"Learning martial arts is hard." Ward patted the little boy's head.
The boy lifted his head and said earnestly, "I'm not afraid of hard work. Can you teach me?"
Ward put his sword away and stood up. "Maybe when you're a little older."
About ten minutes later, the woman emerged from the kitchen with a large bowl of fish soup and some black bread. With the sea nearby and fish plentiful, Arendelle's residents lived fairly well. At least they could get a reasonable amount of meat. A vegetable stew simmered in the pot. The woman served Ward a bowl of fish soup, then gave the boy a bowl of vegetable porridge before saying somewhat awkwardly, "Sorry I can't offer you more. This is all the food we have."
Ward lifted the fish soup and took a sip. He smiled. "It tastes very good."
A faint smile appeared on the woman's face. She broke off a piece of black bread with her hands and soaked it in her bowl before eating it. Sitting beside her, the little boy kept glancing at Ward, then at his mother.
None of the three spoke.
The woman felt a little awkward, while Ward thought back to his past. When he had still been a hunter, his life had looked much like this.
Suddenly, his ear twitched. He frowned and stood up.
"Stay here. Don't go outside."
He rose and strode out of the house. The woman seemed to guess something, and fear crept into her expression.
As soon as Ward stepped outside, he reached out and hauled a sleazy-looking man from around the corner. He shut the door behind him and slammed the man hard against the wall.
Not far away, several vicious-looking men hurried toward him.
"Cough, cough..."
The sleazy man Ward had slammed