I awoke to the clap of thunder, panting. I bolted upright in my bed, trying to comprehend what I had just been told. I looked outside to the window. It was the middle of the night, a spring storm had blown in after we had all gone to sleep. Flashes of lightning followed by the response of rolling thunder steadied into a natural drumbeat. I clutched my head, wracking my brain. I needed to figure out what to do next. I couldn't let Hans march on Arendelle. I needed to go, intercept him before he could harm Elsa or any of her people.

Just as I was about to get up to pack my things, there was a light knock at my door. With a snap of my fingers, sparks flew, lighting the candle sitting on my bedside table. I picked it up, and walked over to my door. Who could it be at this hour? I thought. I opened it to find Elsa, in nothing more than a silk nightgown, that only went to just above her knees. I could see her pale skin in the darkness easily. "Elsa? What are you doing here?"

"I-I didn't know where else to go. There's been some news." Her voice was shaky. Sensing that she was upset, I quickly ushered her in.

"Come in, come in." I sat her down on my bed, next to me. I set the candle down on my nightstand. I faced her and grabbed her shoulders. "What's wrong?" I asked sincerely.

She looked down at the covers. "It-it's the Southern Isles. A fleet of their ships were spotted in Arendelle waters. It looked like they were going to battle. They were led by-"

"Prince Hans." I said angrily.

"Yes, but how did you know?" She asked in disbelief.

"I just know." I scooched farther up on the bed, still sitting up. "I need to stop him." I swung my legs onto the floor, walked across the room, and started rummaging through my things, throwing them into a leather knapsack that I found in the room's closet.

"I'm going with you." Elsa said, getting up herself. "I'll go get my things."

"No you're not." I said in disagreement. "It's too dangerous."

"I wasn't asking permission."

I looked over to her. Her big blue eyes shone towards me, determined on tagging along. "Elsa, the things I do, they're too risky, I can't put the Queen of Arendelle in that kind of danger."

"Jeram, they're sailing over water. You have powers over fire. If you go there alone, you'll die." Her voice wavered as she said 'die'. "I can't lose you again!"

She looked like she needed some real comfort. I walked over her and wrapped my arms around her small physique. I kissed the top of her head. "You won't." I whispered. We stayed there for a good while, embracing each other. The thunder and lightning didn't quit. I could feel her heart thumping alongside mine.

"I need to come with you." She said quietly, burying her face in my shoulder.

After a couple more minutes of hugging and thinking, I decided that she could be an asset in stopping the fleet. I broke our contact and laid down on my bed. She followed, curling up next to me, trying to keep warm. I stretched my arm around her, her head resting on my chest. I stared up at the ceiling, flickering in the flashes of lighting that were coming from the window. I could feel Elsa's cool skin on my warm body.

I sighed. "You can come along," I said, defeated. I knew that I couldn't always keep her safe. Ever since Jeral had encountered us on the mountain those many weeks ago, I didn't want anything to happen to her. But I didn't count on her being as headstrong and stubborn as she was.

She sat up and looked at me. "Really?" She asked, surprised. I nodded. Her eyes lit up with her smile. She hugged me. "Oh thank you!"

"We'll leave in the morning. You better go to your room and get some rest."

She cuddled up closer, facing me. "I'll sleep better here." She said, closing her eyes, putting her head on my arm and her hand on my chest.

I stared up at the ceiling, happily surprised at finding a smile on my face.

...

I winced as sunlight crept its way across the room, into my eyes. I felt great. I guess death makes you really tired. Still laying down, I looked out the window, I saw that the storm had passed and gave way to bright, beautiful morning, with the sunrise tinting the clouds a sort of red color. I thought back to earlier, when Elsa had come into my room. I thought it had just been a dream, but then I looked over. The Queen was next to me, hands latched onto my left arm.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Jeram?" Anna's voice sounded from the other side. "Breakfast is ready! Can I come in?"

Panic flooded my emotions. "No! I'm -um- indecent! I'll be there in a minute!"

"Okay! Just come down quick or it'll get cold." I heard her footsteps lead away.

I whispered quickly to a happy Elsa, who was breathing lightly in comfortable slumber. "Elsa! Wake up! We fell asleep!"

Slowly, she arose. Her usually tame hair had unraveled into an unruly mess, but that made her look cute, in a way. She answered me with a dignified "Hmmph?". She must've been halfway asleep, but then her senses snapped into focus. A look of alarm came to her face. "Oh my God! How am I going to explain this?! Look at us!"

She was right, it looked like something that it wasn't. All I had on was my leather pants, and she was only wearing her tiny silk nightgown. I thought frantically. I knew that Kristoff and Anna were expecting us at the breakfast table.

"Um… okay, your room is just down the hall. I'll get dressed and make sure the guard doesn't see you, and you run down to your room and get ready."

She nodded in agreement. I slid on my shirt, jacket, and boots and started briskly walking down the hallway. As I got to the end of the hall, I looked over my shoulder to Elsa. Her face looked red even from here. I saw her sprint down to her room. As she went, I distracted the guard, telling him "Good morning" and all that. I looked behind me again and saw the limber figure of Elsa disappear around the corner. I breathed a sigh of relief, bringing my pace down to a victorious stroll. My pulse slowed down as my nervous feeling went away. We got away with it.

I sat down at the table, sunlight streaming in through the huge windows that showed the glistening Eastern Ocean. I knew that Elsa and I would be sailing on that very sea later today, but how explaining it to Kristoff and Anna would be a difficult task indeed.

"Not hungry today Jeram?" Kristoff asked. I realized that I had been staring out the window, and hadn't touched a thing on my plate.

"No, just had a couple things on my mind, that's all."

