Authors note: Thank you all again for all of the reviews. Okay...I felt bad about the last chapter with a cliff hanger so I put up this one...so now, the chapter you have all been waiting for...its the one where all the questions of the past will be answered. Hopefully you all will find it satisfying.
Also I need to add this...Iduna learns the hard way that just because you see the future..does not mean that said future she saw will happen as there is more than one future and said future changes all the time.
Any way, without further ado, please enjoy and leave a comment telling me what you think. :)
On the last chapter:
"Hello Hans, I am happy to welcome you back" he heard, turning he saw a woman walk over, she was very tall, very fair with long blond curly hair, elf ears, her eyes shifted from gold to green, she was dressed in a simple airy dress with large bird wings on her back.
Whether it was on impulse or something Hans quickly bow down and said "Fairy queen Rhiannon" and motioned for Arthur and Primrose to do the same,
"Prince Hans Westergaar, Phoenix of the Southern Isle's and friends" said Rhiannon as she too bowed then frowned and said "Do remember?",
"I am sorry but...just bits and pieces" said Hans honestly,
"Oh dear...that is no good, you let go of the rune before you arrived home" said Rhiannon before smiling and saying "Don't worry...I will help you remember" with that she waved her hand and a gold haze surrounded Hans, Primrose, Arthur and Sven, so they could all see the events which have transpired, finally getting the answers to unanswered questions.
Memories:
"What you saw was not the end"
Iduna watched and she had to admit she was very satisfied in seeing Hans statue form crash against the floor and breaking into tiny pieces. Did she feel sorry for putting such a fate? Yes, just a little bit, but then she reminded herself why she did what she did.
This man would hurt her children, kill them even and as a mother Iduna will not take any chances.
"He is dead...don't have to worry about him anymore" said Iduna as she held the crown, turning she was going to leave till she was stopped by the Phoenix, it screeched at her, flapping its flame covered wings.
The actions surprised Iduna, the phoenix should not be attacking her as she is not evil, so why was it? and why was it so angry at her?
"Don't do that to me! I did nothing wrong!" yelled Iduna as she batted her arms, then yelled when one of the burning talons scratched her making her let go of the crown.
With it landed on the ground the stones broke into many pieces, mist came out to reveal the fairies, a woman and the fairy queen.
The woman Iduna knew, she was Queen Arianna of Corona, what surprised her was why was she kidnapped by her sister? But before Iduna could speak the Phoenix flew over and landed in front of the Fairy Queen Rhiannon and began to squack, chirp and screech, though the sound was very musical Iduna knew that it was telling them something.When the phoenix was done the full attention of everybody on the room was on Iduna, for a moment she felt fear as she sensed the tension.
"The phoenix told me a story...now tell me yours" said Rhiannon seriously,
"Iduna, please tell me what the Phoenix said was not true" said Arianna as her green eyes bore unto Iduna.
Anger rose on Idunas chest as she realized they were talking about and said "He deserved it! He was going to hurt my daughters!",
"When?" said Rhiannon starteling Iduna,
"Pardon?" asked Iduna,
"When did he hurt your daughters?" repeated Rhiannon,
"It was a vision of the future, I saw him with my Anna she-",
"You condemmed an innocent man for something which has not happened yet and might not even happen?" said Arianna horrified,
"But it was going to happen" complained Iduna defending herself "I saw it!".
Queen Rhiannon sighted and said "No Iduna...what you saw was merely one of many futures" pausing she breathed before continuing "Choices are what form the future and because of all the choices the future is never set in stone, what you saw was merely the most concrete future or the future which was most likely to happen, but just because it is, it does not mean that it will happen as the future changes all the time".
For a moment Iduna felt fear as the guilt which she kept down because of her anger grew, "But he was going to hurt my daughters! He is nothing but a spoiled, manipulative, evil man" said Iduna as if trying to convince herself more than others,
"Really? That is not what the Phoenix told us" Said Rhiannon "He told us a lot of good things even that when Hans knew that you were not going to remove his curse he still continued his path to save you and us... ;Is the Phoenix lying to us?",
"No, I...I don't know!" said Iduna as she was close to tears,
"Then why don't we look into the future then? That way we can confirm if your actions are correct or not" suggested Arianna.
Iduna nodded as she held out her hand, as they took it she felt a bit of fear as she wondered if her actions was correct, "Of course it is! Stop thinking like that" Iduna scolded herself as they used their future sight.
For a moment Iduna felt relief as they saw exactly what she had seen, Hans leaving Anna to die then going to kill Elsa, but then midway to the vision Hans vanished as another vision took its place, it was exactly like the last one, but something was different about Hans, but Iduna did not know what, soon the scene played again, Anna was brought in by the servants, but that was where the similarities ended, Hans quickly took off his coat giving it to her before finding a blanket and placing it on her before leaving with the mission to try and talk to Elsa.
Iduna grew pale seeing that...the future had changed into a better one...but then it vanished as a new future started, this one was very dire and hopeless, Iduna, Rhiannon and Arianna saw Anna be placed in the room, she was alone, but soon Duke Weaselton walked in, mocking before forcing the coat Anna had off of her before turning off the fire.
Anna cried as he left, locking her there. Time passed and now Anna was outside, she was almost frozen as she cried and scream, nearby Elsa was running away, but as she reached a certain area a boat was moved and it cracked the ice making her fall on the water. As Elsa sunk she struggled to reach the surface, but it froze, sealing her underwater. She hit the icy wall, trying to escape.
"Please! No more! I don't want to see anymore!" cried Iduna as she fell to the ground weeping. Rhiannon ended the vision before she, Arianna and the fairies stared at the crying queen of Arendelle, a small part of them had pity on Iduna but the bigger part did not feel pity as this would be considered a punishment for Idunas action.
"What did I do?" Iduna though, the future was now far worse than it had been before and it was her fault, her actions doomed her daughters far more than an evil Hans would have.
"Now you know why we do not use our future sight, future is always changing and often times knowing a future before it happens causes more trouble than good" said Rhiannon "I hate to say it...if you had taken the curse off the second future would have become the concrete one...but regardless of which future Hans got he was needed in order to help your daughters and now that he is gone...I fear that your daughters are doomed to a terrible fate".
"NO!" yelled Iduna as she heard that, getting up she ran over to where the pebbles of what once Hans were, scooping them up she fumbled as she desperately tried to find a way to put it together, in her mind if she could put the statue back together she can remove the curse and her daughters future can be saved.
