The voice from behind Elsa was unmistakable, so smooth and full of cunning; even so, she couldn't bring herself to believe it belonged to the man who was supposed to be dead. But John's expression foiled her disbelief and shattered her doubt. His face was the color of snow, his mouth unhinged at the jaw as he stared up at the intruder. She turned, expecting to see a specter, the shade of the dead man who tried to kill her. What she saw didn't rise to such dire expectations, but it was still enough to fill her with terror.
Hans was leaning on the banister above the fountain, his grinning face hovering over his crossed arms. It was no ghost looking down upon them, but that did nothing to calm her fear. Somehow, it was worse than seeing a ghost. Hans, in the flesh, the usurper of kingdoms, the conniving traitor, the murderous schemer who almost killed both her and her sister.
She struggled to reconcile what she was seeing. Could it really be Hans? How could it be Hans? His face was the spitting image of the man who visited her coronation, down to every last detail. The auburn hair split down the middle, the angular nose, the thick sideburns. His dashing features betrayed the wicked heart Elsa knew lay inside him. She backed up, pressing her body against John's who wrapped his arms around her, as if to protect her from harm. When Hans stood up Elsa noticed he wore none of the garb of royalty, though. Instead, his tan shirt was sun faded and smudged with dirt.
"Well," Hans said, "looks like you two have gotten to know each other quite well."
Elsa tried to respond but her tongue felt as dry as sandpaper as it stuck to the back of her throat, and she swallowed hard to dislodge it. John was the first to speak.
"Hans! You're alive!"
Hans smiled. It was an unpleasant contortion of his lips, Elsa thought, a weak attempt by a heartless monster to appear genuine.
"Wait," John said, "what are you doing here?"
"Well, it's nice to see you too, brother."
Elsa couldn't get his acts of treachery out of her mind. He'd been just another traveling dignitary at her coronation, but no one realized he'd arrived with an insidious plan. He gained the trust of the people, locked Anna in a room to freeze to death, and attempted to assassinate the queen. He was a man of pure evil without any redeeming qualities, and staring into his eyes was like staring into the shadowy den of some vile creature, not knowing when it would strike.
But it was his treatment of Anna that drained the fear from her blood and brought the flush of anger rising into her cheeks. He'd preyed upon the naive, lovesick Princess of Arendelle, tricking her into falling in love with him and then attempting to kill her. That memory was enough to free her from her fear. She didn't know what Hans was doing in her ice palace, what scheme he might be planning, or what kind of trap he might have laid for them. All she knew was this man had left Anna in a room to die.
Loosing herself from John's grasp she stepped forward, finding her voice.
"What are you doing in my palace?"
Hans ignored the piercing tone of the question and gestured at the room.
"What does any man want with a palace? Protection from the elements, a place to lay his head, somewhere to call home."
She didn't know what made her more angry, that he was dodging her question or that he had the gall to insinuate he'd claimed her palace for himself.
"You don't belong here. Arendelle will never be your home!"
"What are you doing here?" John asked.
John sounded calm, if not a bit bewildered, as if he were unaware of the confrontation taking place before him.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Hans said.
Hans' evasiveness seemed to raise John's ire, too.
"I thought you were dead."
"Yes, that seems to be the general consensus."
"What happened?"
"Oh, it's not a very interesting story, and I think you know most of it anyhow. I hate to bore you with the details."
"The story I heard ended with you drowning in the sea, and yet here you are."
"Yes, here I am!" Hans said, holding his arms out as if making an introduction.
"How did you survive?" Elsa said, growing tired of Hans' playful banter. For a man facing the target of his failed assassination attempt he was surprisingly smug. Or maybe it wasn't surprising at all.
"By sheer force of will, Your Majesty."
"Don't toy with me Hans, I have half a mind to freeze you to the ground where you stand."
Hans' became rigid, gripping the railing with both hands.
"Very well, Your Majesty. If you're going to force me to relive such an unpleasant memory, I guess I have no choice. I spent a day and a night in the frigid waters far off the coast of the Southern Isles, clinging to the broken remnants of a shattered barrel that barely kept me afloat. A merchant ship fished me out of the waters and dropped me at the next port."
