Shoutout to lynnxs Jiang-sama cayres2000 for the follow/favorite.

Special shoutout to the reviewer pup: as always thank you for your honesty in the last chapter. I will however say that my opinion on sex before marriage is that it depends on the couple and things do happen and you just got to roll with them. Also i will say that the pregnancy of Anna may have not been necessary but happiness is not necessary and in regards to this story it will have its use as well as meaning so for the sake of this story, the pregnancy is meaningful.

When Elsa finally arrived to her room, Gerda's control on her body evaporated and she was finally able to wonder why she was sent to her room. She thought back on what created the situation, Garret staying in her castle. The alchemist had helped Arendelle avoid an international incident by providing information with that woman Mary Lawson, that was something she was grateful for. Plus he had critical information on a looming enemy that she has never seen or heard of. Neither Edward or Ahimoth knew anything about this man named Father, quite frankly, he sounded like a myth but the deaths of many in his name made him real to her.

Her first duty was to protect Arendelle and her people against all threats.

To accomplish this, she needed information and so far, only Garret had the information she most desperately needed. That justified his stay here where she could keep an eye on him. There was also the fact that he had helped her father in the past and remained in Arendelle, legally speaking, he is one of her subjects, so she was obligated to protect him. That was why he was staying in her castle, she couldn't change that.

The other reason that brought on that argument was the fact she didn't tell Edward about his staying here. When Elsa first arranged for Sobel to stay in her castle, she made sure he was isolated from everyone else and only had a select few people know of his existence. In the beginning she told herself she did that so she could protect her family who slept on the complete other side of the castle and could evacuate if he tried anything. However, looking back, she found that her isolating the man and keeping his staying here a secret was just a way to keep Edward from knowing.

Despite his kind personality, she knew he could forgo that when it really mattered, or when he lost control. She was hoping to find the right time to tell the young man that Garret was staying here and ensure he wasn't going to get angry. How could she have known that he would assault the guards she assigned the alchemist? She never considered that scenario ever happening and when Grace came to the throne room with him restrained, Elsa wanted to believe in the young man.

When they walked through those doors, the blonde was going to have Edward released and brought to her study where the two of them could talk it out but she didn't realize how angry he already was. When he challenged her in her own throne room, the Queen inside of her couldn't sit by and allow this. Her regal bearing and pride took over and treated him like he was a subject of hers.

In hindsight, she could see that that was the wrong thing to do on her part. Edward was so much more than just a subject, that very morning they had been so intimate she couldn't imagine life without him next to her. The warm and loving eyes he had for her this morning were locked behind the layers upon layers of pain that his father had inflicted on both Rahim and Wrath.

So when he found out that the very same man was hiding in the same building as the woman he loved and that she was the one to hide that from him, she could see how betrayed he must've felt. It might have felt similar to how she felt when she found out her council had kept those four deaths hidden from her.

Elsa was still angry, the things he said hurt terribly and made it hard for her to regret knocking him through the throne room doors but logically she could understand where he was coming from.

The door to her room opened and Gerda stepped through before closing it behind her. Usually, Elsa would've greeted the older woman but today, she continued to stay faced away from her, reluctant to see what kind of expression was on her face.

"Elsa."

The blonde didn't turn around.

"Elsa, look at me."

The young woman took a deep breath before she slowly turned around expecting to see a furious or disappointed expression. When she finally worked the nerve to look at the older woman in the eye, she stiffened when she recognized the sad expression on her face. Gerda's earlier face of anger and disappointment had melted to reveal one of sadness that hid underneath it all. The blonde didn't know what to say or why her pseudo mother had such an expression, she should be furious right now.

"Elsa, why did you use your powers?"

"He...wouldn't let go of me…"

Her reason sounded petty and feeble but it carried more weight than what the blonde was ready to explain. Gerda considered it for a moment before she walked over to the large bed and sat down on it before tapping the space next to her. Elsa followed and took a seat next to the woman who blew through her nose.

