The station of Exhibition was in danger, entire platoons had been wiped out by the ever-increasing threat and it worried everyone. How long were the defenses going to hold against the oncoming waves of mutants? It was these thoughts that the station commander had to consider as a familiar friend entered his office. With nothing more than a beard on his face and a cap on his head, he smiled upon arrival. "Sukhoi, I got news from the ring stations! Hanza will halt the demolition between Rizhskaya and Prospekt Mira."

A wave of relief flowed through his body as he leaned back in his chair behind the desk. The increasing knowledge of the Dark Ones as a threat throughout the whole of the Metro had struck fear into the Hanseatic League. It had gotten to the point that they would have blown up the only rail access between the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line. Such news was a blessing in these dark times. "That is good. We would have been for a world of trouble if they did go through the plan. Petyr, why did they call it off?"

His lieutenant looked outside of the office to see before he closed it shut. "Polis Rangers."

"Polis Rangers?" Sukhoi wondered. Just eight days ago, Hunter left the station. Did he call for help?

"Yes." Petyr acknowledged as he walked up to his desk and grabbed a nearby rusty chair - one of these days he would have to replace it at some point. "Get this, it seems like Artyom's disappearance from the trolley to Rizhskaya was not some random coincidence. Your boy went on his way to Polis to bring this matter to their attention. The Council confirmed it."

The station commander could not believe what he was hearing. The boy he adopted long ago and cared for throughout his entire life was able to get a message through. On some level, he was a disappointed that he ran off to try to be as adventurous as the most famous Polis Ranger amongst the Spartan Order - a man by the name of Hunter. At the same time, he could not help himself from being happy for his son's assistance in saving the station. "What about Artyom? Is my son with them or at Polis?"

"That is why I came here, sir. Earlier, I was chatting up with some of their ranks and it seems like Artyom was accompanying their commander on the surface. They said they would meet back here once they're done with their mission."

"He's on the surface?!" He expressed his disbelief. "Artyom is not experienced enough to go stalking, much less with accompanying the Spartan commander."

"I know how dangerous it is up there, but I think you should take a leap of faith and see what he can do." His friend assured him. "There is a point that you cannot protect him forever."

There were three knocks on the metal office door. "Come in." The station commander spoke. When the door swung open, Sukhoi saw a middle-aged man wearing his tattered winter uniform. The station commander recognized the former Soviet marine the moment he stepped into the room. "Yes, what is it?"

He saluted - probably just a military habit that stuck with him. "Sir, we got Polis Rangers coming in from the northern surface entrance. Their commander is with them."

On the desk was a well-maintained assault carbine that had stuck with him since the war began. He grabbed the weapon and rose from his chair. "Let's greet our comrades, shall we?"

A several months had passed since Alex's arrival, but the time working with others was enough for him to soothe out the rough edges of his Norwegian. What really helped him out was his conversations with Princess Anna. Every time she came to ride her horse, she helped him out with the words he was unfamiliar with. Even Kai noticed the increments of improvements.

The winter chill seemed to arrive as the young man made sure that the horses were comfortable under the weather. He had even taken accustomed to the greatcoats the guards wore and were glad the other servants approved of his choice of clothes. Somehow, they all found it fitting for him to wear. Yet, Alex could not help except feel he was made to wear such clothes.

When he finished keeping the horses warm, he walked out of the stables and simply walked around the courtyard. One could find it boring that he was doing nothing more than moving in circles, but that was not the point. The true focus of these walks was to help him plan what he would do next in the meantime or simply think in isolation. Every now and then, he would find someone passing by, but those encounters were rare.

Now he wondered what he could do with his life now that he found a place to settle down with a job worth doing. Based on what he learned from the other servants, the two princesses were going to be the next rulers of this country. It was an honor to be of service to them.

The gate doors opened a little with one of the gate guards slipping through with a little boy behind him. The guard approached the stable boy as he stole a glance from the child. "Hello, do you know where Kai can be found? This young man needs to talk with him."

Alex nodded his head as he glanced at the child. The boy's face seemed to express his distress, but what caused this in the first place. He slowly began to squat as best as he could; however, his clothes did not permit him to go as he would have liked. "What is your name?"

The child seemed he was about to break into tears. "I'm Anders."

"Well, Anders, why don't you follow me?" He looked up at the guard and acknowledged what he had to do. "I will take it from here." When the guard departed from their company, Alex began to lead the boy into the castle as they looked for Kai. Hopefully, the head servant could properly help him out in this endeavor.

