Sorry for the long wait!

Most varied chapter here I think. It was fairly difficult to write considering there is action, character development, friendship etc all within one chapter but I think I pulled it off.

I guess you will see.

The walk to the castle courtyard was a long one. The actual distance was far from great, though as Mason continued his walk through the corridors of the place he knew he would have to call home for the time being, the journey seemed from so.

Not but a few minutes ago, Queen Elsa had given him a short but firm lecture in how he should present himself around her, particularly in regards to her personal life. However Mason felt during his time with Elsa after the council meeting, and whatever opinions of her changed, as the two departed, Mason could not help but feel a sense of finality and closure on his arrival in Arendelle. He had no intention of betrayal and now, thanks to Elsa herself, would act in accordance of an inhabitant of the castle and not a Vane. In honesty, Elsa had controlled Mason in a way that he neither expected nor was unhappy about. She had presented herself as a person that he would willingly serve and even enjoy.

But all this meant little now, given that what was said had been said and taken aboard. Now Mason had the task of investigating why a bunch of ships had been arriving with more than expected people. Mason had no idea of why such an occurrence was happening and frankly, did not care for it, despite what he had said to the terribly pathetic parasite known as Duke Olan. Mason now only wished for a discovery of the truth behind the matter so that the matter could for forgotten about.

So he descended stairwells and walked through corridors until he excited the castle, only to discover a fidgety girl waiting for him.

"Oh god no…" Mason said under his breath as he looked upon Princess Anna positioned just in the way that he would have to approach her to continue. He hoped that his journey into the town would be a lonely one, but as the Royal practically skipped towards him, this did not seem the case. Mason's first meeting with Anna had left a sour note on his relationship with her. Anna had presented herself as a serious and sensitive Princess and although he had found this not the case in the last few days, awkward meetings full of small talk taking its place, interactions with the Princess were far from desired.

"Hi!" she said once she had reached Mason who saw no point in trying to avoid her now.

"Hello" grumbled Mason in response.

"I hear your going into town" Anna continued in a far from serious mood.

"Who told you that?" Mason said to no reply. Though the look from Anna was quite explanatory. "Is the Queen determined to make my day a misery?" Sighed Mason.

To this, Anna only laughed, an act Mason did fully understand. His words were honest and true.

"No silly! Elsa only told me you were leaving for a bit so I thought I'd tag along!" Anna said excitedly.

The truth was less clear here, but it was a truth that Mason cared little for. Whether it be Elsa or Anna behind his interruption, the end result was to be the same. He wouldn't be making any friends today. The closest thing he had to friends were his enemies who, after years of political warfare and strategic battle, he knew far better then he would a friend.

"Whatever. Well I have a job so-"Mason began to say to a cut off from Anna.

"Nah, let's do something better!" she said dismissively, waving her hand.

"I'm not sure that I was suggesting that I-"again he could not finish his sentence.

"Oh sure you were. I bet you've been waiting to explore Arendelle since you arrived"

"Um, well-"Mason began to say before his senses returned, memories flooding back to him. In the past while his adventures were plentiful and goals straightforward, when he met someone new, whether they be the monarchies of Europe and their followers, dangerous criminals or anyone seemingly useful in the world, the immediate mission was to understand the person in question. By simply knowing what makes them tick and how they operate in the world Mason could easily undermine or manipulate them, given a reasonable cause. And now, here he was, with a Princess of an ancient rival kingdom, letting himself be continued to be annoyed.

The objective was not to undermine Anna. Age old family matters were not something Mason cared about anymore, but it was never accepted that he would simply lay down his sword and settle down and decay into nothingness. He had been granted youth for the time being and wasting it on pretending that a simple and happy life with no worries or evil in the world was unrealistic. It was simply out of the question. Queen Elsa had allowed him a home here, either from some sort of kindness or acceptance of his ongoing mission to find a dangerous criminal. For whatever the reason was, all that mattered was the climb. The climb to never stop and be content with life's current offering. With just a little bit of manipulation of Anna, and with a sturdy relationship on show, much greater opportunities would undoubtabley present themselves.

Now Elsa's earlier demands of proper loyalty and conduct appeared just that bit more appealing. With Elsa not opposing Mason, the phrase 'killing two birds with one stone' seemed an excellent one.

