Chapter: 10 An Insightful Outing

"Hans...Hans," called Elsa. "I'm waiting for you." My eyes creaked open as I found myself on a cool bed of frost. The queen slowly made her way over, and proceeded to rest her body against mine. In an instant, we were staring into each other's bright eyes. "When?" she asked while caressing my face. "When will you return?"

I spoke up, "But Princess Anna-"

"Nevermind her," snapped Elsa. "Arendelle needs a king." She dangled a jewel-encrusted crown between us. "When will you return?"

I gasped myself awake in the tent and caught my breath. "Elsa," I whispered to myself. Why was I still dreaming of her? Were these simply odd desires infecting my dreams? Or were they premonitions of a possible future? Regardless, I couldn't get her out of my head since I left Arendelle. I wish things had worked out. Instead, Anna had to-...I cringed at the memories brought on by her name. "Anna..." Maybe I could have turned things around...I had saved Queen Elsa from being murdered in her ice palace, only to find myself trying to kill her over the frozen fjord. What kind of man was I? I was no better than Fritz and his partner. Speaking of which, what was Weselton planning with this expansion campaign? Better yet, why was the Southern Isles supplying them with firearms? So many damn questions...

The flaps of my tent whisked themselves open as Vita strutted in. "Rise and shine, Prince Sideburns!"

I shielded my eyes from the sunlight. I would pick the only tent with a front row seat of the sunrise. "Vita," I groaned. "What time is it?"

"Time to get a move on!" She flung something onto my leg.

"Why?" I asked while peering down at my lower half. I nearly had a heart attack when I spotted the viper slithering around my legs. "GEAAAAH!" I exclaimed, leapt to my feet, and sprinted out of the tent. I stood white as a ghost as Vita fell to her knees and laughed uncontrollably. "VITA!" I scolded.

"What?" she giggled.

"That was a viper...A damn viper!"

"So?"

"Those things are poisonous! I could've died!"

She laughed even harder. "But you didn't...so it's funny!"

"You have a sick sense of humor." I sneered before getting dressed.

"There you two are," said Marina as she marched up to us with her musket slung over her shoulder. "We need to get moving if we're going to cover all of that territory. If there's a fort, we need to know about it as soon as possible."

Onas walked over with three satchels that smelt heavenly. "What's in those?" I asked in delight.

"Meals for your journey," smiled Onas.

"Oh yes," said Vita while quickly snatching a bag. "Thank you, Onas!" She removed a piece of meat and prepared to eat it when her mother yelled.

"Vita!" shouted Marina.

She rolled her eyes, "What, Mama?"

"We need to conserve food. Save it for when we stop to rest."

She sulked and angrily repacked the food into her satchel. "Yes Mama." She proceeded to sling her musket over her shoulder and hand me one.

I rejected it. "Do you have any flintlocks?"

Onas heard me and unholstered a spare pistol from his belt. "It's an officer's pistol, Hans. Its Weselton owner was too dead to make any good use of it," he chuckled. I thanked him for the firearm and examined it. The flintlock was reddish-brown with silver accents.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" joked Vita.

"Of course I can," I replied. "I used to have one back in the Southern Isles."

"I'm just saying." shrugged Vita. "Cause you shot that musket like a blind man last night." I glared at her and stomped across the camp. "Aww. Did I make you angry?" she taunted. I made my way to the center of the settlement, spotting a single rum bottle resting atop a barrel.

I took aim with the flintlock and fired, blasting the bottle to shards and leaving Vita dumbfounded.

I took aim with the flintlock and fired, blasting the bottle to shards and leaving Marcus dumbfounded. I quickly holstered the pistol and drew my second, shooting another with incredible precision. I faced Marcus with a smirk and blew the smoke from my gun. "I win." The flustered brute flipped a table and stumbled off. "Better luck next time!" I hollered.

I heard some applause behind me as Liam approached. He was now twenty-five and had a well-groomed beard to go with his long, wavy blonde hair. "Nice shooting, little brother." he said before placing his arm around me. "You keep that up, you'll be almost as good as me."

