Fun fact: The original draft for this story was very very dark. In fact the phrase 'grimdark' might well apply as it dealt with the weight of rulership, the inevitable problems of royal/commoner relationships, the anxiety and depression of spending a life-time locked away, Anna's stepford smiler tendencies being a result of her own isolation, and the realistic political fallout of the events of Frozen in Europe of the day.
But about halfway through writing, I decided I would actually drive myself to depression writing such a dark story when what I wanted was to write a high-fantasy adventure. So I chucked everything I wrote, and started over, some of the darker stuff remains, because they are important themes for the characters, but this is a high fantasy story based on a Disney movie, not a dark and gritty political tragedy. There's other, better writers for that.
Cumulo-Dingus: Thank you.
Daddyscowgirl94: I'm not going to be able to include every Disney Princess, but if the idea in my head works, I will include most of them.
Chapter one: Communication is key.
Elsa looked up from her papers as someone knocked on the door, and Kristoff was shown in by her Seneschal. She chewed her lip for a second while she considered just how many people were in a royal entourage, before banishing the thought from her head. Her Seneschal at least had more reason to be here than most, but acting as a major-domo or a door guard was a bit beneath his usual station. Dragging her mind back to the present, she focussed on the man walking across the room. She might not strictly have needed one hundred percent of her attention for this conversation, but she intended to devote that much attention to it nonetheless.
"After all," she thought to herself. "He is Anna's what? boyfriend? paramour? beaux?" The thought threatened to make her smile and she banished that from her mind as well.
"Kristoff, thank you for coming," she said cordially. He seemed wary as he sat down in the chair she indicated.
"Not a problem Queen Elsa, it's a small ship and as fascinating as it is to be on one, I could use the distraction. Besides, I kind of got the impression this wasn't an optional conversation."
Elsa leaned back as his tone registered. It was a good deal less polite than she was used to from, well anyone really. However she knew a fair bit about the Sami in general, and about this particular one from Anna. Fishers, fur trappers and reindeer herders traditionally. Once upon a time the Sami were also the ones deeply involved in the ice-harvesting business for Arendelle, but like so many other things, the royal family's decision to close the gates had affected their livelihood.
Tough, independent and big believers in being able to manage by themselves, Kristoff appeared to be a shining example of his people. She didn't begrudge him his grumpiness as such, but she did want to know what if anything he meant by it, perhaps she might even be able to have a little harmless fun here.
"Have I done anything to upset you Kristoff?" she asked, her own expression and tone growing somewhat sharper. At a guess, she imagined he was expecting the parent talk from Anna's big sister. After all, she was the Queen and all joking aside, she did have what amounted to veto-rights on any relationship of any junior royal. Normally amongst royalty the need for political marriages meant that even someone who wasn't heir to the throne wouldn't have much say in whom they married.
"Not yet, but I've kind of been expecting this conversation." Kristoff looked acutely uncomfortable sitting in the chair, and Elsa was trying hard not to smile.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, isn't this where you tell me that I'm not good enough for Anna. I'm not a prince, I'm not wealthy. I get it okay, I'm not the right person to be dating a princess."
For a moment Elsa said nothing, the bitterness in Kristoff's voice coming as a bit of a surprise, even as she allowed her mind to race. On the face of it, his accusation was absurd as she had in no way objected to their budding entanglement. As she thought more about it, his comments began to make some sense. His whirlwind romance with Anna, fuelled primarily by shared adventure and excitement, and at least two near death experiences.
But those experiences, and the emotional highs they generated would have worn off within a few days, maybe a few weeks tops, and then reality would have set back in. Elsa considered what reality looked like for an ice-harvester suddenly thrust into the day to day business of dating a princess of a small but prosperous nation like Arendelle.
For all of the fact that it only had a single major city, it was a port city and the territory that fell under its banner contained all manner of mineral deposits that were valuable. Arendelle almost didn't have a truly poor class, although there were undoubtedly people who worked harder and earned less than others, most people had a fairly good standard of living.
