Disclaimer: all the characters, locations and items in this work are trademarked by Disney, Sega and Ubisoft, unless noted otherwise. All original characters, if not related to existing characters, are owned by the author.

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Journey

Two days later, the crew and passengers of Sea Diamond were able to see the huge fjord that framed the landscape of the Royal City of Arendelle.

It was undoubtedly a spectacle for the tired travelers, exhausted of all the sea and icebergs.

But for Jason Ryan Smith, it was the gateway to what promised to be one of the most intense days of his twenty years of life.

Thomas Berget's body was protected in a coffin in the cargo compartment - after, of course, undergoing an embalming process to prevent the body from rotting after two days.

Although it was common to have a burial at sea for rescued castaways who died, Berget's military status made that point out of the question. In addition, he was also the only person to have reported the history of the HMAS Vålerenga sinking, and his body would serve as evidence in an inquiry into the incident.

"Mr. Smith?"

Jason turned his head to see Captain Rose approaching, a piece of parchment in his hand. "How can I help you, Captain?"

"I just got a message from Lord Kai. He said a carriage will be waiting for us on the docks, and six guards will escort us to the castle."

"So... does he already know what happened?"

Rose took a deep breath for five seconds before answering. "No." Before Jason could protest, he spoke again. "I don't believe this is the kind of news that should be announced through a mail pigeon, Mr. Smith. It would be a lack of respect not only for the status of the future queen, but also for the memory of the royal couple."

"Alright, Captain, I understand."

"Is your luggage ready yet?"

"Yeah, it's there", answered the young man, pointing to a small bag at his feet. "And the supreme jewel is inside the leather pouch Berget gave me, it's over there", he added, pointing to the pouch that was tied to the pants he wore.

"Very well then, we'll anchor in twenty minutes, we'll also be the first to descend."

And in fact, twenty minutes later, the Sea Diamond was anchored at the port of Arendelle. Seeing a ramp being placed near the ship's rail by a group of men, Jason took his bag and, trying to gather his nerves in place, approached the captain, who was already putting his first foot on the ramp.

A few yards away, a carriage with Arendelle's coat of arms was waiting for them, guarded by half a dozen guards, holding shields in one hand and spears in the other; each one of them had a sword fastened to their waist, ready to be drawn at the slightest sign of danger.

They all wore the same green leather uniform Berget had worn, which indicated that they belonged to the Royal Guard; The difference was that these uniforms were in good condition.

At the foot of the carriage was a tall, fat man with a huge nose and his remaining hair scattered to the sides and behind his head; He wore an elegant green suit with a crocus brooch pinned to his lapel over a beige shirt. He had a piece of parchment wrapped in his hands, and seemed to be waiting for someone.

As soon as he watched Jason and Captain Rose walk down the ramp, the man began to walk toward them, which made the soldiers raise their spears.

"Captain Rose and Mr. Smith, I presume." said the man, in impeccable English, as he stood very close to them, and held out his right hand to the pair.

"Yes, I am Captain Jonathan Rose, of the Sea Diamond, and this is Jason Ryan Smith, passenger and temporary translator, and the person who spoke to Thomas Berget", the captain explained as he shook hands with the man, being followed by Jason.

"My name is Kai, and I am the Lord Chamberlain of the castle. But where is Lieutenant Berget?"

Jason looked from Captain Rose to Kai and back to the captain, before swallowing; the old sea-wolf, apparently, had said nothing, absolutely nothing, about the shipwreck of HMAS Vålerenga and about Berget's death.

Rose, in turn, glanced sideways at Jason before turning to Kai. "Maybe it would be better to explain what happened inside the carriage."

Nodding in agreement, Kai led the sailor and the exile into the carriage. As soon as the vehicle began to move, the soldiers around her hurried to follow her.

For Jason, riding in a closed carriage like that, pulled by a quartet of horses, was very strange - at his house on Westside Island, his family carriage was open, and when he, his younger sister and his parents used the vehicle, it was pleasing to feel the wind in his hair, in the middle of the tropical climate of the island's coast.

Glancing quickly at Rose, Jason could see that the captain was not completely one-hundred percent comfortable either - which the blue-haired young man suspected had to do with his being accustomed to the Sea Diamond. The only one that seemed to be completely at ease in the carriage was Kai.

