Frozen Memories

by Xeir Zith

"It used to be when people spoke about magic we laughed them off, or locked them up, sometimes both, but we never took them seriously. Maybe we should have. But I am getting ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning, with Elsa. The Templars have the upper hand. Who will protect the Heart of the Mountain, it all boils down to them, Elsa & Mark, they have brought us to the end"

10. Seqeunce 3 Memory 3

Jellicle's Creed

Frozen Memeories

Sequence 3

Memory 3: On Eagles Wings

15 May 2051

Arendelle Castle

Queen Elsa's Bedroom

Noon

Elsa sat up at her desk with a jolt; Bleary eyed and tired, the last day or so was a total blur for her. First she was told the truth that Snowfeather was acting as her sister, than she and Snowfeather went went to Weselton to get her sister who was acting as Snowfeather in her stead for the last year; and then Elsa spotted a guy she did not want around the castle snooping in her own bedroom, she'd froze his ass solid after knocking him out and pocketing his blongings carefully. The night before she went to bed very late. No thanks to Mark, and Matthew keeping her up and grilling her carefully over what Blackmane had done. Both men were completely confused over what occurred and why, and so they had grilled her for information. She did not want to tell, because Blackmane and Snowfeather wanted to keep it secret. But Matthew was her teacher and mentor. And she had to tell him.

After being grilled for nearly the entire night and with Blackmanes help, Elsa was able to get away from Mark and Matthew thanks to a well timed smoke bomb. Elsa went to her room and locked herself in. Not even Matthew could break her snow locks! She had gone over to the desk in her room and saw her mothers journal, She had read entries that were addressed to her. Most of the stuff her mother wrote was letters to her, words she wanted to say of why she could not see Anna, or why Anna could not see her. And the pain that it brought her mother.

She'd fallen asleep reading an entry the night before. At her desk. Her gaze fell on her mothers journal, it was open to an entry she had started to read the night before she passed out, face down on the journal, but as her gaze landed on it she read it in full. "My dearest Elsa; When you were born, you were our little angel. Your father and I felt complete with you as our daughter, your gifts of snow delighted us every morning. It may have worried the docotors and midwives, but it did not worry either of us. When Anna joined our little family whe nyou were three, our lives, all of our lives, were brightned daily with each little moment.

When the accident occurred, your father and I did not want to seperate you, but it was, as Pabbie said, for the best, your father agreed, I did not want to go through with it at first. But in the end I relented. I see the folly of that now. I fear I cannot go back on it.

You are our little Angel, Elsa, you and Anna both. The love you two share will kindle in our hearts the love we all shared once. Do not let it die. Remember, you will always have someone that loves you no matter what happens. When you read these words, rest peacefully knowing that you will always be our little Angel.

I love you Elsa."

Elsa shed a single tear as she closed the journal on her desk. But it left her with more questions than answers. Her mother clearly did not want her and Anna apart as children in the past; Elsa could easily see that in her mothers writings to her. But her father had insisted, saying it was for the best, he was right in a way, and Elsa never blamed him for what he tried to do for her. But what did her mother mean about resting peacefully knowing she was always their little Angel ?

What was an Angel anyhow ?

As she set the journal on her desk her gaze went to the window briefly as a massive eagle lifted off. Everything seemed peaceful and safe. Where had that bird come from ? Elsa went to the window and opened it, looking out she saw nothing as the eagle flew off. She had never seen anything that big in her life before.

Arendelle Port

Assassin Den

Earlier that morning

"I think we did the wrong thing last night." Mark said thoughtfully, looking out at the port from the top of the Arendelle Ports Assassin Tower. Librated for more than a year, the kingdom was seeing new growth as time went on. In fact the most recent district liberated, Whitewall Haven, to the farthest northern part of the kingdom. Was a major blacksmith location, with dozens of blacksmith shops in the district.