The royal family, being herself and Anna, would look very daunting from the perspective of an ice-harvester with a single sled to his name, and especially so since the gates had been closed for so long that people had forgotten what the royals had, what they were worth. Compared to even the affluent houses in Arendelle, the palace was an indicator of wealth that couldn't be ignored, and Kristoff had been a regular visitor there for almost two months.
She began to understand his concern. Of course he was wrong, but that didn't mean she couldn't use this as an opportunity to drive the point home. "No, you're not." She finally said, and had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes narrow in anger.
"Excuse me?" he asked, his voice taut with suppressed emotion.
"You're quite right Kristoff," Elsa agreed easily, leaning back in the heavy chair of the captains office. He had granted her the use of it during the voyage, and it really was the best place in the ship to do actual paperwork, especially with the glorious bay windows behind her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she locked gazes with Kristoff. "You are not in any way, shape or form what I would have picked for Anna."
"There's a shock, I should have guessed when Anna said you made up some joke title for me."
That caught Elsa by surprise. She'd expected something more about his economic status. That at least she would have understood given the stigma of romance across economic and social boundaries. Nobility didn't as a rule date commoner. "I'm sorry, what?" she finally asked.
"Arendelle's royal Ice master and deliverer," he recited in a sing-song, followed by a magnificent snort. "I mean that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, and I've heard some pretty dumb things."
"That wasn't a joke Kristoff." Elsa was starting to feel a bit annoyed herself now. The title had been quite real, even if her motives had included giving Kristoff a legitimate reason to frequently visit the palace. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, and thought of Anna. A burst of love went through her, and she could almost feel the chill that had begun to descend on the room lifting.
Even now, after several months of practice, she had imperfect control over her abilities when she was emotionally compromised. Normally she could control things just fine, but when she was angry or upset, things still tended to ice over. Fortunately for her, it only took a brief thought of her sister, who had demonstrated her love in a way that left no doubt, to calm her powers down.
"Sure it wasn't," he responded, when Elsa remained quiet he looked at her for a long moment, then straightened up. "Wait you're not kidding are you?" he asked, surprise evident on his face and in his voice.
"Not in the slightest." If there was no frost in the room, then Elsa's voice was plenty chill enough, and Kristoff suddenly realised that he had come to this meeting with at least one serious misapprehension. Elsa for her part was trying hard not to burst out laughing at the suddenly forlorn expression on his face. If being bad was always this much fun, she might have to reconsider being a good girl.
"Why on Earth would you need an Ice master, you can make it with your bare hands," He exclaimed. "I've seen the Ice palace you raised on North Mountain. If I spend a lifetime learning my craft, I couldn't build anything even remotely like that, and you did it in a night."
She didn't bother to correct him that it hadn't taken even remotely that long. "Yes I can, but think it through. I have no idea whether the Ice I create is safe for human consumption, what's more I have other duties and responsibilities to attend to than just sitting there producing ice all day for commercial use. When I was a child, there were entire teams of ice harvesters that worked on behalf of the royal family. Now that the gates are open again, it's a tradition that's worth revisiting."
"Uhm, I kind of thought… well, It doesn't matter," he trailed off, suddenly unsure of what he was saying. This conversation had obviously not gone the way he had expected, and now he was
"No, by all means, speak your mind. You've dug the hole this deep, you might as well keep digging."
"I thought you might have made the position as a way of giving me a legitimate reason to come into Arendelle," he paused for a moment. "You know, to see Anna."
Elsa couldn't help herself, she did burst out laughing. It was a bright, sharp laughter that echoed of the wooden walls and lasted long enough that Kristoff went from bewilderment back to annoyance, but Elsa got herself under control before he got genuinely upset and waved a hand. "That's exactly why I did it. It wasn't the only reason mind you, but then father always said to never do one thing when you can do two at once."
"Then what did you want to see me about?" the young man asked, now completely lost.
