Chapter Five

The Forgotten

HANS

11 months after the Confederation Summit, 2 months after the events of Frozen 2

Looking up into the sky, Hans Westergaard shivered and pulled his thin and almost useless outer garment around his shoulders a little tighter before turning his attention back to shovelling snow. Even though he was the Prince of the Southern Isles, he had not been spared the back breaking menial tasks that were given to the other prisoners. As Hans sat down on a mound of snow to take a break, he sighed deeply.

What had he done wrong? He had only tried to make a name for himself. As thirteen in line, he never stood a chance to become the King of the Southern Isles. Besides, his entire family ridiculed him. He had no choice but to get out of the Southern Isles if he wanted to ever amount to anything in life. After leaving the Southern Isles, he had set his sights on marrying into the Royal Family of Arendelle. Upon learning about Princess Anna, Hans had targeted her as she had been gullible, and had concocted a plan to take over the throne by staging an accident for the reserved but beautiful Queen Elsa. However, his plan had failed horribly, and his schemes were uncovered.

When he had first been thrown into prison for his crimes against Arendelle, Hans had thought that his status as the prince would save him from incarceration and grant him immunity. Unfortunately, to his complete dismay, his father, King Ulrich, had wholeheartedly consented to his youngest son's imprisonment, effectively disowning him. Hans had been heartbroken and had requested an audience with his father.

His father had denied the request and instead sent a messenger to tell Hans that he was utterly disgusted with him and that he wished to never see him again. And it had not been because he had committed a crime. It had been because Hans had failed to take over Arendelle. The King was ashamed of his son for not having been successful, and had left him to be tortured by the prison guards and prisoners.

As time passed, the disappointment and heartbreak from the betrayal turned to anger, and then to despair, and then to resignation. One year and five months had gone by since he had been convicted of treason against the kingdom of Arendelle and for attempting to murder the queen and the princess. In that time, so much had changed outside the walls of the Southern Isles prison.

After Queen Elsa had settled into her role as the new monarch, she and her sister had been instrumental in changing the continent in a huge way. The myth of the League of Sorcerers had been revealed to be true, and Elsa had become their new leader. Then, something mystical had apparently happened to Arendelle, forcing all the citizens out of the kingdom.

Somehow or other, the two royal sisters had managed to restore order to the kingdom, but things had fundamentally changed. Elsa had abdicated the throne to her sister, and now his ex-fiancée was the new Queen of Arendelle. All that had taken place, and Hans was still stuck working like a slave in the prison courtyard every single day, abandoned and forgotten.

As night fell and the prisoners were pushed back into their cells, Hans was escorted back to his own private maximum security prison cell which was located in the basements. Only the worst criminals of the Southern Isles were incarcerated in the lower levels, and apparently, he had qualified. The place reeked of excrement and other unknown horrors, and Hans had gotten used to it after all this time.

One year and five months. Hans shook his head as the cell door clanged shut and the key was turned in the lock. He slumped on his bed which creaked underneath his weight, as though it were going to collapse at any time. Staring up at the low ceiling of his cell, he cursed his luck. If only he had been born earlier in the family. Then maybe he would only have needed to get rid of a few of his brothers before he could be crowned King. But no. His ill-fate had forced his hand, and that had landed him as a prisoner, practically stripped of everything he had once possessed. All he had left was the thought that one day, he would have a chance to exact revenge.

The lights outside his cell were snuffed out abruptly, and Hans heard shouts coming from the corridor. He got up from his bed and walked to the door, trying to peer out of the bars at the top of the steel door. What was going on?

"Someone's here," Hans heard the panicky voice of a guard. "An intruder!"

"Someone light the candles!" Another shouted, followed by a scream of terror.

"Man down, man down!" A third hollered.

"Get the weapons and-"

Hans heard screaming and frantic shouts as the guards' voices faded one by one. What was happening? Had a prisoner escaped? Who had put out the light? The corridor fell into an eerie silence, the only sound being a quiet set of footsteps which echoed throughout the place.

