Anna ran through the school doors and into the hallway, her adrenaline fueled by surging aggravation. He better not have…he sure better not have. She burst through the doorway to her classroom to find everybody crowded around Hans.

"It's so nice, how much was it Hans?"

"Oh, the Mayor's daughter gave it to me as a gift. I think she likes me or something."

"That girl from last week? Dang!"

Hans looked up and noticed a heavily breathing and fuming Anna at the door. "Anna, you're a little late, the bell's just about to ring." Hans smirked smartly.

Anna stomped her way over to Hans's desk. "Hans, I need to talk to you. Now. Outside." Anna glared.

Still slightly smiling, Hans coolly got up from his chair and followed Anna outside to the front of the school building.

Outside, Hans watched Anna angrily pace back in front of him. He crossed his arms and looked at her distastefully with a sneer. What the heck did she have to be upset about? She's been living in a mansion her whole life, she's had a father that is far too nice and spoiling, and she has a heck lot of social points for being close friends with the hot Mayor's daughter. What did she do to deserve all that?

Anna stopped in front of Hans, and took a deep breath. "You should've asked me first, or at least told me in advance." She looked down at Hans's wrist and felt violated at the sight of her new precious watch. "I was almost late looking for that watch." He could tell her voice was thick with irritation, demanding an explanation.

Hans pulled his wrist up and looked at the watch. "You know, you're kind of a hypocrite aren't you. Weren't you the one that said we could share things, since we're siblings now?" He peered at Anna, who was taken back at the accusation.

"N…No. Of course we can share things. It's just that I just got that watch, and it means a lot to me. I got it from Elsa. She's m-"

"So you're saying I can't wear your new things, but I can wear your old used ones? Is that how it is? Well Anna, I didn't know that. You should've told me from the beginning that I can only wear your old hand-me-downs . Then I would've understood."

Anna was stunned. "Hans…y-you know that's not what I meant. It's just that you should've-" At that moment a burly figure passed right between them. It was Kristoff, who had just now arrived at school from taking the bus. A surge of hope arose in Anna. Maybe Kristoff will talk some sense into this brat. But to her dismay he walked passed both of them.

"I don't want any part of this," he said indifferently and continued to walk into the school.

"Here," Hans took the watch off and shoved it into Anna's hands. "It's okay I get it. I'm not from a rich household, so we're not supposed to wear nice expensive things like this anyways right? I just thought I could wear a nice watch for once, that's all." He gave Anna an unpleasant look and started walking towards the school doors.

"Hans! Are you being serious right now?! You know that's not what I meant!" Anna stood in disbelief as she watched Hans stride into the school building.

The three siblings were sitting on the sofa in the living room couch. The vast couch extended and took a perpendicular turn, where Sylvia and Ruben now sat studying the three pieces of paper they had in their hands. They had just received in the mail the big mid-annual test that measured the students' intellectual abilities.

"Kristoff dear, as usual I am very disappointed in you. Next time I expect you to do better, alright?" Sylvia tried voicing her kindest tone. When she was sure Ruben wasn't looking, she quickly shot a menacing glare at Kristoff, who rolled his eyes.

She looked over at Ruben, who was still looking at the first paper. "Don't worry, his scores aren't too bad, he'll do better at the end of the year, am I right bud?" Kristoff did not reply.

They turned to the next sheet. Sylvia gasped and Ruben shot a proud smile at Hans. "Hans, Congratulations! Second out of all your class! That's wonderful!" Ruben reached out to shake Hans's hand, which Hans eagerly obliged.

"This is wonderful. Hans has always been a good student. Great job dear." Sylvia gave an approving nod to Hans. He was beaming. Sylvia saw him look over at Anna, who was looking at the floor. Finally maybe Hans will prove to be worth something, to prove that our family isn't just some low class trash.

They then looked at the last sheet of paper, which were Anna's test scores. Suddenly, Ruben got up from his seat and clapped his hands together with vitality. "Haha! Anna! Look at you! First rank! Sweetie, this is wonderful! I'm so proud honey!" He went over to an embarrassed looking Anna who was still looking at the floor. He gave her a big hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Heh, thanks dad." She rubbed the back of her neck and continued looking at the floor.

What?! Sylvia couldn't believe this. "Oh my…Anna darling that is amazing. You're quite the student, aren't you?" It was difficult to act pleasantly when combating strong, churning emotions of irritation and frustration. Sylvia had to unclench her teeth before she spoke again.

"Your father must be so proud." She shot Hans a threatening look. Frightened, Hans slowly sunk back into the sofa.

