Fire and Ice
Two months. Two unbearable months it had been. Away from her home, away from her sister, her people, her kingdom. Two months of darkness and heat, seeping through the walls, every moment draining her energy to keep it from singeing her. Every day the walls felt closer and any hope of seeing light ever again, miles away. Anna didn't even know to look for her and even if by now she had grown suspicious of such a long trip, where would she even begin to look? A long while back, Elsa had admitted even to herself; she didn't know where she was and held absolutely no hope of being rescued.
Her thoughts for the past couple weeks had been so muddied. She had hardly slept, barely been fed, and the heat from outside had intensified to a point where she was renewing a layer of ice upon everything every ten minutes; though she feared that maybe it was more her power weakening than the room becoming warmer.
She felt broken; she had no spirit left to fight this, as she had done that whole first month. Her knees pulled up to her chin, she sobbed softly, her body slowly trembling as she began to rock back and forth. She had shrunk back into the farthest corner of the small room, unsure whether her eyes were open or not, they had become so accustomed to the darkness.
Despite her imprisonment, the first month locked in this dark hole had not been completely tragic. Upon first hearing that snarky voice, greeting her in that sarcastically cheerful way, she had been so filled with loathing it had been physically painful. He had been cloaked by the darkness and chained on the opposite wall from her, but she knew who he was from the first moment. It was obvious that he had been no more glad that she was there than she was of him, but over time, all they had was each other.
Elsa looked back sadly, but fondly on that time. She almost laughed to think she could have a fond moment here in this hell-like dungeon, but there was and she was at a loss to explain it. How could he, of all people, have become important to her? How could she feel anything for Hans?
Three Weeks earlier:
"How long has it been?" Elsa's voice sounded weak as it echoed around the small room. She had long ago directed enough power and cold to her shackles to break them, but as usual she stayed against her end of the cell, comfortable to keep her distance, even if it meant leaving Hans to remain chained and uncomfortable all this time.
"Didn't you ask that like…an hour ago?" Hans's voice was no less deadpan than usual, but the dryness of his replies, after being the only sound to associate with any sort of comfort for all this time, had become his most endearing quality to her.
Elsa sighed, sounding defeated. "But time is so hard to judge down here. There's no sunlight to tell when a day has ended or another began. It feels like ages and I'm afraid we will still be down here for ages longer."
"Elsa…" Hans voice sounded like it contained an eye roll, "We have had this conversation before."
"Well what else are we supposed to talk about?" Elsa snapped, "It's not like anything new has happened for us to discuss."
"We could discuss your growing irritability," he replied.
Elsa wanted to be angry with him, but he was always like this. She wanted to get some sort of reaction from him, sympathetic or at least not brusque, but it was a constant flow of apathy and sarcasm. More than once she had almost lost control of her anger though she used all her strength to hold onto that self control. She had seen how dangerous it could be when she didn't know how to temper it and it was more than a distinct possibility that she would kill him if she allowed herself to react the way she wanted.
Every day, though, she would question why she didn't. He had tried to kill her after all, not more than a year ago. Not only that he had also almost killed her sister and attempted to pry her kingdom, Arendelle, from their corpses. If anything, he had deserved a public execution for his actions…but her heart was moved with mercy and had felt his punishment would have been best dealt out by his brothers. She was unsure whether she regretted that decision or not, but it did raise a question that she was surprised she had not yet asked. Elsa was sure she didn't want to continue down the path he was antagonizing her into thus far anyway.
"I'd rather discuss something I find a bit more important," Elsa said, "Like how you ended up here after we had you shipped back to your brothers for trying to murder me and my sister?"
She was surprised by a soft chuckle out of the darkness. "Well no one is perfect, Elsa. But if it wasn't already obvious, this is my punishment for that."
Elsa sat up straighter and wished more than anything they could both see through this darkness so he might see the look on her face.
"How…?" She trailed off, unsure of how to phrase what she was trying to say.
"Well really it's not that surprising," his voice held an almost sad laugh, "I've been a problem to my brothers ever since I was born. They were glad to have an excuse to get rid of me."
"So they sent you here…wherever here is?" Elsa was suddenly filled with sympathy. She could hardly think of something worse than being so fully betrayed by one's family.
"Oh yes they thought Hell would be the perfect place for the runt of the litter to make up for his wrongs," Hans's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"This place is rather like Hell…" Elsa said sadly, feeling the warmth seeping through the floor and almost completely melting through her ice layer. She was getting used to her clothes soaking from the melted ice, but it hardly bothered her as compared to the warmth itself, coming from all around.
"Which is why the name is appropriate," Hans replied like he found her idiocy unbelievable, "This place is called Hell…seriously."
"Oh…" Elsa said, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her chin on her knees.
"You know what," Hans sighed, "This is ridiculous. You've been down here with me for about…a little over a month now…"
"You know how long we've been down here?" Elsa cut him off angrily.
"Yes," was his one word reply.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were keeping track?" She growled, "I've been asking for what felt like weeks!"
"The past two weeks to be exact," Hans said, still deadpan, "But honestly it was more fun annoying you with not having an answer than actually telling you. The game would have been up then."
Elsa wanted to yell at him or find him in the darkness and slap him, but he continued with his original thought before she could attempt it.
"Anyway, I am trying to ask you how it is you ended up here, since we have been ridiculously avoiding all subjects related to this place or how we know each until now," he said.
Elsa was frozen in surprised for more than a moment. He was actually curious as to her plight and not just his own? She hadn't figured him capable of doing anything other than antagonizing her and she wished more than anything that she could see his face to know his sincerity.
"Well?" Hans asked, catching onto her long pause and prodding her out of it.
"Um…" Elsa said, thoughtfully as she ran her fingers along the material of her skirt, feeling the cold fabric she had enchanted in her hand, as if to distract her while she spoke. "I was on a diplomatic quest to the Southern Isles…your brother's kingdom, trying to establish good relations even after your…never mind. We were more than half way there when our ship was attacked. The attacker seemed like a ghost ship and sailors with fire in their eyes boarded us. And I mean…literally had fire in their eyes. I tried to fight them off, but with all of their power against me, mine was not enough to withstand. After they subdued me, they murdered the crew. I later woke up down here with you. They never asked me questions and I never got a chance to ask them any. It has yet to be explained to me who they are or why I am locked down here and, other than the food they send, seem to be all but forgotten."
