The gardens were peaceful as Elsa sat quietly on the bench. It was a change of pace when compared to her own stuffy bedroom. Yet, her conversation with Artyom still remained in her thoughts, especially about revealing her powers to her sister. The very idea fought against the way her father guided her to keep her powers a secret, but the Russian's experience seemed to be enough to make her reconsider. It was not an easy decision for her to make.

How could the princess of Arendelle tell her own sister and when was considered the right time?

Loud quacks had caught her attention as she looked around to see Artyom wearing his Arendellian uniform; however, he was being attacked by a duck. It was pecking him at every turn as he tried to move away. The duck was unrelenting as he ran beside her bench, letting distance keep it from following him.

When the yellow duck left him alone, Elsa could not help, but laugh. "She really does not like you."

He glanced over his shoulder. "That was a she?"

"Yes, she's a mother duckling. Kai and I took her in awhile ago. I thought it would make things more interesting in the gardens…" The princess paused for a moment and glanced up at the castle, "...despite living up there."

"I'll be honest, I've only seen ducks in pictures. Meeting one in person is… different."

Elsa looked at him. "You don't have ducks where you're from?"

He shook his head. "Nyet, too depressing and dangerous for any creature to live in."

"So what brings you here?"

Artyom slipped his hands into his pockets. "I'm about to say goodbye."

That was news. Was he leaving? "Why? What happened?"

"Kai was not happy at my absence and it gave him a reason to fire me," Then he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't blame him. It was a personal interest in your situation and the stableboy recovered, so it's expected."

"Perhaps I can convince him to reconsider," She offered. Artyom had the decency to keep his silence when he revealed his knowledge about her powers and he was willing to help. "Maybe you can continue working at the stables for a while longe-"

"It's already done," He cut her off, "Sooner or later, it was bound to happen."

"What do you mean?" Why did it sound like he expected that to happen, "You don't seem so distressed that you lost your job."

He sighed deeply. "At some point, I want to head back home and find my people. There is no obligation for me to stay here now that I need to go back."

She remembered what he said about the environment he had to endure. Then she stood up. "Are your people endangered? I can help out if I can."

"I doubt that you can. Especially, when my people are from a different world."

Elsa probably misheard what he was saying. "You doubt that I can help you."

"Yes, because my people are from a different world." His tone was far more firm in his belief.

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound possible. There is no such thing as another world."

Artyom raised his eyebrow at her reply. "This is coming from a princess with ice powers."

She could not retort. He did have a point about something that was too difficult to believe in. "So how are you going to get back? This is far beyond my power as the princess of Arendelle."

"Do not think too much about my problems," He assured her, "After all, you have to tell your sister about your magic. When are you going to tell her?"

The princess turned away and crossed her arms. "I don't know. Every time I think that this will be the day I will tell her, but then that thought comes into my mind that perhaps I can tell her another time. I extend the date even further and further, but it does not seem like the right moment," Elsa thought of that one time where she conversed with the trolls that night, "I'm scared."

He walked in front of her and both the princess and the young man looked at one another. "It's okay to be scared. To be afraid is perfectly normal for anyone, including myself."

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"After Kai had fired me, I heard something about preparations for your coronation. Do you know what that is?" Artyom asked.

She replied with a nod of her head. "That is the day when I become of age when I stop being a princess and begin my life as the Queen of Arendelle, the ruler of this kingdom," Then she realized that he was making an implication, "You want me to show Anna my powers on my coronation?"

"I think that is a perfect day to reveal it."

"That is… ambitious."

"Will that help?"

She nodded her head in approval. Artyom certainly has an idea worth considering. "It might work."

In the distance, Elsa heard a strange sound that cracked through the air. Then she and Artyom had turned around to see flocks of birds flee the forests that led to the North Mountain. It was the most unnatural sound she had ever heard before. Yet, he somehow knew what it was. "Gunfire. I better check it out."

"Why? Does it matter whose gunfire it is?"

"Yes," He answered as he began to leave the garden and ignore the mother duckling that had attacked him earlier. His attitude was vastly different a moment before.

