Prince Aaron sat in the council room of the castle of Arendelle with his feet propped up and a glazed look upon his face. He spun a pen skillfully around his hand, flicking it with his middle finger and catching it again with thumb and index, deep in thought all the while.

There was something he hated about this room. It reminded him too much of the equivalent chamber in the palace of Calidae, with its large oak table and high-backed, uncomfortable seats. Framed portraits and maps lined the walls and gave the room a stiff, austere atmosphere. The smell of old parchment and dust filled Aaron's nostrils as he breathed. Even the window was similar – large, round, and gaudy. Only instead of looking out over the bleak sandy harbor of Astor's capital, this one gave a magnificent view of the snow-capped peaks of Arendelle's mountains. Dawn broke over the horizon as Aaron contemplated the unfairness of a room designed for the powerful to discuss how braver men would die.

Again he flicked the pen.

Aaron Sinclair had called a council meeting much earlier than normal today. He had barely slept, this time due to the itch to report the news his latest vision had revealed. While it was a positive report, Aaron knew that this meeting would not be without negativity. It was well known that there were some in the castle who still considered Aaron a traitor and untrustworthy counselor to Elsa. He took no offense to the weariness and even considered it wise, but it was still very uncomfortable and frustrating for him, especially when all he wanted to do was help. And as Astor loomed closer, his help was needed more and more.

Elsa was the first to arrive for the council meeting, punctual as always. Aaron accidentally sent the pen careening across the room when she walked in, nearly toppling a portrait of Elsa's great grandfather. The queen giggled at him softly as he went to retrieve it, redfaced, though her expression was serious as she took her seat.

"I see you're no longer hindered by A History of Royal Magic," Aaron observed as he sat again. He was excited to see that. Despite Elsa's request to begin training immediately, Aaron had insisted she read the book his mother had left him first.

The night after he had spoken to Anna in the library, Aaron had taken Elsa to start her training, but after only a few basic exercises, he had realized that the queen seemed distracted, almost uninspired. There was something missing. He knew that learning Agatha Paddick's story would help her in more ways than one. Not only was it informative about the Highborn, but it was also simply an inspiring story. It had changed Aaron's life when he read it and he knew it would do the same for Elsa.

"I've finished it. Cover to cover, just like you said," replied Elsa. "I'm so overwhelmed, Aaron, I don't even know how to process it all."

"We can discuss it in detail when we resume your training tonight. I have a feeling you will have improved already. Agatha was an extraordinary woman, wasn't she? She died in the service of my mother, you knew that right?"

Elsa nodded. "The book left off with her journey to Astor, so I had assumed that's where her story ended. You're lucky to have met her."

"To be fair, I was no older than six when she passed away. I do remember her golden hair though. Even as an old wrinkling woman, she still had that golden hair, not a single strand of grey. She used to frighten me and Fi, actually. She would do this thing where she'd push the two of us together by the shoulders and just stare into our faces in total silence. Just when we would get uncomfortable and start fidgeting, she'd laugh and send us on our way. It always unnerved me, but when I was much older and I learned how much of a legend she was, it almost made sense. That's just who she was. No doubt she saw something in us."

The memories came flooding back speaking about her. After Agatha's encounter with the spirit Veles, the woman had found herself back at the edge of the desert where she started, somehow untouched by the heat and fully rested. She was unsure of whether Veles had physically taken her somewhere or if the experience had somehow been in her subconscious, but either way she resolved to make the most of the life she had been given. Ever since that moment, she devoted herself to traveling the world in order to create a timeline and description of every Highborn that had ever lived.

Aaron used to read about the Highborn for hours on end, never able to choose a favorite. There was Myre Sang, the water-walker from the East. Antonio Stonemarsh the mind-reader from the Western Kingdoms. Powers and people of all different shapes and sizes throughout history, and Agatha dug them all up. Some of the Highborn had powers that were even quite bizarre, Aaron recalled, such as Buckley Hightower, a duke in the Southern Isles who had the power to temporarily change a person's face to look like whatever he wished.

"I never dreamed there would be so many different kinds of magic," said Elsa. "It really made me think. I'm happy with how Veles' magic manifested in me."

"It suits you," Aaron agreed. He might have said something about its beauty, but he swallowed the words. Any flirtatious comments he may have made when he first met Elsa suddenly did not seem so appropriate.

