Between Two Evils

(A/N: There will be two chapters up today. Two because I'm really eager to post the next one, and while I'd like feedback on both this chapter and the next individually rather than together, I'm more eager to get the next chapter up as well. Besides, the two are pretty closely tied, and while there's a lot of action in this one, not a lot of ground is covered.)

Hans was in the process of calling orders to the men. Elsa looked up at him from the deck concernedly. He didn't seem the worse for wear. Wait… It was brief, but she caught it. He'd held his stomach a moment in pain. She immediately finished what she was doing and went up to join him by the helm. "He poisoned you," she said.

He was quiet. "I know," he finally replied. "It isn't bad. Yet. It might not be at all. We just… we need to get to a port."

Elsa moved his coat to the side and examined his bindings. He was bleeding through, though not badly. What frightened her was the color of the blood. It seemed too dark. She looked at him seriously. "There's a port not a day's sail away from here. Corona. They'll help you. Us."

Hans nodded. "Make for Corona!" he called out.

Just then canon fire echoed in the distance. Silence fell over the ship. "Oh no…" Elsa breathed. She turned towards the direction it had sounded from. A ship was coming their way, the flag of Meilic raised high.

Hans watched it quietly. "Unfreeze Xe's men," he finally, darkly, said.

"What?" Elsa demanded.

"Unfreeze them, Elsa. This crew, the passengers… You know they aren't fighters, and the threat Meilic poses is twice as bad as the threat Xe did. Unfortunately, letting Xe and company free may be the only chance of any of us getting out of this place alive and okay. We have this ship, and the pirates Xe left on his own ship are following us. It's a stand that might be enough, but Xe's men will only listen to him. If they aren't released, Meilic will take prisoners and slaves, and he will kill. Just like Xe did. Worse. I'm not certain, at this point, which the lesser of two evils would be, but if I were forced to bet, I'd say the lesser evil isn't Meilic," Hans said. Elsa hesitated but then nodded. For the sake of her people.

Frozen

Xe looked at disbelief at the ship soaring across the sea at a breakneck pace. This couldn't be. "No… No! Damn him!" Xe furiously said.

"I warned you," Hans said.

"Don't get cocky," Xe threatened. "What is you plan, prince, when we drive Meilic off? You expect your tricks to work again on us? We'll be back where we started."

"Given the choice between two evils, I take the lesser," Hans answered.

"Your mistake," Xe said.

"Board your ship and take him on," Hans ordered. "We don't need your help on this boat, but we'll aid you." Xe scowled but relented, obeying the command.

Elsa watched as the pirates reclaimed their own ship. Her expression was stoic as she observed Meilic tearing across the sea towards them. She looked at Hans as he came alongside her. "Same plan?" she asked.

"We have no other strategy," Hans said. Anna and Kristoff were already in the process of getting the children, their parents, and the elderly below deck. "But with luck, Xe will take the brunt of the attack."

"Or flee," Elsa said.

"He can't outrun Meilic. Meilic wouldn't let him even if he tried," Hans assured.

"Wouldn't he come after us first? Less armed, more easily taken, etc," Elsa asked.

"Meilic likes a challenge," Hans answered. "Asserts his dominance more. Just be ready." He groaned slightly, bending a little over and holding his side. He felt her hand on his shoulder and glanced warily over.

"You can't fight like this," she said.

"Your Majesty, I'm the only one who can," Hans said. "Leave Meilic to me. Deal with all the rest of them and keeping your people alive."

Frozen

Canons fired, deafening and constant. Meilic and Xe were having at it with an aid from the passenger vessel, but Xe was quickly losing ground and men. Meilic was apparently getting tired of him and being sure the upstart knew his place. "Your order regarding Xe, sir?!" the first mate demanded.

"Kill off half his crew, drive him away," Meilic answered. Or it could be that easy, if not for the passenger ship getting in their way. "Why hasn't the passenger ship gone down yet? Who is on that vessel? Who captains it? Have you seen?" The first mate was silent. Meilic's eyes narrowed. "What did you see?" he coldly asked.

