The plan was to sneak Prince Hans out in the cover of night and bring him back to the dungeon before anyone in the kingdom knew he was gone, especially Princess Anna.

Kristoff knew he was pretty much asking for trouble when he fell in love with a princess; trekking through a violent winter just to save Princess Anna was fine, but having to work with her would-be murderer was definitely pushing it.

He sure had hoped Queen Elsa knew what she was doing.

Had hoped. It wasn't even a minute after speaking with the troll when it became apparent that she had no clue what was going on or even if the trolls were going to help. Sven laid on the dirt, returning to the sleep he was interrupted from earlier. The prince just hid from the meeting behind a pine trunk, the wide hat of his disguise blocking his face from view, silent.

Kristoff would bet his new sled that the prince was the one who put Elsa up to this.

"If you think this is going to get you out of prison for what you've done," Kristoff said. "You're mistaken."

"You don't even know why we're here," the prince said, voice low.

"And what makes you think that?"

Prince Hans tilted his head slightly, an eye peeking out from under the hat. An unnatural gleam twinkled within it as if it caught the light of a bright campfire between them. The prince turned his head back down, hiding his features again.

"This is more for her than for me," Prince Hans said rather ominously.

"You didn't answer my question."

Prince Hans shrugged and returned to silence.

Kristoff grumbled under his breath and dug his back into the tree he was leaning on. Must've been a magic thing.

"Kristoff, who were you just talking to?" he heard one of the trolls ask him after rolling over to the edge of the clearing. She turned her head to the side and saw the prince. "Oh! Kristoff's brought another visitor! What, no introductions? We raised you better than that, Kristoff!"

She exuberantly grabbed at Prince Hans' arm, a low hiss coming from him at the contact, and dragged him over to the center of the clearing where Pabbie and the Queen were having a hushed discussion. Kristoff bit back a snort of laughter. The guy probably wasn't used to such rough handling by the trolls like he was.

The two interlocutors turned their heads, surprised to see the newcomer.

Kristoff could see that Prince Hans was trying very hard to keep his face hidden by using his free hand to pull the brim of his hat even lower on his face. The troll tugging him along tsked and swatted away his hand before yanking the hat off of his head.

"Welcome," Pabbie said to the prince. "Who might you be?"

Flustered, Prince Hans sputtered a bit before composure finally hit him. "I am Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

The elder troll hmphed and nodded before reaching over and taking the hand his kindred passed to him. "I sense that you have powers as well. Are you the one Queen Elsa has been speaking of?"

"I… suppose it depends on what context."

Pabbie gave a hearty laugh before inspecting the hand. "Point taken. Were you born with them?"

The prince hesitated. "My eldest brother said I was."

"Ah, quite right. No one can truly know the events of one's own birth." He furrowed his brow, the mirth in his face draining. He turned to face the prince, then to the queen. He let go.

"Impossible..."Pabbie gasped.

"What is it?" Kristoff asked.

"It's the mirror. It's..."

All of the trolls paused what they were doing and gaped, the excited troll now wearing a frown of disquiet.

"Leave," Pabbie ordered the prince. Hans looked about ready to turn away before Elsa intervened.

"No. Stay, Prince Hans," Queen Elsa said. She turned to Pabbie. "Why?"

"I keep trying to tell you that we can't fix this."

"And yet you're still not telling me why."

Pabbie's frown deepened, and he closed his eyes. "Because we were the ones who created this disaster in the first place. We will only make things worse." He turned to Kristoff, who had remained at the edge of the clearing to not interfere. "Take him back to where he came from, and he is to never return here."

"I'm sorry, but I'm the one who made Kristoff do this. He will not leave unless I tell him to."

Pabbie still addressed Kristoff, "It wasn't just a story, child, but a warning." He turned to Elsa. "I implore you to leave at once, Your Majesty. I do hope you'll one day find the solution you're seeking."

Elsa knelt down to his level. "Please. We need help."

The troll's face softened. "We cannot help you, Queen Elsa." He looked away. "There are things we've done that are best left alone."

Kristoff stiffed, slack-jawed.

His eyes bounced between the queen and the prince, the trolls that raised him, his own two hands.

"That hobgoblin...?" Kristoff asked warily.

Pabbie nodded sadly.

It wasn't just a scary tale the trolls spun for him as a child. The Snow Queen. Kai and Gerda's adventures. The eerily similar symbolic parallels he experienced just a few days ago. The mirror… It couldn't be. He couldn't have been raised by the very same monster like in the story. Pabbie and the others were too nice. Too loving. They gave him everything he ever needed.

Queen Elsa and Prince Hans looked to him in worry.

He was going to be sick.

Author's Note: This chapter is likely going to bring up a lot more questions. Don't worry, in time, they will be answered.