"Queen Elsa!"
"Hans! Where's Anna? What do you want with me?"
"Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help."
Elsa scoffed, "You can't help. No one can. Go away."
The auburn haired man took half a step closer. "I can. I know how you can bring back summer, how you can change all this and make it right. Isn't that what you want?"
She cringed. Of course she wanted everything to be right, but he wasn't the one to make it happen.
"For the last time, Hans, go away. I don't want to hurt you."
He took another step forward. "I know you won't hurt me. You care for your sister and she loves me, so you couldn't even if you wanted to." He reached out his hand, "You don't have to be here like this."
"Yes, Hans, I do. Now leave before I make you leave." Elsa held out her hands, ready to strike the prince at a moment's notice.
He reached out, touching the queen on the shoulder.
"Els-"
"No!" She brushed him off and fired a warning shot past his ribs. "Get out! You're not helping! Go back to Anna, to Arendelle! I don't need you here!"
He took the warning and retreated a few feet. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and silky.
"Elsa, Anna is suffering without you. She wants you back in Arendelle. Everyone does. I do."
"What do you mean you do?" She crossed her arms across her chest, keeping a wary eye on the man across from her. "I asked you once, what do you want from me?"
"I want to be with you. Together. As the king and queen of Arendelle. Just think, we could return to your sister, stop this winter, and set everything right."
"What? You said you loved her. What sick stunt are you trying to pull?" Elsa readied herself again, but this time she wasn't going to give him a warning.
"Don't you get it? Arendelle will rejoice if they see you back, and if I accompany you, I will be hailed a hero, and crowned your king. Everybody wins."
"No one wins when the kingdom is solid ice. What makes you think that your plan will unfreeze Arendelle?"
"Because," he said with a smirk, "you would do anything for your sister. Wouldn't you?"
Elsa faltered. She wanted Anna to be happy and safe, and if it meant unfreezing Arendelle at the hands of this diplomat, maybe it would work.
"I still don't trust you."
"I'm not asking you to trust me, I'm asking you to stop this storm so everyone can get what they want." He walked over and placed a hand on her cheek. "It's easy. Think of Anna."
She cringed at his touch, the thought of her and Hans together made her sick but it just might stop this winter. But what about Anna?
"What about Anna? She loves you, she would be crushed to see us together. She would hate me. She would probably leave Arendelle. How is that a good outcome?" She tried to back away from his touch, but he kept his closeness.
"It's no use running, you've got nowhere to go." He took her hand in his free one and stared into her wide eyes. "You have two options: come back to the kingdom with me and risk hurting your sister, or kill me and seal the deal. What do you think Anna would say if she found out that her own sister slayed the man she loved?"
"I'm not going to kill you if I don't have to!" She struggled against his grip, unwilling to make a solid blow.
"You don't have many other options. I either leave here with you, or I don't leave at all."
"You're sick, I don't know what Anna sees in you."
"Never underestimate the power of a good physique and a friendly outlook." He smirked, tightening his hold. "So my queen, what will it be?"
"Let. Me. Go!"
"Make your choice, Elsa. I won't wait forever."
She glared at him, her stare as icy as the walls around her.
"You won't take Arendelle this way. " And with a swift movement, she forced him off of her, sending him across the room in a shower of snow.
"You don't get it, do you?" He said, getting to his feet. "You've doomed your sister no matter what. If you stay here, Arendelle freezes, if you go back alone, there's a chance you will hurt her personally. The only way to make this stop is with me!"
Elsa circled him, wary and ready. "I refuse to let you take advantage of me, or Anna. You're heading down this mountain alone if I have to personally send you down it myself."
Hans laughed. "Send me down the mountain? You can't even keep me at bay when you have the power to fight off ten men at once. You're weak and you know it. I've threatened you, and all you've done is attempted to hurt me. You're afraid of hurting Anna? You already have, and that's what bothers you the most. You know that she's alone and scared and you won't do anything about it. You'd rather sit up here and pretend that everything's fine when it's anything but. I can make it better, Elsa. All you have to do is make me your king."
"Y-you can't! No one can! Just leave me alone!" Elsa started to panic. She wasn't going to make this arrogant jerk her king, but she needed Anna to be safe. "You will never occupy Arendelle's throne while I'm around." She felt her magic glistening at her fingertips, every muscle in her body quivering. She was going to protect Arendelle and Anna with everything she had.
"I've made my choice, Hans, make your move."