"Are you sure he wouldn't have let go of you? He might've had you asked."

Elsa hadn't thought of that in the heat of the moment, Edward's grip on her wrist wasn't bruising or harmful, just firm. He had made it a point to initiate and relinquish contact with her depending on how she felt. She never had to ask for him to let go of her, or even to hold her, he'd just do it on his own. Her mind assumed that he would sense her distress of him having a grip on her and release her but when he didn't, she panicked. That ice pillar in his stomach was the result of her panicking.

What made it bizarre as that Elsa had no idea why an ice pillar was the first thing her mind leapt to. While she still didn't regret it, she could've done so many things to get her to release her. Or the simplest one and just ask him to. The blonde had no idea if he would actually would've released her if she just asked but she never gave him the chance. She assumed he would've denied her and went straight to forcing him to let go of her.

The same way she assumed he would lose control if he saw Garret and hide the man away from him.

The more she thought about what happened the worse she started to feel. She could now admit the two of them weren't being their best and the intimate knowledge they had gave them more firepower to hurt the other with. Unlike other times Elsa received word of other kingdoms believing her to be a witch or saying that she was unfit to rule because of her being a woman, they were all baseless claims. Everything that Edward said was true in one way or another, which made it hurt all the more that he was using that against her.

There was also what she said, bringing up that he had ran from Rakat's army for a full year because of his 'mistake' was a terrible thing to say. He had anguished because of that and still had lingering guilt over what happened.

The blonde had stayed quiet as she considered this and Gerda watched the thoughts bounce around in her eyes before speaking again.

"I understand that you weren't thinking clearly but you shouldn't have used your powers in such a way. Elsa, you knocked a grown man across your throne room and through the doors. Have you thought about what would happen if you actually hurt him? Even if he is fine, will the next person be fine, or the person after that? You know better than anyone how dangerous your abilities are. I am not saying this to make you stop using your gift, I'm saying this to warn you that you have to be careful."

That made her start to feel guilty, she hadn't really considered how much force she put into that pillar. She didn't really realize that he went through those heavy oak doors of her throne room. She remembered him laying there for a moment, unmoving. There was no doubt in her mind that he would get back up on his feet, he always did, but she still ignored that he always felt pain. It now began to dawn on her how bad it would've been if it had been anyone other than Edward she sent flying.

She didn't know the extent of the damage but if it made Edward, who had reinforced bones and could heal, take a minute to get back on his feet; she shuddered when she imagined what it could've done to a regular person.

The realization that Gerda wanted the blonde to feel began to play out on her face as the older woman watched. In her eyes, when she watched Edward get knocked through those doors, her heart stopped for a moment.

She had really begun to like the young man and she was already aware of their relationship the moment she went into the blonde's room. While Elsa was practical to get rid of the sheets, she didn't count on the room smelling the way it did, with her sleeping in the room and getting used to the smell, she didn't realize that it was still in the air when she left. There was also the glow that came from her face that no one could take away from her, it really looked like her daughter had spent the night dancing on the clouds.

Seeing the man who made her feel that way lay there unmoving was a scary feeling, until he swung his legs out the hole and stood up with no problem. She watched him clean himself up before fixing Elsa with that angered expression, it was at that moment she decided to intervene as things had already gone too far. Gerda ordered him to go to the infirmary to make sure that he was in no danger and that he would leave just to get him out of the castle for a while.

Fights between two people who cared deeply for one another were messy and required understanding to resolve them. The older woman separated the two of them as she knew that on their own they would realize that what they did was wrong. Her hope was that with distance they would appreciate the other more and have the time to see both perspectives. It looked like Elsa was already beginning to catch on to that, the blonde was always quick to pick up on things.

Now she just needed for Edward to get on the same page. While she liked him immensely, she was aware that he had a temper, one that burned quite dangerously when lit. So she hoped that someone with experience in that department could talk to him.

Walter.

