It didn't hurt that much as he expected. Sure, it was sharp, but it was over quickly, and the prince frowned. The statement about this mirror, was clearly exaggerated. He didn't feel any different from before.

"Hans?"

the prince shifted his eyes towards the large group. Why were they all staring at him as if he were an animal ready to attack?! "What?" bit Hans out to the Snow Queen.

"Are you alright?" asked Elsa slowly as she advanced upon the man.

"Yes. I am." said Hans as he stood up from the ground with ease. "See? Not a scratch!" And the prince opened his arms to emphasize his point. Then, Elsa's eyes went downwards, to one of his hands, and Hans followed her gaze.

huh. The mirror shard was still half-way stuck inside his hand. He had thought it had only opened his skin, but apparently it was quite persistent. Well, it didn't matter if it stayed. It didn't hurt him.

"Tyra... can you help Hans to remove it from his hand? I'm sure it must hurt a lot." said Elsa nonchalantly. Her eyes however, stood concerned at the smiling prince in front of her. She couldn't remove it herself, or she too would get affected.

"It doesn't hurt, thank you very much." His voice was still polite, but there was an edge appearing into it. "And I'm sure the qualified doctors in Arendelle can erase it from my body without splintering it."

Elsa shook her head. "Hans, it needs to be removed as soon as possible. By the time you return to Arendelle, you'll be-"

"What, Snow Queen? Affected?" interrupted Hans with a sneer. "That mirror shard is nothing to be afraid off as you claim it to be." Hans' eyes flickered away from the Snow Queen when he saw a movement nearby. The ice harvester had his hand moved towards his axe. "You're all afraid of me." realized the man as he looked with disgust to Kristoff. "You think I'm affected by that mirror, without hesitation. Oh, its SO great to have friends, isn't it?"

"If you see us as friends, you know we want the best for you."

Hans laughed at Kristoff's answer. "The best for me?! Who are you to decide that, ice man? Who are any of you, to decide my fate?" Hans laughter died off and his eyes turned black. "Nothing is wrong with me. If you all say to claim to have the best intentions for me, if you say to be true friends... then you should trust ME, as I should trust you, isn't that right?"

"We do trust you." spoke Elsa this time. "We are merely asking you let Tyra take the mirror shard out."

Hans stayed quiet for a while. "And I'll let her. On my own terms."

"Hans, the longer you wait, the stronger the mirror's influence-ah!" Elsa stumbled backwards when Hans slapped her sideways on the cheek.

"Don't touch me, you filthy witch!" Hans' eyes went towards the scared children. "And what are you staring at?" God, those idiotic faces the children could make. Always whining for what they couldn't get. "I said... what are you staring at?" growled Hans as he advanced upon the children. The seconds paced and the children didn't give an answer, fuelling the prince's anger. "Staying quiet are we?" the prince clicked with his tongue. "Naughty, naughty. When an adult asks a question, he wants to see it answered."

Raelyn screamed when the man took her arm forcefully, pulling her towards him.

"Let her go!"

"These children needs to be reprimanded." said Hans without looking up. "You'll be next, ice harvester."

"It wasn't a request." bit Kristoff back as he saw Raelyn's pained face.

Slowly, Hans' eyes flickered to the blonde man. "You dare giving orders to me?" without any care, the prince let the girl fall on the ground. Immediately Brunhilda sprung forward to get the girl out of the prince's reach, who's attention was now solidly on the ice harvester.

"I don't dare.. I just do" smirked the ice harvester as he took in Hans' increasing anger. the man knew that he couldn't take him down if weapons were involved. A wrestling contest however... Kristoff's eyes saw the man go to his sword and he raced towards him, crashing them both against the icy floor. With Hans under him, the ice harvester had a temporarily advantage to beat him unconcious, but hesitated on hurting a friend.

Hans noticed the man's hesitation and immediately made use of it, making him the dominant opponent instead of Kristoff.

"Don't hurt him!" Solveig and Kari sprung upon the prince's back, and started pummeling him with their hands.

"Get off me, you squirming worms!"

The temporary distraction from the children gave Kristoff the chance to get the upper hand once more, and he quickly took the man into a vice grip. "Tyra, get the shard out!" screamed Kristoff with a red face as he tried to hold Hans in his position.

