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

Feedback is always appreciated!

I feel like it will begin to get interesting soon.

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

Chapter 5

Sven was running up the mountainside through the niveous, snow-covered forest, his hoofs kicking up the snow as he did so. Kristoff was guiding his reindeer pal through the forest while Edmund and Lucas sat beside the ice harvester on opposite sides. The mountain man never had anyone besides Anna ride in his sled with him, as far as he could remember. During his time harvesting ice, he always rode by himself while delivering ice to the kingdom.

The first few hours of the journey up to the lake were rather silent. All three men just sat and watched the snowy trees go by. While Kristoff kept looking ahead to make sure his reindeer pal was doing alright, the two princes kept looking beside themselves to admire the wintry scene. Never had either of them thought winter could be so beautiful. As Edmund and Lucas venerated what they saw before them, both men made sure to keep their arms inside the sled, even after they saw something interesting. The last thing they wanted was for any injuries to happen out of imprudence.

"Hey, Lucas?" The Belgian prince jumped a bit as he was not expecting to hear Kristoff's voice.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay?" the ice harvester asked as he turned to face the Belgian prince.

"I am sorry. What did you say?" Lucas responded.

"I was just asking to see if you were doing alright," Kristoff assured him.

"Oh. I am doing fine. The sight before us is certainly one to admire," Lucas said approvingly.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kristoff asked.

"It is indeed. All my life I have never thought winter could be so amazing. I have never seen anything like this," Lucas replied, smiling.

"Since I've lived in the mountains my entire life, this is something I have gotten used to," Kristoff stated.

"I bet. Speaking of the mountains, do you ever get cold?" Lucas wondered.

Kristoff shook his head. "Cold doesn't bother me that much. It would bother me though if it were an icy body of water. However, cold air has never been an issue for me."

The Belgian prince nodded thoughtfully. "That is good to hear. I remember one time when I was a young boy my family and I went ice skating one winter on a frozen lake outside Ostenda. At first it was quite a bit of fun, until it almost turned into a disaster. While we were on the frozen lake, the ice started cracking beneath us. My parents and I got to shore just in time before we could fall into the freezing lake. That was one of the scariest moments of my life."

"Sounds like another few moments could've meant you and your parents would not have survived," Kristoff sympathized with Lucas.

"Yes. Thankfully, my parents learned a valuable lesson that day. From that day forward, they were more careful in determining whether the ice on the lake was safe or not to ice skate on," Lucas explained.

"I'm happy to hear you and your parents didn't have another incident with the ice after that," Kristoff said.

"Thank you, Kristoff. I appreciate it," Lucas replied, smiling.

"Of course, Luc," Kristoff responded with a grin on his face. "Does the cold bother you?"

"It does not. I am fine with cold air, but to reiterate what you said, I would prefer not being in an ice-cold body of water," the Belgian prince explained.

"Yeah, icy water can really get you into trouble if you're in it for too long," the ice harvester replied.

"I agree," Lucas said with a nod.

Kristoff turned his attention to the English prince, who was still looking at the winter scene the three men were racing by. "Are you doing okay, Edmund?" he asked.

"Yeah! Are we almost there?" Edmund wondered.

"We'll be there soon," the ice harvester responded.

Edmund smiled and gave him a thumbs up as he, Lucas, Kristoff, and Sven continued to make their way towards the lake.

OoOoOoOoOoO

At eleven o'clock that morning in the castle, Elsa had just left the conference room when a certain sound caught her attention. She listened more closely and determined someone was playing a musical instrument. A piano maybe? The Snow Queen walked in the direction of the music, and the sonance got increasingly louder as she approached the ballroom.

Soon she found herself at the entrance to the ballroom. Who could be playing the piano in the ballroom at this time? She looked through the crack in the ajar ballroom entrance and saw Stephen sitting at the piano. He was masterfully playing the piano, making every single note sound amazing. What Elsa noticed most however, was the expression on his face. No matter the mood of the piece he was playing, he was stone-faced. As she continued to listen to Stephen put on a dazzling display, the Ice Queen did not see the expression on his face change one bit.

Once Stephen had finished playing, Elsa knocked on the door before she came into the ballroom. The brown-haired man turned his head to see who it was. Upon seeing that it was Elsa, he stood up and respectfully bowed.

"Good morning, Elsa," Stephen greeted. "I take it your meeting with the council went well?"

