Hector walked quietly alongside Elsa, their previous conversation still playing over and over in his mind. The two of them had confronted Jorgen to determine if he would be a problem going forward. At least, that's what he thought they were going to do. His eyes slid over to the blonde who walked with a regal powerful air around her.

Elsa had gone into that meeting already knowing what she needed to know, she just wanted to hear it from the harbormaster's mouth. She knew that Walter was the deciding factor on why Jorgen had stayed in Arendelle, she also knew that he was likely stronger than she was but now, thanks to that display between them with the desk, she knew that he wouldn't openly challenge her. The latter was effectively all that she needed to confirm but she went the extra mile and threatened him, declaring him her pawn instead of the other way around.

Despite his willingness and readiness to fight, Hector could honestly admit that when he watched her threaten him, he felt cold. Not the cold that came from her powers, it was like the cold of his body suddenly becoming void of life, in those few moments he felt empty and that he had died but his mind didn't know it.

He supposed that was natural considering what Jorgen was. Walter's will had revealed a great many things but had also created a whole slew of questions. Questions that Jorgen would never answer now.

The noble was also a little embarrassed, he didn't mean to lose his cool like that but hearing that bastard speak of Grace that way…

He shook his head, thanks to Elsa, Jorgen would think twice about messing with Grace or Edward. He was grateful for that, even if he would never admit it. Grace had spent all this time going over reports and speaking to Garret to learn about what they were up against all this time, that made her a target worth considering if someone hoped to stop them from gathering information.

Since that had become her primary occupation, he had her stay in his room. Again, he'd never admit it was out of concern for her safety but knowing that she was close at hand most of the time was comforting. In case something did happen, he knew that he wouldn't regret anything because he would either protect her, or die trying.

That left Edward, who had vacated the castle some time ago. After everything that happened after the invasion, Hector hadn't gone out to speak with the young man. The two of them had nothing to say to one another. The noble would confess he felt sorry for the guy, Walter had used him. It was no secret that the two of them fought every morning before training the guards, Edward had been the only person who actually liked being around the previous Captain. The banter the two of them shared made it clear to all the guards that they had grown close.

Yet Walter was raising him as a weapon to be used at best or a lamb to be slaughtered at worst.

The first time he had read the will where Walter confessed that he had sent Edward to Jorgen to get some experience being around one of those long thought dead demons, he assumed it was some kind of learning experience. However as he read on, Walter said that he had done it so that Jorgen could determine if the runt was ready to be stripped of his powers and given to himself. He also had said that should he die, then Jorgen would be looking for a new pawn, which would most likely be Edward given that he had already been sized up.

At first he didn't believe Walter would set up Edward like that, sure Walter was cold enough to do it to someone he didn't care for but Edward had embedded himself in the lives of everyone in Arendelle. Sacrificing him would have wounded a lot of people that Hector knew Walter cared for.

But then as time went on he kept rerunning what Garret had said when he explained what happened, his opinion started to change.

If Walter truly thought Edward was the one that could "be better" why would he strip the runt of his powers and then run off? Had he been taken over by Wrath and distanced himself to protect them? According to the Princess and Kristoff who both saw him protect them before running off, he was well in control of his actions. Plus according to Garret, Walter had consciously taken all the power for himself before leaving.

For all intents and purposes, Walter had done exactly what Jorgen wanted from Edward in the first place.

Hector thought back to Elsa's words in the meeting.

"..that Edward will be better, you're hinging your entire game on this pawn being able to transform himself into a stronger chess piece in the event your other one fails."

He knew that she believed he would. When it came to her family, Elsa had an unwavering amount of faith in them and she considered him family.

That being said, even though he hadn't seen him, Hector knew the state he was in. It was pathetic, truly sad how broken the young man was. If he wasn't working, he was drinking, or politely dismissing people that spoke with him. Part of him wanted to walk over and beat Edward back to his senses but he knew that it wouldn't work. The noble knew that for every foreigner that had come to meet the "legendary" Edward, the young man would send them away telling him that he had died.

