Chapter Thirty-Seven

Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.

A/N: Arachnerd217: Thanks for the inspiration I needed for angry!Hans lol. Enjoy. :)

"Kai."

The door at the top of the tower had opened behind him, but the footman hadn't noticed until he heard his name. He looked over to see his wife watching him with worried eyes.

"Kai, you need to come inside," Gerda urged him, crossing her arms against the winds buffeting them on all sides. "Before you catch cold."

The manservant pulled his jacket tighter but didn't move. "That poor young man," he murmured. "Trapped in that awful place, all alone…"

"The Queen will bring him back," Gerda said stoutly.

"Will she?" Kai said grimly. "The innocence of a child is the best defense against the Snow Queen; Elsa has not been a child for a very long while. She grew up faster than any girl should have to."

"She's never failed us before."

"She's never faced an enemy like this before!" Kai said vehemently, turning to her. "You know what the Snow Queen is capable of, Gerda, you know what she does to people! Even if Elsa reaches that castle, even if she gets inside and even if she finds the prince, how will she manage to pull him away from that mirror? He may not even recognize her."

The woman reached up and touched her husband's face tenderly. "You recognized me," she reminded him gently.

Kai reached up to cover her hand with his own and sighed tiredly. Many years had passed since those childhood days, but even now they remembered. "Where roses deck the flowery vale, there, infant Jesus, Thee we hail," they murmured together.

The two embraced each other tightly. "She'll find him," Gerda promised firmly. Kai nodded, and they parted, together stepping back inside the tower and out of the swirling snows.

Elsa was still shouting the prince's name when the Snow Queen pulled her into room. "Hans! Hans, can you hear me?! I-"

"Oh for pity's sake, would you be quiet!" the sorceress snapped irritably. The oath startled the queen so much that she fell silent, and the Snow Queen sighed. "Much better. Now, let's have a civilized discussion, monarch to monarch."

"I'm not discussing anything until you unchain me," Elsa said furiously. With an annoyed scoff, the Snow Queen waved her hand, and the chains dissipated into snow-dust, falling to the floor. "…Thank you," Elsa added grudgingly. She looked around and found herself in the balcony room. The smashed flowers glittered in pieces around her feet.

"To business then," the Snow Queen said, all traces of false courtesy gone. "What are you doing in my castle?"

"I could ask you the same question," Elsa retorted coldly. "Besides, I thought you wanted me here?"

The Snow Queen chuckled. "You're smarter than you look, Queen Elsa. Yes, I wanted you to follow the prince up here. I'm just curious as to how you got past my guards. Speaking of 'here,' do you like what I've done with the place?"

Elsa's eyes were narrowed. "In case I wasn't clear, I don't take kindly to people invading my home and threatening my people," she said sharply.

"You're really quite a foolish little girl, your Majesty; if you were hoping to deter me, you ought to have brought up at least a small guard, instead of coming alone."

"You know just as well as I that a guard would be little use against you."

"Please, Queen Elsa, let's not play games. You're here, alone, because you couldn't bear risking anyone else following you and getting themselves hurt for you—like your precious sister. But someone as noble as you just had to come up here and try to persuade me to spare your people."

Elsa felt her self-assurance begin to falter at being spoken to like a foolish child. "Thankfully for you, I am a woman of reason," the Snow Queen said coolly. With a gesture of her hands, a desk and two chairs arose from the ice. "Please, sit. We must do this properly, after all."

Uncertainly, Elsa took the first chair. "Now," said the sorceress. "Let's discuss terms."

"Terms?" the Queen repeated, trying to sound surer of herself than she felt.

"Naturally. This is a diplomatic situation, Queen Elsa. As the superior sovereign, I will go first. My demands are rather simple: you help me persuade the prince to turn over that shard."

"Never," Elsa spat.

"Now, Queen Elsa, don't be hasty. You wouldn't want to jeopardize your kingdom, would you?"

This gave her pause, and the Snow Queen smiled. "Ah, I thought that might pique your interest. What say you, your kingdom's safety for your help?"

"The last time I made a deal with you, I was cheated."

"Come now, you can't blame that on me; it's not my fault you were too foolish to clarify the details."

Elsa curled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palm. "You will release my kingdom—and Prince Hans."

