Soldier

A field.

A crowd.

A deafening noise.

A single voice.

A smell.

A rage.

Garret suddenly awoke with a start, his bulging eyes not able to see much in the heavy obscurity the room was plunged into. The very first thing he did was to quickly check his arms for any icy protuberances. When he was certain there weren't any, he released a sigh. Sweat had never been a problem for the man; it was quite the opposite. His body never got hot enough for water to be necessary in order to cool it. However, and because Mother Nature was such a nice gal, he had his own—very annoying—version. During periods of extreme stress, he was always bothered by the temperature lowering around him and he became used to finding little frozen droplets in his immediate surroundings. He had therefore developed quite a reflex, always scanning the area to hopefully find and melt those little witnesses of his mental state after intense experiences.

He sat up and immediately began to thoroughly examine the mattress he had just spent his night on. He found a few of said droplets and got rid of them right away. He then looked outside to see the sun peek at the horizon, its first light dawning on Arendelle's bay.

"Hello there," he uselessly greeted. A little habit he had unwillingly inherited from his mother.

He brought his hands to his face and stayed motionless, breathing steadily. A few moments later, he let his arms fall to his knees.

"… and may you watch over me for another day," he finished what he had started in his thoughts, smacking his legs while getting up.

The man quickly washed himself and put on his clothes. He then made his way downstairs, only to be welcomed by the innkeeper—a plump man with kind eyes and a very impressive beard.

"Good morning, lad."

"Hello," Garret answered while taking a seat on a simple stool near the counter.

"Oh, you're looking a lot better than yesterday. I told you some sleep would help."

Garret simply smiled as he recalled his uneasy expression when he had entered the inn the previous evening and ordered a room in a hurry. He had been too preoccupied with his hands to really worry about his looks and had probably been a sore sight at the time.

"Yeah. It's been several days since the last time I slept in a real bed."

The innkeeper shot him a quizzical look but didn't insist much.

"You're up pretty early, though…" he said. "I was certain someone as tired as you were would have slept a few more hours at least."

"Always woke up with the sun. Always will."

"Ah, how poetic… You're being quite the philosopher. Is that something that helps you think through the mysteries of life?"

Garret lightly laughed. "Exactly."

The innkeeper shrugged at that. "Anyway. Feeling hungry?"

"Starving, actually. What do you have for me?"

"I could scramble some eggs if you want."

"Aye, that sounds good."

"How many? Two, three?"

Garret raised an eyebrow. "How big are they?" he asked.

His host quickly disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve a sample. Garret chuckled when he caught sight of it.

"Do I look like a bloody kid to you? Make it eight of those. With some bread and milk, please."

The innkeeper heartily laughed. "Starving you are! If only every customer ate like you… You'd never hear of unhappy innkeepers ever again."

"Strangely enough, I always hear that when I order food," Garret added with a smile.

Moments later, he was devouring his meal under the very amused stare of the bearded man. The latter was busying himself with cleaning some tankards when he spoke. "So, I guess you're here for the summer celebration, aren't you?"

Garret stopped stuffing things in his mouth and blinked a few times.

Oh yeah, they talked about something like that yesterday.

He forced the content of his mouth down his throat and readied his answer.

"Um, to be honest, I'm just wandering around. But I heard that there might something interesting to witness in the region now."

"Guess 'interesting' is one way to call it," the innkeeper snorted. "Does that mean you're attending?"

"I think so," Garret said with a shrug. He took another mouthful of eggs before resuming. "A couple of weeks back, I landed in a little kingdom. Seems like I arrived one day too late to participate in what they called the… Lanterns' Fest…?" He stopped eating for a moment, trying to remember the name. "The Night Of—something that had to do with lanterns. They looked pretty excited about it, must have been pretty. So, I guess I have to compensate for that. I would be gutted if I missed another of those."

"I'm quite positive you won't be disappointed," the inn's owner affirmed.

"What is this festival for?" Garret asked while taking a long swig from his mug.

"We're celebrating the Great Thaw for the first time."

Garret's face took a questioning expression that the bearded man caught over the tankard that was being held in front of him.

"You should probably know more about where you spend your nights, lad…" he said with a little grin.

Garret put down the mug. "I also hear that a lot…"

"Anyway, it may come as a bit shocking to you, but our queen has ice powers…"

Oh, believe me, I noticed.

Garret waited for him to continue, but he saw the man fidgeting on his spot in anticipation of his reaction. He simply motioned with his hand for his host to go on, causing a surprised look to creep up on the innkeeper's features.

"Well, that's the best I've ever seen anyone take the news."

"I'm very level-headed."

"If you say so…" The innkeeper kept an eyebrow raised. "Anyhow, ice powers… Yes, and no one was aware she even had them before her coronation last year."