It was all well and fine to say that to get rid of pesky fans but a whole other matter if Edward truly believed that. If he truly did, then what was stopping him from turning that belief into a fact? Thankfully, the repairs to the village were still underway and that gave him something to do, while Hector got his matters under control.

He did, for a time, entertained the thought of having Grace speak to Edward.

That night she had told him to man up and tell the Queen and he held her. He knew she could offer a unique perspective to the current state of affairs but wasn't sure seeing her would kick Edward off the deep end.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He wasn't supposed to care, all the times the two of them were at each other's throats seemed so long ago. The noble was deliberate in his insults and mannerisms toward Edward, the two of them were supposed to hate each other. He remembered his father telling him about keeping his eye on the prize and being Walter's replacement when the Captain retired.

Even back then, he knew that Edward was the stronger of the two and it had bothered him to know that this outsider was likely being considered for the position. Even though he was on a mission from the council to manipulate Elsa, he always strove to be the best and this nobody had pulled so far ahead of him even though the two of them never fought.

It was stupid, and he was being prideful but it was nice. Nice that there was someone he could shit on and they would give as good as they got. Hector had pushed himself hard in Walter's classes, beating the other guards were a show because they weren't who he strove for. Even after learning that Edward used to be an elite soldier from Blackdust, his desire to be better grew, more still when he found out about Wrath.

He may not have had powers or been training since he could walk but he was strong in his own right and it truly did piss him off to see the guy he strove to beat, pretending he was weak.

The castle gates quickly showed in their view as the guards saluted them as they passed. Elsa was likely going to head straight to her study to get more work done but stopped when she noticed an old man against the steps. His back was slumped against the steps with his head back and tongue out and to the side of his open mouth. He was perfectly still that Elsa had actually got worried and rushed over to check to see if he was breathing.

Hector instantly cut her off before she could reach the body and pushed her back behind him. It was odd that none of the guards had noticed this old man keeled over on the steps of the courtyard. After all that had happened, he had personally seen to it that every inch of the castle was covered and that there were no blindspots.

Someone should've noticed this old man.

Call him paranoid but with everything that happened the last year, he didn't care if he was. With a hand on one of his maces, Hector inched toward the old man and as he barely touched his neck…

…a heavy loud obnoxious snore had him jump and curse like a sailor.

His swears must've been loud because the old man's eyes peeled open groggily as he looked dumbly at the pair of them. The blonde, with her hand over her mouth looking quite amused while the guard next to her was mumbling unflattering words. Blinking a few times, the old man rolled on to his front and used his hands to steady himself as he pushed himself to his feet, with a groan as his back made a loud cracking sound.

Elsa, finally quelling her desire to laugh, moved forward to assist the senior as he had a hand on his back and was still groaning. "Here sir let me help you." With a delicate touch, Elsa created a light spring of cold where his hand was and she was rewarded with a relieved moan from him.

"Oh yes, that feels much better."

He turned around with a kindly smile and clasped both his hands around hers. "Thank you child, you're very much the woman he was proud of." He then turned to Hector, "As for you, you're an impressive young man and while he may have not always showed it, he was always very pleased with you."

Elsa and Hector looked at each other, neither of them sure what to make of this man. He was a little strange, maybe even confused but he seemed quite nice and pleasant. Before they could ask who he meant, Kai and Gerda both walked out of the castle with the latter gesturing toward the old man.

"This is him Kai, he said he had wanted to meet you, said you made an impression on someone he knew."

The overseer squinted his eyes and took a couple of steps to examine the old man who turned toward him with a bright smile. "I don't believe we've met and I haven't left Arendelle in many years nor have I made a noteworthy impression on anyone since I've been here."

Ledgar chuckled hoarsely. "He did always feel that you never gave yourself enough credit but he thinks the world of you." He then turned to Gerda. "You too made a profound impression on him and it's been a long time since I've seen him that way."

The four of them now felt like something was really off with this man. He still felt harmless but the more he spoke the more nagging that feeling in the back of their heads that they were missing something.