"Please Kristoff. I owe you an apology, as I let my questionable sense of humour get the better of me. I wanted to see you because when we get to Corona, I have something I need you to do, and I wanted to discuss it before we got there. The truth of it regarding you and Anna is, why on earth would I, of all people, know what makes for good boyfriend material?"
Kristoff looked at her, eyes wide and was about to say something when Elsa raised a hand.
"Don't answer that, it was rhetorical anyway." She waved her hand and smiled at Kristoff. "I only have one question for you, and one royal command. Are you a loyal citizen of Arendelle and loyal to the crown, Kristoff?"
"Of course I am," he said, a mildly offended tone in his voice.
"You're not what I would have picked, but you are quite obviously what Anna picked, and that's good enough for me. My command is this," Elsa continued easily. "Make my sister happy. Make it so that every time she looks at you I see her eyes light up, make it so that every time we sit down for a meal, the first twenty minutes are her talking about how amazing all the things you've shown her are. Anna hasn't had enough laughter and goodness in her life. Give her that, and you'll have my unwavering support. "
Kristoff had begun to smile at her statement and for a brief moment the two of them were in perfect accord. "I can do that, Queen Elsa."
"Please Kristoff, in private at least, call me Elsa."
"You are a horrible person," Anna declared not fifteen minutes later as she stomped into the captains day cabin where Elsa was just sitting down for a light brunch. The Queen was in the middle of spreading some paté onto a slice of bread and didn't even look up at her sister while she did so.
"Ah, Anna, I was about to come find you and see if you wanted to share lunch with me. Please, have a seat."
The princess for her part ignored her sister with the same magnificent indifference as Elsa had just shown and scowled down at her. "You really made him worry, and for nothing. I bet he thought you were going to have him thrown overboard or something, or worse, tell him that we couldn't be together."
"Please Anna," Elsa said as she finally looked up, a mild look on her face. "I would never waste a good strong pair of arms by having someone thrown overboard. We can always use more deck-scrubbers."
"Oh I see, you just want to sit there in a nice comfy chair and watch my boyfriend sweat like he's your personal servant, don't you. Should I have him wear a costume?"
The two sisters stared at each other for a long moment before almost in unison starting to laugh. Anna and Elsa laughed in very different ways. Anna was more of a giggler when all was said and done, her bubbly personality leading to short intense bursts of hilarity. Elsa by contrast hadn't had very much reason to laugh during her life, but when she did it was loud and clear.
"Oh Anna," Elsa finally managed to gasp out. "My personal servant and in costume no less? That was inspired."
"How about you," the younger sister responded as she sat down and grabbed a few slices of bread. "is 'deck-scrubber' even a thing or did you just make that up on the spot?"
"Oh no, I've seen people scrub the deck. Don't know if that's their official title though."
A comfortable silence fell between them, and Anna really looked at her sister for the first time since they'd boarded the ship, the dramatically named Thunderchild, in order to sail to Corona to celebrate the third anniversary of the marriage of their cousin Rapunzel.
Things had been better between them since the Coronation, they could hardly have been worse after all. She and Elsa had spent a lot of time talking to each other about their lives, their fears and concerns, and about building bridges with each other. Anna had even taken the lead in talking to Elsa about Kristoff and how to woo him and an entirely inappropriate giggle threatened to erupt from her throat. Elsa had made it quite, almost graphically clear she did not want to talk about that topic.
"We should be arriving in Corona sometime in the morning if the winds hold out." Anna broke the silence after they'd both had some food. It wasn't exactly the fare either of them were used to, but since they were on a ship, neither was inclined to fuss about the lack of varied food. It would hardly be fair for them to eat like, well like royalty when the sailors were eating the basics. She still wondered where Elsa had found Paté though.
"I'm glad you've had a chance to spend time up on deck," Elsa said. "In fact, if I can get just a few more bits and pieces done I'll be up to join you."
"Good," Anna answered, then hesitated for a second. "Elsa, are you okay?"
"Of course I am," she responded with surprise. "Why do you ask?"
"Kristoff…." Anna began, then took a deep breath. "He seemed to think you sounded off when you mentioned not having any real idea what makes a good boyfriend. "
"Off?" Elsa queried.