That got Garret's full attention. "Wait, you didn't know?"

"Except her parents and maybe some people working at the castle, nobody did, not even her sister. And on that night, without any warning, the queen fled and left the kingdom to freeze. The whole city was brought down and even the water around the port solidified; the boats were immobilized."

All right, I definitely didn't expect that, Garret thought.

"We still don't know why or how, but we are sure of one thing: she didn't do it on purpose."

Garret snapped out of his short-lived torpor. "And why's that?"

"Because a few days later, she came back and brought summer with her. I'm not familiar with all the details, but apparently it was Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff that sought after her the whole time."

Apparently, Garret's thinking was showing on his face.

"Not so level-headed now, eh," the bearded man said smugly, a grin growing larger and larger on his lips.

"I… I guess not…" Garret answered. "That's quite a tough trial to go through, though... Must have been hard for them."

"It was. But it'll take something tougher to put our princesses down," the innkeeper said, his eyes shining with pride.

Garret lightly smiled at that. He sighed, put the tankard on the counter and took his pouch out from his pocket, before seeing the innkeeper's palm wave before him.

"Breakfast is included in the room's price."

"You sure about that? I probably ate enough for three…"

"Don't make me regret saying it," the man replied with a grin.

Garret smiled again. "Thanks for the meal." He saluted and got out of the inn. He never felt cold, but the wind was something that could become annoying with a cloak. He brought his heavy garment closer to his body as soon as he heard the door lock behind him. He took a few steps and observed the city's port wake up, several boats leaving the shallow waters, heading towards their preferred fishing grounds.

The morning air was something that always made Garret relax. Coupled with the peace and quiet the early hour usually inferred, he had come to find dawn to be the ideal time to take a walk. Right now, he had quite a few things to process, and walking had always helped him clear his mind.

She froze the entire kingdom. And melted all of the ice afterward. Alone.

Garret didn't know whether to be impressed or scared with that particular piece of information. In any case, if it were to be true—and he couldn't see why it wouldn't be—she was a lot more powerful than he was; that much was clear.

Probably explains how she masters them so easily, he said to himself as he stopped in front of a giant frozen fountain, its ice clear as if it was still running water. He brought his hand to touch the cold structure, marveling at its flawless crystals interlacing without a single fracture, without any impurity. No ice he had ever seen matched their transparency, their solidity. Even the best of his own creations paled in comparison.

Garret lightly chuckled.

Not a single imperfection. And here I thought I was being special.

Releasing a heavy sigh, the man then suddenly caught a glimpse of an arrow flying at the other end of the street, near the castle's lower court. He panicked at first, but quickly calmed down when he realized that it had landed on a practice target.

Trainees, he thought, smirking at his own reaction. He stopped to think for a few seconds. Well, it wouldn't hurt to take a look.

Elsa was usually up quite early, but very rarely did she roam the palace's alleyways at that hour.

That lingering sensation in her hands had made it very difficult to sleep peacefully. They weren't hurting, but they felt odd. A bothersome type of odd; they felt too warm. Anna had said that they seemed as cold as usual to her, but the feeling hadn't left her limbs for the entire night. She guessed that learning that her sister and her future brother-in-law had practically been taken away the day before was something that she still had to wrap her psyche around, making her body react consequently. But a little voice in the back of her mind also wondered if it had something to do with the man that had saved Anna and Kristoff.

Garret, was it?

After Anna had narrated the twists and turns of their trip, she figured she'd have a few questions for the man. She also made sure she was to be notified if he left the city.

Well, that's for later.

Not really knowing what to do, she waited for dawn to make her way towards the library once again. For the second time in two days, she almost bumped with a start into the closest person the kingdom had to a chief military officer.

"Sir Jürden!" she shrieked in surprise. The man also seemed quite startled at first but was quick to regain his composure. He formally greeted her, as per usual.

"Excuse me, Milady. I didn't see you arrive. I hardly ever meet anyone on the way to the training grounds when it is this early in the morning, so I tend to be less alert."

Elsa took a few seconds to steady her breath, placing her hand over her chest. She slowly managed to cool her racing heart and greet the man back.

"Please, don't apologize. It was but a small accident," she said while waving her hand.

Jürden lightly bowed his head and continued on his track. There was something she wanted to talk to him about.

"While you're here…" she called back. He turned around immediately.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I would like you to assign a few people for Anna and Kristoff's protection. I don't want them to be alone at any given time. Not until we have this situation sorted out."

"Very well."

"And about those criminals Sir Garret subdued…"

"I sent a detachment as soon as I received the orders," Jürden immediately replied. "They were found at the exact same location we were told, unconscious and completely unable to move had they emerged. They are currently jailed downstairs. We'll interrogate them when they wake up, and they'll be ready for trial."

"Good."