"The prince? Oh, of course, I forgot—you're 'friends,'" the Snow Queen said, rolling her eyes. "Speaking of which, tell me, what exactly are your thoughts on that interesting little tidbit, hm? Quite preposterous that he should have feelings for you, isn't it?" When Elsa didn't answer, the sorceress's icy eyes went wide. "Oh-ho! So you're infatuated with him as well, then!"

"I thought this was a diplomatic discussion," Elsa said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, but it is, Queen Elsa, and a whole new realm of possibilities has suddenly opened up to us," the sorceress replied. "The fair queen falls in love with the criminal! It's nearly perfect."

"What are you-"

"Consider it, Queen Elsa: your kingdom, the great jewel of all the earth, the kingdom where the sun shines and the rain falls, where crops grow and people live in warmth and luxury. And at your side, the very man you would never have had otherwise. The happy monarchs of a happy kingdom."

Elsa had fallen silent. The Snow Queen smiled coldly. "Rather appealing terms, don't you agree?"

"…If Hans gives you the shard," Elsa said slowly, "…what will happen?"

"With the Mirror complete, my power will allow me to cast the whole world into an icy curse—sparing Arendelle, naturally."

"Sacrifice the whole world for Arendelle's sake? I couldn't…"

"Please, don't be so dramatic," the Snow Queen said, rolling her eyes. "It's not as though the whole world would be cursed forever. Your Majesty, it's really quite simple: in this happy, prosperous kingdom of yours, you and your people will pay homage but once a month to the merciful goddess of the snows, who spares you for your right reverence. Surely other nations will want to follow suit, to save their own subjects from starvation and cold. The whole world will look to you as their generous leaders—all in exchange for your promise to incite your subjects to worship me."

There was a long silence, as Elsa looked down at the table, thinking. At last, she raised her blue eyes and said heavily, "I'll need time to prepare. Hans is not an easy man to convince."

The Snow Queen smiled. "Naturally, your Majesty. I shall tell him you'll see him again shortly." As both stood, she waved her hand, and the desk and chairs disappeared. She turned to go.

This was the chance Elsa had been waiting for. In an instant, she'd drawn the knife from within her sleeve and took two quick steps forward—

—A hand caught hers.

She gasped, stunned, as the Snow Queen smiled. "Oh, you wicked little girl girl," she laughed. "I applaud the attempt, but treachery is on my side of the line, not yours. You ought to know better than to tread on your enemy's ground."

She wrenched the knife from Elsa's hand and held the queen's arm fast with a grip like iron. Elsa let out a sharp cry as the Snow Queen made a shallow but wide cut along her palm. "This should work nicely," the witch said, dropping the knife. It clattered to the floor as she ripped the blue bonnet from the queen's other hand and stained the white fur along the bottom red with Elsa's blood. "Stop struggling, you stupid girl!"

She threw Elsa against the ice wall; the human queen crumpled like a rag doll. The Snow Queen looked at her, unimpressed. "My word, you really are an idiot; how you got to ruling a kingdom I'll never know."

"Hans still has the last shard," Elsa snarled, struggling to sit up. "And he'll never give it to you."

"Won't he?"

The Snow Queen was smiling at her. Elsa felt her certainty draining away.

"Y-You're wrong. He's not who he once was."

"No. He's not. He's gone soft. He's almost quenched the shard's power."

"Th-then how do you–"

"I don't need him, Queen Elsa. I need the shard. Now, perhaps I can't kill him, but…" She raised her brows and looked down at the bloodied bonnet, and Elsa felt her blood freeze in her veins.

"No," she whispered. "He won't. He wouldn't–"

"The prince is quite intelligent. He's worked out that if I don't repair the Mirror by dawn, it will try to find a new owner." She raised her satisfied eyes to the young queen, whose face was draining of blood. "So much power. One very, very weak man."

"He wouldn't–"

"Maybe. Maybe not. The question is, is that a risk the prince wants to take?" The Snow Queen shrugged. "He can die and leave me the last shard, or he can take his chances on resisting the Mirror's pull. Either way, he becomes the monster he fears he is. And if he believes you're gone, the only question is whether he wants to live with that reality or not."

"Please," Elsa whispered. "Please, don't do this."

"He tried to end himself once before. I don't imagine the choice will take him long."

"You–"

Elsa scrambled to her feet and tried to reach the sorceress, but the Snow Queen merely stepped back and laughed as the icy chains reappeared and snapped tight, holding the queen at bay. "You've helped me marvelously, dear. I really should thank you. With your death on the prince's hands, his decision will be infinitely simpler."

