It had taken Eugene a lot of coaxing and begging to get Sven to come with him. The poor animal seemed so distraught over the apparent death of Kristoff that he didn't want to move. Eugene had finally gotten him on the ship where the reindeer plopped down on the deck of the ship whining, his eyes still wet with tears. Eugene felt bad for the poor animal and frowned as a guard passed them.

"What's wrong with the reindeer?" he asked. Eugene sighed.

"Nothing just... give me a minute." he said as he grabbed his satchel before sitting down cross-legged opposite Sven. "Hi there, buddy."

Sven whined in response and turned his head away.

"I know you might not trust me and... you have every right to." Eugene said, "I know you've had it rough the last couple of days and... I'm sorry for that. I just... wanted you to know that you're safe here. We're gonna get you back to Arendelle really soon. I promise." Eugene reached into his bag and pulled out a carrot. He usually kept fruit and vegetables in the bag for either him or Maximus. Maximus preferred apples to carrots, but regardless Eugene still kept a few around. He held the carrot out to Sven, who sniffed the air.

"Come on buddy. It's all right." he whispered as the reindeer inched closer and took a small bite of the carrot, his eyes grateful as he swallowed and tentatively took another bite. Eugene reached out with his other hand and gently stroked the reindeer's head, eying the blood that still covered his antlers. He looked around and grabbed a nearby towel from the table. As Sven ate, he began to gently clean the blood from his antlers.

"There you go. There's a good boy." he said as he finished wiping Sven's antlers clean. Sven finished the carrot and groaned, nuzzling Eugene's hand. Eugene petted his snout and smiled.

"You're welcome, buddy."

Eugene looked over the horizon. It was getting darker by the minute and they needed to dock somewhere soon. He scanned the water and saw a castle off in the distance. He wondered if they'd be willing to let them stay. He signaled for the ship's captain.

"See that castle over there?" he called.

"Yes, Eugene. Should we dock there for the night?" the captain asked.

"Yeah. There could be a town there, too. It can't hurt and it'll save us from drifting all night." Eugene called back. It would also give him a chance to get a letter to Arendelle and to Rapunzel.

"As you wish, Eugene." the captain said as he steered the ship in the direction of the kingdom. Within a few short minutes and all of his carrots later, the ship arrived at the docks. As a royal official approached the ship, Eugene stepped onto the dock.

"Evening to you sir." he said.

"Good evening to you. What is your business here?" the official asked.

"We're passing through on our way to Arendelle from Corona and were wondering if it may be possible for us to dock here for the night?"

The official eyeballed the ship. "I'll have to speak to Prince Eric about the matter, but I'm sure it won't be a problem due to the circumstances. Would you care to follow me? He just got back from his evening run."

Eugene nodded. "I wouldn't mind at all." he said.

"Follow me." the official said, gesturing towards the castle. Eugene looked back at the ship.

"I'll be right back. Watch the ship." he instructed before turning around and following the official to the castle.

She saw the man fall through the ocean, his body weighed down by... something on a chain. She gasped and began to rush over to him before she felt something pinch her arm.

"Hey!"

"Oh no, you are not going over there, Ariel! Do you have any idea what your father'd do if-"

"Sebastian, he could die!" she argued with the crab.

"And that would be your problem why?" the crab asked. Ariel shook him off, angry.

"I'm going to help him and you aren't going to stop me!" she snapped at the crab as she kicked her fins as fast as she could, making her way over to the man.

By the time she got over to him, she could see that he, was indeed, human. But something was wrong. She saw that his arms were bound tight against his body, his wrists and ankles bound as well and something tied over his mouth. She looked at the man and saw red liquid mixing with the water that came from his head, the fluid staining a portion of his blond hair red. His eyes were closed.

Ariel went behind the man and grabbed him under the arms as she swam up towards the surface, making sure the man's head stayed above the water. She knew that humans couldn't survive for very long underwater, unlike herself. She had to get this man to land. Quickly. As she scanned the horizon, she caught notice of the beach and swam towards it, dragging the bound, unconscious man along with her. After reaching the beach, she lay the man down on his side on the sand. She quickly fumbled with the knots that bound his hands and body, finally managing to untie the rope. She gasped when she saw the bloody sores on the man's wrists.

As she pushed the ropes off his body, she untied his ankles then turned the man over, pulling the gag from his mouth. The man was pale, not moving. She put an ear to his chest, panicked and listened for a heartbeat. She almost gave up when all of the sudden, she heard it.

Thump... thump...

It was faint, but it was there. The man was alive. She turned him on his back and pushed on his chest a few times. She knew that humans breathed air... maybe he needed some of his own? Hesitating, Ariel leaned down and pressed her lips to the blond man's and breathed air into his mouth a few times. Suddenly, she heard a sound escape his throat as she pulled away. The man coughed, water spewing from his mouth. Ariel let him go as he flopped over onto his side, spitting up water. Sh heard the man retch as he threw up water. She cringed slightly before approaching the man. She carefully touched his shoulder. The man spun back towards her, his eyes tired, but scared.

