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.

Special disclaimer: this chapter is dedicated to Arendellecitizen, whose drabbles - especially one - inspired part of this plot.

Chapter 4 - Requiescat in Pace

The next night, a solitary figure sneaked through the deserted streets of the Royal City of Arendelle.

With a black leather hood shielding her face from the icy wind of the October night, she leaned against the wall of a house and looked around to see if there were any patrols on the streets - even if the princess had not decreed a curfew for mourning, the majority of the city's taverns had closed the doors that same day, in respect to the memory of the deceased king and queen.

Which is a pity, the figure thought, seconds before sprinting from one alley to another, getting closer to her target. I need a drink to stay warm tonight.

However, the lack of alcohol in her blood was also a blessing: it helped her stay focused on her target.

One of the damn bastards who had destroyed her previous life; if it wasn't her mother asking her to hide in the trunk... maybe she would not have found her Herre, her mentor.

Maybe she would not even be alive anymore.

Shaking her head to dismiss these thoughts, the figure looked again to either side of the street before moving to another alley. She repeated this action three more times before she saw the two-storey blue house, built in Westphalian style, whose roof was covered with snow created by the crown princess' powers.

Future Queen Elsa.

This was one of the names that made her blood boil - even though she was still a teenager when her family was wiped off the map, she had her responsibility as a member of the Royal Family, to whom the Arendelle Armed Forces had made an oath.

But the dream of piercing the Royal Heart, which she had cherished since she had managed to understand everything which wasn't possible in her childhood, would have to be delayed for another time.

The sounds of footsteps caused the figure to freeze in a corner; slowly turning her head to the left, she could see a patrol of six soldiers coming towards the alley where she was hiding. Taking a deep breath, she brought her right hand up to the waist of the tunic she wore - exactly to the place where a channeled cinquedea was hidden.

That weapon had been presented to her by her mentor six months ago, when she had finished training; a coat of arms decorated the blade. And not only for aesthetic reasons - this was also a reminder of the cause for which she and her brothers and sisters had fought since they had been rescued from certain death.

On the left side of the robe was a dagger that had been forged by her four days earlier, in the workshop, hours before her departure for the Royal City. It was a simple, unidentified weapon, which would come in handy, since if it worked, she would not bring that weapon back to her hiding place.

Hearing the patrol's approaching footsteps, she tried to cringe against a barrel that had been dropped into the alley and hold her breath, breathing as little as possible.

However, to her relief, the soldiers completely ignored the alley where she was and went ahead, resuming the patrol. Returning the channeled cinquedea to her belt, the girl raised her eyes slightly above the barrel and waited until the military turned the corner, heading to the next street to continue the patrol.

Seeing that the coast was clear, she stepped out from behind the barrel and looked back at the blue house where her target lived.

She stood there for five minutes, planning what she would do to enter her target's room; the maid she had bribed two days earlier had said that a soldier stood at the base of the staircase leading into the room during the night, but that same man, an eighteen-year-old recruit, wasn't exactly the sharpest weapon in the armory; as long as she did not make too much noise, he wouldn't notice.

With a ghastly smile, the girl looked around again to make sure there was no one else around; it was only then that she went toward the house. As soon as she approached one of the windows, she started climbing - which, after all she'd ever seen and done in training, was a piece of cake for her.

In fact, the house offered so many spaces to climb that it was surprising that no one had noticed that. However, considering that Arendelle had never had a group specialized in this type of action, such as the faction to which the girl belonged, it was not a complete surprise that the houses were designed to resist the invasion of an external enemy - not an internal.

This brought to her mind a lesson taught by her master - that the most dangerous enemy is the one most ignored by his antagonist.

Cautiously, she opened the window and raised her eyes enough to see if anyone was inside. And, indeed, there was someone.

A single person was asleep in the king-sized bed, not having the slightest clue that an intruder had invaded what should be his place of refuge. The girl narrowed her eyes and scanned the room before closing the window gently; she waited for a few seconds to make sure no one had heard the noise of wood against wood.

She took advantage of the space between the window and the bed to accustom her eyes to the darkness of the room as she walked to where - she hoped - her target would be.

Her heart missed a beat as she stared at the pale face of the man lying on his back, his gray hair scattered across his face - this was one of the soldiers who had participated in the massacre, who had disgraced not only her life, but also the lives of her countrymen.

He was one of the leaders among all the military men who had been in the village - the girl knew that he had retired from the army about three years ago, with the rank of colonel, shortly after his wife died in a domestic accident, which explained the half-occupied king-sized bed.