"Sure. That sounds great. The job can wait" said Mason with a devious smile.

"It's going to be fun! There is so much to see…" Anna exclaimed pulling Mason's arm to follow her, chatting on about the sights of Arendelle.

Mason just smiled and appeared interested. What mattered now was that he had a long term plan for Arendelle. No man could survive alone and without allies of some sort. In the real world, lying, deceiving and plotting had no place being banned for their dishonourable nature. Were this true, Mason would probably not be alive today. With Arendelle "by his side", he would survive and prosper. Allies would help him fight his enemies, and he had made a lot of enemies in the past.

Besides, it appeared that Mason had incorrectly judged Anna. Despite her only saying a few words to him today, it was obvious that the character she had represented herself on other days was a false one. Quite plainly, Anna was not the boring and sensible person Mason thought her to be and with what seemed to be such a crazy and determined attitude, Mason knew not if he could persevere against such relentless determination, let alone see what Anna was like when she wanted something really important which seeing Arendelle clearly wasn't, to Mason anyway.

Personally though, it was good that Mason had accepted Anna's proposal. Now he would get to see Anna in her true form which so far, Mason was both happy and glad to experience. Where it not for him upbringing and recent past, Mason waged that at least part of him would be similar to Anna.

For the best part of the next hour, Anna showed Mason the various landmarks and points of interests. Whether or not it interested him was not so clear but he smiled and nodded whenever necessary. Though in truth, Anna herself felt that not only that Mason found the exploration somewhat boring, but that she also shared the same mentality. This guide was in honesty, something of a makeup from the little fiasco the two shared when Mason was placed in a cell. Of course Mason had been quite crude to her sister, but since that incident, Mason had proved himself useful, obedient and almost apologetic to the incident, so if Elsa could found herself to forgive his misbehaviour then Anna sure could as well.

By now though, Anna had run out of places to visit and now was leading Mason to Arendelle's central square.

"Well, that's about it." Said Anna as they entered the square. "I guess I could there's the countryside to show but you know, that's a bit of an effort" Anna briefly played with her hair as she usually did in a situation that caused her to feel somewhat awkward. Mason had yet to really comment on the places they had visit, or at all for that matter. To Anna, a regular speaker, this was weird behaviour.

"Thank you, but there is no need to get all muddy in the country, I'm sure I can survive without seeing a mountain" his tone was comforting yet derogatory, almost like he was saying there was nothing of value to see.

"But Elsa made a castle purely made of ice on the North Mountain. It's real pretty" Now Anna felt like she was being a salesperson, desperate to sell their wares. "She made it when she was having some of her more personal problems" Anna said after trying to explain the matter truefully.

"And you wanted to show me?" Mason said as the two stopped.

"Well yeah. You live here now so-"Anna replied.

"No, no. I meant-" Mason began to say before pausing to, what appeared to be, think his words through. He indicated for the two to sit down on a bench as he restarted his sentence. "You do realise who I am don't you? My surname I mean?" he said as he stared at Anna somewhat concerningly.

Anna did know his surname, and she was aware of history of that name. Once Elsa had told her that Mason was a Vane she initially was shocked. Not because she feared that this man would go around plotting and murdering but because it was like hearing that a medieval knight had entered the castle or that an old Roman emperor was still alive. It felt like a story coming to life.

Anna knew the name Vane only through history books during her education as a child. Such a name was mentioned a few times in Arendelle history but that was the extent of it. The centuries old history where the name appeared felt distant and were now words with no real significance today. The shock of seeing history basically coming to life was weird and remarkable, but nothing really more. Sure the Vane name wasn't mentioned favourably often in the books, but neither were the ancestors of many peoples and kingdoms. It was well known in Scandinavia that Vikings once pillaged, burned and murdered freely, but that did not make the Arendelle and the other kingdoms anyway similar.

"Yeah, why?" Anna smiled back, replying to the question.

Mason looked confused and taken back at this reply, almost like he expected another answer. "Never mind" he eventually said with a smile. After this remark, a silence then existed between the two as Anna tried to think what to say.

"So, um, are you prepared for the….um-"Anna said as she tried to figure out a way to discuss her engagement party without seeming vain and self-obsessed. Obviously this was proving to be quite difficult with the large pause she was giving.

