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"

21. Seqeunce 5 Memory 5

Jellicle's Creed

Frozen Memories

Seqeunce 5

Memory 5: When It Comes to Money part 2

20 December 2051

Arendelle Castle

Castle Study

Just after breakfast

Samuel green smiled, he had a lot of information to tell about the Shroud, and why it was asked to be taken to Arendelle and kept there. "There is a lot to tell, it is said it can restore life, but I have never seen it done, It was hidden under the Tower of London for generations. I was asked out of all in my brotherhood group directly to come here myself as I have had the most contact with the Shroud" He went on to explain what it could and was reportedly able to do.

But the only problem missing was, who was the she that requested it sent to Arendelle, and why ?

"Pray tell me, what are they doing in Stockholm that they need these materials? The last I heard from the Assassin's down there was that they had something big planned." Mark interjected curiously, his hands behind his back as he tilted his head slightly. His armor continued to glow dimly from being in the presence of the Shroud. Heck, the last thing he heard from the Assassins in Stockholm was from almost two years ago; as far as he knew, they'd either been pushed out of the region or had gone dark.

It appears that they went dark, so dark that even his sources couldn't trace anything. Of course, Mark didn't possess the best sources; but those he had were trustworthy, and couldn't be bought out.

"I dont know. Den Master Timothy wont send any of our brothers to Stockholm nomatter what we try to figure out." Green replied truthfully. "All I know is I'm incharge of the British escort to transport the money and supplies to Stockholm. I was requested because of the Shroud, and where to take it was along the route."

"But you still did not answer the Queens question" Georgina spoke up softly from her place by the map on the table. "Who is the woman that said to bring the Shroud to us here ?"

"I wish I knew, all our orders from Her are in written form only, only a symbol is Her name" He took the letter from the box and held it towards Elsa and Mark to take. The symbol was an Assassin symbol, in the Arendelle colors. But it was not Elsa's own crest either.

Mark gritted his teeth. It seemed that Samuel had less info than what was standard to send Members of the order out on a mission with. When Samuel handed over the letter, Mark snatched it quickly, looking over it. The crest was familiar; he'd seen it in his studies of Arendelle's recent history. It was the crest of Elsa's mother, Idun. He opened it and read it quickly.

To whom it may concern.

It is of the utmost importance that the Shroud of Eden be transported to Arendelle with your next shipment to Stockholm; time is short and it must be done as soon as possible. The Queen will know what to do when the time is right.

The letter ended with the same emblem that sealed the letter, and Mark bit his lower lip calmly as he reread it again, looking for a sort of code. He held it up to the sunlight, to the fire light, used Eagle Vision, nothing. There was nothing there that would indicate a code or anything of the sort. It was an ordinary letter.

But it couldn't be, could it? "Why... is this crest, of all things, here?" Mark asked, pointing to the crest that acted as the signiture.

"I dont recognise it, its the Assassin pattern yes, its in Arendelle's colors but... I do not recognise this flower. it is not a Crocus." Elsa said gently taking the letter from Mark and reading it over. Time was short... She was briefly reminded of Illitains words, no time to explain anything. the fact that she would know what to do when the time was right. Why her ?

So many questions.

"It is how we receive all our orders from outside London, Templar influence is stronger the further north we tread" Samuel replied to Mark. "As far as I am aware, Arendelle is one of the few Assassin holdouts we were able to find. Master Timothy requested I make contact as well. You have my aid as long as you need it. But I must return to the iRose/i as quickly as I can with the permission to transport the supplies through Arendelle."

"There is still a lot of Ditrcts within this kingdom that have strong Templar influence. Tell us your planned route. And we'll ensure it is cleared" Georgina said as Elsa nodded and went over to the desk. Getting some paper she wrote dont a quick letter.

To whom it may concern.

This letter is to signify approval and permission granted to travel and transport through Arendelle supplies and people as needed insofar as no hostility is between those traveling through, and those who reside within the kingdom.

Elsa signed the letter with her crest seal. Standing from the desk she stepped over to Samuel. holding the letter "Take this to the man who has you in his employ, As long as no fighting occurs between the British you escort with your men, and my own kingdom guards occurs, this letter ensures my permission has been given."

Once Samuel gave the rout that he and his men would take through Arendelle, Mark nodded and clicked his tongue a few times, the clicks echoing in the room. Thankfully a window was opened. The clicks were responded to by a shrill shriek, and the fluttering of feathers. Ulnaus would fly forth, and mark Districts for immediate liberation. "I suggest heading along your path in about an hours time, to make sure our brothers and sisters have cleared the route adequately enough for you to pass through unscathed." he said calmly.

He looked to Elsa; should he tell her who the crest belonged to? No... not in the presence of others. He'd have to do it in private. "My Queen, if I could have a word with you in private after this is settled, it'd be appreciated." he added.

Thankfully most of the route itself was in mostly liberated districts. But the most heavier templar laden and yet to be liberated districts were somewhat problematic. Elsa noticed that Samuel seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she handed over the letter, her permission, in a way, but it was extremely limited. It felt weird really. She did not fully trust this man yet, he was an Assassin. And a crest in Arendelle colors, one she did not recognise. A pretender to the throne ? The letter did not mention her directly, only saying the Queen, her really, would know what to do. That left her with more questions then answers as Samuel took his leave.

Georgina stepped up next to her as the door was left open, watching Samuel's retreating back. "Follow him, make sure he is what he says he is." Something tells me he might not be who he really is Elsa said, Georgina nodded and stepped from the study, stepping into a side hall without a sound and quickly disappearing. Elsa did not notice that Diana remained in the room in the shadows.