It had been some time since she last spoke to him but he passed by her once in the hallway and explained that he was mentoring the young man at times. Gerda knew all the gritty details of the Captain's life, he had told both her and Kai, neither held any of it against him as they could see he was a just man. The fact he treated Elsa and Anna like his own granddaughters made him an even better choice to lecture the young man. She knew that Kai would likely seek the old man out as she took care of Elsa.

Speaking of whom, Gerda just now realized that one of the Queen's ice shoes was missing from her feet and a slow drip of blood was coming from the bottom. Getting up from the bed and kneeling to get a better look at the woman's foot, she could see there were a few cuts on the bottom. The contact had Elsa looking at her and wincing when the older woman started to clean the cuts.

"Elsa, I want you to be honest with me. I don't need a specific answer, just an honest one. Was Edward the one you really wanted to let go of you?"

The blonde's first reaction to that was confusion, of course she wanted Edward to let go of her. As she was about to answer, something in the back of her mind kept her from speaking. It was a subtle feeling that had her think back to when she grabbed him and tried to pull her hand away. The panic she felt, never before has she ever felt anything but safe in his arms, so why this time did she panic?

"Well you certainly sounded like you needed one when you were about to be raped!"

Hearing those words, even in her mind made her think back to that night. She remembered being held down, pulling and begging to be released but for them to not heed her words. She wished over and over that her magic would work and she could defend herself but nothing happened, she was completely helpless to stop what was about to happen.

If Edward truly hadn't come in when she did, then she would've been…

Elsa didn't want to think about that, she thought she put that behind her. She vented to the young man after it happened and has had no problem physically touching another male afterwards. Even when she first had sex with him, none of those memories came back to her.

Why did they come now?

She didn't have an answer for that no matter how much she wished she did. All she could do was look away from Gerda and shake her head.

The older woman looked like there was something more on her mind but she kept it to herself as she finished her task of cleaning the cuts on the bottom of the woman's foot. After wrapping it, Gerda stood up and fixed the blonde with a patient look.

"Elsa, I want you to think about why you did what you did. I want you to truly know what was going on in your head, you're an intelligent and thoughtful young woman who thinks everything through first before doing it. There are times you go off emotion and I can't expect you to know right away what you were feeling and know precisely why you did it. However, I do expect you to be honest with yourself, I don't need to know why you did what you did. Edward does. You're not entirely in the wrong, he has his own thinking to do, which is why for right now the two of you won't see each other for a while."

The young woman looked up ready to instinctively argue but the patient stare had her words dying in her throat. "He also needs to have time to think about why he said what he did. Regardless of anything, you are still Queen and as long as he is in this kingdom, he has to abide by what you say. However, if he truly means a lot to you, if you wish to give him your heart, then he deserves honesty from you. You know that love is messy and if this is really what you want then know that it will not always be easy, you two may have a worse fight later down the road, you two won't agree on everything. It's how you deal with it that defines if you two are truly right for each other."

Gerda's eyes flashed with another emotion that Elsa caught but couldn't identify. "Just because the two of you love each other, doesn't mean that you two will be good for one another."

The blonde blinked as she didn't really understand the words at face value. How could two people love each other but just not be good for each other? She wanted to ask that but the emotion in the older woman's eyes kept her from doing so. With those cryptic words, Gerda started toward the door and was about to go through it when Elsa called behind her.

"How long am I locked in my room?"

The loving older woman turned with a chastising look. "You aren't locked in your room, but you are done for today. No meetings, paperwork, nothing. You're going to use this time to just think, where you do that is up to you, but you can't see Edward until you get my say so."

Edward sat on an empty hospital bed as Doctor Steward approached him with a skeptical expression. The young man had come in with Hector and asked the Doctor for a check up without giving any specific details. It was an odd request but one that the older man fulfilled and so far, he could not find anything wrong with the young man. Hector kept his face neutral to hide his thoughts when the Doctor turned his way for an explanation and only said that it was requested by Gerda. After another battery of tests, the older man gave Edward the all clear and went to see to his other patiences leaving the two young men on their own.

