Chapter 1:
"We'll be at the island of Arendelle shortly, Prince Hans,"
Said a gruff voice Hans knew well. He owed the old man much; he was really the only one who he could honestly discuss his feelings to without getting a black eye in the process.
"Thanks for another speedy trip, Captain Fredrick, 'looks like we'll be on time for the coronation after all."
"Hehe, you doubted me, your highness?"
"'Course not." He embarked up the stairs towards Fredrick. "I'm just… antsy, you know what I mean?"
"'Course I do, your highness. After all, gettin' to know your true love ain't the easiest thing a fella's ever done."
"Yeah," Hans adjusted his gloves behind him. "Sometimes,"
"Yer voice is distant," Fredrick said. "I haven't known ya all these years to not know when yer mind's somewhere else."
"Well, I've never tried to do something this bold before, and well after all, I'm not exactly much of a people person."
"You talk ta me, don't ya?"
"Come on, you know what I mean."
"'Not sure I do. I'm pretty normal as far as people go, ain't I?"
"That's not the point." Fredrick practically cracked a rib as Hans, in vain, tried to continue his explanation. "I've never interacted in more than a general tone with foreigners before. And now, I'm gonna have to convince one of them to marry me?" Hans leaned his back on a cracked section of the ship, producing a deep moan from that side of the vessel. "What am I gonna do?"
"Spend the rest of your life as a galley slave if you break my ship." He hollered once again, persuading Hans to raise his eyebrow.
"You're not much help."
"I'm bein' honest 'ere."
"If this is you being honest, then I'd rather not hear it." Hans palmed his face gently, hoping to wipe the sweat off his face. The captain having granted him a moment to think, he wondered why precisely this man was the one who he ended up finding a companion in. After all, he didn't ask for the man to watch him observantly whenever he came to the coastline for a moment alone to think, pondering each and every day what Hans was thinking before he decided to speak to him one day. Still, when Fredrick first revealed himself to Hans, he gave him the most important piece of information he'd ever learn.
"You say you want them to think yer something special, right? Well, give them a reason to. If you just sit here, venting yer problems ta me all day, to be honest, ya don't deserve a speck of attention from them."
After years of pitying himself for his circumstances, Fredrick had turned his life around with those words alone.
Hans would never have grown past the defeatist nature of his nine year old self had it not been for him.
Even though Hans was grateful for everything the wise captain had done for him, he wasn't always the easiest person to discuss personal matters with. Often rude and constantly throwing joke after joke his way even if Hans wasn't in the mood, hearing him joke about forcing him into slavery wasn't the first time he'd harbored annoyance at him, nor would it be the last.
"Actually, it just might be…"
If his expedition carried on as planned, he wasn't sure he'd be seeing much of anyone from the Southern Isle again, aside from the occasional royal encounter.
It was the one thing he couldn't let Fredrick know; the first time since the man had been a total stranger to him that he found himself acknowledging he couldn't open his heart to him.
It'd started just a few weeks ago. When news spread of the coronation of Princess Elsa, all it sparked out of him was bitterness. After all, it was just another heir to the bloodline of a royal family; another nameless figure in the endless void of people getting exactly what they deserved. Nothing else reminded him more of the disgusting, barbaric gifts that life had granted to him.
Had he not began to hear more details about this Princess, the thought would never have come to his mind.
A lonely girl whose parents had died only three years ago; before that time, all of the people in the kingdom were locked away from the palace, only given permission to dream of what disturbing truth lied behind the stone cold gates of Arendelle's castle.
Queen Elsa had only appeared once during this long period of separation from her people; during the funeral of her parents who died on their way to meet with a neighboring kingdom for diplomatic purposes. She had been cold, distant; unapproachable. No one blamed her; after all, the girl had lost her parents. However, people noticed that her sister, while in a similar state of mourning, was more willing to accept sympathy. She failed to display the obvious averseness that her sister conveyed with even the slightest motion of her head.
Every kingdom within a hundred miles distance, and possibly even further, would send a representative to Arendelle to witness the crowning of the secretive Princess.
An opportunity then appeared to Hans.
He would represent his kingdom there; his brothers were occupied with their own issues, they wouldn't even know there was a coronation. Besides that, his parents would finally have a reason to give him the unique recognition only his brothers harbored during his lifetime.
Despite lacking any sort of plan, he was going to gain influence over Arendelle, and eventually become its ruler. The first step was a royal marriage.