This was going to be the first time Elsa would have to judge actual criminals in her Court. She usually was just summoned to settle benign conflicts—matters of inheritance and land ownership most of the time.

"Was there something else?"

Elsa was silent for a second.

"Do you mind if I accompany you? I would like to attend this morning's session."

Jürden was a bit taken aback, but eventually nodded. That was definitely a first, but she didn't have much to do. The attack on her own sister had awakened a sudden interest in her kingdom's defense.

They walked their way to the little square just behind the stables that hosted the current and future city's guards' training grounds and barracks, getting quite a view over the location from the top of the stairs that led down from the castle.

The place was quite simple in its design, with two large gates giving access to the town's main avenue, and walls that towered over several buildings built out of hard grey stone and wooden logs. Upon arriving, they saw a few recruits honing their skills at bows and crossbows by firing at marked targets, as well as a little group of trainees practicing their swordsmanship on the far right of the surprisingly clean surface.

Everything seemed normal to her. Everything, except for the red-headed man walking on the side with his hands folded behind his back.

Garret smiled as he strode through the lines of young men trading blows and readying their shots. The scene brought back some memories. They were already up at that hour, but it didn't surprise him. He had himself been forced to wake up much earlier during his schooling years.

He stopped and shook his head when he noticed one of the trainees grabbing an arrow. He slowly approached him.

"Umm, excuse me?" he began, trying to suppress a smile.

The young man suspiciously eyed him. He probably was around twenty.

"What do you want?"

"It's just… What is it with the quiver?" Garret asked, hardly containing a chuckle.

"I draw the arrows from it."

"That's what you do with it. The question is: why is it strapped to your back?"

"Why do you even ask?" the recruit fired with narrowed eyes.

Garret raised an eyebrow with a grin. He quickly scanned the area around him and found some crates sitting back against a corner not far from where he stood. He dragged one with his right foot and left it just in front of the still unmoving young man before crossing his arms. "What's your name?"

The latter hesitated for a moment. "Sturn. What do you want?"

"All right, Sturn. I'm Garret. Now, try to jump over this."

The trainee didn't budge. "I may be young, but I know how to jump. Don't go all 'I'm a veteran' when you're just a few years older. And why would I even listen to you? I don't know you…"

Garret shrugged. "Let's just say that I'm a nice guy who wants to help."

He then saw a few others gather behind their comrade. "Trouble, Sturn?"

"Nope, he's just getting a lesson," Garret explained, lifting his hands. "You too," he added while pointing towards another recruit amongst the small crowd who had a back-tied quiver.

Sturn slowly neared the crate, his eyes not leaving Garret's. He then pushed on his legs for a quick jump and he landed smoothly on the other side. He brought his eyes back up to what he probably thought—and for all accounts, actually— was an annoying stranger's face, only to find it contorted into an amused grin.

"What are you smiling at? I did it."

Garret didn't speak; he simply motioned with his head to the ground while raising an eyebrow. Sturn followed his gaze and was quite surprised to see a dozen arrows scattered on the cold stone. He quickly checked his quiver and found himself looking into an empty wooden box.

"And that—" Garret's voice started, bringing all eyes back to him, "—is why you always put your quiver near your hip. Preferably on your guiding hand's side. Try it again."

Sturn's eyes narrowed even further, the brown of his irises blending with the black of his eyelashes.

"Please? I promise I'm not here to mock anybody," Garret specified.

The trainee heard a few whispers behind him but he—pretty reluctantly—switched his configuration and approached the crate once again. He did as he was asked and jumped, and this time not a single arrow left the container. Garret wore a more sympathetic expression.

Receiving a lesson this important was primordial. He couldn't make fun of him. He knew how humiliating that could be.

"See? This is extremely helpful if you ever have to cross hard terrain, just like the mountains up there. Also, you never pull on the string for more than a few seconds at a time—don't you raise your eyebrows at me, I saw you do it earlier. You'll tire your arms pretty quickly that way, and your aim becomes shaky a lot faster than you might think."

Garret then redirected his gaze towards another trainee.

"You. You were working on your stationary fire, weren't you?"

The poor kid—he seemed a little younger than the others, probably fifteen—gulped and brought his bow closer to his chest. He then feverishly nodded.

At least his quiver's in the right place.

"Right. Can you show me how you fire three arrows in a row as quickly as you can?"

The boy advanced with shaking legs and readied his practice weapon, spreading his knees. He then unleashed three projectiles at a respectable speed. The first hit near the center mark; the second was a little more deviated but still close enough to be considered acceptable. However, the last had landed near the targets' outer circle's limit. The boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not bad," Garret complimented. "Not bad at all. Your name?"

"A… Argod, Sir."

"You did pretty well, Argod," Garret continued as he stood near him. He was towering over the poor young man, but his eyes held a caring tint that was caught by every recruit present. He then lifted a single finger. "But! You could do better."