"What do you mean ?" Matthew asked, he was over at the desk, going over things for recent contracts, they'd managed to librate six more dens, including Arko, Clearfalls, Longreach, and Roughwater. As they cleared out the Templars, they gained more Assassins, soon, soon the Assassins would have strong presence in Arendelle again. "We work in the dark to serve the light, how is it that we did something wrong last night ?"

"Grilling the Queen for information that Snowfeather confided in her with. That is what I mean!" Mark said turning from the window to look at Matthew, "You saw how she reacted; she wanted to spike you on the spot. But she didn't because you're teaching her the arts."

"How I run things is how I run things, Elsa asked me to teach her how to be an assassin, after she asked me of Jellicle Vision and what it was and that she possed that ability, I agreed to train her as an Assassin." Matthew replied. Over the last year since Mark had arrived, Matthew had grown, slightly, cold towards Elsa and her sister, he had started to teach Queen Elsa how to be an assassin, but he also had stopped teaching her how to control her powers. Anna had taken care of that. Matthew was now teaching Elsa how to use her powers to protect her kingdom and herself

"Don't you get it ? Just the way you're acting right now! Elsa imissed/i you when you were gone those seventy years before you came back here. You agreed to teach her the assassin arts. But I've noticed, you've grown cold, towards her. I've seen how you two are acting around one another recently. I've my ways" Mark said, raising a hand up when Matthew looked at him confused. "But my point stands, I feel we did the wrong thing last night by grilling Queen Elsa for information that Snowfeather gave her in strictiest confidence. What we did last night was wrong. I know it"

"If memory serves me correctly, Master Wolfe, it was you, that did the grilling, not me." Matthew said.

"Had you not been there it would have not been so wrong feeling for me!" Mark retorted angrly. They were about to go to blows had Blackmane not cut in.

"Will the two of you calm down ?" Blackmane growled out. She herself was not too happy that her sisters secrets were revealed between the two men. Thankfully Elsa only revealed scant details before getting just a bit too uncomfortable before Blackmane tossed a smokebomb in their midst to get Elsa out of there and the queen then disappearing into her bedroom in the castle, locking herself inside. Blackmane had observed it all, and aided the young Queen in her fleeing the scene.

Both men did seem to calm a bit as Blackmane berated them both "What you did was not important now, What is important is what the Duke now plans. Snowfeather went and contacted me after a year through the communication link. The duke plans something for Elsa, a nasty something, but what it is I do not know, nor does Snowfeather. We only heard snippets of his plot with Hans. That's all we know."

"What about Henri showing up in Elsas bedroom, you're sure there are no traps set within the room ?" Mark asked, his concern for Elsa his top priority at that moment.

"Elsa is safe, her bedroom is secure, Snowfeather and I made sure of that with the queen herself. Just to ensure she was safe I even tested her defenses." She flexed her fingers, Elsas snowflake locks hurt. Thankfully Elsa thawed out her hand before any damage had been done.

"So Elsa is safe, that is good to know" Mark said, what else did they not know ? "What's with the bookshelf following you ?" Mark asked pointing to the astack of floating books on what looked like floating glass of red mandels that spun about it

"Merely something Elsa mentioned of Blackrock, and Annas visit to that location made me think of it. The latest bookstore had it so I had everything picked up that had mention or history on what the writers refer to as Wolf Queen." Blackmane said

"The Wolf Queen ?" Matthew asked

"You know it ?" Blackmane replied

"It is more than a simple legend" Matthew replied, he explained in great detail then of the Wolf Queen, apparently the third queen of Arendelle nearly five thousand years before. "Out of fear alone the Wolf Queens only daughter somehow managed to rile the people against the queen and put her daughter in place as queen, in that time all history of that monarch was lost. But it is an interesting legend to be honest. You see, Elsa has powers over ice and snow, like myself, the Wolf Queen, she had powers over animal kind, most notably the wolves of the northern hills."

"So this wolf queen, what is so important about her exactly ?" Mark asked

"I can answer that" Snowfeather said, "The legends and mythics say that the Wolf Queen was slain, but she was also a powerful necromancer as well. Most of the wolves she used in battle were already slain beforehand for rutial sacrifices and otherwise. She was also reportedly never slain as well, and used a curse of some form to give her eternal life or similar. When she was ousted by her daughter Elena, she was hunted for a time before all memory and knowledge of her was lost."