"I finally caught up to you!"

Everyone save Ledgar turned to the doors to the castle to see Anna, Kristoff, and Klein walking toward them. The mountain man was supporting his wife after she and Klein ran into him while they searched for the old man. Ledgar's earlier amusement seemed to fade as a nervous look crossed his face at the sound of the redhead's voice. He slowly turned around and hesitantly chuckled.

"Why hello, it's so nice for you all to join us. I must say this has been turning out better than I hoped all we need now is-"

"You."

Edward's long strides quickly ate up the distance between him and the old man before he reached out to grab his collar but stopped when he met Elsa's gaze. The two of them hadn't been face to face in some time now and seeing her again had brought up a few pangs in his heart that left him feeling weak.

Elsa's mask began to slowly melt at seeing the young man, space between them seeming like a chasm she was willing to cross but unsure if she should. She had known what he felt, and somehow she could feel those faint embers that still burned inside her whenever they had their arms wrapped around each other. The blonde was sure that everyone had momentarily forgotten the old man and was focused on the two of them, curious at what they'd do after everything that had happened.

"You should let yourself feel what you feel. It's a lot healthier than burying it." The trance between the two of them was broken with the old man's voice. He had a single hand against the side of his mouth trying to funnel his voice toward Edward but his whisper had been loud and everyone had heard it.

The young man took one last moment of drinking in the blonde's features before the dead look returned to his eyes as he scowled at the old man. He reached out and grabbed Ledgar's collar and bodily lifted the old man off the ground. Kai, Gerda, Hector, and Elsa were surprised to see Edward trying to intimidate an old man and moved to say something but he spoke first.

"You never answered my question, when was the last time you saw Walter?"

Ledgar didn't answer, he just blinked and stared at Edward.

The young man frowned at the man's silence and commanded his arm to shake the old man. The weight of the old man suddenly disappeared and Edward realized his arm was just starting to move from its lax position at his side. His eyes shot to his hand before back at Ledgar who was back where he was a moment ago.

He was simply staring at Edward with a neutral expression, his collar perfectly undisturbed from being grabbed just a moment ago. The young man thought that maybe he was losing his mind and moved to grab the old man's collar but Hector grabbed his arm before he could do so.

"Hey, lose that look on your face. He's just an old guy, no need to look at him like that."

Edward's eyes lightened marginally as they slanted over to Hector, seeing as this is the first time they had spoken in some time. Part of him wanted to make the noble release him but he found his arm dropping to the side as he regarded the man.

Hector sighed heavily, his thoughts from earlier rummaging around in his head. He still didn't know what to say. Edward's eyes were still pathetic to look at, hell just looking at him was painful, he looked like a kicked puppy. From the long shaggy hair, the bags under his eyes, the sweat stained shirt with worn suspenders and the faded brown pants with-

"Where are your shoes?"

Edward looked down and just now realized that he was indeed bare foot. He frowned in confusion trying to remember why he didn't have any shoes on as his feet finally started relaying the sensations of the ground to his brain. He remembered waking up in the infirmary with his shoes off, Anna lecturing him, then an old man walking in and-

"It's no wonder you two are great friends. "

Ledgar spoke up with a shaky hand rubbing the stubble on his chin. He looked like he was simply observing and on the verge of giving a lecture. The two of them turned to him, both of them just realizing that they had completely forgotten about him until he had said something.

"Those petty squabbles you two have is just your guys' way of showing the other that they're very-"

The old man suddenly started sniffling before sneezing violently which caused him to bend down…

…and avoid the knife that swiped just above his head.

Everyone backed up reflexively, being totally surprised to see Grace swinging a knife at an old man's head. Hector shook it off first and was about to say something when he noticed her eyes. Never before had he seen so much rage burning in her eyes. Even though it wasn't directed at him, he found himself too stunned to move.

Ledgar rubbed his head and felt some strands of his hair had been cut loose. Allowing them to blow in the wind, he turned to Grace with a guilty expression.

"Well hello Grace, my my, what a beautiful woman you've grown into."

