Elsa shuffled her feet, embarrassed that she had been caught eavesdropping. Truth be told, she had no idea why she had been listening at the door in the first place. Exactly what did she want to hear? Her would-be assassin was occupying far too great a space in the queen's mind for her liking. Perhaps all she was searching for were answers; she was so damned confused nowadays, more about herself than about Hans. Now that she had heard him, however, her mind was more frenzied than ever. She said nothing. After all, what was there to say?

"Perhaps you'd like some tea and company?" Elias said, his smile still wide.

Elsa wondered why he seemed so elated. It wasn't as if Hans had had some major breakthrough; he'd outright admitted that he wasn't sorry for what he'd done, and even he was, it wouldn't change that the fact that he'd done it. Moreover, why was Elias so invested in this cruel and violent man in the first place? Granted, Elsa could relate to some degree. She'd saved his life against her better judgment, but Elias clearly genuinely cared for Hans somehow. He never spoke to or of him like a criminal; his concern for Hans was almost like a parent's concern for a child.

"Sure," she responded. At the very least, it might be of some comfort to talk to someone who was possibly even more insane than she was. "Where would you like to go?"

"It just so happens that a pot has been brought to my chambers. Unless you object to the informal setting?"

"No, no. I'm tired of formal settings," Elsa said with a laugh.

The past several months had brought about alarming change for the Queen of Arendelle. She'd gone from being utterly alone in her own room to grand balls and advisors' and foreign leaders' councils and appearances before her entire kingdom…it was all incredibly overwhelming, and though she'd never admit it, she was sometimes more comfortable behind a closed bedroom door. Her position as a monarch required a high degree of formality, but by nature, Elsa was not a particularly formal person. She preferred lazy Sundays, letting her hair down and friendly company.

Once they had reached the old man's bedroom, he pulled out a chair for her at the small table in a corner of the room and began pouring the tea.

"I've been reading about the reaction to Hans' arrival here," he began, and Elsa winced; this wasn't exactly a favorite topic of hers. "It was a dreadful idea. The papers are just so closed-minded these days."

"Everyone else would say that you and I are too open-minded," Elsa said with a sad smile, and Elias laughed.

"Yes, but they'll come around."

"I wish it were that simple. It isn't just Arendelle that's not happy with me either; it's essentially the entire world, and I can only imagine what King Claes thinks of all this. The papers aren't exactly leaving him alone either."

Elias was secretly glad that this was the case. Even if it was for the wrong reasons, Claes was finally being criticized for his harsh and foolish leadership. Journalists mocked him for putting his country in such bad shape that he had no choice but to give in to Queen Elsa's "insane" request.

"I wouldn't worry about King Claes if I were you. He's another story entirely, your majesty."

"Elsa. You can call me Elsa."

Elias was a bit touched by this offer. Though it was seemingly insignificant, not a soul had suggested he call them by their first name since Noak. He was taking quite a liking to this queen.

"I'd be honored, Elsa."

They sat in silent contemplation for a few moments before Elias finally addressed the elephant in the room.

"So, what do you think of what you heard?"

"I have no idea," Elsa replied with frustration, and no statement could have been truer. "I don't even know what I should be thinking."

"Well, if anyone knew what we should be thinking, we'd all have everything figured out, Elsa. I can't give you an answer because I don't have one. You can only follow your best instincts. What does your intuition tell you?"

"That he's different than he was somehow…but then I turn around and think about that, and I start to believe I'm as crazy as everyone else thinks I am. People like that don't change. You don't stop being a bad person."

"I don't know if I believe that," Elias said with a faint smile. "I agree with your intuition. Either he's changing or he was never a truly bad person to begin with.

Elsa remained silent. How could that be? How could a good person even wish to do the things he'd done? Then again, if she really thought he was nothing but evil, why would she have been compelled to save him from his well-deserved fate? She shook her head as if to shake away all of her impossible questions, but when she spoke, it was with yet another one.

"Elias, can a good man be driven to murder?"

Elias was transported in that moment to a time just prior to his service under Noak. Noak's father, King Teodor, had been a generally unremarkable ruler, doing exactly what was expected of him without any particular compassionate or brutal leanings. He was confident, though, which gave the people confidence as well. He never questioned his own decisions, firmly believing that everything could be done by the book so to speak; every dilemma was entirely black and white…so when Teodor seemed troubled on the night after Rebecka's trial, all of the palace inhabitants knew that something was deeply wrong.

Noak was a young man in his early twenties at the time, and because of his father's relative ill health, he was generally kept in the know in regard to important royal business, just in case he should need to step in for Teodor (he would, in fact, take the throne just one year later), and he was one of the few that knew what it was that plagued the king. The future monarch sat by Elias' side as the head advisor wept uncontrollably in a way that he never had before and would never do again. These two had had an unorthodox friendship years before Noak was king.

"He's not going to kill her, Elias," Noak said, a comforting hand on Elias' back. "He might not show it very well, but he's fond of you…he would never do that to you!"

"Elias, I've done something terrible…" Tears were streaming down her face; his heart always broke when he saw her cry.

"She murdered her own father, Noak!" Elias choked out. "The law says she should be put to death. You tell me, when has Teodor ever gone against the law? He won't let me in to talk to him. I don't know what to do!"

"I'm going to die for what I've done. I don't regret it, Elias, but I'm sorry for what it's going to do to you. You have to believe I'm sorry for hurting you." His head reeled. This couldn't be happening. They were mere months away from their wedding day…his sweet, gentle Rebecka…

"He knows how important she is to you, Elias. I know he will make an exception."

"Why should he? She's guilty; she told me so herself! She's not who I thought she was…how could that be?"

She took his shaking hands and stared straight into his disbelieving eyes. "Please…please know that I love you, Elias. If there were any other way, I would never leave you. I am so, so sorry." He felt like he would die, right then and there. She'd killed more than one person. She'd killed the man standing before her that she claimed to love. He'd never known this kind of pain, this kind of loss. He fell to his knees as she walked away to submit her confession. That was the last time he would ever see his beloved Rebecka. Devastated, he realized that, in his shock and dismay, he'd forgotten to tell her that he loved her, too.

"You know her, and you love her," Noak insisted. "There has to be more to this story. You are so good, Elias. If you love her, she can't be a bad person."

"Elias?" Elsa's voice snapped him back to the present. He looked up to see the concern in her eyes. 'Can a good person be driven to murder?' she'd asked.

"That's the question, now isn't it?" he finally responded.

He could bear no more that day. Bidding her a good night, he left the room for a solitary walk about the palace, hoping more than ever that he could help to unlock some hidden good in the condemned Prince Hans.

A/N: Hi all!

I hope the avid Hans fans reading this aren't too disappointed with the lack of him here. The reason this chapter is a little late is that I struggled with whether or not to include it at all. My original plan was to leave the story of Rebecka out entirely, but I eventually decided that would be unfair Elias' character; it was important to me that I put out there that there is more to him than the "wise old grandfather figure" aspect. Have no fear, though; Hans will be all over the next chapter!

I left a lot of Rebecka's story out of the chapter. That was intentional, and I won't be delving much deeper into it later. The truth of what happened to her is a very sensitive and mature subject, and I want to keep this story readable for as wide an audience as I can. However, I do know all of the details, and if anyone is curious and has any questions about her or her situation, or anything regarding Rebecka, I will be happy to discuss it with you in a PM.

As always, I'm so grateful to everyone reading and reviewing this story so far. I never anticipated such a great response from you all, and I can't tell you how much your feedback makes my day.

Again, I hope those of you in climates like mine are keeping warm! Dear Lord, this winter just will not let up! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

M.E. Raine