"Well, now that we're on our way to the castle... what happened?"

Jason and Rose looked at each other for a second; the captain nodded before turning to Kai.

"Well, it all started two days ago…"

And Rose explained everything, from the moment they spotted Thomas Berget floating in the sea, clutching the wreckage of HMAS Vålerenga, going through the rescue, the report of the shipwreck made for Jason, the death of the king and the queen - which made Kai, who already have naturally white skin, became even paler -, the supreme jewel and the death of Berget.

"By all the gods…" whispered Kai as soon as Rose finished her story. "I can't even begin to imagine the princess's reaction when she learns of this."

Rose and Jason looked at each other again in surprise. What was the Lord Chamberlain trying to say?

"Well, let me explain", said Kai, looking at the exile and the old sea-wolf. "Princess Elsa... since she was born, she has control over ice and snow."

"Yeah, we already knew about the rumors", commented Jason, glancing sideways at Westphalian-style houses - some were residences, others were shops of the most varied styles, from food and cleaning materials to jewelry stores.

"But it's not rumors, it's facts", Kai replied, in a harder tone than he intended. "Sorry, Mr. Smith, it's just that it's not easy having to deal with this news. Anyways... Her Highness was one year old when her younger sister was born, Princess Anna. However, when they were five and four years old, respectively…"

Kai fell silent. Jason noticed that whatever had happened was a very heavy subject, especially considering what Rose had told him on the ship: that the future queen had a younger sister who had died as a child.

This was Princess Anna?, thought the exile.

"No one knows exactly what happened... what I do know is that the two princesses were playing in the castle hall in the middle of the night when there was an accident. A soldier, unfortunately I can not remember his name... wait!", cried Kai, looking closely at Jason. "How old are you, Mr. Smith?"

"What?", asked the exile, surprised at the sudden change of subject.

"Answer me, now!" Exclaimed the Lord Chamberlain, forcefully.

"Twenty, sir", the young man replied, still trying to contain the surprise. "I'm twenty-years old since last June."

"Ah…" Kai murmured, assuming the expression of a balloon being emptied. "I'm sorry, is that... Mr. Smith, this is going to sound weird, but the soldier I'm talking about was a lot like you."

"WHAT?"

"Yes, he was literally the same as you, except he was a few years older... Anyway, I'm sorry, I thought you could be him."

"No, all right, I understand…", Jason muttered, pondering what he had just heard... if what Kai was saying was true, then this man... was his father.

His father.

Two words that made his heart ache. Not for the reasons everyone would imagine, but for reasons only he and his family knew.

It was undoubtedly an unimaginable pain.

"Anyways", resumed the Lord Chamberlain, plucking Jason from his thoughts. "The fact is that this soldier appeared with Princess Anna wounded in his arms, followed by a princess Elsa completely inconsolable. Their Majesties, King Agdar and Queen Idunn, left the castle with the girls that very night, towards the North Mountain. They came back only the next morning, with Elsa... and Anna's body wrapped in a linen sheet; she had died at dawn."

Jason felt his heart break in a million pieces.

"After the funeral and burial of Princess Anna, the king closed the gates of the castle for about two years, while the royal family was in mourning. But even after the end of that period, Princess Elsa... she appeared a few times outside the castle, I dare say she never overcame completely the mourning for her younger sister's death."

Jason did not know what to say. He did not really know.

"That is why I ask that we have to be careful when we give the news to Her Highness, I can not measure the size of the pain she will feel."

"I see, my Lord," Rose agreed, speaking for the first time in several minutes. "Perhaps it is best that you start speaking, and Mr. Smith and myself will only speak if requested", the captain added, with both Kai and Jason agreeing.

None of them spoke for the rest of the trip; Jason took the rest of the ride to look at the bustling streets of the Royal City of Arendelle, filled with people working and shopping in the morning sunlight.

He seized the quiet moment to put the leather bag with the supreme jewel - the Chaos Emerald - in his bag, along with the rest of his luggage.