"You're foul! Heartless!"

"And you're a hypocrite and a fool. Goodbye, Queen Elsa. I'll leave the knife with you in case you wish to follow the prince." She waved her hand, and great walls of glassy ice arose in a hexagon from the ground. The chains turned to snow as Elsa rushed forward, trying to get to the door, but it was too late; the walls closed around her, and the Snow Queen vanished from view.

Elsa pounded at the wall for a moment, before realizing it was useless. She stepped back, breathing hard, and took a moment to assess her situation. Blood still dripped from between her fingers, so she tore a strip from the satchel and wound it around the bloody but thankfully superficial wound. She bit her lip hard and tried not to make a noise as she tied it snug, and then scooped up the dropped knife and tried to chip away at the wall with it. It was no use; the blade skittered off as if the wall were made of diamond and not ice. She dropped it and emptied out the rest of her satchel onto the ground, trying to find some other tool. Of course, all she found were the extra biscuits, the little flask of hot cider and her hymnal, which tumbled out and fell open to the page marked by the dried rose. Elsa sighed in frustration and ran her fingers through her bangs, turning around.

She stopped, startled, for there was someone else in the room. Just opposite her, on the other side of the ice-wall that blocked off the balcony, stood a dazzling woman with brilliant blue eyes and jet-black hair, which spiked up at the top around what appeared to be an icy replica of Elsa's royal crown. Her dress was formed entirely of blue ice-crystals, with a slit that ran nearly to the top of her thigh and a wide, arched collar framing her pale face.

"H-hello?" Elsa stammered, walking over. The woman walked towards her, her stride in step with the queen's. "Can you help me? I'm trapped in here and can't break down the walls."

The woman didn't reply, but she did stop on the other side of the ice even as Elsa did the same. Something about her seemed very familiar. Something–

It hit Elsa like a ton of bricks: this woman wasn't real. She was a reflection…her reflection, although not quite the same. "Are you… me?" Elsa asked, frowning.

Her reflection, of course, didn't answer. Cautiously, Elsa lifted her bandaged hand. The woman did the same. In unison, they touched the mirror, tilting their heads in curiosity. Then, quite suddenly, the reflection smiled of its own volition.

"Good evening, Elsa."

Anna turned on her heel and began to retrace her path down the length of the picture room again. Kristoff watched her as she passed in front his seat on the nearby sofa, an eyebrow raised. "You know, pacing's not going to do anything," he informed her bluntly.

"I can't help it. She's in trouble, I just know she is," Anna said, frowning deeply.

"You can't know that for sure."

"Yes I can. My sister senses are tingling."

"Sister senses?"

She smacked him on the shoulder as she passed him by. "They're a thing!"

"They're so not a thing."

"Are too! Besides, how would you know?" She turned again. "I just keep feeling like she's in really big danger—like I'm supposed to be helping her or something."

"Like what, go running out into a blizzard without any actual proof she's in trouble? C'mon, Anna; we don't even know if–"

"Princess Anna! Sir Kristoff!"

Both turned, startled, as a guard appeared at the end of the door, flushed and out of breath. "Your Highness- we thought we should tell you-"

"Tell me what? What happened?" Anna demanded, hurrying over.

"The Queen's horse—it just came down the bridge. A few of the guards managed to calm it down-"

"Elsa's horse? You're sure?"

"Yes, your Highness. And the queen wasn't on it."

Anna's face had gone pale, and she nodded. "Okay. Thanks." The guard bowed and left as she turned to Kristoff. "See? I told you so! That horse was Elsa's only way down the mountain; she wouldn't just let it run away! Something really bad must have happened!"

Kristoff's expression had turned grim. "You're right. She's in trouble."

"Yeah, I know, now let's go!" She grabbed his arm in an attempt to bring him along.

"Whoa, whoa, hang on, feistypants," the harvester said firmly, pulling his arm out of her grip. "We can't just go charging up the mountain; Elsa left us in charge for a reason. Who's going to take care of Arendelle?"

"Elsa also said there'd be no Arendelle left to be taken care of if the Snow Queen wasn't stopped—and if Elsa's in serious trouble, there's probably not a whole lot of witch-stopping going on up there."