"And the queen?" John asked. "What happened to your mother?"
Hans' appeared saddened by the question, as if it really did pain him to retell the story, but Elsa wasn't buying it. She doubted Hans had the capability of feeling anything for anyone.
"She couldn't swim. There was nothing for her to hang on to. She drowned. They all drowned. There was nothing I could do."
Elsa wasn't moved by the story and she made no attempt to disguise her disapproval.
"How did you end up in Arendelle?"
Hans gave a shrug.
"It's not easy for a Prince of the Southern Isles to remain unrecognized so close to home. I heard about a ship delivering supplies to Arendelle and I stowed away on it."
Elsa turned to John, whose expression revealed he was having as much difficulty processing this information as she was.
"He's lying," she said.
"How do you know?"
"Because he's talking."
She marched up the left wing of the stairs, advancing on Hans like a lion on its prey. He left the railing, retreating toward the stairs on the opposite side of the landing, waving his hands.
"I'm telling the truth!" he said, trying to keep distance between them as Elsa reached the top step. "It's the truth, I tell you!"
Elsa jabbed her finger at the air and a glowing spark arced toward Hans. In a flash of light, a pair of manacles appeared around his wrists, thick ice immobilizing his flailing arms.
"Oww!" he said as his hands fell to his waist.
"I will not be trifled with! Why'd you try to kill us?"
Elsa backed him down the stairs. He missed the last step and sat down hard on the icy floor, scrambled to his feet, slipped again, then backed into the chest of John who'd come up behind him. John grabbed his arms above the elbows and gave him a shake.
"Answer the question!"
Elsa stopped before Hans, trapping him between herself and John. Hans' head whipped back and forth in panicked confusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Tell me!"
Elsa stamped her foot on the ground, sending a spray of tinkling ice crystals cascading across the floor.
Hans covered his face, cowering behind the white ice of the manacles, but Elsa grabbed the shackles and pulled them down. Hans looked so frightened she almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
"You cut the ropes on the bridge. I know it was you!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. It wasn't me!"
"Where are my guards?"
Hans was silent as he cast his eyes downward, avoiding her gaze. If he was hiding something from her, he'd regret it.
"Where are my guards?"
"I haven't seen them."
John spun him around, gripping his shoulders hard enough to evoke a grimace.
"Where are the missing guards?"
Hans broke free from John's grip, shrugging him off and backing toward the wall.
"I told you, I haven't seen them. But I have an idea where they might be."
Elsa didn't understand his response. Either he knew where they were or he didn't. How could he have any idea where they'd gone if he hadn't seen them? It made no sense, and she figured he was either hiding something or trying to buy time. Either way, it made her angry.
"Then where are they?"
"I'll tell you, in exchange for food and water."
The request rattled her and she had a moment's reprieve from her anger. Hans' disheveled clothing appeared tattered and well worn, but it didn't look like he was missing any meals, and he wasn't teetering on the brink of dehydration.
"How have you survived here?"
"I'll tell you everything. Just please, take me back to Arendelle. Give me food and water and somewhere warm to sleep. That's all I ask."
The moment's reprieve was gone. The idea that this man would be asking her for anything, trying to appeal to her sense of mercy and pity, infuriated her. How dare he?
"You're in no position to bargain for anything. Now tell me where they are!"
"That's all I have to bargain with. If I have to spend one more night in this place, I'm a dead man."
"Hans!" She'd run out of patience and her anger had overflowed its bounds. "You will tell me where they are!"
Spikes of ice exploded up from the ground around him. The tips missed him but their thick shafts extended under his arms and legs and lifted him off the ground, pressing him to the wall. He narrowly missed being impaled.
"Elsa!" John said, but she didn't hear him. Her rage consumed her, blotting out her other senses as she fumed at the man whom she pinned to the wall like an insect. He was the very incarnation of evil, and he embodied everything wicked. She knew he was scheming and conniving some new treachery of which he refused to tell. He was lying and hiding information, all the while acting so smug and carefree, as if the lives of her and her people were a joke to be laughed at. Then he had the nerve to ask her to take him to Arendelle. It was too much, and she could no longer control her emotions.
