I would like to thank roxygoth, BurningFox6, krystal lazuli, and LukeJames for beta reading and helping me improve!

Feedback is always appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen. Frozen is owned by Disney. I only lay claim to Prince Edmund, Prince Lucas, Master Stephen, and anyone else you do not recognize from Frozen.

Chapter 20

Sir Stephen was jogging with eleven-year-old Edmund around a lake outside of London on a warm, early August day. Both were carrying satchels over their shoulders and were wearing clothes meant for jogging and summer weather. From time to time, Stephen would take Edmund to the lake as part of his quotidian training. Other times they would go there for ice skating in the winter and swimming in the summer.

"Are you doing alright, Edmund?" the brown-haired man asked the young English prince.

"Yes. I am doing well, Master," Edmund replied as they continued jogging around the lake.

As Stephen and Edmund jogged along, Stephen made sure to jog at a pace Edmund was able to keep up with. The English prince was getting bigger and stronger every day. However, he was still not quite old enough to venture out on his own. There would eventually be a time where Edmund would be old enough to take care of himself.

Eventually the two reached a dock. Deciding not to skip it, the young prince and his mentor jogged on the dock. Once they reached the edge of the dock facing the lake, the two were about to turn around and head back to the edge of the forest.

However, upon reaching the dock's edge, Edmund noticed something shiny at the bottom of the clear waters of the lake.

"Master?" Edmund said as he continued to gaze at the shiny object.

"What is it, Edmund? Do you see something in the lake?" Stephen asked as he stopped jogging.

Edmund nodded. "What do you think it is, Master?"

The brown-haired man looked closer at the object, taking care not to fall off the dock into the lake. "It looks like a knife of some sort. Maybe someone accidently lost it and did not realize it."

"Should we return it to whoever lost it?" Edmund suggested.

"Well, as nice as that would be, we have no idea who lost the knife in the first place. It could be someone who is not even from London," Stephen explained.

"That is true. The knife also appears to be deep down," the young prince said. "Do you think you could reach it?"

"Yes. I can hold my breath long enough to grab the knife and bring it to the surface," Stephen responded. "Wait here while I go get the knife."

"Will do, Master," Edmund said as Stephen handed him his satchel and jumped into the lake to retrieve the knife.

To his surprise, the water was warmer than Stephen thought. He was concerned it would be cold enough that he and Edmund would have to go back to the kingdom for him to get warmed up. Stephen thought he would be okay after he got out.

With how clear the lake water was, he could see a considerable distance away from where the dock was situated.

As he went down toward the knife, some fish scattered away upon seeing the brown-haired man. Once he had the knife in his grasp, he immediately returned to the surface. Upon surfacing, he got back up onto the dock dripping wet.

"Looks like you got the knife, Master. You did it," Edmund said with a smile.

Stephen smiled sheepishly at the praise while realizing he was all wet. He inspected the knife. "This looks like a dagger of some sort. I was thinking after we are done here, we can bring it to the kingdom blacksmith once we are back in the city."

"Does it look like it needs to be cleaned?" the young English prince wondered.

"Not too much. It should not be anything the blacksmith cannot handle," Stephen said as he dried off the dagger and placed it inside his satchel.

"Will we still be able to continue jogging around the lake, Master? Is the water cold enough where we should head back to the kingdom to get you warmed back up?" Edmund asked with concern.

Stephen shook his head with a smile. "The water is warmer than I thought it would be. I should be fine if we get back to jogging as soon as possible."

"Then shall we do it right now?" Edmund suggested.

"Yes. We shall do so," Stephen replied with a grin as he and the young English prince got back to jogging around the lake.

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Upon arriving back in London, Stephen and Edmund went straight to the kingdom blacksmith. Once they entered the shop of the weaponsmith, the weapons builder bowed respectfully.

"Good afternoon, Sir Stephen, and Prince Edmund. What can I do for you today?" the blacksmith greeted.

"Good afternoon, sir. Edmund discovered this dagger at the bottom of the lake outside the city," Stephen explained, removing the dagger from his satchel, and handing it to the weaponsmith.

After receiving the dagger, the weaponsmith examined it. "This looks like a nice dagger. It could use a little cleaning, but I should have no trouble getting this dagger shining again. I will have this thing shining like a diamond tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir," Stephen said.

"You are welcome, Sir Stephen. I hope you and Prince Edmund take care," the weaponsmith stated.

"You as well," the young prince's mentor responded as he and Edmund left the blacksmith.

A little while after Stephen and Edmund left the weaponsmith, the young English prince caught something that streaked past the corner of his eye. Edmund turned his head to see a group of three boys being chased by the guards, one of them clutching something shiny. The black-haired prince saw in horror that one of the boys happened to be Richard.

"Hey! Stop right there!" one of the guards yelled.

"Catch us if you can, slowpokes!" one of the boys retorted.

"This cannot be happening. What do we do now, Master?" Edmund asked worriedly.

"We must stop them as they have appeared to have stolen something valuable," Stephen replied.

"One of them is Richard. How could he?" Edmund gasped.