During the entire chat with the London Assassin, Elsa never knew Diana was there with them.

She took a deep breath as Kai stepped into the study, "Yes Kai ?"

"My lady, the guests await you in the courtyard for the first full day of the festival" Elsa smiled, that night was her offical birthday dinner with the kingdom as a whjole, while the next day was just her and Anna, and Mark, and the others she was close to. But tonight was the night with the Kingdom!

"Thank you Kai, we will be out in a moment." Elsa replied, Kai nodded and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him as he left. Elsa turned to Mark, "You recognised something from that man did you not ? Something that felt off ?" She too had seen his Hidden Blades, but... why today of all days ?

Mark didn't speak for a moment, then turned his head to Diana. "You've become very good at hiding in plain sight; now then; go. You've a party to attend." He said calmly to her. She merely nodded and left without a sound. He then turned to Elsa and sighed as he walked to a chair and leaned against it. "He I dont' trust in the least; never have trusted the London Assassins, they've been... sneaky as of late." he said calmly.

"What urked me the most, however; was the crest on the letter. Tell me; what does it remind you of?" He asked, looking out the window and scanning the horizon calmly.

"From what I have heard, one of our own is from there, or does Diana mimic like you ?" Elsa smiled she then started to braid her hair as Mark spoke. "I'm not sure, its the Assassin crest in Arendelle colors, but I dont recognise the flower, its not a Crocus like mine. Its something different." Elsa finished braiding her hair, a ice ribbon similar shade to her now slightly darker then the day before red dress, the blue offset the red beautifully. "it feels familar, yet... I dont know how it could be or why"

She went over to the box, briefly checking it carefully using her eagle vision she knew in her heart the Piece before her was real as the one on the desk glowed like a beer sign wigh another so close, that and Marks own armor too was pulsing brightly as well still. She closed the lid of the box, sealing it. Once sealed the glow stopped from the shard on the desk.

"This is from an Assassin, an Assassin who either once resided here, or resides here now. Somehow. We may have just missed this one. But... I do not see how" She faltered, Memories of her mother and her together when she was growing up, just the two of them in her mothers bedroom or her own bedroom, her mother teaching her, like Matthew did before he... disappeared.

Finally she said softly as she remembered the flower, "That crest..." She went white as a sheet at the mere thought. Her mother, alive ?

Mark said nothing about Diana, only huffed softly. He had mixed feelings about the girl. She seemed eerily familiar, but he didn't trust it yet. He didn't know her very well; hell, he didn't see her half the time. He sighed and then turned to Elsa as she began to figure out the Crest. He noted the expression change on her face and moved slowly over to her.

"Do you see now? Only one person in Arendelle's history ever used this crest; and only one person can make it so perfectly every time." He said calmly. "I have a hard time believing it myself; I... I've read the reports, I heard the stories. It... it's hard to understand." He said calmly.

He reached over and placed a gentle hand on Elsa's shoulder. "But let's not take too much time on it right now; you've guests to welcome, after all." He said calmly, his fingers gently moving to her chin to lift her chin gently, trying to sooth her with his voice and touch so she'd be emotionally stable enough to speak before her people.

A soft smile graced her face at his touch, she turned towards him. "Its impossible though. Momma is dead, Matthew said so himself! But, nobody can draw a Lily so perfectly like her. But, there's only one way to be sure, I think you can help with that. When the festival is over I want mothers body exhumed from where she is buried." Elsa said, "I want to be sure it is not her, that she is still alive. What was it that Snowfeather said you guys did in Egypt to identify the deceased ?" DNA testing mostly.

She smiled, turning to the box containing the shroud she thought a moment "Nobody but you, me, Samuel, Diana or Georgina must know this is here." She tapped the wooden lid lightly. Ice dancing on her fingers. Without a second thought she waved her hands over the box, within a heartbeat ice formed cloth and wrapped the box tightly. Nobody but Elsa could get near the ice as lines of frost started appearing on Marks armor until he stepped a half step backwards. If any tried to touch it, they'd freeze... which could be a bad thing, so she turned down the energy a bit. She did not want too much there.

"You're right though." She said turning back to Mark, placing a gentle kiss on his nose. "I've got guests to welcome and tomorrow is my birthday." Her eyes shined brightly. "Would you be so kind Master Wolfe, to escort me to the Courtyard for todays festivities ?" She asked him.

Mark made a mental note to have the body in Idun's grave DNA tested to see if it matched Idun's actual DNA. He'd get it done in secret, then place the coffin back so none would know that anything had occured. "You've my word that I won't tell anyone." He said calmly, nodding to the box before taking his half-step backwards to avoid the frost locking up the joints of his iDuradaeden/i Armor.

As Elsa gave him a light kiss on his nose, he returned the kiss with one to her chin and he smiled, nodding. "Very well; come along." He said, offering her his arm as he turned towards the door.

With a soft smile Elsa slid her arm in with his, her fingers seeking out his hand and then quickly entertwining with them as they walked with her on his arm, For a moment as they walked she seemed thoughtful, her head on his shoulder. "Do you think its possible that Momma is alive ?" She was already going through thoughts and visions in her head, if her mother was indeed alive, then Elsa wasn't queen! She could be with Mark and Anna and Kristoff heck with the Assassins more then she could be as Queen!