All the while she muttered "I am sorry" over and over then cried as every time she tried to grab pieces of the statue said pieces would break into smaller pieces,
"Iduna...there is nothing you can do" said Arianna softly as she walked over and placed her hand on Idunas back only for Iduna to snap at her "There has to be something! I was wrong! My actions were wrong! I cannot let my daughters suffer for something I did! Somehow! Some way! I have to find a way to fix this!",
"What is done is done Iduna, there is nothing else that can be done" said Rhiannon seriously "These are the concequence of your actions and in the end..you were no different than your sister as you killed an innocent man in an attempt to control fate" then the Phoenix began to chirp, Rhiannon turned and looked curious as she reached with her hand and arm, letting the Phoenix climb grab unto her hand, in a show of strength she lifted the bird up holding it by her hand as a princess would hold a tiny song bird.
It chirped "speaking" to Rhiannon, she chirped back responding and caressed it gently, after a while Rhiannon nodded then kissed the Phoenix head gently before saying "The Phoenix is the symbol of re-birth"
Both Iduna and Arianna looked confused, wondering what the fairy queen was talking about that,
"I think its time Hans was re-born from the ashes of his old life" said Rhiannon, once she said it both Arianna eyes widen in shock before asking "You mean?"
Rhiannon said nothing as the Phoenix combust itself into fire, its form vanished as the ashes of its body fell to the ground,
"This is not right...the Phoenix chick should..." Iduna though stopped as she something else was going on when Rhiannon let go of the flames and pushed them with her magic so it fell on the pebbles of Hans statue.
The flames surrounded the pile of pebbles till it was all engulf in a fire which turned golden as the pebbled were burned to ashes.
Iduna, Arianna and the fairies all stared in amazement as the fire finally died down leaving a huge pile of ashes. For a moment there was not a movement which was made, there were no sounds either as they all stared at the ashes, till finally Iduna slowly walked over to the ashes, for a moment fearful that Hans was gone for good.
Then there was movement on the ashes as a hand peeked from underneath the large pile reaching out, Iduna jumped startled before calming herself and grabbing the hand only to let it go as it was boiling hot to the touch.
"Get it together" though Iduna as she waved her hand a bit before grabbing the hand again and pulling, helping Hans sit up.
Hans was shaking a bit, the cinders and ashes stuck to every single part of his body making him look as black as night, his eyes were closed as he began to gasp, choke and cough, spitting out ashes from his mouth and lungs.
Iduna wanted to scream out as she was happy to see him alive which meant that her daughters fate will be spared.
"There will still be a punishment and a consequence for your actions" Iduna heard Rhiannon say as she walked over.
She reached into a pocket in her dress and took out a leaf, pouring her magic into the lead she made it grow and change till it was a magnificent deep green long cloak.
Holding the cloak Rhiannon gave it to Iduna who placed it on Hans flinched at her touch as he rasped a bit "What? Who goes there!?" his throat was dry and his eyes were also dry to the point that he could not open them.
"I am Rhiannon" said Rhiannon in a soft voice, hoping to calm him down,
"Rhiannon? Fairy queen Rhiannon?" said Hans between gasps as he remembered,
"Yes, now try not to stress yourself, you have been through a...change..." said Rhiannon carefully as she moved to try and help Hans on his feet, his legs shook a bit as he stood up, his stance was unstable, but that Rhiannon expected.
"Lets go to the Sommerled" said Iduna as she picked up the side bag Hans had which surprisingly had not burn and they began to leave, but as they left her mind was at the punishment and consequence of her actions.
"Is my family is right?..I am a changeling", "No Hans, you are yourself, but at the same time more"
Hours later:
Hans stirred awake, but when he opened his eyes he found that not only they burned but everything was dark as night. Was he blind? Was this how it felt like to be stone?
Moving his arms and hands he was relieved to find he could move as he placed them on his face, his skin felt smooth, not rough or like a rock,
"I was not turned to a statue" though Hans in relief as he placed his hands where his eyes would be, he felt a cloth covering them with some kind of warm muddy substance that seemed to coat the bandages, it smelled fruity.
"Don't touch that" he heard a female say as his hands were pulled away,
"What? Who?" asked Hans as he looked around which was futile since he could not see anything,
"My name is Arianna of Corona" said the female,
"Arianna of Corona...like the queen?" asked Hans as for a moment he panicked about being in the presence of the a queen,
"Yes, but please lets not be formal" said Arianna, there was a moment of silence as Hans felt a cold cloth run through his forehead, cheek and chin before she spoke again "The bandages will be taken off in a couple of weeks or more, for your eyes need time to heal",
"Was I blinded? What happened?" asked Hans, he was terrified of the though of being blind, but if it came down to choose between being blind or being a statue, he would take being blind any day,
"No no, your not blind Hans" said Arianna with a giggle "What happened is that your eyes are so dry its as if somebody has poured a hand full of sand on each one of them, that's why I coated them with a special ointment of mine made from special fruit juices and herbs to help heal them".
"That explains the fruity smell" though Hans before saying "I am apologize for my forwardness but, what happened to Mara?",
"Oh, you don't need to worry, Mara is gone, you beat her, that's all you need to know now" said Arianna,
"And the Phoenix? Is it okay?" asked Hans worried,
"Yes..." said Arianna as she hesitated, Hans wondered then asked "Arianna...why were you kidnapped by Mara?",
"My magic, my kingdom" said Arianna "Its the same why she kidnapped Iduna, the ruling royal of the kingdom always has magic because they are either part fae or they are given magic to help the kingdom or protect it in dire times, while the fairies and their queen are the reasons why we have the seasons and our magic gifts",
"If you have magic, what is it? why don't you use it?" asked Hans curious,
"I do, I have very strong healing powers which is a symbol of spring that is what this kingdom stands for, though I use them rarely as there is little need for them" explained Arianna,
"And Mara, who is she really? From which kingdom she comes from?" asked Hans, Arianna sighted before saying "Mara the usurper is from the kingdom or Arendelle, she is Iduna's older sister, she had the power over ice once which symbolized winter while Iduna had the power over leaves and stone which are that of autumn",
"A lot of the creatures I met called Mara that, but why is she the usurper if she is the oldest and heir?" asked Hans,
"She was always a controlling person, she loved control, a little too much that it corrupted her, she began to crave the total control of the seasons and our magic" answered Arianna softly "She wanted to gain it so that she could not only control all the magic, but also all of the kingdoms"
There was silence for a moment before Hans heard a sip sound, kinda like one when drinking tea before Arianna continued "Her parents and Fairy queen Rhiannon suspected her evil...so they presented the Phoenix to her as a test to see if she had grown to evil or corrupt, she failed the test proving her evil so they banished her...usually I would never ask death to another person but in this case I think that it would have been better if they had executed Mara",
"That is terrible" said Hans,
"Yes, but we do not have to worry about it now that she is gone thanks to you" said Arianna then Hans felt her put her hand on his shoulder "Come, you need to wash",
"Wash?" asked Hans, he knew what she meant by that as he did probably needed to bathe as he did not know how long had he been without one.
