Dear readers, I am sorry for not updating for months, especially without putting up any notice that I was gonna take a bit of a break. But anyway, about two more chapters to go, plus an epilogue (currently working on the eip-nearly finish). There's no plan schedule to when I'll update next, but with this new chapter as always, please ENJOY!

Chapter 52-Whats Next

For days the humans waited for their allies to show, but the Spirit of Autumn and Summer never did. Some suspected they may have fallen in battle like their friends, but there was no evidence showing that it was so. Another speculation was that they left. With the war over, there was no need for them to stay visible or roam among the humans anymore, but many of the men can't see the spirits up and leaving without a word of farewell, nor could they be sure that the war was even truly over. No one understood just what happened that night; all the Beings vanished like a dream.

The blacksmith shop Hiccup occupied had return to its original state, all evidence of his inhabitation and works were gone, save for the armors and weaponry the soldiers have on them. As for the dream sands, the ones within the weapon remained dormant, while what was left in the chests slowly disappeared with each passing nights, as their purpose could be seen being practice in the nightly sky giving the Arendelle children sweet dreams, until eventually all the dream sands were gone.

After still weeks turned into a quiet month, little by little, the Southern Isle army hesitantly left Arendelle to return home.

As for Elsa, Anna, Lukas and Kristoff, it didn't even take them a whole day to understand that the sudden disappearance of Hiccup and Merida meant the sisters' Pact has been fulfilled. That morning when the sun came up, Elsa and Anna felt a small quiet feeling in their chest that was somewhat hard for them to describe…It was like going off on a journey; leaving home far away; they know that no matter where they go their home will still be there, but the question was when will they come back; will they ever come back…? The sisters felt like a simple call for the Beings to return will do, but will they answer…?

In the end they had to accept that the Beings' services are no longer needed; the sisters, the southern Princes, and their kingdoms are no longer in danger…at least for now. Hans' fate remains the biggest question to the group; was he really Consumed? If not, then what has Pitch done with him? And when the group tried to find answers through the Black Promise book—now that it is in their possession, the book provided no closure. It was very vague about the Prince's fate. In conclusion to the groups' research of Hans, they could only believe that unless Pitch makes it very clear what he has done to Hans, no one will ever know where he is or if he's still human for the matter. Elsa and Anna had sent words to Rapunzel in the hopes for answers, but she too had none to give, nor could she get anything from North and the others. In one of her replied letters to the Arendelle sisters, Rapunzel had informed them that from now on, she will be keeping as little contacts to the Being world and her friends as possible. Their cousin had decided to prioritize living as a human first before living as a Being, and North and others supported her decision, understanding full well that she was accepting a new identity into her life, and that the withdraw from the life of a Being, Spirit, Guardian, was for the sake of her unborn child…

In the end, if their search through the black Promise Book has given them anything, it was some insight into Hans' and Pitch similarities.

Anna had wanted to go back to the page that the book had opened to during the Merging Ceremony. She thought it was only right for Lipso, Grill, and Lukas to see what she'd saw. With Lukas' help, Anna was able to have the book open up to the page that showed a map of Pitch's Layers and Center…They may not agree that Hans' personality would be in the same order as Pitch, but the layers overall are certainly there. Anna could account Hans being seductive as well as manipulative, and after all that has happen with him, no one can deny that he wasn't cynical in his own way…The three Southern Princes can honestly vouch their brother being hurt…Lipso, Grill, Lukas, and the rest of their brothers, have more than one occasion hurt Hans in many ways and form, whether they did intended to be a joke or not…As for Pitch's Center, the group wanted to avoid thinking too much about it…Hans have certainly possessed things to fear about, but Pitch was right, the prince wasn't a perfect embodiment of fear itself, and they wouldn't like to meet a human who can be.