Mark shrugged gently. "That was her crest; so there is a possibility. Though from what I've read of Arendellian culture, you'd remain Queen even if she were." He explained softly. If not, he had a hunch that Idun would pass leadership to Elsa anyway so she could relax more. They rounded a corner and the door to the courtyard was in view.

He began to loosen his grip on Elsa's hand, but then tightened it again, rolling his fingers gently, the curve of his gauntlet's claws tickling Elsa's fair, soft skin a little bit. He'd already kissed her in front of practically the whole kingdom, so why not? He'll hold her hand if she'll let him.

At this point Elsa didn't care who saw her with Mark, if anyone saw them holding hands, then so be it. It did not matter to her anymore. No more secret looks or holding each others hands! After all she was Queen! As they neared the door she heard the sounds of everyone outside, the kids skating on the ice, everyone happy, it was perfect! But it was the sudden cry of a eagle that caught her attention. Lifting her head from Marks shoulder Elsa looked behind as Snowfeather appeared pretty much from thin air.

"We have a small problem at the docks." Was all she said. And when she said 'small' it normally meant 'honkin' huge problem' Which normally meant trouble to begin with.

"If you mean the British supplies, I just sent my permission to travel through Arendelle to the ships" Elsa said, never letting go of Marks hand

"That's... part of it" Snowfeather replied. She knew they loved each other and said nothing concerning them holding hands, though it seemed that Elsa gripped Marks hand her scars were showing in white. Snowfeather then noticed something slightly off about Elsa, she seemed paler then normal "Did something happen ? You look like you saw a ghost"

Mark's expression changed as Snowfeather approached; it became stern and alert, and only intensified as he heard that there was a problem. "What's the problem at the docks?" He asked calmly, his arm falling so that he and Elsa were only holding hands; though his grip on his hand was slowly loosening. He was already ready to jump into action if need be.

"Well if you count a ship simply disappearing from sight and sound as a small problem..." Snowfeather began thoughtfully. Ok a few crates or cargo disappearing was understandable, but an entire ship. Elsa stared at Snowfeather, her grip going whiteknuckle on Marks hand, almost cutting her hand on the claws of the gauntlet yet even wit that pressure, the skin did not break from the deadly metal. "... Its nothing we can't handle" Oh yes it was, if a ship disappeared

Mark blinked. A whole ship? Impossible! Could it have been Samuel's ship? "Get Diana and Georgina to figure out what happened as quickly as they can, I'll send Ulnaus and if they need help, they can send him back." he said, eyes flashing as he relayed orders to Ulnaus. "Elsa and I have a public appearance to make, right?" He turned his head towards Elsa, who hopefully had regained the color in her face by this point.

Elsa nodded as Mark spoke, she wasn't worry of anything at that moment, in fact she planned to do everything she needed to do, exhume her mothers body, speak with the Duke after the weeklong festival, pretty much all her queenly duties really. Even some Assassin duties too, liberating districts is easy, but searching for a disappearing ship ? Not so easy. "Go with them, report anything you find to your sister who will then tell me tonight after Dinner, Until then, I... we... have a party to attend" Snowfeather smiled as Elsa corrected herself and once more pretty much all but tangled herself in Marks arm, but nodded at the orders. Elsa was queen after all.

As soon as Snowfeather had left Elsa sighed, the color had returned, mostly, to her face by then. "An entire ship disappearing... Is that even possible ?" Elsa had no idea of the camo nets or even stealth technology. Heck, the Templar was able to avoid being seen by anyone until he wanted to be seen as it was alone! She smiled then with a brief shake of her head as if to get the sleep from her eyes, once more giving Mark a kiss and leaning on his shoulder again, "Come on, we've a party to attend! And I dont want you to miss it, even if the templars show up at it"

Mark once more blinked as Elsa planted a kiss on him, stunned he cleared his throat and smiled bashfully. "I do believe that's why I'm here, no? To enjoy a party with you." He said calmly, looking down at her with a loving smile before turning his attention to the door. He began to walk forward again, and gave Elsa's hand a squeeze as the servants opened the door, the light flooding the room as Mark's eyes adjusted quickly and he saw everyone in the courtyard stop what they were doing and turn to look at the Queen and her Assassin.

Seeing their Queen and her Assassin together, hand in hand, her head on his shoulder. The people started clapping and cheering. Now this was a party. With Mark by her side, heck her still tangled in his arm basically at that point, the two moved to the center of the courtyard. Tables had been set up during her little breakfast alone in the dining room before everyone started coming into the courtyard for the mornings festivities for that day.

Yes, being a queen could wait a week. After all, with the massive horse on the spit being cooked at that moment in the center of the courtyard. Elsa requested it in the first place to begin with. Finally after a long five or so minutes of cheering and clapping it quieted and Elsa was heard asking simply "Who's hungry ?!" Turns out almost the entire kingdom, or at least those present in the courtyard, had skipped breakfast that morning.

Kingdom of Arendelle

Port District

At that same moment

Georgina was thankfully on the docks watching Samuel as instructed, The Chinese Princess kept careful watch on the London Assassin as he entered a ship, literally walking from the gangplank into thin air. She watched everything carefully, taking it all in. That was their ticket in. Her vision shifted, mhm... there you are! she thought seeing the white outline of the massive British Cruiser. Samuel appeared once more in blue. But she could not hear the clearly angered conversation the man was having with what appeared to be a british sailor. She then darted from her hiding spot, easily blending in with groups of people and dock workers who were acting as if nothing was wrong until she got to the cargo stacked outside the hidden cruiser

Ulnaus sat perched on one of the posts on the dock, preening his feathers. Not too far from Georgina's position was Diana, moving seamlessly between groups of people as if in an intricate and beautiful dance. She stopped at the edge of the gangplank, and Ulnaus chirped a few times, flapping his wings as his eyes flashed and he took off, screeching as usual. He could see everything that was going on around him at the moment; the ship, what was going on around and in it, and even things in the district over.