Yet as much as Hans wanted to bathe as he felt this odd, sticky, dry stuff in his skin, he did not wanted to as he could not see where he was or where he was going, plus he wanted to protect his modesty.
"Yes, don't worry I will have some servants help you" said Arianna,
"Servants?" asked Hans,
"Yes, my servants, you're in the kingdom of Corona now" answered Arianna before she said "I am sorry but have some other things to attend to, we will speak later",
"Wait wait, how did I got here? When-" Hans was unable to finish what he said as he heard Arianna leave.
Staying still in the darkness Hans waited alone with his thoughts before he heard the doors open and foots steps,
"Prince Hans?" he heard, it was a male voice, old, but not that old as its tone somewhat reminded him a bit of Richard,
"Yes? Who are you?" asked Hans as he sat up from what he thinks could be a bed and got up began to walk as he reached for where he heard the sound.
Hans heard something which sounded like a stifled laughter and the male voice said "Ahem...sir, please" he heard more foot steps before he felt some kind of cloth wrap around him, it was only then when Hans realized why the other servant was laughed. His face turned red as he held unto the cloth which was wrapped around him.
"Come on sir, my name is Noah" said the servant,
"My name is Cidna" said the other servant, female and she kept on giggling,
"Ahem" said Noah as he took Hans by his shoulder and began to lead him down somewhere, where Hans did not know, he just felt the cold floor, marble probably, finally he heard a door open and he was almost pushed in.
The floor there was warmer, Hans felt the hand let go, about a couple of minutes passed before he heard what sounded like a rushing water.
"Sir" Hans heard before he was helped into what he could guess was a tub full of water.
A couple of minutes passed as he was bathed then dressed into new clothes, a part of Hans was grateful for the help and another felt a bit ashamed as he was completely helpless in the temporary blind state he was in.
Days passed and Hans adjusted to the darkness and the area so he learned to get around, the familiar areas he could get around easy, others he had not gone as apparently he was given a whole palace wing to himself.
It was only him there most of the time with Noah and or Cidna, other times Queen Arianna and King Frederic came to visit and with them sometimes her daughter Rapunzel came and her boyfriend Eugene, but most of the time it was either Queen Arianna and King Frederic or just Queen Arianna alone, when it was her alone they spoke mostly about magic and such, which Hans felt that it was as if she wanted him to know something or was trying to tell him something without telling him what it is directly.
"Arianna, do all the rulers have magic?" asked Hans curious as he reached and felt the table before finding his cup of tea...or what he thinks it is as the last time he grabbed a cup thinking it was his tea cup he found out that it was actually the sugar cup and he wound up with a mouth full of sugar.
Taking it Hans felt along the edges before deciding it was indeed the tea cup and took a sip of the rather bitter brew.
"Yes and no, some rulers have magic as they are either given magic by Rhiannon or are born part Fae like myself, others just have magical objects, there are those who have neither but have magical creatures guarding their kingdom and then there are those who just don't have anything magical related" explained Arianna,
"Why do some don't?" asked Hans,
"Different reason" responded Arianna showing a little discomfort in her tone of voice, seems that it was a subject that she did not like to discuss "It could because they do not need magic or because, sadly like the dark island, the kingdom is just far too corrupted or evil",
"Guess that explains why the Southern isle's has no magic" muttered Hans softly though he was grateful as he did not even want to imagen how bad his life would have been if his father had magic,
"So, is there anything else you want to know?" said Arianna quickly as she changed the subject,
"Do both the king and queen have magic? or just one of the two?" asked Hans,
"If neither one are part fae then just one of the two and said magic is gifted by Fairy Queen Rhiannon" said Arianna,
"How does she chooses which one?" asked Hans, "Depends on the heir, if the heir is female then Queen Rhiannon will go out and test all the young men she deems worthy of the heir, if they pass then they are given a gift depending on what suits them, if the heir is male its the same only with young ladies, though most of the times us women receive magic while men get magical items or creatures" said Arianna,
"That sounds much like the fairy tales" said Hans,
"Well, whether you believe it or not fairy tales are real stories even if they sound a little too fantastic" said Arianna, if Hans could guess he would say that Arianna was smiling as she said that.
A fairy tale with a happy ending, that was how it was described when The crown princess of Rapunzel and Eugene were married, Hans wouldn't know for sure if it was as he was unable to see what was going on, but the good thing about not being able to see was that he was able to better enjoy the sounds, textures, smells and tastes which were present in the wedding celebration.
The wedding ceremony Hans sat next to King Frederic and Queen Arianna as it started, he could hear the sound of the piano playing as the rest of the guest took their seats.
"Excuse me" Hans heard making him grow tense, he knew that voice all too well,
"Ah King Stephen, Queen Valhalla, how nice of you to come to our daughters wedding" he heard Frederic say, his breath quickened in terror hearing the names, his parents were there...they found him...
Apparently Arianna noticed his fear and distress as he felt her hand on his, squeezing it gently,
"Hum, who is that?" he heard Valhalla, who was he she said; How can she recognize her own son?
"He is my nephew" Arianna lied,
"Here for the wedding?" he heard Stephen asked as he believed what Arianna said, though he did not seem to care as he spoke in a rude and bored tone of voice,
"What with the bandages and stuff wrapped around his head and eyes?" Hans heard Daniel said, by now he was hyperventilating in fear,
"He had a little accident while saving my wife, the bandages are coated with a solution so his eyes can heal" said Frederic,
"Then he must be stupid; Why save a life if your going to get hurt?" said Daniel,
"Excuse me?" said Arianna, she sounded shocked,
"My son is right, also I must ask; why bring your nephew if he cannot see the wedding, without seeing he will not be able to enjoy anything" said Valhalla in a superior tone,
"Yes, besides him with those bandages are quite an eye sore" said Daniel.