"Hey... it's okay... it's all right now..." she said to the man, brushing his blonde locks from his face. He was very handsome now that she had gotten a good look at him. "Are you all right?"

The man was still breathing heavily as he nodded, his eyes heavy.

"Th...th-thank...thank...you..." she heard him whisper before he let his head fall back against the sand. Ariel's blue eyes widened as she saw him slump back over, terrified that he'd died. She looked at his chest as it rose and fell. She sighed in relief. Before she could think, she heard a loud, strange sound and looked over to see a furry, four legged white creature run towards her. She looked over at the man, not wanting to leave him, but the creature frightened her and her father had warned her that humans sometime kept animals around to help them catch marine life. She gazed back at the man, sad to leave him as she dove back into the water, swimming back down towards Sebastian.

He chased the dog down the beach, yelling out his name as he ran, the waves crashing against his feet.

"Max! Slow down, pal!" he called as the dog stopped at something on the beach. As he got closer, Eric saw a pair of boots, the toes pointed in a pear shape. He slowed his pace as he looked quizzically at the pair of boots, which were worn by what he soon realized was a man.

"Max, don't touch him." he ordered the dog, who had begun to sniff the man. Max looked up at Eric, his long hair spilling over his eyes and panted, barking as he nosed the man's hand. Eric stooped down and felt for a heartbeat. It was faint, but he felt it. The man was alive. Eric examined him more closely and saw that he had raw, bloody sores around his wrists, his neck under his hair was red and irritated, a sore on the back of his neck.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Eric asked. The man said nothing. Eric looked around. Nobody was in sight. He couldn't just leave the man out here... he would die for sure. Making a decision, he slipped his arm under the man's arms and around his back, sitting him up and pulling him to his feet. He heard the man mumble something that got lost in the confusion.

"Did you... did you say something?" Eric asked. The man's head slumped against his shoulder. "Can you move your legs at all?" Eric asked. The man gave the smallest nod. "Okay... hold onto me. I'm gonna get you somewhere safe." Eric instructed as he made his way back home, his arm supporting the stranger as he walked.

Eric returned to the castle shortly after dark, the strange man still draped over him, barely conscious. As he opened the door, his confidant, Grimsby and Carlotta, the castle's maid approached him, in shock.

"Eric! Dear boy, who on Earth is that?" Grimsby inquired.

"He's a man. Max and I found him on the beach." Eric told him as he helped the man up the stairs, followed by both Carlotta and Grimsby.

"Hold on, stop, Eric!" Carlotta cried as she tilted the man's head up from Eric's shoulder, his shaggy blond hair falling into his face. Carlotta brushed the man's hair back and stared. "My... he's only a boy. Like you. My stars, Eric. What happened to this poor young man?"

"I don't know." Eric admitted as he continued up the stairs, Carlotta continuing to fuss over the man, "I'm hoping that he'll remember and can tell me when he wakes up. I'm putting him in one of the guest rooms."

"He's sopping wet, dear. What are we to do?" Carlotta asked.

"Try and dry him off as best you can. See if you can find him some extra clothes and wash these for him." Eric said as he reached the top of the stairs and took the man into the nearest guest room, lying him down on the bed.

"Eric, dear boy, are you sure you can trust this man in the castle like this? After all, he could be very dangerous." Grimsby put in. Eric took the boots from the man's feet and handed them to Carlotta.

"What, does he look dangerous to you, Grim?"

"Well, not... particularly... but-"

"Relax Grim, it'll be fine. He would've died out there on the beach if I had left him. Carlotta, would you mind taking over from here?" he asked.

"Oh, certainly dear. I'll get him fixed up." she said, moving over closer to the man and moving his arm onto the bed from where it had been hanging off. She gasped and put a hand to her heart. "Oh my, Eric, have you seen this? This boy's been bleeding!" she said, taking notice of the cut on the man's head and the two welts on his face that scabbed over with dried blood.

"I saw." Eric said, "Which is why I brought him here. He's clearly been through something awful, that much is clear."

The three were interrupted as a castle guard approached the door and cleared his throat.

"Prince Eric, there's a Prince Eugene here from Corona requesting permission to speak with you." he said.

"I'll be right there." Eric told him as he turned towards Carlotta. "Thank you, Carlotta. Grim?" he said before motioning for Grimsby to follow him, pulling the door shut to give Carlotta and the man privacy. Carlotta looked down at the young man. He couldn't have been much older than Eric, his bloodied face looking more youthful now that his hair had fallen back over his forehead. As Carlotta took off his wet clothes, she threw a blanket over the young man and sent his clothes down for the wash. She was horrified to find ugly, yellowing bruises on the man's torso, forming around his ribs. After he woke up, he would have to bathe so Carlotta left his new clothes in the washroom for him. She took a damp cloth and warm water from the washroom and cleaned his face as gently as she could, being careful not to wake him. Before she left him to sleep, she brushed his blonde locks away from his face as he grunted in his sleep, turning his head.

"You'll be all right, dear." she told him, "We'll take care of you."