A mysterious, and handsome stranger comes over to stay at Arendelle Castle. While some people are rather suspicious of him, Queen Elsa is white drawn to this young man - he somehow reminds her of herself. But she has no idea of the shadows that have...
As soon as Anna and Kristoff were done, they went to Elsa's chamber where she conducted affairs, Olaf trailing behind. Elsa was just sending off a group of three men dressed in crisp, fancy uniforms as Kristoff and Anna walked through the doors.
"Are you done yet, Elsa?" Anna asked. "You promised me we'd go stargazing tonight, and the sky's getting dark."
"Oh, yes. I think they're all gone now." Elsa looked up from a stack of papers she'd been reading over on her beautiful, dark oak desk. Today, she was wearing a professional dark purple and blue dress, and her new crown gleamed on the top of her head. It looked just like the one she'd thrown away back in her ice castle. "Sir?" She called to one of her guards who stood by the door.
"Yes, my queen?" The guard acknowledged.
"Is there anyone left?" Elsa asked.
The guard peered out into the hall. "Just one, my queen." The guard gestured to someone just outside the door, and Anna and Kristoff stepped to the side as a young man hesitantly entered the room. His eyes swept over the room before they came to rest on Elsa, who had raised her head, and was waiting expectantly.
Anna studied him with interest. The person is a young male, who looks to be about 20 years of age, with pale white skin, short jawline-length golden brown hair, and cobalt blue colour eyes with seem to shimmer like diamonds and are speckled with microscopic flecks of gold. He stands 5ft tall, whilst his body is skinny and has broad shoulders. He has on blue leather jacket with a red short-sleeve shirt underneath, as well a pair of black leather pants, plus a set of tough boots. Anna had never seen him before, and he didn't look like a normal townsperson. A foreign envoy, she guessed.
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"What is your business?" Elsa asked formally. She did not look remotely impressed by her visitor's unusual if not handsome appearance.
"Queen Elsa." The man greeted with a respectful bow before returning his gaze to her. "My name is Orion, your majesty. I have a request to you. One of my friends brought to my attention that your castle has no huntsmen to acquire fresh game for the castle meals. I would like to offer my services to you, if you would accept them." His voice sounded calm and gentle.
Elsa pursed her lips thoughtfully. "No huntsmen? It is true that we have had very few servants in our service for quite a long time, but..." Her voice grew quieter. "Now that there is nothing to hide, I wouldn't mind hiring out more people." She studied Orion. "Where have you come from?" She asked.
"A city far to the South. I had left home when I was barely nineteen to make a way for myself in the world. It hasn't turned out well, to be honest, so I thought I'd try my luck up here." Orion explained his origins.
Elsa asked several more prodding questions, and Anna realised her sister was trying to find out who exactly she was hiring. After all, it wouldn't be safe to hire a complete stranger. No matter how nice this man looked, he couldn't be trusted right away. Appearances could be deceiving, as Anna had learned the hard way. She shuddered as Hans came to mind. As the questioning went on, Anna realized that Orion had a very vague background. Either he was a simple, solitary wanderer like Kristoff had been... or he had something to hide.
Elsa hesitated in making the final decision. Anna could tell she didn't completely trust Orion, but she didn't have the heart to reject him outright. "Alright, you may stay as a castle huntsman. You will be lodged in the servants' quarters, and will be served the same meals that they are given. The entire land of Arendelle is yours to hunt in, but please hunt with moderation. I do not want all the animals in my kingdom disappearing overnight." Elsa said to him.
"Absolutely, Madame." Orion replied promptly.
"You may go. Ask one of my guards in the outer court to take you to Reidar, my head servant. Once you reach Reidar, tell him you are my new huntsman by the queen's orders." Elsa said to him.
Orion bowed his head and his eyes closed briefly. Anna caught a look of utter relief as it passed across his face. "Thank you, your majesty." She thanked. As he turned, he noticed Anna and her friends. "Good day, Princess Anna." He greeted her. "And you too, Kristoff."
"Hi! I'm Olaf!" Olaf said excitedly. He loved meeting new people.
Orion looked a little startled to see a talking snowman, but not half as startled as most people. He must have heard about Olaf already. "Hello, Olaf." He replied, before leaving the room with a purposeful stride. To Anna's surprise, Kristoff suddenly broke into step after him. Anna quickly followed.
"Excuse me!" Kristoff called loudly. The man turned sharply to him. For a moment, Anna thought she saw a flash of fear in his dark eyes, but it vanished after an instant and she decided she was seeing things. "I was just wondering, do you hunt reindeer?"
"Hmm... not usually. Wild reindeer are extremely hard to find anywhere, sometimes." Orion replied back.
"Well, please don't." Kristoff declared shortly. "One of my best friends is a reindeer and it would make me sick if I ever saw a-"
"It's okay. I understand." Orion interrupted, his eyebrows raised in slight amusement. He gave Kristoff a quick smile before resuming his course down the hallway. For a moment Anna stared after the man. There was something not quite right about him, but she couldn't figure out what.
"Ready to go eat dinner?" Elsa said from behind her.
Anna jumped. "Oh. About that... Kristoff and I already ate."
"That's fine. How about you two go out and start looking at the stars while I eat? I'm sure Olaf will keep me company. Don't forget to get the star charts out of the library." Elsa said to them.
"Don't worry." Anna replied cheerily to her sister. Together, she and Kristoff collected the charts and went outside to find constellations in the sky. "Everything feels so perfect right now." She murmured. She slipped her hand into Kristoff's large, warm one. "Sometimes I feel like nothing will ever go wrong again."
"Oh, but it will," Kristoff said frankly. He squeezed Anna's hand. "But don't worry. I'm sure whatever happens, we'll take care of it. And if we don't, I bet Elsa will. She can handle probably anything by now."