Then, as he looked around the city, a massive construction entered his field of view. It was a huge castle, old-fashioned, surrounded by huge walls; these, in turn, were surrounded by water on all sides, transforming the place into the definition of a man-made island - except for a bridge linking the castle to the rest of Royal City of Arendelle. At various points on the wall, the crocus coat of arms framed the towers, making it clear what the purpose of the castle was.

This was the residence of the Royal Family of Arendelle, now composed of a single member.

As the carriage approached the castle, the exile wondered if the future queen would accept his claim for political asylum. After all, she needed good reason to accept it, and he had an intuition that she would know if he was lying at some point in his story.

And he could say, at least to himself, that he had done things he was not proud of during his escape from the old Doctor's laboratory. The gods knew that he had had innumerable nightmares during his travel from Westside to Arendelle - he could still hear the screams of those men, he could smell the metallic blood that he had shed, feel the dying atmosphere that had fallen in laboratory.

It was at this moment of the journey that he felt himself leave the present moment, his body, his soul, himself.

It was as if he were traveling to another world.

He was in a ballroom filled with elegantly dressed men and women, who sipped glasses of champagne and chatted merrily; some couples waltzed in the center of the room, lulled by lively music played by the orchestra.

As he looked at himself, Jason was surprised to see that he was as elegant as the other people in that hall - he wore a white coat and pants with black leather shoes, and the chest of his coat was with two decorations that he knew were presented to Westside Island's military heroes.

He didn't know why he was wearing them - they were not only owned by his father, but had disappeared during the invasion.

But that was not important at the moment. What mattered was finding out where he was, and what was happening.

Looking around the room, two things caught the exile's attention: first, the crocus coat of arms was on the wall, which indicated where he was - in Arendelle.

Where, exactly, he did not know yet, but he could say right away that it was a rather luxurious place, not only because of the people who were there, but due to the decoration: armor, beautiful pictures of men and women wearing expensive clothes and stained glass with the crocus design.

The second thing that had attracted attention was the presence of a young girl in her early twenties with blonde-platinum hair wrapped in a tight braid and wearing a teal dress with black sleeves and the coat of crocus on the bodice, plus a purple cape - the royal color.

A golden tiara adorned the top of her head - which implied that she, whoever she was, was a member of royalty.

Gathering the details of what was around him, Jason already suspected who she was.

However, an excited shout confirmed his suspicions.

"Elsa!", exclaimed a young woman in about eighteen years old, with strawberry-blonde hair wrapped in two twin braids; she wore a pretty green dress, similar to the one worn by the other girl, though in less detail. She was accompanied by a man with red hair and sideburns (who Jason found disturbing), wearing clothes similar to the his own: white coat and pants, with several medals affixed to the chest of his coat.

That made Jason's stomach twist in fear.

Those were military decorations of the Southern Isles.

The country that had invaded and conquered Westside Island.

That had imprisoned Jason, his parents and his sister, as well as the royal family and thousands of soldiers and citizens of his island.

And that had made him spend a year in hell.

The exile remembered the last time he had seen the man - it was impossible to forget the arrogant air on his face when he and his brothers saw Jason and his family being placed in a prison carriage, linked to two pairs of horses, at the entrance of their house on Westside Island.

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.

Jason tried to figure out what was happening: he knew he was not there, at this ball, but in the carriage with Rose and Kai, on the way to this very castle. He also knew that he was not wearing an elegant outfit with his father's military decorations, but the clothes and cloak he had taken from his house, dodging the vigilance of the Southern Isles' soldiers, before continuing incognito to the port of Westside Island, where he had arranged - not 100% honestly - a passage to Avalor, where he boarded another ship bound for Corona, and then taken a vessel to the Royal City of Arendelle.

At the sound of Elsa's voice - the queen, he remembered - Jason forced himself to turn off his thoughts as to how he had gotten there and paid attention to the conversation.

"What happened, Anna?", she asked in a neutral tone.

Anna? That's not the name of - Jason shut up inwardly. After all, Kai had said, minutes ago, that Princess Anna of Arendelle had died years before. So how was she there, arm in arm with a prince from the Southern Isles?

The exile turned his attention to Anna - she was ecstatic, as if she had received an offer that was beyond reproach. Her teal eyes shone so bright that Jason wondered what might have happened.