Garret extended his hand in front of him. "May I?" The boy handed him his bow and three arrows with trembling hands.

"I didn't realize I looked this scary…" Garret said with a chuckle. Argod heavily blushed and stepped back, receiving a complicit tap on the shoulder and some cheers from his friends.

"He's just very shy, sir," one of them explained. "He finds strangers intimidating."

"All right, I'll take that," Garret responded with a shrug. "Anyway, when you know you're not going to move, you'd rather not stay on your feet."

He brought himself down on his right knee as he talked, taking a few looks here and there to see quite an assembly circling around him, intently watching his moves. He then planted two of the arrows in the ground right next to him, grinning when he saw some stares turn confused.

"They are easier to reach this way. Makes handling them faster and thus increases your firing rate."

To prove his point, he slowly concentrated, waiting for his pulse to resonate in his ears. He brought his fingers to tug on the string, feeling its texture and weight. The bow's frame was light, he would have to be careful not to break it. Breathing slowly and steadily, he waited a few seconds for his pulse to lower enough and drum in his ears, and as soon as he felt that he could get it in between two heartbeats, he drew the string to his face and shot the first arrow. Before the projectile's head even reached its target, Garret's hand had already flown back and quickly came to pull on the bow a second time. Before anyone had time to process anything, three wooden pieces were sticking out from the target's center.

Garret dusted his pants as well as the hem of his cloak and handed back the training bow to its owner with a calm demeanor.

"I know that you'll hardly ever use bows. But just in case, that's how you conciliate both speed and accuracy."

One or two whistles were heard all over the small crowd. A few of the trainees went to examine the target as if to verify that the arrows embedded in the leathered surface were not fake, while another group immediately took some steps back from Garret with curious eyes. A few of them were whispering. Garret managed to escape a few moments later by sending them to try out those shots themselves..

"Excuse me, mister?" An older guard approached him, visibly alerted by some recruits who were tailing him closely. "I don't believe you are a member of the Guard. I'm afraid I will have to ask you to leave," he said with severe eyes, pointing towards the main gate.

Garret lifted his hands with a sheepish look.

"Underst—"

His words were suddenly interrupted by a very melodious voice.

"He's with me."

He briskly brought his eyes up to see the Queen going through the last steps of the stairs coming down from the castle. She was not alone, however. A man in a suit that was easily a few decades their elder was walking beside her.

The guard saluted sharply. "Very well, Your Majesty." He walked past Garret, giving him another hard look. It had been a long time since last he had been scolded so.

Garret heaved a sigh of relief.

"Good morning, Sir Garret," the Queen softly said. "I would be obliged if you didn't disturb the course of their training."

He winced at her formality, bowing before her. "Your Majesty. I'm sorry I trespassed into restricted ground. I should have watched myself."

She returned the gesture with a lot more grace, while her escort extended a hand. "Apology accepted. Sir Garret, this is Sir Jürden. He is my main counselor concerning security matters and the kingdom's highest-ranking officer. Sir Jürden, this is Sir Garret, and I'm sure you already know who he is."

Garret accepted the offered handshake, slightly annoyed by how abundantly the word 'Sir' had been used in her last phrase. "My pleasure," he said.

"Likewise. We really appreciate you handling those bandits. Only the gods know what would have happened to those two otherwise."

"Ah, pay it no mind. I'm just happy I helped. Sorry again about the barging."

Jürden lightly tilted his head in acknowledgment, bowed to excuse himself and immediately went ahead to supervise the training as he usually did.

"So… I see that you fancy yourself a teacher," Elsa chortled as soon as he was out of earshot.

She's not mad?

"Uh, yeah, you saw that…" Garret nervously scratched the back of his head. "Just gave them a bit of advice. I really shouldn't have; they probably would have learned all of it a little later anyway."

Elsa lightly smiled while taking a look at the small forming regiment before her.

"They're doing fine," Garret said. "And they're still young. Still have plenty of time to grow. I just hope they'll never have to actually put what they learned to use."

Elsa silently continued to sweep the barracks. She probably knew the world was not as optimistic—she was a queen. As naïve as she could have been, she was trained to expect everything. But he guessed she couldn't do much but pray for the better.

"It seems the military life suited you, then?" she asked.

Garret sighed. "Princess Anna told you?"

"Everything she could," Elsa chuckled.

Garret collected his thoughts. "Well, I guess. My entire family signed up in the army, you know? My father, his father, and his father before him… They were all officers."

"And you?"

"Oh, no, not me. I never actually reached such high rankings." Garret's gaze turned a little sad. He tried to tone down the sound of irony in his voice. "I was just a soldier."

They then both fell into a lingering silence.

