A year passed, and Lukas, Jan, and Stefan did not change their treatment of their youngest brother. True, Hans wasn't seeing much of his older brothers nowadays, but whenever he walked by any of the three, they continued to stare straight ahead, as if no one was there. Hans found he couldn't help trying to draw their attention, even though he knew it was futile. However, he made sure to devote most of his time and energy to Gabriel, the one brother of his who had ever shown him kindness and attention.

However, after a couple of weeks of hanging out with Hans, Gabriel's enthusiasm had seemed to dim. He didn't smile as widely whenever he saw Hans, and didn't go out of his way as much to spend time with his youngest brother. A part of Hans began to suspect that Gabriel was getting tired of him, and didn't actually like him as much has he had thought. But Hans forced that down. Gabriel was his last hope; after being treated like crap for over eight years, he needed someone like this. There was Doctor Harald, too, but he was not Hans's brother; Gabriel was. And if Hans couldn't find salvation in his own family, where could he find it?

So he refused to believe that Gabriel could not continue to be a source of comfort for him, and always kept a smile in reserve for when he saw the eighth prince. He did try giving Gabriel some space, just in case he was overwhelmed or something, but was unable to hold back much of his enthusiasm, and spent time with his brother frequently…

…especially with his relationships with several of his other brothers deteriorating. Valentin (who, as the gossip went, was spending more and more time with the servants and peasants outside the castle) had taken to haughtily glaring at Hans whenever they passed in the hall. "What's that for?" Hans demanded after one such incident.

"For being part of the oppression," said Valentin. "People in our kingdom suffer while we live the life of luxury. They deserve better from us, but we do not give it."

Life of luxury? I wish, thought Hans. "But how am I part of the oppression?"

"You were born," Valentin said simply, and walked off.

For what felt like the thousandth time, Hans fought the urge to throw something after one of his brothers. Valentin was mad at him for being born? How was that at all fair?

Then again, he told himself, he shouldn't come to expect fair from anyone in this castle. Well, except Gabriel and Harald. If they didn't treat him fairly, he didn't know what would happen.

Unfortunately for him, he was going to find out.

Hans was in the mood to go outside and play in the courtyard. It was a nice spring day, and Josef was in bed sick, much to Hans's delight. He had the day free, and went to look for Gabriel; it had been a few days since the two had spent much time together. The castle was big, but Gabriel was easy enough to find, as Hans now knew the spots where he spent most of his time. "Gabriel!" he called when he saw him.

He thought he saw Gabriel flinch slightly, but decided it must have been his imagination, as Gabriel turned and smiled at him. "Good morning, Hans."

"Hey, do you want to go outside? We can play in the courtyard together!"

Gabriel hesitated. "Well…that would be nice, but…unfortunately, I've got some things I need to do."

Hans's excitement dimmed. "Oh."

"And, actually, I'm going to be pretty busy for a while, so I won't have as much time to spend with you."

"You won't?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No; I'm sorry. But, being a prince comes with its downsides, of course."

"When will you be free again?"

Gabriel sighed. "I'm not sure, exactly. It's looking to be…well, it could be as long as a couple of months."

"Months?" Hans made no effort to hide his disappointment.

"Don't worry; I'm sure I'll find some time to spend with you," Gabriel reassured him. "And if you need someone else to play with, why not ask Simon and Klaus?"

Hans made a face. "They never want to play with me. They're always off doing something on their own."

"Oh. Well, maybe you can try to get them to be more willing. And, in any case, I'm sure you'll get by." He gave another reassuring smile, though Hans didn't feel too reassured. "All right, I have to be off. I'll see you around."

"Yeah…"

Hans did make an attempt to play with Simon and Klaus, but they rebuffed him again, and he decided it wouldn't be worth another try. Instead, he spent most of his time on his own, becoming more morose. He almost wished that Aleksander hadn't stopped bullying him, so that he wouldn't have to rely on himself so much for company. Well, there was Josef, but even his caretaker was paying less and less attention to him. He made a few attempts to see Doctor Harald, but the doctor was often busy when Hans came to him, and could, at best, only talk for a couple of minutes.

The only thing that kept Hans from sinking into a depression was the hope that he would get more time to spend with Gabriel after he was done with all his work. Whenever he passed his eighth brother, he would ask him how much he had left to do, and every time, Gabriel would give him a rough estimate. Hans wished he could be more specific, but the estimates did go down over time, so he figured that eventually they would reach zero.