He considered this, and then nodded. "Okay. But we have to tell your council; they'll need to know what to do if worst comes to worst."

"Fine; now hurry!" She grabbed his elbow again, pulling him out of the room.

"No. Absolutely not."

Anna scowled. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was asking for your permission."

"Your Highness, we can't afford to lose you! You're the only remaining heir to the throne!" Kai exclaimed. The rest of the council nodded and agreed in terms to the same effect.

"A throne that's going to be one more thing thirty feet deep in snow if we don't go up there," she countered. "My sister's in serious trouble; Arendelle is in serious trouble! I have to save her!"

"But at what cost, your Majesty?" exclaimed Lady Evjen. "If you died-"

"I'll die anyway if that creepy witch decides to turn us all into popsicles—which is exactly what I've got to stop from happening!"

"But Queen Elsa said-"

"Oh, who cares what Elsa said?!" Anna nearly shouted, losing her temper. Several of the councilors jumped. "She's not perfect, you know; she doesn't always know what's best for her!"

"Your Highness," one of the ladies said timidly, "The Queen's word is law."

"Yeah? Well she was my sister before she was my queen. And it's my job to look out for her, whether she likes it or not."

"Hans is in trouble," Kristoff chimed in a grave tone, setting a calming hand on the princess's shoulder. "Elsa may be, too. And if the Snow Queen isn't stopped, it won't matter what any of us do. Someone has to go up there and fix this."

The councilors fell silent at this ominous declaration. Finally, Willum said pensively, "Your parents named you well, Sir Kristoff. Guardian and guide."

"Sir?" the harvester said, startled.

The bishop's expression was solemn. "Queen Elsa in her wisdom left the both of you in charge, so I say we take your advice as if it were her own. Moreover, I would trust no other man than you, Sir Kristoff, to bring the princess safely up that mountain and back again. But the danger is not negligible. If the two of you do not return, what are your orders for this council?"

Kristoff looked to the other councilors, nearly all of which were watching them expectantly. He glanced at Anna, who was biting her lip and looking up at him, hoping he had some sort of solution. He thought hard for a moment, closing his eyes.

When he opened them again, his face seemed set. "Alright, here's what you do," he said brusquely. "If we aren't back by dawn—or when dawn should be, anyway—start evacuating everyone south. The seas are probably frozen over, so you'll have to travel by foot; keep on until you reach the southern provinces. It's warmer there; you can survive long enough to figure out what to do."

"But to travel by foot, in this sort of weather!" Lord Frandsen exclaimed. "There's no telling how long it would take; no one could survive that!"

"They could," Kristoff insisted. "You've got people right here in this castle who do it all the time. You take what you need—foodstuffs, your animals, the bare necessities—and you go on sled, living in temporary shelters as you travel."

The council stared at him. "You are suggesting," Lord Finnmork said finally, voice incredulous, "That we are to live as nomads?"

"If that's what it takes to survive, then yes."

"Well, Mr. Bjorgman," he said testily, "perhaps you're used to living like a vagabond, but the rest of us subscribe to a certain standard of existence! I for one would rather die than tramp about the countryside like a penniless itinerant!"

"Fine; if you stay here long enough, I'm sure you'll have your wish," Kristoff said flatly. "As for the rest of you, if the people of this town are to survive, I suggest you take my advice."

"Your advice!" the nobleman snapped, drawing the attention back to himself. "You're nothing but a half-witted commoner, an unsophisticated buffoon who hitherto sold ice for a living! Why would they ever take your advice?!"

"Lord Finnmork, I would urge you listen to Sir Bjorgman," Willum said sharply. "He is a good man with much common sense, and more to it, he is soon to be your prince."

"He's not our prince yet," Lord Finnmork spat, face red with fury. "And the day a Laplander oaf sits on the throne of Arendelle is the day I immigrate to Greenland!"

"Okay, that's it!" Anna yelled, finally losing her temper, and every head turned to look to her. "Don't you ever," she snapped furiously, pointing her finger in Lord Finnmork's nose, "talk about Kristoff that way again! He's brave and he's smart and he's a much nicer person than you, and you'd be lucky to have him as your prince!"

"Anna–"

"You might think you're so great just 'cause you're nobility, but really you're nothing but a pompous jerk! You didn't get elected to this council; you're only here because some royal gave your family your title. Well news flash, bucko, I could give a title to anyone I like! I could give Kristoff your whole territory right now if I wanted to, so you can just–"

"Anna, I got this."