"Who's there?" Hans called out. "Show yourself!"

As if to answer him, a silhouetted figure arrived outside his door and stopped. Hans staggered backwards and backpedaled till he hit the wall.

Something happened outside the door, and it swung open to reveal a tall man clad in black, with a hood and mask which obscured his features. A bloody katana was in his hand, and the man regarded Hans through his featureless mask.

"Who are you?" Hans kept his voice level.

"You are Hans Westergaard, Prince of the Southern Isles?" The man's voice was deep and mechanical, evidently modulated by the mask to hide his true voice.

"Who's asking?"

"You're coming with me." The man said.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because someone wants to meet you."

"And who is this someone?" Hans asked. "And who are you?"

"You'll know when you get there."

"Get where?"

Before he could react, the man thew a dart which embedded itself in Hans' arm. Hans grunted and pulled out the dart. A weird sensation washed over him, and he could feel himself losing his grip on his senses. Closing his eyes, he succumbed to whatever drug the man had poisoned him with. If this was the end of his life, it was certainly a low note to go out on.

However, it was not to be. Thankfully. When Hans came to, he found himself in a very different environment from the depths of the prison.

"Where is this?" He sat up frowning, trying to clear the cobwebs in his head.

He was in a grand spacious room, with a long red carpet stretched out across the marble floor. Soldiers dressed in dark red uniforms stood by the big pillars at attention. At the end of the room was a flight of shallow stairs leading up to a throne. Then he understood. He was in an audience chamber of a castle. But whose kingdom was this? Definitely not the Southern Isles palace. And for sure it wasn't the Arendellian castle. So where was this?

"Where am I?" Hans levered himself to his feet.

The soldiers remained silent, and only Hans' voice echoed throughout the audience chamber.

"I said," Hans repeated. "Where am I?"

A gloved hand gripped his shoulder and forced him back down to the ground. Hans wrenched his shoulder free and distanced himself from his assailant before he spun round. It was the same man in the mask and hood who had attacked him back in the prison.

"Who are you?" Hans asked.

He remained silent.

"Where am I?"

Silence still.

"Answer me." Hans narrowed his eyes. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I'm afraid those questions aren't his to answer." A female voice called out.

The man kicked the back of Hans' knee, forcing him to the ground again.

"That's alright, that's alright." The woman came into view and sat on the throne at the end of the room. "Let him stand."

The man pulled Hans to his feet and he freed himself from the man's grip. He walked towards the throne where the woman sat, and studied her. She reminded him of Anna, his ex-fiancée. Maybe it was because of the color of her hair.

"What's going on?" Hans demanded. "Why am I here?"

The woman put on a forced expression of shock. "Don't tell me you actually liked that prison?"

"No, I don't." Hans said. "But what am I doing here?"

"First of all, let me apologize on behalf of the mercenary. He can be rather rough and intimidating sometimes, but he's a fine man really. I'm glad I hired him."

Hans glanced over his shoulder to look at the man who had abducted him, but he was nowhere to be found. It was as though he was a phantom, appearing and disappearing without a sound. It sent chills down Hans' spine.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why am I here?" Hans demanded. "And who are you?"

"I'm Eleanor Tal Yin, ruler of Exon. Surely you've heard of our fair kingdom?"

"Kingdom?" Hans said. "You mean empire? You're the one behind the recent conquest of the region? You're the Empress?"

"So you have heard about us." The Empress smiled. "I guess the Southern Isles prison isn't completely deprived of current affairs. And I guess you could call us an empire. That is the goal, after all."

"What do you want with me?" Hans asked.

"That is hard to answer." Eleanor said. "But to put it simply, I have need of you, Prince Westergaard."

Hans scoffed. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly a Prince anymore. I'm a prisoner."