Elsa smiled and looked down at her hands, as if she had read Aaron's mind anyway. "I did notice one thing, though. The book made no mention of Alexander, nor the other Highborn you spoke of. The one that Alexander killed. Was it Percy?"

"Percius…" Aaron corrected, stiffening up a bit.

"Right, Anna told me about him. I was a bit confused when I reached the end, and then I noticed those pages have been ripped out, I can even see the frayed edges near the binding. Did you know about that?"

Aaron drummed his fingers against the desk, frowning. "No, I'm afraid I don't." The look Elsa gave him was enough to say she did not believe him. "We can discuss all of this more later," he finished, dropping his gaze. Elsa looked like she was going to say something in reply when the door opened and the rest of the council began to arrive. The queen gave him a glance from the side of her eyes before turning her attention to the door and Aaron knew she was not going to drop the subject like he had hoped.

Kai showed up first, followed by Desmond Holdt and the captain of the citywatch, Oliver Pointe. Next was Erik Bryne who had been appointed as a representative of the nobility, and Maya Fin who was an elected leader of the common people's safety organization. Lorne Blackwater followed, the admiral of Arendelle's royal navy, a brick of a man with a black mustache as thick and bushy as he was. He had the smell of the sea about him as he passed by Aaron and took a seat, giving him an obvious glare. It was no secret that Blackwater was one of Aaron's most vocal dissenters and Aaron had never liked the man, though he tried to keep their interactions civil.

Lastly, Kristoff sauntered in, making no effort to hide an enormous yawn, and then Anna poked her head in shortly after. The princess was not necessarily supposed to be at these meetings, but nobody bothered telling her otherwise, knowing it would be a waste of time. Everyone accepted long ago that Princess Anna went where she pleased, and more often than not, she either contributed positively or said nothing at all. Captain Holdt would be glad of that, considering how obnoxious Anna had been when she was younger and would attend the guard training sessions.

"Looks like that's everybody," Elsa began. "I suppose we should begin with this news Aaron summoned us here so early for. Speak your piece, Aaron."

Aaron cleared his throat. "As you all know, I have these… premonitions about the goings on of Astor across the sea." He fumbled to find the right word to use.

"Aye, premonitions," interrupted Lorne Blackwater. "Call it what it is, turncloak. Unnatural visions, brought on by Astor's evil magic, a twisted connection to that twin of yours."

"Watch it, Blackwater," growled Captain Holdt. "You're in the presence of your queen. The same queen who also possesses this so called evil magic. Besides, who's to say it's the same? The Sinclairs are twins. I had nephews that were twins, and those two brats could've told you where the other was and what they were doing at anytime, anywhere. It's a twin's intuition, ask me."

"Piss on that," replied Blackwater. "That uncle of theirs and his fire is just some coincidence, then? That's what he'd like you to believe, I'll tell you that much."

"Enough," Elsa commanded. "Whether or not it's magic is not important, what's important is if it's true. What have you seen, Aaron?"

Aaron saw no reason to try to defend himself. Even he was unsure of what his visions were, truly.

He got right to the point. "Ships burning in the harbor of Calidae. My uncle has delayed the attack to recover from it. As far as I can tell, it was a group of rebels who have already been taken out." Aaron decided to leave out the part about how young they were, or the bitter sorrow Sophie had felt for them, a feeling that was still palpable to him.

The council was pleased. Everyone began to murmur to each other at once. "This will give us the much needed time to get things in order," Erik Bryne commented. "However, we must not let ourselves get too comfortable."

"If it's even true at all," said Blackwater. "Surely we aren't just taking this man's word for it, are we, Majesty? Seems to me an easy way to get us to let our guards down."

Elsa trusted Aaron implicitly, but even she knew his claim required confirmation. "Kai, you still have that man in the Red Bay south of Astor that could confirm this for us? The trader that we convinced to spy for us after he got trapped over there?"

Kai gave a curt nod. "I am to receive word from him soon. Surely he will know of this incident if Aaron tells it true."

"Good. Now that we have a bit more time, I don't want anyone slacking on their duties. We remain alert and prepare, same as before. I will be training with Aaron starting tonight, so please do not call for me in the evenings. Captain Holdt can discuss with Aaron where we will be set up."

