The next morning Anna was up early and knocking on Hans' door again. When there was no answer she hesitated, wondering if she should peek in or not. Just as she made up her mind, Olaf wandered past. His head turned 180ยบ to watch her as he kept walking, "Hans is already up and out for the day," he said as he waved and disappeared around the corner.

Anna sighed in disappointment. She decided to have a look around the castle to see if Hans was exploring, or perhaps had gone to the library. An hour later, she had seen no sign of him and was ready to give up in disgust. She had no idea where he was, but evidently he was not in the castle. Just as she decided to go outside and get some fresh air herself, Anna heard a strange ringing noise coming from down the hallway. Curious, she walked towards it to investigate. She pushed open the door to the ballroom and was met by the unexpected sight of Hans fencing with his brother while one of his nephews watched.

Relieved to have found him but not wanting to interrupt, Anna squeezed through the door and followed the contour of the room until she was beside the young boy. She then leaned over and whispered quietly in his ear, "Who's winning?"

The boy jumped and nearly screamed, but he quickly clapped his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't distract his father and uncle. His eyes were wide and startled as he turned to look at Anna, "You scared me!" he exclaimed.

Anna was instantly contrite, "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to. I just don't know anything about swords or fighting, and you looked like you do. I'm Anna."

The startled look faded from his eyes to be replaced by a curious one, "You're Princess Anna?" he asked, "I'm Patrik. The son of Prince Niels and Duchess Joan."

A rueful look crossed Anna's face, "I take it you've heard of me?"

Patrik nodded, "Yes, I've heard my parents talking about how you are Hans' true love and that he completely changed because of you."

A blush coloured Anna's cheeks and she had to look away for a moment. Wanting to change the subject, she looked back out to the duelists, "So you didn't answer my first question," she said, "Who's winning?"

Accepting her redirection, Patrik also turned back to the swordsmen, "My father," he said simply.

Anna raised an eyebrow, "Is that an impartial assessment?" she teased.

Patrik mimicked her expression, "Of course. Though my father does have an advantage since Uncle Hans is still recovering from being chained to a wall for a year."

The blood drained from Anna's face, "Chained to a wall?" she said incredulously, "Elsa didn't mention that!" She wavered on the spot as though she was going to run over to Hans immediately, but a gentle touch on her elbow stopped her. She turned to see Hans' sister-in-law had joined them along with her other son and daughter. Her look was sympathetic, but she didn't say a word to Anna, only bowed slightly in acknowledgement before calling out to the two men.

"I think that's enough swordplay for one day gentlemen," she said, "You have company."

Hans and Niels straightened from their fighting stances to turn to them. Anna noticed that Hans looked self-conscious on seeing her and wondered whether this had been a bad idea after all. Niels crossed to the wall to pick up a towel and tossed another to Hans. They both mopped their necks and brows before joining the small group of observers.

"Your highness," said Niels, bowing to Anna, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh please," protested Anna, "There's no need to be so formal with me. Anna is fine."

Niels inclined his head in acknowledgement, "Anna then. To what do we owe this pleasure? Do you enjoy swordplay?"

Anna glanced at Hans, who was breathing harder than Niels. "Actually," she admitted, "Since I've been in the castle for most of my life and don't have any brothers, I don't know anything about sword fighting."

"Well," said Hans with a rueful glance at Niels, "We certainly didn't have that problem."

Niels laughed, "Maybe you would enjoy a demonstration?" he asked. Then he half-turned to give Hans a mischievous look, "Then again, perhaps now would be a bad time. I've already worn you out."

The look Hans gave his brother in return was scathing, "What makes you think you'll win?" he asked. He walked confidently back out to the middle of the ball room and took up a fighter's stance, "To quote the French, En Garde!"

Niels leaned over to give his wife a quick kiss, then walked back out to face Hans and adopted his own fighting stance, "En guard!" he returned.

There was a brief pause while the two men sized each other up, then Niels lunged and Anna was lost. The blurring, spinning blades and almost rhythmic ringing of steel on steel combined with their movements confused Anna. At times they seemed almost to be dancing, or least following some sort of choreography, but then one or the other would break the pattern and the illusion would be jarringly shattered. After watching for ten minutes, Anna was forced to admit to herself that she had no idea who was winning or if they were evenly matched.

The unexpected sound of steel striking padding and sudden exhale had Anna on her tip-toes, trying to see who had been hit and if that meant the match was over. When they continued to fight without an apparent pause, Anna turned to Joan, "Who's winning?" she asked in bewilderment.

Joan laughed lightly. It was a cheerful and friendly sound, so Anna was not offended, "At the moment, no one," she said.

Anna turned back to the men. Hans forced Niels backwards and they temporarily disengaged. He opened his arms in an invitation, "Come on," he called, "Fight me."

"I don't want to embarrass you in front of the woman you love when you're not back to full strength," said Niels calmly without changing his stance.

Hans glared at his brother, "If you won't take this seriously, we'll both look like fools. I'd rather lose honestly than win by pity, regardless of who's watching."

Niels nodded his head slightly, "So be it." He swung forward and Hans was forced to quickly parry. Despite being slightly off balance, Hans managed to hold his ground and return the attack, making Niels step backwards to restabilize himself.

The intricate and confusing dance continued, broken regularly by the sword of steel against steel, and occasionally by the sound of steel on padding or the rare grunt. Anna watched as Hans struck Niels' knuckles with the hilt of his sword, causing Niels to drop his blade. Niels rolled backwards to avoid the follow up strike, than dove forward again to reclaim his weapon. Niels went on the offensive, attacking in a regular pattern that moved between high and low and left and right, but just as Anna figured out his pattern, he suddenly changed it in an attempt to catch Hans off guard. Though his quick shift showed he was expecting the change of direction, Hans wasn't quite fast enough and Niels succeeded in knocking his sword across the room. Before Hans could disengage, Niels tripped his feet, knocked him down and placed his sword at Hans' neck. "Do you yield?" he asked.

Hans put his open hands out to the sides in surrender, "I yield."

Niels stepped back, lowered his sword, and offered his hand to help Hans stand. "Good bout," he said with a smile, "You did better than I expected."

Hans flashed a small, somewhat apprehensive smile at Anna, "I had good motivation. My skills and reflexes just aren't quite ready to keep up yet."

They rejoined the women and children and Niels threw his arm around his wife. She wrinkled her nose and pushed it off jokingly, "How about you take a bath first?" she suggested. Niels laughed and put his arm back around her to hug her. With his sons clamouring around them begging to try some of the moves they had just seen, the family left. "See you tomorrow!" called Niels as he pushed open the door to leave. Hans waved in acknowledgement.

Still smiling, Anna turned to Hans, "You did very well," she said, "Though I really can't say I'm any kind of authority to be taken seriously."

Hans laughed, though it sounded slightly forced to Anna. "That's alright," he said, "I'm not sure I qualify as much an authority right now either."

Suddenly nervous, Anna bit her lip and looked down. She took a deep breath and looked back up at him squarely, "Hans?" she asked, "Would you mind if I come and watch you in the mornings?"

Hans tipped his head slightly in confusion, "No. Can I ask why?"

"Well, you can get to know someone by watching them," she explained, "By watching you fight I'll get to see if you're a hard worker, if you're easily discouraged, how you handle losing," a sly smile crossed her face, "And eventually, how you handle winning."

A surprised laugh escaped him and Anna was pleased to note that this one sounded genuine. "Well I can hardly say no to that. For now though, how would you like to go for a canter through the forest? After I bathe of course."

Anna smiled brightly, "I'd love that."