Quick-ish A/N

When I looked up frozen/merlin crossovers I couldn't decide whether to expect a lot of results (because of the whole "I was born with magic" thing) or few results. Apparently, there aren't many, but I hope some people enjoy this.

This story has been sitting unpublished on my computer for the better part of a year - maybe even more than a year. It's about half written, but completely outlined, as well as the sequel. I never posted because I felt like it was becoming too much of a follow-along story, where episodes of Merlin were reenacted with frozen characters alongside. The real original content was all in the sequel (which I also have outlined, lol). Anyway, I'm making changes so that it's a bit different, but feel free to offer suggestions, few things are set in stone (including the Merlin/Elsa and Morgana/Hans ships, btw, that might change). The reason I'm posting now is because I figure I should get this out before the sequel to Frozen gets out and ruins everything XD

This story sets up for a sequel with an OC Villain, who is seen in this story quite a few times, but never really does much by way of evil deeds in this one.

This first chapter is a review of why Elsa's story changed, and has some important info on Hans. Next chapter is original.

Enjoy, sorry for the long background.

Clouded || Hans

"Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well." - Robin Sharma

Hans Westergaard could never have guessed how easily his plan would slip into place. It was almost as if an unseen force of power was pushing things to go his way. Hans almost laughed. Unseen - not quite. Powerful? Yes indeed. But he kept his face grim for the viewers who wouldn't understand.

"I'm going back out to look for Princess Anna," Hans said. He knew the dignitaries would protest, but he needed to be real. Relatable. And young lovers fighting for each other was something that almost everyone had gone through or dreamed of in their youth.

"You cannot risk going out there again," said the French dignitary.

Hans insisted further, "If anything happens to her -"

"If anything happens to the Princess, you are all Arendelle has left." The man in the center looked distressed but confident in the words he had said. Had the Spanish dignitary been close to the princess? Not likely, but it was possible. Either way - he had played right into Hans' hands.

Hans hesitated deliberately. See how seriously I take this, he pushed without words. You can trust me. He broke his sad sigh when the door behind him opened.

Two of the castle's servants, Gerda and Kai, he remembered, walked in helping a stumbling Anna between them.

"He's in here. Prince Hans," The balding man said. His face was expectant and fearful. He was trusting the child he had looked after for years to Hans.

"Anna," Hans said, rushing forwards. His surprise to see her was one of thing things he hadn't faked. He hadn't expected her to return like this - obviously injured, and so faint that she fell into his arms. "You're so cold!"

"Hans, you have to kiss me," Anna said.

"What?" That was the last thing Hans had been expecting. Although he supposed it shouldn't have been, not when this fragile princess in his arms was such a romantic.

"Now! Now, here we go!" Anna grabbed onto the front of his shirt and tried to pull herself up to his face, as the rest of the company in the room left with murmurs about giving them privacy.

"What happened out there?" Hans asked.

"Elsa struck me with her powers."

"You said she'd never hurt you." Hans wasn't shocked to hear it. He guessed that Elsa really did care for her younger sister. Anna was right - Elsa would never hurt her. On purpose. But he recognized the symptoms of uncontrolled magic. Too much fear shined in Elsa's eyes for her to have more than a teaspoon of control over her powers.

"I was wrong." Anna bent over, gasping in pain.

"Anna." Hans lifted her and carried her to a couch across from the fireplace. The only wall not inhabited by the library's books. So Anna believed that her sister had meant to hurt her. That could work out well.

Anna kept talking, but her voice quavered both from her distraught and from her shivering. "She froze my heart and only an act of true love can save me.

So that's why she wanted me to kiss her. "A true love's kiss." Hans had to make a split second decision. Did he want Anna alive, or not? He took her chin in his hand and smiled tenderly. He leaned in until their faces were only centimeters apart before he stopped. He wouldn't be kissing her - it wouldn't have been an act of true love anyway.

"Oh, Anna," Hans smirked. "If only there was someone out there who loved you."

"What? You said you did, you said you loved me!"

Hans got up and walked to a nearby window. He didn't look at the princess' desperate face but grimaced to himself as he closed the curtains.

"As thirteenth in line in my own kingdom, I didn't stand a chance. I knew I'd have to marry into the throne somewhere -"

"What are you talking about?"

Goodness, she was even more naive than he had thought. How could someone care so little for power that she couldn't even grasp that is was something others desired enough to lie in order to get. Hans Took his time blowing out the candles as he continued his story.

"As heir, Elsa was preferable, of course. But no one was getting anywhere with her. But you -"

"Hans?"

"You were so desperate for love you were willing to marry me, just like that." Hans crossed the room, his confidence in his new plan rising. He picked up a pitcher of water from the table, and casually took it towards the fireplace. The fire died with a splash.

