Summary: Three years before Elsa's coronation, the kingdom was controlled by a corrupt prime minister and his subjects. Three years after her parents died, Anna didn't always stay in the castle. Now, after regaining the monarchy, they must now try to correct what has been wronged.

Note: Chapter 3 of 6 of Pre-Frozen Chapters

"Okay, remember what I've told you. Be patient with your bow and arrow. Yes. Good. Now draw it and make sure you remember your basics… Careful… Good. Remember, strong stance, lock onto your target… Good… Now let it go."

The arrow was released from the bow and flew a couple of yards before it hit the ground… 5 feet from the hay-stuffed shooting target it was intended to hit.

Anna let out a frustrated sigh and threw her arms to her side. Kylos only raised an eyebrow at her, "Did you think it was going to be easy as eating a cake? Give yourself a break, its only your first lesson."

"Yeah, well…" Anna said disappointed, "It probably gonna be my last…"

"What are you talking about, young lady?" Kylos asked.

Anna returned the confused look he was giving her, "I thought that this lesson was just a one time thing… since, you know, it was just a gift for my birthday…"

Kylos suddenly understood. Anna had thought that two days ago, his birthday present to her was a lesson in weaponry training. But she had only thought it was one lesson since she was under the impression that he was only giving it to her for free since she was a princess and she had just turned 14. He finally understood the eagerness she had first displayed as soon as the two had met up a couple of hours earlier that morning.

Anna dashed out of her bed as soon as she heard the grandfather clock chime 5 o'clock. By this time, the servants were preparing for the day. Everyday they woke up at around 5 o'clock to prepare the royals' breakfast as well as eat some of their own before the royal family awoke. However, this meant that since the servants were still preparing/eating breakfast, nobody was in the royals' corridor at the time, meaning that Anna was the only soul awake in the hallway.

As quietly as she could, Anna dressed herself up in a simple tunic, trousers, and some leather boots she had acquired the day before in secrecy. She grabbed her green hooded cape before going over to the door and opening it as quietly as she could. To her advantage, Elsa and her parents were located on the opposite side of the corridor from Anna's room, so she didn't have to worry a lot about the noise her bedroom door made. Silently, Anna tip-toed pass the sleeping royals' doors and successfully made it into the staircase. Deciding that going down the stairs on foot would cause too much noise, Anna hopped up on the railing and slid down, jumping off the railing at the right time to avoid hitting the suits of armor at the bottom of the staircase.

Anna smiled; so far so good.

Anna turned at the hallway and headed for the corridor by kitchen where the secret entrance into the armory was located. She passed by the many halls when she was stopped by a voice behind her.

"Princess Anna?"

Anna cursed to herself, before turning around and meeting the gaze of one of the castle's servant girls. Lise–Anna thought, remembering the servant's name. She was a girl of 16 with dirty blond hair, green eyes, and a light skin complexion. She had been Elsa's personal maidservant. However, Anna's maidservant had fallen sick in the past month, so Lise took on Anna's maidservant's job for the past few weeks. Anna said nothing and only stared at her.

"Sorry, your highness, but what are you doing up so early?" Lise asked. It was known around the castle that Anna was always the last to get up, so it certainly was surprise to see her awake and dressed at this time in the early morning.

"Uhh, bathroom?" Anna said, unable to form a lie. How could she not have thought far ahead and make up a cover story? The dirty blonde looked at her reluctantly, obviously not believing Anna.

"I may just be a maidservant, your highness, but I am not daft," Lise stated.

Anna smiled slightly, "I can see why Elsa likes you… I mean as a friend. She's not… No... I'm sorry, what?" Her and her blubbering mouth.

Lise didn't seem to mind. Instead she returned the smile to the young Princess, "Its alright, Your Highness. But forgive me for asking, why are you down here sneaking through the castle's corridors?"

Anna bit her lip. Should she tell her? Should she just come up with another lie? But then, a thought struck Anna's mind. How can she go and train with Master Kylos if no one knew where she was? The fourteen year old stared straight into the sixteen year old's eyes, "Alright, I'll tell you, but you've got to promise me one thing…"

Anna dusted herself off as she climbed out of the secret passage, leading into her armory. She had told Lise about everything and asked her to cover for her. Luckily, Lise agreed and promised to cover her whereabouts as best as she could. The maidservant had felt sympathy for the Princess, who never stepped foot outside the castle except in secrecy. Besides, the girl had just turned fourteen with no gift of freedom. So Lise agreed and Anna, in response, had hugged her before rushing off into the armory.

Grabbing her bow, a quiver with arrows, and her wooden sword, Anna pulled down the torch holder which led the secret door into opening. She struck a match and lit a torch before stepping into the damp passageway. She had remembered that the wall above her was built on a strip of land that connected the castle to the mountains as water surrounded both sides of the wall until it reached the mainland, making the passageway always damp.