"Good morning, Stephen. My meeting with the council was good. I was just discussing things about the kingdom," Elsa said. "You sure sounded amazing playing the piano."

Stephen grinned. "Why thank you. Edmund and I love to play the piano when we are not training. The piano is the only musical instrument he and I both got ourselves into. On a side note, I am glad to hear your meeting went well."

Elsa smiled. "Thank you."

"You are welcome," Stephen stated, grinning as well.

"How was the tour around the castle with Anna?" Elsa asked.

"It went very well. Your sister has one of the sunniest personalities of anyone I have ever met," Stephen replied.

"Yes, she does. Now that you have seen the entire castle, what will you be doing for the rest of the day?" the Ice Queen wondered.

"Since Edmund is with Lucas and Kristoff harvesting ice, I have not really planned out the rest of the day," Stephen responded. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Maybe you could go see the town?" Elsa suggested.

Stephen smiled and nodded at the suggestion. "That is a great idea. It sure looks like a very nice town. Then after I explore the town, I can tell Edmund and Lucas all about it once they return from ice harvesting."

"I am glad I was able to suggest something for you to do today," Elsa beamed.

"I thank you very much for that. Before I go ahead and make my way to the town, I would like to play one more song on the piano. Would you like to hear a Christmas or winter themed piece?" Stephen suggested.

The Snow Queen nodded at the suggestion. "Yes, I would like that."

The brown-haired man grinned as he sat down in front of the piano and began to skillfully play the piano once again. Elsa did not remember anyone who could play the piano so masterfully and gracefully.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Well, here we are gentlemen. The East Lake," Kristoff announced as the three men arrived at the East Lake, which was nestled at the base of the East Mountain.

Edmund got out of the sled and observed the scene before him. The deep snow surrounded the ice-covered lake, which seemed to be at least a foot thick.

"Hey, Edmund. Are you feeling okay?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes. I am feeling just fine, Kristoff. Thank you for asking," Edmund replied with a grin.

"You're welcome. Will your muscles be okay with doing heavy work in the cold?" the ice harvester asked.

Edmund nodded. "Yes, I will be just fine. My master has taught me how to train and do hard work in cold weather. Whenever I am outside during the winter months, I always try to overdress because I can then just remove a layer of clothing whenever I get too warm. As long as I keep moving rather than holding still for too long, I should be good."

"Do you stretch a lot?" Kristoff wondered.

"Yes. Master Stephen and I stretch every morning after we wake up. We also stretch before training, after training, and once we have warmed up after being outside on cold days," Edmund explained.

"That's good," the ice harvester nodded approvingly. "You ready to get started?"

"I am ready whenever you are," Edmund replied.

Lucas hopped out of the sled after he had studied the scene and walked up to the two men with an ice saw in his hands.

"Hey, Kristoff? Is this the saw that is used to cut the ice?" the Belgian prince asked as he pointed to the large object he was holding.

"Yes. I'll show you two how the saw is used once we're on the lake," Kristoff explained as he and the two princes made their way back to the sled to gather their ice harvesting tools. As they got ready to go to work, Kristoff gauged the time, recognizing it was mid-morning, giving them plenty of time. He knew they would have an ample amount of time to return to the kingdom by dinner time if they got started right away. Speed mattered more than quantity.

As soon as the three men gathered their equipment, they began to make their way across the frozen lake. Upon reaching the center of the lake, Edmund and Lucas watched closely how Kristoff handled the equipment to make sure they got the most amount of ice possible.

Once the two princes felt like they had a good enough understanding of what to do, the three men brought down their ice saws and proceeded to cut through the ice.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

As they cut through the ice toward the shoreline, Edmund and Lucas made sure to pay attention and follow the ice harvester's lead. To his surprise, Kristoff saw the two princes were not having any trouble at all making sure to cut through the ice properly.

"Hey, are you guys sure you've never done this before?" the ice harvester asked.

The two princes chuckled before replying, "No, but you obviously are a good instructor."

Once the three men were finished cutting through the ice, they used splitting forks to separate the ice flows. It would not be long before they were using pitchforks to prepare the ice blocks for cutting in half to make them transportable on Kristoff's sled. The ice harvester was stunned at how Edmund and Lucas were able to get the hang of it so quickly.