"So now with Elsa as queen, the Wolf Queen could still be alive ? How would we manage to even take her down if she is still alive ?" Mark asked.

"I am not sure, but know this, Elsa was born with her magical powers over ice and snow, the Wolf Queen gained her powers from reading a spellbook of some form; and even then by learning spells from a book is extremely different from being born with powers. If any of us could take her on, it'd be either myself, Matthew, Blackmane or Elsa directly." Snowfeather said.

"So that leaves me out." Mark replied with a discomforted grunt of annoyance. Something about Elsa tugged at him, the night before he had made her uncomfortable and he wanted to make it up to her. In his head he was already thinknig up ways of how to make it up to her.

"Not entirely" Blackmane spoke up, after reading through some of the first volume she was able to get from the bookseller she said simply "According to this the Wolf Queen was slain at Blackrock Point, which is just around the bend from Blackrock Haven, a point beacon of sorts that looks out to the eastern White Sea."

"So then it'd be a possiblity that Wolf Queen is merely a legend, why is it not in any of the originial history books ?" Matthew asked taking a look at another book that had zero mention of the Wolf Queen in it. Only Queen Elena being a kind and just ruler. And then the family tree of the royal family, Every first born child was a girl. "Get a load of this." Matthew said. He read from the book. "'With the establishment of Arendelle one day and night south of the North Mountain, I Junisar, daughter of Findian, take the queenship, My blood shall pass to my firstborn daughter to take the crown, should I have a son first, then a daughter, my daughter shall take the crown.'"

He closed the book, "Apparently the family tree wants to remain deeply rooted in traiditon. Hence why every first born was either a girl or boy, but it was always the princess that was crowned queen. The only kings there are within Arendelle, are those that marry the Queen. There is only princes born of blood here, no kings are born or raised here." Matthew said thoughtfully.

"There is something most interesting here." Blackmane said as she found an entry in the history book she was reading, "Listen to this, it is written by the wolf queen herself. 'I will have my vengence upon my kingdom for my ruin. My quest will consume me. I will take my search to the ends of the earth. I am the Wolf Queen, and my kindred will grow to harrass my old kingdom. Arendelle will fall before I do. I will make sure of it.' Apparently the Wolf Queen lives on in the form of a wolf of some form. Somwhere." Blackmane set the book down on the stack. "I have more to research, but until I knew more, none of us will go to Blackrock point, Blackrock Haven has been used and the wolf queen steers clear of that area. She is afraid of it for some reason. There are no wolves in the area of Blackrock Haven, only Blackrock Point."

"Perhaps the queen should go and clear it out ? Consider it a contract of sorts ?" Matthew said, "as part of her training, We all went through it, aside from being called upon in fights in the kingdom, and elsewhere, we're sent on contracts to advance our skills. Perhaps then we send Elsa on contract, but one of us go with her to ensure her safety, and the complete destruction of the Wolf Queen's lair ?"

Snowfeather and Blackmane readily agreed, but Mark seemed hesitant, he hated the idea of Elsa getting harmed in any manner. So he kept his mouth shut as there came a knock at the door. Going to it he answered it and a curior stepped in. "Ah, been looking all over the kingdom for you. Got a letter for you... from the queen herself, you must have friends in high places... that's it, got other stuff to deliver. Good day to you." with that the curioer left and Mark opened the letter.

"Well, what does it say Master Wolfe ?" If Elsa sent it, it had to be important. But why did she send it to Mark ?

"Cool your jets Michaels, I got a date with a very important lady." He folded up the letter and placed it in his pocket before leaving the room to get ready, it was nearing dinner time by then, all the history talk, and guilt talk of what he had done the night before was on his mind still. Had he done the right thing in asking for so much information from Elsa ? He barely knew her, yet, he was in experince, her elder. So to speak. Sure she was only twenty nine. But still. Having her go face off against the Wolf Queen ?