"The what?" Mason said against Anna's awkward pause.

"My engagement party" Anna said quietly as if she wanted the matter to be a discrete as possible. Unfortunately for her, the smile she gave with this totally contradicted any chance of not seeming obsessed.

Mason laughed as he leaned back into the bench. "I fear that I must confess Princess. I have neither prepared for this event nor taken interest. Parties and the like aren't exactly my thing"

This was, to Anna's ears, an attempt of an excuse that would enable his lack of presence at the party. Not on her watch.

"It's fine. We'll get you ready." Anna replied, not taking no as answer.

"I fear that I will only be a burden. I don't dance, I have no one to go with-"Mason was obviously uncomfortable with the subject, yet this would not deter Anna.

"Nope. Not good enough" Anna replied in an obviously fake serious tone. "You're going and you going to enjoy it"

"What's the point of attending an event with no enthusiasm nor effort involved?" His tone was not the carefully chosen and embarrassed it was a minute ago." A half arsed attempt if you ask me"

A raised eyebrow from Anna was all it took for Mason to realise he had let his more private thoughts translate into words. "You know, without a partner or anything" he said trying to rectify his mistake. While he may have meant this in a way that did not present him as the arrogant person he nearly had, but this was not the case for Anna. She took his last comment in a far more literal way, given her enthusiasm for her own party.

"You could go with Elsa" Anna plainly suggested.

"W-what?!" Mason replied in shock.

Anna could understand the initial surprise of her proposal, it wasn't every day that someone could escort a Queen, but the confused and unaccepting face of Mason was less understandable.

"She needs someone too you know, and your, you know, not so bad looking" Anna had to choose her words carefully here. Not only because she needed to present Elsa's case for someone in a way that would allow others to understand that she hadn't found romance yet because of her past, but also because Anna didn't want to persuade Mason without seeming flirty. This was her engagement party after all.

"Are you serious? You really think she will want to go with me?" He seemed almost disgusted at such a suggestion, speaking as if he was right currently.

"Of course! You seem alright" Anna said attempting to make light of the situation. It didn't.

"I seem alright?" Mason exclaimed, standing up with wide eyes. "Ha, I'm not sure how I should respond to that" he laughed, but he did not find anything funny right now.

"It's a compliment numb nuts" Anna sighed. "I just want my Sister to be happy"

Sensing a more personal feeling emitting from Anna, Mason calmed down with a sigh before sitting again. "Understandable. But how will I aid in this venture?"

"By being her partner for the party" Anna reiterated with persuasion. "By helping her find love" she said far more quietly. Mason did not freak out again but obviously did not support the idea.

"Love? Princess I've only been here a few mere days and I can already tell you love is hardly a thing on the Queen's mind. For me especially." Mason said as he laughed at Anna's words. "For that Anton fella' though, possibly so".

Anna tried to think of a response that would serve her and her sister justice but Mason seemed just as determined. "Besides love with someone she just met. I do hope you know that doesn't exactly work".

"Urm, I kinda do actually" Anna replied, glad that she could reply with conviction but also with painful memories of supposedly loving Hans when she had first met him.

Then, after a light pause, Mason sighed. "Look, I understand that this thing means a lot to you so I will attend…"

"Yes! Thank you so much!" Anna cried, momentarily wrapping her arms around Mason.

"But! I will not be forced to attend with another partner. As long as I attend that's all that matters right?"

Anna contemplated Mason's request. Elsa would still be needing a partner, but maybe that was a discussion to be had with her. "Fine. Done." Anna said enjoying a completed deal, making her feel very professional. "Then were going to have to get you some new clothes wont we?"

Mason's reaction was not unsurprising to Anna. Judging on the wide smile slapped on Ann's face she could see that Mason knew that now Anna had moved onto a subject close to her heart. Shopping.

"What the hell's wrong with my current clothes" he replied defensively. Currently he was wearing a long black naval officer like jacket with silver buttons. Apart from that, all other clothing seemed to be quite basic. Underneath the buttoned up coat appeared to be a plain white shirt and for his legs he wore a dark grey pair of trousers with simple black boots suitable for outdoor use.

"Oh nothing…" Anna said, playing with her hair. "They look good." She used the term very loosely. What was most likely the case was that Mason saw nothing wrong with his current attire so any compliments given to him would hopefully not translate into a confirmation that he may wear them for her party.