"Where are my guards?"
Hans trembled like a frightened child.
"Please, I'm sure your guards are safe. I'll tell you everything I know if you'll just take me with you."
"I will not bargain with a monster. Tell me where they are, now!"
A single blade of ice thrust itself at Hans' neck. He flattened his head against the wall and it stopped just before piercing his throat.
"Elsa, stop!" John said.
Hans moaned. It was the sound of a terrified animal under the hand of a cruel master.
"Kill me if you want to. I'm already dead if I have to spend one more night up here."
"Elsa!" John said, grabbing her arm.
She spun to face him, eyes narrowed, teeth bared, hands curled into claws.
"What are you doing?" John said, and she stopped. It wasn't what he said that struck her, though, it was the way he looked at her. He was shocked at her loss of control, horrified by her actions.
She dropped her hands and stepped away, the anger draining from her until she felt cold and empty. She'd lost control in a way she never had before and she was frightened that Hans could have such an effect on her, pushing her to the edge of her limits, and ashamed she'd lashed out like a madwoman. The spears of ice retracted, spilling Hans to the floor.
"Tell me where my guards are," she said as Hans pushed himself to his knees, "or I'll leave you the way we found you."
"If they are where I think they are, you'll never find them without me."
Elsa felt the swell of anger again, but she pushed it down, restrained it.
"Please," Hans said, clasping his manacled hands beneath his chin. He looked like a beggar pleading for his life. "Food, water, and a bed in your dungeon. Is that so much to ask?"
Elsa crossed her arms, studying the man who cowered before her. This wasn't the same Hans who tried to usurp the throne of Arendelle after her coronation. That man was confident, arrogant and fearless. This was the broken version of that man; the weak, pathetic fool who took his place.
It seemed they'd reached an impasse, he'd left her no choice. She loathed the idea of bringing him back to Arendelle, but if she left him up here to die and returned home, not finding out what happened to her guards, she wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
"Fine," she said, motioning to John. "I'll show you more consideration than you showed me. But if my guards are harmed and you're to blame, you won't find me to be so merciful."
John grabbed Hans by the arm, pulling him to his feet and escorting him to the doors. They opened of their own accord and he guided him down the icy stairway, his fear of the gorge below seemingly forgotten. Elsa followed, closing the doors with a wave of her hand, an unseen magic snapping them shut behind her.
******
When the palace doors opened, Anna grabbed Kristoff's arm, not knowing what they'd see, what might come out at them, and expecting the worst. She'd heard Elsa shouting, heard some kind of commotion, and she tried to run to help, but Kristoff had stopped her. And so she'd stayed, staring at those doors while fighting the urge to push Kristoff away and run through them. She'd almost convinced herself to go, no matter the consequences, when the doors flung open, and she had no idea what to expect.
Then John emerged with someone other than Elsa, a man in shackles that looked like a prisoner or something. For a moment, she thought it was Hans being led down the staircase, and she heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that was impossible. She was about to tell Kristoff what a silly thought she had, but his expression startled her. It was the face of a wild animal, threatened and ready to attack. His eyes were two thin lines, his lips peeled back in a snarl. Without having to look again she knew her instincts hadn't betrayed her, she hadn't been mistaken.
Everything went in slow motion as she turned back to examine the man who approached them, the world fading into a mix of blurry lines, fuzzy lights, and dulling colors to form a tunnel between her and the figure led by John.
There's a place in the mind, a region of rationale and logic that keeps our fears in check, provides explanations for the impossible, and acts as a barrier between reality and the nightmare world of unchecked imagination. For Anna, it only took one thought to tear down that wall, just one realization to send her anxiety spinning out of control.
Hans was alive.
Her knees got weak and she trembled so much Kristoff had to steady her. John stopped before them, his hands wrapped around Hans' arms like eagle talons. Elsa was looking at Anna with concern. Hans just smiled.