Even with her remarkable number of connections, Elsa was not an option. Far too elusive and evasive, few people could spark a typical conversation with her; much less convince her that one of them was a suitable eternal companion to help her rule.
Anna was a tolerable substitute. The only matter worth considering was locating her…
"If I wasn't honest, you wouldn't have talked to me all these years, now would you 'ave?"
"I don't understand the comparison at all. I talked to you because you were willing to listen, and you didn't knock me over the head for it. That's it,"
"You've always been cold, Prince Hans, but it's been a while since you've cut me that deep." It was easy to forget about his aspirations when confessing to Fredrick. He made a note never to make that mistake again.
"You know I'm grateful, Fredrick, don't make me plead in order to regain your friendship."
"Oh, don't worry Prince Hans, I won't… Not this time anyway," Rocking the steering wheel with a spin of his right arm, loaded to the brim with roughly built muscle, he offered Hans only a small chuckle before his attention returned to the skies ahead. "But I think you'll do fine. You're pretty good at charming people when you 'ave to."
"Not as a kid,"
"'Course not. But not even spoiled rich brats get their words right from the day they turn one year old. 'Specially when they're speaking their minds." Hans realized the insecurity he showed inside at the task he was undertaking. His surprise shifted to irritation when it became clear Fredrick was reading his emotions like snow in the ocean, giving the Prince a wink, and a tilt of the grey, ill-combed mess he insisted was actually his hair. "You better spruce yourself up; we'll be reaching the docks in just a few minutes now."
Sweeping his moist hand thoroughly through his hair, he adjusted his coat, glancing at the watch in his right pocket.
"Not that there's really much a prince can do to spruce up, I suppose."
Hans didn't bother to focus on his friend's obvious remark. Now was the time to mentally prepare him for the battle that was to come. It wasn't keeping up a ruse being the difficult part; playing the part of the charming, yet clumsy Prince was second nature to him.
Faking love was going to be what he would have the most trouble with.
"How I am supposed to fake a feeling I don't know?" He asked himself in a rush of anger.
"You've hit the nail on the head. Love is a fraud; a spot of the moment feeling used to manipulate others, and create sickeningly sweet ideas in peoples' minds for the sake of advancing personal agendas. There's nothing more to it. Faking love, ha, you won't have any trouble with that."
"Most people don't see it that way"
"Ha! You fool! Love is a form of political banter; a clever way kingdoms use to push themselves forward on the schema of influence so deeply involved in their dealings with other kingdoms. Are you forgetting why you're attending this coronation at all?"
The voice inside was one he'd heard quite often. Hatred, jealously, resentment, all of his negative feelings compiled into a voice that chewed and gnawed at him every chance he was in the middle of an inner conflict. Often, it was much more pragmatic to follow its lead as opposed to wasting precious energy arguing.
He'd heard of a conscience; the voice inside that suggested the right path to take in times of emotional duress.
He had one. However, Hans came to understand that if he could compare his "conscience" to anything, it would be the Anti-Christ.
"No, of course not. I know I deserve this."
"Doubt is what will cost you everything. Learn to lose it; without it, nothing will stand in the way of the power you deserve."
A bump knocked him off his feet for a moment.
"I did tell you to brace yourself, your highness."
"I didn't hear you,"
"'Couldn't tell," Discovering their new destination, Hans discovered some gratitude for being thrown asunder.
As he'd predicted, several ships laid anchors at the docks aside from his own. Flags proudly bearing the symbols of duchies and kingdoms contained crews almost as large as his own. Some were taking the time to recite a national anthem before following the gathering crowd towards Arrindale's town center.
A glisten in his eye, Fredrick gave Hans a pat on the back before allowing him to leave the ship.
"Thank you, Captain,"
"You'll do fine."
"I'll do my best. I promise,"
"Good enough fer me,"
Heading towards a small wooden landing for the ship's ladder to rest upon, Hans stopped. He weighed himself against the ship's wooden boards next to the ladder, and took a moment to think things over.
He'd passed that moment before he even had the chance to blink his eyes.
"I'm ready,"
It didn't take his pathetic excuse for a conscience to convince him that was true.
With confidence, he sailed down the weathered yet stable ladder, calling his horse over to follow him. A staircase which led to the rest of the town square caught his eyes.
