Hans had been brought to the dungeons when he was out of the danger zone. There, with no one to talk to, the prince slept a lot more than usual. And with the sleep, memories came back from his childhood - perhaps unconciously, the prince longed to be once more safe and sound with his family. Despite them growing up with hatred for each other instead of kinship...
6-year old Hans skipped throughout the vast halls of the castle - his lessons were just over, and the youngest heir now sought a playmate during his off-time. Hans knocked on the closest door - that of his third eldest brother, Lars.
"Lars?
Do you want to build a fortress?
Come on, let's go and play!
I got some pillows for the floor
And the table as the door!
Or perhaps we could use the sleigh?
Do you want to build a fortress?
It can be something else than a fortress!"
"Go away, Hans!" came Lars' muffled yet irritated voice from behind the door.
"Okay, bye"
The young prince kept on knocking on the doors of his brothers - much to their annoyance. At 12 years old, Hans had finally had his first sword lesson. Perhaps that was the reason why his brothers ignored him so much, because he hadn't proven himself a man yet. Well now he was. Enthousiastic to show his new skills, Hans knocked on the door 5 times.
"Hey Franz, Jurgen, Corwyn!
Do you want to hold a swordfight?
Or climb the tallest tree outside the halls?
These three silent years are completely overdue!"
Hans paused but there was no response. For a moment, his lip trembled, before the young prince gritted his teeth together in pure rage.
"Fine, I'll stick my sword into your balls!" screamed the boy as he kicked the door furiously. The tears that had begun to well up soon dried on his cheeks. What was the point in even trying?
"See you in two months."
"Mother!" Hans backed away when his mother wished to give him a hug. "I'm not five anymore." bit the 16 year old to her before running towards the ship. He didn't look back, as he was so desperate to get away from his family.
But when he returned, eager to hug her and quite ashamed of how he had acted towards her, he couldn't give it back. She had died by the flu, 3 weeks after his departure.
It had only come to few of the youngest brothers' attention that Hans hadn't shown himself for days at the dinner table ever since their mother passed.
"Hans?"
Christian knocked on the door, getting increasingly more worried for his brother's health. Ever since Mother... The prince swallowed to keep his own tears at bay.
"Hans,
Please, I know you're in there
I'm just wondering how you've been
Do you maybe want to take a walk
Or sit and talk or let me in?"
Nothing. Christian sighed and tried to take a different route.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" went the sibling on, as Hans would officially become Captain.
"It's your big day, is there anything I can do?"
Still nothing.
"Do you wanna build a fortress?"
Hans' eyes snapped open, his eyes wet from withheld tears.
"Your majesty. Can I come in?"
"You may." gave Elsa her permission to her head councillor, who gently closed the door behind her study. The queen turned her head towards him and beckoned the man to seat himself. "I don't know what to do anymore." began the queen as she kept on looking out into the window. The queen swallowed and cast her eyes down. "I thought I did the right thing to try and see the good in Prince Hans. Look what I've wrought. My sister despises me as queen because of my mercy while the Southern princes threaten war should I not put my sister on trial."
"Your sister doesn't despise you... She simply don't understand what responsibility you are wearing. And the southern princes... aren't the captured cutthroats enough to satisfy their need for revenge?"
"No. To quote Jurgen: 'They were merely the executioners, not the one who ordered it.' For them, the real killer is still out there." The queen swallowed and cast her eyes down."I can't... I can't continue this." Elsa fiddled with her fingers as she turned her body towards her councillor. "I can't remain objective in the case of Prince Hans - how will it be any different for the next one? I'm not fit to rule."
"Your majesty, you can't be serious-"
"I am. Normally the crown would go to Anna, but considering her... precarious relationship with Hans' brothers, it would not sit well with them. Not only that, but Anna is uncapable to make a proper objective judgement due to lack of training."
"Your majesty... but who will take the throne if not your sister?"
"Normally my cousin Rapunzel. But she's dealing with her own problems now with her parents missing in an unexpected snow day. And while she has proven to have a lot of potential, I don't wish to burden her yet with another kingdom atop of her own to lead." Elsa turned her eyes back to him. "Therefore, till my cousin is more suitable to be queen, the council will rule in my name."
