The North Star

A frivolous wish is given under the light of the North Star landing Elsa and Hans in the absence of all that they knew. Will they be able to see their true importance while finding their way home? What else will they find along the way?

Welcome! I hope you enjoy this story. I'm a little fascinated by the potential of exploring Hans and in that, delving into Elsa's character further. I am my own beta and love reviews!

Cover art edited from original image by Maby-chan on Deviantart

The skies were clear and bright with a low-rested moon that allowed the speckling of stars above to shimmer at full brightness. It wasn't much but it was a sight more than most of the other cells.

Hans Westergard of the Southern Isles held them in his gaze with fascination. The shadows of his bars streaked his face in darkness. It had become a small pleasure that his confinement allowed and so, every night, he would go to the small window and breathe in the air. Despite the warmth of summer, in these evening hours he could swear the scent of winter curled in the breeze, hinting at the transition that was fast approaching in the coming weeks.

It had been three weeks prior that he had returned to face down his father and brothers in their kingdom. And his mother, Queen Yvonne. She had been the hardest to withstand...

Three Weeks Ago

"Oh, Hans..."

"Please don't look at me like that, mother."

It was an impossible request and he could not tear his eyes away from the saddened features that were painted across the face of the Queen. The guards had left her alone with him and now they both stood within his prison; she in her silken fineries and he in the linens of a commoner.

There was a drawn pause that neither dared to break for several moments. When it did, it was her soft, pleading tone that asked, "Why?"

Hans swallowed and looked away in embarrassment. Had she not seen? After all of these years?

"I just wanted," his voice caught on the word and he corrected himself. "I needed him to see me. To respect me, as his son." His hand clenched with the refreshment of his anger budding inside. When he looked back at her, he knew that her tears would not be spared. "I wanted to prove to him that we are just as good as his firsts. All of my work, sitting in the shadows of the rest of them, and it has never been good enough. He has never shown you the same regard as Elise. After all that you have done for him, he has never loved you or us as much as them..."

The slap was to be expected but it stung worse than he thought it might.

"Sigurd is your father. You should be proud and honored to have a place under his name and under his roof."

Hans bit his tongue, letting the anger brew as it always did, and regret unwillingly dug in its sharp claws. His back straightened proudly, arms at his sides.

The Queen released a breath of sadness. This time, when her hand touched his cheek it was with the gentle cusp of her palm. Her thumb circled at the corner of his eye in a loving caress that brought him comfort since he was but a child.

"My son. My son..." she spoke gently, willing him to take her words to heart. "You, and Jens, and Henrik...my boys. You have grown into such fine young men. I have given you all that I can in this world, haven't I? I have seen you with women. They fawn over you despite the limitations before you." She smiled and curled a piece of his hair away from his face. "Would that not be enough? To take one of them for your wife? To live the life of a nobility?"

Hans clenched his jaw at her suggestions. "It would never be enough for him and you know that."

Yvonne pulled her hand away from her son's face, "It would not but how is this better? Attempted murder? Treason? Against Arendelle no less. Queen Idun was such a lovely..."

"A lovely guest," he finished for her. "I know, mother. You have spoken of it frequently. The facts are, we barely knew the woman. While you were off having your afternoon socials, we were off learning to be men." He pronounced the ending with bitterness. "Arendelle has been closed off for so long and it is one of the best catches in the past hundred years, perhaps, for an alliance. What I did is no different than what Ulrik has done in the East, only he didn't get caught."

"Ulrik is a brute. And what he did to that poor girl..." the Queen held her hands to her heart. "You are better than that, Hans. You were always meant for more..."

"I was trying for more! It should have been easy! It was all coming together and no one else needed to be hurt!" His voice was gruff with desperation. Surely she could see. She had to see it. His fists clenched tightly.

"But they were, and now your father..."

Hans turned away with a scoff, lifting his head up to the beam of afternoon sunlight that tilted just inside the reach of his window until the warmth brushed across his face. His voice softened, "Now he gets to show just how disappointed he is in me all over again."

"Hans..."

He didn't want to look at her any more. The disappointment was evident in her every word and he could barely stand it. His trial would be announced soon enough and there was little doubt how that would go. He was the thirteenth son and of a second marriage. He would be written off for his failure.

"You should go. I didn't sleep well last night and dinner will be around before I know it."

"Hans," she repeated sadly, reaching out to touch his arm.

He gave a sigh at her touch and his shoulders lowered with resignation. He lifted his own hand to cover hers, patting it with some reassurance before he found the courage to look at her again. He offered what smile he could. He was always good at pretending. "Go, mother. I'll still be here in the morning."