"I… can't say for sure, sir, but I believe… I believe the youngest Westergaard Prince is aboard," the mate answered.

Meilic cursed loudly, kicking a bucket violently. "What is he doing on a passenger vessel?!" the enraged pirate demanded.

"S-sir, please, I-I don't know," the mate answered. "Surely he isn't a threat!"

"Anything that boy gets his hands on can become a threat if he wants it to be! Especially a ship!" Meilic snapped.

"But sir, there are no truly trained men aboard say for himself, and though the ice queen is proving a force to be…"

"Ice queen? What ice queen?" Meilic dangerously cut off.

"Th-the Queen of Arendelle, sir," the mate answered. Meilic was silent. "Sir?" the crewman asked, hardly willing to breathe. "Forget Xe. All attentions on the passenger vessel!" he commanded his men. He drew his sword and marched towards the side. "I'm boarding that ship, and that child will regret the day he came into existence by the time I'm done with him." No one dared to argue him.

Frozen

"Hans, Xe is fleeing!" Elsa called.

"What?" Hans asked. "Meilic should be going after him."

"Well he isn't! He's coming at us!" Anna shouted.

Hans stiffened. "Hans?" Kristoff asked.

"He knows I'm here," Hans realized, a chill shooting down his spine. "Dammit, he knows I'm here!" He turned, seeing the ship baring down on them. It was almost on them! His eyes widened in horror. "Prepare for…" he began. He didn't get a chance to finish. Immediately Meilic's pirates were boarding them, swinging across and casting anchors into the ship's side. Before anyone could prepare for anything, the pirates were on them like a plague. "Elsa, protect your people!" Hans shouted. She was already preparing to do so even as he spoke, eyes wide in fear.

Anna grabbed a sword and raced down to help defend the citizens. Kristoff worriedly followed her. He knew both Anna and Elsa may have had a little bit of blade training, but probably not enough to make much of a difference. Hans looked over and caught his breath. Meilic was landing on the ship! Hans gripped his sword tight, facing the pirate. His eyes narrowed determinedly. "You stupid brat. Must you get in the way of everything?!" Meilic demanded of Hans, drawing his cutlass.

"I didn't come out here looking to fight you!" Hans shot. "I came out here looking to finish what you apparently can't. Getting rid of your rival!"

"You insolent little s**t," Meilic growled darkly. "I will see you writhing in my prison! Pray that when your ransom is paid, you'll be alive when I send you back! You think the Snow Queen will be enough to help you stand against me? Death comes for you and her both, now!" He lunged and immediately swung at Hans. Hans parried quickly and moved back, blocking the incessant and quickly coming blows. He couldn't lose focus here, or balance, or anything. He had to be at his peak. Which meant he was already doomed, because he felt far from his peak about now. The poison in his blood… it was making him dizzy, making him feel slow and awkward. It was taking every ounce of his mental and physical energy to keep up to the pirate, and it wasn't going to be enough. He knew it wasn't going to be enough. No, it had to be. No one else could face him. Elsa, maybe, but again her damned weaknesses. He could have cursed her a thousand times over. Love made you weak. Who needed it?

Elsa, fighting back the pirates with Anna and Kristoff and the passengers—they were doing surprisingly well, she thought, but it wasn't going to be enough—looked over at Hans worriedly. He was alone up there with the pirate king, and she could see even from here that he was struggling to keep up. Maybe even to breathe. His movements weren't as graceful as they should be, his speed was off. He seemed dizzy. She noted the way Meilic's fighting style gradually was changing. He sensed something was off too. Whether he was taking advantage of the situation or backing off was hard to tell from here. She had to get to them. Hans couldn't fight this alone! She looked over at her people, struggling to keep up, and her eyes filled with worry and uncertainty. She couldn't leave them… But if she didn't Hans died, but if she left them they might die. Oh she wished Mael were here. Maybe he'd have some sort of duel focus tip on how to handle a situation like this. She looked over at Hans once more. Her eyes widened in shock and horror. "No!" she cried out.