"His words," she clarified. "I mean of course they're his words because he told me, but those are the exact words he used."
"And he thought to mention this feeling to you?" There was a noticeable chill in Elsa's voice now, although Anna didn't think it was directed at her, or even at Kristoff really. It was more a distaste with life itself, she thought. "I can see his meddling is going to be a constant source of delight."
"Elsa, if you don't want to talk about it, I'll respect that. Especially if it's Royal business," Anna explained, the lack of sureness in her voice unusual to Elsa's ears. If there was one thing Anna had always possessed in spades, it was confidence in her ability to talk. Even with Elsa falling apart around her, and a storm blowing in her face during her visit to the Ice Palace, she had never wavered. It was unnerving.
"But having said that, please don't shut me out unless you really have to. I'll help if I can, or just listen if that's what you need. There is nothing in the world more important to me right now than being there for you."
If there was ever a time in her life Elsa wanted Anna to stop, this would have been the time, but one look at her eyes, guileless, open and worried chased that thought out of her head. She tried to muster some resistance to the implacable force of nature that was Anna's puppy-dog eyes and found herself helpless before their green depths and she sighed.
"It's really not something you can help with," Elsa finally said and Anna scooted forward, giving her sister one hundred percent of her attention. "When I was twelve, or thirteen perhaps, I was having real trouble keeping my powers quiet. Hormones I suppose, but I couldn't conceal it, and father tried to reach out to me. I froze his hand in a flash."
Her mind cast back to that day, her father reaching out to grasp her hand, and then snatching it back when the ice blossomed instantly covering his hand in a thick sheaf of frozen pain. Her father staggering back while her mother cried out and the two of them rushing off for the medic. Herself, left sobbing in her room, cradling her knees and wishing nothing more than to be rid of this curse.
Back in the present Elsa's voice had taken on a certain quality as she explained, toneless and soft as if trying desperately not to feel anything while reciting the events. "His hand took weeks to heal, and I hadn't even realised what had happened until after it was too late. I was so scared that if he'd tried to reach out to me in any other way, a hug for instance, I would have frozen him solid," she raised her eyes to Anna. "Like I did you."
"Oh Elsa," Anna said, her eyes beginning to look a bit moist, but the older girl kept talking. Having started, she now needed to get it out.
"The next time he came to visit, I had to beg him, beg him Anna, to stay away from me," Elsa's eyes were beginning to look a bit watery at this point as well. Her next line was so soft, that had Anna not been listening so hard, she would have missed it. "And he did."
A single tear rolled down Elsa's cheek. "And that was the last time I willingly touched another person until you unfroze on the Fjord." Elsa got up and walked to the windows facing the rear of the ship, staring out at the sea as if looking for something calming. It didn't take more than a moment for Anna to get up, come round the table and wrap her arms around her sister.
"And the truly damning is," Elsa whispered. "That even now actual contact from anyone else makes me physically flinch if I'm not prepared for it. I can't stand to have people other than you touch me for the simple reason that in a place of deep seated reactions I'm still terrified I'm going to hurt someone." She turned around, seizing Anna's wrists in a gentle grip.
"How could I ever meet someone, let alone do the other things required of me," Anna noticed the almost luminescent blush that came to Elsa's face when she said that, but chose to ignore it. Plenty of time later to embarrass her sister. "When I can't even shake hands with a stranger?"
Anna reached out a hand and lightly brushed some hair out of Elsa's face. "I honestly don't know how we're going to fix it."
"I understand," Elsa responded. "It's-"
She didn't get any further because Anna put a finger on her lips, silencing her. "I don't know how we're going to fix it," she repeated. "But I promise you I'll think about it, because a problem this big can't be solved in three seconds. I'll think about it, and so will you, and we'll figure it out together. Just because I don't have a totally amazing insight right this second, doesn't mean there isn't an answer. It just means we need to get creative."
Elsa gave her a slightly watery smile and wiped her face dry. "Thank you Anna. Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the older sister."