Her sons and daughters were already married and with their own lives, which was a relief to the intruder - there were fewer people who would wake up in case of any noise.

Feeling the anxiety invade her stomach, the girl knelt in the empty space on the bed, which gave way slightly; then she removed her dagger, followed by a piece of greenish cloth, and carefully rolled it into a ball, placing it near the old man's half-open mouth.

Raising the dagger above her head, she glanced one last time at the soldier, before striking the weapon at his heart while putting the cloth against the old man's mouth to prevent him from screaming - which proved to be correct, since he awoke immediately as he felt the blade of the dagger pierce his heart.

"Good evening, Colonel Lars Mikkelsen," the girl murmured, with a wicked smile. She found this night to be quite fun.

Undoubtedly, meeting his wife again, even in a dream, was a very good thing.

After all, three years had passed since his beloved Beru had died, for a rather simplistic reason: she had slipped on the last step of a ladder and fell downstairs, suffering several serious injuries - which ended up taking her life.

At that time, Lars was commanding a military training facility in the northern provinces of Arendelle - upon receiving the news, he decided to leave the army for good, even with appeals from his superiors to continue; he was considered one of the most respected military officers by the High Command, even though part of the lower patents harbored a certain mistrust of him for his involvement in one of the darkest episodes in the country's military history.

However, Beru's death made him realize that he had spent a long time away from his family - of course, he had participated in important events such as births, weddings, birthdays, etc.

But he had lost all the simpler moments of his family life.

And after 30 years in the rigid Arendelle Royal Army's military routine, he could not recover those lost moments - but he could enjoy the rest of his life as the father he had never been.

So what Lars imagined when he had retired from military life was that he still had, at least, twenty years to live with his sons and daughters and their respective spouses and children.

So in addition to the pain when he felt the blade of the dagger hit his heart, and the shock of feeling his mouth being muffled by a piece of cloth while trying to scream, he could only feel a huge disappointment.

He could not live with his family as he would like.

"Who... who are you?", murmured the old soldier, his voice muffled by the cloth, trying to breathe as he felt the blood invade his airways. With difficulty, Lars looked into the teal eyes hidden by the hood as his attacker removed the cloth from his mouth.

"I'm Aeris. The last person you'll see or hear in this world", growled Aeris, twisting the dagger and making the man's body squirm. He tried to scream, but the pain was such that he just could not find his voice.

Considering the thickness of the walls, he thought, it would not do much good.

"I wonder what your role was in that damn massacre", Aeris commented as she stared at the blood that painted the man's clothes in red. "Was it you who set the temple on fire with all those children locked up? Or were you one of the four bastards who tied the greengrocer to four horses and made them walk in opposite directions, quartering the poor man? Or... were you one of the bastards who disgraced my mother and sister before killing them?"

"I... I…" muttered the old Mikkelsen, weakly. "I don't…"

"I watched it all, you know?", the girl murmured, her voice trembling with hatred. "My mother put me in a trunk when she realized what was happening, but she could not save my little sister. And I watched as twelve soldiers 'had fun' with them, ignoring their screams. This before they were stabbed in the chest and dropped there, dying of bleeding with each heartbeat, pumping the blood out of the body. So I do what I do, to avenge their deaths."

"Please, I…" he tried to speak, before being interrupted by the hooded girl.

"And I will not settle down until every one of those responsible has paid the price, that includes your dear princess."

"The princess... she hasn't... it's not her fault. She was a child when that happened!", exclaimed the former soldier, coughing blood in the process.

"It may be, but your king is dead. And it wasn't by my hands. So she will pay in her father's place. The princess will die by my hands, but not today."

Leaving the bed, she took four pieces of rope from the tunic and tied his hands and feet to the bed firmly, making it impossible for him to escape. Then she took the green cloth again and tied it to Lars's mouth before looking into their eyes and muttering. "Like my mother and my sister, you will be there, with the dagger stuck in your heart, causing you to lose blood with each heartbeat. So I suggest you enjoy your last moments and confess your sins to whatever God you believe in... although I doubt that he or she will forgive you."

The old man tried to speak again, but the gag in his mouth drowned out whatever sound he tried to utter. With a satisfied smile, Aeris gave the soldier a mocking bow before turning to a mirror. Lowering her hood, and ignoring the colonel's increasingly choppy breath, she looked at a young face, which had witnessed only thirteen summers - and yet she had already been responsible for the deaths of five people involved in the massacre.