"Yes, come closer child." growled Hans as he struggled against Kristoff. "So I can put my hands arround your pretty neck!"

Tyra hesitated only shortly when the other children came by to help and pin the prince's hands down. The prince cursed, and everyone paled at the words that appear unmentionned here. With trembling hands, Tyra pulled the shard out, and threw it away towards the other mirror shards.

Not sooner was the mirror shard out of his system, or the prince calmed down. Or at least for a moment, as the reality of his deeds came crashing down. "God..." Hans saw Kari and Solveig's face, which he had clawed open, making blood drip down. He saw Elsa stand up, with the red palm of his hand still visible on her cheek. He didn't dare to imagine what would have happened if he had taken his sword.

Kristoff held Hans in this position for another few seconds, to make sure the prince truly had returned to his senses before letting him go.

"It wasn't your fault." said Elsa with wobbling feet as she strumbled towards the group. "It was the mirror."

Hans shuddered at the bloodied shard a few meters away. "Whatever this thing is from hell... It can't be the solution to this eternal winter. Your majesty, don't do this." whispered Hans. "shatter that mirror. Hide it, take it under ground." the man swallowed heavily. It was weird, but he didn't feel possessed when he had the mirror shard in him. It didn't feel as if he weren't himself, and that was the most terrifying of it all.

Elsa closed her eyes. "I must. Its the only way to stop my powers getting out of control."

"Surely the trolls had to give more then just this solution?" spoke Kristoff this time. "They wouldn't go to this extreme aid, unless all other proposals have failed."

"They said: "only an act of true Love will thaw a frozen heart.'". answered the Snow Queen with crossed arms.

The group stayed quiet for a while, before a girl's hand shot up. "Perhaps a true love's kiss?" spoke the girl innocently.

Both Hans and Elsa huffed at the proposition, their eyes meeting at the same moment. Okay.. that just got awkward. With flushed cheeks the two looked away once more to focus on the propositions instead. It weren't that much, and again the silence grew.

"The proposals of your family are either cryptic or insane." shook Hans his head towards the ice harvester. "But I guess the mirror is indeed the best in terms of solving this winter. The riddle they gave could take years to find its answer. Arendelle doesn't have that luxury." At speaking the country's name, Hans was suddenly reminded once more of his purpose. The trial. The council.. they would want result. "your majesty, we need to return you to Arendelle on order of the Council."

Elsa's eyes went dull. "Stripping me of my title as queen, is not going to erase this winter."

Queen?! Kristoff paled. She was the Queen of Arendelle?! If she's going to find out I bedded Anna, she'll have me killed!

"No, its not. in return for amnesty, the Council will ask you to lift this winter."

"I told you, I can't do that untill the mirror is complete!" said Elsa in panic. Snow began to dwindle down the hall by her emotional state. "If I return to Arendelle, I can't take the children, nor the mirror with me to prove my effort to bring back summer!"

Hans paused at her words. She was right. At this moment, the queen's popularity wasn't quite high among people. If they heard of her being responsible of their children's kidnapping, they would lynch her, trial or no trial. The duke would have the perfect excuse to fullfill both his revenge, and the commoner's wishes. And as for the mirror... Hans shuddered at the thought of not one, but a dozen people being inflicted with such a shard by accident. "Then we leave both the mirror and the children here, so they can finish it in peace." said the prince. "Both me and Kristoff can atone as witness of your words."

"They'll need food and water." replied Kristoff concerned as he thought of the children being imprisoned here for several days. "The trip down the mountain, as well as your majesty's trial, could take days if not weeks." Kristoff remembered how dull and how long these procedures could be by listening to the merchants he sold to.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Let my family take care of them untill the storm has settled down a bit. The children can work on the mirror, and they'll be safe if someone comes and finds this place like we did." answered Kristoff.

His brother and the thugs of Weaselton... flashed through Hans' mind. It would be easy to track his route - the last few days, no storm had erased his trail. If anything, they should progress even swifter then he did. "Yes, it is indeed better if they didn't stay here." agreed the man.

The children began to roam the room and pick up the glass pieces, soon filling their hands.

the queen noticed their difficulty to carry them all, and she made a basket where they could put them in. "Make sure they are all found! Even the smallest piece can't be overlooked." said the Snow Queen as the children ran back and forth to put them in. It was as if it were Easter, with the only difference that the children were picking up mirror shards instead of colored chicken-eggs.