The Queen furrowed her brows. She had remembered something.

However, at the exact same time she opened her mouth to speak again, Argod appeared out of nowhere next to Garret, lightly tugging on the ride side of his cloak with a small crossbow hanging from his other hand.

"S…Sir?"

Garret slightly crouched down. It felt a lot like he was talking to a ten-year-old and not to a near fully-grown adult, but he dismissed the thought.

"Yes?"

"It's… Because… You showed us… And…" Argod started. He stopped, taking his time to calm his breath, and made another attempt. "I don't know why, but I just can't ever seem to get this thing to fire straight. I thought you might tell me what's wrong?"

"Your aim definitely looked fine to me… Are you sure it's not the crossbow's fault?" Garret confusedly asked.

The boy shrugged to signify that he wasn't. Garret carefully took the weapon from his hands and slowly searched for any anomaly he could detect, with Elsa silently watching him. All crossbows were far from being similar in construction, but the base was pretty much the same. After a while, he finally saw what he thought caused the odd firing and muttered an audible 'Ah' and a little chuckle. He lowered the tool on the ground and reached inside his cloak.

He pulled his dagger out and slowly reached inside the crossbow's insides with the knife's tip, turning it around a few times. A tiny metallic sound was heard when a screw fell on the ground, Garret bending over to grab it.

"This is what was making you go bonkers. Not a good idea to fire two bolts at the same time. It tends to mess with the release of the string," he said with an amused tone as Argod blushed and embarrassedly scratched his chin. "I did the exact same thing when I was younger."

Garret carefully placed the screw back in place and flipped the knife in his hand, turning its blade towards the sky. He abruptly gave little blows using the bottom of the grip until he heard a little click. He then returned the weapon to Argod with a small smile.

"Done."

The boy bowed and profusely thanked him before going back to his comrades. Garret whirled his head back towards Elsa.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. Were you going to say something?"

She waited a few seconds before she answered.

"Yes, actually. Would you please walk with me?"

Garret nodded and closely followed her outside the barracks and into the city's main street. Soon enough, they reached the fountain he had stopped by earlier. The man quickly threw a glance towards his hands; no ice block to be seen. For now.

He then saw Elsa graze the ice she had produced with her fingers. Her expression was unreadable.

"It may come as redundant to you, but I really need you to know how grateful I am for what you did yesterday," she uttered.

"I… I really don't know what to say, Your Majesty. I would have done that for anyone who was in the same dire position."

Elsa smiled.

"You know, a lot of people think that Anna is a little too careless for a Princess when they meet her for the first time…" she started.

Garret chuckled at that. "I kind of understand why they would say that, but I definitely saw that she was a lot smarter than what they may give her credit for."

"Certainly," she continued. "Especially her memory. She remembers pretty much everything that happens before her with incredible precision. And yesterday, while she was telling me about how you rescued her, a little detail highly intrigued me."

Elsa's stare had slowly turned grave as she spoke, and Garret was becoming increasingly anxious.

I don't like how those eyes are looking right now.

"She very clearly recalled that Kristoff was freed by an arrow that cut down his ties… But, as far as she remembered, you had no bow with you."

Oh.

"Care to explain?"

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Should have seen it coming…

He lifted his eyes to see Elsa sitting on the fountain's edge with her arms crossed, quietly trying to decipher his expression with her glare. He lowered his gaze to her feet, and only then did he remark that her shoes were shining in quite an unusual fashion.

They're made of ice? The entire dress?! And of course, this is the moment I choose to notice...

Garret shook his head and coughed a few times. His heart was pounding hard against his chest.

Maybe I should tell her?

He brought his eyes to meet hers once again. "It's…"

Okay, just have to tell her. With a bit of luck, she won't faint and I won't look like I just murdered the queen.

"It… It was broken during the fight. Beyond fixing. I just threw it," he finally said, disgusted at himself for lying once again.

Elsa did not move, settling for a less abrasive stare as she kept insistently scanning Garret's face. He knew those stares. He knew the thinking that went behind them. She had expected two different reactions beforehand: she thought he would either be completely taken aback and revolted at her accusations or try to kill her. But now that he almost looked sheepish, she was stuck in a rut. Her traits slightly softened. The fact that he refused to sleep in the castle and that he had another weapon the entire time and didn't make use of it was enough proof that he was not ill-willed.

But she apparently had to make things clear.

"I'm sorry I appeared a bit ruthless here, but I really had to make sure you were no danger… "

Garret breathed a sigh of relief. "I understand."

"Just a little warning though. I am sure you know of my powers," she added while playing with a snowflake in between her fingers. "We don't usually have many strangers in our city. If I ever discover that you intend on harming anyone here…"

"… I think I got the picture," the man completed.