She knew that this was a life no one wanted or desired, and she doubted her father and brother would approve of what she was doing - yet she was sure that all this bloodshed was worth it, since every death of a soldier involved in the slaughter would avenge not only her mother and her sister, but every one of the inhabitants of Mylai who had been killed for no reason at all.

Besides, she had never seen her father and brother again - her mentor, as soon as he had rescued her, took her to a farm a few miles north of the village where she had been reunited with other survivors of the massacre. In a matter of days, they were all embarking on a rigorous training regimen, as their savior had offered them the chance to avenge their relatives and friends - an offer they had all accepted with great pleasure.

Indifferent to the old colonel's muffled gagging, Aeris moved a hand to one of her twin braids that came down over her shoulders; the blond-platinum lock that stood out from her strawberry-blond, almost red, hair, always attracted people's attention - one of the reasons why she always wore the hood on her missions, since she was easily recognizable if any witnesses saw the locks.

Tears rose in her eyes as she remembered her mother saying that these strands were a reflection of a past life - by all the gods, to this day she still couldn't comprehend the entirety of the pain that the absence of her mother and her little sister provoked.

Pain and anger - the latter, directed at people like Lars Mikkelsen, who continued writhe in agony in his bed, getting more bloodstained by the minute.

Taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from the freckled face, Aeris put the hood back on her head and walked towards the window, raising it once more. That's when she turned to the retired colonel for the last time. "Maybe I'll only know what happened to you the day I leave this world, too. But by then, I'll be happy, knowing that you also suffered before you died, even though it was only a fraction of what my mother and sister suffered."

And with that, Aeris left the Mikkelsen house, leaving behind a dying, bloody man; she only allowed herself to relax several minutes later when she was already on the street leading to one of the houses belonging to her mentor, one of the safe hiding places for her and her brothers and sisters. After entering the safe house ans sitting in one of the armchairs, Aeris lowered her hood once more and began to breathe slowly, letting the tension and adrenaline of the mission dissipate.

She still remembered the first time she had taken a life - she had come to the safe house completely destroyed inside, feeling horrible for killing a person. Her mentor, however, had helped her understand that yes, killing a person was never easy, and that it was never socially correct, but it was morally right - even more so if she remembered everything the military had done in Mylai five years earlier.

Gradually, and with the help of her master and her brothers and sisters, she had become an experienced assassin - increasingly ruthless in dealing with her targets. Today, the name of Aeris, which she had adopted upon entering the Brotherhood, was greatly feared in Arendelle's underworld. However, when she was not on missions, or even some activity related to her work, she attended by her birth name, which was known only in the group.

And by her father and brother.

As Aeris wiped away the tears that threatened to fall; she only prayed that one day she would find them. And that, even if they didn't agree with her profession, that they at least understood.

For they were her family. The people she loved the most. And whose opinions she valued even more than those of her mentor.

Seven days of absolute mourning had passed, Jason noted, as he packed up his luggage to leave the castle.

The day before, a funeral ceremony in honor of King Agdar and Queen Idunn had been held on top of a hill in the vicinity of the Royal City; although the bodies of the sovereigns had sunk with HMAS Vålerenga and all who were on board, two enormous stones had been erected on the hill with runic inscriptions describing the lives and deeds of the deceased monarchs.

As the last member of the Royal Family still alive, Elsa had attended the funeral, which had been conducted by a Nordic priest and attended by the nobles of the kingdom; Jason, for his part, had taken part in a tribute aboard the Sea Diamond, alongside Captain Rose and the passengers and crew on board the ship when Thomas Berget had been located.

The body of Arendelle's Royal Guard, in turn, had been veiled and buried with military honors the day after the hearing with the princess, at a ceremony attended by Jason and Rose, as well as Berget's relatives, friends and fellow soldiers.

Jason still remembered Berget's wife, holding the hand of a four-year-old girl with an incredible resemblance to the lieutenant-colonel, thanking him and Captain Rose for having rescued her husband's body and given the family the chance to to bid him farewell.

After putting the last change of clothes in his luggage, Jason looked at the leather bag with the purple Chaos Emerald; he had not had the chance to hand it over to the Princess since the hearing, because Elsa was too busy with the preparations for her parents' funeral, as well as Council meetings to elect a regent who would rule the country in partnership with young crown princess until she reached the age of 21, the minimum age established by law for the young woman to be crowned.