"your majesty, Why don't you use your magic to put all the mirror shards together?" wondered Hans when he didn't see any attempt of the queen to help the children. With her controlling the winds, she could puzzle the mirror together in no time.

"Its magic against magic, prince Hans. my powers wouldn't have any effect on the mirror shards because of that reason."

The precious worry for him had vanished, and Elsa had once again become the Snow Queen. It should make him glad: their presence together was lethal after all. He should try and do the same. Should.

"So, how are we going to take them all down the north mountain?" asked Hans as he followed the queen outside the room. "Kristoff and I have only brought one rope. If we have to take the children down one by one, it will take quite some time. And with the sun already setting.." Hans looked downwards when the queen simply walked over the destroyed balcony, forming ice under her feet as she went.

Elsa hummed and with a flick of her hand, there stood a carriage with four horses before it.

"I don't mean to offend your work, your majesty, but I believe it will only slow us down even more." spoke Hans his worry.

A smile was returned to him. "They can fly." came the simple statement.

The prince blinked. "Off course." Just when he thought he had adapted to this crazy situation, there was always something to throw him off his feet. The horses whinnied, and his heart stung when thinking of his own horse.

"Where is your horse?" asked Elsa as if she could read his thoughts. "He must be hungry now that he cannot eat the grass. I can move the snow away so he can-"

"He's dead." stopped Hans her mid-sentence.

"I'm sorry." mumbled the queen after a long pause. "I didn't mean for him to die by my hand."

"He was wounded by wolves." shrugged the prince as he glanced away from the queen. "Such is the will of nature."

"Hi guys!"

Both the prince and queen practically jumped out of their skin when they heard a voice behind them.

"Olaf!" grinned Hans as he took the snowman's twig to shake his.. 'hand' if you could call it that way. "I see you got inside the palace at least."

"You..." Both turned their head towards the queen, who looked with shock towards the little creature. "You're alive?"

When she had sung about her freedom, Elsa vaguely remembered making a snowman. She didn't think to much anymore about it, already thinking it had melted in the hot sun on the mountain. But to see a truly sentient being before her that she created...

Oh sure, she had created her guards, but that was not the same. They were simply a manifestation of her will. They didn't have a mind of their own. If she didn't give them any thoughts, they wouldn't even move from their spot. She was the puppet master, and they the puppets she pulled the strings on.

With Olaf on the other hand...

"Uhm, yeah I think so." smiled Olaf innocently. When he noticed the shocked face of his creator, the snowman waggled towards the Snow Queen. "You look like you need a hug." said the creature as he sticked his arms out.

Wordlessly, the queen knelt on the ground, feeling Olaf's sticks arround her neck. It felt strangely comforting, soothing even and the queen relaxed upon his touch.

Hans watched quietly, and couldn't help but smile at the sight of it. Truly, the queen creating life on her own, was something he still wasn't able to grasp. Hans stiffened. She created life out of snow and ice.

LIFE.

the prince's mind travelled back to Inger, who got frozen in an agonizing scream, before shattering across the room. It was Queen Elsa's magic that made it happen.. and if it could create life out of the same substance.. "Your majesty... I think I know a way to win everyone's support once more."

Elsa and Olaf untangled from their embrace and looked with questioning looks toward the man.

"We're ready" smiled Kristoff with the basket in his hands, followed by the huge swarm of children.

Elsa stood up without looking away from the prince. "You can take them to the carriage outside. You too, Olaf. I'll come shortly." When Kristoff had ushered the children outside, the queen began to talk once more. "What is it?"


Anna groaned, feeling the weight of her body upon the bed.

"You're awake. Good."

the princess slowly turned her head, to see her cousin refresh the blanket with cool water. The fresh cold water upon her forehead, made Anna sigh in relief. "What...happened?" brought Anna out, feeling slightly better to concentrate her thoughts.

"You collapsed in the throne room 3 days ago." said Rapunzel in a manner-of-fact voice as she went with her blanket across the princess' face.

"3 days?!" cried Anna out as she pulled herself upright. Immediately after, black spots formed in her eyes and she laid down on the bed once more.

"Yes. The servants told me you barely ate in the last few days, and combined with the duties you had to take on, it seems you fainted because of stress and exhaustion."

