The doors to his cell opened with a loud creak, and he blinked rapidly as he turned towards the light that he was not used to. The small damp little prison did not have any windows. After all, it was reserved for only the worst of the prisoners.
"A visitor!" the guard declared in a loud, booming voice, and Hans winced at the noise. A visitor? For him? Perhaps one of his brothers had taken pity on him at last... He smiled a bitter smile.
But the figure that entered the cell was not one of his brothers, much to his surprise.
"My Queen," he spoke, his voice little more than a whisper. He did not have the strength to speak further. She did not seem to care, however.
With a wave of her hand, she created a chair of ice for herself, right in front of the wall where he was chained. He couldn't help smirking slightly. The dim light still obscured her face partly, but he could see from her expression that she was perfectly serious.
"I have a proposal," she said, calmly. He shivered, but whether it was because of the ice in her voice or the ice in his cell, he did not know. "A question, rather. Answer it correctly, and you will be let go. I will personally make sure of it."
He leaned back in shock, squinting slightly at her face. She was certainly not joking, he realised. But he still could not figure out what this meant. Surely the Queen of Arendelle had not come all the way here to ask him a single question?
"What...question?" he managed to croak out. She smiled in response, and for the first time in his life, he was truly terrified of the Snow Queen. Her expression was indescribable.
"Why?" she asked, her breath fogging in front of her.
Why, he asked himself. Why did he go to Arendelle, of all places? Why did he choose Anna to hurt? Why did he help the people when he could have easily closed the doors of the castle? Why did he fail? Why did he choose to rot in the cell when he could leave and burn the entire building with a single wave of his hand?
"I don't know."
She lifted her chin higher, her eyes never leaving his face. Then, in a sudden motion, she flicked her fingers. The cast iron doors of the cell turned to ice and then shattered to smithereens. She got up from her seat and walked to the now door-less entrance, her dress trailing behind her.
When she reached the threshold, she paused.
"Correct," she said simply, before walking out.
He noticed the guards weren't standing nearby anymore. Looking down at his hands, he saw his shackles converted to frost.
He smiled as the small flame built in his glove-less hand, melting the metal.
This would be fun.
Notes: Been a while since I wrote some non Harry Potter stuff. It's always good to come back to some IceBurns! Especially with Fire!Hans!