Snowfeather flew into view, lately she'd taken to flying around the kingdom, it was faster then a transport array, yet it was also quieter too. And sometimes the only path out. Moving into view from an alleypath she took a look around and mingled with some dock workers who were leaning on crates as some soldiers walked by, Assassin placed soldiers yes. But even then it never hurt to be careful.

Georgina kept a careful eye on the gangplank of the ship as Ulnaus screeched and flew off. That was her cue! She spotted a crane poking off of something and darted up it unseen, It was time to get a better view of things.

Snowfeather stepped up to Georgina after taking it all in, "So the ship is not gone. Have you encountered anything like this before ?" Snowfeather had heard of stealth technology, but nothing of this scale!

"I think I heard something about it a while ago before I came to Arendelle." Diana said softly, quite suddenly behind Snowfeather and Georgina without any other sound. Ulnaus soon landed on the one of the spinning sensors on the ship, and spun with it like a fool while some of the crew members tried to to shoo him away.

Georgina just rolled her eyes "The Templars were experimenting with it in Shanghai, it didn't go anywhere, at least, nothing like this, they ended up scrapping it after they blew up their own Piece and caused the Great Shanghai Quake" She smirked and pointed at Ulnaus "There's our cue!" She said softly as the ship faded into vew due to Ulanus just sitting on the satalite dish system, dumb bird looked quite comical as he preened on the thing, going in circles without a care in the world "Come on, the money and supplies to be transported are on there somewhere, spread out find them, use one of those sparrows if you find it." Georgina then swandove off the crane and landed perfectly without a sound in a haystack on the midship portside of the British cruiser.

Snowfeather smiled, Typical bird. She turned to Diana "Ulnaus and I will keep the others outside busy, get below and see what you can find." With that she turned and jumped off the crane arm and right before Diana's eyes {for the first time most likely} She turned into a nearly invisible glasslike eagle with a sharp eagle cry and dove for one of the attenae on the cruiser, barely touching the thing and becoming visible before disappearing again, spooking the men on the deck. Giving Diana the perfect window to jump aboard the vessel

Within the Helms Area of the HMS Rose

A moment or so later

"Are you insane ? Fading out the ship ? I just go get permission from the queen, the leader here to transport the supplies and money through the kingdom and what do you do ? You camo the ship!" Samuel was unhappy to say in the least

"I was following orders." Replied the captain of the vessel, who was everything but. Marcus Gray had patched himself onto the ship as its captain. His entire team, outside of Barnabas, who had gone back to America to be with his family because his father passed on, were on board.

"Yeah ? Whose ? Clearly not mine!" Samuel replied

Georgina heard it all as she crept into the room unseen, unlike the others, Georgina's skill at stealth was second only to Mark, Pretty much able to hide on a flat plain in broad daylight if she wanted to as she stood by the door, easily listening to everything said inside, this was not good.

"Orders from the top, you remember" Marcus replied, "You delivered the package ?"

"Whats it matter ? Yes its delivered! I need to send off a confirmation notice of delivery, ontop of that, here's our permission notice as well. Signed by the Queen herself." Samuel withdrew the letter Elsa had drawn up and handed it to Marcus.

"Package delivered and permission granted both in the same go ? Amazing." Marcus mumbled. He doubted highly that Arendelle would allow passage, if they knew who was in the traveling party at least. "Never expected it to come through so quickly" Marcus smiled, he had his chance now. "From here on out, then. We're good to go ?"

"Yes, your contract was to get us through to here, we can take it from here. Thank you." Samuel replied, Georgina heard the sound of steel meeting flesh as Marcus spoke

"No, thank you, Master Green, you've filled your end of the bargan perfectly." He still needed Michaels, and at this moment, Wolfe was the only path to him. Marcus turned and left the bridge, walking right past Georgina's hiding place as he did so, the bloodied knife laid on the helm of the ship, he never saw her as he passed.

Georgina scampered into the bridge and locked the door behind her, Green laid on the floor before the helm. She went to his side. "Easy Assassin, easy." Georgina said softly, pressing a hand to his wound. "It is deep"

"It was expected" Green said, the life slowly slipping away from him as time and everything else seemed to fall away from Georgina as she knelt at Samuel Green's side. "I knew my time was up, I planned to retire to the countryside, and yet now. Somehow I knew my life would end at the edge of a sword, like so many I had slain."

"Yet it was not in vain, was it ? What is it truly that you were guarding ? Just the Shroud ?"

Green shook his head. "Not just the Shroud, There is another piece. Hidden in the gold bullion. Take this" He struggled to remove a ship deck layout from his hood. "In the marked chest you'll find it. Her orders are clear, only She can use them properly. All of us who tried, were driven mad with fear, or pain." The life left Samuel's eyes, Georgina gently closed them and took the layout., her own Vision active, taking it all in.

It was a chest, filled with gold, yet hidden within the chest, were two swords.

But who did Samuel Green mean by 'Only she can use them' who did he mean ? Elsa ?

