He was only seven years old when he was given his first lesson about war.

"In war Elias," King Agdar had said whilst picking up a pawn from the faded chess board, "if you know yourself and your enemy, you will conquer any war you face. But if you know neither, then doom will be your only companion."

The man had knocked over his queen with a light tap and set his pawn piece next to Elias' king. He vaguely remembered how flabbergasted he was, watching a lowly pawn skirt through his ranks so easily and hold his precious unit's life in its hands. Despite his careful planning, his precision of laying out his units, and demanding hours of practice from his uncle, he was rendered helpless with one move.

He remembered crying. That was as clear as water with Agdar patting his back in reassurance. He saw himself, ruddy faced with snot dripping from his nose, crying into his arms that his father cheated, tricked him, or used some sort of magic that Elias did not yet possess. King Agdar merely chuckled at his protests, swearing he had no magic of any kind. After wiping his face dry, he had tugged Elias into a hug and told him that he would do better next time.

But next time never came.

Elias had few memories of father-fewer of his mother-but those memories grew stronger the moment of the king's passing. Ingvar had instilled a more brutal, calculative approach to his war education that had served him well when he had been sent to the front lines. And he was grateful for it when it mattered. But the memories of his father, though fleeting, came at the most unexpected times. The ones that mattered followed him into his elder years when he needed them the most. When he was dressing a scratch on Andy's arm when he had fell running after him; when he had been handed to the army's ranks; when he saw the emptiness in a soldier's dead eyes for the first time; when he was crowned king to an entire realm who bowed not out of respect-but fear.

Know yourself and your enemy. And Elias did. Or he at least tried to in the presence of his allies. Their voices boomed in the war room, a cacophony of nerves and agitation. The shrillness of their voices had become white noise in the background as Elias glared down at the table. Colorful rectangular tiles laid sparsely across the weathered map pinned to the table. Many of them were swept off to the side, just as lost as the hoards of soldiers they had sent in their place. Elias' stomach was knot of sorrow and anger as the black rectangles bleeding across the map mocked him.

They were everywhere. Clustered in the deciduous lands of the west. Spread thick in the deserts of the east. Then, the black tiles flared up and around the south, snaking in a half formed loop that slithered closer to the center of the map. Just barely touching the borders of the inner countries of the Seer realm. Elias dug his fingers into the wood of the table so hard he could feel it begin to splinter.

His father's words echoed in his subconscious. Though the Draugen were before his time, Elias gathered from his allies that they were merciless, primal, and only sought destruction. And Ingvar, had grazed over the subject with battle tactics and defense lines that would be impenetrable. But none of this information sated the growing dread in Elias's being.

Asides the north, the Draugen practically had all members of the realm at their mercy. Elias' generals had come back to him with stories of his men being burned from the inside out from a single touch only to crumble like dried flowers left too long out in the sun. Of men being pierced and torn to shreds after setting foot in traps. The horrors went on and on in their allies' countries, and yet-they dared not touch Arendelle save for that fateful night. Weeks of preparation and evacuation to safe holds only to be met with silence.

They were not mindless. That much was clear from the way their armies encased them all from the inside out. And they had everything to gain from each of their countries' vast resources. But the same thing evaded Elias like all those years ago in at the chess board with his father. The same thing that render his plans useless. The same thing that made him ignore that one insignificant pawn.

Elias took a black tile from the map and brought it up to the fleeting light. He turned it over and over as if it would give him the answer he needed.

"What do you want?" he whispered.

A loud bang of the doors slamming open shocked the room into silence. An Arendellian guard panted heavily, his eyes shifting wildly until they fell on Elias. He bowed his head apologetically.

"Your majesty," the guard said. "I have urgent news. A boat has docked in our harbor."

One of the generals in the room snorted sardonically and shot the guard a dirty glare. The other generals in the room followed, grumbling about how their meeting was disturbed. Elias waved a hand, a hush falling upon them instantly.

"Did our troops from Bayangor return?" Elias asked.

The guard shook his head. Even as he stood with his back erect, he shook as if the information inside him were about to make him combust.

"The Eighth realm," he breathed, "they're here."

Elias dropped the tile in his hand. The tile clattered onto the map, forgotten, as he ran the words through his head. Despite all of his training and education, all he could utter was, "What?"

"That's impossible!" A Spanish general said.

