Westerguard

Anna and Hans glared at each other with barely restrained fury.

"Out of all the islands I could crash on.", Anna answered. "It just had to be yours."

Hans drummed his fingers on the desk and leaned closer.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?!"

Anna didn't lean back. From him? No. Way.

"I told you.", she said, feigning serenity. "You crashed my ship."

"It wasn't me!"

"Oh, really. Aren't you supposed to be the prince here? 'Cause if you're that bad at ruling people…"

He hit the desk.

"Shut up!", he told her. "That's not what I asked about! Why were you so close to Westerguard?! Did you forget where Arendelle is?!"

"No, I got kidnapped!", she snapped back.

He stopped and blinked in surprise, leaning back. Anna narrowed her eyes.

"It wasn't you?"

"No… Why the hell would I want to have anything to do with you anymore?"

He sat back in his chair and looked at her, considering. Through the hum of the rain outside, his rapping on the desk was barely audible.

"And what do you think you're doing?", Anna asked after moment of silence. "You just took over one of your kingdom's own islands like it's no big deal?"

"Yes.", he answered grinned. "You think it was any big deal? Please."

He stood up and stepped away from the desk, approaching the window on the other side of the room. He looked out, then back at her, then rose his hand. There we go, he's going to gloat again, Anna thought, resigned.

"Do you think my dear brothers care about Westerguard in the slightest? Oh, sure - about Westerguard's money! That counts for Friedrich, and he'd suck all the money he can get by Westerguard."

He grinned and started to pace the room. Anna envied him - her stretched leg hurt.

"But to actually ask Weste what they think about it? Ha! Never. He only sent his tax collectors, his navy, his officials, all to make sure Weste stay little good citizens of the Isles."

"And you're supposedly better?"

"Of course I am!" Hans approached and leaned to her. His face was way too close to hers for Anna's liking. "Of course, I can see how our previous experiences can… affect your opinion about me, but tell me, do you think I'd be a bad king?"

"Power-hungry, that's for sure."

"That doesn't constitute bad."

"I think it actually does, you know."

To his visible surprise, she put a hand on his face and pushed him until distance between them was comfortable. While he was silenced by this, she continued:

"Perhaps folks here love you - well, I've seen they do, so no 'perhaps'. Congratulations then, you've become a ruler of small, rainy mountain in the middle of the sea."

He started to retort, but she didn't let him speak.

"Only did you consider that your brother will not like losing one of his major income sources? And that it's him - you know, not you - who's got great navy at his disposal? Okay, cool, you've got your cannons and a few ships, but they have a finite amount of ammunition, and king Friedrich has enough ships to create a real ring around Westerguard. Your secession ends the moment the ships arrive. So I'd say you didn't really think this through."

Hans was silent for a moment. Then, to Anna's surprise, he chuckled.

"Don't you worry about me… I'll do just fine with what I have."

Anna blinked. He didn't care that he had defied one of the biggest nation on the continent? How could he be so sure?Was there some sneaky plan he worked out? Secret weapon? Blackmail material? Escape route? She had to find out, maybe she could use it to escape Hans and sabotage his plans.

"Oh, I see.", she said mockingly. "You've got everything planned in advance."

To her dismay and surprise, he started laughing.

"Planned? Dear Anna, I thought you'd know me better! There's no plan. I make it all up as I go along!"

He grabbed the edge of the desk and sat down, still chuckling. Anna clenched her teeth, feeling that she's about to punch him in the face. Before that happened, though, he managed to calm himself down. He still grinned.

"There is no great overall plan, Anna. And that's the best thing possible, you know? Because…" He rubbed the palms of his hands together. "Because I can catch anything that falls into my hands and use it… towards the overall goal."

"Really." Anna worked hard to appear unbothered, even though she had vivid visions of strangling Hans. "So what's the overall goal? Making you the ruler of the Isles, or do you measure higher? I've heard Tampere Empire looks for a better ruler. Would that satisfy you or is it still not enough for you?"

Hans looked at her with smile and narrow eyes.

"You really think I'd tell you that?"

"Well, given that you've already started gloating…"

Hans snorted.

"Forget about it." He stood up and slowly walked behind Anna. She quickly turned back and sat on the desk before Hans could disappear from her view. Her leg ached again.

"Stop playing stupid games, would you?", she told him.

He chuckled again, with a wide grin. Then he shook his head.

"Anna, don't worry. Believe me, you would find my plans extremely boring. The only thing that should interest you is… your fate." He leaned and tried to poke her in the chest, but she swatted his finger before he could do it.

"And what would my fate be?", she asked coldly.

"Why, you're going to ensure that dear Friedrich won't try anything tricky. Along with Ferdinand, of course."