Snowfeather watched Mark leave to his room to begin to get ready. This was going to be rich for sure. As soon as Mark closed his bedroom door, Snowfeather turned to Matthew, "What was that all about ?" Apparently shje had not heard the entire conversation, but Blackmane still clued her in on some things. "Apparently Mark does not feel exactly up to this... date."

"He fears he did the wrong thing last night." Matthew said.

"And that was" Snowfeather pressed.

"When Elsa mentioned the Duke of Weselton last night, it set off questions that needed to be answered" Matthew replied, "Mark asked all the questions I was thinknig of asking. But knowing him, he asked in a much more gentle manner, whereas I would not have asked so gently for the information."

"So what Mark said was true, you have grown colder towards Elsa and her sister since taking her under your wing as a student in the Assassin arts." Snowfeather said thoughtfully. If Munku was there, things would be far easier by this point.

"You noticed too huh ?" Matthew said, it was true, he had grown cold towards Elsa, when at first she was overjoyed he was back in Arendelle, able to teach her and show her what she could do with her icey powers, help her master them, and then he took her on as a student in the Assassins. He'd grown colder towards her, harsher. And he never meant it. He paced. Finally nodding he said "It is true, I have grown colder towards Elsa, her learning, teaching her even speaking to her." He said.

He sighed, "I have fufilled my promise to her father in keeping her safe, I can do only so much by her side, teaching her to defend herself and use her powers as a weapon to fight with as an assassin I can only teach so far as with her there are scant few places I cannot join her." He said. He turned to Snowfeather. "Have you yet sword sworn to any ?"

"No, not for a long time. Why, what are you thinking ?" Snowfeather replied.

"Later this evening when you see Elsa as you normally do, swear your swords to her, you can protect her better than I ever can. A sword swear lasts ten years does it not ?" Matthew said.

"Twelve actually" Blackmane corrected. Snowfeather nodded.

"Then it works, by the time the twelve years are over, Elsa would have become an Assassin, but she is still the queen, so juggling such work will take strong doing on both her part and our own." Matthew said thoughtfully. "Plus there is the CIA to worry about, according to some wintry friends of mine, the Oslo branch is quite active lately in the last year."

"So we will only have to worry and contend for now with the CIA, until I find out more off the Wolf Queen and any indication of her current remains. There were some powerful necromancers recently active in the area trying to bind her spirit according to these books." Blackmane said, she moved towards her own room within the Arko District den. "Of course, these books were written nearly five thousand years ago when Queen Elena forbid all knowldedge of her mother to be made known or even written down, so it is possible that the Wolf Queen is long dead."

"I feel we should at least make sure that she is dealt with or truly dead. Either way it will give Elsa some more experience she will need later in life." Matthew said, he too then left the den, he had things to do. As he left the den the curiour found him and gave him a notice. Elsa wanted to speak with him about something important right away. He thanked the curiour and disapepared in a flurry of snowflakes. If Elsa sent him a note, he had to answer it.

Arendelle Castle

Throne Room

Just before dinner

Matthew arrived at the appointed location. It was most interesting to be honest that Elsa had chosen to meet him at the throne room, he'd been there only twice before. Both times when Elsa was a child. He had not been in there since she was nine or ten. When he first met her.

To be her teacher.

The memory hit him hard in the stomach, Mark was right, he had indeed grown cold towards Elsa while recently teaching her how to be a cold blooded killer as an Assassin, the poor girl at the time when he first met her was scared out of her wits because of her powers. And wore gloves to hide them.

"I am glad to see that you made it." Christophe said to Matthew as he stepped into the throne room. Matthew saw two other people in the room aside from the king and himself, One of them a young girl, who appeared quite scared and yet quite regal at the same time.

"Well, when one sends out a messege for one to teach another with certain icey gifts, I'm on the spot as quickly as I can be." Matthew replied to the King. The man smiled. Taking in matthew carefully he noted the silver hair, icey blue eyes, what looked like snowflakes in the mans eyes. But Matthew was more focused on the queen, giving her a bow and also to the Princess, Elsa.