"Was a prisoner." Eleanor said. "I did you a favour by having you sprung from your prison. Anyway, like I said, I chose you because I need you. Because you are a man of ambition, someone who knows what he wants. What you've always wanted is to be King of the Southern Isles, correct?"

Hans dipped his head slightly. Had she been observing him?

"What if I told you that you could have more? That the Southern Isles is too small for a man of your capacity." Eleanor continued. "What if I could offer you the entire country of Norway?"

"With all due respect, you're delusional." Hans said mildly. "You plan to conquer Norway, along with the rest of the cities and kingdoms around you that you already have?"

"Don't worry, I have an army big enough to conquer and occupy every place we set foot in. I've already made sure of that."

"Even if you could conquer every city and kingdom on this side of the continent, you'll be over-stretching yourself. There's no way you can maintain your grip on everything."

"Ah, but Hans, that's where you come in." Eleanor said calmly. "Don't worry, I've been planning this for slightly more than a year. All you have to do is join me, and the entire country of Norway will be yours. That includes Arendelle, the kingdom that banished you."

Hans looked up sharply.

"Yes, I've heard about that too." Eleanor smirked. "Don't you want revenge on the people who humiliated you?"

"Anna and Elsa." Hans said coldly. "I'll like to see the look on their pretty little faces when their entire country is forced to kneel before me."

"Then we have a deal, don't we?" Eleanor smiled slyly.

"I don't see why not."

"Excellent." Eleanor rubbed her hands together. "Then let me introduce you to our allies. You've already met the mercenary, Prometheus. He's the Captain of the First Imperial Guard, an elite unit sworn to protect my throne and uphold order. And then there's General Kane."

A tall, muscular man stepped forward from behind the shadows, with neat coiffed hair, tan skin, and a disposition that made him seem like a hardened veteran. He stood beside the throne without a word, studying Hans calmly and methodically.

"General Kane is the commander of the Imperial Horde, the army that I've raised in the past year. He and I have worked together extensively to ensure that the Empire of Exon will be established across the continent." The Empress smiled. "And with your help, we will cement our victory, and you can finally have your revenge on Arendelle."

"Hmmn." Hans smirked. This deal wasn't so bad after all. He would eventually get what he had always wanted, and more. He would show his father, his entire family and even the Royal Sisters of Arendelle who had foiled his plans. This was his second chance to get back on top, and he wasn't going to let it pass him by.

JANUS

What am I doing? Janus watched the Empress begin to make her offer to the asset. He shook his head and slipped out of the audience chamber. In hindsight, he really had no clue what led him to accept the post of Captain of the First Imperial Guard.

Just two weeks ago, he had been living out of a hotel in the outskirts of Vjor. How he'd ended up there was another entirely different story. After he had failed to save the orphan Winter from the other hired assassins, he had resolved to try being a better man. To be more than a mindless, hired killer in honour of her memory.

However, at some point he had slipped back into his old habits, because the pain and guilt of his failure was easier to drown out when he immersed himself in his work. As a mercenary, all that was on his mind was the job. How to find the target, and how to get the job done. Simple as that.

It was far easier to banish away the pain and guilt of not being able to save Winter by returning back to old habits. After all, a person like me doesn't change his spots.

Back in Swynvort, Elsa the Snow Queen had tried to reach out to the light in him and failed. Then there was Winter, the young girl who'd trusted him to keep her safe after the botched mission, and he had failed her too. No, it was easier being a mercenary, where one didn't need to think about right or wrong, only about getting the job done and getting paid handsomely for it.

Somehow though, the Empress of Exon had sent her people to reach out to him. How she'd found him hiding out at the edge of Vjor, he didn't know, and didn't want to ask. The Empress had paid an exorbitant sum, the likes he had never seen before, for him to be the Captain of her elite First Imperial Guard.

So of course, he had taken it. But now, he was starting to question himself if getting in deep with this unstable tyrant was the right decision. To a certain degree, she unsettled him. There was just something about her that made him feel uncomfortable. He had a strange premonition that this job was going to take a heavier toll than anything he'd been involved in before.

