With that simple sentence, Elsa's mind went into overdrive with the prospect that she now knew there were more out there like her. She honestly wanted to sit down with this man, Edward, and get him to tell her everything he knew. While it was disappointing that he himself wasn't like her, he seemed to know more about people like her and that was more than enough. Fighting to keep her voice steady, she asked him hopefully sounding dignified.

"So you've encountered these 'Elementals' as you've called be, before have you?" Edward scratched his head a little bit trying to find the right words to answer her question. While it was true he has met Elementals before, the ones he had the misfortune of meeting were not kind. Throughout his travels to distant lands, Elementals were beings who used their abilities to spread destruction wherever they pleased.

He's seen villages burned with a sweep of a man's fingers, boats struck by lightning with the snap of another, towns swept away under a tidal wave at a woman's howl of anger. So when he heard of the Snow Queen of Arendelle he automatically assumed she'd be like the others and he didn't want to give her a reason of unleashing her abilities on him. However from what he seen in the town, the citizens were happy and her kingdom had peace, one he could never dream of having from his home.

Perhaps she wasn't like the others he'd met in his travels but looks could be deceiving, he knew that very well. A dark chuckle went through his mind as he considered who could be the bigger danger in this room, him or her. Part of him actually wanted to find out but he already gathered his thoughts and spoke with precision.

"Yes I have, mostly in distant lands. They are more well known if you travel across the vast ocean, however I would advise against that your Majesty." The Queen raised an eyebrow in confusion and intrigue. "And why would you advise against it?" Edward's next reply came out without thought.

"Because I assume you enjoy being alive and not burned on a stake."

A large gas filled the room at his blunt answer and when he looked into the eyes of the two sisters, his response fully dawned on him. He went straight to his knees and bowed his head so he wouldn't have to look into Elsa's inviting eyes. "Your Majesties, please forgive my outburst, I didn't mean to be so openly disrespectful. I will accept any punishment you seem fit, all I ask you consider forgiving my words."

When Elsa heard his response she felt a chill go down her spine, she only truly felt the cold when something frightened her. Like when her powers were revealed, Anna being struck by her magic twice, and when those Weselton guards had tried killing her. A hand laid on her shoulder as she looked up to see Anna softly smiling at her, placing her own hand on top of her sister's she shared one back before looking at the man bowing before her. Gathering her royal bearing, Elsa spoke with an even tone that concealed her thoughts.

"You may rise, your response was just unexpected." Edward raised to his full height and stood at attention, now taking extra care to control his words with practiced precision. Elsa took notice that the man's posture was similar to how her guards would stand when they were addressed by royalty or their captain: back straight, eyes forward, heels together, and hands at side. Whoever this man was, it was possible that either he was familiar with royalty or was militarily trained.

Putting that thought aside she was curious to see where he stood when it came to Elementals. So far he hadn't expressed any disdain toward her when he realized she was the Snow Queen, perhaps he was cautious to reveal his true feelings in front of her? Elsa had accepted that others may be fearful of her and her powers but she resolved as long she had the people she cared most for then it wouldn't bother her. At least, that's she told Anna but deep down if she were being totally honest, she wished people could see past her powers and just see her, not the queen of Arendelle, no just see Elsa.

"So I take it these Elementals as you call us aren't very welcomed around the world?" Edward kept his eyes forward as to not give away what he was thinking to the Queen. There were a great many people who would run from a known Elemental rather than embrace them, hell some would label them as demons and attempt to purge them.

If only they knew…

Pushing his own thoughts away, Edward spoke in a calm measured tone. "Humans generally don't welcome things that they do not understand, some may embrace the unknown while others view it as a threat. Elementals are still largely unknown, there have only been a handful of sightings over the years. These sighting have resulted in disaster for both the Elemental in question and the people pursuing them, as such, humans will not react warmly towards Elementals given the past. There are assuredly many like you, who feel that they should remain in hiding to keep themselves safe, from those who would see them harm for being different."

Elsa's heart deflated at the answer, she had hoped that her kind would be more welcomed out in the world. However it seemed that even with her shaky coronation, she had gotten a happier ending than others like her. During her first year as Queen she tried so improve the lives of her people so much to make up for what she had done, and for the most part she succeeded. The economy was growing, education bloomed, their welfare was impeccable, and there was virtually no crime. She'd walk around to interact with her people and she was generally met with warm smiles of gratitude. When it came to her trade partners, she was stern yet fair and tried to accommodate any of chose to trade with her. As a result, Arendelle had no personal enemies, not counting Weselton, who was kept in check by the neighboring kingdoms allied with her.

Even the Southern Isles had sent their apologies for Hans' attempt to take the throne and asked she not cut off their trade agreement. Elsa could never truly forgive Hans for what he did, not to her, but to Anna, however she couldn't exactly blame an entire kingdom for one prince's actions.