"That's what we thought when they docked," the guard said, his hands moving as if reenacting the moment. "They said they were from Eldoria and we began to bring them in for questioning, but then Prince Anders jumped out of nowhere and-"

Elias heart skipped a beat. He no longer heard the guard's tale or the calls of his generals. Only the rapid beat of his feet as he tore down the halls. He thought he heard Ingvar's voice in the distance as he jumped down a flight of stairs or perhaps it was a maid who saw nothing but a dark blue blur as Elias broke out of the doors of the servants' entrance and raced down towards the docks. He worked his way down the winding dirt path that led into the back alleys of the village where towering figures of trees and broken trunks covered old beaten paths. But Elias leapt, ducked, whisked, and slid over everything in his path.

Cool wind bit at his cheeks and the daunting silhouettes of ships grew larger until their shadows engulfed his own. His heartbeat pounded in his ear drums while he twisted back and forth along the rows of bobbing ships in the water. It was only until he heard the aggressive shouting, heard the scraping of metal upon metal, heard the timid but commanding voice did he turn round again. The moment his eyes landed on the familiar bed of strawberry-blonde hair of the boy who wedged himself in between a furious ports man and tall, dark skinned woman ready to tear into him, did the world finally fall back into focus.

He approached the ship in large strides until he was rounding up the wooden planks leading to the mouth of the hull when he called out, "Andy!"

The boy all but froze, twisting himself around before he looked down to see Elias looking up at him. He stood on his tip toes, trying to poke his head over the ports man's shoulder. A grin split across his lips, shining brightly like the sun that's just peaked into dawn, and waved.

"Elias!" he called.

Elias felt his heart swell in his chest. It was as if the fog that had wrapped around him since the report of the ship sent to the north finally lifted, letting him breath once more. His body ached to rush to Andy. To pull him into a hug that would most certainly squeeze the life out of him. Elias took a step forward, but a tug deep in his core made him stay put. The same dreadful, heavy feeling that surfaced when he finally returned from war.

Know yourself.

Elias swallowed thickly and took a step back, finally noticing the stomping of his guards behind him. As they took to the ship, Elias continued to step away from the dock board until he was back on the pavement of the docks. He didn't know whether to curse or thank his father for that lesson all those years ago. While he knew it should be the latter, the former only seemed to make the small distance between him and the boy larger than before. He barely heard Andy shout elatedly, "See! Now would you kindly stop pointing your hook at me and-Marisol, no! Put the dagger away!"


Of all the ways Andy imagined his homecoming to be like, being held at sword point by a swarm of guards and ports hands was the furthest from his mind. He had anticipated Marisol holding her dagger to his throat at least twice during the journey, but having his own people hold him at bay with their fishing hooks, nets, and guns was entirely surreal. The moment that Elias called out his name with a small army of guards behind him, Andy swore that his luck had had to have run out by now.

With the guards reassured that the second prince was indeed real and with Andy's assurance that the Eldorians meant no harm, they were finally allowed to step off board. The moment Andy stepped off the wooden plank onto solid cobblestone of the port, nostalgia swathed him in sea salt air of the port. Though the evening had darkened the sky with shades of orange and red, the dark points of the castle and wisps of smoke from the village made his chest flutter and cave in at once. The moment was short lived however with a jab of an elbow into his side.

"You didn't tell me it would be this warm here," Marisol said, shrugging her cloak slightly off her shoulders.

Andy squinted at the yellowing leaves that littered the ground and frowned. "We're just at the end of autumn. How is this warm?"

Marisol gave him a bemused expression before Andy flushed. So quick to forget how the mountain's arctic temperatures had numb the feel of anything cold from her bones. He was about to apologize when he spotted a man striding towards them through the crowd soldiers and men racing along the port. Even from afar, Andy could see the dark indigo and green uniform ruffled from the day, but the man carried himself with all the grace and power of the world. Andy couldn't help the curl of a grin at his lips at the unfazed stature as Elias approached.

His arms ached, not just from unloading supplies from the ship, but to throw himself around Elias and never let go. To have something to anchor him to the ground and assure him that he was truly there. When Elias was within arm's length, he moved towards him only to falter at the fist punching his arm.

"You had us worried sick," Elias said.

Andy rubbed his arm in mock hurt. He opened his mouth to speak, but felt his words tangle in his throat. He had rehearsed what he was going to say on the ship, but couldn't seem to find them in the sudden roar of his heartbeat. Bet you didn't think I could do it, did you? I come bearing allies to help us win the war. Let's see the Draguen try to take us down! Who's the cheap bet now? But none of those things came. He choked on the sandy scratch of his tongue, eliciting a look of concern from Elias.