Georgina stood up, as she did so she became aware that 'Diana' had snuck into the bridge of the ship without a sound. "You're good at that. Better then I thought you would be. What rank are you ? Second, Third Assassin ? Who taught you ?" It was easy to sneak about so perfectly quiet and not get noticed or heard when the person that taught you wasn't even human to begin with. In this case Marion's teacher was noneother then the 'Brothel Owner' Tiri herself. And what Tiri was, only Elsa, or rather who Elsa once was, truly knew.

In the crews room of the Rose

"Alright boys listen up, our path is clear, we have some shit to do" Marcus said waking up some of his men from their slumber. "Command send us some gear, and some new members"

"Ah shit again ? Another rookie to use as a meatshield ?"

"That's right deadman. Get up, get the rest of the team up, I got some checking to do. Get the package, we transport this stuff into town. Michaels may have left our reach, again, but we have another target, Her name is Elsa. She gave us permission to travel in her country!" He showed the squad the info. His plan then was simple, get Elsa, and he could get Mark. All they had to do first was transport to a certain point a few items.

Marcus left the room to his own bunk, not knowing that two birds, one of them truly massive, and the other tiny compared to the eagle, were watching him closely.

In the bridge of the Rose at that same moment

Marion looked down to the body of Green, biting her bottom lip as she knelt down and lightly felt for a pulse on his neck. An audible sigh escaped her lips. One of the few people she trusted back in London; dead thanks to... actually she wasn't sure at the moment. "Did...Did he at least deliver them ?" she asked softly. She meant the swords.

How could she know? Unless...she asked for them to be delivered herself? No, couldn't be. Could it?

Seeing how Marion acted in reaction to seeing Samuel Green dead in the ships bridge, Georgina told her everything she had been told by Green as he passed. "He mentioned another Piece, maybe two, said 'only she can use them' Any idea what he means ? He gave me this" She held out the deck layout of the ship, it noted the locations of several key crew members, along with several unknowns that looked oddly familar. She glanced towards Green then looked around for a blanket. Aha, gently draping the cloth over Green she asked to Diana softly "Did you know him ? I am sorry, loosing an Assassin, even if known by chance alone, is never easy. Is it ?"

Marion took the deck layout and looked it over briefly. "I know exactly what he means... something I'd discovered in London in my... musings." she said calmly. At the next question she was silent for a second before speaking, her voice shaking. "I... met him one day; he came to the cafe below the uh... brothel. He was... so kind to me compared to the other customers. I... never got to thank him."

There was more to her tone, hidden feelings left unexpressed, filtered almost seamlessly out of her shaking voice. Almost. She then shook he head. "There's always... next time. I'll tell him then. Until then; let's find the special cargo. They're... for the Queen." She said. She knew more than she was letting on; how much she was with-holding however none could fathom.

Georgina nodded, She spotted Ulnaus again, once more perched on the satalite dish, spining with it like some kind of carnival stand or sign. Making the thing unbalanced as a whole bunch of British men were trying to shoo him off. "We have time, lets go. We got the map, he said it wasn't in vain thankfully, said it was... expected, but too soon." Georgina never saw Marcus in that bunch. She went to the door, the coast was clear. She nodded towards Diana, "Lets get that other piece, or two if there is more then one." There was something about how Diana spoke of Green. So she knew him. "There was nothing I could do, the man he was with did it to him, Even if we had gotten him to a healer, it would not have been enough time." She said gazing to Green on the floor. "I am sorry."

She held the door open for Diana, it was time to go. flicking out her wrist a shirikiin destroyed the security system. Best to not let herself, or Diana get seen by those running the ship.

Nodding, the younger female left the bridge silently, she glanced around the corner, and hopped across, hidden as she moved silenltly, almost as if dancing down the deck of the ship. She crouched and stopped another corner as a Guard walked around the corner and turned the right, opposed to Marion's position on the left of the corridor. She hugged the corner and slipped around it before finding the door to go below deck and find the pieces they needed. She only hoped Georgina was still with her.

A few steps behind Marion was Georgina, and she sadly had a brief tussel with the guard that Marion had avoided being spotted by, mostly because Georgina slammed dead into him. Two seconds later and she had dragged the man into a cart of soiled uniforms out cold but thankfully not dead before quickly darting to the door leading down to the hold and pretty much swandiving off the top of the steps to the deckplates below with a dull thud and pained hiss. Man those metal floors hurt!

She got to her feet and flexed her arm a bit, the muscles felt tight and slightly stiff, she worked them a bit and snuck through the cargo hold, she felt the presence of a Piece or two, like with the Shroud, only... this felt more... attuned ? It didn't make any sense at that point. Why would a piece be attuned ? Was it because it belonged to someone and it was reacting to that person being so close by ? Or was it something else.

There was the added problem of not able to spot Diana anywhere in the hold, with all the crates of gold bullion and consrtuction supplies, the hold was an absolute maze. And to make things worse, there were guards patrolling it

Marion was close by; hidden in plain sight thanks to the dim light and her Venetian Azure robes against the metal of the interior of the ship. She could sense the presence of the swords. Her swords. She smiled and, still crouched low to the ground, began to move again, ever so slowly forward, towards a eerie box at the far end of the hold. All of the Guards seemed to avoid the box for one reason or another. Marion didn't care; she wanted her swords back.

Georgina noticed that many of the soldiers avoided a rather large area of the hold, either for ill omen or by orders to keep away, either or worked for her. She slipped down a row of boxes and turned left, silenting knocking out a soldier without a sound whatsoever as she stepped into view of the midship area of the hold. this area was well clear of soldiers of anty kind and a single box was anchored to a table in the middle, Using her eagle vision, Georgina saw exactly that even though filled and lined with gold, it held two more Pieces of Eden, or did it.