"It's just I think they make you seem a little…rouge" said Anna, saying this first word that came to mind.

"I quite like that word" he said with a particular roguish smile.

"So do I…" Anna said before she could realise how dreamy it sounded and how she had now entered a deep stare at Mason. But perhaps luckily for her future marriage was that she quickly realised what she was doing and remembered that is was Kristoff she loved. Mason was good looking and suited the word rogue, but that was the extent of it. "B-but I think we should get you clothes that make you seem a bit more professional" she said as she attempted to rectify her almost like school girl like mistake.

"We will get you some clothes. We will" Anna said, head raised high as if to command respect, the usual determination and strength Anna was known for now showing through.

"We will?" Mason echoed with a smile on his cocked head.

"We will" Anna finished, folding her arms.

Suddenly, a laugh was let loose from Mason as he nodded his head somewhat approvingly. "Well Princess, it seems you are every bit of a strong woman your sister is".

This was a comment that could only make Anna smile in appreciation as she wanted to thank Mason for his recognition of her and Elsa. The past few years for the young royals of Arendelle had been hard, no doubt about it, but as of recently, a near lifetime of fear and loneliness had finally began heal into a bond of unbreakable strength and the fact that that Mason had noticed this sharp contrast in character of both Anna and Elsa was all the confirmation Anna needed to know that her relationship with Elsa was alive and visible.

But rather them delve into a deep discussion of how she was thankful that the relationship had blossomed into how it was now, or get emotional from thinking how much progress had been made from the dark past, Anna decided that now was not the time to deliberate and knew she would rather spend this moment in celebration while showing Mason another spot in Arendelle. Some place that was close to Anna's heart.

"So, um, I don't suppose you like chocolate?" Anna said.

This immediately brought Mason's attention. As he snapped his head to face Anna, a short moment of silence was given so that he could study Anna's own face. A child could see that, just by looking at Anna's face, that her opinion on the matter was very clear.

"Where is it?" said Mason in fierce determination. With a huge grin, Anna knew that the feelings for such a confectionary were mutual ones.

"There's a shop. Follow me now" Anna said quickly and plainly. Because the only other chocolate lover had been her sister, and because of the troubles of the past, Anna had never got the chance to actually enjoy the food with anyone else and now that she could, wasting time only talking about it was not something Anna wished to do.

As such, no time was wasted in journeying towards the chocolate shop. It was on the other side of town, but with reckless determination, Anna led Mason with such a speed, she often had to grab Mason by the arm and pull him along.

"This is a short cut, I promise" Anna said as the two continued, but in truth, Anna's confinement within the castle walls over the years had somewhat eroded her knowledge of the town. As of now, the 'short cut' was taking them through the narrow alley ways of warehouses by the docks. "Not far now" Anna insisted.

But it was unfortunate for Anna as just after these words were said, their route led them right into a filthy streets dead end.

"Sure you know the way?" teased Mason.

"Yes, now shush" Anna said dismissively, despite not actually knowing the way.

"I just seems to be that someone from Arendelle, let alone the Princess should-"

"I know the way, I'm just….remembering-"Anna attempted to say.

"Quiet!" suddenly Mason came out with, a sharp and vicious tone accompanying it as well.

"No, you be quiet" Anna flung back, seeing this as some sort of game or further more teasing for Anna's mistake. But it was obvious that Mason was not in fact playing any game. His eyes scanned around him as he attempted to listen for something. "What is it?" Anna asked a frozen Mason.

"…..A sword" he eventually said, only his mouth moving. "…Coming out of its scabbard"

Anna then chanced a moment of silence to try and hear this noise. "I can't hear anything. Are you sure you're not going crazy?"

"I've had enough experience with swords to know what I heard" Mason said with a small laugh, but still listening carefully.

The duo continued in silent listening, Anna almost ready to give up and claim there had been no noise at all. But as even Mason almost seemed ready to give up, all doubt was thrown away when a high pitched and blood curdling scream emitted from the next alley way.

In that moment between Anna hearing the scream to realising what she had just heard, Mason had already began to sprint towards the source of the scream.

"Wait for me!" cried Anna, having difficulty keeping up with the man who had already excited their current alley and turned a corner into the next one.