"The Firecasters have terrorized the waters outside of the Southern Isles for years now," Hans replied calmly, "But they have not been known to take prisoners before. They just attack, kill everyone, and plunder what's left aboard. It's partly why I'm here actually. This isn't only punishment, but also part of an agreement. For some reason they wanted me, I still have not found out why either and they made a deal with my eldest brother that if I was turned over to them, they would stop attacking our ships."
Elsa was becoming more and more disgusted with Hans's brothers and beginning to realize that there may have been serious reasons why he turned out like he did. She could hardly believe she was starting to sympathize with him when he was the one who needed to be apologizing to her a thousand times over for so many things.
She shook her head and then brushed a few loose strands of her white locks back behind her ear, trying to grasp everything through her foggy mind. Things like, why she had never heard of these Firecasters before now, or still why she was even alive, or especially how she could be starting to take the side of the man who had mercilessly tried to impale her with his sword almost a year ago. She decided to only focus on one thought for the moment.
"If they don't take any prisoners then…why am I alive?" Elsa sounded like the world was caving in on her. It was a hard realization knowing that by all rights she should be dead.
"I honestly don't know," Hans's voice was characteristically unfeeling, "I'd like to know why I'm rotting in a dungeon in Hell too and not a corpse on the bottom of the sea. I mean, seriously, why on earth am I important to them…at all? Why would these extremely powerful raiders make a deal not to plunder our ships for me; I am not trying to be humble here, just realistic. And then just dump me in a cell and forget about me for a month. These people are starting to make less sense all the time."
Elsa chewed her lip, clenching her fists around handfuls of fabric. She was beginning to feel the heat and water from the wall behind her seeping through her clothes and beginning to warm her back. It was time again. With a small stomp of her foot, willing her powers to flow out, ice could be felt spreading out thickly across the ground and then upwards lining the walls and finally covering the ceiling with the invisible cool. She sighed with instant relief as her back now rested against the deliciously cold ice. It was like a subtle comfort and reminder of the things she loved, feeling it against her bare shoulders and right through the back of her dress.
"Again?" There was a shiver in Hans's voice when he barked at her, "Why do you have to keep freezing the place? It's completely fine like it is."
"I'm not so tolerant of this kind of heat, Hans!" Elsa complained.
"Well do you think that maybe next time you could just freeze your half of the cell?" Hans asked irritably.
Elsa sighed and crossed her arms even though he couldn't see her, which rather defeated the purpose of her display of annoyance.
"Whatever," she grumbled, "I'll try. Why do you have to be so picky?"
"I'm sorry if I'd rather not freeze in this cell," he replied, "but maybe find a more interesting way to die."
Elsa opened her mouth to point out another annoying part of his personality, but stopped herself dead when she heard the most welcoming sound coming from outside the iron door that locked them in. They were heavy, clunking footsteps marching their way and stopping in front of the door.
"Who do you think that is?" Elsa asked anxiously. She didn't think it could mean anything good unless it was someone there to rescue them, since they had had no outside contact since they were put down there. Even the food and water came through thin slots in the wall, closed off at the other end when not in use. From what she had heard of these Firecasters, if they were coming directly to their cell it was not likely to be a good omen.
"We are about to find out, I'm sure," Hans said, in one of the most cheerful voices she had heard him use yet.
The clanking of rattling keys was heard, followed by a click of the lock unlatching. The creaking of the iron hinges swinging open for the first time in over a month screeched across their ears at the same moment as a blinding red light struck the room. As compared to sunlight it was dull, but for Elsa having spent so long without even a crack of light from even a splinter in the wall, the dullest light was assaulting to her eyes. So long she had hoped for light, but now that she had it, she was more blinded than in complete darkness.
A few sets of the same clanking feet entered as Elsa turned her sensitive eyes away and covered them with her hands in a meager attempt at protection. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt ready to run out of her chest. She expected a rough hand to grab her at any moment now and end what was left of her miserable life. She huddled up into herself even tighter, every muscle tense and somehow clinging to stay in this horrible cell.
But the hand never came. Instead the footsteps went to Hans. The men said nothing, but she could hear them undoing the shackles that held the disgraced prince and the shuffling as they drug him to his feet.
"Where are you taking me?" He asked, bitterness filling his voice as it moved towards the door along with the footfalls.
No reply came and before she knew it the footsteps were all the way out of the room and the creaking of the door closing returned to her ears. She began to feel anxious and desperate as it did and forced herself to look up even though she was still too blinded to see.
Right before the door closed itself the rest of the way Hans's voice broke back inside and struck her ears in a regretful tone she had never heard from him before. "Elsa!" He called. She felt as if her heart had stopped at the cry and at the same instant the door slammed shut and was relocked behind them.
"Hans…" she responded weakly, staring desperately at the door which she could once again no longer see.
Present:
Queen Elsa of Arendelle found herself very warm, wet, and in a fetal position upon being startled awake. It was not the water soaking her clothes or the heat burning her arm and side that brought her anxiously back to consciousness, but a blast or red light and a familiar clanking sound pulling her into reality, though the nightmarish dreams she had experienced since she had been here were hardly better.
Clanking boots entered, followed by a loud groan and a thud upon the ground in the middle of the little room. She was blinded as before and forced to assume anything that was happening by what she could hear. She curled up even more into herself, like a child desperately hiding from the monsters of her own imagination, waiting to see if they would come to drag her away for the next three weeks too.
Once again, her fears were unwarranted and not a finger was laid upon her before the clanking footfalls receded back out of the door once again, locking the large iron door that had crushed her hopes for the last two months. The footsteps disappeared quickly and the only sound that was left was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears and a few groggy moans from the center of the cell.
Elsa snapped to attention, lifting her head quickly as she began to fully realize the presence of the sound. She gasped in a lungful of air and her lips started trembling to accompany a few tears that escaped her eyes. Three weeks she had suffered through being alone and feeling her resolve and even sanity start slipping away, through her loneliness. She could not contain herself. Scurrying to her feet, she dashed to the sound and dropped to her knees beside the male form writhing slowly on the floor.