The raid had brought many fruits of labor for the men. Old pre-war equipment was hard to come by, but this was a treasure trove of weapons and technology they got their hands on. Once the engineers had fixed the machines, everything changed for their people. They had sent the slaves first to see what they could find, only to return with something that seemed impossible to find in the desert - grass. This only piqued the interests of the war party as they began to send in patrols of men and their battle slaves into the unknown.

Now? They had found themselves in a land that did not seem to be affected by the bombs at all. Whatever this place was, Saul appreciated it. If the Baron learned of his findings, he could do well to find a posting at this place and steer away from the Caspian Sea… or what was left of it. Saul and his men were preparing camp, but one of the men had been attacked by wolves. He pitied the man and move on with what he set out to do - create his own kingdom that was far from the Baron and his eternal flame ideas.

Men stood around and kept an eye on the slaves, who worked daily to make the camp sufficient as an outpost to the best of their ability. Thankfully, the trees were an excellent resource for them to burden themselves with as Saul stood on top of the highest rock he could find. Every now and then, mosquitos would show up and prick them, but they were more of a nuisance than an actual threat. It wasn't as bad as the spider bugs the men had to clear out. It was a good thing their lair was not as developed as the Caspian.

There was movement coming outside of the camp as he saw five of his own men return from further reconnaissance. Saul looked closer to see that there was another, wearing a grey uniform as he was given an occasional hit from a butt of a gun as he was dragged by one of those Khazak slaves. He stepped down from his rock and approached the men at the entrance of the camp. "What did you guys fetch?"

One of the men took off his ragged face mask and chuckled. "You couldn't believe me if I told you. We caught this guy riding a horse."

Saul was in disbelief at what he was hearing. "I call bullshit! There is not a horse that has been eaten or mutated into whatever the fuck they are now."

"You should ask the rest of the squad about that. They'll back me up. Even fucking slaves believe me."

The recently captured man had been let down onto his knees as he looked up with his face swollen from the beatings. "Please, no more."

Then the squad leader slapped him in the back of the head. "Shut the fuck up, bitch!"

Saul raised his hand to cease him from beating him a second time. "Enough, let him talk for a bit. It might be entertaining," He took a few steps forward to see the man in person, "Alright, I'll keep my… associates from beating you if you tell me the surrounding area. If you do that, I might consider letting you go."

The strange prisoner nodded his head. "Of course."

"Tell us, where did you come from?"

He looked over his shoulder and pointed to the south. "There is a castle down south. The others and I were staying there for the time being."

The ring leader took notice of that detail. "There are more of your guys down there?"

"Yes. There are more of us."

"Interesting," Then he glanced at the men who captured him, "Let him go, guys, we'll take a look once we have the time."

The prisoner nodded his head with a smile. "Thank you, thank you."

Saul dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Get going before I reconsider."

"Okay, okay!"

He was weakened, but he still had some strength to get up and limp away as he slowly went south. "Guys, who want some target practice?"

There were cheers from the armed men as they all ceased in their duties and gathered near the edge of the ridge, overlooking down the rest of the path. The prisoner turned his head to express his horror. "You gave me your word that you would let me go?"

"I did!" Came his reply, "But my men are bored, so we'll give you a ten-second head start!"

The prisoner in the grey uniform had tried to run for his life, tumbling forward and down the slopes of the ridge as best as he could. However, he could not get out of their sight as much as possible. "God help me, please. God, help me, please." He said to himself as he descended.

Saul made an unconventional count-down as his men unslung their makeshift rifles and aimed downwards. "One… two… ten!"

Gunshots cracked in the air as the armed war party had opened up on the fleeing man. Some took bets on whether he would make it to a certain distance or someone with a skilled aim could hit him. Others began to pull out bottles of beer and drink at the expense of the man's life. Bullets missed, often hitting tree and bark, but mere meters away from the man.

The leader smiled as he pulled out a pre-war cigar and pulled out his lighter. This was going to be a message to any gangs out there who dared to defy him and by extension - the Baron's rule. He inhaled smoke before letting out puffs of air from his lips. Then he noticed a puff of smoke appear from one of the bushes below the ridge as a crack echoed, not from his men, but from the area below. A bullet struck one of the men with the rifles, catching everyone by surprise as Saul looked down to find the fleeing prisoner disappearing into the forest. "Okay, someone fucked up. Guys, we got someone to skin alive. I'll give you a month's supply of beer if anyone catches the bastard who killed Vassily."