She snarled her teeth and once again charged the old man who hadn't moved in response. Her knife was poised and ready to come down on his skull when her arm immediately stopped moving. Grace whipped her head and found her entire arm had been encased in ice with a pillar anchoring it to the ground. Immediately she started to struggle and when it came clear that the ice wouldn't budge, she whirled on Elsa and snarled.

"Release me, NOW!"

Everyone around them was surprised to hear a demand come from the normally composed woman. It was even more surprising who she was demanding it from. Elsa on the other hand, wasn't angry or even put off by it, obviously Grace and Ledgar had known each other but she wasn't going to let them slaughter one another.

"Grace, you need to calm down, I don't know wh-"

"That's right, you don't know what this…" Grace snarled at Ledgar who still had a sad look on his face but otherwise didn't move. "...monster has done. He ruined my life!"

That seemed to snap Hector out of it as he approached the woman with his hands raised. "Grace, please, you're better than this. You need to calm yourself. Before anything, you drew a blade against an unarmed man in front of the Queen of Arendelle. If I were in your shoes, you'd tell me to remember my place." The noble shot the old man a measured glare before returning to the trapped woman and taking another step toward her with his arms outstretched.

She was still heaving and struggling against her binding while glaring at the old man. The noble knew her well enough to know that she had more than one knife on her person and that she was likely waiting for a better opportunity to strike than the one she found herself in right now. That suggested that she was still thinking logically, on some level. Reminding her of her duty and place in Arendelle was his way of hopefully getting her to allow that logical part of her to realize that right now wasn't the place for this.

Personally, if she called him a monster and he ruined her life, Hector was fine with the old man being killed.

But he didn't want her to compromise all that she had built since coming to Arendelle.

He took another step until he was right up next to her and lightly put a hand on her shoulder. She immediately jerked him off but he shook off the attempt and wrapped his arms around her. His arm pinned her free arm to her side while putting them cheek to cheek. She fought to get out of his grip but her struggles quickly died as her glare turned into a disgusted frown.

"Can Queen Elsa let you go?"

Grace took one last look at Ledgar and sighed heavily. She couldn't trust herself to answer so she nodded and the pillar that held up arm dissolved allowing her to drop her limb. The ice melted at her fingertips but remained stalwart from her wrist up her shoulder.

A pointed request, which had Grace sigh again before she relaxed her fingers and the knife dropped to the ground and the ice melted completely from her arm. She stood there silently with a frown on her face as she looked away from the old man but also did not look at Hector. When the noble felt he could, he slowly let her go and stood in front of her, looking at her cheek as she pointedly looked away from him.

Edward observed the two of them silently. He recognized how even in her throes of rage, Hector had managed to get through to her and that his presence relaxed her. Even when she pushed him away, he shook off her attempts and still moved forward to be there for her. His unyielding spirit was completely undaunted by her disposition that was liable to lashing out that could cause injury.

If the real Edward was here, he might tease the two about being romantically close but all he could do was stare at them. After a moment, he found his eyes involuntarily slanting over to Elsa who was also focused on the two but also found her eyes moving toward him.

Another silent look was shared between the two before it became too much and they broke eye contact to look at Hector who had released her from his hug and had his hands on her shoulder.

He could tell that her outburst wasn't over, she had just lost her grip for a second and now that she had a deathgrip on her emotions again, she'd be more practical the next time she went after this guy. Until then though, he could make sure she didn't lose her cool again. When he was certain she wouldn't try anything this moment, he turned to the old man.

"I think it's time you introduced yourself."

Ledgar didn't miss the glare that Hector was now aiming at him as well as the suspicious looks he got from everyone. Raising a hand and combing it through his hair and scratching his head, he sighed.

"My name is Ledgar Haytham, at one time I was the Commander of the 2nd Battalion Special Missions unit…" He started to scratch his neck and sighed heavily once again as if it was hard to get the words out of his throat. Nevertheless, he continued.

"I'm also the one who made Walter Stonewell the being he is today and the reason why his wife is dead."