A/N: Hi there! If you follow me on Tumblr, then you'll know that I've been talking about writing this for a while. I hope you guys enjoy it. This is my first chapter fanfic for Frozen, so go easy on me. Also, it's written in 3rd person omniscient, so you will get both the OC's POV and Hans' POV.

Chapter 1

The ship came to port while the moon still hung brightly in the night sky. It was quiet up in the only occupied guest room, and the warmth from the summer night could be felt even through the thick walls. The visiting princess took a look out the window, putting down the book she had been reading, surprised at what she saw. She pressed her hands up against the window to try and get a better look. Who was it? Who could it be?

"The prince," She whispered to herself, as she was the only one in the room, and dashed out the door and down the hall.

The girl bumped into a maid, "Are you alright, m'lady?"

"Oh!" She moved past her and shot her an apologetic smile, "I'm fine, thank you! Prince Hans is home!"

The princess raced down the hall and towards the stairs, hoping to be the first to see the 13th prince of the Southern Isles. It had been years since she had last seen him, and they had been such good friends before that she hoped that it could be like that again. If she had known what had conspired in Arendelle, maybe she would not have thought that way, but she was naive to the happenings so she still kept hope.

There was a warm mugginess that hung in the air and it stuck to the bare skin of her arms, but she didn't care. Picking up her skirts, she ran faster towards the docks and towards the ship that was now in port. I wonder what he looks like now. Or what he sounds like! The last time I saw him he had been so awkward and gangly looking. She couldn't stop herself from building a mental image of the prince in her mind's eye. There was too much hope, too much anticipation, and she couldn't keep it all contained.

Once she finally got to the ship she had seen, she stopped and watched as man after man got off the boat. She scanned the crowd, looking to see if Hans was any one of the men getting off, but she saw no red heads that looked like they could be the prince.

Finally, a man came down from the boat, a bit of red scruff along his chin and neck. His hair was mussed and his clothes looked dirty and in disarray. Maybe if he had been cleaner, more put together, he'd look like the prince. Also, there on his wrists were a pair of silver handcuffs that shone brightly in the moonlight. The princess tilted her head in confusion. That couldn't be Prince Hans, he couldn't be locked up in chains.

Their eyes met and for a split second, an electric charge went up her spin. She watched him mouth her name, "Alexandra", before his guards turned him away from her and began walking him in the opposite direction. All the girl could do was stand there dumbfounded as they carted off her childhood friend back towards the castle. It was as if time had stopped, and she allowed people to bump into her as she looked off into nothing.

Without much more than a though, she took off in the way the guards had headed, attempting to catch up to them. She picked up her skirts and ran as hard as she could. Air pumped in and out of her lungs, and she couldn't remember the last time she had exerted herself like this. The excitement she had experienced just ten minutes earlier had dissipated and left her feeling empty, yet so much heavier than ever before.

Hans could hear the pounding of light, quick footsteps behind him. The past few days had been absolutely miserable, and now having seen Alexandra made everything that much worse. He felt ashamed, dirty, rotten, and every other disgusting word that he could come up with. It was more than embarrassing for her to see him like that, unwashed and chained up like a criminal.

Finally, the footsteps slowed and he could hear the princess' voice behind him like a bell, "What are you doing with him?" She screamed in outrage, "Why is he locked up like that?"

The guards barely gave her a sideways glance, still carting off Hans towards the castle. He grimaced up at them, but couldn't bring himself to see exactly where the girl was. He had looked at her once, and that was already enough for him. He would lose it if he could see how upset she looked, and he wasn't about to embarrass himself further.

She continued to bark at the guards, "This is an outrage! I demand to know what's going on."

"Calm down, please, m'lady," One of the guards said in a steady voice, "This prince is just being transported to the castle. The handcuffs will come off once we get inside."