"I'm already better than you," I jeered.

"Keep dreaming, Princess Hans." he grappled with and noogied me.

I playfully shoved him off as a loving voice called, "Play nice, boys!"

We both turned with grins and said, "Mother!"

Mother stood at the end of the courtyard with a pleasant smile. Her emerald colored dress complimented her red hair perfectly. She held out her arms to us as we both embraced her. She laughed and grunted as we squeezed her tight. "Boys...Boys! I can't breathe." We released her while she giggled away. "How goes the shooting?"

"Great, Mother." I nodded enthusiastically. "I beat Liam's record!"

"No you didn't!" scoffed Liam.

"But I got close!"

"Fair enough." replied my brother.

Mother placed her hands on our shoulders. "You two will have to shoot for your Father and I sometime. But for now, quit fooling around! Tonight is the royal ball after all, and I want my handsome babies to get all the ladies."

"I already do," remarked Liam while striking a dashing pose. "What maiden wouldn't want to get with this?"

Mother tilted her head and squinted her eyes. "I don't know, Liam. I think you should shave the beard. It hides too much of your handsome face." She then turned to me. "And Hans...what did I tell you about shaving your sideburns?"

I huffed. "But they look terrible on me, Mom."

"Only because you've never let them grow in all the way. Trust your mother. You let those sideburns of yours grow, and princesses will be asking to marry after just meeting you!"

"Mother..." corrected Liam. "No one marries a man they've just met."

As we laughed together, I thought of how wonderful our lives had become. Ever since Mother's brave stand four years ago, the Southern Isles had indeed risen from their ashes. Slavery was abolished, taxes were lowered, and we focused on the betterment of our nation. Like our entire kingdom, our castle had been rebuilt stronger than ever, along with the family residing within. Liam and I had only grown closer since I saved him the night of the attack, and my other brothers had gained respect for me. As for Mother, she had gained the respect of an entire kingdom, along with her sons...and even Father.

After Mother's brave stand, Father was ashamed of himself beyond belief. He lived saddened by his mistreatment of his people and his own family. He couldn't bear to look at his wife without hanging his head in shame. One day, Mother did something that none of us saw coming. She approached him and lifted his head up to look her in the eye. "Roman..." she said.

"Oh Olivia...I'm so...so sorry." He hung his head once more. "What I've done to everyone...to you, is unforgivable."

She gently lifted his head again. "Roman, hear what I say. I forgave you the moment you apologized." My brothers and I watched while applauding as the two kissed for the first time in months. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too, my queen." replied Father.

Since then, Mother and Father had become quite the happy couple. They ruled our kingdom with just hands and mighty hearts. I couldn't remember a time when we were ever this close together. Here we were, four years later, standing as one big happy family. Mom had restored the love in her nation, husband, and all of her sons.

I was in my room fixing my finest outfit for the grand ball, and was practicing speaking in front of a mirror. "Ladies," I winked. "No...too bold. Hey there, girls!...No...that's too spritely."

The door creaked open behind me as Mother peered in. "Practicing, are we?"

I nervously spun around, "Oh Mother! It's just you. Yeah, I was wondering if I should go for the more dashing approach and-"

Mother shook her head while chuckling, "Just be yourself, Hans, and the right woman will love you for it. That and if you grow out your sideburns." She winked. "Now that would cause several husbands alarm. And always remember..." She hugged me tight and displayed her heartstone necklace. I pulled out mine and pressed it to hers as she sang...

"Dearest Hans, I will love you forever.
I'll never stop fighting to keep us together.
Our hearts are one, though they appear as two.
No matter what happens, I will always be with you."

We road far off into the desert, scouring the sands for anything remotely resembling a fort. After spending several hours in the blazing sun, we sought shade in another patch of oasis. Vita plopped to the grass and chugged her canteen while Marina gave the horses water. I used a swig of my canteen to wet the back of my head before sitting down against a rock. "Marina, I don't think-"

"What did you call me?", the older woman tensed up.

