"You can let go of me now," I growl at the guards that grabbed my arms tightly on either side of me.
"I don't think so," one of them says gruffly.
"Yeah, I don't think so," the other one echoes.
I groan. "But my arms are sore and hurt from your grips."
"You deserve it," said the first guard. "You tried to kill the queen of Arendelle."
"But – "
"You tried to kill the queen of Arendelle," the other guard repeats. "You don't get a say."
"No, duh," I say, rolling my eyes. "I think you two have made it clear that I tried to kill Elsa ever since you've been assigned to physically abuse my arms. It's not like I don't know."
"Don't try to be smart with us, Mr. Pretty-face," the first guard snarls. "You don't realize the consequences of your actions."
"Yeah, don't try to – " the second guard starts to say, but I cut him off.
"I don't need to hear things twice."
He shoots me a dirty look but closes his mouth. "We've arrived," the first guard announces.
"Great," I say under my breath. "Just great."
They drag me into the castle of the Southern Isles, ignoring all the curious looks of the citizens of our country. I take a deep breath, waiting to face the wrath of my parents.
"Hans!" my mother says, joy laced in her voice. "You've returned!"
"And you brought friends," my father adds.
"They are not my friends," I say quickly.
"Oh," my father said, tone dropping. "Then who are they?"
"King Harold," the first guard addresses him, "we are the guards of Arendelle. I am Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Gringsgoff. Your thirteenth son, Hans Christen Fontana, has been accused of attempted murder of Queen Elsa Bell Menzel, queen of Arendelle."
My mother gasps while my father stands up abruptly. "There must be a mistake," his deep, baritone voice booms. "He went to Arendelle for Queen Elsa's coronation!"
"And tried to murder her while he was there," Rupert reports. "Princess Anna claims that he planned to marry her after killing Queen Elsa to inherit the throne."
"No, not my boy," my mother whispers.
"My apologies, Queen Harriet, but that is the offence made by Queen Elsa," Rupert says, bowing his head.
"Just leave," my father says sullenly. "Keep my son here."
Both guards bow and follow his commands, closing the door behind them to create a loud echo around the room.
"What is this?" my mother cries. "Tell me this isn't true."
I say nothing, just observing the scratches on my leather boots.
"Respond to your mother when she speaks to you," my father said strictly.
"I indeed tried to murder Queen Elsa of Arendelle," I admitted, forcing myself to look at the disappointed looks on the faces of my parents.
My mother opened her mouth to say something, but my father beat her to it. "Why? Why would you try to do something like that?"
I take in a deep breath, preparing to tell my side of the story. "I was born thirteenth in line to the throne. There was close to no chance of me inheriting the throne. The only way for me to become the king of anything was to marry into the title of another country. So when I heard that the queen of Arendelle was having her coronation, I took a boat to attend the event. My original plan was just to marry her. I had no intention of killing her, but then I saw her sister first.
"She was naïve; quick to agree to marry me. Then I changed my plans to kill her. By then, the entire kingdom already thought that she was a witch and had turned on her – I would be considered a hero for ridding them of her."
"Don't say anymore," my mother cuts in, crying.
"I can't believe it," my father says quietly, running his fingers over his beard. "I never thought that you could be capable of doing something like this."
"I didn't do it," I said. They looked at me, hope shining in their eyes. They thought that I was just joking and this was all just one big prank. "I failed in killing her. So now I'm back here." There was a long silence that followed.
"Get out," my mother finally bites out. "I can't look at you." My father reaches over to her, pulling her into his chest. Then he looks at me with a harsh look.
I turn on my heel and pull the door open but pause to look back at my parents. My father was rubbing my mother's back, saying reassuring things in her ear. I turn back and close the door behind me, following the familiar path to my room.
"Hans?" a high, soprano voice says. I stop and look to my right. "So it is you!"
"Harlan," I said, nodding.
"You're back! How was the coronation?"
I hesitate, choosing my words carefully. "It was beautiful." It wasn't a lie – it was.
"You're so lucky that you got to see Arendelle," he gushes dreamily. "I wish I could have been there."
"It wasn't that great," I mutter.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," I say instead. "I'm going to my room."
"Okay. I'm going to the kitchen. Do you want anything?"
I shake my head. "I'm fine. Bye, Harlan."
"Bye-bye!" I watch as he disappears down the stairs, chuckling a little. Harlan was tenth in line, but he had the most childish personality out of all of my brothers. He acted like he was seven-years-old when he actually would be turning 24 next month.
I continue my walk to my room, but as I neared, I saw a familiar head of black hair at my door, waiting patiently. I tried to turn back, but she had already seen me.
"Hans! Hans, I was waiting for you!" Noelle calls after me.
I turn, pretending to be surprised. "Oh, I didn't see you there, Noelle!"
She giggles, walking towards me. "I missed you," she says.
"Did you now?" I said, not saying that I missed her.
"It's been so lonely without you here," she pouts. "Haines has been so boring."
"He's a busy man," I say about my oldest brother. Haines was the oldest brother, first in line to receive the throne after my father. To be honest, I was always jealous of him – he was my parents' pride and joy. He was the smartest, the most polite, and the kindest out of all of us. It didn't help that he was 36 and the most mature either, or that he had the most gorgeous fiancée.
"But you're not busy," Noelle purrs, touching my arm.
I pull away from her, quickly rushing to my room. "Actually, I am. I have lots of, uh, paperwork. For this thing. It's important. I have to go."
I shut my door and locked it, trying to block out Noelle's wailing and her pounding against my door. Noelle was a beautiful girl but I didn't want to betray Haines. Did I mention that she was Haines' fiancée? She and Haines were set to be engaged since they were young even though there was 13-year difference between their ages.
However, when we became childhood friends, she developed a little crush on me and it's been like this since then.
I sink into a chair, burying my face in my hands. It was going to be a tough time back here again.