Great, so I'm his hostage. Last thing I'd like to do.

"If you keep on treating Ferdinand like you do now, I doubt he'll make it to navy's arrival.", she noted.

"Oh, you worry about him? How sweet…" He sat in the chair she occupied just a moment ago. "But don't worry, I don't need him as much as I do you."

He chuckled again.

"Don't you think Elsa would be extremely annoyed with Friedrich if he let you die?"

Anna clenched her teeth.

"Yeah…" she said after a moment. "She might be."

"Exactly."

He kept on smiling. There was something about what he said that made Anna think… This time it was her who leaned closer, despite the aching leg.

"Tell me something. Honestly. Did you have anything to do with my kidnapping?"

Hans shook his head.

"No. If it was up to me, I'd never see you again in my entire life. But since you're already here, I can just as well use you."

The way he said it, as if she was an object, made her want to scream at him and punch him until he died. She didn't move, though - with guards outside, that would be suicidal. As if he hadn't seen emotions on her face, Hans stood up and approached the door.

"And don't care much about Ferdinand. I planned to pretend I have him alive as a hostage anyway, so having him - or his corpse - is just an unexpected bonus. It's not like I care about what happens to him."

And yet you wasted air on assuring me about it, Anna thought. If you really don't need him anymore, why haven't you killed him yet? Don't you think he might be problematic alive?

Hans opened the door and told something to the guards. They entered and he turned back to Anna.

"I hope you'll excuse me for your cell. I thought about putting you in one of the guest rooms, only they offer way too many opportunities to escape, and I wouldn't want you to waste this tricky brain of yours on things like that."

He motioned her to exit. She clenched her teeth, stood up and passed him without a word. Before he closed the door, she heard him saying:

"But don't worry - you won't stay there for long…"

The guards led her, again in the same configuration, through the dark corridors and down the stairs. They had to slow down there, because Anna didn't want to bend her leg, making going downstairs much more complicated. To make matters worse, there was a lot of stairs. Anna estimated she went down at least three floors. Her suspicions were partially confirmed when she saw a row of cells on the floor she was led to. She was certainly underground. The guard in front of her turned back looked at her apologetically.

"Miss, are you sure you don't want to see the doctor?"

"No, thanks." Anna answered, feeling her leg ache. "I'm doing just fine."

Guard didn't seem convinced, but he didn't say anything, instead leading her further forward.

Her cell was apparently better-class one. It had two brick walls to the sides and one made of bars that served as the door, letting the guards look in without any effort. Inside, there was a chair, a bed with hay-filled mattress, tiny table attached to the wall like the bed was and small window without glass over the bed. Sure, it was so high Anna would have to stand on her fingers to reach it, and there were bars in it, but at least there was fresh air. However, the only thing that could be called toilet was a bucket in the corner.

Anna sat on her bed and looked at the guards.

"I… I'll have something to eat sent to you.", the one who was speaking said.

Anna smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." No need to be a jerk to the man who actually cared about her comfort.

The two guards left. Anna waited a moment to make sure nobody's there, and then grabbed the edge of her dress. She pulled it up, revealing her leg… and the stick Ferdinand had given her in the inn. She had managed to hide it while guardsmen had been busy kicking the prince into unconsciousness.
She pulled the stick out and sighed with relief, finally bending the aching leg and sitting in more comfortable position. She weighted the stick in her hands. I hope you'll be useful, she thought, after what I got through to get you in here.

She hid it in the shadow under the bed, hoping she'd manage to scare off any cleaner, and sat again, contemplating her conversation with Hans. He was hiding something, she was sure about that. Not only about his goals, but about something else as well. Only what could it be? In her head, Anna ran through the entire conversation again. Two statements struck her as meaningful.

Don't you think Elsa would be extremely annoyed with Friedrich if he let you die?
But don't worry - you won't stay there for long…

She gasped when she realized what he wanted to do. He did have a plan.

He would kill Anna, make it look as if king Friedrich did it, and then watch Arendelle and Southern Isles go to war.

Ferdinand returned to consciousness and immediately wished he hadn't done so. It seemed everything hurt him. His head, his legs, his stomach, his chest, his hand… the damn hand hurt and itched all the time. He tried to reach and scratch it, but his fingers met air. He cursed silently and opened his eyes.