A huge part of Hans wanted to cry, first they do not recognize him, second they do not seem to be worried about him being gone at all and now they are insulting him again, seems that nothing will change them.
"I will go" Hans whispered as he made a move to get up to leave and be as far away from his family as humanly possible.
All of a sudden he heard somebody stand up, it was Frederic and he was furious as he said "No, dear nephew, you will stay, it is them who will leave!",
"Us? Leave?" said Valhalla shocked,
"Yes! You and your horrid family will leave this wedding and my kingdom right now!" yelled Frederic angrily,
"Why us? We did nothing wrong" snapped Daniel,
"You all barge in, insulted my nephew who risked his life to save my wife then you all have the audacity to demand that he leave this wedding when he has more right to be here than all of you put together, now leave before I have my guards escort you out!" ordered Frederic.
There was silence after a while, the environment got so tense you could cut it with a knife.
"Alright, we will leave" Hans heard Stephen said before there were foot steps and muttering which soon got to far away to hear.
There was a creak sound as Frederic sat back down before whispering to Arianna "I know you told me how that family was horrid, but never in my life would I have imagined that they were down right cruel",
"Hush, we will speak about this later" whispered Arianna before she spoke in a little louder "Hans, you okay?"
Taking a breath Hans calmed himself before saying "Yes, thank you, but you did not have to defend me",
"We had to, nobody deserves to be treated like that" said Arianna kindly,
"Now Hans, I am going to ask and I want you to be completely honest with me...Are they always like that?" said Frederic, Hans paused as he wondered to tell the truth or not, he never had told anybody about his home life, he only told the Phoenix, but he could not lie, not after everything that has happened,
"They can be worse than that" answered Hans softly, there was silence, his guess because they did not like his dire answer till the wedding march was sounded, the wedding had begun.
The rest of the day things went on quite great as after the wedding there was a nice reception party, then cake or...part of it...as there was a little "accident" with a certain white horse and a chameleon or so Hans heard.
More days passed to the point that that event and Hans past became a distant memory as he had a better life living with the Royal family of Corona, though he was sure that the same could not be said for the Southern Isle's from what he heard the servants gossiping about even the King mentioning a couple of times.
Apparently after the events of the wedding and probably talking to the Phoenix, King Frederic and Queen Arianna found out the full extent of what happened to him at the hands of his family and they were pretty outraged and disgusted, much so to the point that they annul all of the trading contracts they made with the Southern isle's deciding that they wanted nothing to do with a kingdom that had such a horrible family.
"Good thing I am not in the Southern isle's or else my father would..." Hans shuddered as he decided not to think about that as he reminded himself that he was not in the Southern isle's and with a bit of luck he would not be returning there any time soon.
Stopping his thoughts he turned his head towards what he thinks is a hallway, yes hallway as the sound echo lasted longer,
"Hello?, Is there somebody there?" asked Hans as he extended his hands and carefully guided himself as he felt the wall to his right, it was a good method...even if sometimes he would slam into doors as they were opened by servants or guards or other people.
There was silence,
"Eugene! If this is another prank of yours its not funny!" Hans warned as he walked closer.
Eugene, the princess Rapunzel's then boyfriend now husband, they had "met" a couple of weeks ago before he married Rapunzel in a not so friendly manner. Apparently Eugene had been both curious of Hans and skeptical whether he really could see through the bandages or not so the ex-thief decided to find out. By pretending to be a servant he tricked Hans to going into another palace wing which Hans was not familiarized and left him there talking to himself for a minute or two before realizing he was gone.
Not being familiarized or even knowing where he was going Hans spend a full 4 hours roaming the halls of the palace wing lost, it was not that bad till he wound up in the kitchen where he bumped into one of the chefs who almost spilled boiling water on himself because of that.
Part of Eugene found that prank hilarious, but another felt sorry for what he did as he did apologized to Hans...after getting a good scolding from Rapunzel about how he should not treat guests like that.
Going past all that Hans admitted that he enjoyed Eugene's company, he was very charismatic and could tell a good story, making very good company...though Hans still does not trust his directions from time to time..
"Eugene?" Hans called again, still no answer
"Princess Rapunzel?" he asked again wondering if it was the princess who he heard, but still no answer.
Then he heard foot steps coming his way, along with another strange sound, like something grinding against the floor, but what it was he could not identify.
"Hans" he heard a good distance behind him making him stop, it was Eugene's voice,
"Eugene?" asked Hans as he turned so he was facing the direction where he heard his voice coming from,
"Hans...this is important...I need you to walked over here slowly..." Eugene said, his voice sounded strange, kinda like how somebody is trying to keep calm but failing,
"What's going on?" asked Hans rather suspicious then accused "Are you trying to prank me again?",
"Me...no no...I just need you to come over here as quickly as you can" said Eugene before saying "Patchy...Sideburns...long time no see...well...you two should know...this guy is blind...so technically he did not see you two enter...so you two can just chase me to your hearts content and there will be no witnesses besides me".
"Who is he talking to?" though Hans as he felt a sense of fear rise inside of him with the way Eugene was talking even more when the a strangers voice said "Sorry Flynn, you know the rules...no witnesses will be left alive".
Whether it was luck or good reflexes Hans sprinted to the left, when he did he heard a loud clank behind him which suspiciously sounded like a sword hitting the ground.
Cursing Hans skidded to a halt and he heard Patchy or maybe Sideburns say "For not being able to see he has some reflexes",
"Just makes it all more interesting" said Sideburns or is it Patchy, Hans could not tell as both voices were new to him, quietly he slowly back away, straining his hearing to know if they were walking or running or if they were far or close.
"Hans careful!" yelled Eugene when Hans felt a rough hand grab his shoulder, the next thing that happened Hans was not fully sure what.
The person who grabbed him began to scream in pain, followed by heat and what smelled like smoke,
"Fire!" he heard making him panic as he ran towards where he had heard Eugene, but he was disoriented by the sounds of screaming pain as they filled up the hall blocking other sounds before it went quiet.
Flinching he felt somebody grab him but when the person spoke he felt relief, it was one of the guards.
