Chapter Twenty Four
Dinner with the Enemy
ANNA
It hadn't been long after Tracy had left that another series of knocks came at the door. This time, Anna was fully conscious and was in the middle of journaling her thoughts to clear her mind in the hopes that things would be put in perspective. It's probably Maui, Anna thought to herself. By now, Tracy and Will would have teleported out of the castle to regroup with Elsa's team and fill them in.
"Coming!" Anna called out as she closed her journal and walked over to open the door. She had the shock of her life when she opened the door to find Hans standing outside it.
She gave a small squeak of surprise and hurriedly attempted to slam the door close but the slithery Hans managed to jam his foot in the doorway before she could shut it in his face.
Her head jerked up and she stared daggers into his eyes, hoping in some vain, futile way that she would scare him off by her ferocity alone.
"Is that any way to treat an old friend?" he tutted, looking at her with wolfish eyes.
Anna glared at him, still holding on to the door for dear life. Old friend? "What the hell do you want?"
"Not to kill you, if that's what you're wondering." Hans said smoothly. "You can let go of that door, you know. You're hurting my foot."
"Good." She snapped.
"Aren't you even going to ask why I'm here?"
"I couldn't be bothered."
"Oh, I think you are." Hans forced open the door in one swift jerk and Anna backed away to the desk on the other side of the suite.
"Get out of here. I'm warning you." Anna picked up a pen and held it like a knife."I'm armed." Much good that is going to do.
"As I said, I'm not here to kill you. Wouldn't be very hospitable of me if I murdered my guest, now would I? No, the reason why I'm here is a lot simpler. In fact, I'm a little bit embarrassed by how casual this request is going to sound."
"What do you want?" Anna hissed.
Hans smiled and adjusted the collar of his shirt ever so slightly. "To invite you to dinner."
Anna couldn't believe her ears. Did he take her for a fool? "You're kidding, right?"
"Why?"
"To think I would have dinner with you." Anna snorted rudely. "You're out of your mind."
"Actually, I'm extending this request on behalf of Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Eleanor." There was a sickly grin at the edges of his thin lips. "But she's busy, and wanted me to accommodate you for dinner in her stead."
"You're dreaming if you think I'm going to dinner with you."
"I don't know," Hans frowned and cocked his head. "What would Eleanor think if you turn down an opportunity to enforce…bilateral relations? Would she think that you're outright rejecting her offer to have us married? How do you think it'll affect Arendelle's relationship with Exon?"
Anna hated the fact that he was right. Ugh, it made her blood boil. She scowled at him. "What do you want from me?"
"Like I said," Hans replied calmly, regarding her with the laughing eyes of a hyena. "To have dinner. Shall we meet in the dining hall at say…a quarter past seven?"
"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Anna growled softly.
"Can't say I'm not." Hans turned and walked away. "I'll see you in a bit, Your Majesty."
Anna made a show of slamming the door as hard as she possibly could, so hard that she thought the door might fly off its hinges. It didn't. She leaned against the door, breathing hard. As if things weren't already bad enough, and now she was being forced to have dinner with the one person she would be glad never to see again.
Nevertheless, she had to keep up appearances. Hans was right. It wouldn't be good for her relationship with Eleanor if she outright rejected her Consul. She had to maintain the facade that she was considering Eleanor's offer, at least until Elsa's team could do something to turn the tables.
Reluctantly, Anna changed into a long sleeved green dress that was a little less formal than the one she had arrived in, and put aside the royal purple cape. She didn't need that for dinner. She wasn't dressing to impress anyone anyway, most certainly not Hans.
She did her strawberry blonde hair up into a double-braid back style, with her fringe covering her forehead and her hair falling behind her shoulders. Nothing too formal. Then, she switched to a pair of heeled shoes, just in case she needed a weapon to club Hans unconscious in the event of an emergency.
"Come on, Anna. You can do this. It's just dinner." She said to herself in the mirror.Those last three words would have taken on a whole different meaning under better circumstances…and with someone better too. It's just dinner, but with a vile snake. She shook her head. Like Tracy had said, this was all just a facade she needed to keep up anyway. She just had to grin and bear it for the time being.
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"Oh, good. You're here." Hans called out placidly across the large dining hall as Anna entered the room. He was dressed in an expensive black shirt with a matte finish and a dazzling white suit coat that was not unlike the naval coat he had worn when she had met him on the docks for the very first time. "I was beginning to think you were a no-show."
"Why wouldn't I be here?" Anna said, loud enough for the rest of the servants in the room to here. She had to work hard to hide the sarcasm as it threatened to burst forth.
Hans smirked. He suavely waved over one of the nearby servants and rattled off something to him in the servants' native tongue. His accent was surprisingly thick and accurate as far as Anna could tell, which surprised her. The servant uttered something in return with a respectful nod, and began signalling to the rest of the servants. When they began to leave the room, Anna could guess what Hans had requested.
"I didn't know you speak Exonite." Anna accused as she approached the long table where Hans was seated at one end facing her.