The two men nodded and Aaron was pleased to see Blackwater did not speak up again, though the scowl never left his face.

The queen continued. "Next order of business: Kristoff, did you get a chance to speak to Grand Pabbie?"

The mountaineer sat up a bit in surprise, clearly not expecting to be called upon. "Ah, yeah, I visited the trolls a few nights ago."

"And?"

"It's like I said, Elsa – er, Your Majesty. The trolls have a sacred vow not to take part in human wars, period. They can't offer their help even if they wanted to. Grand Pabbie said he would offer you personal counsel if you need it, but that's as far as they'll go. Sorry." He shrank back with a bit of guilt on his face, but Elsa didn't look angry.

"It was worth a shot. Thank you for trying," she said with a nod, and the meeting resumed.

The rest of the time was more or less business as usual. Anna and Maya Finn discussed the safehouse organization while Erik Bryne broke down finances. Elsa had become quite the commanding presence lately in the council room and Aaron found himself noting how different she was now compared to when he first met her, or even when he first washed up in Arendelle. Now, she was more than a pretty face sitting on a throne; she was the leader of a kingdom.

When the meeting was over, Aaron rushed down to the barracks with Captain Holdt to prepare a place for Elsa's training. He and Captain Holdt decided on clearing out an old unused sparring room that had been turned into a storage area. The room was perfect once it was rid of all its junk – open, isolated, and quiet, with plenty of equipment nearby and even a window to let the room breathe.

Despite his confidence in fighting, he was nervous. It wasn't that he had no experience teaching; he had trained many recruits in Astor throughout his days, many of whom had praised his effectiveness, boasting to the others that they had been taught by the White Panther himself. But this was entirely different. This would not be a simple courtyard sword session with Sophie or a bout in the fighting rings of Calidae.

This was Elsa.

After the council meeting was over, Elsa asked for Anna and Kristoff to stay behind. Once the last council member shut the door and left the three of them alone, they all let out a silent sigh of relief. It seemed like an eternity since the last time they had shared a moment of peace as a family without one of them being pulled away by one duty or another.

Elsa's demeanor instantly shifted from commanding queen to flustered older sister as she retook her seat. "You have no idea how much I miss you both," she said.

Anna came over and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "We miss you, too. What's going on? You were looking at Aaron funny that whole meeting. And I don't mean in the usual way," she teased.

"He's hiding something from me," the queen said, putting her head into her hands. "Again. That man has to be the record holder for the largest amount of secrets held by one person. I have to admit, I'm sick of the 'mysterious prince' game he's playing. I just want him to be straight with me. Luckily, the guy is an awful liar and I'm getting pretty good at reading him."

"You don't think it's anything… you know, bad, do you?" asked Anna.

"No. It's just Aaron being Aaron. Whatever he's hiding, I don't think it will harm us. It just irks me."

Kristoff looked skeptical. "No offense to the guy, but the last time he had a big secret, it turned out to be that he was planning to kill you and decided not to. I think we need to figure it out. What is it about? Maybe Anna and I can get it out of him if you can't."

Elsa filled Anna and Kristoff in on everything she knew – Agatha's story, Veles and the Highborn, the timeline, and the missing pages from the book. Anna and Kristoff listened intently, the princess becoming wide-eyed at the part about Veles, as if she were a little girl again listening to Gerda tell her a bedtime story.

"The missing pages are right at the end," Elsa said. "When I mentioned Percius, Aaron acted funny. Why would Agatha leave out information about Alexander and Percius, the first two Highborn ever to be born at the same time?"

"Maybe they were about you," Kristoff suggested. "Maybe he didn't like what it said about you and didn't want you to see it."

Elsa shook her head. "Agatha died when I was very young, she wouldn't have known about me yet. But she did know Alexander, presumably, seeing as how she was in service of his sister-in-law, Queen Alma."

"That was Aaron's and Sophie's mother, right?" asked Anna, coming to a realization. "Aaron's clearly hiding information about Alexander! Elsa, this is really suspicious."

"Agreed," said Elsa. "But I don't want either of you doing anything quite yet. I am training with Aaron tonight and I'll see what he says. I promise to keep you updated."