He and Eugene were taken away to safety.
A long time had passed and Hans grew anxious as he sat in one of the Corona palaces common rooms, he wondered why had he been asked to be there.
Getting up Hans walked around the room, careful not to hit anything till he arrived at the door, there he heard whispering sounds.
"I know that you are worried Frederic, but we cannot do this" he heard Arianna say,
"Yes, with all due respect I admit that Hans might have slightly toasted the Stabbington brothers, but other than that no harm was done" he heard Eugene say,
"Please father let him stay, where is he going to go? We cannot send him back to the Southern isle's" he heard Rapunzel say, hearing that made a lump grow on his throat, he was going to leave? But why?; What did he do to make Frederic want him to leave?
"Look, I know we owe him for saving you're mother and yes we have all grown attached to him, I myself included, but it is too dangerous to keep him here with his...gift...its obvious he has no control and the next time he might burn the palace down" said Frederic,
"Dangerous gift?" though Hans wondering what were they talking about, also why and how would he be able to burn a whole palace down?
"Where is he to go?" asked Arianna,
"I talked to Fairy queen Rhiannon, she agreed to take him in and teach him the ropes" said Frederic, there was silence, but apparently it was sad silence because Frederic then said "Its not that we are kicking him out, he is always welcomed here and will always have home with us, but he needs this, when he is well learned he can come back".
When Frederic finished talking Hans quickly ran and sat back down before they entered.
He heard them walk over, possibly Frederic and Arianna only as he only heard two separate foot steps, he said nothing, that was till Arianna said "I know that look, you heard us right?".
Hans sighted and said "Sorry, my hearing is a bit sensitive",
"Son, we are not kicking you out, its just that...more has happened than you think...and this is what is best for you and all of us for the time being" said Frederic,
"But you will always have a home with us, our doors will always be open for you, but for now you have to go to Fairy Queen Rhiannon" said Arianna softly,
"I understand" said Hans as he got up and bow down "Thank you for your hospitality...for everything...I am forever grateful",
"It is us who are grateful for you Hans, don't worry, where you are going an old friend is waiting" said Arianna,
"Old friend? The phoenix?" asked Hans hopefully, he had not seen the Phoenix since he somehow got to Corona, true that whenever he asked Arianna would say it was okay, but Hans would like to see if possible that the bird was okay.
"Yes" said Arianna hesitating then added "You will also make more friend and maybe even more, like I always say, Love is an open door",
"Thank you Arianna...Thank you Frederic...thank you for everything" said Hans, he was sad to go as the Corona royal family was the closest thing he ever had to a real family, but if he had to go for his own good and theirs...he will.
No more than a week passed when Hans had to say his good byes and left by boat to a new destination.
Where he had no idea, but luckily the captain and sailors knew as they sailed the boat.
Standing outside Hans breathed in the air of the sea, enjoying the salty smell, even taste of it and hearing the sound of the ocean, after a couple of hours he heard a strange sound, docking if he was correct as he held unto the wooden rail of the boat to keep from falling, soon he felt the hand of one of the sailors on his shoulder.
"We are here" said the sailor,
"Where are we?" Hans asked, there was no answered as he was pulled and pushed somewhere unknown.
He felt himself walk down the wood ladder and hit stone; Was he in a port? If he was then where was he? and Where was everybody as the ports are almost always busy.
Carefully moving Hans found that there were stairs of sort as he was guided by his hand now, up and up he walked a good while till he reached the top.
"I am sorry for keeping you in the dark for so long" he heard making him jump as he looked around,
"You are free to take off the bandages if you like" he heard again. Calming himself Hans reached for the bandage and undid them, at first the brightness felt unberable as it blinded him, but soon he blinked it out as just eye sight adjusted and he took in his surroundings as he was happy to see again after many days and weeks of darkness.
All around there was not another more beautiful place than this place, it was a large forest with clearings of flowers of all sorts, up ahead there was a large tree which was hallow leading up to a huge palace as if it was one with nature. A sparkling waterfall went all around with rivers of blue light, animals and creatures of all sorts floric. It was paradise.
"What is this place?" asked Hans amazed,
"Your in our realm Hans" he heard, turning he saw who spoke, it was a woman with long curly blond hair, her eyes went from gold to green, her short pointing ears were decorated with a silver ear cuff, on her back she had large bird wings and wore a blue shimmering dress.
"Fairy Queen Rhiannon" said Hans as he recognized who it was from the tapestry Deer showed him days ago, he fumbled a bit as he bow down,
"No need to bow" said Queen Rhiannon "I have to thank you for saving me and my subjects from the hands of Mara",
"I did not do it all myself, The Phoenix helped a lot" said Hans as he looked around and noticed that the fairies were there, so were other creatures, but not the Phoenix who was the one who he was most eager to see "Fairy queen Rhianon...where is the Phoenix?" asked Hans,
The queens eyes turned sad before saying "I am sorry but, the reason why its not here is also the reason why your not a statue right now"
Hans eyes widen as he remembered, in truth he though that the reason why he was not stone now was because Iduna had a change of heart, but with the way that Rhiannon said what she said told him that something else happened.
"What happened? Where is the Phoenix?" asked Hans worried "Queen Arianna said that it was okay, that I would see it again when I came here",
"I am sorry but, the Phoenix gave up its life and magic for you" said Rhiannon softly, Hans stared, those words were not fully registering in his mind as he said "Sorry?",
"When you turned to stone...Iduna broke you so you would not come back...but the phoenix decided to save you by transferring its life and magic to you so you would live" repeated Rhiannon as she walked closer, placing a hand on his shoulder as the situation dawn in on Hans.
The phoenix was gone, his first friend was dead, he began to shake as he tried not to cry because of his loss,
"I am sorry, but there was no other way, Iduna destroyed your stone body and the Phoenix wanted you to live on" said Rhiannon softly,
"Why? I do not deserve to live on, if you can see into my past and future you will know why" said Hans as he weep,
"The past is no more, the future does not exist" said Rhiannon "The phoenix did what it did because it saw you, what you could become and if it choose to give up its life for you its because you were more than worth saving"
Hans breathed as he closed his eyes, he did not know whether to believe what Rhiannon was saying or not, then his thoughts shifted to Iduna, a part of him was furious for it was her fault that he lost his phoenix friend, but then at the same time he was not angry at her for he knew that she was doing what any true parent would do to protect their child.