She fell silent, surprised. Kristoff had risen to his feet. With a short nod, she stepped aside.

"Let me tell you something about my people, Lord Finnmork." There was a steely look in Kristoff's eyes. "Your great-grandfather was a general in the royal army, if I remember right." The lord opened his mouth, but Kristoff cut him off. "Yeah, I know who you are. All of us know who you are. Ever since your great-grandfather conquered the north march for Arendelle, since your ancestors took the land away from mine, you've tried to scrub us out of living memory, even out of our own."

The rest of the council was staring. Even Anna was agawp. It was the first time that Kristoff had spoken publicly about his family—and it was the first time, Anna noticed, that he was doing so with squared shoulders and pride in the set of his chin.

"You've built dams that destroyed our homes and forced us to accept a new religion. You tell our kids not to speak our own language. Your father wouldn't let us own our own land!" He pointed a finger at the lord. "My mother lived and died in poverty because of people like you."

"Your family were thieves," Lord Finnmork snapped back.

"Yeah, well, funny thing about poverty, but people like to eat," Kristoff retorted. "But that's not the point. The point is, however much you might hate it, we didn't forget. Mii muitit. Mun muittán." Lord Finnmork's face fell. "And you'd better be glad we remember. Because believe it or not, we might be your best chance of surviving this storm. We've certainly survived a lot worse."

The lord had the good sense not to respond. Kristoff looked around, face still set, though now a tad red. "And in case you've forgotten," he added, "I'm Arendellian, too. As much as any of the rest of you. And so are people like Sáppa and the rest."

"Of course they are." He glanced at Anna, who was glaring ferociously at Lord Finnmork. Slowly, the lord sat back down.

The rest of the council didn't dare speak a word. "…Alright then," said Willum carefully at last, a little intimidated himself. "Now that that's been resolved…what says the council to Sir Bjorgman's plan? Yay or nay?"

The councilors glanced around. "Yay," said Lord Frandsen.

"Yay," Lady Evjen agreed.

The rest of them (save Lord Finnmork, who wisely remained silent) replied in kind, and Anna nodded. "Great. So, hopefully we'll all see you by morning, and if not…well, best of luck."

This was, of course, not exactly the most encouraging of sentiments.

Elsa yanked her hand back, startled. "What in the-"

"Come now, you must have known we would meet someday," her reflection said disdainfully. "Face-to-face, that is; you know my voice well enough."

"Meet? Who- who are you?"

The reflection laughed. "Oh, Elsa. Don't you realize? I'm you."

The Queen stared. "Well, not you as you know yourself," mirror-Elsa amended coolly, beginning to walk the circle around the room. "I'm the you you like pretend doesn't exist. But you can't quite get rid of me, can you? That little voice inside your head; that ugly part of you that deep down, you sometimes like to let out for a little fun."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" The queen wanted to sound defensive, but she came off sounding more like a frightened child.

"Oh, you don't remember?" her doppelganger said mockingly. "Well here; allow me to remind you."

"We got her!" Elsa whirled around, startled. The two Weselton guards from her coronation stood before her, crossbows hefted. As they shot, the real Elsa flinched and held up her hands, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, the room seemed to have magnified itself by six sizes—once for each of the mirrors—and the walls had become a brilliant golden-yellow. Her reflection was now between her and the guards, having conjured up the ice protrusion to block the arrow.

"Go around! Close in!"

"Stay away!" her reflection snapped angrily, and thus the fight began. The detail was startling, replaying almost exactly as it had that day, except now, her reflection was far more vicious. Every action was timed, an effort to kill or at least maim one of the guards.

"Stop! Don't hurt them!" Elsa protested, hurrying to the nearest wall.

"Fire! Fire!"

"Get her!" Jabbing icicles, all around her; the trio shifted from mirror to mirror like ghosts, deaf to the queen's desperate pleading. Then, quite suddenly, her reflection stood before her, with her back to the queen. More mirrors had appeared in the mirrors, so that the guards and the ice queen could be seen from every angle. Elsa felt her heart began to race. "No- please-"

The men hefted their crossbows. The mirror-Elsa's face contorted to a snarl, and she pinned the thousand guards to their respective walls, icicles growing towards their throats. She knocked the crossbow from the hands of the others with a cruel laugh and conjured her enormous structures of ice, pushing the guards out the countless refracted balcony doors in dizzying synchronization. "Please!" Elsa cried.