"Hans?" she asked desperately, her hand searching a bit in the darkness to find his shoulder. She gripped it tightly once she discovered its location and tried to break her fuzzy gaze through the darkness in an attempt to make out his face.
Concern filled her and a sob escaped from both her loneliness and her anxiety for him. She shoved on his shoulder just a bit and then searched out his face with the other. It came in contact with more than a few bruises, across his cheek, chin, nose, and one eye just as his own hand lifted and grabbed her arm.
She jerked back when her bare skin touched his burning hot hand and stared at him in shock through the dark. She pulled her own hands back even though where she had touched he had felt completely normal. The spot on her arm where he had grabbed her though continued to burn and she fell back grabbing it in pain. Elsa released a small burst of ice magic through that hand cooling the burn quickly, though more than an ounce of shock remained.
"Elsa…?" Hans's tired voice entered her ears like a harmonious orchestra. Just hearing it at all made feel as if it had been touched by an angel. Her heart felt like it was melting in her chest and she moved back quickly, her shock and fear of his burning hand forgotten instantly.
"I'm here," she said comfortingly, "Are you alright? Where did they take you? Why did they bring you back?"
She could feel him pushing himself up and as her eyes began to readjust to the dark. She could make out his hands rising to his face and rubbing across his eyes. He looked like he was steadily regaining strength, but was still pretty weak.
"I…" He seemed at a loss for words and a bit shocked himself, which had Elsa thoroughly worried. "I don't know if I could explain it…"
Elsa made out the outline of his head lifting from his hands and turning to her slowly. If she had been shocked by his burning hot hand she was doubly so by what greeted her next. She jerked back away from him again and pressed herself all the way back against the wall, when a pair of fire filled irises met her eyes and lit his with an orange fiery light.
There was no containing it; she screamed and pushed herself so hard against the wall that she might have left a mark. Her fear and shock came out in a burst of ice freezing the wall behind her and shooting out icicles at him. She wasn't trying to, but her automatic reaction to defend herself triggered her magic and acted against her will. A split second after the ice shot out she felt her heart stop at the fact that she could kill Hans with it. But instead of spires of sharp ice stabbing through the shadowed figure with flaming eyes, two more bursts of orange light appeared, dimly filling the room. The two spurts of fire blasted at the ice melting it upon contact and protecting him from an accidentally untimely death.
Elsa didn't know if she was relieved or more frightened. His powers…they were like the Firecasters'…and his eyes were the same. Had they made him one of them?
The fire in his eyes and the flame in his left hand slowly dispersed and left them only with the light from the flaming sprite in his right hand. This was the first time since the incident in Arendelle that she had actually seen his face and she was shocked to see how it had changed. It was more defined and his brow was sterner, while at the moment his brown eyes had softened. The look he sported showed his own fear and shock at what he had done and he looked back and forth from the flame in his hand to Elsa as if desperately looking for help from it.
"Elsa, I…" his breathing was heavy and his mouth opened and closed multiple times in an attempt to explain himself.
"You're one of them!" She shouted moving along the wall back in the direction of her little corner.
"It's not like that Elsa," he said anxiously, "I don't know how this happened. I never knew…no one did! Or they never told me. I'm as shocked as you…I don't know what to think or to say."
"Why don't you just try explaining it from the beginning?" Elsa suggested tentatively, standing in the warm puddle of her melted ice.
Hans sighed and nodded, not moving towards her, seeming to realize her want of some distance between them.
"I think I know why the Firecasters wanted me," he said, staring at the fire in his hand, "They knew something about me that I didn't even know. You…you were born with ice magic, but everyone knew from the beginning, even though you tried to hide it later. I…was born with this…" He flicked a sprig of flame through the air and then allowed it to come back and recombine with the larger flame. "I didn't know and as far as I know, neither did anyone else. The Firecasters…when they took me from the cell they brought me to their Senior Caster and he...I don't know what he did, but he caused this to emerge. They locked me in a stone room for five days since my powers were so uncontrollable and unpredictable. I could not stop from destroying everything I was so overwhelmed with the power. I don't know how it has stayed so subdued in me for so long, but when it finally came out…it was like nothing I have ever seen."
Elsa stopped shrinking back and even took a small step closer. Nothing about Hans seemed threatening at the moment. He appeared overwhelmed, drained, and even pathetic in some ways due to the tattered state of his once fine clothes, but despite it all the fear in his eyes was slowly fading. Little did she want to admit it, especially through the shock that this was even happening, but once again her sympathy went out to him. She looked down at her hands and remembered the gloves she constantly used to wear, thinking how hard it had been for her to control her powers for so long. The more she had tried to bury and conceal them, the more they burst out dangerously from her, more than once having put her little sister's life at risk because of them. She did not know exactly what he was feeling at the moment, but from her own experience she could understand how terrible an emergence these powers must have been after so long being trapped inside him and somehow unable to escape.
"What happened after the five days?" Elsa asked tentatively.
"I was so out of control that finally the Senior Caster came to me," Hans explained, regaining some of the cool she had become so accustomed to hearing in his voice, "He began to teach me how to control it, put my will over the loose magic and subdue or wield it. But…as soon as I had managed to stop it from destroying everything, three other Firecasters came with the Senior Caster and then began to cast some…very different kind of magic on me. I…don't remember most of it and I don't know what it even did, but I know that controlling my power was important to master before they did it. I think…they want me to join them…"
Elsa swallowed hard and reversed her walk, taking a few steps back warily. The heat of the room was beginning to weigh on her, sweat drenching her pale, thin face and all the way down her nearly emaciated body, but she kept her magic at her fingertips, ready to defend herself. The last things she wanted to imagine was that Hans would try to harm her now, but since he had tried to do so before, no matter how long ago, it put just enough doubt in her mind to warrant it.
"What are you going to do to me then?" Her voice came with a tremble of both weakness of body and the crushing fear of his betrayal.
"Do to you?" He asked, surprised, "I'm not going to harm you Elsa."
His eyes met hers with an almost desperate sincerity that seemed traumatized to know she thought he would try to hurt her again. Elsa was unsure exactly what to make of all this and so let him continue to explain.
"I have no intention of becoming a Firecaster," he said looking with disgust from the fire in his hand and then to her, "I want to help you get out of here."