Great. 11 days in as Regent of Arendelle. 4 of them were her coping with the pain of her leg, the other 3 days she had been sleeping. Some great ruler she turned out to be. the princess grumbled at her own weak state. "I'm not tired!" snapped Anna. Upon seeing her cousin's stern look, the princess calmed down in her ferocity a little bit. "Alright. Maybe a little." a yawn escaped her lips and the princess blushed. "I.. haven't had that much sleep either."

Every night, she had been tossing and turning about the decisions she had made, and those of the future. Would the people be content if she did this? Would there be help from other countries if she did that? Should she have told Elsa of the father?

"Your majesty, I insist you keep yourself calm for the next few days." advised Rapunzel.

"I can't sit here and let everyone else do the work." bit Anna as she tried to stand up once more.

"You are acting Regent during the Queen's absence. You can do these things." said Rapunzel in the same calm tone.

"You don't understand. The Duke, and probably the majority of the people, wants to see my sister dead. I can't just take a nap while my sister's name gets pulled through the mud! I need to be present to defend her case!" spoke Anna. and as she did so, her voice gave out at the last sentence from exhaustion, resulting in a peeping sound.

The princess quickly accepted Rapunzel's glass in her hand and began to gulp the water down her throat.

"Your sister is still missing, and no word has been heard from either Prince Hans or his brother's return. You are of no use when you spend all your energy before your sister's trial. She'll need you to be fresh when she needs you the most."

Anna bit her lip. the Coronian princess was right off course. While her popularity with the common folk was still high enough to have their respect, the nobility on the other hand... they weren't happy with her decree to open all hunting grounds, to put it mildly. She doubted that she would regain their support after her return as Regent. Especially when the Duke promises much more drastic measures to end the Winter.

With a sigh, Anna let herself fall down the cushion once more. She couldn't do anything right now, except focus on getting better as soon as possible. The people were counting on her, whoever small this population might be.

small... Anna's hand went to her stomach and stroked it. In all this mess, she had brought her own health, as well as that of her child, in danger. "Rapunzel, can you spare me a tear or two?"

"My tears can do wonders, but this is something your body needs to heal from his own. I would force itself to get healed, and it would have the opposite effect in much greater quantities." The princess nodded dissappointed and felt her eyes become heavy once again. She forced herself awake though, since it would be rude to sleep in with their conversation going on. Rapunzel however, noticed her surpression of her yawning and smiled. "Go to sleep, Anna. Don't mind me."

"But I..." another yawn came from her lips and Anna sunk back asleep on her cushion, softly snoring.


"Kristoff's home!" cried the trolls out when they saw Pabbie's adopted son appear.

"Let me wash your underwear!" grinned Bulda as she went to take off his pants.

"Mom! no!" blushed Kristoff embarrassed as he patted their hands away.

"Kristoff, pick me up! pick me up!"

the ice harvester huffed when the child jumped in his arms, nearly falling over from its weight. "You are getting big! good for you!" gasped the man to keep his balance.

"They are like little rocks!" said Hans with a frown. In his country, trolls were hairy, bulky and often hiding under bridges. Therefore a huge contrast to the ones residing in Arendelle.

All the eyes went towards the prince and Snow Queen, and they blinked surprised at the new faces. "He's brought FRIENDS!" exclaimed Bulda excited, causing all the trolls to cheer as well. The children Elsa had taken under her care were taken up by the creatures, and were placed closeby the ice harvester.

Both Hans and Elsa screamed as well when the trolls took their feet of the ground, rolling them towards the ice harvester. Hans barely kept his balance as his feet hit the ground once more.

"wow!" the prince saw the Snow Queen being thrown up by the little creatures and he quickly caught her in his arms before she could fall in an otherwise uncomfortable position. "You're..you're alright?"

"Yeah.. glad you caught me." brought Elsa breathlessly out. "I mean.."

Hans put her back on solid ground and immediately their contact broke as Bulda took Elsa by her face. "How is it going with the mirror, my child?"

"Its... halfway done." replied Elsa with a small smile. "However, Prince Hans and Kristoff were not the only ones to search for me regarding my trial. And unlike them, they wouldn't be so apprehensive about this..."

"I see..." nodded Bulda as she took the children in. Some were curious, others afraid and yet another group suspicious. "And you wish to keep both them and the mirror hidden with us... that can be arranged."