"Hello, Anna," he said.
Anna made a sound. It was partially an attempt at a reply but mostly an involuntary response, the body's defensive reaction to protect itself from overload. She'd expended all of her will, courage, and strength she had to spare, left it spent in Arendelle and spilled upon the broken bridge, and nothing remained to combat the waves of fear and desperation accosting her now, so the only sound she could produce came out as a whimper.
"You!" Kristoff said as he strode toward Hans, his fingers curling into fists. Hans raised his arms to protect his face but it was too late, Kristoff's knuckles found their mark, smashing into the side of Hans' head and knocking him to the ground, rendering him unconscious.
Silence fell over the group as they stood around the fallen prince, who lay crumpled at their feet, but no one looked concerned and no one tried to help. Now that the threat of confronting Hans had been dealt with, the shock and horror which initially gripped Anna gave way to anger and confusion.
"What is he doing here? He's supposed to be dead!"
"He survived the shipwreck," Elsa said. "He says he knows where the guards are, but won't tell us unless we take him back to Arendelle."
Anna wondered what sort of scheme Hans was dreaming up this time. He probably kidnapped the guards, or killed them even, and now he was trying to blackmail his way back into their lives.
She thought about the first time she'd met him, literally bumping into him at Elsa's coronation, and how dumb and naive she felt for believing it was love at first sight. Little did she know how much pain and suffering Hans had planned for them.
There's no way he'd be coming back to Arendelle.
So why the shackles, then? Why the escort? What was the plan?
"Wait, you're not actually considering bringing him with us, are you?"
Elsa was slow in responding, as if she were searching for an explanation.
"Anna, I don't have a choice."
"Yes you do! Make him talk! Make him tell you where the guards are!"
"I tried, he refused to tell me."
"Then you didn't try hard enough!" She couldn't believe Elsa would even consider bringing this monster back to Arendelle for any reason. "You can't bring him back. If he knows where the guards are, make him tell you."
"I told you, I tried. What do you want me to do? Torture him?"
"I want you to do what you came here to do. Find the guards!"
Elsa closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against the sides of her head. She was silent for a time, massaging her temples, and Anna knew she was trying to get her emotions under control. But Anna was too upset, too flabbergasted by her sister's ridiculous and dangerous actions to back down.
"Anna, I know how hard this must be for you, but I've made up my mind. We're taking Hans back to Arendelle and he'll be placed in the dungeon. He asked for food in exchange for information about my guards, and I intend to comply with his request."
"I can't believe you!" Anna said, irritated to the point of tears. "What are you doing? Don't you know who this is? Don't you remember who he is? Don't you remember what he did?"
"Of course I do! But I made my decision. I have no choice!"
"Uuuuugggghhh!" Anna screamed in frustration. She spun away and marched to Sven, climbing onto his back.
"Hans can't hurt us," Elsa called out after her. "I won't allow it!"
Anna turned Sven back down the trail, trying to get her fear and anger under control. But she couldn't help feeling like Elsa was making a terrible mistake.
******
John bound and gagged Hans while Kristoff ran after Anna. Elsa had a sick feeling in her stomach, the result of her argument with her sister, and she hated hurting and disappointing her the way she had. But what choice did she have? She wasn't going to torture Hans, that was out of the question. He deserved punishment of the severest kind, true, but she didn't have it within her to torture anyone, not even Hans. She could leave him on the mountain to die, but she wasn't willing to walk away from information about her guards. The only real choice, then, was to bring him back to Arendelle, and that choice had devastated Anna. She understood Anna's objection. It was a risk giving in to Hans' demands, but a calculated one. After all, Hans was going straight to the dungeon and would be under constant surveillance the entire time. She'd make sure he couldn't hurt anyone.
John loaded Hans onto his horse and they started back down the mountain, transferring their prisoner to Pumpkin on the other side of the hidden passage. Kristoff and Anna were waiting there too, but they appeared to have been arguing about something. Anna sat on Sven with her arms crossed, staring off
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net