The trial had not been announced that week or in the next or in the next. It didn't matter in the end. Not really. Even the meager helping of books did nothing to distract him from the destruction of his own condemnation.

"It's all my fault," he found himself whispering into the empty space of his cell. "Would I have really...?" Killed her? The question had been repeating itself over and over again. The answer beat at his chest harder than he would have wished. Yes. If it had worked. If he could have seen his father's face on learning that his son had taken control of Arendelle. If it would have brought respect to his mother and his full brothers.

Would that moment have haunted him for the rest of his days? Yes. As much as the events already were. Every night, he saw her there. That moment of vulnerability where she sat on the ice like a delicate icicle. That moment when he had betrayed her sister. The hopelessness and disbelief in Anna's innocent, naive eyes. Every turn, he told her what she wanted to hear and she ate it up like every woman who stepped into their own courts. They were no different.

An echo of an ache lined his jaw as he remembered her solid punch. A hint of a smile crossed his lips and he rubbed the spot. Perhaps...a little different.

He had killed before. In battle. Among men who would have plundered the people and raped the women. He had fought for what was right once. For what was honorable and good. But Elsa...her sobs, her pleading eyes, they haunted his nights. Even worse, the way he had closed off his heart haunted his days. He was no better than the sorry excuse for brothers he had. Now, he would rot in this very cell, left to dwell on the events that led him here. It was a fitting punishment.

Hans rose from his cot and made his way to the small window of his cell. It was a luxury he didn't deserve but was eternally grateful for. Bare fingers wrapped around the cold steel bars as his gaze turned up. It looked beyond the rising towers of the castle until they settled on the patches of open night sky and the lights brushed the shadows from his face.

The same stars that resided in the skies above the Southern Isles reached far and wide. The lights glimmered in whites and golds. With the moon at a distance there was no competition to their beauty. The brightest of these was the North Star. It hung in place, guiding many travelers across land and sea when they found themselves on even the most desolate paths.

It watched over the rolling lands of the Southern Isles and the long stretches of beach where the waters lapped up to the kingdom's docks. Then it continued out across the oceans and danced in the dangerous waves. The starlight touched out in every direction, even finding its way to the Arendelle fjord where the waters were calm and soothing between the great, green-covered cliffs. The shadows of walled towers parted for the soft glow as it climbed over the rooftops and settled among the open pathways and gardens that thrived in the late of summer.

One such garden was enclosed by the safety of the castle gates. Great doors peeked open as a single figure quickly walked out into the night. There was a trail of frost in her wake as the woman's bare feet touched the paved walkway and her fists clenched as she took in ragged deep breaths. Her eyes closed before she pushed herself forward, her nightgown fluttering at her heel. Elsa had forgotten her robe in her hurry but at the late hour there would be none to be mindful of such a small act of impropriety. The trees swayed high above and still she went further until soon she was engulfed in the light of the stars under an open sky.

Her chest was tight and the Queen still struggled to breathe. It had only been a nightmare. One that had left her bed covered in a spray of snow. She hadn't taken the time to clean it before making a rush to the open air where she hoped she could breathe again.

She had dreamed. The world was once again in darkness and ice and instead of the dreamy laughter of children the voices rang for her head.

Elsa couldn't understand it. She was better than she could ever remember, and yet the fear still lingered enough to pull at her in the darkest hours. It still taunted her with the raw power that would just take one moment of weakness. One flicker of a reaction where her control was lost.

That was it though, wasn't it? Control. It was always about control. Even with her understanding of the other side of the spectrum. She had discovered that love could thaw it all. It could fix the icy stranglehold of her misdirected powers. But what of the rest? She could never just...be. As a Queen. As this...Snow Queen. As a woman. There were too many expectations. Too many responsibilities that her sister, Anna, could not fathom even now. The happiness and the livelihood of the Arendelle people remained in her hands and a simple nightmare was already unraveling her.

The past few weeks had felt like a continual pattern: one step forward and two steps back. Her sister was safe and happy; in this budding of a relationship she had with the Iceman. The people were happy and despite the occasional looks and whispers behind her back, they were accepting of her powers. And she was powerful. It always came down to power. Kingdoms had appeared out of the shadows, longing to align themselves with this newly reestablished land. Alliances that, for all of her council, were still left in her hands to provide the final judgments. For good or for bad. And they all expected the best of her.

Elsa, the Snow Queen of Arendelle. Daughter of the late King Adgar and Queen Idun.

Elsa sighed. Her perfectly adapted posture slumped just the slightest in the shoulders and her legs felt weak. The tears came unbidden, longing for a release in the late hour. All these years, she wished she could have asked her parents if they were proud of the woman she had become. Was this what they wanted of her? Was she making the right decisions? Was her life forever to be a swirling storm of political games and faces?