For a long moment Christophe said nothing, finally he said to Matthew, "Walk with me a moment, Mr Michaels was it ?"

"Of course, and yes, Matthew Michaels is my name." Matthew replied, he fell in step with King Christophe as the man lead him from the castle to the paraphets that went around the castle as a whole. As they walked Matthew could see that something troubled the king, so he ventured a question, a question asked only three years before. "Born with, or cursed ?"

"Born with. But her powers are getting stronger, and so are her fears." Christophe then explained the accident that had occurred three years before. And what they've tried to do since to help Elsa gain better control. "I want only the very best for my daughters." He said.

"I can teach only so much of what I myself learned, but I will not teach of how I learned. How I learned my own powers compared with that of your daughter severely depends upon how she takes my teachings. And if she wants to learn." Matthew replied.

"My daughter is scared of what her powers could do, her fears keep her closed from everyone, even her sister. It breaks my wifes heart to see my family split apart." Christophe said thoughtfully. "I will pay you handsomely to teach my daughter to control her powers."

"I will teach what I know of my own powers to your daughter, I will teach control as well. But, there is one thing that must be needed from your daughter." Matthew said, the king looked at him, "She must want to learn. That is all I require in return at this stage."

"It was her that requested a teacher, I merely sent out the notice." Christophe replied. "You will have to speak with her about your condition. Should she accept, I can have a room readied for your use if you so wish it."

"That wont be needed your highness." Matthew said, "I have a room at the Roughwater Inn for the duration of my stay in your fine kingdom. I merely require access to and from the castle as needed. For sometimes I may take your daughter out of the city gates to the wildnerness to teach her. Sometimes the woods are the best place to learn. Trust me."

For a long moment Christophe did not speak, finally he nodded. "Very well, should Elsa want to learn from you, you have your lay of the land here. But there are certain locations within the castle, her bedroom for example, that are strictly offlimits to you. Do you understand ?"

Matthew nodded "Initmately your highness. You can rest assured that I will not sneak into your daughters bedroom. I am not that kind of man." He replied calmly, "However, if it makes you less stressed and worried, you may have a guard or servant escort your daughter with me when we exit the kingdom to the woods for certain lessons." The king agreed to that thought, he then led the way back to the throne room where Elsa and Queen Idun were waiting.

The memory faded as foosteps sounded in behind him and Elsas voice broke the silence. "Been waiting long, Matthew ?" She asked him.

"No, not long at all." Matthew replied, in truth he'd only been there at the very most a minute or so. He turned towards her. She was in her most regal dress she had ever made. Or was it the same one as always ? He never did keep track of her outfits as long has he had been back. It seemed to him that she was either in her battle dress or her queens dress. But lately he noticed she was in her queens dress. Even when out hunting down templars and librating districts, and most recently, recruiting. "I take it you wanted to speak to me about something important ? Important enough to summon me here, to this room ?"

"Yes" Elsa said, she stood by the door, closing it behind her Matthew heard the telltale click of the doors lock clicking into place but he felt nor saw any snowmagic being placed upon the door either. Apparently Elsa trusted him enough as it was. But why summon him there ? "You remember why you were hired to teach me all those years ago ?"

"Only that you wanted a teacher with powers the same as your own." Matthew replied, quoting her word for word. "Did I do wrong in teaching you at the time ?" He asked her "If I recall properly, you wanted me to teach you what I could. You wanted to learn. But your mother and father. They thought differnetly about it did they not ?"

Elsa sighed, she had recently learned in her mothers journal of something her father had tried, and failed to do for her, find someone to remove her icey powers. He had tried, but it was her request at a teacher with powers like hers to teach her how to use them properly. That was how he had failed. But no, Elsa knew her father ment the best for her. Finally she said. "Father was terrified of my powers, even to go so far as to try and find a way, or person to strip them from me. But it was my request to find a teacher, someone with powers like mine, to teach me how to control them. You."