Anna's face was still lined with worry when the three of them parted ways, but the mood was somewhat balanced out by Kristoff's carefree attitude. "Don't worry Elsa. If Aaron is planning anything suspicious, I know a certain reindeer that would love a good midnight snack made of prince," he said as he left, giving Elsa a wink. She scoffed at the notion of Sven being anything but docile and friendly, but was thankful that Kristoff was not quite as dramatic as his betrothed.

When Elsa was finally alone, she took a moment to collect her thoughts in the rare moment of quiet. As she absentmindedly gazed around the room, her eyes fell upon a painting on the wall depicting a desert landscape. The colors were a nice shade of yellow and red that blended into a horizon of rocky plateaus and sandy cliffs. Elsa thought it was quite nice until she looked closer and saw the title: The Jagged Hills of Astor.

How have I never noticed this before? Elsa wondered. She immediately reached up and unhooked the painting from the wall, blowing the dust off. It was decently sized, a few feet wide and tall, but it wasn't heavy, and Elsa knew what she had to do.

The window flew open with a howl as a magic wind tore into the sky sending the painting whirling through the air like a discus. It climbed higher and higher and when the queen was satisfied with the distance, she clenched a fist to freeze the frame in a solid block before shattering it into a million icy pieces. They fell like snowflakes into the courtyard below where a guard happened to be patrolling by. He looked around bewildered and when he found the window where Elsa was standing, she quickly shut it and turned her back.

The queen smiled in satisfaction as she exited the council room, humming.

"Don't say that you big jerk!" Anna shoved Kristoff to the side of the hallway.

The big man giggled. "I'm just saying. It wasn't your best moment."

Anna didn't laugh. She hated when Kristoff talked about Hans and the night she had met him after Elsa's coronation. "You weren't even there. You don't know what I was feeling or why. I think it's actually very understandable why I decided to marry him." The subject had come up because they had passed a suit of armor that Anna and Hans had defaced on that night, drawing a goofy face on the helmet with paint from the store rooms. It had never been replaced and remained the only headless suit in the whole castle.

"Understandable? You wanted to marry a guy you had just met that night." Kristoff said it with humor in his voice. Anna had started off playing mad in a teasing fashion like she often did, but the more she thought about it, the less she was in the mood for jokes.

"You weren't there. He was charming. And interesting, and funny. We had fun together that night. More fun than I had ever had since I was a little kid."

Kristoff suddenly wasn't smiling anymore either. "And I'm not those things?"

"No, I don't mean – just drop it, Kristoff."

A scowl crossed Kristoff's face. "He was using you Anna, you know that. I can't believe you would even say something positive about that sociopath."

"I know, Kristoff. I know… but you don't get it. He still broke my heart," Anna said. She couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes no matter how hard she tried.

Kristoff said nothing, but his initial face of sympathy turned to anger after a moment. "I'll leave you to your grief, then. Goodnight." He turned to leave the way they came.

Anna let him go, feeling guilty but knowing it was best to leave him alone. He would never understand how she felt about what happened with Hans. She hated the prince of the Southern Isles in every way, down to her very core, but remembering the night of the coronation still sent a jolt of pain straight to her heart.

It wasn't Hans that she had loved, but the idea of him. No matter how much she did not like it, nothing could change the fact that she felt things about Hans that night that she had still never felt before or after, even for Kristoff. The immediate infatuation, the lovestricken flutter in her belly, the lust. She loved Kristoff, there was no doubt about that, but every girl will always wonder about that prince charming that had been their first love. Hans may not have been what he pretended, but the idea of him – the potential – was always a lingering presence in Anna's thoughts.

As Anna wandered back towards her room, arms crossed and eyes red, she paused by the blue door of one of the guest rooms. Aaron's room.

The former prince would be down in the barracks with Elsa right now. Without thinking, Anna grabbed the door handle, wiping away a tear from her cheek. Locked. Of course.

The princess took a moment to check if any servants were around. The hallway was deserted. Feeling mischievous and wanting to take her mind off of Kristoff and Hans, she reached up and pulled a hairpin from her head, sticking her tongue out slightly as she shoved it into the lock and began to jiggle it around.

