home at the stony keep. He didn't plan to abandon the old Simeon, the trainer of the bowmen, nor Tamir, the old drunk soldier always sitting at the doorstep of the lord Arvid Ethac's keep, or Jair, the old bowman and Simeon's second man, nor Hileon, the horse-keeper and his uncle, the old Deng, all men who raised him in Longon.
"Captain..."
"Frost." Ehud referred to him by his bastard surname. He almost never did that, why did he did it now?
"You must stay." Ehud said, calming his voice. "You are a descendant of kings of Arendelle. You are a brother to the queen Elsa of Arendelle, whether it be half or full. But most importantly you are an older brother to the woman who is lost. That woman is now taken as a captive by some unknown bandits, and I can tell you that they want anything but good to do with her. She needs you. Don't go with us, Robin Frost. Go and find your sister, princess Anna of Arendelle." then Ehud called his horse and mounted him.
"I know this is a hard decision for you." Ehud said. "I know I was too quick and short. But the princess is your blood, your family. We have enough men and weapons to survive without you for a few weeks Robin. Don't worry about us, or our lives." then Ehud reached Robin's shoulder again.
"When the princess is found, you can leave Arendelle if you want and come back to Longon." the captain continued. "We will have gates opened for you always, Robin. You are a member of our fight, and that is your home that you were raised in. You will enter through the gates and you will fight with us against the Red Snake and his minions. But I would advise you to stay here, with the queen. She is young, just a little older than you, not even a full year, and she will need some people of your age to help her. There are too many old and grumpy men and women around her, and too many of those like me, she has cousins full of them. But if you stay, perhaps the queen will have better help. See you later, Robin Frost." and he rode slowly past Robin, leaving him standing alone.
Robin tried to think about what is happening and refresh his mind. He sat down and looked at the mountains and sea surrounding Arendelle. Arendelle was truly a beautiful city, and Robin understood why it is a capital, even though it is quite small for a city.
Robin remembered the days when he was a boy, barely six or seven years old, he wasn't sure. Kenan, Corvid, Bjorn and he were friends back then, raised beside one another, since childbirth of each of them and they were like his brothers, and they still are. In that time, they went into the forest, successfully sneaking away so that the guards couldn't see them. They wanted to play war in the forest, and fight like ancient kings of Israel. Robin was always a king, but this time he got the chance to be king David himself. They wanted to play harmlessly like kids, and they weren't caring about any dangerous animals they could face. They thought there were none. It was the end of spring then, and the summer was starting, and they were there somewhere before the sun was still seen, and they played war. They were laughing and smiling, carelessly like children they were, until a very big wild boar showed up, the largest one that Robin ever saw. If his memory was right, it must have been five feet long and three feet tall, weighing around three hundred pounds. They were armed with nothing but wooden swords and spears that broke like a toothprick when they tried to hurt that boar with it. The boar was bigger than all three of them, and it pushed Robin to the ground. That was the moment when Robin was closest to death than ever before, and he was expecting to see darkness before his eyes very soon.
Yet, just before the boar killed him, a spear hit the angry animal in the guts, and then the boar died right in the place. The spear belonged to lord Arvid Ethac, who in that moment, saved Robin's life.
If it weren't for lord Arvid, Robin wouldn't be breathing right now. Not just because he saved him back then, but also when the king brought him to Longon. Honorable lord Arvid wasn't obliged to take the bastard born of king's lustful desire for a woman no one knew about. But he did. Lord Arvid took Robin and raised him in his own castle. Halla, Robin's nurse, told him that it is lord Arvid who gave him a name, and that when his father brought him to Longon he was a nameless baby. Robin doubted this, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was true. Arvid owes nothing to Robin, but Robin owes everything to Arvid.
What if Arvid dies in the battle, and Robin isn't there, on the battlefield beside him? How would that be fair to the old man who raised him? How will lord Arvid feel like, himself? What would he think? Would he say "That bastard boy abandoned me because of two princesses he never met in his life."?