Matthew nodded, he remembered it all too well. Elsa had wanted to learn everything she was able, and even studied carefully in the library. But the king was terrified, Christophe had confided with him and Idun of what to do should Elsa ever lose control, or should they pass on before her learning was finished. Matthew had been carefully detailed in the accident that had occurred between both girls seven years before. "Your father wanted to do what he thought was best for you. Even if it meant to remove your powers." He said

Elsa crossed her arms over her chest and shivered, not because of the cold, but because of the thought of her without her icey powers. It was a horrifying thought to even try to comprehend! "But mother and I managed to change his mind into searching for a teacher, you. To help me. He relented when you arrived, but I recall that he had a guard accompany us to the woods when you taught me outside the castle."

"Yes" Matthew replied, "Your father thought me untrusting as I was ten years elder than you at the time. So I made a comprimise with him, if it had made him feel safer for you to have a servant or a guard well trained to keep an eye on things and made sure you learned when you were with me. It would work out. And it did. You wanted to learn what I could teach, that was all I required on your part and you filled it nicely at the time."

"But now ?" Elsa said. Giving Matthew a icey look

"But now what ?" Matthew replied, matching her stare.

"The last year you've distenced yourself from me. Ann noticed, as did I, I did more queenly duties, but. Now this whole thing. I asked you to be my teacher again, Matthew, we were once so very close, very good friends, you made me a promise and you kept it." Elsa said, "But you are not the same man you were before my parents passed away. Are you ?"

Her words hurt, but there was nothing he could say but apologise "Elsa, I am sorry. Before we left, your parents and I, your father came to me with a question. I agreed to go with them as both a witness and aid, and if it came to it, bodyguard. I made the promise to you that I would return and finish your teaching. But you seemed to have learned it on your own. Finished your own teaching so to speak." He said. He sighed and turned to the window, looking out over the kingdom. "Just before your father died he made me promise. A promise I have kept so far. Until last night."

"You mean Henri, Prince Hans brother ?" Elsa asked, Matthew nodded "He made no changes within my bedroom, I even checked it as I said with Blackmane and Snowfeather. Why are you worried ?"

"I worry that I may have failed your fathers last wish to me before he died. I swore to your father on his deathbed that I would protect you and Anna. And Henri in your room, clearly to set a trap to take you down unawares, broke that promise. I cannot be with you all the time. You need a sword sworn bodyguard until you're fully trained as an Assassin. But who that is to be I do not know. But it must be female. As there are only so many places I cannot go with you to." Elsa knew what he meant, her bedroom was one of those places. Of course as a child she thought it was because she was a Princess and him a commonor, her teacher. And thus thought it a method or force of habit that the bedrooms were private.

"Sword sworn ?" She asked him however, completely confused by the term. "What is that ?"

"It is what I became to your father in order to teach you." Matthew replied, "Your father did not trust me at first but your mother did. I did not know it at the time but Blackmane had been here before, long ago."

Elsa nodded "Yes, she was my great great great great grandmothers... saviour. Of sorts. I guess. Why ?"

"Blackmane was able to ensure your birth by protecting Queen Marissa, Blackmane as we both know, is female, and was able to sneak into your ancestors chambers unmolested to protect your own mother, and your mothers mother." Matthew said. "Your father wanted only the very best for you, even if it meant trying to find a way to remove your powers. Thankfully he did not have to go to that extreme."

Elsa nodded, "Thankfully." She rubbed her shoulders and shivered again, this time at the sheer thought of the cold nights bothering her when they formerly did not.

"Yes, thankfully, because of your request. You wanted a teacher, you even wrote the request, 'a teacher to teach someone importantly gifted'. You had written. I must admit I was not well versed in Kudzul to understand it at first." Matthew said. He smiled, "And so I came. And so you learned." He took a deep breath then and said "And then your parents passed away. And I was captured. But is in the past now." he regarded her, seeing her shiver at the thought of being without her powers. "Your father wanted to do what he thought best for you. But instead he chose to listen to your request for a teacher. I am personally glad he did."

