When Hans joined his family for dinner that night, he took into account all that were there. King Erik was absent from the head of the table, Hagen sitting on what would have been his right. Next to him, in birth order, was Raoul, tall and thin, bespectacled with his auburn hair as short as can be. Then, Bjorn the Bear, who looked nearly identical to a younger version of the King. Tall, thick like a yew trunk, and covered in dark, curly hair. Beside Bjorn were three empty seats for Vernon, who had moved away to a far off kingdom to marry Princess Mila, and the twins, Evan and Ivan. Being middle children and twins, they had always gotten lost in the shuffle, constantly being mistaken for each other, which led them to run off at 17 to pursue a life of crime. They had been the stain on the family name long before Hans had first traveled to Arendelle. The last brother on the end of the right side of the table was Garth, who typically his behind his long hair and kept to himself.

Hans' eyes rounded the table to the eighth brother, Brandt, who, being so far down the inheritance line, was the charismatic playboy of the bunch. From there, the birth order was jumbled up. Leif, even though he was the third youngest brother, sat between Brandt and Henrik, due to their clashing personalities. While Brandt was more selfish in nature, Henrik had a generous heart on the whole. However, Henrik, and Nikolai beside him, had been there to witness the accident, and has held a grudge ever since. Leif had a knack for staying out of the family's drama, so he was the go-to mediator if the logical Raoul was busy.

Jakob's usual seat was empty, for he had moved to Hans' chair next to Freyja, who sat on what would have been King Erik's left. Not wanting to sit between the family members who hated him the most, he took Ivan's abandoned seat next to Garth.

Dinner began in complete silence. Every scraping fork and clanking cup seemed to echo around the family. Hans looked around at his broken family, the empty seats, the awkward silence. He hadn't sat down for a meal with them in over a year.

Freyja looked as though she hadn't slept since King Erik fell ill, though she kept up a strong face. Her auburn hair, streaked with grey, was pulled taut and away from her angular features. Her long, sharp face and red hair were both passed to most of her children, Hans included. Bjorn and Henrik were the only ones who primarily looked like the King, with a wider build and curly hair. Leif was the only balanced blend of the monarchs, with his curls and softer face, but her complexion and build. The rest of the brothers were tall and thin with straight red hair like their mother.

"So, it's good to be back," Hans said, breaking the maddening silence. He had thought he couldn't take any more of the quiet, but the following silence as the whole family turned to look at him was even worse, deafening. The tension in the air was palpable.

"Good to see you again," Leif said cheerfully from across the table. He was the first to resume eating as if the tension had dissipated even though it hadn't.

Everyone except Leif, Brandt and Garth glared at Hans, though Garth avoided looking at him altogether, or any one else, for that matter. Leif and Brandt simply didn't care about the politics and drama within the family.

"How was the Princess?" Brandt asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Hans could always count on his brothers to pour salt in the wound. "She...moved on."

"Bummer. Is Queenie taken?"

Bile rose in Hans' throat, and his fork began to warp in his bare hand. "She is unavailable."

Brandt leaned back in his seat with a smirk. "Oh, so she's like that, huh? That's okay, I can watch."

Hans nearly sprang across the table to strangle him, but luckily Freyja stepped in.

"Enough of that foul talk! I am not dead yet. There is still a lady in your presence."

"Sorry, Mother," Brandt said, returning to his food.

"I believe the question we should be asking is: Have you mended the strained relationship between our kingdoms?" Raoul asked, ever the rational one.

"I believe so," Hans replied.

"Do not be modest," Hagen chided. "He informed me that he actually rescued the Queen from trolls!"

"Did you?" Freyja asked, raising a dubious eyebrow.

"Well, she was pretty spectacular, too," Hans admitted.

"I heard you were contained in the dungeons during your stay," Nikolai said with the tongue of a snake. "What kind of a relationship is that?"

"I was released once I gained her trust," Hans explained through gritted teeth. Nikolai narrowed his green eyes and sneered at him. Nearly twenty years later, and he still saw Hans as a monster.

"If we are again on good terms with Arendelle," Hagen began, addressing Queen Freyja. "Then should we grant his title back?"

Hans appreciated that his eldest brother was standing up for him, but he doubted his success with the way Freyja looked at him then.

Her once-blue eyes were now a stormy grey as she glared at her youngest son. Hagen implored her to consider, revealing he had already shown Hans to his old room. Next to her, Jakob grabbed her arm as if he was seven again. Her eyes lit up as an idea came. "Remember, Hagen, you are not King just yet. Let us see what his father has to say."

The expressions on his brothers' faces ranged from incredulous to grave. None of them seemed to expect the King to recover. It angered Hans that Freyja made an impossible promise. He tried to keep his breathing controlled, even though he wanted to scream. He couldn't even excuse himself without her assuming it was a temper tantrum.

Queen Freyja's face betrayed nothing as she finished her meal, poised as always. She may not have won the argument, but she bought some time. Hans began to lose hope that he would ever be able to correct his mistakes.

A/N: Hey guys! I know with all the brothers being introduced this Chapter, it may be confusing. Even for me creating them all, I have (horrendous) sketches and charts and everything just trying to keep them straight with their looks and personalities. Hopefully it'll be a little easier from here on. For those of you who want a little help keeping them all straight, here's the brothers in order from oldest to youngest:

Hagen, 40, future King; Raoul, 39, quiet intellectual; Bjorn (the Bear) 38, quiet, gruff & strong; Vernon, 37, NOT in the story because he moved to a new kingdom to marry their Princess; Evan & Ivan (twins) 36, NOT in the story, the burglar brothers from Tangled (because who DOESN'T see the resemblance?!); Garth, 34, recluse that never really grew out of his emo phase lol; Brandt, 32, the arrogant womanizer we all wanted to slap lol; Henrik, 30, that one really helpful person (I know we all know at least one); Nikolai (the Snake) 29, driven & manipulative (stereotypical Slytherin); Leif, 28, carefree (looks-wise, I picture Dyson from Lost Girl, just redder hair); Jakob, 26, momma's boy with a huge grudge against Hans (for obvious reasons); Hans, 24 (now that it's a year after Frozen) we all know him by now, right? Also, King Erik is 61 and Freyja is 59.

This is only the micro list. Of course I'll flesh the characters out more and go into more physical description as we spend time with each of them. I just hoped a short list with their ages and personalities will help you tell everyone apart for now. I really did try to make everything as clear as possible in the chapter, but I can totally understand if you got lost. Let me know what you think about this dysfunctional family!