Hans shuddered when he saw Bulda's eyes upon him. Her face was shining with motherly love towards them all, especially towards Kristoff. Yet... with the unselfish love, there was a possessive side to it as well. As if Kristoff wasn't allowed being too far away from her.

Southern trolls weren't the brightest lantern on the street. They only growled and roared to have human flesh to sustain their hunger. These trolls were quite intelligent and human-friendly.

Yet, intelligence could be used for cunning, whether it was good or bad... And trolls were maybe humanoid creatures, but that didn't mean they had the same norms and regards as that of a human...

Hans shook his head. Nonsense! why should he think so wrongly about them? They try to help with the Winter.

Are you sure? That mirror... you know how dangerous it is by firsthand...

Its safe here.. besides, They also told her that "love will thaw a frozen heart".

Yes, as if THAT will help her control her powers so suddenly! If she wanted riddles she could go to a story teller! Why not give clear instructions? Why did they advise Elsa's parents to lock her up, instead of teaching her?

They took Kristoff in as a child...

What happened to his parents? Kristoff doesn't remember... shouldn't you be the least curious about them? Why did the trolls leave him in such isolation, why make him so... akward towards society?

"I sense strange magic here."

everyone's head turned towards the new rock-like creature that rolled forward. "Queen Elsa.. i see you have progressed much with your task."

"Thank you. I've asked Bulda if both the children and the mirror could stay here, while I return to Arendelle-"

"That will be no problem, I assure you." Gran Pabbie's eyes flickered to the carriage where the mirror and its shards were still inside. "Are all the shards collected? None has glipped from your fingers."

"Every splinter has been collected." smiled Elsa with a nod.

For the first time since they saw one another, Gran Pabbie's face transformed into a grin. "Then, it will indeed not be too long anymore for your curse to end."

Hans shuddered at the smile the troll king gave the queen. It was dark, twisted, malicious even. "You won't take her!" hissed the prince as he took a step forward. "I won't let you!"

"Hans, what is wrong?"

the vision vanished, as did the anger inside him. "I'm... I'm fine really. Just..." His eyes felt suddenly so heavy and he rubbed them to erase the sudden exhaustion. Not soon after, his hand had begun to throb, and Hans stretched his fingers to get the unpleasant feeling out. The prince ignored it as much as he could and turned his gaze back to the troll. "I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to lash out." His face was kind and gentle once more, and Hans turned his eyes towards the other creatures, who smiled and accepted his apologies. See? he was seeing ghosts, thought Hans with relief. It was probably a side effect from that mirror shard earlier. "I'm fine." retorted Hans once more when he saw Elsa's worried face. The prince stayed quiet as the children made themselves comfortable in the little homes the trolls provided and after they were settled he hugged them as tightly as he could.

Many didn't like to get left behind by their "mother", and vice versa Elsa had difficulty to say goodbye because of their good companionship she had had in the last few days. But in the end, they had to leave.

Hans heaved Elsa on the horse she created, while Kristoff simply put himself on Sven. Since she still felt uneasy about her powers, and the fact that she didn't know how well her creations would react to Hans, she decided to use only one horse, instead of two.

That, and that you feel safe with him. Because you want to be close to him...

The Snow Queen swallowed as Hans turned the horse towards the direction of Arendelle. How would they receive her? what would the council say? How was her sister and the baby? with a wince, Elsa thought of the harsh words she had said towards her sibling. Now that she had had "children" of her own, she felt horrible at how she had acted towards her. Sure, she had been shocked, mostly angry at her irresponsible deeds but..

Did she really have to resent a child, because of the fault of its mother? wasn't the punishement Anna would receive, already hard enough with her marrying a man she didn't even love? In her worry, Elsa didn't notice how her eyes began to drop down, and she fell asleep in Hans' lap, breathing softly.

The prince let her be. It seemed, she was in need of it; a far more greater deal then he did. As they rode on, the prince took use of the silence by giving his own mind a piece of thought. It didn't sit him comfortable the way he had reacted to the trolls, and slowly as to not to disturb the queen, Hans looked at his former pierced hand. Nothing to be seen, truly. And yet...

The thought of the mirror shard gave the man shivers, and he moved his mind somewhere else. His brother... how well was he faring?