Marion moved closer still; her eyes fixated on the box. Soon she stood, and the guards all whirled around, aiming their pistols towards her. But something stopped them from pulling the trigger: Curiosity. Sure they wondered how the hell she got in; but they wondered what would happen. She was mere feet from the table; staring at that box. That...sickening, maddening box that caused even the strongest of men to falter and collapse to the ground, crying like children as snot poured from their noses and bile from their mouths.

Slowly her hand moved forward, and opened the box.

The light from the contents raged forth, filling the room with light for a brief second. From then on; it was black. Two things were heard then: The first, was something being placed on the table. The Second: That something sliding against something else; a sickening, grotesque noise of metal on metal grating at the ears of those around.

The light returned.

Marion began to walk nonchalantly towards the exit, the guards began to falter; their guns shaking as they tried to form words to stop her, but she did not care. She had her swords back. She then stopped, the guards on all sides, having built up the courage to surround her. All of them trembling, but pointing their guns at her head. She smiled, and only seemed to twitch before every single gun barrel fell to the ground, cut out from the rest of the weapon without a sound or mistake. The men soon fell after, noses and jaws broken from being struck. Marion turned towards Georgina, and smiled.

Georgina blinked, well, she tried not to, but it was impossible to see Marion move so quickly, did she even move ? "OK so... you're the one Master Green meant when 'Only She can use them' ?" She asked thoughtfully. She'd located a soldier with a list of orders, of those orders were to hide something important somewhere in Arendelle. with a list of numbers. logitude and lattitude. Of course without a map or even Snowfeathers discs there was no real way they could track what was stolen. Which according to the note, was nearly ten billion in british gold bullion bound for Stockholm.

She stepped up to Marion then, "Nice job" She said meaning the men knocked out, jaws and noses smashed, weapons desteroyed, at least the men were still alive... sorta. "I think you got them. Am I missing something ?" Apparently the one piece of Info that Georgina was never told was that Marion had been given access to a Piece in London, and it was apparently the Shroud. Or was it ?

Marion smiled then; and slowly moved the swords to two sheaths on either hip, each blade slowly, silently entering its home without protest. As she was complemented she gave a small nod of thanks then looked around. "Nope. Well, just my movements. These blades... they unlock my innate speed." She paused for a second to step over the body of the guard in front of her on her way to the door. "Mark never did tell you I was faster than him, did he? He never... told you much of anything, actually, did he?" she asked Georgina.

"I'm assuming Snowfeather said nothing as well?"

"Snowfeather as far as I know doesn't even know you're in town, only knows you're a new recruit named Diana. Same with Mark, as far as I know I'm the only one that knows who you really are. Snowfeather knows you're alive yes, but she thinks you're still in England, am I right so far ?" Georgina asked before continuing "Mark wont tell me anything other then contracts or districts to liberate, otherwise he's either in the forges working on something in the Wolfe District, or he's with Elsa. Which he is most likely doing right now as we speak." They had no idea exactly what was planned for lunch.

"Anyhow, I found this." She handed over the letter to Marion, "It was encripted, a mix of Chinese and Arabic, I translated it, apparently ten billion or thereabouts of British Gold got taken off this ship while Green was with us at the castle. Its somewhere in Arendelle, and its got the templar mark in lemon juice under the notes contents." She explained. "What should we do now ? Report to Mark and Elsa or wait until after dinner ?" Knowing how the party was going back at the castle, interrupting with news and reports like this could be a downer of a day in most cases.

Marion nodded softly at the idea that Mark says nothing about his family, or that Snowfeather hasn't said a word or knows of anything at all. Made sense; Mark never was one to talk of personal matters it seemed, unless it was with a select few he knew he could trust. That list however had grown significantly shorter than it already was when he came to Arendelle.

She looked quickly to Georgina as she mentioned the amount of gold, and snatched the letter to make sure she wasn't fibbing. Glancing over it she gritted her teeth. "No, not Mark or Elsa... Blackmane, however... her and Snowfeather need to know. Mark's sword to Elsa's side at the moment; we can't separate them; plus after what he pulled last night I'll doubt he'll comply anyway." She said calmly.

Then she turned. "We need to let Blackmane know." she said, walking towards the exit again.

"I do not think he pulled anything. Aside from dancing with Elsa, which honestly I never expected, he even asked me if I cared to dance, I was about to ask him myself if he'd like to, but Elsa... partly beat me to the punch, so to speak" Georgina said as the two of them left the hold and up the stairs to the main deck, moving through the ship they found Snowfeather watching as Ulnaus stayed just out of reach of the remaining crew, still perched up on the satalite dish as the thing spun about. Without a care in the world. "Now, What confuses me however, confuses me greatly, is their necklaces, What connected them ? Sure not their movements in the dancing they did last night."

"Or do you mean the fireworks on the fjord ?" Meaning the ship that was destroyed during the grand finale the night before. That alone was a sight to see!

The younger female shrugged. She glanced to Ulnaus and Snowfeater, nodding her head towards the pier. "We'll worry about what Mark did later; we'll worry about their necklaces too... but for now, Snowfeather and Blackmane need to know." Marion seemed deadset on letting the resident Head-Assassin's know about this; and with good reason. With ten billion in Gold, the Templars could sustain an army that could take over all of Arendelle twice over and prevent any further infiltration by Assassins.

How she knew this she wouldn't say, but then again it also seemed to be quite common sense. Once off the ship she began to explain the whole situation to Snowfeather, who had undoubtedly caught her nod to head off the ship.