Frozen

Meilic lunged at Hans. Hans blocked the blow and kicked the pirate back, staggering away. He prepared to face another lunge. In fact, he went to lunge himself, but as he stepped forward he suddenly stopped, wavering. What on earth…? Suddenly everything was blurry. Suddenly he felt like his body had shut down. The light… it was so bright, and the noise so loud. He put a hand to his head and wavered. Meilic was lunging. He barely processed as much. He took a sharp breath and hardly managed to block it in time. The pirate looked into his eyes, judging something. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Hans shoved him roughly back and slashed, nearly hitting his mark. He tried to say something but found he couldn't. In fact he cried out, dropping his sword and wrapping his arms around his middle. "I… I…" he tried to say.

"Hans?" Meilic asked. Hans looked up at the pirate. He wasn't attacking and was in fact watching in shock. Of course. Why would he attack when his victim wasn't putting up a fight?

"I… I can't…" Hans tried to speak again. He couldn't. All at once he felt himself collapse.

"No!" Hans heard Elsa cry out. Then he heard and saw and felt nothing at all.

Frozen

The prince tumbled down the stairs, falling heavily, and struck the bottom unconscious. Meilic, eyes wide, immediately went after him and stopped above the prince. What was this now? He caught sight of the bandages and knelt, quickly pushing aside Hans's cloak. His eyes widened. Blood from bound injuries soaked them, and not only was there too much of it to be good, it was also an unnatural and sickly looking color. "Poison…" Meilic realized out loud. "Dammit!" he cursed. This prince was his meal ticket! He stood up straight and sharply looked over at Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff, who were looking at Hans in shock and alarm. Elsa met his eyes. "What struck him?!" Meilic demanded.

"Xe's knife," Elsa said. "Twice. It-it was poisoned! I don't know what the poison was."

"Cease fire! Cease battle!" Meilic loudly shouted. All eyes went to him.

"Cease everything!" Elsa repeated. She didn't know what Meilic's game was, or why he seemed to be helping or intending to. She could only assume money, though why would he bother with Hans when he had a queen and princess? For all Meilic knew, Hans, as the thirteenth brother, wouldn't bring much of anything. Surely he knew Hans was the thirteenth. She didn't question it further. If this meant they could get help and spare some lives, she would let this one go and not overanalyze it. Flustered and confused, pirates and nobles all lowered their weapons to look questioningly at the Pirate King and the Snow Queen. "Do you know what it is? Do you know if we can help him here? Or do we have to go to port for that?"

"No doctor will save him now. The herb needed is rare, hard to come by, and only grow in a handful of places," Meilic answered. "And Xe may have it. I'm not about to lose this gold mine because of him."

"What goldmine? He's the thirteenth in line. Of all of them he would fetch the least, if he fetched anything at all," Anna worriedly said.

"Perhaps if the old king was still in power, but he isn't, the eldest sibling is," Meilic answered, turning his back and marching towards his crew. "Once upon a time maybe his royal Majesty would have laughed, but he won't anymore. Those brothers may despise one another's very presence, but there's an unspoken understanding between them. One of protection and safeguarding that goes deeper than love and hate, coming down to blood and necessity. His majesty will pay a king's ransom for his Annoyingness Prince Hans." He stopped before the pirates and nobles. "All of you men, return to the ship! We pursue Xe immediately, and so help us he will give up the herb needed to save the spoiled brat, or die for his refusal."

"Aye aye, sir!" the pirates all said, immediately abandoning the war to return to their ship. Meilic turned to survey the boat they were on. It was too slow to keep up. They'd lose it quickly. It would do no good here. However, he could send it and all its passengers on their way, and take the three royals and the ice harvester along. He looked at one of the crew members. "Can the first mate take over in your Captain's absence?" he demanded.