"Yes" Elsa said, "I am too." She gave him a look, a look he knew too well. "So now what ? You are still teaching me but; you've distenced yourself from me, from Anna, and when we do speak you are terse, sterner, more... reserved, less, outgoing." She was at a loss for words, when he spoke up.

"So I have been told." He said, "Is that why you wanted to speak to me in private before your... date with a mutual friend of ours ?" he asked her.

Elsa nodded, "Yes, I wanted to ask you, why ? What was it that caused our... seperation, we were close friends while you taught me, and now after once more taking me under your teachings. You seem, less..."

"Less happier around you than I used to be ?" Elsa just nodded Matthew nodded as well "I understand what you are thinking Elsa, What happened to your father and mother I can only blame myself for what occurred. I never break a promise made. I kept that promise until Henri showed up in your room last night." Elsa just looked at him. "I am sorry, since teaching you the Assassin Arts I have indeed become more focused on my work over your well being in your learnings. Yet you've thrown yourself at the contracts I give to you, you've recruited several assassins to our cause. To your cause." There was something in his tone, pride. "It just makes me overjoyed to see that you are gaining so much experience, and hoping to regain your kingdom, But you have a long way ahead of you. You're an assassin in training, at this moment a warrior of sorts. You've still a ways to go before you are even a first ranked Assassin. Much less a Den Master"

"I'm the queen" Elsa said to him, he nodded. "So den master or not, I oversee everything," She said stepping right up to him to look him dead in the eye. "Even you." She said, though she had a impish look to her eyes as the door opened and Kai stepped in with a missiv. "Yes Kai ?"

"My Queen, Master Michaels, your guest has arrived, he awaits you in the library." Kai said to Elsa with a brief nod in greeting to Matthew.

"Thank you Kai I will see him in a moment." Elsa said, or rather started to say as Matthew cut her off.

"Actually you should see to him now. I have things I must attend to, and Elsa, I will try in the future to be more... focused on your well being over my level of work and teaching." Matthew said, he followed Kai out of the castle as Elsa watched him leave the throne room she briefly recalled that first meeting they'd ever had. Her father had indeed wanted to try and find a way to remove her powers, but in the end he relented when she convinced him she wanted a teacher.

With that happy thought on her mind she left the throne room and headed for the castle library. Surely Mark had not been kept waiting, after all the library held all manner of books within it. Little did she realise just how into a library Mark could be at times.

Arendelle Castle

Library

Dusk

The Dinner bell rang across the kingdom as Elsa opened the doors to the library and stepped in, closing them behind her. The fire was brightly lit, eluminating the room brightly, many candles were also lit along the massive glass chandlier she had recreated after accidently breaking parts of the library roof in the Great Blizzard seven years before. Rebuilt in places with ice for walls and ceiling to let in the natural light of both the starlit sky and the sunlit days.

She saw Mark standing at a table, on it was a map of Arendelle showing the North mountain, marked in Kudzul, Mark easily made out the North Mountain, and a beautifully drawn palace on it apparently. Elsa saw him reading the map carefully, almost as if he was trying to memorise every crevice and rock drawn on it in great detail. She smiled, he had let his guard down only briefly. She was barefoot and stepped forwards quietly. Onfortunately he must have heard her because he spoke up. "You're learning better than expected." He looked up from the map, his back to her "But there was one thing to remember that you may have forgotten, though briefly. Regulate your breathing, its not easy to remember; I mostly forget it at times myself." He was obviously not expecting her but Snowfeather or Blackmane.

Elsa smirked and replied. "Been waiting long ?"

Marks eyes went wide. Elsa! Impossible! He set the map down and twirled around to face her. He stared only briefly. "That was you ?" He asked while pointing at the closed library doors behind her, she just smiled and nodded. His heart hammered in his chest so loud he could have sworn she heard it. "Well, I'll be honest I was not expecting to be lead to your library, I was thinknig that for a dinner with you, alone, as your message to me stated; I had thought you wanted me to meet you within the dining room ?"