Unlocking locked doors was one of the few things Anna was an absolute expert on. Growing up alone in a castle with so many locked doors and so many secrets had made sure of that. When she was younger, it was the bane of Gerda's existence trying to keep the princess from getting into certain areas of the castle. That was how she had gotten drunk the first time; when she was seventeen, she had made her way into the castle's wine storage. Her mother had been outraged, but her father could not seem to stop chuckling when they were in the middle of punishing her.

It only took a couple of minutes for the lock on Aaron's door to click and for the door to slowly swing open. Anna crept inside and crouched like a ninja for no reason other than to look cool in her own mind.

When she turned on the lights she was disappointed to see absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Not that she really even knew what she was looking for, but still. Aaron's clothes were neatly folded, his books put up nicely, and his bed was even made. It was an almost painfully boring room, especially for someone like Aaron.

Aaron didn't have very many things of his own, as he had come to Arendelle essentially with nothing but the clothes on his back. Anna started to look around anyway. If he had the missing pages from A History of Royal Magic with him, they must be somewhere in this room.

Carefully she started going through the books on his nightstand and desk, flipping through them hoping something would fall out. No luck.

She searched under the bed, in the curtains, and behind the mirror. Nothing.

Then she checked the closet. Clothes were hanging properly from the hooks but when she pushed them away, a chest was revealed at the back wall with a shattered lock. I forgot about this…

Aaron did bring some things with him from Astor, Anna remembered, and this was how he had transported them. Luckily, Elsa had broken the lock so she had no trouble getting into it.

The chest was filled to the brim with random objects and scrolls, some of which Anna did not even recognize. She dug through maps and vials of strange liquid, more books, and some metal contraption that Anna could only describe as a "doohickey." She saw a single piece of parchment and her heart jumped for a second, but it turned out to just be a handwritten note in elegant cursive.

This note hereby proclaims that Aaron Sinclair – Son of King Harold Sinclair and Queen Alma Sinclair, Prince of Astor and the White Panther of Calidae – has officially bested his twin Princess Sophie Sinclair in single combat on this day the twenty third of February, 1858.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

-Fi

Anna frowned when she read the signature. No matter how much Aaron would deny it, being on the opposite side of his twin was tearing him up inside. She thought about what it would be like if Elsa were her enemy in this war and she shook her head in disgust.

Putting aside the note and her feelings, Anna kept digging. At the very bottom of the chest was a dagger covered by a beautiful leather sheath. A ruby encrusted the hilt and the flame sigil of Astor was engraved on the face of the leather.

Anna ran her hand along it, amused when she remembered that its name was Belle. It was a monstrous thing despite its namesake, nearly a foot long with a very bulky holster. She pulled the blade out, being super careful. Anna knew she did not have the most dexterous hands and she imagined it would be hard to explain a giant gash on her hand to Aaron if he were to notice.

The blade was light, but the sheath felt strange in her hand. Anna placed the dagger on the ground and brought the sheath out into the light. She couldn't see anything inside, so she stuck a finger in and felt around the edges. She felt a crease in the leather and after a minute of wiggling it around, she was able to pull it back and reveal a hidden pocket. After another minute of awkward tugging inside the sheath, she found herself pulling out a small stack of precisely folded, worn pieces of paper.

Predictable thought Anna as she laid out the papers on Aaron's desk. They were filled to the brim with thousands of words, handwritten in black ink, front and back. It was only five pages but Anna knew it would take her a while to read it all.

The princess quickly placed everything back in Aaron's chest exactly how she remembered it, extinguished the lights, double checked the room, and then scampered back to her own chambers with the pages in hand.

When she was done reading, she was shocked and more than a little confused. The first thing that ran through her mind was Elsa needs to know.

Elsa was feeling good as she made her way down to meet Aaron for their first real training session. When they had tried it before, she had been nervous, not truly knowing if fighting was something she wanted to do. She had kept on thinking about the attack on the North Mountain when she had fought against the Weselton bodyguards. Was she a monster if she fought? Was it truly fair to use her powers with force against others with nothing but weapons, following the orders of a madman? Or was this different, for the greater good?

Now she knew. To fight did not mean to slaughter. It did not even have to mean to kill. Agatha would have told her that it was her responsibility to defend herself and her people, no matter what her own opinion of violence was. Alexander certainly would not give her a choice.