Anna waved it off. "Oh you, definitely," she smirked. "I mean, you've been in this old cabin so long, I think you're starting to look older."
"Anna!"
"No seriously. I think the oldness in the wood is seeping into you. Your hair is looking white rather than just blonde, and all the hunching," Anna said while eying Elsa with a critical eye. Walking over she patter her sister on the shoulder in as patronising a manner as she could.
"Do you need me to get you a walking stick, or a rocker? Oh, I know, we can get them to add wrinkles to your official portrait back home," Anna exclaimed brightly and Elsa burst out laughing despite herself.
"There you go," Anna said. "Everything is better with a bit more laughter. Come on up to the deck, enjoy the rest of the trip."
Elsa smiled and nodded at her sisters urging, only giving the paperwork on her desk one last glance before following her up onto the deck.
"The Library again?" Eugene asked with a smile as Rapunzel dragged him through the corridors of the castle at a run. "I mean, it's not as if we can't find better things to do than read right?" He gave her a look that once upon a time had confused her enough to drop him on his face. Of course in the intervening three years they had lived and loved and got married, and Rapunzel knew all about the infamous smoulder of Flynn Rider.
"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed with a gurgle of laughter. "Nothing naughty until tonight. Besides I have a surprise planned for you every night until our anniversary." She slid to a stop in front of the library door and pulled him close for a long and decidedly naughty kiss. "You're going to like this one."
Eugene was about to respond, probably with an inarticulate sound of awesomeness, when she threw open the library door and marched in. "But first research. Elsa and Anna will be here in a few days and I want to show them all the great things about Corona, but first I have to know all the great things about Corona. I mean I know about the tower and the festival and the Snuggly Duckling and the dam and-"
This time it was Eugene bringing her to a stop with a kiss. He did love Rapunzel, but she had a tendency to let her mouth run away with her. She'd had that for as long as he'd known her. "Okay love, so we'll find ten amazing things for them to see and do, but you know they'll be just as happy to spend the time at the castle with us right?"
Their visit to Arendelle for Elsa's coronation had been the first time Rapunzel had seen her cousins, in forever. She had been kidnapped by Gothel before Elsa had been born, and in the aftermath of her return there had been so many other things that needed attention, that family in distant Arendelle just hadn't been a priority.
Then of course her aunt and uncle had died on the voyage to Corona for their wedding, and both kingdoms had gone into mourning. It didn't seem possible but three years had passed very quickly and they'd received an invite to Elsa's coronation, and she had convinced her parents to let Eugene and herself go to represent Corona and to reconnect with her cousin.
It hadn't gone well. Not at first in any case. Once the whole issue with Elsa and her powers had been sorted out, the rest of the trip had been fine. Rapunzel had always intended to sit down and compare notes with Elsa, but had never quite found the time. She almost smiled at the thought, bad things always seemed to happen when Corona and Arendelle interacted directly. Not this time though, she thought to herself. This time, things were going to be just fine.
For all the catching up they'd managed to get done, they'd only hit the real highlights, the kidnapping and rescue of Rapunzel, the flight of Elsa and her recovery afterwards. They'd only planned to be there for a week and most of that was spent running around Arendelle, helping where they could and staying out of the way when necessary. They had only barely seen Elsa and Anna afterwards, due to the demands of Royal Duty, and the fact that Anna had almost immediately disappeared again. When asked Elsa had just muttered something about trolls and adoption and changed the topic.
This time would be different, not least because they were coming to Corona for almost a full month. Elsa and Anna would visit, fun would be had and they would visit all the really neat spots in and around Corona so that her cousins would have an amazing trip. Nothing would go wrong this time.
Had Eugene been aware of her thoughts, he might have cautioned Rapunzel against unbridled optimism. It might not have helped, but he probably would have at least warned her to knock on wood or something. Unlike his beloved wife, he knew the power of tempting fate the way only a scoundrel could. The crime that was 'perfect', the score that was 'too easy' and his personal favourite, 'Relax, what could possibly go wrong?' Those were phrases to chill the heart of any decent thief and con-artist. No doubt he would have explained it in great detail to the brunette at his side, had he been aware of her thoughts.