No, Robin thought, lord Arvid is not that kind of man. Lord Arvid is a stubbornly loyal man, who puts others before himself. People liked to say "The only things that lord Arvid cares for himself is how to eat, drink and be warm. That is enough for him." These were the perfect words for Arvid Ethac to describe him.
"Robin!" Corvid ran to him, breaking his thoughts for a moment.
"Robin!" Corvid continued, and placed a saddle on his horse. "We have to go quickly. We have to follow others to Longon. The Red Snake is mad. He already attacked the beach of Gulma in Gondor, who knows what is next."
Robin tried to calm him. "Corvid." he placed a hand on his back. "Aron will have to go through countless armies to come to Longon. He cannot reach it just like that."
"But he will reach it." Corvid said. "And we will need to protect Longon." Corvid then slowed down and looked at him with realization.
"You aren't coming, aren't you?" he said. Robin didn't still decide and he wanted to explain to Corvid, but... "Robin, you barely know those women. You never met them in your life."
"Corvid, they are my sisters." Why did I say that, Robin spoke in his mind, I still don't know will I stay or nor, why did I said that?
"And what are we?" Corvid asked, his blue eyes getting darker than usual. This stopped Robin. "Didn't lord Arvid raised us, together? All of us! Weren't we all playing and raised inside the same castle?"
"You know that we were." Robin said. He was starting to get angry.
"Then why do you even think about leaving lord Arvid? And us?"
"It's not that simple, Corvid!" Robin said, raising his voice. His voice was enough to stop his friend from talking and start listening.
"I don't know what to do. They are my blood and they accepted me immediately when I came here. I...I don't know what to do, Corvid." he said. "I don't know with whom will I go." I didn't say enough, Robin thought, he doesn't even half understand it.
"Robin, you should..." Corvid tried to say, but someone called him.
"Corvid!" a certain commander spoke up, Robin couldn't decide was it Iman or Gustav "Corvid, come here."
"Yes captain." Corvid said and looked at Robin a little. Corvid climbed on his steed and Robin read in his eyes "See you later." face, as if he took it that Robin immediately decided what to do. As Robin read his friend's face, Corvid rode to the unknown commander who called him.
Robin then stared into the ship that he saw sailing far away from Arendelle. It was not seen pretty well, since it was the night, but it could be seen thanks to the lanterns. Robin wondered, does the crew of that ship also have to chose between two families as he has to? Does the captain have a man who raised him in his own castle, but does he also have two sisters somewhere far away, that he knows that they need his help? Does he have some old family member who just came into his life to destroy the family? He probably doesn't, Robin thought, only I am so "lucky".
Robin knew what is the truth: the truth is that lord Arvid Ethac raised him in his own castle without needing to or owing him. But there was another truth: the queen and the princess of Arendelle were his sisters by blood, even if they didn't have the same mother. They were still his family. While he was here, Robin met all living members of his blood family. He met Rapunzel. A very lively person she was. A bit too lively for a future queen of a kingdom. She and Anna seemed very alike, in spirit at least. They moved similarly, especially the moves of their hands, they talked alike, and their voice had the same high tone, and they both talked fast (and much). They both moved quickly and, although they were, they sometimes seemed not aware of where they are or what they are doing. They were both friendly, welcoming of everyone they met, though they both also sometimes acted awkward, and childishly. Two cousins sometimes had the words slipping off their tongue. It was seen they had the same blood, and, if one ignores the face, people would mistake them for full sisters, and not cousins. Anna was more alike Rapunzel than Elsa to be honest.
Queen Elsa, however, was different from both. Quite how Robin imagined her. The Snow Queen was not cold and unpleasant, but she was reserved and silent for much. She did smile, but it was a smile without teeth and more. It was not a fake smile, but it was a controlled one. The queen of Arendelle didn't play or move much, but was standing elegant and maturely, looking very regal. That is how a queen should be like, Robin thought to himself. Elsa's voice was slightly deeper, more royal and more mature than Anna and Rapuznel's, even though they both were just a little younger than her, Anna two years and Rapuznel just a few months. At least at first, she and Anna weren't much alike, except in the face lines. She was less open and more to herself. Elsa reminded him of someone. Me, he understood it, she and I are similar. I never expected that. Now that he thought about it, yes, she did look like a sister to him, at least in spirit, if not in face. Robin also didn't love to talk much, but he tried to be good to everyone he meets.