"Your majesty.. I'd.. I'd be honored. I will make the preparations immediately, have it announced to the public, -"
The queen raised her hand to stop his rambling. "After I have passed judgement on Prince Hans. The trial has already been adjourned enough - soon Hans' brothers might suspect this country's rule of insincerity and a lack of firm hand" The queen's eyes met that of the councillor. "Have the councillors be brought to the throne room. And bring Prince Hans in shackles."
"It shall be done, your majesty." The councillor bowed to the soon to be abdicated queen and turned on his heels. A grin began to form on his face. He had won.
The room was quiet - safe for the rinkling sound of Hans' shackles arround his feet as he marched forward to the jury. With a last, ear deafening clunk, the prince seated himself down, or rather, was forced to sit down by the two guards who watched his every move. Hans glared arround the jury, till his eyes found the two royal sisters.
"Come on, witch-queen. Get it over and done with." bit Hans as the silence grew.
"You stand accused of treason and regicide. How do you answer to these charges-" Elsa's eyes turned away from the prince in front of her. "-head councillor?"
The man in question hadn't noticed Elsa adressing him, instead of Hans. But when all eyes turned on him, the realization slowly began settle. In shock, the man's eyes darted arround, from the queen, to his other fellow councillors and princes of the Southern Isles.
"Her majesty asked you a question." said Hans in a manner of fact voice, causing the councillor to snap his eyes to him. Upon seeing the relaxed smirk upon the youngest Southern prince, the head councillor began to feel cold sweat upon his back.
"I suggest you keep yourself from making me or my brothers your enemy." echoed Hans' voice inside his head.
The man however wouldn't go down without a fight. "I.. forgive me, your majesty.. I'm confused." blurted the man out as he turned his eyes on the queen again.
"Which charges confuse you? Lets start with the simplest one." spoke Elsa as she held his stare. "You conspired with various council members to overthrow me, your queen."
"I would never betray you. I infiltrated in their group, for your behalf."
"How coincidental. Prince Hans said the exact same thing." replied Elsa in that same calm voice - underneath though, ice began to form. "Oh, I have to admit, I had my doubts" The queen's eyes settled for a few seconds on the Southern prince, whom returned his smile to her. The moment Elsa settled her eyes upon the councillor, the warmth was gone as well. "And I would have taken your word above his, if it weren't for those tiny slipups you made. When you were in the throne room to receive the princes of the Southern Isles, you said Princess Anna had used troll magic so Hans could regain his memory. How could you know such a detail when it was never adressed in public by my sister HOW she cured his amnesia?"
"Your majesty, as you may know, rumors spread like wildfire-"
"You not only committed treason, you also wished to jeopardize the relationship between me and my sister" went Elsa relentlessly on. The room immediately went colder after that. "We had a long talk, my sister and I." The queen spared a glance to her sister. "We had our suspicions, though we wanted to be hundred percent sure it was you. So, we required some help."
Hans' brothers grinned darkly at the head councillor. While they weren't shy of murder and deceit, they knew when to play that card, but most importantly when not to. The Snow Queen of Arendelle could either be a formidable ally in the days to come, or a terrifying enemy. They chose the first option. And perhaps, said the opportunistic side of the westerguards, they could be allies not just for this single event.
It wasn't easy to gather everyone without raising suspicion, but Anna proved to be perfect for concocting such a creative task. After her talk with her sister, the princess had gone to the kitchen to put tiny letters into the prince's dishes when the busy servants weren't looking. For the servants, it was a habit to see Princess Anna roaming the kitchen so they thought nothing suspicious of it.
Then however, came the trickiest part - to get the princes to understand why they had to come to the library and explain the situation to them.
It made the operation easier for Anna when the head councillor told her that Hans needed to see his brothers: well, not quite as easy as you might expect, as it took for some of the brothers a bit more time to catch on to her verbal clues to see their brother.
The councillor gasped when he felt frostbite appear on his hands and buckled to get his hands inbetween his layers of clothing. "Are you going to freeze my hands off? On what grounds?" roared the man back. "Its easy to paint someone black, but where is the proof?!"
"Quiet!"
Hans' breath stocked for a moment when Elsa shut the councillor down. She was composed and regal all the way through. But the ice had begun to crack, and his heart began to beat faster when he managed to look through the cold glass. She was everything the ice harvesters sang about: Beautiful, powerful, dangerous, cold. Ice has a magic, can't be controlled!