"We should all celebrate," Ruben declared, taking a seat next to Anna. Let's go out to dinner this Friday to celebrate. How about some French cuisine and then some wine tasting? We have a new and rare shipment from the east. You kids aren't of age yet, but I won't tell anybody." He winked down at Anna, who was now looking up at her father.

"Oh umm…I actually had plans this Friday. I can go to dinner but afterwards Elsa and I were going to hang out."

Sylvia had heard of Anna's friend, this Elsa. Her father had been the Mayor of Arendelle but he died in a car accident. Her mother took over as Mayor and Elsa would be the next heir. She was Anna's only friend. Pathetic.

"Mmm alright then. You know I always love having Elsa around. Why don't the both of you come over for a bit on Friday?" Ruben looked down at his daughter. "She's going abroad to study soon, isn't she? You'd better savor these last few days with her."

Anna gave a sad, yet hopeful look back to her father. "Yea, I hope we make the best of these next few weeks. I'll miss her so much."

Ruben looked up at the rest of the family. "Alright, let's wash up and get ready for dinner. Anna, can I have a word with you?"

The rest of the family made their way to their rooms while Anna and Ruben remained sitting on the sofa. When they were alone, Ruben took Anna's hands into his own. "Anna, I am so proud of you. What have I done to deserve such a great daughter?"

Anna gave him a weak smile. "It's nothing. It's you that makes me proud. You were in such a dark place before, and…and now you seem happy. You're happy, right father?" A painful ball started to form in Anna's throat. She wanted to tell her father so badly about her unfriendly brothers. Sylvia was distant too and never really tried connecting with Anna. With Ruben now spending most of his time with Sylvia, Anna never felt more alone in this house, even though the people in it had more than doubled.

Ruben looked down with a thankful smile. "Sweetheart. I know I was in a bad place before, but I've never been happier. I still love your mother dearly, but I also love Sylvia. She is good to me. And this family seems so perfect. I couldn't be better."

Anna looked down at her lap, the ball in her throat aching. She knew she couldn't tell her father about anything now. He was happy, and that's all she wanted for him.

"I'm happy too father."

Hans searched the contents of the refrigerator to find something that would hit the spot. Something that would make him forget about his embarrassing moment earlier in front of the whole family. Second place…again. Anna beat me.

He discovered a loaf of pound cake in the freezer. Weren't the rich supposed to have good stuff? He took it out and started to slice off a piece. A stony voice from the living room made him stop in his tracks.

"Stress eating again, are we?"

Hans nervously looked up as his mother made her way towards the kitchen.

"Makes sense, you should be stressed. In fact, you should be ashamed."

Hans avoided her eye contact. He quickly finished cutting the slice and turned his back to his mother, pretending to look for a plate.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what are we going to do with you, Hans? Is it just in your nature to never be enough? What have I told you?" He felt a pair of cold hands grip him by the shoulders and with surprising force, turned him around.

"You had one, simple job. All you had to do was score above one person. One person! And of all the people in the class, Anna beat you. What do you think people are going to say about my sons compared to Anna?! Do you like embarrassing me, is that it?!"

He felt his eyes tearing up, and fell to his knees. "Mother please! It's a new school. I was probably stressed out from the change. I'm sure I'll do well for the final test, I'll get rank first, I swear!" He looked up at his mother who was staring ahead with furious eyes, absorbed in thought.

"Mother…please." The last time she looked this upset Hans had walked away with a big welt on his head.

Sylvia now looked down at her son with pity. "By the way things are looking Hans, you yourself won't be enough." She kneeled down next to her son and took his face into her hands. "I can't have a second-rate son. I will not stand for it. This household is not for average second-rate people." She paused, and although she was looking straight into Hans's wet eyes she seemed to be thinking about something else.

After a moment of thought and silence, Sylvia said one word.

"Elsa."

Hans frantically searched his mother's face to understand what she meant. Sylvia took a deep breath in and redirected her focus towards educating her son. "You will marry Elsa. I've been thinking about her. She's going to be the next mayor and you will become the mayor's husband. You will be royalty and nothing else. She is your only hope to become respected, a person of status."

Hans eyes were panicked. His mother's intensity was frightening.

"If you don't want to end up like your father or your brother, you will listen to me. This is the only way now, seeing you are incapable of doing anything on your own. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes mother."

Sylvia stood up. Her tone was more relaxed now, but still eerie as ever.

"Good. Don't let me down again. This is your last chance." With one last threatening look, she turned and left Hans on the floor.

Hans was trembling.

This is my last chance. I have no other options left. I'm going to be Elsa's husband, if it's the last thing I do.

His legs still a bit unsteady, he got up and looked at his lone slice of pound cake. Feeling numb, he took the knife and cut four more slices. He wrapped them up in a paper napkin, took them upstairs, and consumed them one by one in silence.