"Excuse me, sir,"
An old, prideful yet suspicious man interrupted his ponderings from his left side. Short and lean, he wore an extremely obvious wig on his head with an amusing amount of security. He was garbed in standard, run of the mill formal attire, adorned with a black and red color, and glasses which scarcely contained his worriedly deductive eyes. His horse neighed gruffly at the stranger. "It's a pleasure to meet you; I am the Duke of Weselton."
Having to concern himself with courteous greetings disturbed Hans's expectations for the day. Although even he'd admitted to himself that his plan couldn't possibly proceed without a hitch, he'd placed some weight on the possibility that he wouldn't have any distractions from his pre-considered course of action. Still, he'd practiced greeting nobles enough to know how to respond to the Duke's self-introduction.
"Prince Hans of the Southern Isle. It's a pleasure to meet you as well,"
"Have you heard anything about the rumors spreading regarding the castle here, Prince Hans?"
"What rumors?" That was a truthful question. He hadn't heard of any of the rumors that had sprung up about what was going on inside of Arendelle Castle's walls.
"Well, some people think that the king and queen were trying to cover up some sort of scheme they'd conducted when they were alive. For example, some theorize one of their children is actually adopted, and is not of royal bloodline. No one knows for sure which one, but many people predictably assume Anna is the one with the blood of a peasant. Another is that one of their daughters was extremely introverted, only coming out to meet other people when she absolutely had to. There's no need to explain which one of the sisters people say had that fear." His head twisted upwards, those eyes darting towards the lens of his glasses again. "Do you put any weight to those rumors?"
"Well, they could be. I'm sure we'll find out many things about the Princesses when we see them at the ball tonight."
"Yes, I'm counting on it," His tone lowered to a hiss for a moment. Abruptly, he jolted out of his phase, already beginning his trek towards the stairs. "Um, excuse me, Prince Hans; I seem to be coming down with a bit of a cold." He gagged to emphasize his point. "I better be going," Hans chuckled as he watched the Duke leave his sight.
"And you thought he'd be trouble, Hans. 'Guess I was more seasick then I thought.
He ordered his horse to trot up the stairs, taking advantage of his raised elevation to examine the scenery. Two royal guards moved up from behind to escort him as he endeavored further into the town square.
The sight wasn't anything special; he'd seen better. Regardless, he recognized the general emotion of the crowd; the mixed combination of fear and anticipation that rattled many of the people in the town, their limbs shaking as they bought banners, and small souvenirs at the different stands he noticed. Banners flew over several buildings at spaces between various houses, and the sense of jubilation upheld by the foreign traders charmed Hans to a level he didn't expect it would.
"You have work to do. Don't distract yourself,"
"Trying to find Anna here would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I don't even know what she looks like. Besides, I have some time to relax before the ball."
He hadn't lost sight of it. Far from that, he just needed a quiet place to think.
"I'll be heading to the east coast to relax for a bit," The clanking of metal interrupted his expedition. "By myself,"
Both guards shifted his way in such a speedy manner that Hans couldn't tell they'd been looking another direction just a microsecond ago.
"OKAY… That's a bit freaky,"
"With all due respect, Prince Hans, this is a foreign land. You need protection in case of an assassination attempt."
Hans began laughing. "Don't be silly. This place is harmless. Besides, the people here are much too focused on Queen Elsa opening the gates to even think about going after my head, don't you think?"
Hans realized the doubt on the soldier's faces wasn't going to leave for at least another century.
"That's an order, sirs."
"Yes Prince Hans," Both marched backwards, giving Hans the chance to escape their anxious faces to gaze out into the sea. Removing himself from his seat atop his horse, he was back where he began. The sun brightening the horizon with gorgeous yellow rays, he lost the pattern of his mind to self-conversation once again.
"Don't give yourself a chance to think. It will just make you feel worse."
"Don't worry. I can use this as time to lift my spirits a bit before the coronation."
"This isn't a sign that you're feeling uncertain again, is it?'
"Of course not. I've got everything under control." He neatened the top of his suit, accentuating his point. "Besides, it's not like I don't have room for error, right?"
"You're not exactly filling me with confidence."
Shaking off his thoughts, his glance resumed to the seas once again as a breeze of warm air nudged the side of the face.
A bump nearly toppled him off his feet. His horse began to back away, startled by whatever triggered the sound. He eased his horse's temperament as he turned to the voice.
A girl. Her head topped with chestnut colored hair wrapped in a bun, her cheeks covered in freckles, the manner she collapsed into the rowboat nearing the dock screamed that she was simply a peasant girl with her head in the clouds. The fact a batch of seaweed now adorned her forehead wasn't exactly proof to the contrary.
