Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise; the elements taken from Frozen are obvious, and while this version of Zorro is taken mainly from Mask and Legend, I've incorporated elements of his history from other adaptations. Even the original idea for this fic was inspired by the artwork of shishyoukai on DeviantArt, although I have created my own narrative for it; the artwork only inspired the idea of a certain sister becoming Zorro.

Feedback: Always appreciated

AN: In advance, when Kristoff first sees Anna as Zorro, he'll think of Zorro as male just because Anna's trying to make the general public believe that she's a man while wearing the mask and cape. From this point onwards, Anna-as-Zorro will be referred to as male when other characters see Zorro in action, but always remember that it's still Anna wearing the mask unless there's explicit reasons to think otherwise.

The Frozen Fox

Sometimes it actually amazed Kristoff that he had ended up in this kind of insane situation. For a man whose childhood had consisted of working with the ice harvesters, he had ended up basically falling into a position as one of the few regular humans to be fully aware of what was going on in the kingdom ever since King Runeard built that dam, and he didn't know if he was actually accomplishing anything.

He appreciated that he was important to the trolls in particular as their main human agent in the city, and he had learnt some interesting tricks over the years he'd spent acting as part of the resistance against Runeard, but ultimately he felt as though he was just fighting to stop things getting worse rather than actually making anything better. He could sneak around and rescue the trolls or other magical creatures from local prisons, and he had even fought off a few soldiers in his time, but he knew that he wasn't going to make any kind of real difference this way. Grand Pabbie was basically exhausting his magical knowledge to try and keep the rest of the family away from Runeard's forces, and at this point it seemed like anyone with any actual desire to change things in Arendelle didn't have any way to actually make an impact.

Kristoff always did his best to maintain a positive attitude when he visited the trolls, but there were times when he wondered if they only had faith because they thought he had faith. He wanted to hope for the best, and knew that giving up wouldn't achieve anything, but it was so hard to keep going when it felt like the enemy had all the cards and he didn't have a single ace left to play. The Northuldra who still had any real belief in their people's ways didn't' dare to actually practise magic in case Runeard found out they were capable of doing anything more than talking about how things might be different in Arendelle. The general population didn't particularly care how things were so long as they were comfortable, and the trolls were

Trying to take his mind off those bleak thoughts, Kristoff turned his attention to the building in front of him. A recent mining expedition had been 'lucky' enough to discover a troll nursery and capture a few of the young ones who hadn't realised who they were dealing with before it was too late. Kristoff had a couple of contacts in the guard who had confirmed that those involved weren't going to report the trolls to the King until they'd had a chance to talk with their new captives themselves, but it was up to him to get the kids out before that could happen. His contacts could leave a door or two open to make it easier for him to get in, but they weren't ready to engage in more open rebellion yet, and Kristoff wasn't going to push them to do more than they were comfortable with.

With his cart secure in the alley he'd set up earlier, Kristoff carefully approached the door. He regretted that he hadn't been able to bring Sven along, but when he was trying to be inconspicuous a reindeer would obviously not have been a good idea. He had a brief moment where he wondered if the door would turn out to be locked after all, but when he touched the handle he was relieved to find that it opened as neatly as expected.

Taking a glance around the other side, he smiled in relief to find no guards before he made his way up the stairs. He had a couple of moments where he needed to think carefully to be sure he was following the correct route when he came to a few intersecting corridors, but eventually he was at the door that had been identified by his contact. Picking the lock was another skill that he hadn't ever expected to need when this had all started, but by now he was basically used to having to do things he wasn't proud of in the name of protecting his family against the corrupt kingdom. It wasn't a skill that came naturally to him, but finally he heard the final click and the door swung open.

"…Kristoff?" a voice said from inside the room.

"Yeah, it's me," Kristoff said, walking forward to stand in the light and better look at the prisoners. As he'd hoped, it was just five young trolls as reported by the others; a bit heavy, but nothing he couldn't handle. "OK, I'm sorry in advance, but I'll need you all to get into this."

"A bag?" another troll said, looking at him with a kind of teasing indignation. "I don't want to get stuck with him in a bag-!"

"It's just until we can get you out in case anyone else shows up-"

"There is no need for that."

The depth of the voice alone made it clear that this wasn't one of the trolls Kristoff had come here to save. Swallowing, Kristoff stood up and turned back around, finding himself faced by half a dozen guards, wearing Arendelle's familiar greenish-blue uniforms as their hands rested on their guns.