As Anna then turned the corner as well, confused and perhaps fearful in what would cause such a terrifying scream, she discovered Mason peering into the next alley in an attempt not to be seen.

"What is it? What's around there? What is it?" Anna asked nervously, but curious all the while. Once no reply was given, Anna peered over Mason's shoulder to look down the alley way. At first she saw nothing but relative darkness devoid of any life, but as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, two human figures could be seen. Both were laying on the ground, completely motionless.

"ARGHH-"Anna screamed as Mason's hand suddenly covered her mouth.

"Quiet!" said Mason quietly yet sharply. "You don't want to let the people that did this hear you do we?" It was a rhetorical question Anna understood completely. Even with the now quite visible pools of blood surrounding the two bodies of a man and a woman, she would have to control her disgust and fear at this sight and be strong to see who had committed this atrocity.

As Mason removed his hand, a group of footsteps were heard further down the alley way and with it, talking and shouting.

A group of unsavoury looking men approached the corpses, three children in tow as captives.

"Mercenaries" stated Mason, observing their ex-military like dress, scars and abundance of weapons.

"Look 'ere you little bugger!" said one of the mercenaries to one of the children, a young boy, grabbing him by his collar and throwing him in front of the dead bodies. "Oh no! Who is it?" sarcastically said the same man, presumingly the leader, to the little boy. "Is it? Yes it is! These two are your parents, aren't they?" smiled the man.

At this moment the young boy burst into tears. The noise he produced was nothing like Anna had ever heard. A scream was emitted that caused Anna to immediately shut her own weeping eyes.

"Look 'ere boy, you're going to tell us where your hiding the others, aren't you?" said the mercenary leader with a smile of pure evil.

Obviously the boy could not answer. He could only latch onto the lifeless body of his mother and cry like he had never done before. It made Anna want to be sick at the cruelty these men were showing a mourning child, but they had not yet finished. Without an answer, the mercenary leader suddenly changed from cruel and joyful mockery into a raging beast. He grabbed the child by the neck and practically shoved the boy's face right in line with the pale face of his mother's. "ARENT YOU?!" The man cried, nostrils flaring.

Again the boy did not answer. Not out of defiance, but because the boy now had entered a harrowing breakdown. His body slumped and his tears fell off his face like a waterfall.

"Fine!" said the man, letting the boy go. "Bring me his pig, then we will see if he wishes to talk" And as the man orders were carried out, and as others returned carrying a small pig, Anna came to an even more horrifying conclusion.

This boy was Anders. A sweet young boy she had always liked. "Stop them Mason! Please do something!" Anna said as her tears ran free.

"I said quiet!" was his only reply.

With no intervention, the men were left to carry on with their cruel torture of the boy. Anders saw that his pet pig had been apprehended, briefly switching his attention from his parents to the animal. But in a further cruel and monster like streak, the men did not take notice to the fact the Anders may have been ready to talk. Anna could only turn away as the sound of a knife was withdrawn and put into action.

"NOOOOOOOO! NORM!" shrieked the boy to fits of laughter from the men.

"Shut it!" shouted the leader. "Shut the hell up!" Fear now claimed Anders. He cornered himself against a wall, shouting and screaming at the man who had ordered his pet's death and presumingly his parents. "Where are the others!" he said as Anna, still paralysed from such acts of monstrosities and unable to face the ongoing cruelty, pleaded to Mason in a sort of prayer like desire to help Anders.

"Please Mason. Please, help him" Anna sobbed. When no answer came, she forced herself to drop her hands from her face. Walking down the alleyway, and towards the gang, was Mason. Anna simply remained still, waiting to see what would happen.

"Hey boss" said one of the men, noticing Mason. "Looks like we got company"

The man who had been tormenting Anders turned his head. "I think your lost friend" he said simply.

"No. I'm right where I want to be" Mason replied, stopping.

A series of laughter spread throughout the mercenaries as their leader only smiled and deviated his full attention towards Mason.

"Do you like what you see?" the leader said, indicating towards his cruel work. "Bitch wouldn't shut up were it not because of us". Mason only stared at the man, showing no emotion what so ever.

"Interesting to be sure" Mason replied eventually. "Begs the question though. Why?"

"That aint none of your business!" shouted one of the mercenaries violently.