A duke on the other hand...

Regardless she was given forgiveness for setting off an eternal winter in her own home, so she had a healthy respect of the act of forgiveness. This had made her a benevolent Queen devoted to Arendelle that was loved by the people, but she always worried that her powers frightened them. She couldn't help the next question that came out of her mouth, but she expected an unfavorable answer.

"And how do you feel around people like me?"

Edward actually considered the question, he remembered all the encounters he's had over the years and thought about them. Personally he had no problem against Elementals, every person had the capacity to commit great evil or good, regardless of what abilities they possessed. That was a sobering fact of life, one could never know the difference between an angel or monster sitting next to them until that person deemed it necessary to show it.

Careful, you're beginning to self project.

That went double for him, Edward could guarantee he's done far more evil then the platinum beauty could fathom. He may have done it out of following orders but the sin remains committed by him and they'll never go away. So when he considered an Elemental to him, he didn't distinguish them from any other human he met.

Shrugging his shoulders, he answered. "The same as I feel around everyone else, nothing more, nothing less."

That wasn't the answer Elsa expected yet her spirit lifted a little. This man seemed to not hold any negativity toward her or people like her, like he felt that she was still as human as the rest of them. If he thought so then maybe all was not lost, perhaps during the Winter Gathering, she could somehow improve the outlook of Elementals from neighboring kingdoms. If she could find a place with her people in Arendelle then she'd like to offer the same for any out there that was like her. With the idea in mind, she wanted to speak with Edward later to describe his encounters with people like her and where so she could get an idea where they could be hiding.

"Well it's nice to hear that someone not from Arendelle, doesn't fear Elementals as you've described." Edward raised his hands to his sides while shrugging. "You're all still human, no one is above or beneath another, at least, that's what I learned in my travels."

Anna finally gathered her nerve to speak after the conversation took a more somber turn, finally spoke. "So where have you traveled from and where are you going?" The man considered her question a moment before turning and answering her.

"I've come a very long way, it took me weeks to get this far and I still plan to go even further. I planned on staying here long enough to earn some money for a ship to take me to Blackdust then I'll keep heading south." Elsa's eyes widened as he mentioned Blackdust but chose not to say anything at this time, deciding to bring it up later with him privately. Anna raised an eyebrow before speaking one thing popped up into her mind.

"You said you'd keep going south after leaving Blackdust but that's just open ocean where do you plan on stopping?" Edward eyes grew somewhat dull as he looked down with a self deprecating smile that stuck a cord in Elsa's heart. It was the same look she had on her coronation day when she told Anna that things couldn't stay the same as they did in the past. The look of torment that came from one's self when they wished they were different than what they were now.

"Hopefully I'll finally find a place where I can be alone." Edward honestly didn't mean to say that, but the more he thought as to why he was traveling, the heavier the weight on his shoulder grew. He had done so much, and he couldn't be around other people, he didn't want to be called a monster again. He said it enough to himself more than enough times on a daily basis.

"Being alone won't make what you feel go away." Edward eyes widened as he looked up to stare into Elsa's deep blue eyes that radiated compassion and kindness. The way she looked at him made the weight disappear entirely and he could breathe easier. It felt like she knew what he was feeling and he couldn't help but be mesmerized by her voice.

"At first you may feel that all your problems and fears are too far away to chase you, but they'll always be right there until you face them. You may feel that being alone is what's best for everyone but all you're doing is distancing yourself from the people who care about you and you end up hurting them when all you want to do is protect them." Hearing her words and the sincerity in her voice, made Edward's heart flutter but it also brought a fresh stab of pain when he thought of his loved ones.

There isn't anyone left in this world to care about.

Some of the weight returned on his shoulders, however he was still able to make a brighter smile as he bowed spoke sincerely. "Thank you, it's been a long time since someone's tried helping me." Elsa smiled at his words while Anna began bouncing over to him. When she got close, she took the man's hands in her own and made him look up at her.

"Of course we would help you, after all you saved Kristoff last night. I can't thank you enough for doing so, he means the world to me and when I heard he was attacked by bandits my entire world began to shatter. Elsa was the only teather I had to keep my world from falling apart. I was so relieved when I found out he was ok, and it was all thanks to you." She spoke with an enormous amount of gratitude that a few tears managed to slip out from the corners of her eyes as she smiled.

Edward couldn't help but smile back at her before nodding. It's been a long time since someone has thanked him for something and it was nice to finally hear it. Elsa stood off her throne and approached the two of them with a smile before standing a few feet away from them. "My sister is right, we cannot thank you enough for rescuing Kristoff, as such, I was hoping you'd join us for our family dinner tonight." Anna turned back with Edward's hands still in hers and began to bounce in joy.