Franz, meanwhile, had arrived to the Snow Queen's palace as well. But upon roaming the many rooms, they found it completely empty. Damnit! the 7th prince walked slowly down the ice stairs. Not only because he wasn't used to the slippery feeling under his feet, but also because he needed as much time as possible to think of his next move. His eyes flickered to the horizon, to see the sun already setting down. If they were to leave now, they would get stuck by the dark halfway the mountain.

"Your majesty, there is something you need to see!" said one of the volunteers as he ran towards the blackhaired prince. the guard walked carefully towards the discovery he had made, keeping Franz at bay so he wouldn't accidentally erase it.

"what is it?" asked the prince after staring at the trails for a short while. They were long, and deep. Not like a trail that an animal would make.

"Its from a sledge, your grace. And over here..." pointed the guard to a few meters away. "Those are reindeer hooves."

It seems my brother has had some help along the way... Franz couldn't say if he were relieved or not. Honestly, he didn't know what to make of his brother anymore. He was planning on murdering Lars and in return he could have the throne of Arendelle...Their brother. Although he wasn't exactly affectionous or hateful towards Lars, it still didn't feel right. Off course, when he would become King-consort, it wouldn't be his problem anymore, so at the time it was a good deal to make.

But now? Everything had turned upside down, and so had their agreement. Who was to say, that Hans wouldn't turn against him as well? He knew of his plans and Hans could fear that he would slip everything up to father.

The events in Arendelle had changed him so drastically, and it made the man... well, he was not afraid of his safety if it were to come to a duel of arms between the two. But that meant nothing when it came to words, or poison in his food.

Franz knelt by the trails feeling the depth in the snow. It was strange, but it seemed to him that they had appeared out of nowwhere, taken a run, and vanished into thin air. with a groan, the prince stood up once more, feeling his stiff muscles protesting. when he looked arround, he saw his men weren't any better. Nor were the horses. "We'll make camp tonight!" said Franz with a loud voice.

Immediately the men's eyes lit up at the prospect of setting a camp fire, and murmurs of relief were carried across the wind. Soon, laughter could be heard, as the men all sat together, roasting their meat and bread. Well, almost everyone... Franz' eyes flickered to the guards the Duke had given him, who sat further away at their own campfire. He couldn't exactly refuse them on this trip. People would gossip and find it strange why he only asked Ardellian aid, instead of asking the dignitaries as well.

The warmth and the food helped to relax and soon Franz felt the weight of the last few days crashing down upon him. Since there would still be quite filled up days in the future, the prince retired to his tent quickly for a good night sleep.

Franz mumbled when he heard his body shake. Yet, when it didn't stop and grew in ferocity, the prince's eyes flew open and on reflex he took his sword in his hand before running out the tent. His boots felt the roar underneath, as if a giant was awakening. Oh god.. In the face of the gigantic avalanche before him, the prince was suddenly aware of his own mortality. He would lie to himself if he didn't freeze at the sight.

run.

Franz forced his feet to move, searching with wild eyes for somewhere to hide. With growing fear, the prince saw the place was an open field.

run, you little boy...

He needed to get out of the avalanche's reach. Instead of running ahead of the avalanche, the prince turned to his right while putting his sword back in its sheath. After that, the prince hurled it over his shoulders to have his hands free at last.

His lungs felt as if they could burst, and his legs were on fire as the prince ran for his life. Yet, Mother Nature would have no mercy for the weak...

Every thought about his men, his brother or even the situation in Arendelle vanished as Franz' mind was focused solidly on his own survival. Franz' eyes noticed the approaching snow, as the trembling under his feet intensified even more. He needed shelter, quickly. Then, his eyes fell upon a huge pile of stones packed together.

Praying that they wouldn't crush him by the avalanche, the prince cuddled himself as close to the stones as possible, bracing himself for the impact. It costed every bit to keep himself on the same place as the cold swept over him. The air vanished arround his lungs, the rumbling snow pained his ears.

However, Mother Nature showed her own strength against that of a mere man. Franz felt his hands lose grip, and he was blasted away by her whims. If he could scream, he would as he felt himself become airborn, plummeting down the abyss...

Well, it was supposed to be longer... but I guess its a good cliffhanger. :) Next time, Hans, Elsa and Kristoff return to Arendelle...