The instructor glanced around the room looking for a few people in particular but couldn't seem to pick them out in the room. "Klein is waiting in one of the parlors to give a statement about what happened, I'm sure he's fine if he's not here."

The noble had his arms crossed as he watched the young man in front of him put his head down and nod dejectedly. The fight that was in his eyes seemed to die after Gerda dismissed him. Bowman's job was to make sure Edward was fine then escort him out of the castle. He knew that but wasn't in any rush to carry out his orders. He was more curious about why the usually calm instructor lost it like he did.

"Hey hothead, I think now is a good time to fess up why you decided to lose it."

The callous way Hector spoke to him didn't really phase Edward all that much. Gerda's words were still echoing in his head and the more he thought about them, the more guilty he felt. His words kept echoing over and over in his head and he asked himself once again why he had said all that. His mind would answer with a memory of Talib but with all the fight drained out of him he felt that it was a feeble reason. The memories of that man was a lifetime ago but it still affected him this much today. The thought made him put his head in his hands and breathe loudly through his nose.

The gesture didn't amuse Hector as he kicked one of the young man's legs to remind him of his question. The kick itself didn't hurt as much as just shake him which made him give his feeble answer.

"I saw my father, the one who made my life hell."

The noble snorted at the weak voice, already annoyed that Edward was forgetting his words about pretending to be weak. "Bullshit. That guy is only father to one kid and you're not him. Elsa told me about both Rahim and your lives, between the two of you, Rahim has the biggest bone to pick with that guy. Only thing that the guy did to you was make you, that's it. Every order you were given after that came from that Father guy, so you have no reason to be pissed at him."

He's right you know.

Edward forgot that Wrath was aware of what was going around him. The predator had gone silent after what happened with the guards. Even with the mess in the throne room, he still hadn't said a word, the young man wondered what was going through the demon's mind.

Hector waited for the young man to say anything but as he was met again with silence, the noble started to lose his patience. "I really thought we got over this shit. Stop acting like some sorry little victim, you aren't Rahim, so you should stop bitching like you are. He's dead, he came back and killed some of our guys and you put him back in the ground. The end. There is no reason you should even be imitating this guy, why do you even care so much? Is it because you killed his mommy? Well sucks to be him, he wasted his life trying to kill you and would've succeeded had you not been put in his body. That isn't your fault, so stop acting like it is!"

The rant that Bowman gave the young man got louder and louder which attracted the attention of the entire room. The guard didn't particularly care as all he really wanted was for the young man in front of him to pull his head out his ass but he kept that same miserable kicked puppy expression on his face. The noble was about to really lose it and give the young man something to cry about when the doors opened and Stonewell wheeled in with his trademark frown on his face.

"About damn time you wheeled your ass up here, maybe you can talk some sense into his thick skull." The Captain didn't dignify that with a response as he stopped in front of the slouched over young man who looked up at him with a slight fear in his eyes, bracing for a lecture.

"Come on, I need to go somewhere, you're coming with."

Edward stared for a moment before getting to his feet and was about to walk past the old man but was stopped by his cane. "Where we're going is a bit of a walk and I don't feel like getting myself there so you can push my chair this one time."

The young man watched Stonewell fold his hands in his lap and relax against his chair, waiting to be pushed. Expecting some kind of catch, Edward slowly grasped the back handles and started to push the chair out of the room. The two of them passed Kai on the way out who gave the young man a disappointed stare before going back to his composed neutral one.

"Bowman, make sure none of the men on duty are slacking off." The noble scoffed loud enough for the old man to hear but followed after them to do as he was asked.

Edward and Stonewell exited the castle and rolled through Arendelle in virtual silence except for when the old man would give directions. The young man was waiting on the inevitable explosion of curses and rants from the Captain for what he did in the throne room but so far the wheelchair occupant didn't look like he was holding in the explosion. There was no way that Stonewell didn't know what had happened, Gerda had said he would be informed and Kai had seen all of it. One of them must've told the old man yet here he was with a bored expression on his face as he was being pushed around.