"I can, sir," the crew member replied. Well, that was fortunate, Meilic inwardly noted. "Then do so. Continue on your way to wherever it was you were going. You're none of our concern now." He looked over at the royals and the blond man. "But you four… If you want to save him, you'll come with me."

Elsa nodded. "I will," she said. She looked at Anna. "Stay, please. You have to. Arendelle needs a ruler if something happens."

"I'm not leaving you," Anna firmly and finally said. "You know that."

"Anna…" Elsa began.

"Nothing will happen to either of you," Meilic cut off. "But if we don't move now, something will happen to the prince, and that something will be permanent."

"Alright," Elsa relented.

Meilic nodded. "We have herbs on board that will slow the advance of the poison and treat some of the effects. It will buy him time, and probably bring him back to consciousness, but won't save his life," he stated. They'd started carrying said herbs after one too many of his men had died to that cheap, but admittedly brilliant, trick of Xe's. He bent down, picking up the prince in his arms and moving to board his own vessel again. Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff followed closely. Soon the passenger vessel had been left to go on its way, and the pirate ship was leaping across the sea in pursuit of Xe.

Elsa wasn't sure why they were all so willing to walk right onto this ship with a greedy pirate bent on ransom and probably slave trade, she wasn't sure why they were trusting him, but from what she saw, his grudge was with the Southern Isles, not Arendelle, and for now it seemed that was enough to keep him from realizing fully what he had in his possession. She hoped it stayed that way, but at least now she only had Anna and Kristoff to worry about, should Meilic try anything. As long as they were safe, she could hold off all of these men well enough.

Frozen

Hans, up now but weak, looked towards the opposing ship. On realizing where he was, what had happened, and whose captive he had become, he'd fallen into a sulking silence and hadn't spoken since to anyone. He grimaced in pain, feeling sick. The ship hit a wave and he gasped, losing his balance and falling. Someone caught him in their arms. He almost didn't want to know who. His eyes flickered open. Great. He would have rather fallen into Elsa's, Anna's, or Kristoff's arms, he decided. It was Meilic who had caught him.

"You were ordered to stay in bed until you got your strength back," Meilic said darkly.

"For all we know, this is the strongest I'm going to get," Hans answered, breaking his silence. He tried to stand up straight before sagging again.

"You, prince, are my gold mine. Whatever it takes to keep you alive will be done. You'll set me for life," Meilic evenly threatened, pushing Hans to his feet. "I advise you return to the cabin you staggered out of, or the next time you fall into something of mine, it'll be a sword."

"You literally just said I'm your goldmine," Hans challenged, eyes narrowing. Huh, perspective argument made him feel stronger. Good to know. Conflict meant he got some strength back.

"My preferred one, maybe, but remember I have a queen and princess at my mercy now as well," Meilic answered.

"Then why are you bothering with me?!" Hans demanded.

"Because Arendelle I have no grudge against," Meilic answered coldly.

"I will have your head, Meilic. Aiding me only means your death. Think twice about this, or you'll regret pushing your luck," Hans threatened.

Meilic seized Hans's throat tightly, clamping his hand around it. Hans choked once before finding a relatively okay breathing pattern to get into. The man wasn't trying to strangle him, which was a good thing. "Take a look at me and remember just who it is you're trying to threaten."

Hans glared at him dangerously. Finally he answered, "A broken little man with a complex."

He cried out in pain as Meilic punched him across the face, sending him to the ground. Roughly Meilic knelt, pulling him to his feet again and wrestling him violently towards the cabin. He threw open the door and thrust the prince inside, slamming it finally and locking the young man in. Hans coughed, rubbing his throat, and clutched his side with a soft groan. Weakly he dragged himself up and onto the bed, collapsing onto it and praying for either death to take him or strength to return to him, for how miserable he felt about now.