"What?" Elsa was still wary, but wanted with every ounce of her being to believe what he said, "But…how? Why?"
"Well as to how," Hans smiled and got a snarky look that matched the one she had heard in his voice so many times over the past two months, "All that stands in our way is that door and a few guards who aren't exactly expecting a break out. And many things have a very harsh and destructive reaction when burning and cooled way too fast." He looked from his fire to her hands.
Elsa admitted to herself, it was certainly worth a try and quite likely to work, but she was still so weak she hardly knew if she could manage the task. But it was a possibility that she was not about to pass up. Not when there was a chance that she might get back to see her sister again, just once more. A week ago the last flickering remains of her hope of ever seeing Anna's face, or hearing her rambunctious voice railing on and on about Kristoff again had been completely lost. She had resigned herself to this fate, but now…there was a shred of that hope returned to her, and it lightened her heart.
"As to why…" Hans continued, bringing Elsa back to the present, whipping her from her thoughts of home and family. He took another step forward, the smile growing when she didn't shrink away from him. "Well at this point I can't believe I ever considered destroying you. The idea of you dying in this cell is less horrifying then if I had driven my sword into you. I never would have realized things like, what a great conversationalist you are…" he winked while his voice filled out with sarcasm, "And how…endearing it is to listen to you berate my insolence. Or just that…"
Hans's brow furrowed and he looked confused about his own statement, but still steadfast to it.
"That what?" Elsa asked, moving forward a little, locking eyes with him. His gaze was firm, yet soft, and at the same time filled with sarcasm and dry humor. It was like everything about him was locked in the brown irises that stared back at her. Before he even said it, they told her everything; his hurt, his regret, his unfeeling side, his sensitivity, his care…
"That I love you," He laughed happily when the words came out, "I mean don't get me wrong, you're still a horrible roommate and an insufferable conversationalist, but I think you have enough good qualities to make up for it." He winked teasingly at her.
Elsa felt her heart stop. She had never thought it possible and definitely hadn't ever considered admitting to herself that it was what had been nagging at her all this time. Why it was that she still wanted him around even when he blatantly antagonized her, or how she could feel such concern for him after knowing what all he had done and tried to do to her and her family. He didn't just love her, as hard to believe as that was, but she loved him too. It just didn't make sense. How could it? But she knew that was what it was. It seemed beyond impossible but she cared more about Hans than she did for her own life. Even still, she didn't know how she would just come out and say that. So she didn't.
A weak smile formed at the corner of her mouth, "What sort of qualities?" she asked, mockingly stuffy.
"Well I must say," his smile turned to a smirk, "I think I have a thing for white hair. You're powers are awe inspiring, you're a woman to the core, but a queen just as much, caring and considerate to everyone, I mean, you didn't execute me when you had every right too, and on top of it you have a lovely voice."
"Well I am thoroughly complimented," Elsa took another step closer, "And I suppose I might as well admit that I feel the same towards you, especially about being a horrible roommate and conversationalist."
They were a foot apart now, eyes still fixed on the other and smiles upon both of their thin, pale, unkempt, and under nourished faces. As close as she was now, Elsa could see the signs of abuse, a few bruises across his face, from what she could only guess, sharp cheek bone and jaw line and sunken eyes. As compared to how Elsa expected she looked it was really nothing, especially since she had to get close to even really notice these things. But it did make it apparent he had suffered down here as much as she had; he only took it better. Hiding behind either, a smile, a blank expression, or monotonous dry humor, it seemed to be how he coped. But for her, her mind and body were both too weak to put up any heirs. So for him to make her smile at this of all times, she knew there was something special about him.
Hans reached out his left hand, that which did not hold the fire. Just inches from laying it on her arm, his eyes caught sight of the mark he had left of her other arm. Elsa looked down at it too and tensed when she saw the hand shaped burn mark gripping her upper arm.
"I'm…I'm so sorry Elsa, I didn't mean to…" Hans quickly tried to apologize for what he had unwittingly done.
"It's alright, Hans," Elsa reached out her hand and took his with a smile, "You didn't mean too. And see you aren't hurting me now."
They both looked at their clasped hands and found them both to be fine, thin and boney, but not burnt or frostbitten.
"The key is not to be afraid and let love guide your powers," Elsa said, "Emotions can charge you powers in very extreme ways, it's hard to control what you accidently do with them because of it."
"But here I am telling you I love you right after I burn a hand mark into your arm," Hans shook his head, "Is this how sincerity treats me?"
"It suits you better than deception and betrayal," Elsa said blandly.
"Well it's nice that someone thinks so," Hans shrugged, "I sort of figured that after last year's…events, no one was going to think of me as anything else."
"Well then maybe it takes being stuck two months in a dungeon with you to really get to know you," Elsa smiled, "Two months well worth while in that case, but…how about we put an end to that now?"
Hans smiled and let go of her as the two turned to the iron door, feeling that they had definitely by now overstayed their welcome.
Hope for seeing the sun again had long been lost to Elsa, even her mind had seemed to forget what sunshine was like. But there it was, the sun, thousands of miles above, looking down with a pleasant warmth on the two runaways stumbling across the mountains. Winter had struck while they had been stuck below in the dungeons of the Firecasters and the swirling snow and chill wind lashing through them revitalized Elsa in ways she never thought possible. To be in the open again, to be free; she had forgotten the truly beautiful feeling it held. To fill her lungs with fresh mountain air again she just wanted to sing out. But Hans on the other hand, did not appreciate the cold that much and did not handle it well. The clothes he had been wearing while down in the dungeon were thin, light, and now loose, much like Elsa's had become. They did little to warm him and keep the wind from his skin. Elsa couldn't help feeling sorry for him, but now he knew how she felt being down in that furnace-like dungeon.
The iron door caved just as easily as they had expected. Hans heated the metal to a point that looked as if it were boiling and then Elsa had stepped in with all the power and energy she had left, dousing the door in cold air and ice, at far below freezing temperatures. The iron broke easily and before they knew it, Hans and Elsa were running through the dim dungeon halls. Surprisingly, only a few guards even saw or notice them in their escape, each taken care of quickly by a surprise attack from either of them by use of their powers. They found their way up to the surface, as the dungeon was an underground structure with only a simple building rising above which sat atop a small mountainside plateau. Essentially then, they had been within caverns that had been turned into prison cells and hide outs for raiders who did not wish to be found.