Mindful of where she was stepping, Anna did her best to make it to the other door as best as she could without slipping. An experience she found that she was not too fond of. (She had been running and accidentally slipped on a puddle she didn't see. She ended up breaking her arm when she was 13 and had to stay to make a cover-up story before she crawled back up to the castle. Needless to say, her parents were not pleased.)

Anna checked on her new pocket watch that the senior butler, Kai, had given her for her birthday as soon as she had returned from meeting Kylos. She was pleased that someone else had given her something, so she made a mental note to thank Kai next time she crossed paths with him.

The clock read 5:30 AM and sunrise was at 6 around at this time of year. She knew she was a bit early, but the excitement of actually being trained to wield a weapon made Anna jittery.

But a thought came across her mind. Two days ago, the master, Kylos, had said he that the lesson was a present, meaning singular. With dread, Anna realized that this would probably be her first and last lesson. Determination settled into her eyes and she kept on walking; she was going to do her best on this lesson and remember everything he taught her before the lesson ended. That way, she could practice on her own; with or without a Master-at-Arms.

"You think this is your only lesson?" Kylos inquired, amused.

"What?" Anna couldn't help the bewildered expression showing on her face.

"Surely, you know it takes more than one lesson to become expertly skilled in the art of weaponry," Kylos stated.

"But, I thought-"

"You thought I was only giving you one lesson? Definitely not, young lady, unless you wish to quit…"

"NO!" Anna exclaimed, her bemused expression morphing into a look of delight, "No, I mean that I want to continue. But I just thought that you have other work to do…"

Kylos understood she was talking about, "I am a Master-at-Arms, but with no one to train. Ever since the castle doors had closed, no more guards than necessary were hired. I don't need to train anybody else. And as for guard's duty, I'm just a supervisor over the other guards, and on occasion, out on patrol."

"You won't get fired or anything?" Anna asked timidly.

Kylos chuckled before answering, "No, most of the guards don't really do anything. We just roam around the kingdom, checking on any signs of trouble. And if you can keep a secret, some guards actually just play with cards and dice while on duty. There isn't much to guard when the Kingdom is run by good rulers, and the town, in turn, is hospitable."

"You're really gonna help me, huh?" Anna grinned up at the older gentleman. Somebody was actually taking the time out of their life to actually spend time with her. Eleven years with nobody to play with was too long.

Kylos smiled, "Like I've said before, Your highness; even a Princess needs to know how to defend herself." He picked up Anna's wooden sword and tossed it at her, "Besides, we can't keep you up in that castle with nothing to do. We still need to practice your sword skills."

For months, their training session took place every other day from early morning to noon (sometimes, it would go into the early afternoon). Anna always made it back in time for lunch, before her parents could question her whereabouts. At first, they had been concerned by Anna's day-to-day disappearance, finding the castle strangely quiet, but they had soon learned to shrug it off, content in thinking that Anna had found something to do in her spare time that didn't include talking to paintings or breaking something.

From time-to-time, Lise had to cover for Anna when something unexpected came up, but the Princess was never caught sneaking out of the castle.

It had been 8 months since Anna's birthday and their first training session. The king and queen had gone off to some far off land to discuss trade issues and left Anna and Elsa behind. To no one's surprise, Elsa locked herself up in her room for the day. Anna, however, met up with Kylos and decided that they could train until the stars came out.

So they did. For months, Anna had worked hard in her lessons with Kylos. They soon formed a friendship between teacher and student. Kylos was her mentor, not just in weaponry, but in other things; he gave her advice and tutored her when she was having a hard time with her school lessons. (Their schedule worked perfectly. Since Anna's weaponry training came every other day, her school lessons filled the days in-between.)

Anna was getting good at her weaponry skills since it was the only thing she could look forward to in her week. A couple of lessons down the line, she was able to shoot the target, and rarely, she was able to get a bullseye. She was working on hitting the inside rings while under pressure. Her sword skills had surpassed her archery skills, however. From the first lesson, she was able to easily grasp the concept, impressing even Kylos.

The two worked the whole day and took a break at lunch before continuing on into the evening and after the sunset. By the time the two had finally finished, the stars were out and the castle and village below had their lanterns lit.

Anna plopped down to the edge of the clearing which dropped a steep downward slope, making it hard for people to climb up from below. Beside her, Kylos sat down and placed a picnic basket in between them. The night was clear and the sight below was beautiful. The sight of the castle and village below always caught Anna's breath whenever the night fell.

On the other side of the picnic basket, Kylos took out two sandwiches and two canteens. He handed her a sandwich and canteen and began eating.

"Thanks," Anna said, taking a bite of the roast beef sandwich, "Mmm, tell Frida that these are delicious as usual."

Anna had met Kylos's wife a couple of months back. At first, Frida had been surprised that her husband was teaching the Princess of Arendelle in weaponry, but she soon found Anna delightful and glad that her husband was back to doing what he loved. She agreed to keep their secret and sometimes (in disguise, of course) Anna would dine with them when she got the chance. The old couple treated Anna as they would with their child, but they always grew sad when they remembered their daughter's fate.