Her heart pounded until she couldn't even hear the leaves that raked the branches nearby. The evening air seemed stifled and she was too warm. Even with her powers, she doubted they could help until the feeling passed. This was the second time in the current week. Several new dignitaries had gathered earlier in the evening and again, she was confronted (in the most polite ways, of course) about the prospects of marriage.

First, it had been fear over her powers. Fear for herself. Fear for Anna. Fear that she was a monster.

Now, it the fear was more personal. She was already Queen. All she wanted was to portray herself with dignity but she had heard the rumors. They had spread like wildfire. Frigid Queen. Cold hands. Be careful of that one, she's been known to freeze hearts. Romantic relationships were the least thing on her mind, but she couldn't help the sharp sting of each remark as they dug a little deeper with each blow. Instead, she lived in the warmth of Anna's glow.

Oh, how her sister thrived in even the simple things of the world. She could take any situation and make the best of it. Truthfully, Elsa envied her. She always had. To live with such freedom that she had only tasted in the briefest interlude up on that mountain.

Elsa turned her gaze towards the towering shadows. It was too dark to make out much beyond the outline of slopes and cliffs. The starlight aided just enough and she suspected it was behind that great darkness that the light of the moon hid. Her breathing had slowed and the ache was becoming a little less with each passing moment.

"Has it all been worth it?" she whispered up towards the skies.

Two figures stood on either side of the seas, both with heavy hearts and desperation in their veins. Their bodies echoed of vulnerability and doubt.

Elsa's words continued as her gaze fixed onto the brilliance of the North Star, "I have been the cause of so much hurt for so long. Am I the leader I should be?"

A surge of anger spread through Hans and he pulled back his hands, slamming the palms into the slab covered wall. A shout of frustration rang out before his voice raised with a curse up at the star, "It's never enough. Not for any of them!"

"Anna deserves better. My parents..." Elsa's words caught with a stifled sob. "They deserved so much more."

As quickly as it had overcome him, the anger began to fade, leaving Hans feeling...defeated. "I failed, as they expected of me. As they have always expected."

Elsa shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. She lifted her chin again, trying to gather herself together. Still, the doubt of the late hour, nightmares still fresh in her mind, drew her words up to the star above, "Sometimes I wish that..."

In his cell, there was the faintest tremble in Hans' voice, "I just wish that..."

Across the miles, their voices echoed under the light of the stars, "...I had never been born."

There was a deep sigh as Hans turned away. His back pressed to the wall. He felt weak with exhaustion, eyes closing and chin dipping to his chest. His hand rubbed the bridge of his nose as he struggled to draw a breath. There was a tightness in his chest but he defiantly held back the strangled sob that threatened to escape.

Elsa continued to watch the skies. Her blue eyes held onto the North Star with fascination even as it blurred under her tears. The light shimmered and wavered. The Queen was thankful for the cool breeze that now tugged at her nightgown before wrapping around her as a blanket. Her tears became thicker with the sting in her throat until the light above appeared brighter than it had. Drawing a hand to wipe away her weakness, she once more lifted her chin to the skies and her gaze narrowed. The Star was not simply brighter...

Hans opened his eyes to find that the light around him was shifting like the flicker of a fire. The soft, white glow continued to waver and his thoughts turned from his sorrows.

"What is...?" His eyes lifted up out of the window until it caught onto the North Star. His brow furrowed and his lips pursed with confusion as the distant light became...larger?

It was not simply brighter, but the Star was larger. Elsa took a half a step back but she could not turn away. It was trembling now and approaching with a strange speed. Even as it drew closer and closer, the light brilliant and illuminating the garden in its white glow, Elsa could not move from its sights.

Hans had no where to go. The Star was falling...not falling, shooting...towards his window with a speed that held him with a fascination that gripped his body in place. He took a half a step back but within moments the light was upon him. His arm came up to shield his face from the brilliance.

The light was warm, spreading across Elsa in a way she couldn't describe as she had never felt such a sensation. Her arms came up to shield her face from the light but it did no good. It was everywhere. With a sharp flash, a cry escaped her lips as she was encased in the light.

Just as soon as the warmth caress of the light had surrounded them both, it was gone; replaced by the sharp sting of cold and a darkness that drew the two figures into unconsciousness.

It has been a long time since I've gotten into a fanfiction project. I know there is plenty for me to work on, but this story has drawn me in and I'm really excited to be back working on something. Hope everyone enjoys the journey I'm about to take you on!