They had both said and still believed it; the escape had been too easy, there had to be some reason. But they were each too exhausted and weak to think much about it. All they knew was that they had to get as far away as possible and as fast as they could. Thus they trudged across the snowy mountains heading in a direction they hoped was towards home; Arendelle as Elsa thought. Neither of them could know since they did not truly know where it was that they were now.
"Elsa," Hans said thoughtfully while they marched, his arm around her shoulder, each of them helping the other through the thick snow, "If we do make it back to Arendelle, then what? I somehow doubt Anna will be very happy to see me…"
"I am personally not too concerned with it right now, since I would just like to get home alive at this point," Elsa gasped a bit from the strain of their traveling, "But…I can imagine that if we both make it back there, there could be many complications…"
There was a long time of silence between them, each immersed in their own thoughts on the very same matter. Elsa loved Hans, she knew that now and, no matter what he had done in the past, she was ready to forgive him. But would the rest of the kingdom feel the same? How appalled would Anna be at hearing that her old ex-fiancé who had once tried to kill them both had gained Elsa's full forgiveness and wished for him to stay in Arendelle? Was him even coming to Arendelle at all a good idea? But there was no way she wasn't going to allow him to enter her kingdom. How could she deny that to the man she loved after they had both been through so much together?
To Elsa's surprise, Hans stopped dead in his tracks and grabbed her arm to make her stop too. She turned to look up at him, worry on her somewhat revived face as she took in his serious expression.
"Look, Elsa," he sighed, "I don't think I will ever be accepted in Arendelle and I know that for you to take me there would cast shadows upon your rule. I think for both our sakes, yours more than mine, we should part ways when we reach your kingdom."
The pain on his face from saying this was evident, he didn't try to hide it and it shattered Elsa's heart to have to see it.
"How could you ask me to do such a thing?" Elsa snapped angrily, "You can't go and tell me you love me and then suggest we separate as soon as we return home to never see one another again! I won't have it!"
"But Elsa, be sensible!" Hans grabbed both of her shoulders in his still strong hands, "We risk more being together than we do if I just leave and let you find someone else. We have your kingdom and your relations with the Southern Isles to think about. Merely welcoming me into Arendelle could be detrimental to all of it!"
"I don't care about trade relations with your horrible brothers," Elsa pulled out of his hands, "And I don't care if everyone in my kingdom finds you being welcomed into my homeland scandalous. I care about what happens to you and to what could happen with us if we just stop caring what anyone else thinks for a little while."
"Really," Hans cocked his head, "since when have I cared about what other people think? I'm worried about you and the impact it could have on one or both of our countries."
Elsa's eyes drifted to the ground, her thoughts muddied with a swell of anger that disrupted her ability to think straight. Finally she just pulled her arms to her chest and turned back in the direction they were heading before.
"As I said before I'm only concerned with getting out of here alive," Elsa said firmly, "We can worry about public acceptance or disapproval later."
"But Elsa…" Hans said, but she cut him off quickly.
"Not now, Hans," she said gently, "We have to get past this mountain range first. We can discuss it when it actually looks like getting home is even a possibility."
Hans nodded slowly and moved to follow her as they began walking once again. His arm slipped back around her, but this time taking her waist while she let her arm slide along his back. The two held each other tightly on their slow journey, Elsa trying to help lend any warmth she could to Hans. He was, in a way, his own internal heat source, actually pushing heat out and warming Elsa, but the below freezing weather they now stood in was sapping the heat straight from his body too fast for him to handle. Elsa doubted she was helping either since she didn't put off much heat but more absorbed the cold, which was where she was most comfortable. He didn't complain about her closeness though, seeming to care more about the mental support she gave then physical.
This was the extent of their interaction through rest of the day as they finally traveled out of the mountains, holding each other close and remaining generally quiet. It was dark by the time they made it off of the mountains and had found a road leading to a small village. Elsa didn't recognize the quaint little place, but gratefully recognized the smell of real, wholesome food within as the many villagers all were making their supper.
Elsa was so tired by the time they got there, that she just took a seat on the ground, not even noticing that she and Hans were getting many wary and interested stares from the villagers there. She didn't notice much other than when Hans returned to her with a bowl of stew and then after when he brought her into a barn behind the house of an elderly man who had agreed to put them up for the night. With the first actually full belly she had had in two months and the closest thing to a comfortable bed she had seen in that time, even though it was a pile of straw, she fell instantly asleep. She didn't notice that Hans kept clear of the straw and went to the other side of the barn to sleep in the tack room. It was hard for her to realize how frightened he still was of his own powers. To go anywhere near a mound of straw with fire powers was as terrifying as he could think since Elsa was sleeping in that straw.
There were no dreams for Elsa that night, but just deep uninterrupted rest. For the first time in two months, her bed wasn't a searing hot stone floor that she would have to constantly wake up to cool so that she would be able to sleep at all. The food in her stomach was not a mere morsel of old flat bread, but was full with a hearty stew. And instead of wondering about her hidden cellmate and her own feelings to him, she knew that there was a mutual agreement of love between them. In that moment, there was nothing wrong to her.
"Elsa wake up!"
Elsa stirred softly from her restful sleep and slowly turned to look up at the one who had awoken her. Her eyes met Hans's anxious face staring desperately at her as his hand shook her shoulder forcefully. She stared at him blankly, not really understanding for some time as he tried to wake her fully.
"Wha...what?" She yawned sleepily, forcing herself to sit up and rub the sleep from her eyes.
"Elsa you have to get up right now," Hans said in a quiet nervous voice, grabbing both of her hands and pulling her upright as he did.
"I'm…I'm up," she said groggily, stumbling onto her feet and then swaying.
"We have to get out of here, right now!" Hans said gripping one of her wrists tightly and began pulling her towards the door.
"Why?"
Elsa started to realize finally that something was going on, as her mind began to clear of her sleepiness.
Hans shoved the barn door open and pulled Elsa out into the dark of early morning behind him. The sun had hardly begun to rise, the whole village quiet and asleep. They flew through it, Elsa running aimlessly behind him, following his lead.