"Hans, do not weep for the Phoenix for a little bit of it lives in you, you are a Phoenix now, human form one, but still one, do not waste its gift grieving or planning revenge, instead take what you have been given and use it to do good, for it is what it would have wanted" said Rhiannon.
There was silence as Hans though, he was deeply sadden by the loss, but he knew Rhiannon was right, "Thank you your majesty" said Hans,
"Call me Rhiannon, now come, there is much to show you and so little time" said Rhiannon as she turned and walked away,
"Show me?" asked Hans as he followed her,
"Yes, I will be teaching you how to use your newly gained magic, the phoenix magic is very different from what you would get if you had regular fire magic, it can protect, heal and purify, but at the same time it can bring death and destruction so you need to be very careful with them" said Rhiannon as she went into the large castle of a tree, Hans followed and was surprised to find the place was much grander on the inside than out, everything in the room was made out of stone and wood, one with nature in a sense with delicate craftsmanship which lined the many halls.
Said halls had many doors of different sizes, shapes and colors, Rhiannon took Hans to a door which was just his size in height and was the color red with some gold in it.
"This will be your room while you stay here, also while you are here apart from getting lessons of magic you will also be joining my court and because of so you will also be getting some more education and classes as you will be expected to attend all court functions" said Rhiannon and added "We may be fun loving, but when it comes to court functions, dinner parties, traditions and manners we expect nothing but perfection, so I hope you take the classes seriously as any wrong gesture you do or any wrong word you say no matter how small and insignificant will be seen as a great insult".
"I don't know much of court functions" said Hans, it was somewhat true as he beraly was allowed to attend court or its functions back at the Southern Isle's, so hearing that made a mistake made him quite nervous,
"That is why either I or one of my courtiers will teach you, don't worry, by this time next year or sooner if you put effort and practice you should have mastered them to perfection" said Rhiannon as she turned and opened the door letting Hans in.
"I will give you a week to get settled, but when its done its none stop training, studying and classes" she said before turning and leaving as she had duties to attend to.
"Thank you" said Hans as he entered the room, it was quite a large room, just as big as the room his brothers had back at the Southern Isle's but it was much grander as everything seemed to be made out of precious metals, from the fireplace with a strange blue fire on it to the desk, chair and even bed, it was quite surprising even intimidated Hans as he felt he did not deserve such a grand room.
Arianna did explain a bit of the palace where the Fairy queen lived, she said that all of the magical creatures lived there and all rooms were made to suit their jobs, ranks, work, ect, so by the look of the room it seemed that the Phoenix played a very important role.
"I better ask Queen Rhiannon the next time we meet" though Hans as he walked over to the bed, placed neatly on the bed were several outfits of sorts, cloaks, shoes and such, the one which drew Hans attention the most was one which looked identical to the one that vanished after he and the Phoenix defeated Mara.
At first Hans though the old outfit and this one were the same, till he realized that it was not as the fabrics felt different and even the colors were a bit brighter.
Letting it go Hans took off his bag which he had brought some of the things, inside was the circlet the strange Draugr gave him, the sword of his grandfather, a book which Rapunzel had given to him as a parting gift said book had the story of her and Eugene and was full of her drawings which were quite beautiful.
Taking out each item with care Hans placed them on specific spots, the book was placed on the nightstand next to the bed, the sword was placed carefully on the wardrobe.
When Hans took the circlet he looked curious at it, much to his surprise the gold band began to fix itself, it straightened, the dents disappeared, rubies appeared stuck to it.
"Wow" though Hans surprised as he wondered about how it was fixed till he decided it was magic.
Turning he walked over to a nearby mirror, ever since Hans first saw his fathers crown and his brothers circlet he always wondered what it would feel like to wear either one, true the crown he probably might not find out, but the circlet which only the heir to the throne could wear he could find out since he had one in his hands.
Standing before the mirror Hans nearly dropped the circlet in shock as he found a stranger in his room.
Turning around he was ready to confront the intruder only to realize there was no intruder, it was just him in the room...alone...
Looking back at the mirror Hans slowly got closer as he inspected the reflection...his reflection...
His once pale even sickly skin tone cause by his parents belief that the paler the skin tone the higher status you had change so that it was now had a healthy looking light tan color, his hair which once was ginger had grown a darker red, auburn color if he was correct, his brown eyes were no more as they were now green much like the forests and..
"The phoenix eyes" though Hans sadly as he remembered the eye color of his feather friend.
Sighting he decided to find a way to commemorate the phoenix later, with that he placed the circlet.
As soon as it made contact with his head he saw a terrifying vision...
"You will not take what is mine!" a loud yet familiar voice sounded in his head "Its my crown! My throne! I am the oldest!", then he felt wet and could not breath, like he was drowning.
Reacting quickly Hans took the circlet off and the vision ended, yet let him greatly disturbed.
What was that? Was it the last thing that Draugr saw before it died? Was the person the evil draugr which turned the other one?
"I might have to remember that" though Hans as he walked and placed the circlet bag in his bag and said bag was placed in the wardrobe with the sword.
"Tap" "Tap" "Tap" Hans heard coming from the window, turning he walked over and opened the window only to jump in surprise when Deer flew by fast.
"Deer?" asked Hans,
"Hans! Its you!" said Deer as she fluttered and hugged his hand "When I heard you were here I had to see for myself",
"Yes, I am here to-" began Hans,
"I know, word travels fast here" said Deer waiving her hand as she let go and flew around the room then asked "Want me to show you around? I am sure you will love it here",
"Alright, thank you Deer" said Hans as he motioned for the fairy to show him the way, she squealed and flew ahead with Hans following her out of the room.
Walking down the hall Hans though as he remembered something then asked "Deer, have you seen Queen Iduna?",
"No, why do you ask for her?" answered Deer,
"Its just that I don't know what happened to her after the defeat of Mara" said Hans,
"Ohhh, to be honest I don't know what happened to her" said Deer honestly. Making a mental note to ask Rhiannon Hans continued to follow Deer as she showed him around.
Time passed and Hans quickly realized that the whole training and learning process was a lot harder than he originally though, most of his days were consumed with either lessons or practices.