Although she was a little colder (or more probably less open) Elsa was very kind and beautiful, and it was hard for Robin not to like her when he met her. She seemed like a very good person. She didn't deserve this danger when she is so young as a ruler.
But now, both sisters were in great danger. Elsa was entering a war and as a ruler she had to lead it. And Anna, she is gone. Where is she now? Did she go away somewhere? Or worse, is she captured by someone? Maybe Aron's own men? Maybe that Westergaard prince did it? If he doesn't stay here, Robin will never know what happened to his sister.
But how can he stay? What about Arvid? And Ehud, and Eliezer? What about Abiathar the Levite? And what about Dorinn and Aziah? Corvid, Bjorn, Vilgar and Kenan? What about them? They might not have been his brothers by body, but he was raised among them. They shared the same swordfighting training, the same swordfighting teacher, the same Abiathar and Eliezer who taught them how to read, write and prepare the food. They together learned history, mathematics, the laws of nature, the beasts of nature, the ancient legends. They offered sacrifices to God together on the altar. Some of them, like he, Kenan and Corvid, drank the milk of the same nurse, Halla, when they were little infants. That made them milk brothers. So Anna and Elsa were not his only siblings. The wards and soldiers of Longon were too. They were the people he grew up with. But Elsa and Anna were his sisters by blood, it was his duty to help them and stay beside them. But lord Arvid is the one who up brought him in his castle, and it was his duty to fight for him and stand beside him. He had duties to both-his sisters and his foster father.
Foster father, Robin thought, he up brought me in his castle my entire life, and yet in the Law he is still a foster father. I wouldn't call him like that.
He was just a bastard. A bastard of royal heritage, but of the who-knows-what mother, be it she a peasant, a noblewoman or a prostitute or whatever. He was a bastard. No one among the great lords and ladies cares about whom will he chose. It does not matter. Lord Arvid will win a battle without him. Elsa will win a battle without him. It does not matter to them. It only matters to him. Whomever he chooses, that will not change the course of war, or defeat the Red Snake. It will only change what is in Robin's spirit and heart. Nothing else will be different. Only he will be. And yet, although this decision is unimportant to the world, to him it is more important than anything he ever thought about or did by himself. The only problem is: he didn't know what to do.
"Robin!" a loud voice was heard, going through the night to Robin's ears. Robin recognized it as the voice of Vilgar, and he saw that he was right when Vilgar's face was finally seen.
"Robin!" he said.
"Easy, Vilgar." Robin said, trying to soothe him. Vilgar had a great excitement or fear in his eyes. Robin couldn't decide. "What is it?"
"Lord Fitzherbert." Vilgar said. "He found the trail of the princess." Robin was filled with happiness, surprise and unbelief.
"What?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.
"Come with me." Vilgar said, turning away from him and starting to walk. "To see it. Come, he called you!" and Vilgar immediately became quicker. Robin now had a desire to say "Wait!" but he didn't and just followed Vilgar, and trying to get through the night.
After a few moments of walking and even running, Vilgar brought him to one large rock. Flynn, his friend Andal Dorris, two soldiers and Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting Cassandra and Kenan. Robin looked down and saw that there was one stocky man, with big head and beard, being tied bellow the rock. With him were two other men.
"Who are these?" Robin asked them.
"I think this will give you an answer." Flynn said and gave Robin a rag of green color. Robin recognized it-it was a rag from Anna's clothing. Then he caught the man in the middle by the neck.
"Where is she?!" he asked. "Where is princess Anna?!" the man didn't answer. Robin then raised his sword in pure anger. "Speak or I will cut you in pieces!"