He took a few seconds to think, steeled himself, and made a few steps back. He didn't know why he suddenly felt the urge to do what he was going to do, but the idea of the queen being suspicious of him bothered him a little too much. He didn't like to look so melodramatic, but he only knew the one way to make his intentions clear. Being a queen, she would have to believe him, right?

Elsa's eyes followed him, and her confusion didn't get any better when he crouched down on one knee. He then brought his dagger in front of his heart in a reverse grip, its tip pointing towards the ground, while his other hand covered the soft end of the tool's pommel to subtly hide the seal it housed. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, his face had gained a very serious expression.

There was one thing he had learned from his time with the higher-ups. One single useful thing.

"I hereby swear…" Garret started, "… that I, Garret of Linton, never have brought and never will bring harm to any inhabitant of this land. If I ever betray this promise, let Infortune and Despair follow each of my steps for my entire life. Auspicium Melioris Aevi."

He then hit his chest once with the flat part of the knife. He slowly got up, putting the blade back in his coat and leaving an utterly dumbfounded expression on Elsa's features.

"That…" she muttered as she brought a hand to her chest in what surely was an attempt to calm her racing heart. "Was that an oath?"

Garret lifted an eyebrow. "Yes," he simply answered.

"But… but why?"

As ruler, she probably knew how important oaths had become during the last centuries in Western Europe, especially for someone who lived a military life.

"You wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt anyone out there. Well, now you're sure," he clarified with an almost casual tone.

Elsa was at a complete loss of words. She abruptly brought her hands to her face, shaking it a bit before uttering a relieved sigh. Standing up to her feet, she then gave Garret a soft smile, one that was much more sincere than the ones he had been receiving since they ran into one another several minutes earlier.

"I know how much of a commitment that is. Thank you, Garret. Truly."

Garret returned the gesture with a slight bow and a smile. She had finally dropped the accolade.

He was in turn about to speak when they both heard Anna's voice call out from afar. They both turned their heads in time to catch the very strange sight of the Princess of Arendelle running towards them—skipping was a much more accurate word—while trying to put on her left shoe, her tiara jumping sideways in front of her face with each hop. Kristoff was following behind at a more normal pace with his arm hugging a pretty large reindeer that carried a waving snowman. Two guards were walking beside him.

Okay, making ice move with such precision at a distance? She is definitely more powerful than I am, Garret thought, hardly believing what his eyes were showing him.

Anna swiftly jumped in her sister's arms as soon as she reached her.

"Good morning, sis'!"

"Hello, Anna," the latter amusedly greeted.

When she was finished with Elsa, the Princess whirled around and brought a very surprised Garret into another hug.

"Good morning, Garret!"

"H… Hi, A… Anna…" he awkwardly stuttered as she released him. Such familiarity was very unsettling for him.

Is she like this with every stranger that walks around here?

"Hey, Kristoff," Garret then greeted her companion.

"How are you doing, bud? Meet Sven. He's been putting up with me since I was a kid. Aaaaaaand…"

"And I am Olaf!" Garret heard a little voice chirp right under him. He then felt a little weight on his right leg. Casting his gaze down, he was met by the sight of that same snowman attached to him. "Hey!"

"Umm… Is everyone just going to sit there while there's a snowman glued to me? Your Majesty, is this your doing?"

Elsa hid her mouth with her hand and lightly laughed. "I'm afraid not. Truthfully, I guess it is to an extent, but Olaf has been completely independent of my own will since I created him."

Garret didn't know if he would be able to take that one as casually as everything else. He almost dropped on his knees right there and then.

She can create… life?

Anna suddenly grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the city's main plaza.

"Come on, G! I owe you a tour. See you later, Elsa!"

She waved her hand as they left, Anna darting away so fast Garret almost lost his footing trying to follow her.

Elsa's eyes slightly narrowed when recollecting what he had brought out of his pocket. It had looked like a medium-sized ceremonial knife. The ornate instrument was polished and clean. She had discerned a very unusual seal etched into its wooden grip, just under its small guard; sprawling in diamond-shaped cords, it held in its center three golden crowns surrounded by a red cotton belt. Feeling the oddest sense of déjà-vu, she had resisted the urge to take it from his hands and examine the blade more closely. She already had seen such a symbol somewhere else, but she just couldn't remember where or when.

Just before she began to walk back to the castle, she threw one last fleeting glance at the soldier's back while slowly caressing her lightly steaming hands.

The day passed in a blur for Elsa. The sheer quantity of cases she had to take care of would have already discouraged most of her peers, but she always thought that work would make her days feel shorter, especially when Anna and Kristoff weren't around. When she felt the chore had become too boring to bear, she decided to spend a few hours searching the library for something that would remind her of that seal, releasing a heavy sigh when she realized it meant going through an entire aisle.