Soon the three men were hard at work chopping the ice blocks in half with pickaxes. Kristoff could not help but grin at how hard Edmund and Lucas were working. Their determination resulted in them splitting all the ice blocks a lot faster than the ice harvester ever remembered during his time harvesting ice.

As soon as every ice block was split in half, Kristoff showed the two princes how to properly carry the ice to the sled, from the posture to the way to having a firm grip on the ice with the tongs, and to not lose any strength while transporting it.

After a little while the work was complete, and Kristoff's sled was filled to its maximum capacity with ice. The ice harvester was stunned at how quickly the work got done. Not only was it done in record time, but also done incredibly well thanks to the two princes. Another thing that surprised him was Edmund and Lucas were not the slightest bit tired. They were not red nor were they panting. How could these two men not be even a tiny bit exhausted from this?

"Wow. You guys are so strong! Even after all that, neither of you seem fatigued at all. As strong as I am, you two appear to be much stronger. How are you guys so muscular?" Kristoff wondered, impressed.

"My lifelong training under my master's leadership," Edmund replied.

"Lifelong? You mean since the day you were born?" the ice harvester asked.

"Precisely," the English prince confirmed.

"Didn't you ever get injured?" Kristoff asked with concern.

"Fortunately, I have never suffered any serious injuries. When I was an infant, Master Stephen made sure to take it easy on me because although babies are quite flexible, they can get hurt easily. He has always made sure I am doing everything correctly to avoid getting injured, and that we have healthy diets to handle the tedious work that comes with training," Edmund explained.

"You both train pretty hard, don't you?" Kristoff wondered.

"Yes, we do. Our main reasons for the training are to stay in excellent shape for as long as we can, and to protect our kingdom and those we care about most whenever a threat is perceived. While we both know every fighting style and how to use any weapon, our weapons of choice are swords and bows. I can assure you that my master and I use our abilities for good," the English prince stated.

"I'm pleased to hear you use your strength the right way," the ice harvester said.

"Of course. You seem to use your strength for good as well," Edmund replied with a grin.

"Well, I try," Kristoff responded, smiling. "What about you Lucas? How did you become so strong?"

"I exercise every day. A few ways I enjoy exercising are weightlifting, running, and fencing," Lucas said.

"How long have you been exercising?" the ice harvester wondered.

"I have been running my entire life. However, it was not until I was four that I began lifting weights, and I did not start fencing until I was a teenager," the Belgian prince elaborated.

"Who trains you?" the ice harvester asked.

"The Captain of the Guards. He loves his job of keeping Ostenda safe and takes the safety of me and my family very seriously," Lucas stated.

"That's good to hear. Are there any weapons you prefer?" Kristoff asked.

"Longbows and sabers. We always use sabers in fencing. If you are wondering what a saber is, it is a type of heavy sword used by cavalrymen and has a curved blade, unlike a regular sword," Lucas explained.

"Sounds interesting. Maybe you could show me what a saber looks like?" Kristoff asked.

"Certainly," Lucas beamed.

"Sounds good. Anyway, would you two gentlemen like to have something to eat? It's lunchtime now," Kristoff suggested.

"Yes please," both princes said at the same time as the three men made their way to the sled to get out their lunches.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Stephen was just entering the town, looking around to see the buildings covered in snow and with Christmas decorations hanging from them. He had made sure to dress up for the cold weather before leaving the castle.

As the brown-haired man walked, he passed by what he thought was a Christmas store. There were wreaths in the windows, with ribbon, holly, ornaments, assorted decorations, and Christmas trees inside the shop. Smiling fondly, he knew it was a reminder of how enamored with the holiday Stephen was when he was a boy.

Stephen continued strolling through the town, passing by numerous establishments and townspeople along the way. It was not too long before he found himself in the middle of the town square. In the center of the square was a frozen fountain.

After observing the fountain for a few minutes, a small sled slid up to him, almost hitting him in the foot. He picked up the sled and saw a small boy run up to him.

"Sorry, mister!" the boy exclaimed.

Stephen smiled at the boy. "It is okay. Is this your sled?"

The boy nodded.

"Here you go," Stephen said as he gracefully handed the sled to the child.

"Thank you, mister," the boy said gratefully.

"You are welcome," Stephen responded, beaming.

The boy smiled up at Stephen and then walked away with his sled.

Stephen grinned as he watched the child walk over to a huge pile of snow where other kids were sledding and having snowball fights he did not notice before. He remembered when he and Matthew went sledding and had snowball fights every winter in Ireland during their respective childhoods.