The room that Aaron had chosen was far away from the others, down a dimly lit corridor. Elsa swooped around the stone corridor with confidence, her white cloak swirling as she walked. She had tied her hair back with beret but kept it unbraided, largely due to time restraints. She wore a black-clothed, low cut top and skin tight leggings that allowed her to move freely. She had also found the most comfortable pair of boots she owned – an ugly flat soled pair she used to use for riding horses, as well as her old worn out riding gloves. Elsa knew Aaron would not have her using magic – at least not tonight.

When she entered, the room was chilly. Perfect, Elsa thought as she hung her cloak.

Aaron was standing in the middle of the dimly lit room, a practice blade in hand. It was a fairly large chamber with an open space at the center, lined with stacks of various weapons and military odds and ends near the walls.

The moon cast the most significant light from the high windows that lined the outermost wall, creating a blue-white tint that made Aaron look almost eerie. He was wearing a black vest with a long sleeved undershirt and loose-fitting cloth trousers tucked into a pair of beaten-up boots. His beard was trimmed but thicker than before, making him look like one of Kristoff's ice harvesters. If Elsa didn't know any better, she would never guess the man standing there had been a prince. Next to him was a practice dummy, a lame looking thing that was nothing more than a sack of rice that Captain Holdt had built upon a wooden stick that stood about six feet high.

"Good evening," he said, not taking his eyes off the dummy.

Elsa approached hesitantly. "Good evening. Has… that dummy said something to offend you?"

Aaron scoffed, looking at her for the first time. "What if I told you it did?"

"Then I'd blast it all the way to Astor," Elsa said, stepping closer, folding her hands behind her back. "Nobody is allowed to offend you except me. And maybe Anna, if I gave her permission."

Aaron smiled and looked down at his fake blade. "How gallant of you. But no magic will leave your fingertips while you train with me. I cannot teach you something I can't do myself. He tapped the wooden sword. "This is what I know."

Elsa looked around her and spotted a similar practice sword sitting upon a rack. She took it in her hand and faced Aaron confidently, mostly in jest. "Show me, then."

Aaron smirked and made a movement so quick Elsa hardly saw it before the blade in her hand was flipping around in the air, landing gracefully in Aaron's left hand. The queen stared at her untouched wrist. It had been as gentle as if he had coaxed it from her.

"An amusing joke, Elsa. The Snow Queen of Arendelle, the most powerful sorceress on the planet, fighting with a wooden stick. What a waste that would be."

Aaron threw the two swords to the wall and took Elsa by the wrists. "These will be your weapons," he said, and Elsa nodded.

"First, we need to talk," she said.

Aaron agreed and a moment later, the two were sitting face to face upon a couple of the wooden barrels nearby. Elsa drew up her legs and sat cross-legged.

"It feels strange. To know things about myself, and my powers. I never thought I would."

"Is it a relief?"

"No, strangely. Veles is a haunting thing. I can't seem to accept the fact that he is part of human-kind. Do you think it's listening to us speak, right now?"

Aaron considered it for a moment. "I would think he is experiencing this conversation in one way or another. But remember Elsa, the magic you bear belongs to you. It originally belonged to Veles, but it has come to you for a reason."

"And what reason is that?"

Aaron shrugged. "Destiny, perhaps, if you believe in that sort of thing. I have always wondered, though, if the Highborn would be able to speak to Veles if they tried. You are connected to him more strongly than anyone else through the magic you both bear."

"Wouldn't hurt to try," said Elsa, closing her eyes and concentrating. She reached into her mind and tapped into her powers. She could feel the magic, the cold, the emotion, the power. It all swirled around her being like a flurry of snow; but when she looked around for another consciousness, she found none.

After a few minutes, it seemed hopeless. "No use," Elsa said. "For the better, maybe. I'm not sure what I would say to Veles, anyway. Somehow I do not think it would be helpful to me."

"It makes no difference. Veles may have caused the current situation, but he is content to let it play out and watch in amusement. It will all come down to you and Alexander and you must be the one to come out on top. Three Highborn came into the world when there has only ever been room for one."

Elsa knew that was true. She remembered the missing pages from the book and she considered asking again, but Aaron saw the thought lingering on her tongue and beat her to the punch.