"One of them is here," he replied, "He's looking for us and we have to move now. I could see the sea from the top the loft; if we make it there we should be able to get away from him and hopefully set a course to Arendelle."
"Wait," Elsa shook her head, not slowing her running, "A Firecaster is here in the village?"
"Yes," Hans said, looking back at her with worry, "I saw him from the loft. Come on, we have to go faster!"
Elsa had at this point completely woken up and started to realize how dangerous this whole situation was. The last thing she wanted was to be drug back to that horrid cell to rot or find out for what reason they had kept her alive in the first place. She forced her legs to take longer strides as the two wound through the small town in the direction, she hoped, of the docks. Hans seemed to know what he was doing so she just clung tightly to his hand and followed him wordlessly.
The two fell to a sudden halt the moment they emerged from the thatched buildings and small streets of the little village. The sight of billowing flames, rising into the sky struck their eyes and filled them with a dreading terror. Every ship in the harbor was burning before their eyes, wrapped and wreathed in an uncontrollable fire, incinerating every plank of wood or strip of sail. It was like a starving, writhing monster consuming what would have been the transport that would take them home.
Elsa's heart fell and she looked up at Hans in desperation, pleading him with her eyes to know what they should do. His eyes would not be pried away from the wreckage and it was obvious that he didn't notice the hundreds of shouts coming from within the village as the inhabitance began to realize that their ships had just been reduced to cinder.
Those suddenly became distant to Elsa too, as a frightening figure stepped out from his place among the flaming ships. His eyes were ablaze with fire magic coursing through him and smoke billowed from his skin as if he himself brimmed internally with fire. As he began to approach them he released flames from his hands and set all the dry winter grass to ash as he stepped upon it. His intentions were clearly not in anyone's favor, but his own and at the same time he seemed uncontrolled, like it did not matter what was in front of him, he was going to burn it. A couple villagers ran out from the town as if to save their ships, as hopeless as it was, but were immediately met by a burst of fire, pushing them back within the circles of houses. His attention didn't even turn from Hans and Elsa to do so and his pace did not slow a bit.
"Hans!" Elsa cried, grabbing firmly to his arm, "What are we going to do?"
Hans finally pulled his eyes from their approaching doom and looked down at Elsa, clinging desperately to him and begging him for guidance. She could see his mind working as he glanced from the blazing ships to the sea they lay upon, all the while backing away from the ever approaching Firecaster. Elsa breathed heavily as it began to seem more and more hopeless that they could get away from him alive. If they tried to run now, he would catch up before they got beyond the village.
"The sea," Hans shouted, in revelation, "Elsa freeze the sea! Just like you did to the fjord in Arendelle! Do it now!"
Elsa understood immediately and quickly ran to the water's edge, this time pulling Hans behind her. She had no time to think about it or hesitate; she just struck the water with her foot, pushing her magic into it. The water instantly became ice against her shoe, spreading rapidly across the sea and enveloping ever spot of liquid within sight. She and Hans were already running across as it still swelled over everything, not looking back just dashing with all haste they could to what they hoped was freedom.
The ships, now also frozen over, were hardly behind them, when the wall of fire burst before them, rising through the ice and striking Elsa with such strong heat that it knocked her to her back. Her powers surged forward and struck a similar wall of ice at it. It stopped the flames from engulfing her that instant, but the fire was stronger and her ice was hardly a match to it. The flaming wall was melting her own as fast as she could put it up, every instant of focus trained on it to keep it from overcoming her.
The heat didn't even faze Hans and he quickly pulled Elsa back to her feet, not even interrupting her concentration, and looking back as he did to see the Firecaster was almost upon them, striding across the ice. The heat had seemed to leave his feet so that he could walk across it without melting the frozen water beneath him, though Elsa couldn't help wishing it would.
"Elsa, you have to keep the ice solid around us," Hans said, letting go of her and moving towards the Firecaster, his eyes turning to fire once again as he let his powers swirl up into his reach.
Though to see flames return to his eyes renewed a sense of fear in Elsa she nodded to him and focused on keeping the ice beneath both him and herself from melting. The wall of fire behind them now was slowly melting the ice around it and it was a hard task to keep it still frozen and still pay attention to what Hans was doing. She had to look away as a massive blast of fire came from Hans directed at the Firecaster, beginning to swirl around its intended victim. The blast had been so hot though, that the ice around and in front of him was hardly ice anymore. Elsa turned her attention to it immediately and refroze it just before it would have broken beneath Hans.
A laugh came from the spiral of flames that began moving closer to the two of them, even across the ice. The two both backed up a step as the fire pushed out away from the Firecaster, revealing him to be entirely unharmed and grinning. With a twist of his wrist the fire disappeared around him, leaving him completely unscathed and far too close for comfort. Elsa hadn't wanted to see him close enough to actually make him out, but now that he was, she couldn't help staring. He was surprisingly young and attractive, probably no older than she, but the power and maniacal look in his eyes denoted any idea of her finding him relatable. He looked too psychotic and far too pleased about burning things for Elsa to believe he was there for any other reason than to kill them both.
"Now Hans," the Firecaster grinned, "Haven't you ever heard that you can't fight fire with fire?"
Elsa recovered from her surprise quickly, taking that statement to heart and turning the ice she had been directing at the quickly melting ice around the wall of fire, towards the Firecaster. He was expecting it though and quickly created a shield of fire to deflect it with. Hans was thinking on his feet, though and saw an opportunity when it presented itself, charging the Firecaster from the side while he was shielding himself from Elsa's persistent stream of hard, sharp ice.
The Firecaster had seemed to believe he had the upper hand. And though he did when it came to magic it was not so in a physical bout. Hans decked him, ramming against his side causing both of them to sprawl out across the ice. Elsa dropped her attack and quickly jerked the blast of ice back to the wall of fire that had been steadily eroding up to where she had been standing. She wanted to help Hans, to completely douse the Firecaster in an ice casing so they could run for it, but if she did not try to keep this fire back it would quickly consume her.