Oddly enough though, her choice of attire was abnormally sophisticated; a sleeveless dress with an appealing green color being it's center point. Stroking his hair with his right hand, he started to feel every single drop of sweat that was accumulating on the back of his neck.
In her own way, she was charming. A fairly attractive young lady, the way she exhibited such innocent clumsiness reminded him of some of his more humiliating moments during his teenage years.
"Are you alright?" He stepped off his saddle, and walked onto the boat. He offered his hand to her in a gesture of politeness, attempting to help her up from her disheveled position.
"Um, well, yeah," She tossed the seaweed from her head. Glancing up and down from his face to his outstretched hand, she finally decided to pull herself up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so clumsy, I'm just…" She stopped. Her eyes had connected with his, and weren't budging an inch. He didn't blame her.
Both were a dazzling green color; shining with brilliance and radiance he'd never seen in anyone before, she radiated a genuine shyness, and the same embarrassment at the situation that he felt himself.
"I'm Prince Hans of the Southern Isle," He said, bowing his head.
"Princess Anna of Arendelle," Abruptly, the horse joined in his bow. Had it not knocked them both onto the boat, Hans would probably have found the horse's curtsy fairly adorable.
When his eyes opened, he was gazing into the girl's eyes once again.
Only this time, he was leaning over her as she lay against the boat.
He continued on in his apologetic mindset.
"I'm sorry, that was an accident. My horse is just a bit…" Just as she was echoing his words, his horse slammed his hoof down on the other side of the rowboat.
Hans assumed the horse was just trying to help them escape their rather embarrassing position.
"I'm sorry, please forgive me, I didn't mean to-"
"Oh no, don't apologize, it's all me, really." She solidified herself on the boat, pulling him up after she'd finished this task. "I mean, I'm just awkward. But not your awkward, I mean, you're gorgeous… Wait, what?"
He laughed softly as he watched her try to make up for her mistake. Eerily set off by the familiarity she showed to his personality, he inconspicuously cleared his throat, trying to cover up his interior reaction to the unexpected connection he found with her.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to let my horse bump you like that."
"Oh no, its fine, I mean, it's just me; if you'd bumped my sister, Elsa, then, well, yeah, but… Lucky for you, it's just me."
Hans barely heard the last part of her words; only one part of her sentence jumped out at him.
"…it's just me" His heart filled with unquenchable empathy at these words.
The words that meant she'd come to the conclusion that she meant nothing.
The words that meant she was just like him.
"Just you?" His words were so instinctive he didn't even have time to examine them before he broke the silence. However, these were the only words he wanted to say.
Her cheeks were still colored in red as a bell rang in the distance.
"The bells; the coronation. I-I better go," She started running away from the docks towards the castle. "Bye,"
Hans offered a small wave as she left his sight.
That's when it hit him. Suddenly, he recalled the information she'd informed him of just before his horse had incidentally bumped them onto the boat.
If he hadn't a legitimate reason not to gasp in an extremely unsubtle way, he would have.
He'd noticed her commendable attire, but he'd asserted her father had just attained a good deal with a merchant from one of the trading stands. Her personality was unlike that of any other princess he'd met before.
He never could've guessed she was not only a princess, but the princess he was looking for.
That's when his horse also decided to wave.
Losing his balance, the boat flipped over, and he fell into the water.
"You didn't have to tell me twice; I figured out who she was before this happened."
He lifted the underside of the boat, and swam next to it, his face still lighting with an enthusiastic glow.
"Don't let her charming, peasant-like demeanor fool you. Remember, love is a political game. No more, no less."
Hans grinned more profusely at the corners of his mouth as he grasped the side of the docks. "You aren't listening to me, are you?"
"Did you say something?"
"You're letting your affections get in the way of your judgment! Get them out as soon as possible before they get in the way of your plans. You've waited too long to let this opportunity to get what you deserve pass by you."
He struggled to climb up the docks as he attempted to reason his way through his thoughts. "The only thing my feelings could to do this plan is make it even easier to pull off. I can do this,"
"Love isn't going to stop at a feeling. What are you gonna do if your feelings grow stronger?"
"I can handle it." He threw a barrier over the voice, keeping it from throwing any more second thoughts in his mind. There was a new truth in his mind that he knew nothing in this world could ever change.
He was in love with the princess of Arendelle.