"About the missing pages," he said. "I know you are curious, but I need you to know that it's just something personal. If it were important for the upcoming events, I would tell you, you know that. As it stands, though, it's just water under the bridge. We have to look forward, not back. Understand?"

Elsa did understand and she believed his words, though that did not sate her burning curiosity. "Okay. Maybe one day you will tell me."

Aaron looked sad as he replied, "Perhaps." It was a tone that Elsa took to really mean "probably not."

Then it was time to begin. As soon as the conversation was over and it was time to get down to business, Aaron immediately became the White Panther. His entire demeanor shifted to that of a battle commander, and Elsa felt like she was all of a sudden a henchman in Astor's army. Aaron had her stand and went over various forms and stances, went over sparring techniques, and had her try a few simple punches.

Aaron was stern with Elsa and wasn't afraid to touch her, move her into the correct position or guide her movements with a firm hand. Elsa found herself blushing a bit at one point but forced herself to concentrate on the tasks at hand, listening intently and following directions like she had done with all of her tutors growing up. Though mathematics and geometry had come much easier to Elsa than the things Aaron taught her now.

"Feet planted, eyes forward. Fists formed properly. Now punch. Good," guided Aaron. "Now the dummy."

Elsa stood before the dummy which was raised even taller than she was. She repeated the process, sending her fist into the bag of rice with a quick exhale.

Aaron shook his head. "No. Try again." He gave no further instruction, so Elsa simply squared up and punched the dummy again a bit harder.

"Still no. Again."

Elsa huffed and punched the dummy as hard as she could, letting out an involuntary grunt.

Aaron sighed. "You were doing so well earlier. What happened? You need to try harder."

Elsa was annoyed now. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You tell me," said Aaron. "If I have to tell you every little thing about fighting, you'll never stand a chance against Alexander. I can't be there to guide your every move. Think for yourself. Now punch." She did. Again, he spurned her.

The queen went from annoyed to frustrated. She punched the dummy over and over while Aaron criticized. Eventually, she let form go out the window and just began beating the thing until the wood that stood it up splintered and it started to lean backwards.

Aaron still was not satisfied. "Come on Elsa. How can I train you if you won't apply yourself!? Alexander will be frying you and serving you at Astor's next banquet as an 'Arendelle delicacy.'"

Elsa was taken aback at her mentor's shift in tone. She did not understand why he was being so picky all of a sudden. I suppose the Panther has awakened, she thought.

The queen continued to wail on the dummy until her knuckles began to bruise, but nothing she did made Aaron happy. With each blow she grunted and her grunts turned into shouts and her shouts turned to screeching cries of fury as Aaron continued to pile on the harsh words. "Wrong! Still wrong! Why did I ever decide to train you? All of your potential, wasted! I had believed in you. I thought maybe you'd even be talented. What a stupid thought. You're just a weak queen after all. You'll never protect Arendelle, you'll never save us, yourself, Anna, or your parent's legacy. All you've done has been for NOTHING -!"

A blast shook the room.

All of Elsa's pent up frustration, fear, and anger was suddenly on her fingertips. Wind, snow, ice, and electricity all formed together around Elsa's arm. The dummy Elsa had been destroying with her fists was suddenly engulfed in a blast of cold energy that lit the room in a white flash and launched dummy to the far side of the wall, sending it straight through the brick with a crash. Aaron was sent flying as well, landing head-first into the piles of junk to Elsa's right with a cry of surprise.

The entire room seemed to vibrate as Elsa stood there in the wake of the explosion, panting, her fist outstretched. The blast had knocked her at least five feet back as well, but she had somehow managed to stay on her legs. The south wall was completely collapsed and there was a mass of solid, jagged ice forming along the floor from the hole to Elsa's feet. It slowly creeped outward towards the walls with a crackle as everything went still again.

Aaron fumbled to his feet, buried in a pile of random objects. He rubbed his head and stared at the place where the wall used to be. Then he looked at Elsa.

The queen wasn't sure how she should be reacting, so she simply stared back at him, traces of her anger still lingering in her expression. She grabbed her clenched fist and realized that tiny blue sparks were dancing around it. She fully expected to be chastised by her new teacher.

"Now –" Aaron said as he stood up and recovered. He could see his own breathe in the now frost-covered room. "Now we're getting somewhere."