"Dining room, at the moment, is a bit too formal for a first date." Elsa replied with a soft smile. She stepped up to the table and pointed out her ice palace "Tomorrow morning my sister and I along with Olaf and Kristoff. I spoke with Blackmane briefly, and she said something of taking two more along to make sure things stay safe. I do it yearly, but this is the first time I really had to worry of danger out there." She said.

"From what I understand, and have witnessed the last year. You handle yourself well in combat." Mark replied, he was dangerously close to her and he knew it, and it made him nervous, slightly so at that. He tried to relax. But he was nervous. "I do not think you need to worry."

"I think, for the moment, otherwise, I want you and Snowfeather to come with us. I made extra rooms in my Ice Palace and I requested Gerda and Kai to make the needed preperations tonight into tomorrow for a week long stay." Elsa said, at Marks sudden move to speak she raised a hand, a finger to his lips "Now don't say no, I'm sure Matthew or Blackmane will welcome the week off from you and Snowfeather to begin with. In fact consider it a personal contract on my part, you and Snowfeather, come with me, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven for a week to my Ice Palace." Elsa said to him.

"Uh... well that... that is to say... I... I don't know what to say. If it is a contract, by you instead of Matthew or Blackmane..." Mark stuttered at the thoughts going througth his head at that moment, and the fact that Elsa was the one touching him at that moment. "And its a contract I don't really feel right in taking to be honest."

"Then consider it more of a request. Rather than a contract" Elsa said. "You and Snowfeather, spend a week with I and my sister and her fiance at my Ice Palace, honestsly it'd make me happier to have someone new this time. New faces so to speak." Elsa explained.

"Alright, to that extent I don't see how I can refuse. How can I refuse anything from the Queen, you. So, yes, I'll come along, I'll also inform Snowfeather of the plan and extend your invitation to her as well. Is there anything we should bring along with us ?" Mark said

Elsa shook her head "Kai and Gerda will leave after dinner to see to it that everything is provided for at my palace." She said, She then turned and went to the door, opening the double doors she saw Kai outside The man waited with two servants carrying food. She stepped aside allowing them in. Kai directed the two servants to set up the food on the table as Mark cleared it enough to place the food upon it.

On the table was placed three different kinds of meat, deer, moose and what looked like elk but was hard to tell fully on what kinds of meat was exactly placed on the table. Another plate had four differnet kinds of cheeses, and lastly, a bottle of Arendelle wine was also placed on the table as well with two glasses poured and devided between them properly by Kai himself before the man, at Elsas request, took the wine bottle with him.

Two chairs were brought to the table, allowing the two to sit and enjoyy themselves. Kai set a few more logs onto the fireplace, the fire roared brightly, merely lighting up the room rather than heating it at the moment. Mark found himself oddly relaxed, the smell of the meat was on his mind and the fact that Elsa was across the narrow table from him. The map of Arendelle was to one side of them. And yet, Elsa asked him a question that weighed on his mind some time before.

And she asked him the same question again. "When you first arrived here, you said you were from another realm, or place, called, Egypt was it ?" Of course how she pronounced it made it sound like Edgewhipe, whatever that place was, it might have just been her accent screwing it up, yet, the question itself was well worth the asking it. "What is it like ?"

Mark thought in silence for a moment before answering. "Well, in the summer it gets very warm, and yet where I lived before coming here on summons; there are many trees, no snow, sadly, but lots of sand. Lots of sand indeed. Though I will admit, along the waters edge, the sand is quite beautiful." Elsa felt eyes on her and looked up briefly and saw him looking towards her briefly before his eyes fell on the map, or rather the drawing of her ice palace. Rather than keep it just a drawing she made a perfectly detailed model of it right there on the map out of ice.

It was seeing that model grow before his very eyes in the castle library did Mark mentally tell himself to begin thinking of what he was going to do with his future. What did he really want for his future ? He had originally wanted to become a Den Master of an Assassin Den, like Matthew had become in America. But now, after seeing Elsas powerful magic growing a model of her ice palace on their table between them. He found himself suddenly quite conflicted.