It was dark. He wasn't sure why - were there no windows? Was it night already? He slowly sat and blinked until he managed to see something. He was in a cell, under a wall, on something that felt like hay and probably was hay. Three walls were brick, or perhaps stone. Opposite him, though, there were bars, and faint light from somewhere to the left from behind them. Ferdinand tried to stand up and cursed again, falling to his feet on shaking legs. He looked at himself, noticing wet clothes, then examined his body carefully. Lot of bruises and swellings, but, thankfully, nothing seemed broken. He tried to get to his feet again, feeling his stomach twist with hunger. This time, he managed to stay on them, but fell again before reaching the bars, as if some force pulled him. He looked back and noticed that his feet are shackled, and he's chained to the wall.

He quickly examined the room, but there wasn't much. Except for the layer of hay that was supposed to serve as bed and the bucket that was probably his toilet, the cell was virtually empty. His feet - somebody took his shoes - felt ice cold on the floor. He tried to stand on the hay to escape freezing rock, but stupid dry grass hurt his feet, so he finally sat and started to rub them. Soon he was all freezing. It was so cold… He coughed, then coughed again, with enough strength to make spots of light appear before his eyes. He sighed, resting his head on his knee, and coughed again.

Some time later - he didn't know. Minutes? Hours? - he lied back on the uncomfortable bed of hay and looked at the ceiling, mirror image of the floor and walls. Someone must come soon, right? Someone will come…

Time passed and it seemed as if nobody was going to come. Ferdinand turned on the side, then again and again, holding his stomach with one hand. Somebody will come, he told himself. Somebody will…

He heard sounds of boots on the stone floor and sat up, listening. Someone came closer… Then stopped. Then the light started moving. Away…

"No, no…" Ferdinand started to say, then cleared his throat and screamed:

"Hey! Anybody there! Please, is anybody there?! Somebody!"

He started to cough again and couldn't stop for a while. When he finally finished, he realized that the steps and the light were closer. He started to smile…

"So… I see you're here."

He blinked, seeing the man in the entrance.

"Klaus. B… Been a while."

Klaus Hauser look as Ferdinand remembered him. Handsome man is his forties, with grayed hair and deep green eyes. A few years added him some age, that was visible, especially in the light of the torch he was holding. He looked at Ferdinand with… Prince shivered, recognizing hatred.

"Yeah. A while. I've noticed you've got yourself a frigate. Well, it was nice while it lasted."

Ferdinand felt as if he was punched in his stomach. He clenched his hand into a fist.

"It was you who ordered her sunk, wasn't it?!"

Klaus shrugged, smiling maliciously.

"Well, it was a danger to Westerguard, so yes, I ordered it sunk."

"You… bastard!" Ferdinand got to his feet and came as close as he could. "You goddamn bastard! It wasn't about danger to Westerguard, it was just so that you could get your petty little revenge!"

"Petty?! You call it 'petty'?!" Illusion of calmness disappeared. Klaus grabbed the bar as if he wanted to break it. "You should be here with me! Disgraced, hated, all but kicked out! But no, you were protected, because you're the king's favorite brother!"

He panted, took the hand away and continued:

"Do you know what it's like?! To see all your friends turn their backs on you, to see the dream of your life crumbling in front of your eyes, to be sent to the goddamn end of the world to be left and forgotten?! You know what it's like?! No, you've got no damn idea!"

He hit the bars with his fist with enough strength to make them resonate. Ferdinand moved back a step, seeing hatred filling Klaus' eyes.

"And what was I supposed to do?! What would it help if I went down with you?!"

"At least there would be justice! But no! You're high noble sir, law doesn't apply to you!" He banged the bars again and stood for a moment, panting heavily.

He finally leaned closer.

"I hate you", he whispered. "I hate you and I enjoyed every single moment of watching your ship sink. I think I even saw your men trying to save themselves. They all lost to the storm. Wonderful sight."

Ferdinand clenched his teeth, but Klaus was too far away. The admiral smiled mockingly.

"Oh, does that hurt your feelings? You know now what it feels like? To lose all you've cared about? You know what it feels like to look on the person who caused it?"

"So why don't you just kill me?" Ferdinand asked. "What, you don't have the balls to make the final move? I bet you feel great observing others slaughtering people at your command, but you're just too much of a coward to kill me…"

Klaus' eyes narrowed.

"If I could, I'd kill you right this moment, or even earlier, the moment you were found, you know? So when Hans comes to chat, I suggest you be nice to him, 'cause I won't be."

Ferdinand blinked. Hans wanted him to stay alive? What?

"Surprised? Well, I guess you expected something different. Seems like betrayal runs in the family…"

Klaus started to leave. He had disappeared behind the wall before Ferdinand realized that he can't let him leave.

"Klaus! Wait! Wait, please! Please, I'm so sorry about all that, please, come back!"

The admiral returned after a moment and looked at Ferdinand suspiciously.

"What?"