I cleared my throat. "Excuse me. I mean Mama, I don't think there's a fort anywhere out here."

"But then what would all of that extra supplies be for?" wondered Marina. "Vita, what do you think?" Vita kept drinking her water in silence, prompting her mother to roll her eyes. "Thank you, daughter. Your words are the wisest of all." Vita simply gave her a thumbs up and continued drinking.

I peered out across the sands. "That goes on for miles. This mystery fort could be anywhere."

Marina sighed, "We'll rest for an hour, then venture off there. If we can't find anything, we'll head back and call it a day."

"Sounds good," muttered Vita before starting to doze off.

"Oh no you don't. On your feet, Vita. Hans."

"What? Why?" asked Vita.

"Onas told me all about your sloppy fighting, Hans. Vita will teach you how to fight like a real warrior." Mama's word was final, so I obliged and drew my sword. Vita drew hers as well and we stared each other down. "Ready?" asked Mama. "Begin!"

I lunged forward with my blade, only to have Vita draw her flintlock and pretend to fire it. "Bang. Got you." she said.

"Wait...what? No fair!" I barked.

"Completely fair, I have a gun. Particularly yours." My eyes widened when I realized she had my pistol in her hands.

"How did you-"

"We were riding on the same horse. I just grabbed it while you weren't looking."

I scoffed and raised my sword, "Whatever."

"Begin!" exclaimed Marina.

We charged at each other, our blades meeting twice before Vita drew my flintlock and pretended to shoot. "Bang. Got you."

"Oh this is ridiculous!" I exclaimed.

"The enemy does not play fair, Hans." chuckled Marina. "Begin!"

We dueled across the lush oasis. I ducked under her sword and tripped her. As I raised my blade, she...you guessed it...aimed her pistol and went, "Bang. Got you."

This was going to be a long training session.

"Begin!" yelled Marina.

"Bang. Got you," laughed Vita while pointing the flintlock at me.

"Begin!"

"Bang. Got you."

"BEGIN!"

"Bang. Got you."

I had had enough of this nonsense. I charged at Vita, rapidly swinging my sword like a madman. In my frenzy, I disarmed her of her cutlass and kicked the flintlock out of her hands. She fell to the ground as I held my blade to her neck. "You're beaten." She smirked and pulled a SECOND flintlock from beneath her sash. I glared at her. "Don't you dare say it..."

She pretended to shoot me and spoke prouder than ever, "Bang! Got you!"

I let out a roar and threw my sword in frustration. I growled while Marina and Vita giggled away. "Oh, go ahead. Laugh your asses off!" I scolded before trudging up to Vita. "You think you know everything, don't you?"

"Maybe." she snickered.

I grit my teeth, "We'll see about that." I held my hand out to her.

"What is this?"

"You, me...ballroom dancing. Right here. Right now."

"You must be kidding, Hans."

"Not at all," I replied. "You think you know all the tricks? My turn to show you one."

"Oh!" clapped Marina. "Please do! Mama wants to see."

Vita groaned, "But Mama."

"VITA!" she yelled. "Dance with Hans."

"Fine," replied her daughter as she took my hand. I placed my other hand on her waist as she raised a brow. "What is this stupidity?"

"The dance of royalty," I quipped before drifting off on my feet. I danced across the oasis while humming a tune. I couldn't resist purposely stepping on her toes to make her sneer. "Oops," I smirked and squinted my eyes.

"Bravo! Bravo!" clapped Marina. Before we knew it, Vita began to flow with my motions. The two of us became a stellar team, making Marina get ecstatic as we danced by. As I stared into Vita's green eyes, I suddenly gasped.

"Something wrong, Hans?" she asked.

"No." I replied. "This just reminds me of the Southern Isles Ball." I thought back to that time and froze.

"What...what is it?" wondered Marina.

"I remember now," I muttered. "It's all coming back to me. I knew he looked familiar back in Arendelle."

"What?" asked Vita. "Who?"

I sat down, doing my best to recall my thoughts. "I've met the Duke of Weselton before."