Just then, a cold breeze caught him off-guard, making him shiver a little bit. Deciding he needed something hot to drink, he searched for anything that might offer a hot drink. Luckily, he managed to find a café. Smiling, he brushed a few stray snowflakes from his clothes and walked inside.

To his dismay, the café was very busy, with a long line and people sitting at every table, drinking hot drinks, and eating various foods. Nonetheless, he was a very patient guy, and there were many things in his life that tested his patience much more than this. Thus, he shrugged off the long line, as he really needed to warm up somehow.

Once he got to the front of the line, the owner smiled and got ready to take his order.

"Good morning, sir. What can I get for you today?" he asked.

"What kind of hot drinks do you have?" Stephen wondered.

"We've got a lot of hot drinks. Hot chocolate, coffee, tea, hot cider, hot glogg, and more," the owner suggested.

"I would like green tea please," Stephen decided.

"Of course! Coming right up!" the owner exclaimed as he immediately went to work on the tea. It would not be long before the tea had been prepared.

"There you go sir!" the owner said cheerfully as Stephen handed him a few coins before carefully accepting his steaming cup of tea.

"Thank you," the brown-haired man said with a smile.

"You're welcome! Have a great day!" the owner replied enthusiastically.

"You as well," Stephen replied as he sat down and set his cup of tea on a table that thankfully freed up while he was waiting.

Sitting down and making himself comfortable, the brown-haired man observed the scene outside a window next to him. It was no longer cloudy outside. He could see sunshine creating shadows out of buildings and any townspeople that walked by. The snow gleamed as the sun rays hit it.

Turning his attention to his tea, Stephen gently blew on it to cool it off and carefully took a sip. The brown-haired man winced a little bit as the hot liquid ran down his throat and settled in his stomach.

Once he was finished with his tea, he relaxed for a bit before deciding to go back outside and continue exploring the town.

As he rose from his seat, an employee went over to his table and began to clean it.

"How was the tea sir?" he asked.

"It was very nice tea," Stephen smiled.

"Glad you liked it. Hope we see you again soon!" the employee exclaimed.

"I am sure you will. Have a good one," Stephen said.

"You as well!" the employee replied.

After he had left the café, Stephen resumed exploring the town. As he explored, he made sure to take care not to bump into anyone. He greeted anyone that said hello to him.

Arendelle was such a beautiful town. It had to be one of the best towns the brown-haired man had ever visited. Every building, establishment, and house was tastefully decorated with Christmas decorations. The townspeople were all in a cheerful mood, which further brightened the atmosphere.

As nice as the entire town was, Stephen was especially astonished once he reached the wealthy part of Arendelle. Mansions and establishments had Christmas decorations all over the place. While it was a bit over-the-top for him, he nonetheless admired the sight before him. He did live in a castle, but he never bragged about it. Stephen would be the same person, regardless of how wealthy he was or what kind of dwelling he lived in.

Soon he had explored the entire town and was now on the outskirts, looking over a snowy meadow. The edge of the town was just behind him. He glanced to both sides and could make out the edges of some mansions in the background. Stephen smiled as he saw a snowy forest in the distance, the snow lucent from the sunlight hitting it.

As he looked around, something deep inside the forest caught his attention. At first, he thought it was just another tree. However, upon looking closer, he realized it was not a tree at all. There was no snow on it, and it appeared to be a black jacket standing up with a hood that hid the face of whoever wore it. Curious, he wondered what or who it could be, and why they would be wandering aimlessly in the forest in this weather.

Deciding to go check it out, Stephen walked through the deep snow and into the forest, trying to get a better look at the figure. Before he could get a clear look at the figure, however, it suddenly darted out of sight and into a gap inside the mountains. Now Stephen was beginning to get suspicious. He picked up the pace, despite the snow being up to his waist, and reached the gap the figure disappeared into. Stephen followed the footprints he spotted in the snow as he approached the gap. To his surprise, the footprints ended abruptly. The brown-haired man entered the gap and attempted to search for the figure, but no matter how hard he searched, the figure was nowhere to be seen. Once he was back outside the gap, he was beginning to think whoever that figure was, it did not have good intentions. Stephen had a gut feeling something might be coming soon. Something heinous.

OoOoOoOoOoO

A snowball flew across the ballroom and slammed into the wall. Snow flew everywhere.