Him thinking so much kept Edward from realizing where the two of them were until they were in the harbor in front of a two story building that had Mr. Jorgen's office inside. "We're here."

The young man looked up at the building and wondered why the two of them were here of all places. He had a reason to go as he still needed to thank Mr. Jorgen for trying to pull Wrath out of that Hell, even if it was an illusion. He didn't the first time as it slipped his mind and he was focusing entirely on making Elsa feel better.

A stab of pain ran through him as he thought of her name. Just this morning he would've done anything for her and he just severely hurt her. His words were all meant to wound and he knew he did, her eyes told him how much it hurt for him to say those things. The real convoluted part was that in the moment, he was trying to protect her from Talib but his method to do so also hurt her. A part of him wanted to go back to the castle and finish off that bastard so he could know that Talib would never get the chance to hurt her. However the bigger part of him was still weighed down by his guilt, he remembered when she tried to slap him and he caught her hand. He could see the surprise and revulsion in her eyes, never before had his touch ever made her feel that way. Seeing such a reaction aimed at him made him question if she still had a desire for him to be hers.

Stonewell seemed to sense the dark thoughts in his head and smacked one of his legs with the cane before speaking. "Now's not the time to mope around, lets go inside." When Edward didn't move the old man turned his wheelchair to face the young man who had his head down.

"Edward, look at me."

Hearing his actual name coming from the Captain's lips made him look up to stare at the old man's patient expression. He had his fingers interlocked with his thumbs tapping one another on a random beat. "I'm not going to sit here and lecture you, I'm sure you're already beating yourself up enough for me to be satisfied with what you did to Elsa. Am I going to say that you are the first one to ever get into a fight with the woman he's with, no, I can't force that lie out of my mouth. People who love each other are the ones who can throw the hardest punches against one another. It happens, in the moment you might take pleasure knowing that you had such an effect but later when you cool down, you're overcome with guilt and instantly want to apologize."

He did, it hadn't even been a full hour and he wanted to tell her he was sorry for what he did.

"Or you could be stubborn and try to hold on to the grudge that started the fight in the first place. Kai already told me why you did what you did and I can't lecture you when I myself did the same thing. I killed my father during a panic attack, despite the hate I do have for him, there's a tiny bit of love for him for making me who I am today. While I don't regret doing what I did, the series of decisions after were quite poor and it was only because of the guiding hand of my Commander that I am alive today. I'm not going to tell you to snap out of your funk and just get over it, I think you should think about what you did, but you will not be sitting with your thumb up your ass. You need to stay productive and look at things from a fresh perspective. Try and understand why Elsa did what she did, and why you did what you did besides 'I hate my father.' That's not a good enough reason for what you did, my hope is that an old friend of mine can give you a fresh perspective and get you thinking more."

Stonewell whirled his chair around and reached for the handle to open the front door then caught it with the lip of his foot. He was going to shuffle his way inside when Edward grabbed the handle and held it open for him. Without so much as a glance the old man wheeled himself inside like he owned the place and made his way down the hall with the young man following him.

The two of them stopped in front of Mr. Jorgen's office and Stonewell lifted his cane and swung it at the door making the young man next to him jump a bit. A few seconds later and the harbormaster opened his door with a curious expression, upon seeing the old man in the wheelchair, the industrious man's face split into a full grin and he opened the door completely while gesturing to come inside his office.

"Why if it isn't Old Stone?! How are you my friend?" The harbormaster noticed the wheelchair and started laughing loudly as he pointed at it.

"Well it's about time, here I was thinking that you would never get old and just fight forever. It looks like you've finally hit that point where you aren't a young scrapper no more, maybe you're thinking about passing your position off and retiring."