"We wanted…", Anna began, ecstatic but also slightly insecure.

"...your blessing…", Hans continued, apparently as ecstatic as the girl - though the Westside Island's exile knew from experience how the prince was able to mask his true feelings.

"...for our marriage!", exclaimed the two at the same time.

Jason had to use all his willpower not to let his jaw drop. That could only be a bad taste joke, right? After all, who, in their right mind, would marry a monster like Prince Hans?

Apparently, Elsa was thinking something like that: she was as shocked as Jason, her mouth slightly gaping and her eyes empty. She stayed that way for about ten seconds, before speaking again.

"Ma... marriage?"

"Don't worry, we have time to prepare the invitations for his family too…", Anna rambled, not paying any attention to Elsa's less than happy reaction.

"Yes, there are twelve brothers, besides my parents," Hans commented.

"And we also have to start preparations, maybe give time to get married in the fall…"

"Sister…" Elsa began, catching Jason's attention - this confirmed his suspicion that the strawberry-blonde-haired girl was really Princess Anna (though she wasn't dead - but Jason left that detail for later, focused as he was in the conversation). "May I talk to you, please? Alone?"

"No, whatever you have to say, you - you can say to both of us", replied the princess. With a weary sigh, Elsa went straight to the point.

"Very well, in that case... There will be no marriage!"

"Wait, what?" Anna asked, moving from excitement to shock, and then to disappointment in two seconds. Taking a deep breath, Elsa tried to explain the situation:

"Anna, you can't marry a man you just met."

"But, Elsa... it's true love, don't you understand?"

"Anna, what do you know about true love?", countered the queen, trying to prove a point - but attracting an angry response from her sister.

"More than you. All you can do is drive people away."

Jason flinched at the princess' statement; well, he was not quite sure what was happening, but he did not need to be a genius to say that no matter what the reason was, the response had been quite violent.

"No, Anna, you just met him! I understand you might have fallen in love, but... getting married? No, no, no, you will not have my blessing!"

"Your Majesty…" Hans began to speak, but Elsa raised her hand to keep him from continuing.

"No, do not even start. You wanted my blessing, and the answer is no." With that, she turned and walked over to a man dressed elegantly in butler clothes - which Jason recognized as Kai. Straining his ears and approaching as discreetly as possible, the blue-haired man heard the platinum-blond-haired monarch say, "Close the gates, the party is over."

Hans bent to mutter something in Anna's ear, but the girl jerked away from him and advanced to Elsa as she was beginning to walk toward the throne. As soon as she held the glove that covered the queen's hand, it was pulled; Elsa let out an almost inaudible gasp and turned to face her sister. "Give me my glove!", she requested, slightly panicked.

However, Anna did not give her the glove - she began to walk backwards, taking tentative steps, holding the glove as if it were a valuable treasure. However, Jason noticed a desperate look in her teal eyes. "Elsa, please... please! I can't live this way!", cried the girl, beginning to attract the attention of the guests.

"Then go!", the queen exploded, causing the whole room to silence as she watched the discussion between the two girls. Anna's face took on a pained expression as Elsa turned and started walking toward the door.

"What did I do to you?", Anna screamed, moving from despair to anger in a matter of a few seconds. Jason felt a shiver run down his spine - usually, he only felt it when the situation was about to get out of control.

"Enough, Anna!", cried Elsa, trying to impose her authority, and attracting various whispers from the guests. As the shiver grew stronger, Jason decided to act, starting to walk toward the two sisters, desperately trying not to release his ability.

"NO! Why? Why did you abandon me? Why did you move away from the whole world? What are you so afraid of?" The princess shot in a furious, desperate tone. Jason hastily stepped forward before attempting to catch the monarch's attention - he was sure something was about to happen. "Maj..."

"I said, ENOUGH!", Elsa bellowed, striking the air with her hand - the ice left her fingers like an arrow from a bow, forming a line of icicles on the ground.

A deathly silence filled the hall - broken by a little man with white hair and a monocle, who stepped forward and, pointing to the queen, screamed. "Monster!"

Seeing the frightened expression on the queen's face, Jason stopped walking towards her, and turned to the little man - the exile felt a shiver as he recognized him.