"I see."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes longer. I picked at my food, but was too anxious about the journey ahead to really fill up. Eventually, Elsa came, hair still a little bit of a mess, but she had made an effort and had tied it into a hasty braid.

"Well where have you been, sleepyhead?" Anna asked, joking.

"Oh, just enjoying the perks of being Queen. Choosing when to come into work. Except when someone keeps knocking at my door. For the past twenty years." I could tell that she was trying to lighten the mood, make it look like nothing suspicious had happened.

"That's funny, because when I went in after knocking, you weren't there."

Elsa's eyes widened in alarm. Her pupils darted over to me. I had no idea what to do.

"I was in the throne room. Apparently there is a threat coming from the South." Elsa said, taking her place at the table.

I was amazed at her quick thinking. Not only did she avert the attention from her being in my room, but she also let them know about the problem that we needed to go and deal with. "We're leaving as soon as we get packed." I said, standing up.

Kristoff cut in. "Wait- how do you know about this? And who is the 'we' that you say is going with you?"

"I had a dream about it. Prince Hans is sailing from the Southern Isles to Arendelle. It'll take him a few weeks to get here, but I think that Elsa and I both can stop him."

"How did you get all of that from a dream?"

I tapped my finger to my head. "Power of foresight." I lied. They still didn't know I was in league with the Devil, and if they found out now, they definitely wouldn't let me go with Elsa. "I can see some things before they happen."

"Wow!" Anna exclaimed. She turned to her sister. "Can you do that too?" Elsa smiled and shook her head.

Kristoff, staying true to the main point, asked, "Why is Hans coming back? Didn't he face justice at the Isles?"

I lied again. "I don't know. All I do know is that we need to go and stop him."

"I'm coming with you." Kristoff said, starting to stand up. Anna's expression turned to worry.

"No!" I said forcefully. I calmed my tone. I took him aside and talked to him privately. "You don't have powers, and you aren't a warrior. It's too dangerous. Besides, you can't leave Anna here alone, she definitely couldn't come."

He sat pondering this for a few moments, then saw my reasoning behind it. "Fair enough. But take care of Elsa. We'd be shattered if anything were to happen to her."

I smiled. "Will do."

After I had left the table, I went back to my room and gathered the few belongings I had. It took me about two seconds to pack. I made my way down to Elsa's room, and knocked on her door. I heard her bustling about her room.

"Come on in!" she said quickly. I saw her, moving around her messy quarters, grabbing things and throwing them into a large bag. I could hear her muttering to herself, saying "I need this, and this, and-oh! This will be perfect!"

"Um-don't you think that's a bit much?" I asked, looking at her bag.

She stopped and looked at me. "No! We're going off to sea, after all. It'll be a long journey. You'll thank me later." She then resumed her ritual of throwing objects into the knapsack. I wondered how we were going to carry it all the way to the harbor.

After lugging Elsa's baggage all the way to the harbor, we came upon a merchant who was selling small ships. He was a tall and skinny man, with a pointed handlebar mustache that rested underneath a long, pointed nose. He had greasy, balding hair sitting atop his head. He wore a purple cloak, trying to convey how rich he was. Unfortunately for him, the cloak was tattered and frayed at the edges, with mud caking the low-riding edge. Although he stank of rotting fish and all the sweaty men working around him, he still shewed away those whom weren't as lavishly dressed as him.

Needless to say, when he saw us, his buggy eyes lit up as the prospect of a sale came headed his way. He must not have recognized Elsa as the queen, or maybe was too rude to care.

"Hello," He said in a nasally tone. His tongue seemed to wiggle like a worm in between his teeth. Everything about this man I disliked. "How may I be of service?" I noticed that he was looking particularly more at Elsa, like a dog eyeing some meat. I decided it was best for me to do the talking.

"Yes, we were looking for a small, fast vessel that can be easily manned by two." I said.

He tore his eyes away from Elsa and turned to me. I could tell he was annoyed, but he put on a fake, yellow-toothed smile. "Yes, yes, right this way sir." He hissed as he walked towards a small sloop. It was about a hundred feet long, with a handful of tan-canvas sails. He gestured towards it, over exaggerating its extravagance. "This craft is top-of-the-market, I personally guarantee that this will suit your needs!"

"Is that right?"

"But of course! But you know, quality doesn't come cheap." He stepped forward and started rubbing his fingers together, gesturing that we needed to pay him handsomely.

"Okay, what's your price?"

We bartered for the next few minutes, but it came to an end when he said that I could pay less if he had a few minutes alone with Elsa. That pissed me off a lot. I grabbed him by his shirt collar and slammed him against one of the support beams of the canopy above us. The beam was solid oak wood, but when his back connected with it, I saw the sheer force start to splinter it. He cried out in pain. I realized that I had been in this situation before, with the drunk at the market.

I growled furiously at him, looking through the flames that were omitting from my eyes. "She is not for sale!" I saw him nod quickly, sheer terror in his eyes. I let him go, and straightened his collar politely. "Now, we'll pay the price that we agreed on, and you are never going to look at her again." He nodded again nervously, too frightened for words. He was much more cowardly than the drunk, or maybe he just didn't have the help of alcohol that the drunk did. Either way, we gave him his gold, which he took shakily in his hands, and the ship was ours.

I climbed aboard first, grabbed our luggage, then helped Elsa up. We tended to the sails, and were off into the wide-open expanse of the sea.

I tied off the wheel to our heading, then leaned back on the main mast, looking in front of us. I put my hands behind my head and breathed a sigh of relief. Elsa walked over next to me, and leaned her head on my shoulder

"Thanks for taking care of that creep back there," she said softly.

"No problem," I said. "He was way out of line."

"You're always there for me, Jeram. I can't thank you enough," she told me, looking ahead.

"You don't have to; I'll always be here," I said, frowning at the stormclouds I saw in the distance.