"I have no idea what motivated him to do such a thing. Whatever reason it was, we must return the valuable thing they stole to its rightful owner," Stephen explained.

"Yes, Master," Edmund said.

"You go that way, and I will go this way. Be careful," the brown-haired man said with quick gestures as he and his student joined the guards in running after the boys.

As he ran, Edmund could not help but be in disbelief at the vicissitude of his friend. How would he end up becoming a thief? Pushing those thoughts aside, the English prince ran through the city streets as fast as he could, dashing past citizens and ignoring their surprised reactions.

Stephen was running where the guards had gone to go after the boys. Thoughts of shock entered his mind as he ran. Why would Richard ever resort to stealing something? Did it have something to do with the influence of the other boys? Were the other boys recalcitrant, perhaps? He had a lot of theories as to why Richard would end up committing thievery, but he knew the task at hand was to catch the boys before they got away.

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Edmund eventually saw the three boys run down a dark, narrow alley. While the alley did not appear to be the safest place in London, the young prince followed the boys anyway, determination keeping him going.

"Richard! Stop this right now!" Edmund shouted.

"What are you going to do about it? Huh?" Richard fired back.

That made it clear to Edmund. Richard was no longer his friend after what he had done. The black-haired prince had to stop him before he or the other boys caused any harm to someone else.

Edmund soon caught up to his former friend, grabbing his shirt and yanking him backwards. Richard fell, the diamond falling out of his grasp.

As Edmund made a move to pick up the diamond and return it, one of the boys said, "I would not do that, if I were you."

The young English prince looked at the boys, who had knives in their hands. Richard had recovered and was already on his feet, clutching a knife as well.

"Richard, this is not you. Should you and the other boys stop this nonsense, nothing bad will befall anyone, and we can just forget this ever happened," Edmund tried to reason with the blonde-haired boy.

The three boys, however, merely smirked devilishly. "Good attempt at a persuasion, Edmund, but not good enough," one of the boys replied. "Come on boys. Let's get him!"

Richard and the two other boys approached the young prince, knives ready to attack him.

Realizing there was no way he would be able to persuade Richard to quit with what he was doing, Edmund entered a fighting stance. The black-haired prince knew he had to be careful, as he had no weapons on him, and it was three against one.

One of the boys charged at Edmund. The young prince made quick work of him, dodging his attack, and quickly subduing him with a swift kick and punch to the head.

The other boy was also defeated rather swiftly.

Now it was only Edmund and Richard. Richard glared at him. "I am going to make you pay dearly for ruining my plans, Edmund." He then ran at Edmund, intending to stab him.

Edmund rolled out of the way, jumping back to his feet as Richard made another move. The blonde-haired boy swung his knife at Edmund, who grabbed his wrist. Richard and the young prince struggled with each other, Edmund trying to stop Richard from stabbing him while Richard attempted to push his knife down on his former friend.

Stephen and the guards arrived at the scene as the two boys continued to struggle with each other.

"Edmund!" the brown-haired man yelled as he rushed over to help his student. He grabbed Richard from behind, pulling the knife out of his grasp. The blonde-haired boy struggled furiously to get away, but Stephen's grip was too tight.

The guards immediately arrested the two other boys before they could recover and make another attempt to escape. Another one of the guards ran over to where Stephen had Richard. He then arrested Richard with a stern look on his face.

"You are in big trouble, young man," the guard snarled as he dragged Richard along with the other two boys.

"Edmund! Help me! Do not let them take me away!" Richard said desperately.

"Why should I? You should have known stealing is wrong," Edmund retorted quietly, very disappointed in Richard. "I offered you a chance to stop this nonsense, and you chose to stick with your new friends."

"I am still your friend, right?" Richard asked.

The English prince shook his head. "No. You were my friend. That boy I remember is no longer there. I do not wish to associate with you or your family ever again."

"What?! Has that scoundrel Lucas replaced me as your best friend?" Richard demanded.

"Do not ever talk about Lucas like that! Luc has nothing to do with this. He is a good kid and would never do anything like you just did. Guards, take him away," Edmund said.

"Yes, Your Highness," one of the guards replied.

"No Edmund! You cannot do this!" the blonde-haired boy shouted as the guards took him and the other boys to the youth detention center.

Edmund picked up the diamond and gave it to one of the guards to return to its rightful owner. "Here you go. I am very sorry you and the rest of the guards had to go through this."

"It is okay, Your Highness. We were just doing our job. I am glad to know you would never do anything that would get you in trouble with the law," the guard said with a nod of approval. He then made his way to return the diamond.

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Once the guards and three boys were out of sight, Stephen went over to Edmund and checked to see if he suffered any injuries. "Are you alright, Edmund? Did those boys hurt you?"

Edmund shook his head. "I am fine, Master. Had you and the guards not arrived in time, there is the possibility I would have been dead."

"Well, I am relieved no one got seriously injured in the fight," Stephen replied.

"I still cannot comprehend why Richard would break the law like that," the young prince said, still disbelieving what his former friend had done.

"Not everyone is bound to be good, Edmund. There are many evil beings in the world, whether we like it or not," the brown-haired man responded.

"That is very unfortunate," Edmund said with anguish on his face.