This was one of the main allies of the Southern Isles, and one of the leaders of the Westside Island invasion, as well as the Doctor's patron.

The Duke of Weselton.

Feeling an overwhelming rage over him, Jason ignored that he was in a crowded room, and as soon as he saw his way clear, he released his ability for the first time in days - and for the first time, of his own free will, in a year. A collective gulp took hold of the dignitaries when, without warning, Jason advanced on the duke with supernatural speed, leaving a blue blur in the air.

Furious, he grabbed the Duke by the throat and lifted him into the air in two seconds, whispering quietly. "The only monster here is you... Weaselton."

"We-Weselton! It's Weselton!", stammered the duke, struggling in the air, his neck being slowly tightened by the royal-blue-haired man.

Before he could say anything else, a flash came from the middle of nowhere, blinding everyone in the room - yet Jason was busy, choking the man who had helped destroy his life and his family, until...

"Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith, wake up!", exclaimed a voice, making Jason come out of his stupor.

Blinking frantically, he glanced sideways, though he only saw the same white flash from seconds ago - until Kai and Rose slowly entered his field of view, both with frightened and worried expressions.

"What... what? What was it... what happened? "He stammered nervously - he could still feel the veins of the Duke of Weselton's neck in his hands, even if that was, as it turned out, a hallucination.

"I'm asking the questions here, Mr. Smith!", exclaimed the old sea-wolf, very nervous. "You look dazed, and began to murmur a series of incomprehensible words, Lord Chamberlain Kai and I feared you might be ill!"

What none of them knew was that, at that moment, two shining jewels that were tucked away in two leather handbags, both neatly hidden in Jason's luggage, were beginning to fading out at that moment.

"I... I don't know what happened", Jason murmured, putting his hands to his head. "I was looking at the streets next to the castle, thinking about the things that had happened until I got here, when my sight turned white... Suddenly... it seemed like I was... I don't know, in another life or in another dimension."

He decided not to tell Kai and Rose what he had seen in his vision. Not only because this might raise unwanted questions about his abilities, but he simply could not explain to the Lord Chamberlain how Princess Anna, who died more than ten years ago, was there.

"And what... and what did you see, Mr. Smith?"

"I don't know, I've seen some half-blurred figures... it's as if I'm seeing an incomplete picture coming to life, Lord Kai", Jason lied unabashedly. Seeing that both the Sea Diamond's captain and the Lord Chamberlain accepted his explanation without question, he decided to change the subject. "But anyways... where are we?"

"In the courtyard of the castle, Mr. Smith. We just arrived, so it's only a matter of time before we go to the Throne Room…"

"...better known as the 'Wailing Wall'", concluded Rose, which caused Jason to look at him with a confused expression and Kai wince disdainfully. "As the late king and queen listened to several people a day, including many complaints and disputes for various reasons, the population began to refer to the Throne Room by that name. Not that the nobility and the castle officials like it."

Kai did not respond to Rose's comment - instead, he opened the carriage door and motioned for the two travelers to leave the vehicle.

The soldiers who had accompanied the carriage on their way through the Royal City formed an honor guard, while Kai escorted Jason and Rose to the castle's front door; making a sign for the two to wait, the Lord Chamberlain stepped forward and knocked four times on the door.

Thirty seconds later, it opened, allowing the trio to enter the massive building.

Jason felt a chill creep down his spine as he entered the castle - this was a clear sign that something very important was about to happen...

Author's note: Well, at last, I decided to update early... but, first of all, thank you for all the feedback in chapter 1! I just hope that this chapter matches your expectations, since we got a few more questions, especially in the vision scene.

And, in next chapter, a new character will enter (at least, officially) this story - Elsa. And it's time to deliver the sad news... so, expect a lot of ice and frost in the Throne Room. And some people asked me about Anna, since I stated explicitly that she's dead. Well, don't worry, because Anna will enter this story, with a major role - but I have to say that her role is what's expected of her.

And, once more, a heartful thank you to my faithful proofreaders and friends, Walard and Striga! And to my amazing brothers, AceVermin143 and SeniorCrescent, for all their support in this project!

See you next chapter!