'We're waiting, Sir."

Janus looked up to see his second in command, Lieutenant Dolan, a seedy looking man with a rough voice watching him disdainfully. It was needless to say that he wasn't exactly a welcomed presence in the First Imperial Guard, even though he had been put in charge of it. For one, the locals don't like it when a foreigner is brought in to command them.

"No," Janus said. "Her Imperial Majesty has no new orders just yet."

"Noted, Sir." Dolan gave the last word a rather acidic spin. He had a very unpleasant tone, and Janus couldn't help but feel like it was being used on purpose. He lingered for a while, matching Janus' gaze.

"I know you lot don't like me," Janus said straightforwardly. There was no use beating about the bush. "But I have a job to do. Your Empress hired me, and it would be a lot easier if you would just cooperate."

"Since we're being frank, Sir," Dolan licked his lips, "You're right. We don't like you. Especially myself. I don't trust outsiders who come in to take charge of a local op."

"It isn't my fault that your Empress didn't think you were competent enough to lead your own men."

Dolan laughed coldly and spat at Janus' feet. "This isn't about me. It's about mercenaries like yourselves whose only motivation is money. You don't care about our cause. And that's something I don't trust."

He stepped closer to Janus, and by conventional military regulations, he could have been charged for insubordination, though Janus couldn't bother wasting his time on a rat like Dolan.

"And I don't trust men who hide behind masks." Dolan growled. "Only cowards have something to hide."

Janus raised an eyebrow, but of course Dolan couldn't see that since his face was obscured behind a mask.

"What are you hiding, Prometheus?" Dolan continued relentlessly. "Why don't you take off that mask, and maybe the boys and I will have more of a reason to trust you."

"I don't care about your trust." Janus said. "I'm here to do my job, and as the Captain of the First Imperial Guard, I expect you to follow orders when I give them."

Dolan's lip quirked slightly.

"Will that be all, Lieutenant?"

"Of course, Sir." Dolan saluted, his eyes narrow. "I look forward to working with you further."

Janus shook his head and walked past the antagonistic lieutenant out into the street where he could have some peace and quiet away from the animosity. He sighed quietly. What have I gotten myself into?

IMPORTANT NOTE FROM AUTHOR

I'm taking some time to establish the timeline of events because it's pretty important to the story. And also so that no one gets confused. MOST IMPORTANT TO NOTE is that Frozen 2 doesn't take place 3 years after Frozen in this universe. It takes place 1 year and 3 months after Frozen to keep the timeline of my universe (The Frozenverse) as compact as possible.

July 1839 - Frozen

Elsa's powers are revealed to the world and Anna reconnects with her sister after years.

August 1839 - The Major's Quest

The Warriors come together for the first time to thwart Major Kane's ruthless quest.

October 1839 - The League of Sorcerers

The Warriors meet The League of Sorcerers.

November 1839 - Prologue to Rise of the Empire

Eleanor Tal Yin meets with Kane and strikes a bargain in preparation of the war she is about to wage on the continent

December 1839 - Olaf's Frozen Adventure

Anna and Elsa celebrate Christmas together

January 1840 - The Confederation Summit

The Warriors stop the Warmongers. Elsa and Anna attend the Confederation Summit and they decide to leave the Warriors and the League, returning home to Arendelle.

June 1840 - Frozen Fever

Elsa throws a party for Anna to celebrate her birthday.

October 1840 - Frozen 2

Elsa decides to stay in the Enchanted Forest and protect the Northuldra. Anna becomes Queen of Arendelle in Elsa's place.

December 1840 - 2 months after Frozen 2

Hans is liberated from prison and offered an attractive deal.

March 1841 - Rise of the Empire

5 months after the events of Frozen 2, the Empire of Exon is about to threaten everything that Anna and Elsa have.