"I'll be sure to tell her that," Kylos laughed, "Now let's work on your astronomy." One of her school subjects was astronomy and Anna had been struggling with the constellations. When she had told Kylos this one day, he told her that astronomy was an important way with connecting with their ancestors as well as navigation.

Anna rolled her eyes, but didn't protest, "Uhh, there's Ursa Major right there." The two practiced this and Kylos would every-so-often correct her mistakes.

"If you look hard enough, princess," Kylos pointed to a celestial object, "There's Venus, sometimes thought to be the Morning star."

Anna let a small smile grace her lips as Kylos nodded at her. She found herself getting lost in her thoughts. Her boring little life had changed in a few months. She had Kylos and Frida filling in that parental role her real parents weren't able to fill in. She had Lise, who after a few months became one of her best friends, and looked after her like an older sister, sometimes scolding her for not being careful enough. Anna frowned, she loved Elsa, but when there's always a door in between the two sisters, you find yourself at a distance.

"A penny for your thoughts, child?" Kylos asked, taking Anna out from her reverie. He knew that the Princess was young and sometimes would get lost in her thoughts, a habit she picked up after spending her time alone in the castle.

In answer, Anna posed a question she had wondered about for a long time, "Why are you doing this?"

"Excuse me, your highness?"

"I mean, why are you helping me with the training? And don't tell me it was my birthday present, because after so long, people would eventually shut me out. I know that you probably have another reason instead of my birthday present after coming and helping me out every other day for the past 8 months. So now I'm curious, why are you doing this?"

Anna stared at the older gentleman who fell silent. After a while of racking his brain for an answer he replied, "I suppose I should tell you about my daughter."

"You have a daughter?"

Kylos tilted his head, "Had."

Anna's expression turned from curious to somber, "Oh, I'm…"

"It's been a while now, Frida and I have come to terms with it," Kylos said, cutting off her apology. He continued fondly, "Her name was Irene and she was beautiful. She took after her mother, but inherited my jaw."

"How old was she?" Anna whispered, afraid she'll ruin the moment.

"She was as old you are now when she passed away," Kylos responded, "She'd caught pneumonia and unfortunately didn't survive."

Anna only nodded, not replying. So Kylos continued, "She kind of reminds me of you–somewhat. She was always a quiet sort of girl, a little shy when you first meet her, but once you get to know her, she was spiteful and vibrant. Anyway, she passed away the year after your parents closed the gates. She would have loved to meet you.

"The point is, Anna, you may remind me of my daughter, but that's not the reason why I helped you. I helped you because I saw a lonely child who has been disappointed too many times; too many doors shut in her face. And I couldn't leave you alone like that. Life must be spent living out fully, and I couldn't deny you of that experience by walking back into the castle without ever going back outside.

"And you've touched Frida, also. She'd had a hard time moving on from Irene. I wasn't going to tell her without your permission, but you insisted and you brought her hope again. She's always wondering when you could have dinner with us. Because although we try to deny it, you may not be our daughter, but we care greatly about you."

Tears formed on Anna's eyes, and before she could stop herself, she launched herself to Kylos, hugging him tightly. Kylos was momentarily taken aback by the sudden display of emotion, but eventually returned the hug. Anna broke away as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Sorry, it's just, its been a while since…" She broke off, averting her gaze from Kylos. Kylos tilted her chin up so she would look at his old eyes.

"There is more than one type of family you know," Kylos said. Anna smiled, its been a while since she'd had family.

Long Author's Note here:

I hoped you enjoyed this, sorry it took so long though. I've been meaning to write a chapter which would explain Kylos and Anna's relationship. From the movie, I'd gathered that Anna wasn't very close to her parents since they had locked the gates. That point might be overstretched in this chapter, but Anna had had a lonely childhood shown in the song "For the First Time in Forever". In this chapter, I just made her mother and father a bit more concerned for Elsa's well-being than Anna's childhood, bringing out the loneliness. So for 11 years, Anna played by herself when she comes across Kylos in the woods.

The chapter was written to show Kylos's motivation, and what type of character he is to Anna, which is a mentor who also fills in that little hole of love her father never gave her. (UA remember) I'm sure that the movie told us that Anna loved her parents, but this will go as a UA and say that Anna wasn't as close to her parents as they make it out to be.

By the way, if you need some help with Kylos's appearance, it's a bit of a greying Hugh Jackman. I don't know what you make up, but in my mind it's mostly a greying Hugh Jackman.

Or you could just think of a nice man going from his middle ages to seniority.

*Fun fact: Lise's name was originally Hilde, but I changed it because there was another Hilde circulating somewhere. So if I accidentally mention Hilde, that should be Lise's name I forgot to replace there. Pronunciation: (Lē' sǝ́) Kind of like Lisa, but the 'a' sound is cut short.

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