"Please, I'm… I'm sorry. About what happened, about people turning against you, and about you getting sent here…"

"Save the air." Klaus interrupted him. "It's not like I care whether you're sorry or not anymore. What the hell do you want?"

Ferdinand sighed and closed his eyes.

"Can you… can I please have something to eat? And see a doctor. I think I need to."

He opened his eyes again and looked at Klaus.

"Somebody'll bring you food soon.", the admiral said coldly. "But Hans didn't say anything about you seeing a doctor and I won't do anything more for you than he ordered."

He started to leave again.

"Wait. Wait! Can you at least tell me what time of the day is it?"

Klaus shrugged and left, deaf to Ferdinand's screams and pleads.

The prince sat on the floor of the cell and then lied down on it, right on the cold rock. No point talking to Klaus… although he doesn't want to know me anymore, so no point talking to Hauser. He swallowed and rubbed his right arm. Most of the aches left him, but the hand, if anything, seemed to hurt even more than when he woke up. Finally, Ferdinand sat back up and leaned on the wall. He started to unwrap bandages Anna put on his arm… He gasped and covered his mouth when he felt the stench.

I hope someone will come quickly, he thought, because I really need a doctor.

Koenigsberg

Eduard Braun leaned on the wall and looked at the helmet he held in his hands, wondering. So far, he managed to find out, more or less, which of his subordinates worked for Michael from the beginning, and who stayed loyal to the current king. The size of the latter group actually made the captain slightly more optimistic.

Slightly.

On the other hand, situation in the court was bound to become unhinged again, what with Michael having left yesterday. In his place, other members of von Schwalbe family started to arrive, and it seemed as if every single one of them wanted to be declared the next king, skipping over his predecessors. So far, four of them has come, and semaphores said another two were inbound in the next few days. Braun sighed and rubbed his temples with one hand. He had enough problems as it was, but younger von Schwalbes were like vultures, attracted by the scent of incoming death.
Kingsguard shook his head and returned to walking down the corridor. With four princes already present, getting something done was a mess, with kingsguards busying themselves with making sure the nobility is safe, apparently against the wishes of said nobility who tried to get rid of them with any excuse. What's worse, with Michael not present, the matters that needed resolving were piling up. The only bright side to this entire situation was that His Majesty finally started to get out of his shell and seemed to be getting himself together, however slowly. Princess Annie was also starting to get better - thanks, in huge part, to efforts of her cousins, children of prince Nicholas - although father and daughter still didn't talk to each other.

However, that was hardly Braun's concern at the moment. He was tasked with finding hard evidence against Michael, and he felt that failure was imminent. He pretty much ran out of leads - if there were ever any. What he was doing right now was a gesture of desperation. He didn't expect it to work out.

He approached the right door in the dark, damp dungeons under Koenigsberg palace and nodded to the man who stood guard in front of them. However he disliked the connotations of his decision, he waited until a loyal kingsguard stood by the door before approaching castle prison. It paid back. The man just saluted and opened captain the door, without questions. Braun entered.

Patrick Schneider, who had been - once, in a past that seemed oddly happy now - a kingsguard, opened his eyes when he heard the sound of the door opening. It wasn't time for neither the doctor, nor the woman who brought food and cleaned. He turned his head and was surprised to see familiar figure of captain Braun. Patrick tried to sit and salute.

"Sir…", he managed to say. He saw flicker of surprise in captain's eyes and held back a smile. Even weeks after beating he took from another two imprisoned guards, he was still covered in bandages, took medicine and had troubles breathing and speaking. The climate in the prison hadn't help. But Schneider wanted to stay kingsguard, even if he recognized hopeless case when he saw one.

"No need to sit, sergeant.", captain answered, coming closer and sitting at the edge of the bed. "I see you're not in your best shape."

"Yes, sir…" Patrick took a deep breath, lying back down.

"Still, I see you're doing better."

"Thank you", he took a breath, "sir."

Captain nodded.

"I need to talk to you, Patrick. About the day before prince Hans escaped."

Schneider swallowed. So there it was. The conversation he hadn't wanted to make, the secret over which he had been beaten to near death…

…and having nearly met death, he decided it just plain wasn't worth it. Especially as prince Michael left, if gossip the guards at the door shared with him were true. And why would Patrick care? He was… he sometimes wondered why he had become so oddly at ease with idea of his own death.

"Well… sir…" He swallowed and took a breath. "So… this day, prince Michael came to visit prince Hans…"

Braun blinked and Patrick notices with surprise a new light in captain's eyes, as if the man suddenly discovered a new cause worth living for.

"Michael talked with Hans?", he asked, smiling and leaning closer. "Despite king's ban?"

"Yes, sir."

Braun smiled even wider.

"Tell me what they were talking about."