Stonewell produced a cigar from his jacket and lit in the hallway without any regard for common courtesy then placed it in his mouth. "Everyone gets old, even you. I'm in this wheelchair cause I had to deal with some bullshit a while ago, besides I can still kick anyone's ass even in this chair so don't treat me like I can fall apart at any time."

Mr. Jorgen's laughter died down into a chuckle as Edward wheeled the old man into the office and watched him close the door behind them. The harbormaster walked over to his desk and sat down with a smile one his face as Edward took a seat next to the Captain.

"Alright what brings you two fine gentlemen to my office today? Must be very important if the Captain of the Royal Guard and the new guard instructor come together just to speak with me." Stonewell took a puff of his cigar before taking it out of his mouth so he could speak clearer.

"I need a favor." The harbormaster kept his smile on his face as he raised his eyebrows showing curiosity.

"For the time being, I would like it if you could take the runt under your wing for awhile."

Mr. Jorgen's eyes slanted over to Edward who looked away with a troubled expression, seeing it prompted the man to look back at the Captain.

"Like I've told young Edward here, he is welcome any time to work for me. He's a hard worker, has good work ethic, and makes the workload noticeably more manageable. The only question I have though, is why you want him to work here and not at the castle, has something happened?"

Stonewell shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he answered. "Lovers' quarrel."

That brought another burst of laughter from the harbormaster as he turned to the young man who remained quiet during the entire conversation. "Oh my young lad, you've really stepped in it this time haven't you. Well, the trick to get back into the good graces of any young woman is with roses and chocolate, lots of chocolate."

Edward's eyes zeroed in on the older man's expression with a hint of skepticism in them. It was no secret that Her Majesty loved chocolates. He had worried that the harbormaster had recognized Elsa but hoped the alcohol would make him think he hallucinated. Hearing the way he said chocolate made the young man begin to wonder if the older man knew he was with.

The Captain caught the look in the young man's eyes and steered the conversation back to him when he rolled his chair forward and put his arms on the desk to lean in closer to the harbormaster. "Can you help me?" Mr. Jorgen looked back at the old man and leaned in his chair with a smile.

"For you my friend, always. As it turns out, we're having a bit of an issue with the cargo manifest with this trade ship that arrived today. Some of the items don't match up with the paperwork and instead of just denying them port, I allowed them to get the proper documents to register the cargo. The problem is, the contents of the cargo are very delicate and require an...experienced hand to transport the cargo to one of our warehouses for storage until the proper documentation is filled out. I was going to ask if Edward here could spare some time to assist me as he is one of the best workers I've ever had but it seems your perfect timing struck once again."

Stonewell scoffed as he took another puff of his cigar, while the harbormaster turned to Edward one last time. "Well Young Edward it looks like you're under my employ again. The ship on the sixth port and the cargo should be below decks marked with documents that need to be filled out. The Captain of the ship shouldn't give you any issues or try to pull anything so it should be straight forward. The contents have yet to be inspected which I will personally do so when I have time, don't open the crate."

Edward took a moment to wonder why he couldn't just inspect the cargo and save the harbormaster some time and why they were storing it without the proper documentation but pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he got up and walked to the door to the office.

"One last thing before you go."

The young man turned to face the smiling face of the harbormaster who had a glint in his eyes that wasn't there a second ago.

"Be careful."

The words seemed redundant as Mr. Jorgen already said that the cargo was very delicate but thinking that he wanted to impress on the young man to be extra careful, Edward nodded and walked out the door leaving the two older men alone. The harbormaster waited a few minutes after the young man left before he turned back to the Captain and interlocked his fingers in his lap and leaned closer.

"You do know you're running out of time right?"

Stonewell took the cigar out of his mouth and rubbed his temples with his free hand as if he was trying to relieve a headache. "I'm aware."

"Still not too late to accept my offer, you can retire from being Captain of the Royal Guard and spend the rest of your days in peace."