He spent about a month and a half with such thoughts. Then, one day, as he was walking around in the courtyard, he heard voices.

"…think I'll be able to spare some time. But, uh, don't tell Hans."

Hans frowned. That was Gabriel speaking. But why should he not know about whatever he was talking about? Peering around a cluster of trees and bushes, he spotted Gabriel and Erik walking together a few feet away, then quickly ducked back out of sight.

"Why not?"

"I told him a while back that I had a lot of work to take care of."

"Ha, Gabriel lying? I know I haven't seen much of you guys recently, but I didn't think you'd changed that much."

"It was a white lie. And partially true—I do have more work than I used to."

"And yet you found time to spend with me."

"Well, like you said, I haven't seen much of you. You were usually off with Maximilian, weren't you?"

"Yeah. He was…just helping me with some confidence issues."

"Oh. You feeling better now?"

"Uh-huh. Things went well, there."

"Good to hear." Gabriel paused. "Anyway, Hans has been a little annoying."

"Hasn't he always?"

"Not that I saw much of. But about a year ago, I helped him out when he was hurt, and ever since, he's been following me around like a puppy. Don't get me wrong—I mean, he is our brother, and I like him, but…even brothers can get tiresome after a while."

"Ah, well. I'm sure he'll get over it. And if he doesn't, maybe you can take a page out of Lukas's book. Or Jan's or Stefan's, for that matter."

"I'm not going to ignore him like that." He lowered his voice slightly. "Although I can't say I haven't been tempted."

Erik laughed. "Can't blame you. Anyways, enough about that. When did you think you'd be free to…"

They wandered out of Hans's earshot, leaving the thirteenth prince stunned. Gabriel…lied to him? He thought he was annoying? And…and he was tempted to ignore Hans like Lukas, Jan, and Stefan?

Hans felt hollow as he stood up and mechanically went back to his room.

He barely spoke to Gabriel after that, which, to his further distress, seemed to suit the eighth prince just fine. Sure, Gabriel greeted him whenever they saw each other, but didn't pursue anything further. Hans felt like he was drifting in space, his last tether to happiness cut. And the point was driven home even further not long after, when Doctor Harald died of a heart attack. Yet he didn't cry. He could only feel…emptiness.

Now, Hans had nobody.

…nobody, that is, except himself.

Feelings began to stir in him, filling in the void that his family had caused. He didn't need them or anyone else. And he didn't want them. No; every single member of his family had grievously wronged him. Aleksander had bullied him, and after that, had made him feel even more alone than usual. Klaus and Simon had excluded him from their doings, making him feel like just an outcast. Valentin had made it a crime that he had even been born. Gabriel had lied to him to get him off his back. Erik had laughed at his problems. Stefan pretended he didn't exist, and hadn't been so kind to him before then. Adam hadn't lifted a finger when he needed help. Jan hadn't, either, and hadn't even acknowledged that his brother was in trouble. Lukas had indirectly threatened him, without actually speaking to him or recognizing his existence. Fredrik had always spoken callously to him, and had actually physically abused him on certain occasions. Jakob considered Hans unimportant compared to his duties. His mother hadn't done much to him, but that was part of the problem—he saw her least of all his family members. And his father didn't care for him, and sometimes didn't even remember that he existed.

Hatred rose up in the young prince—but not a blazing hatred that demanded to be let out. This was simmering hatred, hatred that he had always kept in himself but had never developed like this before. It had made itself known in bits and pieces, directed at certain individuals…but now, it was in full force, and it was directed at everyone. Everyone was to blame for all that had happened to him—after all, everyone was a part of this world that had cruelly thrusted him into this situation.

Conviction of this idea began to solidify. To get ahead in this world, he would have to look out for himself, and himself alone. And one day, he would leave this place behind and never return.

Hans looked out the window. It was his tenth birthday, but no one had acknowledged it. He doubted anyone even knew about it. But that didn't matter. Not anymore.

On that day, Prince Hans's heart froze over entirely—and it would never thaw out.

-XIII-

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed. This chapter marks the end of the first half of the story, which has been devoted to how Hans came to be so cold and heartless. The second half will follow him as he becomes conniving, and learns to manipulate people for his benefit. I'll see you then!