"I figured, after we married, I'd have to stage a little accident for Elsa."

"Hans. No, stop," Anna whimpered.

"But then she doomed herself, and you were dumb enough to go after her." That had truly been amazing. He had been expecting to have to use his gift much more than he had.

"Please."

Hans chuckled. "All that's left now is to kill Elsa and bring back summer."

"You're no match for Elsa. She'll see that true justice is served."

Hans took Anna's chin in his hand again - but this time his seemed intentions were not so kind. "No. You're no match for Elsa. I, on the other hand, am the hero who is going to save Arendelle from destruction."

Anna pulled her face away from him. "You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, but I already have," Hans whispered. He thought of the way all of Arendelle's dignitaries already looked up to him. The townspeople respected him. Not without effort on his part - he had put a lot of magic into every word he had said. They were so dependent on him, they'd never take most accusations against him. And, he had an ally. An ally more powerful than Elsa ever would be. He was about to shut the door when he thought of another line he thought Anna should hear. "After all - love is an open door."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Hans had only stopped to make sure no one would find Anna in the library. Once he had been sure that they wouldn't, he headed straight to the council chamber. The sky was already dark at that point, but Hans knew that the Duke of Weselton and the dignitaries would still be there, what with everything that was going on.

Hans walked with a slow gate, transforming his face into pure misery. Just in case. You could never tell who just might be watching you.

When he reached the door, he paused for a moment, listening. He had been right - they were in there.

"It's getting colder by the minute. If we don't do something soon, we'll all freeze to death," someone's voice said.

Hans decided to make his entrance. He pushed the door open without enthusiasm, letting it fall back in place after he let it go.

"Prince Hans," said the Spanish Dignitary.

"Princess Anna is… dead," Hans said in anguish. He felt the tingle of magic flow out of him through his words. There would be no reason for anyone to doubt what he said was true. He let his words sink in, watching their faces as they cried out in shock.

Hans stumbled. He figured that was something someone might do when their loved one had just died. The men helped him up, of course, muttering their sympathies all the while.

The Duke was the one to ask the question. "What happened to her?"

What happened to her. The most perfect way to get rid of two royals at once - accuse one of killing the other. "She was killed by Queen Elsa."

"Her own sister!" the duke exclaimed, at first in shock, but Hans could see that after the initial surprise had worn away, the Duke of Weselton believed every word.

"At least we got to say our marriage vows… before she died in my arms," Hans said, pretending to hold back tears. He bowed his head as he finally let one fall down one side of his face.

The Duke whipped his head up to face the other dignitaries. "There can be no doubt now; Queen Elsa is a monster and we are all in grave danger."

"Prince Hans, Arendelle looks to you," added the Spanish Dignitary.

Hans nodded. Perfect. "With a heavy heart, I charge Queen Elsa of Arendelle with treason and sentence her to death."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Hans had deemed it unnecessary to do any more work that night. He needed to be well rested - and well rested he was. It was the following day, and Hans was following a guard down to Elsa's prison cell.

"She's dangerous. Move quickly and with resolve," the guard told him.

Hans almost snorted. Why did everyone seem to think that moving quickly with resolve, or some other equally ridiculous method, would ever accomplish anything against anyone with magic? It certainly had never made any difference on him using his magic. But Hans nodded at the guard, signaling he had received the message.

Elsa's door was opened for him, and Hans was greeted by crumbling walls. He ducked away from the falling stone and pushed his way into the room.

The wall was blown open, shackles resting on the floor - empty. Elsa was gone.

Not far enough gone, though. Hans could see her shadow staggering through the ice storm in the distance. Hans stepped out of the hole in the wall and followed. At first, Elsa seemed to be keeping a strong pace, but the further they went, the more tired and afraid she seemed to get.

"Elsa! You can't run from this!" Hans called out. He was near to her now, and Elsa was almost to the point of collapsing on the ice. She backed away from him.

"Just… just take care of my sister," she said. Her eyes were bright with fear and secrets, and she was shivering - although not from the cold, Hans was sure.

"Your sister? She returned from the mountain weak and cold. She said you froze her heart."

Elsa gasped. Her remaining determination seemed to diminish, although the storm around them did not. "What? No."

She was grasping at straws, clinging to the belief that she hadn't hurt her own sister. Hans could see the way her mind was heading - and he knew that she too would not have any reason not to believe him.

"I tried to save her, but it was too late. Her skin was ice. Her hair turned white," he said. With every proclamation, Elsa's face wilted even further. "Your sister is dead. Because of you."

Elsa dropped to her knees, landing on the frozen sea below her. The storm stopped, leaving snow frozen in place. A profound silence that told the story of Elsa's grief.