From what the exile learned, thanks to the castle's gossip network, the nobles had quarreled among themselves to take over the post, which would generate much influence and power during its existence - but Elsa had waited until the tempers were exalted to the maximum, each nobleman fighting for the name of his preference, before suggesting the name of Lord Chamberlain Kai as regent of Arendelle during his minority, as a name of consensus. Since, by now, the counselors were exhausted after so many quarrels and arguments, Kai's name was unanimously accepted.

Jason could not stop thinking, since he'd heard the news, in Elsa's cleverness; even in mourning for the death of her parents, she had manipulated the meeting subtly so that the name of her preference was chosen, since, because she was still a minor, she still did not have all the political powers.

Besides, it was always better to persuade the council to stay with her: after turning 21, Elsa could legislate on her own, but opposing her counselors explicitly could put her power at risk.

Having allies was what made the difference - but it was nothing Jason did not already know, knowing the power system in Westside and Soleanna was in the hands of just a few people.

Now, after a week of living in the castle, as he waited for the end of the funeral tributes and contacted the leaders of the Hunters' Guild to schedule his recruitment tests, which would be supervised by the guild leaders, Jason was ready to return to a more rustic, but more welcoming environment, just like the old Smith's family home.

Before that, however, he had to fulfill Lieutenant Berget's last request and deliver the Supreme Jewel to the princess. The white Chaos Emerald was stored in the bottom of his baggage, and he hoped it would be in his possession for a long time, for the good of the whole world.

A knock on the door roused him from his thoughts; putting his luggage over his right shoulder and adjusting his traveling tunic, so that it would not have any wrinkles before the audience, Jason stepped forward and opened the door, smiling at the woman in front of him. "Good morning, Mrs. Amundsen", greeted the blue-haired man.

"Good morning Mr. Smith, Her Highness asked me to accompany you to the Throne Room for the hearing", replied Gerda, who was wearing black robes this time, though she had a faint smile on her face. Jason nodded and started to walk beside the Chief Maid, who had assumed part of her husband's duties after he had been appointed Lord Regent.

In a matter of minutes, the exile was back in the Throne Room, where he had been a week before, accompanied by Kai and Rose; this time, however, the sea-wolf was not there - he had set sail late in the morning to Andalasia and Chu-Nan; the Lord Regent stood beside the princess (both of them wearing black clothes), talking to her; and Jason was accompanied by Gerda.

Upon seeing the pair, however, Elsa motioned for Kai to halt the conversation; as soon as Jason and Gerda bowed, the monarch began to speak. "Mr. Smith, I imagine that two matters of the previous hearing remained pending: his request for political asylum and the return of Arendelle's supreme jewel."

Jason raised his eyebrows, as he did not remember saying that he had the gem in the previous week's audience, but he understood everything by listening Kai clearing his throat; The Lord Regent had told everything to the monarch.

"Yes, it was delivered to me on the deck of the Sea Diamond by Thomas Berget, who asked me expressly to hand it over to you, Your Highness", Jason explained, taking the leather bag from the waistband of his tunic and extending it toward the throne.

Quickly, Kai took the bag and handed it to Elsa, who opened it to reveal the purple Chaos Emerald, which emitted a glow strong enough to illuminate the princess' face and highlight her icy-blue eyes.

"Mr. Smith, do you... do you know what this is?", asked the princess, with an indecipherable expression.

"Yes, Arendelle's supreme jewel... but I guess that's not the question being asked, am I right?" Elsa nodded, and Jason continued. "I had heard some legends during my childhood, but I only came to know that they were real in the year I was arrested in Westside …"

"So, I believe you understand if I ask you to keep it a secret? I know you are not an Arendellian citizen, but if you really intend to live in the country, I can make that request as your monarch… well, future monarch."

"Don't worry, Your Highness... I also have my reasons for keeping this secret", explained the blue-haired man. "Besides, it must be easier to present this stone as a supreme jewel than as a Chaos Emerald", he concluded, without a single reference to the white jewel that was carefully hidden in his luggage.

Jason had already decided that no one else could know that the stone was in his possession for safety reasons - this included the princess, even if she had an emerald of her own.

He was sure that only one other person knew that the emerald was in his possession, and he gave him shivers just thinking of his huge and fat figure: the Doctor.

"Now... we need to know how far your powers can go, Mr. Smith, and I think a little more energy can help... Get a load of this!"

His right hand trembled slightly with the memory of the electrical shocks he had to endure in the Doctor's lab.

"Well, since the subject of the supreme jewel is settled, Mr. Smith", said Elsa, as she returned the stone to the leather bag. "Now we have only to discuss the issue of your political asylum."