"Now, now Joseph." The leader said very calmly. "Apologies friend. The last few hours have been very stressful for us. You probably understand"

Anna could only watch the man speak calmly and gently as Mason just stood there. All she wanted now was vengeance for Anders parents, and with this man acting like nothing wrong had been committed, Anna's anger only rose.

"Perhaps I do." Mason replied. "I did hear you mention you were looking for some people. Now I'm going to guess that you haven't found these people yet and this is why you are stressed. Am I right?"

The men began to look at each other, their hands slowly reaching for their weapons, but while they looked angry and almost nervous that they had been found out, their leader only smiled. "You are indeed! In fact, instead of us two engaging in a long and tedious conversation where many questions are asked, I may as well just tell you. We are looking for various people who have recently arrived here, en mass, via ship."

"Ship you say?" Mason asked with wide eyes, to which the leader nodded. Mason had been set out to investigate large recent human activity from various ships. Were these men looking for those arrivals?

"And this boy knows where they are does he?" Mason smiled, pointing at a broken Anders.

The mercenary leader turned to glance at Anders before turning back to Mason with his smile gone. "The child had been seen harbouring individuals of a dubious and criminal nature. Individuals just recently arrived by ship illegally."

"The boy, or his parents?" Mason immediately replied sharply, his smile also gone.

Whatever game the leader of these cruel men wanted to play was now in pieces. He watched as Mason grew increasingly critical of his actions while not 'playing the game'"

"We weren't getting anywhere with those two. We needed to 'persuade' the boy". With this, the others chuckled and put on sadistic smiled as they looked at their handiwork. "We need all the help we can to find these degenerates. I don't suppose you can help us with that?" said the leader. "You'll be rewarded of course. Gold and silver will fall through your fingers"

It was a proposition that Anna could not tell was being used threateningly or not. Either way, Mason only remained still and silent.

"You know, I haven't been on this earth for long. " Mason began. "Though in those limited years I've seen things some old men have never seen in their entire lives. I've seen good things. I've seen bad things. Basically, I've been through a lot, and in all honesty, it's been tiring and stressful. I'm sure you can relate" Mason said joyfully towards the leader.

"Indeed I can friend" he smiled.

"Anyway, throughout those years and experiences, I learned a lot. I learned that there is more to life then living in peace and quiet. The worlds just too big and complicated for such a desire. A nice house in the country and chests full of money may be something, but not much to me. I've learned to appreciate and want the much….larger things in life"

The mercenary leader seemed in move around a little in agitation before emitting a fairly annoyed smile. "Is there a point to this friend?"

"Of course!" Mason said. "You see, you're a talker. You talk a lot, using a lot of my time." Now Mason's eyes narrowed, and all signs of a smile disappeared. "As more of my time is used, my desire for these large things in life only grows in size and scale. I feel like I am further away from my goals as my time is wasted." His eyes fixed themselves on the leader in front of him. "So if any more crap comes out of that fat hole you call your mouth, I'm going to want the whole fucking world!" He spat.

Suddenly, the mercenary leader did not look in the mood for games. From this insult he grinded his teeth in anger and gave a look to his men. "Well, this has been an experience" he said as his men began to move around to slowly form a circle around Mason. "But I think our talk is done, and I'm afraid that you simply know too much to be let free. I hope you understand. He said as his men withdrew their swords and knives.

"Oh I understand completely" Mason smiled.

And as a man behind Mason ran up to him, raising his sword in the air, Mason span round with such a speed, the man had no time to change his angle of attack and ensure Mason would not be able to knock his swinging arm out of the way, punch him in the throat and fiercely elbow another man in the face who had also tried to attack Mason from the back.

Mason was unarmed, but this hardly put him at a disadvantage. To the first man that tried to attack him, as soon as his elbow met its target in the form of the second man, Mason turned to face him again, practically within the same second as when the first man's attack was deflected, and gave a powerful punch to his face, gave a kick to the same man's knee that audibly bended in the opposite way a knee should, and gave another hit to the face that knocked him down, but not without Mason stealing the sword first.