XxXxXx

The three Southern Princes, along with Commander Atlas, were one of the last ones to leave Arendelle. They had expressed the desire to stay and help Arendelle repair its capitol, but they knew that they shouldn't overstay their original mission, for though their home had not been attack, there were still many works needing to be done towards the healing of their people—soldiers and citizens wise. There were also the problems of what they should do with the Golden Armors and weapons their soldiers have taken home with them; overall, how to tell, report, record this magical war—the controlling of information, not that they believe that many of their people would accept their answers to their demands and question: let alone the wives, children, brothers and sisters andfriends, would believe their returning husbands, fathers, and neighbors, dressed in golden arms.

The night before the morning of their sail back home, Lukas had gathered together with the sisters after supper, for they had wanted to look through the Light Promise Book for their friends on the pages, and even read about of them one more time together. The sisters wanted to memorize every detail they could of the Beings while the option was still there for them, not that they believe they could ever forget those them…but the mind tends to forget some details.

As they were looking through the book, Anna had asked Lukas how he intends to protect the Books now. "Putting soldiers to guard the books seems a bit extreme once peace settles. But just simply stashing them away to collect dust is a shame; they may even be forgotten again over a long period of time."

"Agreed," answered Lukas while adjusting his glasses. "That is why I'm thinking of traveling for a while with the books."

"Pardon?" asked Elsa, surprised by his response, and Anna had showed the same reaction as her sister by stopping midway as she was turning a page. "Travel with the books? Why would you do that?"

Lukas sat himself straight in the seat he was in and said, "Back when we were in Tooth's world, North said a few things to me. And one of the things he said was my role for the war; it was to be the same as my predecessors long ago. and that was to safeguard the Promise Books. But my question at the time was how can I do that when I don't have any powers to."

"Alright, and now you believe traveling will help keep the books safe hooow?" asked Anna. "If the seeker is a human than that's different. But if it's a Being, I think they'll be able to track you down no matter where you go for those books. If Pitch really wants the books, he'll be able to find you no matter what."

"And traveling like that sounds like a lonely life," Elsa commented softly. "Why not safeguard the book at home, where you have family who will be there to help you."

Lukas smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "…That night of the final battle," he started, "was so scared. When I looked at all the faces of the grown men and women around me, they were all reduced to terrified children; the only thing that kept them in composure were the actual children in the room, clinging tightly to their parents…A little one, Elsa you've met her before, the one with dark brown hair and is quite shy at times. She came up to me and asked if I can read a story from the Promise Book. I thought it was a ridiculous request; in the midst of the final battle she asked me such a thing, so I said no."

"But you changed your mind. Why?"

Lukas breathed and relaxed in his seat; a tender smile took hold of him. "The little girl look like she was going to cry, and admitted to being scared despite the obviousness; but she said that if I read her a story from the Promise Book, then that would make her feel less scared…It would help distract her…She begged me to give her something to believe in that will make her feel safe…Little by little the children gathered around me, so I gave in. Eventually even the adults started to listen to the story I was reading. And the next thing I knew, the whole ballroom was bathed in moonbeam, but no one else in the room seems to have notice."

"I still don't understand what you're trying to say," said Anna.

"During that night, you both saw the light surrounding the castle, correct?" The sisters nodded their head. "I know we didn't really discussed what that light was and just thought Manny had something to do with it—and perhaps he did, but at that time since I was reading from the book, I think my reading had caused those moonbeam lights to appeared turning the war around."

"But wait a second, how is that possible? Unless you purposefully wanted it to happen… Did you open some sort of special portal?"

"—No I didn't, I didn't do anything like that. or at least I don't believe I did—I mean, I don't really understand it either. I've been reading out the tales from the Promise Book so many times. but then to have accidently summoned something, or did something to hurt Pitch's army during that one night…In the end, I realized something and the answer was right there in front of me all this time." Lukas chucked and leaned in close so the sisters may hear him better. "North once told me that the Promise Books were created as a reminder of what led to the creation of the realm of Beings, and so that humans would not forget them. The books were left in the protection of certain humans and each was given the title Story Teller. Other than protecting the books, their job included keeping the Beings' tale alive through means of storytelling…That was my role—that was my power, keeping the beliefs alive! If the people had something to believe in—something good for a moment despite their situation and all that was happening around them, especially the children, then that can be enough to keep Pitch and other Dark Beings away."