"You won't win this time!" Anna exclaimed, excited her sister suggested a snowball fight once they had finished their morning duties.

"Oh, we will see about that, Anna!" Elsa retorted.

The two sisters had agreed to have some sisterly fun after Elsa had finished her meeting and Anna was finished giving Stephen a tour around the castle.

Now they were having fun with the Snow Queen's powers, just the two of them.

Elsa was clearly overwhelming Anna, which resulted in the Ice Queen taking the snowball fight up a notch. She summoned up numerous towers that were scattered about their battlefield, and soon they were moving around the snow buildings, trying to seek an opening for attack while keeping cover at the same time.

Anna was leaning against one of the towers, waiting patiently for her big sister to come into her line of sight. She had a snowball in one of her hands, ready to throw it when she got the chance. As the princess peered out from her tower, she was pelted in the face with a snowball.

"You have to be better than that, Anna!" Elsa called as Anna brushed the snow off her shoulders.

"I'll show you better, Elsa!" Anna smirked as she saw her sister standing at the top of one of the snow towers. Running up towards the tower Elsa stood on, she threw her snowball with all her might. It managed to strike the Ice Queen square in the face.

"Ha! Told you I'd show you better!" Anna stated with a satisfied smirk.

Elsa smiled and shook her head. Anna thought her sister was going to admit defeat, but then Elsa disappeared from the top of her tower. Thinking quickly, Anna hid behind the tower that was the furthest from the one the Snow Queen was on top of just moments before.

Snowball in hand, Anna darted out to the tower closest to her. There was no sign of Elsa anywhere. The princess assumed she was hiding behind another tower on the other side of the room. Due to Elsa's powers, Anna knew she had to strategize carefully if she wanted to win this battle.

Climbing up the snow tower, she soon reached the top and could get a slightly better view of their snow battlefield. Looking to her left, she caught a glimpse of Elsa behind a smaller tower. Her big sister saw Anna, however, and started making a run for cover as Anna threw the snowball at Elsa. The princess missed as the queen sprinted behind a taller tower.

"I'm telling you; I am going to win this time!" Anna exclaimed.

"Are you sure about that?" Elsa called back.

"Oh yes!" the princess responded.

The Snow Queen smirked at her sister's determination. Ever since their bond had been restored, she and Anna would always have snowball fights in the ballroom whenever the chance came their way. With her powers and analytical mind, she always won the snowball battles between the two.

Moving carefully, Elsa took cover in a snow building that had an opening. From the angle that it opened to the next snow building, the Snow Queen could take cover quickly in case Anna came into sight. With one entrance perpendicular to the entrance of another building, the Ice Queen knew it could give her an advantage over her sister.

Elsa decided to wait patiently for her little sister, while keeping an eye out in the other direction in case she came from behind her. While she waited, she made sure to glance behind her to anticipate any sneak attacks.

Eventually, the Ice Queen spotted her sister behind a snowbank that was next to one of the snow buildings.

Soon Anna charged out from her cover. Seizing her opportunity, Elsa conjured a snowball in her hand and flung it at Anna. It hit Anna in the face and sent her flying backwards into another snowbank.

Satisfied with her victory, Elsa walked up to her sister, who was shaking snow off herself. It appeared Anna had gotten almost completely engulfed in the snowbank.

"You said I would not win this battle?" the Snow Queen stated.

"No fair! You always win!" Anna pouted.

"I guess it has something to do with an older sister that has snow and ice powers?" Elsa said modestly.

"Okay. I'll give you that," the princess replied, admitting defeat.

"Did you have fun?" Elsa asked.

"I sure did! Maybe next time we can do this outside?" the princess suggested.

"Yes, we should. Maybe sometime tomorrow?" the Snow Queen inquired.

"I'd love that!" Anna exclaimed.

The Snow Queen smiled. "Maybe we should get ready for Kristoff, Edmund, and Lucas returning from ice harvesting. With how long we were in here, they could be back any minute now."

"Yeah, and Stephen might be back from seeing the town soon as well," Anna pointed out.

Elsa nodded in agreement. "After we are ready, maybe you and I should have some hot chocolate? I could really use something hot to drink about now."

"Yes please!" Anna exclaimed eagerly.

Once Elsa had waved her hand, called back the snow and made it vanish from the ballroom, she and Anna left the room.