Hours later, Jason was on his way to the Hunters' Guild, carrying his luggage over his shoulder, with the political asylum guaranteed.

In fact, for the rest of the audience, he had talked about the events of the last year, beginning with his life before the invasion (although he had left parts of it out, for reasons of force majeure), the conquest of Westside by the coalition between the Southern Isles and Weselton, how his parents and his sister had been taken as slaves to the Isles while he had been taken as a potential guinea pig for scientific experiments to the Doctor's laboratory and how he had escaped - leaving aside only the theft of the white Chaos Emerald.

This had been the most tense moment of the audience, especially when explaining that he had murdered, in cold blood, fifteen of Weselton's scientists and soldiers stationed in the laboratory for the Doctor's protection.

For a second, Elsa seemed tempted to immediately close the hearing and refuse the asylum, but Kai had stepped up and defended the young man.

"Your Highness, taking into account what Mr. Smith had just reported us, he was alone, fighting an entire detachment of soldiers and a group of scientists who had orders to kill any fugitive. He knew that if he did not act in self-defense, he would be dead by then, so do not be so hard on him. Remember what happened to Frederick. "

It was enough to make Elsa flinch and, with a shaky nod, allow Jason to continue his story. The exile continued to speak, although a part of his mind was curious to know more about this Frederick - nevertheless, a characteristic chill in his spine made it clear that this was not a subject to be treated at that moment.

At the end of the story, the princess and Lord Regent asked a few more questions before asking the green-eyed exile to go into the waiting room with Gerda as they talked about the application for political asylum.

For half an hour, Jason paced in circles, sweating from pure jitteriness despite the pleasant autumn weather, as the Chief Maid tried to calm him down. However, Jason could not relax because of the fear that the soon-to-be-sovereign would have him deported if she refused the asylum request - even with Gerda guaranteeing that, even if it wasn't accepted, she would hardly do so after listening about the poor treatment dispensed by Weselton and the Southern Isles to the Westsiders.

Still, Jason only relaxed after Elsa and Kai summoned him back to the Throne Room, where they finally announced that the application for political asylum had been accepted. After thanking the crown princess and the regent effusively, he had said goodbye to them and Gerda before leaving the castle and beginning the journey to the Hunter's Guild.

With the hood over his head to protect himself from the cold wind, Jason stopped a few times to ask people if he was on the right path to the guild - and indeed he was, since after a few minutes, he reached a reasonably large, two-storey house on the outskirts of the Royal City.

The place, Jason thought, really seemed to be suitable for the Hunters' Guild: the house was on a property large enough to house a training ground where a man and a woman were practicing archery. In addition, he had heard from Kai that the place had, in addition to the two visible levels, an underground floor where a meat store was located - it was there, in that chilly environment, that the hunting products were stored, protected from the sun and heat, to prevent them from rotting.

In addition, the man had learned that the second floor of the house contained separate dorms for men and women - most hunters did not have enough money to buy their own home, so they slept at the guild.

A man was sitting on the floor in front of the Guild House, packing a handful of arrows into a quiver; he seemed to be preparing to go out on a hunt. His face was square, young-looking, with no beard or mustache; and the short black hair only enhanced the appearance of the man.

Seeing Jason approaching the guild, the man stood up and walked toward him; The exile from Westside Island noticed how tall he was - he must have been at least six feet high. "How can I help?"

"Good morning, my name is Jason Ryan Smith, I... I came to carry out the tests to try to become a hunter", answered the exile. Raising an eyebrow, the stranger spoke. "Are you the guy from Westside?" Jason nodded. "My name is Marshall Eriksen, follow me, please."

The two moved silently through the guild, and Jason realizing that he was being watched by some of the hunters on the scene - at least, they were curious looks, a blessing compared to the suspicious (and even hostile) looks he had received in Westside as he tried to reach the port without attracting the attention of Weselton's guards.

As they reached a door, Marshall motioned for Jason to wait before knocking on it; a loud, slightly hoarse voice ordered the hunter to come in, which he did, leaving the exile waiting.

A few minutes later, Jason was inside the room, which was a boardroom; Marshall was standing beside him, while three people, two men and a woman, stood at a table, consulting a map. One of the men and the woman must be siblings, Jason thought, for they were very similar - brown-haired, oval faces, and blue eyes, though their expressions were quite different.

The man's was quite lively, with his eyes radiating almost childlike happiness, while the woman's was quite serious and focused, as well as showing a slight irritation with her brother (or at least Jason thought he was).