After flipping through a lot more pages than she could count, she was on the verge of abandoning when she noticed a very banal looking volume sitting at the end of the shelf she was currently examining.

"I very much hope this is all worth it," she murmured while dusting its thick cover. " 'Signs and Signatures: Grand Orders of Europe'. Huh… must be pretty old."

As soon as she opened the front page, she suddenly felt extremely happy she didn't just leave in frustration. There, among a few others, laid the exact same seal she couldn't seem to identify, even though the colors had faded with time compared to its real-life wooden counterpart. She immediately jumped to the associated page and started reading in a hurry.

"This seal is a token given during the First Bath to any future member of The Royal Order of Saint George. It can be etched on an object of the candidate's choice, or, following the traditional procedure, engraved into the pommel of the ceremonial dagger associated with that particular candidate's accolade."

Accolade? she interrupted herself. Where did she already hear that word?

"It is a symbol of the newly acquired social status for the future member of the Order. Upon mere presentation, the owner is immune to any form of arrest and incarceration by the British forces of law until martial court is summoned and has the highest priority for royal audiences." Elsa continued. "It also allows him to take command of any given military regimen of fewer than fifty men, holding the responsibility of their actions as his own. The seal, however, doesn't signify the member's rank in said Order.'"

The page stopped there without giving any other information. She read it again just in case she had missed out on something before lowering the heavy volume in disappointment. Nothing more.

There was however one little snippet that rang a bell, and she suddenly snapped her head towards another book she had browsed sooner. She hurriedly went back to a particular page, and there she found it.

"Ah, there it is! Grand Royal Order of Saint George," she said as she stood up in pure excitement.

"An evolution of the Grand Order of the Bath," she read. "This organization is a British order of knighthood that rewards senior military officers or lower-ranked soldiers that distinguished themselves with a remarkable feat of arms. The members are known as the Knight Commanders of Britain and are amongst the most respected officers of the military hierarchy. They are directly following the Sovereign's orders, who was, at its creation, His Majesty King George I."

Elsa slowly let herself slump back on her chair with widening eyes, the book falling in an almost comical way on the table in front of her.

He's a knight? An actual knight? she thought while quickly putting back a strand of hair behind her ear.

She couldn't believe it. She had threatened one of the most important officers of the British army. And he had let her go with it.

He even seemed kind to her.

Then again, he didn't tell me who he was. Well, he sort of did… but not entirely. Or maybe he expected me to know once I saw the seal? Spirits, what if he reports back…

Her thoughts raced in her mind while she paced in the room, biting her right thumb's nail and hugging herself closely with her left arm.

She had always figured the real-life knights she read about were big and bearded brutes with suits or noble middle-aged men in shining armor. She figured a few of them could be younger.

Not this young.

Her anxious thinking was interrupted by Kai opening the library's door and peeking inside.

"Milady, Princess Anna is back. She requested both dinner and your presence."

"I… I'm coming right away."

She lightly tapped both her cheeks with her palms.

Okay, Elsa. Won't help to panic. Just apologize and give him whatever reparation he'll ask for and everything will be all right.

Elsa then made her way to the dining room, slightly rejoicing when she caught a glimpse of Anna. She however immediately tensed up and bit her lower lip when she caught Garret sitting near Kristoff a little further, with his right hand supporting his head up.

Why did she have to invite him?

He was laughing with his neighbor but straightened up and took a more serious expression as soon as he realized that she had entered the room.

"Hey, Elsa! Oh, there's so much we have to tell you!" Anna began. "But I'd rather we ate first if it's fine with you."

Elsa smiled at her sister's antics. She hadn't gotten so worked up over something since her own birthday, and it made her marvel at how she could make an entire day's worth of stories with a simple touristic visit. She took her usual seat and waited for a moment, staring into her trembling and once again steaming hands.

Is it stress that causes this? It would make sense, she thought.

Elsa took a long breath to calm herself down and stop the uncontrolled leak escaping her fingers.

"Bon appetit," she finally said while lightly grabbing her own fork and picking something up from her plate. She couldn't see what, her mind was focused on other issues.

Anna and Kristoff were already halfway through their own meals. They muttered through their fully filled mouths, "Tchu you tchu!", earning a few quiet chuckles from Garret.

Judging by the way he was holding his fork, he didn't look well-versed in table manners. He was military—maybe they didn't bother with frivolities such as those.

Anna started telling their day's adventures shortly after, and while everyone listened, Elsa couldn't stop herself from subtly peeking at their guest every now and then.

I hardly believe this is what a knight looks like, she thought as said knight laughed along with the others.

She kept her gaze locked onto him for an instant too much, however, and wasn't able to retract in time when Garret's eyes turned around to meet hers. Her face flushing in evident embarrassment, she immediately brought her attention back to her plate.