"Oh, there's so much about me you still don't know." Hans replied coyly in English and gestured to the empty seat at the opposite end of the table. "Please, have a seat, Your Majesty."
Anna scowled at him and sat down gingerly. The table had already been set prior to her arrival, and a scrumptious spread had been laid out in front of her, ranging from thick soup to a full roast, with bottles of wine lined up at the side of the table all ripe for the picking. The food really did look enticing, and her stomach growled. Hoping that it wasn't audibly heard, she had to fight hard to resist the urge to gobble it all down in front of her enemy.
Hans didn't bother standing on ceremony, and helped himself to a good portion of roast. "The food isn't poisoned, if that's what you're afraid of."
Anna took a serving of rice and a thick slab of lamb lavished in a gooey dark red sauce which smelled heavenly. If anything, Exonians could cook.
"So, Queen of Arendelle." Hans chuckled as he stuffed a spoonful of soup in his mouth. "I have to say, I didn't see that coming. Despite your sister being a monster and all, she actually acted like a queen. I can't imagine you filling her shoes."
"You didn't invite me out for dinner just to talk about my inadequacy, did you?"
"This is nice, isn't it?" Hans said pleasantly. "Don't you realise that after everything we went through two years back, we never actually had a chance to sit down and have a proper meal together?"
"Of course not," Anna narrowed her eyes. "Because you were too busy rotting in a cage on the way back to the Southern Isles after we stopped you."
"Such a pity," Hans sighed dramatically, ignoring her insult. "All that fiasco and we never did get to know each other. Of course, you can blame that on your sister."
"What are you doing here, Hans?" Her voice was strained and cut through the air like a sharp knife slicing through a ripe fruit.
"Ah, so you do want to talk." Hans finished chewing and pushed aside his plate, steepling his long, elegant fingers like a villain from a cheap penny opera performance. "At last."
"Answer the question." She said with all the hostility she could muster.
"You do realise you're in no position to be making any demands regardless of your status, don't you?" Hans smiled. "You're in the Empire's territory now." When he saw that she could not find a suitable reply, he laughed. "But alright, I'll humour you. I was made an offer, just like you were."
"What offer?" she asked suspiciously. There was something about this meeting with him that made her feel increasingly uncomfortable.
"I've always been thinking too small, you see." Hans interlaced his fingers. "First, I wanted to be the successor to the throne of my home. I wanted to be King of the Southern Isles. But as you know, being thirteenth in line, I never stood a chance. So I turned my sights to your kingdom. Arendelle, the land of peace, sunshine, prosperity and benevolence. And we all know how that worked out."
He paused and leaned forward. "But you see, that's where I've been missing it. After Eleanor had me sprung from my cell, she showed me that I could have so much more." His lips curled upwards suddenly and he spread his hands. "Why be the king of a small land when I could be the ruler of an entire country?"
Anna stared at him in disbelief. The man really had gone mad. "You're delusional."
"Am I?" Hans glanced at her with mocking eyes.
"She promised you an entire country if you joined up with her and did her bidding?" Anna asked with disgust.
Hans nodded. "That's right. So assuming we do get married and live in Arendelle, the Empire will march past Arendelle and colonize the rest of Norway and beyond. When that is done, I will be given dominion over the entire country of Norway and even you and your precious sister will have to answer to me."
"But you will have to answer to Eleanor," Anna pointed out. "There's no way she's going to let you be number one."
"It doesn't matter." Hans leaned backwards in his chair. "Eleanor's going to open up doors I never knew existed. I've seen what she can do."
"She's a monster. And so are you." Anna spat.
"Call me what you like," Hans took a spoonful of soup and gulped the hot contents down. He sighed in satisfaction. "It won't matter once the country is in the palm of my hand."
Anna narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists below the table. "I won't let that happen."
"You know, I actually had a vastly different plan before this. Before I was rescued and appointed as Consul General of Exon." Hans poured himself a glass of wine and taking a sip of bright red liquid. He relished its taste and offered her the bottle. "Wine?"
Anna remained silent, staring at him as if by doing so she could bore a hole right through his skull.
Hans took the hint and set down the bottle gently. "Before Eleanor opened my eyes, my plan was far more narrow-minded. I simply wanted revenge on you and Elsa. I told myself that I would overthrow you two and drag the both of you through the streets so that everyone can see that their queen and princess had been beaten. Then, your people would know true despair." This he recounted in the calmest of tones, which made the hairs on the back of Anna's neck stand on end.
"You're insane." Anna said. "Do you know your father's been looking for you? He wants you back and he blames me for capturing you for something you did two years ago. He's every bit as mad as you."
Hans shrugged. "I can't argue with that. Old Ulrich always was a crazy tyrant, be it to his subjects or his own family. Eleanor knew that you would be the first one he would blame."
"So this…this is all part of her plan?" Anna said angrily. "To instigate conflict between Arendelle and the Southern Isles, and then offer me an alternative whereby I still lose in the end?"