Instead he just gave his wife a hearty sigh, and reached for a book containing a map of Corona, while Rapunzel went for a book on historical sites and locations in and around the country, and together they went to work.
Hans paced. Nine steps forward, pivot and turn, nine steps back, pivot and turn and repeat. It wasn't as if he had anything else to do at the moment, or for that matter at any time since his humiliation. He had been stuck in this room for months now, and sure the servants were always willing to provide him with new books from the library, but he still had altogether too much time to pace. He knew the dimensions of this room like the back of his hand. He knew how many tiles there were on the floor, and how many swirls there were in the paint on the ceiling. He could even have told you how many spiders were lurking In the corners and where every scratch was on the furniture.
For a man used to going where he wanted, it was maddening and there had been days he feared for his sanity, but as the guards kept reminding him whenever the servants came by, he was not allowed out. The letter that had accompanied him back to his brothers, especially the one addressed to King Kurt Osterman, his eldest brother and monarch had been scathing.
It went into detail about his attempt to commit regicide on the Queen of Arendelle, how he had manipulated the Queen's younger sister in order to arrange her death as well, and in retrospect the big mistake he had made, was that if he had just smothered Anna instead of allowing her to die naturally, or as naturally as someone inflicted with a magical freezing curse could, then he might just have won.
Instead Anna had survived, and managed to bring Elsa back to her senses and seal his fate with her testimony. Unfortunately with her entire regency council and even the Duke of Wessleton backing her up, or at least being willing to confirm he lied about her death and the marriage vows, he had been left in a completely untenable position.
King Osterman of the Southern Isles had ordered his own brother imprisoned awaiting trial for his actions, and if by some miracle Hans survived the trial, the young prince had no doubt he would wither away in a cell much less comfortable than the small, but lavishly appointed private quarters he was currently in.
He stopped pacing, and he felt the dangerous pull of his fury bubbling just under the surface. All his life he'd lived with the anger that came with the way he was treated. His older brothers had treated him like dirt, his parents like he was an afterthought and it enraged him. Was he not a Prince of the Southern Isles? Did that not command respect?
No, even as a Prince he was disrespected because his many brothers were already public figures long before he became old enough to make his mark. He was a Prince, but one that literally had no place in either the succession, or in public life and that had angered him. He was smart enough to not show that anger to anyone though, and to realise that even if his brothers died from twelve completely unrelated accidents that could in no way be traced back to Hans, then he would inherit a throne under a dark cloud, for no one would believe he was innocent.
So he had left, on what was publicly billed as a 'good will tour' of the islands and port nations around the area, and he had gone looking for an eligible princess. He'd hoped to find one in Corona, but had been disappointed. The recently returned princess had come with her very own commoner fiancé by the time he arrived, and he had swiftly moved on once he discovered that the fiancé had been instrumental in her return. In a sense he admired Eugene Fitzherbert, because a rescue romance was a classic way to woo a princess.
Still, he was pragmatic, and rather than arrange an accident for Eugene, then having to deal with a Princess in mourning and then having to win her over, he had Instead followed a trail of rumours and breadcrumbs to Arendelle, where a new Queen was to be crowned, and it galled him that he had come so close before it all fell apart. He still had no idea how Anna had escaped the castle, but her 'act of true love' had spelled the end of his ambitions, and he had been far too publicly involved in the situation to be able to slink back into the shadows and find another throne elsewhere.
"Would you like to try again?" a soft, yet commanding female voice whispered in his ear, and Hans whirled around in shock, looking for the source of the voice.
"Where are you?" he demanded of the empty room and was rewarded with a dark chuckle even as the light in the room began to fade. For a moment he thought he was seeing things, but the room was definitely growing darker, and all around him an oppressive presence was making itself felt. He could still see the torches that lit the room blazing away, but they seemed hazy and indistinct in this gathering mid-day gloom.