Strange noises from the forests had stirred Arendelle into a worry, especially when some of the Russian regiments recognized it as gunfire. Prince Vaska Dolokhov stood on the edge of town with a regiment of line infantry wearing bright green uniforms as they took their positions around him. He had hoped that Arendelle wouldn't be worried about his men causing problems, but the Russian prince now felt glad that he brought his troops along. Something was afoot and he didn't like it.

He heard the regiment's sergeant shout out behind his back. "Sir, the head servant is here to see you!"

The prince turned around and saw the large man afraid of what was going on. "Prince Vaska, is there something troubling us in the forest?"

"I don't know," There was some truth in the man's word. The development was not much beyond gunfire in the distance, but he had some forethought to check it out, "I sent my skirmishers and hussars to check things out. They will report back if there is something amiss."

Assured by his actions, Kai nodded in approval. "Good. That is good. I suppose I can tell the princesses that there is nothing to worry about."

One of the infantrymen pointed his hand out. "Prince Vaska, we got movement in the treeline. It's hussars!"

Vaska and Kai looked to the front to see grey riders gallop from the edges of the forest; however, one of the men seemed injured and his face was in pain. Yet, it was not the only detail that caught the duo by surprise. Artyom was among the riders as he carried a musket in hand and rode ahead of the group. "Young man, what are you doing with them?"

He glanced at Kai first before he turned his full attention towards the prince. "Well-armed bandits. I managed to sneak up on the group and rescue one of your men before they could execute him."

Kai was in disbelief at the news. "Bandits? Arendelle hasn't had bandits for a very long time."

"Well, they're here," Artyom replied, "Much as a chat would be nice, I have to go back and make sure they don't follow us."

"Artyom, you'll be in danger. Stay in town and let the prince handle things from here."

He looked at the forest for a quick moment just so he could consider his decisions. "I have to go. There are some good people out there who are still in the range of the bandits. I have to warn them!" Without a word, he grabbed the reins of his horse and rode back to the forest without any hesitation.

"Why is he getting himself in danger? Doesn't he know he's just one man?"

Prince Vaska noted the musket and recognized that it is a Russian design. It came from his regiment's own pile, so he must have gabbed one of the weapons, but that also meant that he knew how to use it. "Kai, I think there is more to that stable boy than you ever realize?"

The head servant turned his head. "Excuse me? Is there something you noticed about Artyom?"

"For a stable boy, a hunter, and a blacksmith, he seems familiar in getting himself in danger such as coming across some bandits."

Artyom was finally away from the others, but on some level he was afraid. Those men almost reminded him of the bandits he would find in the Metro, but somehow they were different. He could not put his finger on the subject; however, he would think about it after he dealt with them. Hopefully, no one got scared when he returned with his equipment.

The young man remembered when he arrived in this world, far more afraid of what the Dark Ones had in store for him. He once thought they would have laid out tortures for his mind, but everything changed when they gave him a second chance. They gave him a choice, he would get the opportunity to live a new life if he forgot his memory, a way to cool off tensions between him and the mutants. He had to admit, it was an unconventional way of ending the conflict between the Dark Ones and the citizens of Exhibition.

He found the cave where they teleported him and where he left to live his new life in Arendelle. Now he would bring a part of him that would have terrified the princesses if they knew, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that there were safe from harm from a people who had no right to even call themselves men. At the entrance of the cave, Artyom delved deeper into the internal rock formations, letting his eyes readjust to the dark setting. After all, he was used to it.

His foot smacked against something soft. Artyom looked down to find his backpack, his gear, and his weapon all safely tucked away from the outside world. Then he grabbed his flashlight and turned it on, still having enough juice to light the way out. Before he would begin changing his clothes, the young man grabbed his helmet to see it was still worthy of being worn. The only detail that now mattered was if he was worthy to wear it.