"Looks like you don't really have much choice, do you?" Hans said. "But then again, ask yourself. Is marrying me all that bad? If you think about it, I didn't exactly try to kill you."
Anna gritted her teeth. "You manipulated me, deceived everyone and you tried to kill Elsa!"
"Okay, so I've done all of the above," Hans admitted mildly. "But you still don't have much of a choice. Marrying me is the only way to keep your kingdom safe."
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I already have a fiancé." Anna said defiantly.
"Who? That ice harvester fellow? What's his name again, Kristoff, is it?" Hans laughed heartily, evidently amused by her response. "So you don't marry me, fine. What's the alternative? Are you really willing to risk Arendelle being destroyed by the Southern Isles? Are you ready to accept that your people will become the latest subjects of the Empire? Forced to live under occupation like Quodrun, Denmark and the others that have fallen before?"
"You're sick." Anna snapped, her voice thick in her throat.
"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Hans taunted. "Coming to Denmark to try and save your kingdom by appealing to the Empress' better instincts? To reach down into the purity of her heart and do the right thing just like you? Well, news flash, not everyone has a heart of gold and virtue like you. Some of us have our eyes set on bigger prizes."
Anna bit her lip. He was wrong on one account. She hadn't come to appeal to Eleanor to spare her kingdom and stop her campaign, even though it looked like that was what she had come to Denmark to do. No, she and the Warriors were going to topple the Empire's oppressive regime, and when they did, she was going to make sure that Hans was sent back to the Southern Isles.
"And you think you're so smart?" Anna retorted. "Ambition and greed has made you blind to the fact that Eleanor is just using you to further her own goals. Once she's done with her campaign, she going to dump you. Maybe even send you back to your cozy cell in the Southern Isles."
Suddenly, something seemed to snap in Hans' mind and a wild look flashed across his eyes. He stood up abruptly, the chair's legs scratching loudly across the floor with a loud sound that echoed throughout the dining hall. With the back of his hand, he maliciously swept the plates and the glassware off the table and stalked over to where Anna was seated slowly.
Anna began to panic. She had never seen this side of Hans before. He had always been calm, composed and cunning, but wild and uncaged? She had not seen this side of him before and she was truthfully terrified.
Picking up the butter knife, she held it at arm's length. "Get away from me."
Hans snatched the knife out of her hand and tossed it aside viciously. It clanged against the wall and Anna gave an alarmed squeak as Hans leaned in close.
"I'm never going to prison." Hans whispered, the nasty look still flashing in his eyes. "I will never again set foot in a cell. When this is over, I'm sending a division over to storm the Southern Isles and burn it to the ground. I will raise my father's body on a stake for the world to see, and I will personally set the fire that'll send him to kingdom come."
"Get away from me!" She forcefully shoved him away from her as hard as she could and got up from her seat quickly, backing herself up against a nearby pillar with fists raised and clenched. Anna wanted to yell for help, but no sound escaped her throat which had seemingly closed up on itself.
The crazed look vanished like lightning. As if none of it had ever happened, he shook his head and cleared his throat. In place of the nasty snarl that had come before, there was now a pleasant and almost apologetic smile like the one he had worn on that pier in Arendelle the first time they had met.
"You had no cause to be afraid. You know I would never hurt you."
Anna stared at him, afraid to say anything in response for fear of him lunging at her and choking her to death. For a moment, she had glimpsed into his fractured psyche. For the first time since she had known him, she had witnessed the real Hans without his mask of charm and sweet-sounding words. He truly was a monster, and she was truly terrified.
"Anyway, as I said," Hans clasped his hands behind his back in a composed manner and walked towards the window, his back to her. "You have a choice, but you're running out of time. What will it be? Marry me and save your people from destruction? Or turn down the offer and face the wrath of two separate armies?"
"You won't get away with this." Anna ventured cautiously as she edged towards the exit of the dining hall. The sooner she was away from this lunatic, the better.
Hans turned around calmly and flashed a cunning grin at her, making no attempt to stop her from leaving. "Oh, Anna. But I already have."
A chill ran down her spine at those familiar words as she ducked out of the dining hall and hurriedly shut the door behind her.
Author's Commentary:
The long awaited reunion and interaction between Anna and Hans was certainly a treat to compose. This chapter really takes the time to showcase the inner workings of Hans' intelligent mind. I really immersed myself into music that would encompass his psychology.
I took inspiration from the Joker character in The Dark Knight, Jeremiah Valeska from Gotham as well as Hannibal Bates. These three characters always seem to be able to hold the power in any given conversation, and it really helped me get into this creepy state of mind where I could channel the inner psychopath and churn out this careful, wolfish Hans.
I think the sudden snapping was a lot of fun to write too. It just goes to show how dangerous Hans can be, that he's not all smiles and devious plots. He has a violent streak as well that can be triggered, as Anna experiences first hand. And seeing the entire dinner conversation unfolding from her perspective was a great way to put us in her shoes as she grapples to deal with this madman with renewed passion and purpose. It is well and truly unnerving.