After the ice cold shock, awe warmed his chest. Made him emotional even, for if he could, he would have knelt and offered his eternal service. He would fight, even throw himself on his own weapon if she wished it. She would be his Queen, now and always. And while the rest of the people were flinching away from her words, the youngest kept staring with longing and respect to the queen of Arendelle.
Hans' look was however not unseen by Anna's eyes. The young princess bristled for a moment - he was a snake, he much proved that with this whole complot. And she had hoped Elsa would still see it that way. But all that hope was sniffed out when she saw Elsa's reaction for Hans swaying inbetween life and death in the last few weeks. Never, ever had she seen her sister so distraught before. It was this fact alone that tempered her hatred and disdain for the youngest prince of the Southern Isles to see him executed.
"You shall have your proof." Elsa ordered the guards with a gesture of her hand to open the door. In came all the witnesses to whom amnesty was offered. After retrieving the book from Hans, the older brothers went out hunting - not for deer or bear, but for people. Thanks to their people knowledge, the princes noted the nervosity and fear etched on the co-conspirators when they confronted them about the truth. Going by their instinct, they offered the men the queen's amnesty and protection against the blackmail. They quickly wrote a letter by raven to enlighten the queen about their theory (while they kept on hunting the remaining co-conspirators).
The Queen's research into the head councillor's bank account, or rather accounts, proved their instinct right. A returning treat with all the blackmailed councillors were that they had families - anyone would do the most horrible crimes for them if it meant they were safe for harm. The queen immediately approved the princes' given amnesty and ordered her few of her guards to their homes to protect their wives and children.
Off course not all men were like that - they were the ones who committed the blackmail alongside the head councillor and with them, the princes had no compassion whatsoever. They binded them behind their own horses and had to run throughout the whole journey back to Arendelle castle - If they couldn't run or tripped, they were dragged throughout the mud, dirt and stones.
For a few days, the collaboration went well.
"Besides your treason to me and trying to ruin relationship with my sister, you put the blame of your crimes on Prince Hans and-" Elsa after the last witness had finished his story.
"You ordered our brother dead." spoke Jurgen, unable to keep his rage contained. His eyes stood dark as the night and his teeth were gritted like that of a lion. No, realized Hans as he saw all his brothers, circling arround the room. No, like a pack of wolves.
"Agh! I hate them! I hate them all, every single one of them!" screamed Hans as he stormed into the library.
"You don't mean that, Hans" said the Southern Queen softly as she closed the doors so they could talk in private.
"You think I don't?"
The Queen swallowed when she saw her youngest son turn towards her - his eyes stood black with hatred. Please, don't make me lose him too… The mother of 13 closed her eyes for a moment to keep her tears at bay. "I want to tell you a story." said the mother as she seated herself in a chair close to the hearth.
"I'm 9." glared Hans with his arms crossed.
"You certainly act your age." tsked his mother gently before patting the space next to her. Hans didn't bulge from his standing spot. "Alright… It is less warmer than here." Another pause. Nothing. Which meant that Hans was at least receptive to listen. "Once upon a time, there lived a lion in the woods-"
"But there are other things that lived in the woods. Evil things, like Stags. And Eagles. I know this story, Mother."
The queen gave a watery smile. "Your father left another animal out, it seems."
"Which one?" Despite him not wishing to listen, Hans couldn't help but be interested and slowly seated himself next to her.
"Wolves. But unlike the other animals, they aren't evil. More like acquintances to the lion. Yet they are very different, despite them going along so well. Yes, a lion is fierce and strong - but they are also very competitive. Do you know what happens when male cubs are born not from the male leader?"
"They are killed by the leader. Cause they don't wish competition."
"Yes." whispered Hans' mother as she stared to her youngest son. "The few who manage to escape, have to fend for their own and learn to survive by themselves. Few make it through those years."
"I don't see what the difference is with wolves? They are predators too." pointed Hans out.
"Yes, they are. But see, the difference lies in how they treat their young cubs. When cubs are born, they are all being cared for. None gets casted out simply because they are not from the male leader. For when winter comes, they have to protect themselves. The strength of the wolf, is the pack. And the strength of the pack, is the wolf. A lone wolf, just like a lone lion, wouldn't survive. Hans... your brothers are your pack. You can't fight a war among yourselves."