"Now then," the lead guard said, giving Kristoff a cool stare, "let's make this easier on everyone. We knew that someone was likely to come for those children if we gave them time, so now the only question is how it will take for you to give us anything useful."

"Never," Kristoff countered, wishing that he knew more about fighting than just whatever he'd picked up on the streets. He could at least keep some of these men occupied, and the trolls could probably get past him if they were quick, but even if they reached the door-

"Excuse me," an unfamiliar voice said with a slight accent from off to the side. "May I request that you leave that young man and his associates alone?"

"Who-?" one of the guards said as the group turned to look at the source of the voice in surprise. Following their gaze, Kristoff could only stare in amazement at the figure that had just appeared at the other end of the corridor. The all-black clothing and the long cape made it hard to make out any distinctive features, but judging by the way this figure held his sword, Kristoff guessed that the man knew how to hold his own in a fight.

"Good evening," the figure in black said, actually holding the cape out with his free hand and giving a formal bow even as he kept hold of his sword. "Allow me to introduce myself-"

One of the guards seemed to get over his confusion and drew his pistol, only for the figure to release his cape and grab at something on his waist. The man in black moved so fast that Kristoff only realised what he was doing after it had happened, as there was a sharp sound and suddenly the pistol had vanished from the guard's hand. Kristoff just had time to register a long black whip in the man's hand before the man made a complicated gesture and the whip had seemingly vanished, leaving the man free to charge towards the soldiers. At least one of the guards tried to reach for his own pistol, but by the time he had even touched it the man in black was already in the thick of the action, making it impractical at beast for any of these men to try and shoot the intruder.

Even as he stood back to try and keep the troll children safe, Kristoff could only stare in awe at the way the man weaved around the soldiers, demonstrating a skill that the former ice harvester didn't think he'd ever seen before. The shining sword in the hand of the man in black flashed through the air as though it was a bolt of lightning rather than metal, while the man's footwork made it easy for him to stay ahead of his enemies' attempts to counter-attack. Even as Kristoff kept his eyes on his unexpected saviour, the figure moved rapidly from one soldier to the other, staying in close to prevent any of them having a chance to draw their guns while using his sword and his other limbs to devastating effect. No blow with the sword was ever outright lethal, but each strike delivered some kind of wound,

In a matter of moments, the guards that had been about to attack the ice harvester were all on the ground, some clutching at injured limbs, one with his hands pressed against his chest to staunch a fresh wound, and another with his hands pressed to his face, clearly clutching at a broken nose. By contrast, the man in black appeared to be unharmed, smiling nonchalantly around the room before he turned to Kristoff and the trolls.

"Congratulations," the mysterious man nodded at Kristoff.

"For what?" one of the young trolls said before Kristoff could respond.

"Your friend here did a very good job getting this far before I had to step in," the man explained, smiling at the troll as he walked over and held out a hand to help Kristoff to his feet. "May I assume you are affiliated with the resistance against King Runeard?"

"…Yeah," Kristoff nodded, accepting the offered hand as he stood up. "And… who are you?"

"Like you, I object to the methods with which King Runeard enforces his rule on those who are meant to be his subjects," the man said. Now that Kristoff didn't have to worry about the enemy soldiers, he noticed that the man had an unusually deep voice and an unfamiliar accent. Part of Kristoff wondered if this man was putting on a particular voice for some reason, but the accent was what really intrigued him. "As for my name, you may call me Zorro."

"Zorro?" Kristoff repeated, already certain he'd never heard a word like that before. "What does that mean?"

"Fox," the man in black said, a smile on his surprisingly delicate lips as he indicated the fallen soldiers around him. "My associates and I have confronted the plans of King Runeard's own associates back in America-"

"He has associates in America?"

"That is a long story that this is not the time to share," the now-named Zorro said as he indicated the fallen soldiers. "May I suggest that we depart for now and discuss this matter at a more convenient time?"

"…Good point," Kristoff nodded, indicating the passage he'd been walking along earlier. "I was planning to go that way; I… have a cart waiting outside…"

"I have my own means of departure, but I will accompany you," Zorro said, lowering his sword to his side and heading for the passage. "Let us away, my friend."

It was a strange thing to think about someone he'd only just met and knew virtually nothing about, but after seeing Zorro in action against Runeard's soldiers, Kristoff was left with a sense that this man in black wouldn't just be an ally against the king, but might even be the turning point in the campaign against the royal family.

As he followed his strange new friend down the passage, the young trolls gathered around his legs and in his arms now that the bag seemed basically pointless, Kristoff found he was already looking forward to learning more about this new arrival when they could find the time to talk…