Snowfeather caught Marions nod, or in this case caught Diana's nod to exit the ship, easily taking flight with the crew focused on Ulnaus, Snowfeather soon joined Georgina and Diana on the peir, as the pair walked she joined them in stride. Soon filled in on the details from Diana she looked thoughtful. "Knowing what Elsa is currently doing, telling her about this now is not a good idea. She looked when I last saw her, as if she had seen a ghost." She explained how Elsa looked so pale when she left the study. "Mark is with her, they... well... lets just say that seperating them wont be a good idea until after they go to bed"

"That is putting it lightly" Georgina mumbled, she'd overheard some passerby, a few girls it looked to be, all dreamy looks on their faces as they passed, all of them talking of the armored man and the Queen. And that weird clicking noise right before they kissed the night before. She explained what she had heard "It seems Mark has made either some fans, or he has some one sided crushes. That kiss may have sealed it up for him." As far as anyone knew, the only person for Mark was Elsa, and vice versa, but how long then could it last ?

"Now what is this about missing gold ?" Snowfeather took a look at the numbers. None of them made sense. At least, not until she got back to the Den and able to look through the thing properly with her identity disc in hand.

20 December

Arendelle Castle

Icerink Courtyard

About an hour later at dinner

Dinner for this day of the party was rather extravagant. The massive horse was cooking on the spit was almost finished and ready to serve. Not many in the kingdom knew of Elsa's fear of horses to begin with, but they almost all knew of her love of horsemeat. All day long children and families, even soldiers, skated on the ice. A few races were made, even some rather... well.. funny endings. Though staying close to Mark was what made her happier. there was something about him... about them both that made her wonder briefly at times about the future.

But soon dinner was to be served. Searching the crowd she tried to see if Georgina or Diana had returned from their contract. She had however spotted Ulnaus make a rather hilarious landing in a snowdrift she conjured for him to perch on, his bulk causing it to collapse under him. Much to her delightful giggle and a quick rebuilding of the drift.

Mark seemed more relaxed than he had in the past few months anyone had seen him; perhaps he had slept well last night. Perhaps it was because he was with Elsa. Either way the one-sided crushes remained as young women from around Arendelle kept close eyes on him. He never strayed too far from Elsa, it seemed, or perhaps it was Elsa who was simply following him, not letting him out of her sight. Either way, he was calm and happy at the moment. His armor gleamed in the light of the courtyard, and his ceremonial Assassin's Cloak, which he wore the day before as well, looked as though it had just been cleaned.

"Blasted fool..." Mark chuckled as Ulnaus slammed into the snowdrift, the massive bird was clumsy in everything else as he was graceful and beautiful in flight. Mark merely chuckled, and looked around him.

Elsa stepped up to Ulanus, feeling a sense of deja vu as she stepped to the massive bird, She felt eyes on her from everywhere but didn't care, Ulnaus however had a good sized snowflake stuck on his beak that wasn't coming off. She stepped up to the massive eagle and gently reached to Ulnaus beak. Well aware of how strong the massive bird was she stopped briefly, already wondering if what she was about to do was a good idea.

That was when the snowdrift fell out from beneath the two of them, Queen and Eagle alike. with a startled chirp Elsa pretty much disappeared into a snowdrift with Unlaus ontop of her

Mark could just barely hold in his laugh as the snowdrift gave out beneath Ulnaus and Elsa, the tell-tale snore-like sound coming from him as he covered his mouth to try and hide his smile. He couldn't, however, as he laughed quietly, walking towards the snow drift to make sure Elsa was alright, since Ulnaus's beak and claws were sharp enough to cut darn near anything they wanted.

Thankfully Ulnaus' very sharp beak was nowhere near harming Elsa, however his claws were, yet somehow they did not cut through Elsa's dress sleeve, though he did cut her shoulder a little bit, but it wasn't anything to worry about. Nevertheless, Elsa was under Ulnaus, and buried in snow. She heard some laughter, and honestly she felt ok with it. Like she needed a moment to let things go and just have a good laugh. In all honesty she didn't even care of she was the reason for the laugh. In fact she wondered of all the voices of laughter, which one was Marks ?

Of course as Mark neared the snowdrift, it was then that four women, all of them Assassins, entered the courtyard in time for dinner. Not one of them knew where Elsa was, or why pretty much everyone in the courtyard were laughing. the first guess from Snowfeather was laughing gas, that ended up being wrong when the amunt of snow was noted and Mark was walking towards a beaten looking snowdrift in the middle of where the dance floor was the night before

Mark extended a hand towards Elsa. "I've heard Snow is bad for a dress, My Queen. Makes it...see through." He said. He was joking, of course; he knew Elsa's Dress wouldn't be see-through, but any normal dress would if it were lightly colored and made from the right materials. He was still having trouble supressing his laugh, however, and couldn't stop a small onslaught of giggles here and there as he helped Elsa out of the snowdrift, and towards the dinner table.

Elsa smiled and took his hand in hers. Ahh perfect, this was how it was to be. As she stood, the dinner bell rang across the kingdom. Yup, time for dinner, and that horse was not gonna get cooked any better then it was right then! The dinner was, in a word, perfectly prepared as well, the horse was cooked all day long, everyone was ready and waiting for it to be served. and soon enough it was. Within an hour the horse was properly drawn up and everyone present had their fill if not more.