Out of the corner of Andy's eye he caught a glance of Marisol. Her eyes were trained on Elias, cold and foreboding, but with something else. If he looked at her hard enough, he could see how her hands flexed and unflexed into fists. The muscle in her jaw ticking from how hard she clenched her teeth. At a glance, she looked ready to pounce at the slightest movement-not going unnoticed by the guards who took a step closer to their king. But to Andy, after spending weeks being victim to her jokes and violent outbursts, he saw what the Eldorians did when they first laid eyes on him. Fear.

Andy swallowed down his unease. Now was not the time for sentimental yearning. No matter how badly his body yearned for it.

"I'm sorry for not informing you of my status, my King. But I come home amongst an ally," Andy said. He gestured a hand towards Marisol. "May I present, Queen Marisol of the Eighth Realm."

Elias tilted his head at the woman before bowing his head to her. Marisol straightened her shoulders and jutted her chin at him.

"Your majesty," Elias said, looking up to meet her gaze. "Thank you for traveling all this way. I am sure Andy has informed you of the state of distress we are under."

"Yes," Marisol replied. "We are aware. My king has sent with me a handful of battalions to aid you."Elias was about to reply until Marisol raised a hand to halt him. "But only if you honor our agreement."

"Agreement?" Elias asked.

A couple of generals had wandered over to them. Elias paid their questions no mind as Marisol crossed her arms over her chest.

"Your prince has promised the return of Eldora to my people if we volunteer our service to your campaign," she said, jutting her chin at him.

The guards looked at one another uneasily while the generals that had crowded around Elias choked on her words.

"Give you Eldora?" One of the generals gawked. "My lord you must be insane."

"Your majesty," another interjected, "our trade routes depend on Eldora's location. Surrendering it will be economic suicide!"

The generals' complaints boiled into a cacophony of protests. Andy winced at the deadly glares they shot his way. He fought the urge to hide behind Marisol's frame when Elias turned to them and snapped, "Enough."

The generals immediately fell silent. His glare dared them to speak again and he turned back to Marisol.

"You and your people have given us a gift that no amount of gold could ever pay by being here," Elias said. "But you also returned my brother. I have no words to express my deep gratitude as I will forever be in your debt."

At that, Marisol blinked. "So you will return Eldora?"

A hint of a smile graced Elias' lips. "Whatever your people need my Queen." Elias nodded over to the stream of people moving on and off of the Eldorian ships. "Perhaps we should get you and your people settled. Afterwards we can discuss more about your land."

Marisol spared a cautionary glance at Andy, who grinned at her sheepishly, and returned the gesture with a nod of her own. She marched forward with Elias towards the ships with the guards following after. The remaining generals spluttered, protests falling flat and empty. He could feel the stinging bite of their glares on him. One of the generals stepped towards him, but faltered as if seeing a ghost. Andy didn't have time to speculate the sudden halt when a hand fell on his shoulder. Andy glanced up to see Ingvar towering over him and winced.

"Excuse me gentlemen," Ingvar said, moving his hand to hug Andy into his side. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to steal my nephew away for a bit."

"B-but my Lord!" One of the generals said. "We need to discuss the Eldorian occupation. He just gave away one of our lands like it was a toy!"

Andy swore under his breath. He had imagined what he would say to Ingvar over a thousand times. But all those times were with the idea that Elias would be there to soften the news. The unreadable expression on Ingvar's face sent a chill running through Andy's bones.

"Did he?" Ingvar said. "Well, looks like you and I have a lot to catch up on Anders."

The general was about to protest again, but his fellow colleagues merely shook their heads at him. Dejected, he stood by while Ingvar led Andy away. Andy's teeth dug into his bottom lip the further down they walked down the port. It was only under the giant shadow casted by the trees and ships' hulking masts did Ingvar let him go. Andy bit his lip, steadying himself under the torrent of wrong doings he had done. But as he let out a breath, words spewed from his mouth like an angry storm.

"I know I shouldn't have made that promise!" Andy exclaimed. "But there was nothing else I could do. They were so angry, and I didn't have anything else to offer them. They're good people who deserve their land back and-"

"How did you do it?"

"What?"

Ingvar tilted his head at him curiously. "We had gotten word three months ago that the ship you stowed away on had been attacked by a raiding ship. The only people who survived were Ferdinand and two others." Ingvar's brows knitted together. "How did you survive the attack?"

Andy blinked hard. His memories were as murky as that night when he had been tossed overboard. He swallowed thickly, feeling the waves battering him, and put a hand to his head.

"I...that night I…" He stammered.

Ingvar pinned him with a look. He brushed loose silver strands from his face and sighed.

"We'll discuss the incident later. And I do mean later," Ingvar said. "I suppose we should assist your eighth realm allies in settling in shouldn't we?"

"You...you're not mad that I promised them their country back?"