The practices for his magic was the most time and physical consuming, whenever he used it at first left him quite drained as it took a lot of his energy both physically and mentally. First lesson of control was to summon the flames to his hands without it either shooting out or fading away, in that lesson Hans may or may not have burn down a couple of plants. When that was under control the lessons moved to getting better control of said flames, learning how to use them when he wants to either attack or heal or break curses. The last was the most complicated as some curses were much harder to break than others.
Then there were the lessons for court, there were so many that Hans though his mind would burst as the court which was composed of other courts which were either magical creatures or other kingdoms which had magic all had different rules, etiquette and codes.
When he learned he was allowed to join in on court events and parties, he even participated on the Fae court which was the strictest court of all.
"It was not easy, but soon you learned how to control you magic and learned the ways of not only my court but that of others as well, of course there were a few moments where you burned things down in frustration but practice made perfect, it also helped that you had friends by your side, you were completely different by the end"
"Why did I leave?"
"You were home sick, but most of all you missed your brother and Primrose"
2 years later:
Hans undid his blindfold and looked around with a grin as he played hide and seek with Deer and a couple of other creatures. With his lessons and training over it left Hans with a lot of time in his hand which he could use doing whatever he liked. He would either read, explore the vast area and sometimes he join in and play with others like right now.
Looking around the he began his search through the area. He found Calde hiding behind the waterfall, the fairies on the flowers, soon he found all of the players, all but Deer.
"Where is Deer?" though Hans as he looked around, he checked the pond, re-checked all the trees and every other place he could think off before looking in the gardens. Fairy tradition was that all creatures had their own little plot of land to grow whatever they wanted and decorate however they wanted, he had his own plot, which he burned down more times than he can count out of anger or frustration, but over time he gain control of both his fire magic and his emotions as they seemed to fuel his magic.
Rhiannon did taught him many tricks, one of them was a mental "crystal cage" of sorts, to use it he would mentally imagen his magic in a sphere "crystal cage", locking them there. Once locked the magic would stay inactive till he called it out. With that trick and many others he was able gain control and once in control he was able to grow things in his own little plot of land.
Most which he chose to plant were fruits and berries or trees, all of them had the color red in honor of his friend the phoenix, the only thing which was not red was a small bush of white roses which were quite odd as they would change color on contact depending on the persons mood.
That was when Hans noticed something, the rose bush which in the morning had all white roses were now yellow. Feeling a little smug Hans creeped over quietly and looked over the flowers, moved the leaves and twigs till "Got you" said Hans as he grabbed Deer by her wings making her scream.
"You scared me" she whined as Hans placed her at the palm of his hand and said "Next time don't hide in a place which will give out your location" as he gestured to the roses which turned white again.
"Oh...forgot they do that" mused Deer before flying away, Hans followed till he heard some talking, at first he though it was Deer till he saw that she had left.
"Strange" though Hans as he looked around and found the source of the noise, it was coming from some forget me nots.
"Once there were two sister, they were reraly apart, till one day the eldest locked herself away, out of sight and out of reach, yet still the youngest hopes, for a reunion soon to come, when that day comes she so hopes, that they would build a snow man together"
They said.
"Nice poem, but wonder what sisters its talking about" though Hans as he looked around the other flowers, wondering if they too could speak.
The next he chose a tulips and listened in.
"From the darkness we reach out, for the sunlight for us to greet, for it brings us hope and delight, for spring days will soon come"
The tulips said,
"So spring has come, its so hard to tell as spring is always here" though Hans as he picked another flower, this time a Iris and listened.
"3 years have passed, 3 years since he lost his beloved brother, his family might not care, but he does care a lot, never will he stop till his brother is returned home"
"That remind me of my brother...is it him?" though Hans as he wondered if the Iris was speaking of his brother, if it was...3 years? He was gone for 3 years?
"Poor Arthur, Primrose, they must be worried sick" though Hans as it was then that he decided it was time to go home.
"If it happened why don't I remember?"
"Because of your second encounter with Mara, somehow in her trapped mirror form she made her way to our home and attacked"
That night Hans went to the dinning hall for dinner, the hall itself was massive and stacked with a long rectangle table and chairs which would shrink or grow to accommodate the person and the amount of guest who went to dinner. At this hour usually Rhiannon would have joined in to have dinner and he hoped she did as he wanted to talk to her about going back home.
Pushing the massive doors open Hans noticed a strange quiet as the dinning room was always noisy at this time, opening the door he was greatly disturbed as he saw no creatures, but mirrors, they were all black and stacked on the chairs as if they were placed there.
Walking in Hans felt his hands get warm as his magic was reacting to whatever evil presence was in the room,
"Keep it calm Hans, just like practice" though Hans as he pushed the magic back into the mental "crystal cage" as he walked to where Rhiannon's throne like seat was.
It was too occupied by a mirror, a very large one, the closer Hans got the more he noticed an evil presence as a kind of chill spread through his body.
Then all of a sudden he stopped, growing tense, then all of a sudden he turned around summoning wave of fire through his hand, there were many crashes as the mirrors which somehow got up and took humanoid forms to attack him.
Upon touching the flames the mirror forms shattered and turned to ashes, "What is this" though Hans as he back away from the ashes.
"So...the spoiled brat now has more magic to throw around now" he heard...that voice he knew..as he looked around..
"No...guess spoiled brat does not fit you anymore...Phoenix...yess...that is your tittle now...I did see everything that happened...how touching was it that your friend was willing to give up its life for you" the voice continued,
"I don't know how...but I will make sure that you never return again" threatened Hans as his hands sparked up in golden flames,
"Still the same bravado, I don't know whether to admire your bravery or laugh at your foolishness" said Mara as the mirror in the throne took a humanoid form, standing up it walked over to Hans "Like my new form? I do not like it as I was forced to transfer my soul into a mirror, but not to worry soon I will have a new body".
Keeping a defensive stance Hans looked at her then his surroundings as he noticed more mirrors took humanoid form and began to surround him,
"Where is Rhiannon? Where are my friends? What did you do to them?" demanded Hans angrily,
"They are right here among us" said Mara as she motioned to the mirrors, from the mirrors Hans for a moment could hear Rhiannon, Deers and the others crying for help.
"Let them go!" growled Hans,
"Sorry, but I do not listen to lowly pheasants" said Mara before sending shards of mirrors at him, dodging them Hans turned and fire punched the mirror which tried to attack him then threw fire at the next mirror.