She looked back over her shoulder as the Firecaster began to push himself to his feet. Hans was already moving though, up on his feet and grabbing for the sword on the raider's belt. Since both were still scrambling to get up, the Firecaster failed in his attempt to shove him away before Hans's hand gripped the sword handle. The Firecaster was jerked back down as Hans yanked the sword from its sheath. In a desperate attempt to defend himself, the young man shot fistfuls of fire into Hans's face, but as he had said himself, "You can't fight fire with fire", and thus the attack did nothing against Hans.
Elsa felt a disturbing sense of déjà vous at watching Hans kneeling over a defenseless sorcerer and plunging a sword below his chest. The magic flowing out of her to stop the fire ceased the moment he did as a crushing feeling took over that this was exactly what he had been about to do to her a year ago. Luckily, driving a blade through the Firecaster who had started it caused the wall of flames to disperse, thus leaving the only thing deserving of attention to be the Firecaster. The shocked young man stared with wide eyes, now returned to their natural form, at Hans, his brow furrowed in angered confusion. His chest heaved and his hand went to where a sharp blade had pierced right through him and struck through the ice beneath, pinning him fatally to it. Blood began to wash from the wound, dripping through his hands and pooling on the ice while his face filled with disbelief.
"You…you stabbed me," the Firecaster said.
"I'll jerk it out and do it again if you don't answer what I'm about to ask," Hans hissed angrily, still gripping the handle tightly, "Why? Why am I so important? Why didn't your men kill Elsa?"
The Firecaster coughed out a laugh, but began to choke on his own blood. He spat out a mouthful before answering.
"Why would we have?" he said, "We had never seen an Icecaster before. We wanted to know more about her powers."
"Then why did you lock me away in a dungeon for two months?" Elsa shouted, her face hot with anger.
"A broken and weak subject is much easier to study," the Firecaster laughed again, not seeming to care that he was obviously dying from his gaping wound, "Though we learned many things from just leaving you alone for three weeks. You would have been very entertaining to study in detail."
Rage filled in Elsa as she imagined having been little more than an interesting new object for a bunch of Firecasters to play with. More and more these Firecasters seemed to be less than human.
"As for you, Hans," The Fircaster turned his grin to the youngest prince of the Southern Isles, "It's really a shame you decided to leave. We had big plans for you."
"What plans?" Hans pushed a little harder on the sword, causing a gargling choke sound to come from the victim at his feet.
"You're one of us," he replied, "We were going to give you what you have always wanted; a kingdom of your own. Your twelve brothers who betrayed you never deserved the right to rule, we were going to make you the king."
"Why?" Hans's face filled with shock and disbelief, "Why would you help me to be king?"
"As I said," The Firecaster said, his breathing beginning to slow and pain becoming more and more evident on his face, "You are one of us. We helped you see that and now you are to serve us. A kingdom for you would become a kingdom for us. It would belong to you, but you belong to us…everyone gets what they want."
Hans's brow was tightly furrowed and his knuckles were turning white as he shouted back, "You don't control me!"
A clear, maniacal laugh escaped the weakening Firecaster, followed again by a fit of agonized coughs, heaving for air that would hardly enter his lungs. It was obvious he was fading fast and hardly had any strength left…but he unfortunately had just enough.
A golden light appeared in his eyes and he smiled weakly, staring directly into Hans's eyes. "We have all power over you. Now kill Elsa!"
The same golden filled Hans's eyes and the anger washed away from his face, replaced by a statue-like stoic appearance. All feeling was drained from him and he straightened himself up almost robotically. With no hesitation he jerked up on the sword, dislodging it from the midsection of the Firecaster, finishing him off before turning to Elsa.
Elsa had never been so afraid in her life as when Hans came upon her with dead golden eyes and a bloody sword and the intention on his face to follow through with the last order of the Firecaster. The ice all around her took on a yellow glow, reflecting her fear as she began to back away from Hans. Her lips trembled as did her hands as her eyes filled with tears.
"Hans…Hans please!" A miniature flurry began to form around the hand she held out towards him, "Stop! Don't listen to him! Please snap out of it!"
His expression didn't change and he just continued coming at her, sword raised. It was obvious beyond a doubt that his intentions were directed to harm her, but more than that, to kill her. A sob caught in her throat as she released a blast of ice at his sword hand. It struck hard and knocked him back a step, freezing around his hand and up over the sword, encasing it in clear ice.
"I don't want to hurt you, Hans!" She cried continuing to back up.
He didn't slow his advance as his eyes lit with fire and flames leapt up his arm, melting the ice clean from his hand and curling up to unfreeze the blade, but instead wreath it with fire. A red hot flame formed in his right hand, flicking about and growing larger by the second. With a flap of his wrist he shot it out at her, releasing it like two flaming snakes.
Elsa crossed her arms in front of her and a circular wall of thick, jagged ice shot up around her. The fire spiraled around it, lapping at the ice with its immense heat. She could hardly think through her fear, but it was making her magic more erratic by the second. Thinking wasn't necessary. Her fear caused her to react and that was all she could do. The ice around her shattered and blasted away from her, killing the fire snake and sending shards of ice in all directions. She watched as Hans lifted his arm just in time to block one from piercing his chest. It instead stabbed into his forearm, the hole freezing over in a blue ice patterns.
Pain never entered his face and in no way did he indicate that having his flesh punctured by razor sharp ice was discomforting. Instead, the spot began to steam as the fire rushing through his body melted and evaporated the ice shard, returning his skin back to normal in moments.
"Hans, please listen to me," Elsa kept moving backwards, her feet sliding easily over the hard ice, "You don't want to do this. Please find yourself and stop this!"
Her words fell upon deaf ears. There didn't seem to be anything she could say to make him come out of it. She didn't want to give up on him, but running would do no good anyway. He would easily catch up to her and she would be too vulnerable if she turned her back to him. She had to stop him and then fix this.
Ferocious clouds began to swirl above her of ice and snow bending to her will and creating a focal point of immense power just over her head. She looked him in the eye once more and tried to find anything she had grown to know about him, but all that stared back were lifeless golden irises atop a wreath of flames. The Hans she knew was not there, somehow suppressed by a command from a dying Firecaster, a command to end her life. She had no choice.
