Hans' throat was so, so dry. His body ached for water. This torture had been going on for days, now. How long could Victoria keep him in the dark? Did she want him to die?

His eyes were blurring, his lips were chapped.

The young exile felt like he was dying. The whole time something just itched away at his brain. He felt like he had to get away from the Isles, like there was some secret condemnation that followed him about all the days of his life. But he was normal. Normal.

Normal.

Nor.

Mal.

Normal, normal, nooooormal. NorMAL! Normal.

It stuck in his head like a tune. It just... rattled around in there until he could not take it anymore. The urge to leave the Isles came back stronger than ever. It was like everyone he had ever known had seen him do something incredibly embarrassing and they hated it. Hans thought of Elsa. Arrendelle had been his ticket to freedom. How was she, a sorceress, accepted by all of society? he felt a surge of hatred. But why?

The ship's airless hull felt suffocating.

How long could they leave him down here? He needed water, real food. His stomach ached angrily. Suddenly, from above, the hatch opened. A single figure descended the steps and stared directly at him Hans squinted in the light. He did not recognize the man, but was a bit surprised by his dress. The outfit was Arrendellian by design. What was a member of the Arrendellian court doing here?

"Water," He gargled.

The man looked dead in his eyes, then returned up the ladder from whence he came.

Kristoff could not believe his eyes. When he had been sent to find information on the midnight sun fiasco, he had not counted on finding Hans in the belly of this Summer. Officially, he claimed to be aboard to see Princess Victoria, but, in truth, he wanted to see what she was so concerned with appropriating.

Now that he knew, Kristoff felt no better. The world of men was filled with muddled currency. Hans deserved everything that had happened to him, and then some- but what was he doing in this ship? Did he know about the explosion? The dock had been abuzz with speculation, and the more that he heard, the least settled Kristoff felt. For one, he could clearly tell that magic was involved. Despite what Anna, and the officials were stating, it was practically impossible that this was a natural event. For another; every knew that it was magic. That was the insane bit of all of this- that people lied about whether or not magic was involved. yes, magic can do good. But basically anything that could be used for good could also be used for evil. So of course he did not mind the speculation that sorcery was involved. What he minded was the attitude that such speculation was prejudiced and toxic. But silencing their opponents now, and by labeling them so, the Isles was setting themselves up for failure later on.

Kristoff knew that someone would figure it out. Perhaps Hans had tried to kill another magician? But why was he in the hull of the Summer? Were they protecting him? Perhaps he knew something, and that's why they were so determined to keep him there. In either case, Kristoff knew he would have to interrogate Hans at a later time.

"Captain Gibbs!" Kristoff strode across the deck confidently, "Please inform Princess Anna that our guest has small feet!"

He hoped that she would understand this.

Gibbs looked at him oddly, "...what?"

"Go and tell the princess whose ship we are on. And that our guest has small feet and doesn't pick his nose."

Captain Joshamee Gibbs shrugged, finished his ale, then scampered off. Kristoff sighed. He hoped that his hint would reach his girlfriend in time.

Even if it did- and she understood it- what could she do? Even with this information, Kristoff had no idea what to expect from the Southern Isles, nor the proper discourse to deal with this problem. He felt complete bewilderment over what his next course of action should be. Fortunately for him, someone else had already decided.

"Kristoff Bjorgman! What a pleasant surprise," Victoria was nothing if not intelligent. She knew the Arrendellians, and had taken it upon herself to learn the personal lives of the royals. As best as she could anyways. Elsa was still a complete mystery, which, in Victoria's opinion, only added to her influence. The feminine mystique surrounding her was incredibly powerful. All at once, people projected their most secret desires onto her. In one man's imagination, she was a powerful indomitable queen who trod underfoot any weak man that crossed her path, to another, she was a meek damsel that needed a big strong man to have the confidence she never would.
It made Victoria sick.

Men were just the worst. Yes, not all men. But basically all men. The fetishists who sexualized Elsa- and those who admired her did so- one was just as perverted as the other. It did not matter that the queen was completely incompetent, they only cared for her looks.

Kristoff extended his hand with a warm smile, "It's wonderful to meet you, your highness!"

Vikki smiled broadly. She had been told to smile more- it made her seem more 'likable', "The pleasure is mine," It truly was. Victoria saw such kindness is Kristoff's eyes. They weren't Westerguard eyes at all, with their secrets, and false smiles, "I would have been here earlier, but my ship was delayed."

Kristoff nodded, "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that- what happened exactly?"

Princess Victoria plastered a hard smile across her face, "I'm not sure what you mean?"

"Oh, it's the dock, they're abuzz with spectacle! They believe that the storm yesterday was caused by magic."

Victoria let out a howling cackle, "Oh, HA aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" She kept laughing, "Oh! Ha! HAAAAAAAAaaaAAA ha ha ha ha! Oh my! Magic! Ridiculous! HA HA HA HA!"

Kristoff leaned forward, eagerly," So you don't believe it was magic?"

"HA ha ha ha ha ha! NO! HA ha! HA ha ha! What makes you think MaGiC was involved! That's ignorant!"

Kristoff frowned. He was unsure of what to make of her disbelief. There was a magic out there- lots of it if conditions were right- so he did not want to immediately dismiss it as a cause, "You don't think?"

"I cannot believe that you would even ask me that! You don't understand how backwards the common people are here. They'll blame every little thing on magic if we let them. It's important to actively discourage that way of thinking. These toxic rumor mills, completely unacceptable, are the just kind of thing I've been fighting to destroy here. Policy," She smirked at his confused face, "is to crush lies before they can spread."

Kristoff recalled what he had been taught about the human world- they beliefs made their reality. Elsa was the perfect example of this; if she believed in herself, and acted with confidence, then she could use her magic safely, but under the guise of fear, she became the world's most dangerous woman. And no one could stop her. The ice master looked across the table and saw Princess Victoria in a new light. She, too, had power. But it was a very different kind of power- it was like an aura of intensity. He did not like it, but thought it rude to say so. Humans, after all, made their beliefs reality. Clearly, poor Vikka had been required to act this way due to her cultural background.

"I'm glad we can keep this to ourselves," Kristoff whispered, thinking of the man in the hold of the ship. What would happen if the truth got out, though? Even if Elsa knew that Hans was being held in the hold of this ship, it was unlikely that she would do anything to change that. Even as a person of conscience, she was still queen, and, though he did not see things the way human politicians did, she was required to show a certain amount of apathy to his fate. Kristoff wondered what this meant for Hans.

A human ruler was fine with leaving him to die, but such a callous action was unthinkable in troll society.

"Excuse me, I need something to drink," Never did he mind the smoke that rose from beneath his feet, growing into a single cloud over the edge of the ship.