The rest of the meal left Elsa in a very uncomfortable state as she shifted awkwardly while everyone else spoke fondly of their day's adventures. They all suddenly heard a little bump on Garret's side of the table, and Elsa noticed that he was very worriedly looking at his hand under the wooden surface.

"Everything okay, G?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes," Garret said. "I just think I ate a little too fast. Nothing major, really. I just have to get some fresh air and I should be fine," he said while getting up. "Where could I go?" he politely demanded.

Anna directed him towards the outer gardens. He quickly thanked her and got out of the room with swift steps.

Elsa didn't know why he said that, but she very clearly noticed that he had eaten at the same pace as herself. Seeing that she wouldn't have many more occasions to apologize to him without having people around, she decided to go after him.

Anna shot her a quizzical look. "Where are you going?"

"Just making sure that he's fine."

The princess raised an eyebrow at that but didn't pry.

As she neared the door, Elsa tried to imagine what she could say in her mind, quickly abandoning the idea when she realized she'd surely just forget everything as soon as she'd open her mouth. She delicately pushed one of the last wooden doors, and before she could call out her guest's name, she sensed something that she hardly ever felt.

Cold?

She slowly advanced with a dumbfounded expression, her hands caressing the walls where some tiny snowflake patterns were beginning to show up. Very quickly, she reached a point where frozen icicles were appearing on the ground. Just as she was about to turn around the last corner, she caught an almost inaudible whisper coming from the small pond near the garden's center. She pressed her back against the wall and listened carefully.

"…knew it wasn't a good idea…"

She very slowly let her eyes poke out from her hiding place. Garret was sitting near the water pool, his right hand firmly gripping his left wrist. She heard him groan in pain a few times. He slightly stirred, bringing his left side into the moonlight. Elsa's eyes widened further than they ever did and she felt her legs starting to shake. Garret's left hand was completely covered in ice blocks, a few of them sharp enough to look completely transparent.

What... What is...

The man concentrated for a while and seemingly struggled to disintegrate the protuberances. Elsa noticed that the ice on the walls was resorbing as he worked and soon all traces of crystal had completely vanished. When he was done, Garret let his limb fall to his side and very carefully pulled on his pants' left leg, slowly unveiling his own.

For whatever she had been prepared for, what Elsa witnessed right at that moment was something that she never even dared to dream she would one day see.

Instead of the rosy mix of muscle, bone, nerves, and flesh she was expecting, Elsa was greeted by the sight of another massive ice block; the entire piece took the shape of a human leg from the knee down, and was linked to Garret's quadriceps through a frozen joint. Judging from the scars on the stump, the iced prosthesis had apparently replaced his original limb quite some time before. Her hand shot to her mouth, covering the gasp that she was about to release. Her own legs effectively faltered at that exact moment, and she slowly dropped to the ground with a thud, causing Garret's head to rapidly snap. She brought herself back up as fast as she could.

"Is someone there?" Garret loudly asked as he stood, obviously doing the best he could not alter his voice from the pain. He hid his frozen leg under his pants once again. "You know, if you're here for the people inside, you'll have to get through me anyway. Let's just save ourselves some time and get this over with." He cocked his arm back, ready for anything.

Was that his first reflex? Protecting complete strangers?

Getting over the initial shock, Elsa gathered her thoughts.

"G… Garret?" she softly called while slowly appearing from behind the wall. The look of utter disbelief that appeared in his eyes as he let his arm fall made her heart sink. "It's me, don't worry," she tried to say in the most soothing tone she could manage when she saw him take a step back.

"Your…Your Majesty… Did you see…?"

Elsa very slowly nodded, her gaze not leaving his eyes.

Please don't run, please don't run, please don't run.

"Don't panic, Garret. Please. I… I'm not afraid…" she pleaded in a trembling voice.

Garret let his shoulders slump down. He released a heavy sigh and nodded. He then frowned and closed his eyes, awaiting her next words. She knew that asking after seeing what she just did was a bit unnecessary, but she wanted to make sure.

"Are you… Are you like me, Garret?" Elsa demanded through the sound of her pounding heart. She brought her hands to her chest. "Do you have powers like mine?"

Silence had never seemed so deafening to Elsa before. A faint gust of wind traversed the garden, playing with the nearby bushes' leaves. The sound of a wave crashing itself into the castle's outer rampart echoed through the empty space, accompanied by a seagull's squark. After what felt like an eternity of two children of ice standing in front of each other, awaiting the inevitable, Garret opened his eyes and spoke in a low voice.

"Yes… Elsa."

Auspicium Melioris Aevi = Token Of a Better Age

As I said, this will explore themes related to depression, murder, guilt... Joyous things you wouldn't see in a Disney movie. Just putting this out here in case that's a trigger for you!

That wraps it for now. See you next time.

Peace,
CalAm.