Her reflection glanced back at her, just for a moment. It grinned and threw its hands wide.

"NO!"

There was the sound of grinding ice, and then all was silent, save for a horrible dripping to her left. Elsa pressed a horrified hand to her mouth as she found herself staring again at a singular balcony, its doors and railing shattered. Her reflection looked back at her, a cold, triumphant smile curling her lips.

"Th-That's not– that's not what happened!" she cried furiously. "I didn't–"

"No." The smile widened. "But you could have."

"Queen Elsa!"

Elsa—the real Elsa—whirled around. Hans was standing in the doorway. He looked at her, and then at the carnage. "Elsa, what have you done?" he said lowly.

"Hans- you don't understand-"

"You killed them," he accused her. "You slaughtered them, Elsa!"

"I-"

"And after all this," he spat, "after all this, you still couldn't forgive me! Three simple words, Elsa, that was all it took! But no, it was too much for you." He shook his head in disgust. "We're both monsters, Elsa. But at least I have the decency to admit it." He turned and disappeared into the darkness of the hall.

"Wait!" she cried, rushing to the glass. "Hans, I forgive you! I forgive you!"

"It's too late, Elsa!" her alter said harshly from behind her. "He's gone."

She fell silent at that, stunned, a hand pressed to her mouth. The image in the mirror laughed, walking around to her side. "Of course you'd react like that. Good Elsa, virtuous Elsa, the gracious Queen, the gentle sister, pious and fair, honest and wise—oh, the list just goes on, doesn't it? You play the part of the benevolent monarch well, my queen, but you know inside what you really are: a hypocrite."

"No…"

"Did your parents really believe locking you up could contain the evil inside you? Your powers were nothing compared to your frozen heart. Tell me, Elsa, does your sister know? Did you ever tell Anna what happened here that day?"

"Elsa?"

Again, the queen turned. Anna looked back at her, dressed in her traveling clothes. She sighed in relief. "Oh, Elsa, thank goodness! I was so worried you'd-"

She stopped, suddenly. The expression of joy faded from her face. "Anna," Elsa said desperately.

"W-what is this?" her sister whispered, looking around. "What did you...?"

"Anna, don't–"

"You lied to me!" Anna cried. "You said you were just defending yourself!"

"I was! I just–"

"And now him, Elsa? Did you really think I wouldn't find out about you two? How could you!"

"I'm sorry!" Elsa cried. "I never meant for it to go this far!"

"Well it has, Elsa! It's all gone way too far!" Anna's shouts were daggers; the angry tears filling her eyes, acid. "You know what? I've had it! I've had it with you shutting me out, hiding things from me, lying to me! You want to be alone so much?! Fine! Have it your way!" She whirled around and ran down the hallway.

"Anna, please!" the queen begged, rushing to the glassy wall, but Anna had already disappeared from sight.

Elsa just stood there, her hands shaking. The mirror-Elsa sidled up beside her, just opposite the glass. "This is your truth, Elsa," her twin said softly, silkily. "You admitted it yourself; everything about you has always kept you apart from others—your powers, your coldness, your double standards. You were made to shut people out."

"That's not true," she whispered.

"Isn't it? Face it, Elsa: you don't know how to love. And because of that, you can never be loved in return. You were born to be alone."

And, for the first time since their conversation had begun, the reflection turned and followed the prince and princess down the hall, leaving the queen utterly deserted in the cold, empty room.

Hans looked over as the queen stepped inside the cupola. "Where's Elsa?" he demanded, voice ragged. "What did you do to her?"

The Snow Queen raised an eyebrow. "Nothing you wouldn't have done, to get what you want."

Hans stared, mouth opening as he realized just how broad this definition was. His hands started to shake, and he turned away, running his fingers through his hair and forcing himself to take one sharp breath, and then another. "Is…is she alive?" he asked, not looking back.