Stephen gave his student a sympathetic look upon seeing how he looked. "It pains me to know Richard ended up becoming evil. He was such a good kid. Those boys he was with must have been raised by parents who do not have any idea how to properly discipline their children."

"I am afraid so," Edmund replied.

"Come on, Edmund. Let's head back to the castle," Stephen suggested.

"Yes, Master," the young English prince responded as the two made their way back to the palace.

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Edmund was eating his dinner with his father and mentor, still thinking about the events from earlier. While he had not seen Lucas in three years, he was confident the Belgian prince remained good. The English prince was disappointed the Belgian prince never came to the festivals King Matthew held for his birthday every year. He could not help but wonder if something catastrophic might have happened to them or if the Ostenda royal family might have forgotten about him.

Richard was a good friend of his, but when he said Lucas had replaced him as his best friend, that caught Edmund off-guard. Why would Richard have assumed that? Every friend of anyone was unique, and could play key roles in someone's life, even if their roles were not the same.

Matthew noticed the state his son was in and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I am very sorry about what happened today, Edmund. You must feel guilty about how Richard could have become evil so suddenly."

"I am shocked at what has happened today, father. Never in my life have I thought one of my closest friends would change for the worst. Like what Master Stephen said earlier, not everyone is bound to be a good person," Edmund replied.

"As unfortunate as it is, my son, it is sadly something the world must live with. There are many evil people out there, and they could be anywhere, even in London there are bad people in certain places of the city," the king explained.

"After seeing what happened to Richard, I realized I just lost a friend today," the young English prince stated with a sad look on his face, looking down at his now clean plate.

"You cannot please everyone, my son. It does not matter how good of a person you are. There are people out there who will not want anything to do with you, regardless of how nice you are to them or what your social status is. As King of London, I have come to realize not everyone will be happy with the decisions I make," Matthew explained.

"How could they not be happy with you as king, father? London has been prospering ever since you became king!" Edmund stated.

"It is just the way it is, son, and I have to accept that," the king replied sympathetically.

Edmund nodded in understanding. "At least I still have Jane here in London."

"That is true, my son," Matthew said before he remembered something. "I am surprised Lucas and his family have not come to my annual festival to celebrate my birthday since I turned thirty. No word has come from Ostenda as to what is going on there as we speak."

"I miss Lucas very much, father. What if something bad has happened to him or his family?" Edmund asked with concern.

"Unfortunately, I do not know if anything has happened to them, my son. While I hope nothing has happened to them, the lack of correspondence might send the message it is possible something has befallen them," Matthew elaborated with concern on his face.

Edmund had a lot of pain in his normally gentle blue eyes. First, his friend Richard becoming evil, and then not knowing what had become of Lucas and his family after having not heard from them in a few years.

The English prince knew there would be rough days in life, but he did not expect that day to be one of them.

Stephen saw how bad Edmund felt. "I can assure you Lucas and his family are alive and well, Edmund. No response is better than getting a letter from someone else in the kingdom saying something has happened to them."

"I suppose that is true. However, until I do see them again, I would rather not get my hopes up too high," Edmund replied.

"The best we can do right now is to stay positive and move forward. I am truly sorry about how today had to end up, Edmund," Stephen said with regret on his face.

"It is okay, Master. Today was not your fault. You are not to blame for anything happening today. It is Richard's fault for making a poor choice," Edmund replied.

"Everyone makes poor choices in their lives. Even the best people to have ever lived have made choices they regret later and wished they had done them differently. I have had my fair share of decisions I wish I could take back and do over again," Stephen explained.

"You do?" Edmund asked.

"Of course. There was one time when I was a kid where I was carrying a lot of groceries home, and as I entered my house, I accidentally knocked over one of the glass containers for one of the candles in the living room. The container hit the ground and shattered all over the place. I wished that I had been more careful when carrying those groceries," Stephen said.

"Were your parents angry with you?" the young English prince asked.

"At first, they were, yes, but they forgave me when they saw how terrible I felt about it. I promised that from now on I would be more careful and pay more attention to where I was going so it would not happen again," Stephen said with a grin.

"I am glad your parents did not punish you or anything for something like that," Edmund said with a beam of his own.

"As am I. Had it been stealing something, then yes, they would have punished me. However, I have never stolen anything as I have always known stealing is not the way to go in life," Stephen explained.

Edmund's smile faded as he recalled Richard's act of theft from earlier. "I just wish Richard did not do what he did."

"I wish he did not do it either. However, what is done is done, and Richard will be punished for his actions," Stephen said.

"They will not execute him, will they?" Edmund asked.

"No, they will not. I am sure they will just keep him in the youth detention center until he cleans up his act," Stephen elaborated.

"Even after he gets his act together, I still do not want anything to do with him," the English prince stated.

"I understand that. It was your choice to be around the people that would serve as a good influence on you," Stephen said.

"You and my father have been the best influences on me I could have ever asked for," Edmund responded.

"I am happy to hear that," the brown-haired man replied with a grin. "Now, how about we talk about something sunnier?"

"Sounds good, Master," Edmund said in agreement.