The moment they were in the hallways of the castle, it seemed like the boy's wonder had begun to help him cope for a time. "Wow, I have never been inside the castle before."

A smile could not be held back for the stable boy. "Impressive, no?"

"Yeah, I just didn't think that I would see this place ever since the castle was closed off to everyone."

"Why is that?" He said as he stole a glance from him.

The boy stared back. "You don't know?"

Alex shook his head. "No, I'm too new to know."

"I heard from the servants that the king and queen were dabbling with magic. Well, it's what my mom says."

"It might have been a rumor. I would not be so keen on taking them literally." Then he stopped at the kitchen door to find Gerda and Kai in a conversation. "Kai, someone outside of the castle needs your help."

The large man immediately walked over. "Really? Who is it?"

"A boy named Anders. I brought him with me."

"Where is he?"

"He should be-" Alex looked around to find the boy not with him. "He was just here a minute ago." The two looked around their immediate area before they frantically looked around. "I'll go find him.

The stable boy's walking pace had increased as he searched through the castle from one hallway to another and from room to room. Then he noticed the boy looking through a crack in the doors. Anders turned around and was taken by surprise. "That is Princess Anna. She looks so beautiful than what the portraits show."

The young man stood over him as he joined him looking through the door's cracks. "Anna is indeed beautiful. Do you want to talk with her for a moment before Kai helps you with whatever you need?"

"I don't know. She looks like she doesn't want to be bothered." He replied.

"Why don't we ask her?" Alex slowly opened the door as Anders followed him inside. This room was where the princess sought comfort when all the other rooms were not enough to sate her boredom. As she sat on the ground in her dress, he noticed her attention focus solely upon him. "Your highness, I'm sorry if we're interrupting anything."

The princess was able to express a smile as she glanced between the two. "Hello, Alex, who is this?"

"This young man is Anders. He was just passing by just to say how nice you look."

Her cheeks began to fluster at his remark. "Thank you, it's good to meet someone outside of the walls."

He tapped the boy on the shoulders. "Why don't you find Mister Kai and see what he can do to help you? I'll pass by the kitchen to see what I can get for you."

Anders nodded as he slowly walked away from the princess. "Goodbye, Princess Anna."

"Goodbye, Anders." She replied as the boy walked out of the room, leaving the two to themselves. "Do you really mean that about me?"

Alex nodded his head. "Definitely. I may have lost my memory, but never my honesty."

"That is very sweet of you." Her warm expression slowly faded away.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he took a seat on the floor beside her. "You don't seem so happy."

"It's just… I want to leave these castle walls. To say that I've been cooped up ever since I was a girl is an understatement."

There was little reason for him to comment on her worries. How could he relate to her? After all, he was just a nobody. Then an idea occurred to him that might change her situation to be more tolerable. "How often do you talk to your sister?"

Anna stared at him. "We haven't seen each since we were kids and we haven't talked since our parents died. The closest form of contact we've had was sending an occasional letter and chocolates to her, but that is it. She never comes out of her room at all. Why do you ask?"

"I could possibly lure her out of her room." He answered.

Her face lightened up upon saying that. "Wait, my sister actually walks out of her room?"

He confirmed with a nod from his head. "Yes, but do keep quiet. I don't think everyone else is aware of that either."

"Do you know when she leaves her room? I want to talk to her."

Alex realized he needed to bring a realistic view of her. "She comes down to the stables to see her horse, but it's always at random. One time she's there while another time she is not."

Someone entered the room as the two turned to see Gerda walk in. "Alex, Kai needs to speak with you."

"I have to go, but we can talk about this later."

Alex busied himself with his lunch as the head servant spoke. "Young Anders lost his pig in the woods and I would like for you to find it."

When he ripped a piece from a biscuit, he took a moment to talk before eating. "Just look for his pig?"

"It's more than that," Kai replied. "Anders discovered a pack of wolves nearby and that is problematic. Martin told me you used to be a hunter before you were a blacksmith, could you deal with them?"

A moment later, he swallowed his piece. "I'll try, but it's not a guarantee. I wasn't exactly good as a hunter."

He grimaced at the situation before him. "I suppose having a bad hunter is better than having no hunter."

"Just lend me a crossbow, a bag of bolts, and a sword for my protection."

"Do you even know how to use a sword?"

Kai made a good point and Alex did not want to admit the truth, but it was necessary. "No, not at all. This whole idea sounds like it might end up in a disaster."

"That is a sentiment that we both share." The head servant agreed.