"I think I understand what you're saying," said Elsa. "We were told that some Light Beings came into existence for the very sole purpose of fighting Dark Beings, and those purposes orientated from the original needs and desire of children: whatever it is they have need protecting within themselves."

"But in order for the Light Beings to really exists," Anna continued, "is if children believe in them. Their beliefs are the most important because Guardians are born to protect their needs and wishes." Anna paused for a moment. "Then that would explain why Pitch would want the Promise Books so much. If he gets his hands on them and destroys them all, then that means no more tales; children will never even have heard of the Light Beings, and that would mean they can't form beliefs if they never hear of the Beings."

Lukas shook his head. "Not Exactly, I wouldn't take it that far. Don't forget that tales are spread and passed around through oral tradition, and even written forms are reproduced in different variations. Thus even if Pitch does manage to erase every Promise Book on earth, that doesn't mean the tales of Light Beings, or Dark ones for the matter will ever truly be forgotten.

"If anything, Pitch may have wanted the books because they allow Beings and Humans to see each other whether the humans are children or adult, in-which allows non-believers to see the truth while allowing believers to strengthen their beliefs. Aside from that, the book serves as the correct records of the individual origins of the Light and Dark Beings: the information on there can reveal things that can serve as weaknesses, and more importantly, the books allow the Beings and humans to form Pacts. If Pitch gets the books, he'll be limiting the power between the Light Beings and Humans."

"You believe so?" Elsa asked.

"It's only my theory. Pitch may have a bigger objective in mind with the Promise Books but I can't think of any other explanation for his desire for them..."

"If that is the case, than you plan on traveling the world telling stories from the books?" Anna asked hesitantly, unsure if that was offensive to a proud prince. "Is how you'll keep the books safe, by slowly strengthening the beliefs in Light Beings?"

Lukas chuckled once more. "Well when you put it that way it does sound a little silly. But to be honest, I don't believe there's a good way for keeping the books physically safe. The real purpose for the travel is so then I can learn more about the Promise Books. If there are other copies of the books, than that means there are other generations of Story Tellers out there, and they may know things that I don't. If I can learn more about the books, then perhaps I can protect the stories—what the books stands for instead."

"Is there really anything else to learn about the books?" asked Anna.

Lukas touched the edges of the cover. "I do believe so."

"…But what about your Kingdom?" Elsa asked. "Even if you have several other brothers to look after the kingdom, a Prince can't just leave for a mission like yours."

"You are right. But then again, I don't believe no one will be against me leaving for such a reason."

Elsa nodded her head as she resisted the urge to look at the book and have it open up its pages back to Jack. "In that case, your journey may take you back to the light realm of Beings.

Lukas chucked. "Oh I do very much hope so. The Earth is already so big, but the realm of Beings must be even bigger."

"Wait," said Anna, "then does that mean tomorrow morning will be the last day we'll ever see you again?"

"Well, you may never know Your Highness, I may just drop by from time to time to tell you stories of my journey. By that time, I'll surely have more stories to tell than Princess Rapunzel."

Anna turned the page of the Promise Book again, reading further on about Tooth and her history. "Hmmm, perhaps. If anything she'll soon be too busy to come and visit us anymore."

"Now why's that?"

Both Anna and Elsa looked at Lukas bewilderedly, causing Lukas to mirror the same expression. "Lukas how could you?" said Anna.

"How could I what?"

"Did you already forget she's pregnant? She and Eugene will soon become parents."

Lukas immediately became flustered, with both of his cheeks turning red and a lump forming in his throat, causing him to gulp.

Elsa giggled lightly at his reaction. "Rapunzel will have her hands full once the baby comes." Her fingers accidently brushed the edge of the book's pages, and Elsa felt a faint tingling sensation at contact.

"Well Elsa, do you think the baby will have any of Rapunzel's powers? or maybe she'll be born with blond hair."

Elsa giggled again. "Does it even matter? Now there will be someone new whom she can tell stories to."