As soon as dinner was done the party for day two was ended however, much to everyones delight it was a major evening the following day, The Queens birthday was the following day, and Kai, Anna and Mark were planning one hell of a surprise party, but there was something Elsa wanted to do. And that was start the day with Mark, like she had that morning, just the two of them. Little did she know that the Royal Painter was also going to be there too. The rest of the paintings ready for her to hang where she wanted them to be hung

She had no idea of the surprise party Anna was planning with Mark for the following night.

Two hours later and the first full day of the weeklong festival came to a close, everyone wanted to be well rested for the next day, Elsa's birthday was not just the main part, well to some it felt like it, but there was a very important thing planned the next day, a surprise party for Elsa herself! Nevertheless, as the last of the partygoers left for bed, Elsa took Mark to her room and closed the door, using a snowflake lock she showed him how he could get past it, If she thought of someone to get past it, she explained it to "Lets say I want only Anna or Olaf to come in here to wake me up in the morning" Elsa said, she pointed at the door, the snowflake flashed brightly before fading away "Only they can get through as well as myself without harm." She smiled, "Tomorrow is my birthday, I want to see you first, before Kai or Anna or anyone else. Its... important to me I guess." There was something she wanted to show him from the night before when they had parted ways for the night. "Something I want only you to see"

Mark smiled, he knew what she meant, or did he ? It didn't matter. "That is fine with me. I too have something I want to share with you. But it must wait until tomorrow morning, before breakfast" He was planning on meeting up with her in the library, with the Painter with that painting she had requested

Elsa stared at him, a secret ? "oh ?"

Mark smiled again "But, we must sleep first, for it is for you, tomorrow. You will find out then. Now, let us get to bed so we can be well rested before the sunrise" Elsa smiled and nodded, seeing Mark to the door she watched him head down the hall to the stairs before disappearing out of her sight before closing the door. She set a snowflake lock on it, only Mark or herself could get through. Then went and curled up in bed. Already wondering what Mark planned to show her on her birthday morning

21 December 2051

Arendelle Castle

Elsa's bedroom

Just before dawn

In a unwanted memory...

Elsa wandered through the tall grass, turning in cirlces as she moved she was unaware of what was around her or where she was to begin with. The last thing she remembered was dinner, alone with Mark after the days party, and then going to her bedroom to discuss the next step in finding her mothers journals, so where was she now ? She kept moving. Clearly unsure of what was going on or where she was to go next.

She found a stable. her right hand felt sore.

She found herself complelled to go into the stable. Fog obscured everything around her except for the stable itself. She stepped up to it and knocked "Hello ? Is anyone here ?" Not hearing anyone she stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind her as she twirled around to stare as the wooden beam locked the door into place. One way in, there had to be another way out.

Turning around she started to explore. That was a bad idea.

She turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. There in front of her, without even a fencxe to hold it in, was a truly massive horse; Elsa stared, rooted to the spot in horror as the massive horse for a moment, did not notice her right away. Simply eating, but even then, Elsa knew, she just iknew/i she was next. She tried to step backwards, but again her path was blocked as a wall was behind her. She was trapped.

She spotted, beyond the horse, her way out. Maybe if she went as quietly as she could to get around it and not seen by it ? Picking up her cape she tiptoed keeping as far as she could from the horse. Scared out of her mind. Her right hand felt wet however, and she dare not look at it as to break her careful tiptoeing. Sadly, she was spotted as the horse moved. She stood as still as she could.

She steadied her breathing, like how she had been taught by Mark. 'Keep calm, keep quiet, it wont notice you, dont breathe too harshly. It will only make things worse, you can do this, the horse doesn't see you. You'll be alright' Elsa told herself, but she knew somehow, this wasn't right. How was she in a stable to begin with anyhow ? that alone did not make any sense to her.

The horse turned her way. 'Oh no'. Elsa thought in horror as the horse looked directly at her. She remembered a horse, bigger then this one, maybe because she was a child at the time ? It didn't matter, she remembered getting lost in the beautiful eyes of a horse before the horse made her its next meal. She looked away and raised her hands, ready to freeze the horse, no, she was not going to to become its next meal. Never again!

But that proved to be her undoing as she suddenly felt herself get pulled forwards by an unseen force. Slamming dead on into the horse's side flopped up and over it onto the other side, much closer to its mouth then she'd like to be. out of fear she threw out her hand, intending to throw ice at the horse, anything to get it away from her. But nothing happened. 'No, no please no, please!' Elsa thought in horror as she felt the hot breath from the horse's snout on the back of her neck, she rolled onto her back and scrambled madly backwards. But the horse had stepped onto her cape, holding her firmly in place.

Elsa couldn't move, her mind fogged then with complete fear. there was nothing she could do. She tried to get as far as she could from the animal. Raising her hands to freeze it when she felt it.

Pain, intense searing pain in her right hand and arm as the horse grabbed her in its maw and started chewing. Blood poured from the wound as the horse went up her arm, as it did so it seemed to change from a docile horse into a monstrous ugly creature, ripping her dress sleeve apart and digging into her shoulder and side. Elsa screamed bloody murder and struck with all her might at the beast

The wakeful world...

Elsa sat up screaming in her bed. It took her a minute to get her bearings, she was in her room, her door locked, the only person able to come in was Mark, she made that clear as she wanted ot see him the next morning before breakfast. But...

She felt wetness on her arm. She looked to her bed, her right arm bled freely from numurous cuts. The dream! Was it a dream ? Elsa curled up in her bed, holding her bleeding arm close, and wept. There seemed to be no way she could get away from that memory.