"Elsa that's a great idea!" The young man could only chuckle as he accepted their invitation. Before anyone else could speak, a knock came at the door, Elsa called for them to enter and behind it was Kai. He made a respectful bow before addressing the queen. "Your Majesty, the captain of the guard has requested your presence in your study, I believe he wishes to discuss the growing bandit problem."

The platinum beauty nodded as she turned back Edward and Anna. "It seems a queen's work is never done, I'll leave you in my sister's capable hands." She then turned to leave with Kai, closing the large doors behind her. Elsa walked the halls behind her friend until she arrived in her personal study with the captain of her guard waiting for her. Walter Stonewell was just as his name suggested; stalwart, large in stature, and deadset in his convictions.

He was made captain of the guard when her father ruled, and remained to protect Arendelle long after his passing. Elsa had very few interactions with the man, given he spent most of his time ensuring Arendelle's safety or training new recruits. She remembered the first time she had met the man as a child, he was so tall and imposing that she squeaked when he looked down at her. She hadn't seen him since until a few days after her coronation, she was still forced to look up at his towering stature, however she realized that he was a just man who only sought to protect. So she was able to form a friendship with the man with the interest of protecting her people.

He was an older gentlemen, yet she had seen him training her guards, he was unmatched when paired against them. His large stature gave him overwhelming power compared to the average person and his agility was completely unexpected given his size. She remembered her father telling her he was a foreigner who hailed from a faraway kingdom that was consumed by war. His desire to protect others stemmed from the atrocities he'd seen so long ago. He may not be the most cheerful of people yet he was fair and just, qualities her father couldn't pass over when selecting the captain of the guard.

The man made a respectful bow before addressing her. "Your Majesty, due to the increase in bandit attacks outside the city walls we've set up patrols as you've instructed yet have not found the bandit camp. If we continue to just patrol the area then we risk giving them a chance to regroup and pose a greater threat than they would otherwise. As such, I suggest we deploy more of troops to search the mountain for their whereabouts."

Elsa had considered organizing search parties however that required her to pull guards from the city to do so. And while she was sure that her people would remain safe should she sent them, she didn't want to cause a panic with guards leaving the gates. Also the mountain was very large, and had plenty of places to hide a camp, should she send them they'd have to cover such a large area to find the bandits. So she decided that for a while they'd focus on defense and just set up patrols leading the Arendelle until they gathered more information. However the attacks had begun to grow more frequent and her people began to grow restless so now might've been the time to act more aggressively.

"Alright captain Stonewell, how do you plan to organize these troops to find the bandits?" The man seemed to already have a plan in mind as he brought out a map of the North Mountain and laid it out for her. "I planned on asking the Royal Ice Master where he was attacked and seeing if we could pick up a trail from where they first engaged him. According to his report last night, there were six of them, we were only able to find three bodies, I was hoping he could take us to the site of the attack." That set off alarm bells in her head, she didn't want to endanger Kristoff again after his attack from last night. Anna would be furious if she heard what the captain intended.

"Captain, while I don't disagree with your notion of setting up search parties, we cannot intentionally danger Kristoff again. You will just have to search the mountain with the men you can spare." The large man seemed to want to disagree however he nodded his head and accepted her words.

"I will begin to organize men immediately your Majesty, I will send you a report within the next few days of our progress." Elsa nodded and was about to turn to leave when the large man raised a hand. "There is one more matter I'd like to discuss."

The platinum beauty gave him her full attention as he pulled a report from behind him. When he handed it to her, she realized that it was the autopsy of the three bodies that were found. She read over it and her eyes widened before looking back to the captain of the guard with disbelief in her eyes. "Is this report accurate?"

"Yes it is your majesty, the first body was found to have been thrown by something after the bandit's head had been completely turned backwards. The other two bodies were found further away buried under the snow, torn apart limb from limb. There were splatters of blood all over and at first I expected that stranger might've had a hand in it. However my guards last night said there wasn't a drop of blood on the guy, also it would've taken an inhuman amount of force to cause such a scene. When I questioned master Bjorgman, he said two of bandits did pursue the stranger and they were gone a few minutes. And when he returned there still wasn't a large amount of blood on his person. If it would be possible, I'd like to question him as well, something so gruesome would take much more than a few minutes to commit."

Elsewhere, a ship was sailing around through the vast ocean. At the front bow of the ship was a man with tan skin and piercing red eyes, he tapped his fingers on the railing as he watched the sea flow past him. He'd been sailing for three days after his last conquest. He could remember feeling his victim struggle in his grasp before he snuff out the man's spark of life. He honestly expected a better challenge, his quarry was known to destroy villages with a snap of his fingers, yet all it took for him to win was one punch.

His target crumpled to the ground barely conscious, he even gave the guy time to recollect himself. He picked up the man by the throat with one arm and waited a full minute before he had enough and broke his neck with a flex of his hand. Gripping the railing in anger at the memory, he snapped the wood like a toothpick as he growled.

"Damn Elementals."