The Captain's eyes grew tired as he patted his legs. While he always put up the illusion that he would always be ready to fight, his body protested with every movement. When he trained with Edward, his mind moved so fast as he fought the young man and could see everything his opponent threw at him but his body was too slow to precisely react in how he envisioned so he had to make split second alternatives to counter with limited movement. Their training exercise pushed him to his limits and he opted to have the young man run drills instead of sparring matches because the old man's body could barely keep up. There was also the attack of Rahim that left his legs heavily damaged, he could wiggle his toes but walking was difficult.

Stonewell could bark with the best but his body was too tired to always back it up.

He was getting too old.

"That honestly sounds nice, but I still have things I need to see through. You've known me for a long time, you know that I'm too paranoid to just rest and leave it to someone else I wasn't completely sure about."

"I know you are. That's why you're giving that Bowman kid such a hard time, you want to be sure about him."

"He ain't the only one."

That made Mr. Jorgen finally frown.

"You mean Edward? I'm going to be honest with you, he's a fine young man but he lives with one arm tied behind his back. He's not someone you can rely on even if he wishes to be with all of his soul."

"You're preaching to the choir, I've tried to get him to shake that bad habit but it persists and I'm at my wits end."

"Which is why you want me to try."

Stonewell took another puff of his cigar before he spoke. "You're wise and been around for a long time, I'm sure you can come up with something."

Mr. Jorgen looked at his hands with a pensive expression as he tapped his thumbs a few times before looking back up. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask."

Stonewell wheeled his chair around to face the door and was about to leave but Mr. Jorgen appeared right next to him with a box of cigars in his hand. The Captain made a confused face as he grabbed them and watched the harbormaster walk to the door and open it up for him.

"I still have plenty from the last box you gave me."

"I know, these are special, I'd advise you use them on a very special occasion."

Anna and Kristoff watched in stunned silence as the throne room was emptied save Ahimoth who was still looking at the direction Edward was taken in. The redhead had been totally stunned at what she just witnessed that she had no idea how to feel. On one hand she was extremely pissed that Edward would say the things that he said to her sister and on the other hand she was disappointed in what Elsa said to the young man.

Her first instinct was to go with Gerda to speak with Elsa but when the older woman denied her, she changed her mind to go to Edward and give him a piece of her mind until the older woman once again stopped her. Leaving her with no real options on what to do next. Kristoff was similarly in the same boat as he did not expect such a reaction from the two.

"Well that was exciting."

The two of them turned to the Prince who was slowly making his way over to the doors. The sarcastic way he spoke those words made Anna stride over to him and step into his way.

"You think it's exciting for two people to argue like that?"

The larger man shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. "I could also say familiar as I've been burned a few times by Lilian after I really pissed her off. Comes with the territory of being with an Elemental."

Anna had the grace to pretend to look confused to the man's words as she knew the political ramifications of what he was suggesting even though she didn't agree with them. "I think you have the wrong idea, those two aren't…'

"I've been with Rahim for a very long time. Even though that's not him, Edward makes the same exact faces my friend did. Never have I seen those eyes look so warmly at someone else, plus the way she reacted, the pacifist Snow Queen, knocking him through a set of doors clearly shows there's something between them."

The redhead shut her mouth as she realized he had a good point. "But I thought she would've known better than to hide Garret from him. Even though the guy may not be the same asshole Rahim grew up with, the face by itself can provoke some strong memories."

Kristoff walked up to stand next to his wife and finally spoke himself. "Are you sure he's not the same guy?"

Ahimoth shook his head. "At first, I thought it might've been a trick but no it's a completely different guy than the guy Rahim grew up with. Garret doesn't give off the same vibe as Talib did, whenever Talib entered a room, you could feel death radiating from him. The guy never seemed dangerous but his lack of humanity as well as his morbid curiosity in the human body made it seem like every human being was just another corpse for him to dissect."