"I said again, let them go!" Hans demanded again,
"Sorry...oh no I am not for the answer is no" said Mara before all the mirror broke into different pieces and began to swirl around, trapping Hans in a sort of vortex.
Looking Hans had to act quick, if his friends were trapped in the mirrors then he was dealing with a curse, so summoning his flames Hans concentrated fully as he mentally repeated his command which was to break the curse as the vortex grew closer then closer swallowing the flames as it began to mix.
Then all of a sudden there was a loud crash and a painful scream, the vortex and mirrors broke as they exploded and scattered everywhere, big shards, small ones, they went everywhere before disappearing, when they disappeared Rhiannon and the other magical creatures re-appeared as they were freed from the curse.
Hans shook as he too had shards of the mirror stuck unto his the skin of his arms, chest and even forehead,
"This is not the end Phoenix, the next time we meet...I will make sure you will never rise again" Hans heard before he lost consciousness.
"Oh no" though Rhiannon as she ran over, the shards stuck on Hans began to work their evil power on him.
Placing both hands on him, one in his chest where his heart was the other in his forehead Rhiannon used her magic to get the shards out and reverse the damage done.
"Is he okay?" asked Deer worried,
"Yes...but it is time" said Rhiannon sadly, she could sense the shards of the mirror, these were nothing but mere copies, the real one, the real mirror where Mara is trapped sent the copies to attack them using a spell, yet she did not do it alone...Mara had help...Rhiannon can sense it and also that where Mara was is somewhere in the ocean, traveling by boat.
"Time for what?" asked a dwarf,
"For Hans to go home" said Rhiannon making the creatures gasp, but before they could protest Rhiannon said "He has to go home...Why it will be revealed later but his place is there now",
"Among the filth and the abuser?" said a fae sticking his nose up in disgust,
"Do not disobey me, he will go home now, no more questions asked, now bring the his bag with the sword, book and circlet" ordered Rhiannon, bowing down some creatures went to fetch it as they did Deer asked "Is Hans going to be okay?",
"Yes, but I don't know...the shards got in deep...I removed them...but I am afraid some memories were forgotten" said Rhiannon,
"No..don't say that" said Deer pleading,
"Don't worry little Deer, even if he forgets he will find his own way here and when we does I will help him remember" said Rhiannon as she took out a small gold hand mirror which she hid in a pocket in her dress and a silver locket.
When the bag was presented Rhiannon placed the mirror on the bag then the locket on Hans neck saying "This is the most concrete future for you now Hans, if you make all the right choices then you will have a chance to gain true love and lifetime of happiness".
End:
Present:
There was silence as the visions left their minds, Hans, Primrose and Arthur stared as they processed what they saw. To Hans now everything made sense as he remembered everything. Finally everything made sense now that all the pieces were together. As for how the mirror got to Elsa, if Hans had to guess Stephen had something to do with it as he remembered the shards his brothers had.
Somehow some the shards were carried by the wind and arrived at Stephens hands who somehow managed to put it together as the mirrors reflective area was polished metal mostly so fixing it was no problem...unless Mara was smart enough to hide a back up mirror...and the why...it was the age old answer...greed and power...
"I apologize as it seemed that the mirror shards took your most recent memories...which were what happened during the 3 years...and it seems that when you forgot your magic went dormant till you started to remember" said Rhiannon,
"Why did he started to remember now and not all those years ago?" asked Arthur curious,
"The rune he got, the blue stone with the snow flake, you see sometimes runes grant wishes but other times they grant what you mostly need and what Hans needed was to reach Elsa and it seems that the similarity between the events in those years ago and what happened between Elsa and Hans triggered those forgotten memories" explained Rhiannon,
"Also I have to ask...is it true that the Sommerled is enchanted?" said Arthur hoping,
"Yes, it is, I enchanted it myself" said Rhiannon with a smile,
"I knew it! I was right!" said Arthur cheering happily,
"Okay okay, you are right...now settle down..." said Hans, usually this would have been a happy and even fun moment, but it was not as there was danger and a plot to stop, "Thank you for explaining your highness" Hans quickly said before Arthur could ask any more questions, as he bow down he added "Thank you for everything you have done as now I understand perfectly clear what I must do",
"Which is?" asked Rhiannon,
"I have to get to Elsa, Mara and Stephen must be stopped at all cost" said Hans then asked "Can you please send us to Arendelle or as close to there as possible?",
"Of course" said Rhiannon as she turned so her back was to them and gave a surpringly loud whistle, at first there was nothing but silence, till a loud roar could be heard as something big landed, making the ground shake. Looking the trio stared in surprised, Sven looked like he wanted to run away in fear.
"Ethne will take you there, but word of warning, watch the spines, he hates it when people touch it" said Rhiannon
To be continued...
Authors note: There it is...now you all know the past and what happened, hopefully it should have answered all the questions you all had.
Now...to explain why the future changed and became so terrible well...what happened was pretty much like a story, all the factors need to be present in order to make things happen, so when Iduna killed Hans it set off a chain reaction as it eliminated one of the important factors and by doing that the events which needed to happen (the events of the movie) did not happen.
Elsa lost control, but it was Anna's fault and because Hans was not there the Duke got in charge of Arendelle, and also because Hans was not there to kill or try to kill Elsa she never stopped the blizzard in her grief of loosing her sister and because the blizzard was not stopped Anna never found Kristoff so she basically froze and because Anna did not get to Elsa there was never an act of true love and Elsa wound up falling into the water which not only did she drown, but she froze.
So in the end whether Hans was good or bad, he was needed there so the sisters would get a "happy ending".
In the story well...should explain...if Hans had not rescued Iduna he would have turned evil and the events of the movie would have happened (Though he would have had different eye and hair color) there would be a chance that he would be good if he managed to get to Corona, if Hans would have agreed to Mara's arrangement she would have trapped the Phoenix and forced its life magic unto Hans allowing him to live and again the events of the movie would have happened and it would have ended horrible later on because Mara would have succeeded in her plan, if Iduna would have taken the curse off the events of the story would be the same though Hans instead of being evil he would have been good and helped Anna and Elsa.
Yes, a lot of futures...which Iduna did not bother to check, because if she had checked the moment that she arrived at the Dark Island she would have seen that there was more than one possible future.
So speaking of Iduna, no she is not dead...or anything...but her fate will be revealed soon.
Any way please leave a comment on what you think of it and stay tuned for the next chapter.