"We aren't a pack. Never were, never will be. The only way to survive is if I become as fierce and strong as father. Like a lion." But the way he had said it was not quite convincing.
"You aren't just a lion, my son. There is also wolf blood in you. There is nothing to be ashamed off to care for your brothers. On the contrary, it is quite a strength. Only, your father doesn't see it that way."
Hans hesitated before saying. "i don't really hate them. My brothers. It is just… they are annoying."
"That's how siblings are, my son."
"Likewise with the mentionned Troll magic... No one but the people in that room knew that hired cutthroats were the ones who attacked Prince Hans. So how could you know this information... unless you gave the order?" Elsa's hands were balted to fists to keep her anger in check. "Thanks to you, Arendelle and the Southern Isles were almost at the brink of war."
"The proof you have given to the jury is quite poor." crooked the councillor his head. "Since they were in no way present in those conversations you mention and since you have shown for all to see you were quite distressed for Prince Hans' death and concerned for his well being. This is hardly the objective view of a queen. I therefore ask the jury to invalidate her accusations."
Elsa could scream. God damnit, they were so close! "We have the book he wrote." defended Elsa her view as she placed the evidence on the table of the Jury. "In it are all the names of the conspirators. And this-" went the queen on as she put out the documents of the bank, "are all the transactions made to the head councillor. All the names here mentionned coincide with those in the book."
The Jury went through the pages. "Yet why, your majesty, is his name on the page and not that of Prince Hans?"
What? Elsa's and Hans' blood began to run cold, while the councillor began to smirk.
"Look at the hand writing and see if it matches with mine!" ordered Hans.
The jury stayed quiet for a while, before nodding. It was a valid way to prove whether Prince Hans was innocent or not. "Give him a feather."
A feather was pressed within Hans' hand while a paper was given on his desk. When Elsa returned the paper, the jury glanced back and forth between the hand writing. "I see... no distinct difference, your majesty."
"What?!" Elsa narrowed her eyes at the man. Could it be that he too was in liege with the head councillor? blackmailed? Bribed?
"Unless you have no further proof, your majesty we will go on with the final judgem-"
"Here is the proof!" interrupted a familiar voice. Everyone's eyes turned to Anna, who had snuck up next to the head councillor. The surprised man spun arround in surprise but before he could say anything, the princess held out a little rock. a rosy shimmer began to appear and grow, till the whole room could see his memories through the rosy mist. When the memories vanished into obscurity, everyone's eyes turned to the head Jury, who had no other choice but to admit Elsa's accusations were right.
"For Treason, blackmail and attempted Regicide, you are normally beheaded. But because you not only committed crimes against Arendelle, but against the Southern Isles, you shall be judged under their laws. Should you try to escape, you will receive what was originally intended here in Arendelle."
At Elsa's verdict, the brothers' eyes gleamed up with murderous intent.
Upon seeing that they wanted to hug him, the prince opened his hands - only to realize his cuffs were preventing him.
"Do release him." ordered Elsa as the guards looked up in question.
The moment his cuffs were off, Hans was able to pull them into a hug. The queen didn't look to see them embrace as she turned her attention once more to the Head Jury. "And you are dismissed permanently from your duty." stared Elsa the man down. "I tolerate no men who's loyalty is to money instead of fair justice."
"Are you coming with us?" asked Jurgen while the triplets smothered Hans.
"For what?" frowned Hans at his question.
"He needs to be judged according to our laws, off course."
He knew very well what kind of "laws" his brothers meant. Beheading would be a mercy. Hans' smile strained and his eyes fell upon the indifferent looking queen. It was his choice, as it always was. "No, Jurgen. I'm not coming with you." shook the youngest sibling his head.
"Really?" pressed Jurgen on, but upon seeing Hans' determinded face, the brother let it rest. "Alright" shrugged the blonde brother. One by one, the brothers went outside. When Caleb went to join, he was stopped when the queen called him.
"Keep it discrete. I don't want to hear any news in the papers regarding his fate."
"Off course, your majesty."