Citizens and dignitaries rushed to Arendelle's wall. They had an audience now. No matter - Elsa's death would be perfectly legal. She had committed treason.

Hans drew his sword, the sound of the metal slicing through the icy quiet. He raised it over his head like he had done a thousand times in training, and even in battles, all be it small ones. Arendelle would be his.

The sword sliced down towards Elsa.

"No!" Someone cried.

Chink

Hans' sword hit solid ice and shattered into pieces. Hans flew backward before he could process everything, but his last thought before he fell into unconsciousness was Anna?

But Hans wasn't oblivious to the happenings around him for long. No, his magic, although not very good for fighting, could protect him from mild hits. He was only out for a minute or two - or so he guessed.

He opened his eyes to see Elsa and Anna wrapped in each other's embrace - crying and laughing.

"An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart."

Hans didn't turn his head to see who had said the words. He only knew that this development could be very bad for him if he didn't intervene.

"Love… will thaw…" Elsa murmured. "Love. Of course."

Love. Yes, love could be what helped her control her powers, if that's what she wanted. But so could being confident and collected. Hans had noticed in his early years that the more unpredictable his emotions were, the more unpredictable his magic was. Fear was the enemy, the emotion that rose and fell like the waves at sea. To master power, you had to master your fear.

But Elsa hadn't known that. Elsa hadn't gotten the chance to figure that out on her own - until now. Hans' stomach churned. An Elsa in control of her powers was one that could actually be a threat to him - until she arrived. But it was obvious to him now that his ally would be arriving late.

"Elsa?" Anna asked.

"Love." Elsa lifted her arms, making the ground shake beneath her. Ice and snow all around her began to break and rise into the air - not melting, but disappearing into nothingness. Warmth spread around them. Hans could feel it as his jacket suddenly went from being not warm enough to stifling hot in the July sun. The crowd watching from the wall oohed and aahed as the sea was thawed out before them.

Hans smiled when he saw Elsa's arms droop. One thing about fear was that it made you forget your weakness. One could be so filled with emotion that you wouldn't notice yourself getting tired.

Elsa in control may have been powerful. But Elsa in control also meant that the exhaustion from creating days of stormy weather would finally catch up to her.

The ice stopped thawing at its rapid pace. The sky up above would ensure that it would thaw in normal time - but Elsa could do no more.

Hans stood. It was his turn to show off his power.

"Elsa thawing the fjord does not change that she committed treason! She froze Anna's heart! Yes, Anna was able to heal herself - and I apologize for telling everyone that she had died. I believed that statement to be true -"

"Oh, please, Prince Hans, the only frozen heart around here is yours," Anna said.

Hans could have laughed. Oh, Anna. She thought she was so witty, so smart. What she didn't know was that Hans was smarter, and more importantly, Hans had the power.

"-And now, having failed to kill her, Elsa has enchanted her sister to agree with her!" Hans said to the crowd. They wouldn't know that Elsa was not capable of doing any such thing.

"That's insane -" protested Anna, but no one in the crowd could hear her over Hans.

"Guards! Take Anna to her room - don't let her out. We don't yet know what she will attempt to do under the enchantment."

"No! No, I'm not enchanted, you can't -" but before she had finished her sentence, she had been taken by her arms by the palace guards.

Elsa stepped forwards, not to stop the guards, but to speak to Hans. "Hans, be reasonable. I'm doing my best. Everything will be back to normal in a couple hours or so, I'm sure I can do it now."

"I know it will. But you won't be there to see it." Hans reached to pull his sword out of its sheath, but his fingers grasped at empty air. His eyes darted towards the patch of water where the shards of his sword had disappeared. He felt a pang of sadness. He had been using that sword since his eighteenth birthday when it had been gifted to him by his younger sister. But remorse for the destroyed sword did him no good. He had no way to defeat Elsa.

He lowered his voice so that only she - and probably the snowman he had just noticed, as well as the man Anna had ridden in with and his reindeer - could hear. "Those guards that took Anna are loyal to me. You don't have enough strength right now to fight them. Leave now, or she faces the consequences." He turned and raised his voice again so that everyone could hear. "Since Elsa has taken back the ice, I lower her sentence to exile!"

Hans watched Elsa's face. Understanding blossomed behind her eyes.

"You lied - you've fooled everyone with your voice, that's it, isn't it! I'm not the only one with unnatural powers you s-"

"Now, now, Elsa, watch your tongue. I'll give you one day to be outside Arendelle's borders. One day," Hans said. He turned back to the city and didn't look back.

"I'll be back! I'll be back for my sister!" He heard Elsa call.

"And she won't be alone!" It was the first time Hans had heard the man speak, but he knew it was him. Hans wasn't worried. What could a powerless elemental sorceress and an ice collector ever do to him?"