I really don't know what brought him back. I sent him back home when I thawed Arendelle (my powers were such a nuisance back then). But one (peaceful?) Saturday, he came knocking at the palace door.
Sylvie came running to me in the throne room and knelt on one knee in front of me, bowing her head. "My Queen." She said hastily. I glanced at Alfie – he had yet to have his coronation – who was leaning on the top staircase banister. He gave me a slight nod so I asked her to stand.
"Please stand, Sylvie." She stood and took a few breaths. "What brings you to be in such a tired state?" She paled and glanced over her shoulder.
"Hans. Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. He's back in Arendelle." She explained breathlessly. My mouth hung open in disbelief.
"No. No, that cannot be. You must be mistaken." I didn't want to believe that my most hated enemy was back in my kingdom. "Hans is in prison in the Southern Isles. You must have seen-" A thought came into my head. "How did you know?" I asked her, trying my best not to frown.
"He is at the palace door, Your Highness." She gestured behind her. I frowned.
"Are you absolutely sure it was him?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. It was most definitely him."
"OK. I will be back." I looked up at Alfie. "Come on, Alfie. You're coming too." He jumped over and down from the banister, landing gracefully with his knees bent. I smiled, deciding to play a small game with him before I actually saw what Sylvie was on about. "The law states that such stunts should not be pulled in front of your queen, Blackwell. I am thoroughly ashamed of you." I tried to keep my face serious but I broke out into a grin. He smirked.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. Now, I believe that the enemy at the front door needs our attention." Damn! Round One – Alfie.
"Fine." I sneakily punched him on the shoulder. "You win. Let's go." I paused at the doorway and looked back. Sylvie was watching us intently. "Sylvie, you may take your leave." She continued to stare. "Sylvie?" I asked. She shook her head.
"Sorry, My Queen. Thank you." She nodded and walked off in the direction of the dining room.
Once at the front door, I froze. Sylvie wasn't joking when she said Hans was at the front door. He was leaning against the wall, with his earphones in his ears and his eyes closed. I frowned and used my ice magic to freeze the earphones. He opened his eyes with a start and held his hands up to both his ears, wincing. He recovered very fast and put on a large, obviously fake, smile. "Elsa! How lovely it is to see you again!" He bent down to kiss the back of my hand but I yanked it out of his grip just in time. I frowned.
"It's Queen Elsa to you, Hans. And get off the wall; you're making my usually pristine walls extremely filthy!" I scolded. He jumped forward immediately, looking back to see if had left any marks. I didn't really care, to be honest, but it was always nice to have my enemy under my command.
"Did the queen get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning?" His smile was gone now; replaced by a threatening frown.
"Don't play games with me, Hans. Just tell me what you're here for." I said impatiently, rolling my eyes.
"Ooh, are you upset you won't have time for lover boy here?" He taunted, nodding to Alfie and I frowned.
Before I could respond, Alfie was already on Hans' case. His arms were lit up in flames and his eyes were burning with raging fire. He swept a blast of intense heat at Hans whose eyes widened and he ducked, before straightening up and pulling out his sword. He slashed the sword through the burning flames and they went flying up. Alfie turned swiftly on his heel and extended his arm. Within seconds, the flames were coming back the other way and were absorbed back into Alfie's arm.
"Not trying that again." He muttered to himself.
"Alfie, calm down. He's not done anything yet." I turned to Alfie and back to Hans. Now, let's try this again – civilised. What are you here for, Prince of the Southern Isles?" I asked. I frowned a little but it went unnoticed by Hans. He brought his face up close and hissed in my face in a low voice: "I'm here – for a rematch."
"Why on Earth would you want a rematch?" I asked rhetorically. "Everyone in Arendelle and even the Southern Isles knows that I beat you fair and square. There's no point trying to beat me." I thought I had beaten him in this verbal war – but no, he had to go one step further.
"Then I ask a battle against him." He pointed a finger behind me. I frowned and saw Alfie's own expression darken. Said man stepped closer and whispered delicately in my ear.
"I'll handle him, Elsa. Don't worry about me." He stepped forward yet another step and called out boldly. "If you wish to fight me, then your wish is my command."
"Very well. Now, seeing as I would hate to destroy this palace, how about we take this battle further up the fjord?" Hans asked, gesturing outside.
"OK." He mouthed 'I love you' at me and I smiled, knowing he meant it. I followed them and stayed a little behind to give them room.
Once outside, on the fjord, the fight began. At first, Alfie used a sword made entirely of flames. The sword clashed against Hans' traditional metal one, making horrible clanging noises. I gasped each time Hans' sword came anywhere near Alfie. I knew I could trust him. I was just nervous. I watched intently - but also apprehensively - as Alfie used a variety of punches and kicks to try and catch Hans off guard. Hans was having trouble keeping up with him. Then, once Alfie had Hans' full attention, he reached to the inner sanctum of his soul and unleashed his flame to its full potential. His arms and legs raged and his eyes burned. But unlike before, this was so much more intense. He swished his flaming leg at Hans but just before it reached him, he brought it down. Instead, he brought his face up close and said menacingly through gritted teeth, "never ask to fight my queen again, do you hear? If you want a fight, I can give you one but never Elsa. She's too delicate and brilliant for scum like you and she is mine." Then he stepped back and lashed out with his leg again. This time, it caught Hans in the midsection and he went flying. His hair looked like an actual fire and then something amazing happened.
Alfie returned to normal, all the flames becoming trapped in his body once more. His eyes glowed a bright orange and his shirt ripped at his shoulder blades. Then, a pair of burning angel-like wings appeared out of his back. They were a vibrant red with a touch of orange and yellow mixed in. He beat them hard and went soaring up into the air. He glided like an albatross in Han's direction.
I heard a scream and a few yells. About ten minutes later, Alfie flew back into my sight with Hans limp against his arms. He set my enemy down and walked up to me.
"I hope you weren't worried, love." He said, smiling as he took my hands.
"Not a bit. You were wonderful. What did you do to him?" I asked, nervously glancing at Hans who had his eyes tightly shut.
"He's not dead, trust me. Though how I wish he was. No, he's just unconscious and quite badly injured. He'll wake up and won't remember a thing." He kissed me lightly on the lips and I felt a jolt of electricity flow through me. I smiled.
"You know, I heard what you said about me. I really hope you meant that."
"Elsa, how could I not mean such things about such a beautiful and amazing woman like you? Of course I meant it. I meant every word." He smiled and I saw his eyes, not burning with rage but shining with love and passion. I rested my arms on his chest and leant my head just above his heart so I could hear and feel his heartbeat. It was fast; I didn't know if it was from exhaustion or… there was only one way to find out.
"Alfie?" I asked, looking up. He looked down at me.
"Yes, my love?" Before he said another word, I pressed my lips to his in a long and drugging kiss. My hands still rested against his chest and I could now feel his heartbeat speed up. That confirmed my hypothesis. I broke the kiss to get a good breath of fresh oxygen. I heard him sigh and rested my forehead against his. I lowered my voice to a whisper.
"I still can't believe you'd fight like that for me." I whispered.
"You're gonna have to start believing it, sweetheart. Because when that pig of a prince wakes up, I'm sure there'll be a lot more fights where that came from." I smiled.
"I love you, Alfie."
"I love you too, my beautiful wife."