Well, that's news to me… Hans thought to himself. He couldn't wait to get back inside his castle, get the chafing devil handcuffs off his aching wrists, and to have a drink of something to help him forget about the agonizing trip home. But, he knew what awaited him, he was no fool. His brothers would surely have their go at him and he knew he was going to hear it from his father. All he could hope for is that that would be all his punishment and nothing else, but he never knew with his family.

"Well, well…" Alexandra sounded like she had more to say, but couldn't find the right words to say it, "Is he in trouble? What happened?"

But the guards would say no more, and Hans was kind of grateful for that. He hadn't seen Alexandra in years, more than he had initially thought. Had it been 5 years? 8 years, maybe? Regardless of their time apart, he still held fond memories of their time together, and those were the only fond memories he had at all. He had already most likely injured himself in her eyes, he wasn't going to ruin it any further.

All four of them entered the castle together and, just as promised, Hans' wrists were freed from the metal that had rubbed against his skin until it was raw. He stretched out his arms and attempted to carefully rub his aching wrists. It wasn't until now that he dared to look over at the princess from the corner of his eye. She was prettier than he had remembered, and much taller, but he supposed that's what time did to a person. She had only been 12, him 16, the last time they had seen each other. Their parents had last been in the talks of setting them up, but Hans never heard about it again. Now she was standing right beside him, and for a moment he wondered why she was even here. He hadn't heard about her coming to visit the Southern Isles, not even before he left for Arendelle.

The guards looked him in the eye and one of them, he assumed his name was Agnarr, commanded that he stay here until he was able to bring forth his father. Hans had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, but agreed that he would stay put. Where was he going to go anyway? The Southern Isles were just that, isles completely surrounded by water, and there was no way he would get away with sneaking onto some random ship and sailing away.

It was quiet now, just the treacherous prince, his childhood playmate, and one of the palace's knuckleheaded guards. He could hear the bustling outside, but it was too far away for him to even care about. He could see Alexandra out of the corner of his eye staring at him, then turning away, staring at him again, then turning away once more. She looked as if she wasn't sure what to make of the whole ordeal and the prince couldn't blame her. He didn't know what to think either.

A pair of big, heavy boots thudded from down the hall, a sure sign that his father would be here in a matter of seconds. Hans stood up a bit straighter, some habits never die, and a hardened expression grew on his face. At last, his formidable father walked into the main hall. How nice of him to wear his crown. The man thought to himself, internally laughing at his father's arrogance and mocking sense of nature. He could see the princess wringing her hands and it made the corner of his lips turn up ever so slightly.

"Well, son." Hans' attention was snapped away from the girl as his father's voice reverberated through the hall, "You're back. I heard Arendelle was brisk. I hope you enjoyed yourself."

All the prince could do was hold onto his expression. He couldn't let his father see the scowl that was threatening to show itself. If his father knew how much his words affected his youngest son, it would all be over. He wouldn't allow the king the satisfaction.

"I'll take your silence as answer enough," His father laughed, and he could hear it echoing even down the hall. "You really pulled a dicey stunt back there, son. I admire your courage, but you lack of tact worries me. Your effort was valiant, though I knew you would always fail. Afterall, you take far too much after your poor, late mother.

"A wonderful woman, she was. Always so kind and charming, but terribly invisible. Her invisibility lead to her weakness, just as your's will lead you down that same path. You try as you might, Hans, but you're playing with fire and there won't be anyone there when you get burned."

Suddenly, his father's attention turned to the girl beside his son, "Princess, I'm sorry you had to witness that pathetic show." Hans knew he was talking about him. "Hopefully the rest of your stay will be more pleasant."

Alexandra just stood there silently, her wide eyes staring at the king in a mixture of reverence, fear, and disgust. The prince wanted to tell his father off and let him know how audacious he was for saying all of those things in front of a woman. He wanted to do something that could show him how little he respected him, but he just stood there like a gutless shark.

The king took one last look at his son and then yelled at the guards, "Take him to his sleeping quarters, and look smart about it. He has a big day ahead of him."