By now, the other five men who had surrounded him had just realised what had happened and three of them went in for the attack. This offensive went about as successful as the last two. The first of the three attackers found his swinging arm ground to a halt as Mason grabbed it, holding it still, before giving a swift head-butt to the nose, knocking him to the ground. The second attacker of the three, attacked at about the same time as the third. This proved no challenge to Mason as once he easily blocked one sword with his own, he again grabbed the sword arm of the other man with his own free hand before pulling his sword free and letting it naturally glide over the man's thigh who had his sword arm currently in Mason's hand. This deep cut briefly put that man out of combat leaving Mason able to easily duck when the other man tried to behead him. As the attack missed, Mason horizontally slashed his sword against the man's chest and as he fell to his knees, Mason swung his sword diagonally towards the ground which successfully met the neck of the falling man. By now, the man whose nose had been broken had gotten back up was running in for another attack. Mason parried the blow and circled his arm so that the attackers own sword could not stay in his hand and thus fell to the ground. As this was happening, one of the two remaining men, a bald man, had poisoned himself just behind the man Mason was currently fighting and decide this was his time for glory. Obviously, this would not be the case. As Mason disarmed the sword from the broken nosed man, the new attacker tried to stab Mason with his sword. Mason turned his body swiftly so the attempted stabbing glided past him and Mason gave a powerful hit to this man with the hand guard of his sword. This ensured the man placed his free hand over his face in pain which gave Mason time enough to do the exact same thing to the man with the broken nose, causing his further pain. With this done, Mason swung his sword behind his back to put the bald attacker out of action before immediately swinging back to the broken nose man and slashing his lower legs ensuring he also fell to the ground, but not before Mason's fist help him find it.

This whole scenario had happened in just a few seconds, ensuring the last man had retreated to his only remaining ally, his leader. Unfortunately, as Mason turned his head to face the two, the leader had pulled out a pistol and was aiming it at someone other than Mason. It was Anna.

She had obviously, in the time that it had taken Mason to fight the other fools, had ran towards the Anders and was now hugging him protectively.

"Anna, get the hell out of here!" Mason shouted to no avail. The Princess only seemed determined to shield to boy from harm. However admirable this was, a royal defending a commoner selflessly, it meant little. The mercenary leader already had his finger on the trigger, and now began to squeeze it.

Anna and Anders most likely thought this the end, were it not for Mason, just in time, running in front of them to catch the shot with his shoulder.

Mason had been shot before and while we wanted to say he was used to it, this was far from the case. Even in a relatively non vital area such as the shoulder, pain shot through his body.

As Anna screamed, Mason noticed another mercenary further down the street shouting to his leader. The mercenary leader ordered his remaining man to 'guard' the other two children who throughout this time and be bundled together against a wall in total fear. Then, the leader ran off to join the other new mercenary.

"Anna, get the boy out of here. Go back to the castle and tell the Queen. I will save these children and get the other scumbag!" Mason said through grinding teeth, clutching his wounded shoulder but taking no eyes of the remaining mercenary.

"B-but Mason, your hurt" said Anna in disbelief, all signs of joy and happiness that she usually showed now gone.

"NOW!" he demanded.

Anna began to back away, a crying and terrified Ander's tightly holding her hand. She wanted to object to leaving, to stay behind and help in any way possible, especially considering Mason was injured, but most of all she wanted to see the other children to safety. While she believed Mason would have the ability to rescue them for one man obviously stood no chance against the Vane, Mason now was demonstrating increasing frustration and anger. Whether because he had been hurt and wanted revenge, or because he wanted to lay down some justice for Ander's parents, either way, his anger may turn uncontrollable leading to further destruction.

But common sense won in the end. "You'll be ok, I promise!" she cried out to the two remaining terrified children as she and Anders ran off back to the castle in tell Elsa and request aid.

Mason was showing great loyalty to Arendelle currently, but if something happened to him once he went after the cruel leader of the group, she could never forgive herself. It was her that led both of them here and it would be her fault if Mason died here. And yet if she hadn't wound up here then Anders and his friends would most likely share the same fate as his parents.

But however the day may end, it would not be a happy one.

That was a long one!

Apologies if it was and apologies if I absolutely gutted Anna's character. I did found it quite hard to portray her accurately and interestingly, but I guess you can be the judge of that.

Anyway, with this chapter done the plot will definitely be heading in some interesting directions with various implications for each character. How? You will see.

Thanks for reading and any feedback would be appreciated.