"Oh, I'm furious," Ingvar said. Andy flinched at the eerie calm in his voice, but didn't shy away from him resting his hand on his shoulder again. "But, I honestly thought you would never return. Alive or otherwise. You...surprised me, Anders."

Andy waited for the backhanded remark of his sloppy diplomatics. Or for the grueling lecture of how he had set them back years from progress. When neither of those came, Andy let his heart skip a beat. The warmth in his chest felt so foreign he almost missed the call of his name. Andy looked up towards the ship to see Egil waving at him.

"Egil!" Andy yelled, waving him down. "Uncle, there's one other thing I promised."

The barest hint of fondness turned into a frown on Ingvar's lips. He rolled his eyes as Egil disappeared behind the railing and scuffled down the dock.

"We need to work on you making promises," Ingvar said dryly.

"This one isn't as big...much anyway," Andy flushed. "Since this is a smaller request, I was hoping you could help me do it."

Andy ignored the sardonic glare, beaming as Egil neared them. He shrugged the knapsacks he carried on his shoulder onto the ground. Andy tugged him forward and cleared his throat.

"Uncle, this is Egil. He's the reason why I'm standing here today," Andy said. Egil tutted, mocking bashfulness. Andy nudged his arm and continued, "Egil saved me when I entered the eighth realm. Of course, I didn't know I was in the eighth realm yet. But he's stuck with me all this time. And I want to repay him for all that he's done."

Andy turned to look at Egil and trailed off. Ingvar's eyes widened and his brows pinched tight as he stared at the man. Andy cleared his throat more forcefully to no avail. He gave Egil an apologetic smile before clearing his throat again.

"Uncle," Andy said. "Uncle Ingvar?"

Ingvar finally looked at Andy. "What? Oh, yes. I'm sorry, you just look so..." Ingvar shook his head. "I apologize. It's been an eventful evening."

"Yes, it has," Egil said. "I don't need anything sir. It was an honor to assist your nephew."

"No!" Andy said. "You're getting that ship."

"Ship?" Ingvar asked.

Andy winced and straightened his shoulders. "Egil is in search of someone. I promised him a ship and coin to assist him. Since he saved me. Multiple times. Did I mention that he also found the Eldorians in the mountains."

Andy gave him a large smile, hoping Ingvar's lessons of appearances would pay off for once. And it did. Ingvar sighed deeply and wrung his hands together.

"I'll see what I can do," Ingvar said. "Given our current circumstances, I'll need some time to gather your resources."

Egil smiled. "Thank you, your grace."

"I should be thanking you. You did bring our prince back in one piece after all." He paused, frowning at him again. "I should go assist our king. I'm sure Anders will treat you well in the meantime."

"Of course." Andy said.

Ingvar nodded at the two of them and walked back down the length of the port. Egil waited a beat before asking, "Is he still looking at me?"

Andy glanced behind him. "Wait. Okay, he's gone now."

"Thank the gods," Egil breathed, snatching the knapsacks from the ground. "I couldn't tell if he wanted to thank me or punish me."

"I'm sorry about that. He's not usually this...this…"

"Intimidating?"

"Distracted."

"Well, all of this is distracting. The realms are reunited. The stakes are evened. The prince returns. I don't blame him."

Andy watched his uncle fade into a dot of white until he was engulfed in the sea of bodies. His uncle was many things. But lost and distracted was not one of them. He thought as much until Egil shoved one of the knapsacks into his arms. Egil flung an arm around Andy's shoulders as they walked down the port.

"So, my royal host," Egil smirked. "Will I be fending for myself when you're not tending to your duties?"

Andy rolled his eyes. "Whenever I'm not on duty or trying to get you your ship, I shall be giving you the grandest tour of Arendelle."

"I feel so honored."

"As you should." Andy grinned. "It's not every day I personally tend to an honored guest. Perhaps I shall even show you the royal model ship collection."

Egil arched a brow at him. "Are you serious?"

Andy shrugged. "They were a gift."

Egil tossed his head back with obnoxiously loud laughter. He wiped a stray tear from his eye, chuckling breathlessly.

"I hope you're ready for this."

Andy glanced at the expanse of mountains overhead. He felt the crisp air that carried the scent of pine and frost whisked around him in an embrace. And as he looked his people-his realm coming together-and up towards the shadow of Arendelle's flag flapping in the wind at the mouth of the port, he smiled ferociously.

"I am."


A/N: Whoo! Another chapter update; yay us!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what your thoughts are on the story, pacing, etc. I'm a glutton for comments/reviews. I know. So shameless I am (lol). Thank you for reading and see you next chapter :) Stay healthy and safe!