Frozen

"If nothing else, I have the satisfaction of knowing one of the Southern Isles heirs perished. It will be a message to them that I am not to be trifled with and won't stop at only Arendelle," Xe said to his fellows. "But Meilic… He will persist as a problem until I kill him."

"You won't have to wait long," one of his men fearfully said. Xe stopped and looked over. His eyes widened. Meilic's ship was cutting across the sea right for them!

"It seems the prince can't decide which evil he'd rather have as an enemy," Xe darkly said. "Prepare for battle and death!" The pirates gave a battle cry, raising their blades into the air.

Frozen

The ships clashed together violently, and immediately the pirates were at each other's throats. Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff knew immediately this fight wasn't their place anymore. Quickly they retreated to the cabin in which Hans lay, shutting the door behind them and locking it. They looked towards the bed. Hans was lying still and pale on it. Anna felt a twisting in her stomach and shifted uneasily. "Is he dead?" she asked, stepping towards him. Elsa put out her arm, preventing her sister from going near. She approached instead to examine him. She looked down at the young man. Gods, he was like a ghost. She carefully reached out to touch his neck. "Hans?" she asked.

Suddenly his hand shot up, seizing her wrist. She jumped with a gasp as Anna gave a slight squeal, and Kristoff moved quickly back. His eyes were open now, though, and wide. He was panting for breath as if just awakening from some nightmare. His eyes flickered everywhere, as they had once before, before falling on Elsa and stopping. He groaned and let go of her wrist, slowly sitting up. He looked quickly towards the door on hearing something slam against it and listening to a bullet echo. He blinked, trying to process the situation. "We caught Xe," he noted. Just then he noticed how pale the other three looked. He frowned. "What? You're acting like you're seeing a ghost."

"For a minute we thought we were. You looked dead," Kristoff dared answer.

"I feel dead," Hans muttered, carefully moving to rise.

"Then you should stay laying down," Anna chastised.

"Princess, if I'm going to die, it's not going to be in a dark cabin. It'll be outside in the fresh air," Hans answered.

"Then it will be so. Just not now. Wait a little longer," Elsa said. Hans gave her a cold glare, but after a moment relented with a sigh, laying back down.

Frozen

Meilic and Xe clashed viciously, right in each other's faces. "Tell me the herb, damn you!" Meilic shouted at Xe.

"What do you care for the prince of the Southern Isles?" Xe sneered.

"Bodies tend not to fetch as much in ransom as the living thing does," Meilic answered, smirking icily. "Tell me the herb I need, or the way I extract the information will be much less pleasant than this! You will not be going anywhere until I have my answer! Where is the herb?!"

Xe viciously fought back, but it was becoming apparent he was no match for Meilic. He cursed his luck and his eyes narrowed with a scowl. "The boy will die and you will not have any satisfaction from this, do you hear?! That boy will die! And I will laugh in your face!"

"Damn you!" Meilic shouted, slashing viciously. Xe cried out as the blade cut him, doubling over. Meilic lunged, seizing Xe's dagger from its sheath and plunging it into the man's shoulder. Xe gasped in pain before processing what had happened and blanching. "Now you have no choice," Meilic dangerously hissed. "Bring me to the herb or die on this sea!"

Xe looked darkly up at him, shaking in rage and hatred. "You worthless, stupid, bastard!" the man shouted furiously.

"You have been given your choice," Meilic snarled, withdrawing the dagger and definitively jamming it back into Xe's sheath.

Xe held his shoulder wound, looking on in growing terror as the blood slowly darkened. Sharply he turned to his men. "No more! Cease fighting! No more!" he shouted.

"All of you the same!" Meilic called to his own men. The pirates stopped, looking confusedly at their two captains. There was a lot of confusion on the seas today, it seemed. Meilic turned back to Xe. "Don't try anything you'll regret," he warned. Xe glared, sneering, but said nothing.