He heard a low chuckle and turned. The Snow Queen tossed a piece of cloth the same deep blue color as Elsa's dress down in front of him. Hans stooped to pick it up, and then retracted his hand abruptly as he realized it was Elsa's bonnet. Along the white fur edges of the bottom was a dark ruby stain, still wet. He let out a low, choked gasp. "No…"

The Snow Queen didn't seem to be watching him anymore; instead, she went to the mirror and placed two shards, one blue and one scarlet, into place. She could hear the prince's shivering, hitching breaths, but didn't bother to spare him a glance, turning instead to leave, her heels clinking on the icy floor. She was almost at the door when a sudden wall of flame blocked her path, searing up to the roof. She stopped abruptly and looked back.

The prince was watching her with numb, reddened eyes. A sphere of angry flame was building in his trembling hand.

"What's this?" she whispered. "Do you wish to fight me, little prince?" She stepped back towards him, eyeing him with an expression he couldn't determine. Hans swept his hand up abruptly. A jet of flame flashed along the ice and up where the Snow Queen stood; she barely stepped out of its way. There was a twitch in her mouth as she studied him.

"Do you hate me?"

Hans broke.

He made no plans, executed no strategies; pure rage consumed him as the fire lashed and darted around the walls, spilling into the air in erratic jets of flame as a scream of fury escaped him. Sparks whirled around him in a torrent; the range of the battle was three-dimensional, every angle and wall a possible launch-point for attack. The Snow Queen's response came in flashes: a hand here, a wall of ice there, white skirts and furs swirling in a pirouette as she laughed at him.

"She's gone, little prince! Do you want your vengeance? Do you want to kill me? Do you–"

Her laughter twisted suddenly into a scream as Hans threw out a hand and the flames engulfed her arm. The Snow Queen stared down at the melted limb and then to the prince.

He saw the fear in her eyes.

He craved it.

All of a sudden the room was a cauldron of flame. It guttered up the walls, spilled across the floor. The witch staggered and dropped to a knee as a foot, an ankle, a leg melted. The brilliance assaulted her eyes; she summoned a whirlwind of snow to shield herself, but through the waves of fire she could see the prince's wild face, tears coursing down his cheeks, teeth bared, expression twisted into a mask of pure hatred.

The roar of hellfire in his ears was like a steam engine; the fury was all-consuming, all-demanding, sharpening the world to a single desire. Hans saw the witch's white, narrow face like a pagan goddess in the battling storm of flame and snow and fused his will with the blaze, ordering it to end her, to avenge his grief—

As if from a long distance away, he heard laughter. Mocking, delighted laughter. He saw her lips move, saw her eyes gleam with mirth, and realized the source.

The flames died. The prince stared, numb, uncomprehending, as the Snow Queen, half-melted, laughed grotesquely from her icy floor. His eyes traveled downwards, and he sucked in a breath.

The bonnet lay at his feet, half-charred away. He sank to his knees and scooped the precious piece of cloth into his arms, cradling it like fragile glass.

"Just remember, princeling," the Snow Queen said with satisfaction, and he looked up as the snow accumulated, repairing her destroyed hand and leg. She stood, sweeping towards the stairwell. "She came here to find you."

"Weak," the mirror hissed behind him, delighted.

The Snow Queen chuckled. "I wonder if you were worth it."

And with that, she was gone. Hans knelt alone in the room, clutching the burnt and bloodied bonnet so tightly his hands shook. The fiery glass shard cut deep into his palm. Behind him, his reflection simply smiled and put his hand to the hilt of his sword.

Two floors below, the queen herself stood with her back to the icy wall, feeling numb with cold and dead despair. "Sadness swirls within me like the snow," she murmured.

"The mistakes I've made surround me, and now I know…

It's to late to change the past, too late to make it right,

Too late to let it go…"

"Life's too short."

"To be such an obsessive fool," Hans said bitterly, standing weakly before the mirror as he watched his own reflection draw the sword.

"So desperate that I couldn't see." He curled his hand into a fist, little flames licking the knuckles.

Life's too short to be so selfish and so cruel,

To only ever think of me."

"I wish I'd seen things clearly," Elsa whispered, sliding down the wall.

"It seems I'm just not the sort," he said dully, green eyes agonized.

"Now all I know is

Life's too short."

He bowed his head, clutching the bonnet to his chest as his shoulders began to quake.

Elsa pulled her legs in close and buried her face in her knees, as beside her, ice froze over the black leather hymnal and the scarlet rose.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. :)

*"Mii muitit. Mun muittán."="We remember. I remember." (Sorry if the translation is off; there's no English to Northern Sámi translator, so I did my best with a Finnish one.)