All the magic that swirled around her came down into her hands and, like a yellow, red, and blue beam of ice, power, and emotion, it shot from her. Just an inch from striking Hans, a shield of fire, much like that which the Firecaster had used to defend himself earlier, erupted from his right hand and pushed back against it. In an instant it had become a battle of the strength of fire and ice, each canceling the other out, but each persistently pushing its opponent back and forth, giving then taking. Their strength was evenly matched and they could have remained like that until Hans's fire finally melted the ice beneath them.
Tears of immeasurable pain stung her eyes, unmatched by any her heart had experienced. The pain of knowing she couldn't stop him and that their powers were so equally matched that all she could do was fend him off until she became too tired to keep it up and the ice melted beneath her. The only thing she could do was find a weakness or a way to strike his heart with a shaft of her magic ice. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him, much less kill him, but she could do nothing else except….
"Hans…I don't know if you can really hear me or understand me," Elsa said, choking back her sobs and staring at him with tear filled eyes, "But I told myself that I loved you more than my own life…that for you to live was more important than my existence…I have a chance to prove it now so…I have too."
With those words, she cut off her magic and let the blast of fire strike her. It didn't scratch her ice cold skin, but struck with such a powerful force that she was knocked off her feet and across the frozen bay. Her head was knocked roughly against the hard ice and her body tumbled across it causing many bruises.
She was dazed by it, but slowly began to push herself up, though knowing that in moments Hans would be right behind her. Her tears struck and froze against the ice surface beneath her as she sat back on her feet and held herself tightly. She had to do this. Only one of them was going to make it home and she knew that if she truly loved him…it couldn't be her.
The moments were agonizing as Elsa let herself slip back into sobbing. She wanted to be resigned, to accept it without hesitation, but she knew in her heart that this decision hurt her…but it would hurt her more if she had to live knowing she had been forced to kill the man she loved.
She felt him standing over her now, felt the heat of his blazing sword just before the tip touched her back, just below the heart. Her eyes closed tightly she awaited the sting of his blade, telling herself over and over that she had to do this, mouthing to herself, "I love you".
The blade pulled back and for an instant her mind cleared and the tears stopped. She felt clarity and to her surprise a smile touched her face.
"I do love you," she said with a confident, clear voice.
And then the sword struck through her. It was true agony as her torso was pierced by a thick flaming blade, a gap torn straight through. Still more it was anguish to feel it jerked back out mercilessly, spraying her face with her own blood as the rest flowed down across her loose clothing and dripping through her fingers that now wrapped around the wound.
Everything seemed to leave her mind except the pain. She didn't cry out, though, she just fell forward onto the cold ice and awaited the chilling embrace of death.
The sword fell from Hans's hand, the fire dispersing as it struck the ice at his feet. His own mind and self control suddenly came rushing back to him in a horrifying wave of realization.
"What have I done?" he thought, momentarily stunned as his eyes fell upon Elsa, lying face down in a pool of her own blood.
"Elsa!" His heart shattered as he yelled it. He crashed to his knees beside her and gently laid a hand on her side and shoulder. Slowly he turned her over, pulling her frail figure into his arms. Her eyes opened to look up at him, two perfect irises of crystal blue met him, filled with pain, but more than anything with the purest love he had ever seen.
"Oh Elsa, how could I have done this?" He berated himself, letting his tears fall and slide across her unbelievably calm face. He pressed a hand over hers that held tightly to her profusely bleeding wound.
"There was nothing you could have done," Elsa said in a soft voice, "I had to let you or else…I would have had to…at least this way…one of us lives…"
There was a knot bigger than his fist swelling inside his chest, destroying what was left of his aching heart and pushing out so much self loathing that his anger was becoming uncontrollable. He held Elsa so tightly to him he almost feared he would break her thin form, but he had to cling to her with all he had left.
"No!" he cried, "No! You should have done what you had to do! You should have killed me! I was a condemned man long ago! Why would you do this? You had every right to live!"
He pulled her head into his shoulder and sobbed harshly against her. Her lips trembled against his ear and her tears ran down his cheek as she whispered to him with the voice of an angel.
"I made a promise that I would love you more than myself," she said gently, "Oh Hans! I had to love you enough to let you go and now…you have to let me go."
"But Elsa," his voice shuddered in her ear, "Don't you see…I can't!"
A tear filled, heart wrenching moment passed between them, as Elsa's breathing slowed down to almost nothing. All Hans wanted was to be able to hold her tight enough to keep her with him, but no matter what he did, he could not change the fact that she was leaving him and he was helpless to stop it.
"Hans…" her voice was less than a whisper as she took in one last shaky breath, "I love you."
The last ounce of air left her lungs and brushed like the lightest breeze across his ear as her hands slipped from the gash in his midsection and, bloody and dripping, slid out from under his gentle one. The soft pulse of her heart stopped suddenly and the rest of her body became limp, her head falling back, draping across his arms.
"Elsa…" his voice was less than a whisper in the dead silence of the frozen bay. Time stopped. Nothing mattered. All there was left was an unbearable pain in his heart. He might as well have plunged the blade through his own heart for how large the gap of emptiness was. There were no words, nothing he could do. He didn't even know if there was any feeling left within him. The pain, the emptiness, it was numbing.
His tears continued to soak her cold shoulder. He didn't know whether to choke down the agony or to let himself feel it without restraint. It hurt too much. It would certainly kill him. How could he ever face this? More than ever he wished he had been the one bleeding on the ice right then.
But what if her being the one to die was the more merciful thing? If she loved him anywhere near as much as he knew he loved her, than it would be her who would have to live in endless agony because of his death. Maybe they were never meant to have a happily ever after, never meant be together and share their love. One was always going to be left behind.
"Being left behind is always the harder task," he whispered to himself, finally pulling back from Elsa's lifeless body. He stared longingly at her peaceful face as he laid her down against the ice and rose to his feet. "Maybe it's my task because I'm the one who can handle it. Because I'm the one who can take the pain…so you don't have too."
It was the hardest thing he had ever done in his entire life, but he stepped back from her. His face still stricken in an unspeakable pain, he forced himself to turn and walk away. He didn't think he would ever accept losing her, or ever forgive himself, or truly justify his being the one to live, but more than anything else, he knew in his heart that he would never let her go, for his love for her would never die no matter how long or far from her he was.
THE END