"I was paid not to talk." the man answered.
"We will pay you better." Flynn said.
"You will?" the man asked smiling. The smile just angered Robin even more.
"Yes." Robin said, and placed a tip of his sword bellow his neck. "We will give you your life."
Flynn was little surprised. "I thought literally, but yeah, that could be a payment enough." he added. The man looked a little at those around him and he sighed and surrendered.
"We gave her to the Black Snake's men. And his sons, Harald and Asmund." the man answered.
"Where did they went?" Robin asked, but the man remained silent. Then he threatened: "Speak!"
"They are taking her to the Onall coast, to the Black Snake." he told him, afraid. "They will be there in five or six days."
"Six days?" Andal Dorris said. "That is too short for army to find her."
"Yes it is. But not for few men." Flynn said. Robin realized what he is trying to stay.
"No we cannot go after her." Robin hesitated. He still didn't decide. "Elsa must know what happened."
"And she will." an old voice said. Robin turned and saw that it was a voice that he remembered since his childhood. It was Eliezer.
"My father?" Robin said with respect and surprise. "What...Doesn't matter, I cannot go. We have to tell Elsa what happened."
"I will tell her, but you Robin must go with them to find the princess." Eliezer said.
"No, I cannot." Robin assured them.
"Robi, there is no enough time and someone has to go and save her." Flynn said.
"And we can." Cassandra said. Robin was frustrated that they tried to persuade him.
"Aren't you two supposed to be with Rapunzel?" Robin asked them and then turned to Cassandra. "You are supposed to be beside her." then to Flynn. "And you. She is your wife and what about little Elsa? Aren't you supposed to be with them?"
"Don't worry about Rapunzel, trust me." Flynn said. "She will understand when she hears why."
"Robin!" Vilgar said to him. "Princess is in danger! We have to save her, she needs us!"
"For the first time in forever, I agree with Vilgar." Kenan said. Robin was astonished. How can they forget about lord Arvid so fast?
"And what about Longon?" Robin asked them. "What about captain Ehud, and lord Ethac? And Corvid, and Bjorn, and Dorinn and Aziah? What about them, do you two forget them so fast?"
"Robin." Eliezer came in, with fatherly and wise voice that he always possessed. There was something about that holy man that made everyone who would be around him peaceful. Robin's spirit inside calmed a little.
"Robin." the priest of God continued. "I understand your conflict. Truly, I do. You have to chose between your sisters, your blood family, and the place you were raised in and people you were raised among. You are torn between the two and you don't know what to do. It is not an easy choice at all. But Robin, the princess is taken captive by the maddest man who was ever born in Israel. Who knows what he is capable to do to her. I will not even try to imagine. She is the one who needs you, Robin, not Arvid. Do you forget that he fought in the war against the Black Queen when he was younger than you and won?" Fatherly, Eliezer placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly.
"Robin, go." he said. "Go and help your sister. I bless you in the name of the Lord to do so."
Robin was now thinking again about lord Arvid. It is true: lord Arvid was not even mature when he fought against the Black Queen on the side of Magnus of Arendelle. He was five or six or seven and ten years old when he fought back then. And after that he fought many battles against Amorites and Idolites and also against the Dunbroch tribe. The old man was old, but a capable and clever commander. He could defeat an army ten times bigger than his own, using only his own strategy and encouraging the soldiers. Lord Arvid was also one of the best fighters in the whole Israel, even in this old age, and he was able to save himself from any danger.
But what about Anna? Will she save herself alone? Is she able to? She told him that she achieved in the past to save herself out of dangers. But what if this time Anna will not be able? What if this time something happens that will stop her? What if Aron tortures her while he is thinking these thoughts? What if she doesn't free herself? What will the Red Snake do with her?
He could only imagine...and he didn't want to. So he won't allow it. He raised his head at the old priest.
"If it is blessed by the Lord," Robin said to the holy man of God, "then I will go."