Caleb gave a shoulder clap to Hans as he passed by, before joining his siblings. This left Hans with the guards as well as the two royal sisters.
"Hans, I..." started Elsa the conversation.
"Yes?" asked Hans when the silence continued on.
"I.. nevermind." Elsa averted her eyes from him, feeling her sister's gaze burning on her.
"There is something bothering you." noted Hans immediately.
"As a queen there is always something bothering me."
Hans chuckled at her neutral reply, but his face soon became serious again. "He accused you of being concerned for my well being. Are they true?"
Elsa swallowed. "It doesn't matter" whispered the queen. "There are rules that even a queen can't change. For attempted regicide, you will be beheaded."
"Does the law explicitly state, 'behead'?" asked Hans as an idea began to form.
Elsa frowned at the weird question. "uhm... No." shook the queen her head. "The law states that the punishement for regicide be one of death. My father chose beheading because it is less barbaric and swift."
Hans grinned as wide as the chesshire cat. "Head Jury?" called the prince out - He was newly appointed by the queen and unlike its predecessor not swayed by money. "My trial has been long overdue and I think it is time I finally were judged."
Everyone in the room looked to the prince as if he had grown a second head. "You want to be judged now?" asked the head jury to make sure he had heard it right.
"Yes. I plead guilty for attempted regicide on Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle. And according to law, I'm to die for that, am I correct?"
Anna and Kristoff shared a glance of utter disbelief. Had he completely gone nuts?!
"You are." said the head jury as he tried to keep his composure. He bore neither good nor bad will to the prince, but to see someone go so willingly to their death made him quite uncomfortable.
"And it doesn't matter in any way HOW I die, am I correct?"
"You are."
Hans nodded several times, before pulling up his shirt, revealing the icy scars arround his stomach. "Several guards can comfirm my heart stopped after the attack."
"Can someone comfirm that?"
"I can, Master." came the lieutenant forward. "We-"
"Who is we?"
The lieutenant called out all the men who were present, including the recruit Agnarr as witness.
"You can comfirm he died that very day?"
"He did, Master. We search for a pulse, we tried to stop the bleeding.. There was nothing we could do." said the guards. "The lieutenant asked recruit Agnarr to go and bring the queen to the scene."
"Can Agnarr comfirm this?"
"I did, Master. I brought her majesty to Prince Hans' body. She was very distressed upon seeing him and began to sob-"
"Irrelevant. Stay to the facts." said the head jury stoic.
Agnarr nodded. "My apologies. The queen used her magic to revive him - Prince Hans began to breathe and even gained shortly conciousness. Over the last few weeks he has been recovering."
The head jury stayed quiet. "According to law, attempted regicide is indeed met with death as punishement. You have paid it. I declare Prince Hans innocent of his past crimes." the man put the hammer down and immediately Hans felt two strong arms arround his back that belonged to a very relieved Agnarr. "Hans! God, I was so worried they'd execute you!"
"Easy kid-" coughed Hans as he felt Agnarr's arms arround him. The boy had grown significantly stronger since he had last seen him - his growth spurt was finally breaking through. "And you should be less informal to me."
"Oh." Agnarr's eyes widened at his lack of protocol. "I'm so sorry, your majesty-"
"Goodness, I'm kidding, Agnarr." Hans' face hurt from grinning so much when he saw the recruit's face. "Just call me Hans."
Agnarr's eyes lit up and the young recruit just wanted to open his mouth to retort when a cough made the two glance to the queen.
"Recruit, you should be training with your fellow collegues." Though she dismissed him, the queen's voice wasn't as sniding as she would have normally been to a recruit behaving like this.
"Right away, your majesty."
"He's a good kid." muttered Hans as he watched Agnarr return to the training grounds. Well, he wasn't quite a kid anymore... He would have to stop calling him that.
"He is." admitted Elsa.
"So, I guess the rules are still in place." grinned Hans with twinkling eyes.
Elsa scolded, though her smile indicated it was not serious. "You are unbelievable." shook the queen her head.
"I know. So, now that I'm free of any crime-" whispered Hans as he leaned closer towards her. He could nearly feel her lips on him..
"AHEM!"
The two nearly jumped out of their skin and like two children who had stolen cookies from a jar, they glanced up to a very pissed off Anna.
I'm such a tease... LOL
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