But the man who drew Jason's attention was the other man: he was tall, with no hair on his black head, an earring with inscriptions in the native tongue of the West Antilles on his right ear. His body was quite muscular, after years of sugarcane plantations, and then working as a hunter in Arendelle; his robes had several pockets, plus a sword on the right side of his waist, and a dagger on the left side. To top it off, the heavy military-style boots gave him a stately look.

That was Adéwalé, the leader of the Arendelle Hunters' Guild.

Looking up, Adéwalé saw Marshall and Jason on the other end of the table, waiting for their turn to be called. With a smile, the hunter commented. "I liked the hair. Maybe because I don't have any, but I always imagined having a mane like that, but yours... it's quite different, maybe because I've never seen anyone with blue hair."

"Er... thanks, I guess", Jason replied awkwardly. "My name is Jason Ryan Smith…"

"... the political exile who fled from Westside Island", interrupted Adéwalé, leaving the map aside. "Yes, kid, Kai was here the day before yesterday, and he summarized your life right after you set up your tests with us."

"And speaking of that... where's the hunter I talked to? Because, do not get me wrong, but he said he wanted to be present for the tests."

"And I am", answered the brown-haired man, stepping forward and startling Jason as he hugged him tightly. "This is Olaf Poulsen and, as everyone in the Guild already knows, he loves warm hugs, so do not be surprised if he decides to embrace you out of nowhere. A breath of fresh air amidst the strains of the hunts", explained Adéwalé, before making a mention for the woman to approach. "This is Kristine Poulsen, she's Olaf's cousin, and do not let that cute little face fool you, she's as beautiful as she's ruthless. One of the most ferocious hunters in the Guild".

Kristine held out a hand to Jason, who shook it firmly. "Welcome to the guild, Mr. Smith", she greeted him.

"Cousin, please, you don't have to be so formal, this isn't a ceremony", Olaf grunted, rolling his eyes.

"Little cousin, not everyone is as loose as you are, so I thank you if you'd let me be the wild animal of the family." Kristine replied mockingly.

Jason looked at the exchange of "amenities" between the two cousins with a longing look - there was no way he could not remember the discussions with his sister when they were younger.

He imagined, for the umpteenth time, how she would be.

And he stopped almost immediately, for all the scenarios that came to his mind were too horrible to think about.

"Before you ask, yes, they do it at least twice a day - it's one of the sources of amusement for the hunters", said Marshall, so softly that only the blue-haired man could hear while Olaf and Kristine continued to argue.

"Very well", Adéwalé commanded, causing the Poulsen cousins to shut up. "This conversation is great, but we have business to deal with. Marshall, Olaf, Kristine, take your seats at the table", ordered the ex-slave; as soon as the three hunters had done what they had been ordered, the Guild leader turned to Jason and commanded, formally. "Grant us your name, place of origin and purpose, aspirant."

Taking a breath, the blue-haired exile approached the table. "My name is Jason Ryan Smith, a citizen of Westside Island and a political exile in Arendelle, and I have an interest in joining the Hunters' Guild."

"What is the reason you wish to join the guild?", Adéwalé asked.

"Survival, sir. I learned how to hunt early on with my family, and now that I'm in a strange land, I need to survive somehow."

"Are you willing to join the guild and take it upon yourself as your family, to protect and defend your friends, guard the secrets of your leaders, and work to aid the prosperity of our class and Arendelle?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to train every day to perfect your skills, so you can become a hunter worthy of the title?"

"Yes."

"And, finally, are you willing to fight on behalf of the class to defend our interests?"

"Yes", said Jason, for the last time.

With a smile, Adéwalé held out his hand. "Well, Mr. Smith... or rather, Jason, welcome to the Arendelle Hunters Guild."

Author's Note: Well, the first act is done, but not the prologue - it still has three more chapters. Anna was introduced in this chapter, even if you hadn't noticed her. But, I can say that a more attentive person will notice some distinguishing details in this chapter, so... read it again if necessary!

In the next chapter, you will see what happens in the three years between the death of Elsa's parents and her coronation. Expect lots of different points of view!

Thanks to walard and Striga for their good work - I'd say that part of this fic is theirs. And to my brothers AceVermin143 and SeniorCrescent for supporting me.

Well, as you know, I love receiving feedback (as every writer does). So, if you would be so kind, please leave a review, it's what fuels me to continue with this story - knowing that you are reading and sending feedback about it. Thanks to guest and Rex for their reviews!

See you next chapter!