"Tell me Hans of the Southern Isles, if I offered you everything your dark heart desires, would you serve me?" the seductive voice murmured. "I can offer you power. I can offer you prestige. I can offer you vengeance against Anna of Arendelle. " The voice twisted, turning harsh with that sentiment and despite concern over what was happening, Hans liked the image that came forcibly to mind.
The princess, at his feet, begging for her life or that of her sister. Anna, eyes wide having to acknowledge that Hans was the victor, and she the vanquished. The Princess and Queen in chains, as he sat on the throne and ordered their deaths. Himself waving out over the palace of Arendelle at a grateful and loving populace who acknowledge him for the wise and respected ruler that he was.
He shook his head as the images passed from his mind. Sure he was a pragmatic man, who would do whatever was necessary to achieve his goals, but this was taking a whole new step. Whatever this thing was that was offering him power wouldn't be doing it solely for Hans' benefit. Of course, he could accept the power, and later seek to rid himself of the unknown benefactor.
"And how do I know I can trust you?" Hans queried. He felt vaguely stupid talking to thin air, and if the guards outside heard him then they might raise some unfortunate questions. Still, he was willing to put up with feeling stupid if it got him what he want. After all, had he not pretended to be quirky and mildly insane in order to get close to Anna? If he could put up with running around Arendelle while singing out loud and pretending to care, he could look a little stupid in what amounted to a cell in castle Osterman.
"You don't of course," the voice responded. "But you're not in a position to bargain hard either. I offer my help, my power and I assure you that my goals and yours are not in competition." Hans had no way of knowing if that was true, and he saw the loophole in the wording almost immediately.
It was still a better offer than any other he had, and he briefly considered his options if he turned down the offer of power. He would be tried, that was certain. His brothers would want to protest their own innocence as vehemently as they could, and what better way than to put the real culprit on trial. He had few allies in the Kingdom and none that could be counted upon to break him out of prison now, when he was merely accused, let alone if he was convicted.
Perhaps as importantly, he doubted his brother the King would try him in absentia. For other crimes, perhaps, but not for an attack against a fellow ruler and head of state. It was too important to establish his innocence as a monarch, that he in no way had planned, knew of or condoned an attack against a neighbouring Queen because failure to convince people so could easily lead to war. So if he did escape, then he would only have to succeed in claiming Arendelle, or some other nation, and he would likely find the charges against him dropped here in the Southern Isles.
For who would accuse a man who claimed a kingdom by right of conquest of regicide? And even if someone did, how could they possibly hope to have it enforced against a kingdom. Certainly he would have to tread carefully around his new subjects, but propaganda wouldn't be hard to come by. Stories of the Snow Queen of Arendelle were already being told according to what little gossip he had heard while incarcerated.
"Yes," Hans found himself murmuring. It was a risk, a huge risk to take the help of an unknown spirit with motivations that probably had nothing to do with his own. However, to win the game you had to first be in the game. Hans could achieve exactly nothing while locked in this room and at least if he was out he could influence events, maybe even turn the tables on his mysterious benefactor. "I do want that, and I'll serve you, contingent on you holding up your end of the bargain."
"Good," the voice sounded. "Because I have need of a mortal ally to retrieve a staff for me. In exchange, I will give you the power to escape your confinement here, and gain your revenge."
A needle appeared in the darkness in front of him, and despite his phenomenal self-control he flinched. Hans did not like magic, even less so since Arendelle.
"All I need is a drop of blood in order to ride along in your body, and the world will tremble at our feet."
Hans looked at the needle, and slowly took off the glove of his left hand. Blood magic was another step into darkness. Even compared to Elsa and her ice magic, this was dangerous. Still, what choice did he have. "And your name? I'll have that at least before I make any bargains."
"Maleficent," the voice hissed, and Hans instinctively heard the evil in the name.
"Very well Maleficent. As long as you give me my revenge, I'll help you find your staff," and he reached towards the needle and brought his thumb down on it.
TBC…