The two of them looked kind of pale at the description the Prince gave them. The large man noticed it and waved his hand to get their attention. "But this Garret guy is completely different and I confirmed Talib died so they can't be the same guy, as a matter of fact, we should meet with him. I got some questions I wanted to ask him and I'm sure you do too."

Kristoff looked unsure. "I don't think that will be possible given what just happened. They aren't going to let anyone see him.

Ahimoth smirked before jutting a thumb at Anna. "Seeing as the Queen is in timeout, that would mean the Princess has the most power so she can order them to let us see him."

The mountain man was about to object to that but the redhead spoke first. "He's probably still in the east wing, let's go see him." The ice harvester groaned as he walked behind the two out the throne room.

Hans was standing at the helm of his flagship as he surveyed the fleet of ships he had amassed along the coast of the Southern Isles. Weselton had sent their ships and combined with his they made a fleet of thirty ships strong. The King was elated to see such a force but against the Snow Queen he didn't know if it would be enough. As if he had spoken his thoughts aloud, Greed walked out of thin air until he was next to him.

"You seem nervous."

The King looked over to the man who had his arms behind his back. For a brief instant, he considered the idea that Greed was setting him up for failure but the plan he gave them was a solid one. It had multiple contingencies and addressed potential problems that could happen. As much as he kept repeating it over and over, Hans was still uneasy every time he looked into the man's red eyes.

There was just something forebodingly unsettling about them. Plus there was the fact he could just appear anywhere out of thin air that made him seem powerful beyond measure. However, the book he gave the royal was proof that he wasn't. That was another thing that unsettled him.

Why give someone else the means to cripple him?

Even though the two of them were allies and Greed admitted that if Hans jeopardized his possessions there would be consequences, it was such an off putting move on the man's part. That kind of information was very valuable and something that Queen Elsa would be desperate to get.

"We are about to engage one of the most powerful forces known."

Greed raised his eyebrows. While it was smart to not underestimate the enemy, Hans had challenged Elsa with, to his knowledge, just a simple band of bandits. He had a good plan and likely would have succeeded if not for Wrath and Ahimoth but it was still an ambitious thing to attempt. The demon could respect that and would've thought the King would've been excited after seeing the force he has under his command.

With the numbers they had, he could lay siege to Arendelle quite easily. However, he was right to appreciate the danger that Elsa presented.

"While she is powerful, she limits herself due to her own morals. If you stick to the plan then she will be neutralized. Remember, we are to take her alive as she could be of some use to my master. Arendelle will be yours but she will be his."

"Where is your master anyway, you said he would be here and I could meet him."

"I did and to my knowledge he should be here but I have no idea where he is. My only directives were to meet with you and tell you to set sail as soon as all our forces have arrived, which they have."

Hans once again looked at the fleet he amassed and conceded that it was a strong force but the time he spent with Greed has taught him to cover his bases.

"If things get out of hand, are you sure you can deal with her yourself?"

The man chuckled a bit before facing Hans.

"She'll never see me coming. But let's say I do fail, that's why we brought them."

The King turned to the twenty men who stood at the attention on the deck of his ship. Each of them had tan skin and red eyes glowing with power behind them. They all reminded him of his two bodyguards that had been killed in Arendelle. Greed confirmed that those two were from the same batch as the twenty soldiers below but said that these men were more dangerous than the first two.

"If everything goes wrong, then we'll let them loose. At the very least you'll have Arendelle, even if every living person inside it is dead."

Hey guys another new chapter the same weekend as the last one since the last one had been delayed so long. I hope you all can tolerate this one, ain't anything special but set the stage for the next few chapters that I am excited to write. Hopefully with thanksgiving coming up i'll get some days off and can seperate my time between playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla, learning guitar and hanging with friends, and writing this fanfic. I'll try to have another chapter busted out by next weekend or the next next weekend. I'll do my best to make sure that it isn't a three week update which likely killed my fanbase. Please review or pm me if you wish to contact me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Also be honest with feedback, the last two reviews kind of stung but they have helped me and I wish for you all to be honest if you like my work or don't.