Chapter 9: Breaking Out

Anna clutched her bedsheets tighter to her chest and rolled over onto her side. She wasn't sure what made her think going to sleep would make her feel better, because it wasn't doing anything for her. Especially since all she was really doing was laying there, wide-eyed and alert.

All she really had going for her right now was someplace warm that she could temporarily feel safe. Throughout most of her life, bed was always a place of sanctuary. After daily dealings of rejection and loneliness, climbing into her bed each night, and sometimes in the afternoons, let her break free from her monotonous routines, and she could be left immersed in the adventures and stories of her wildest dreams.

Or, at times, a prisoner of her worst nightmares.

If only this were something that I could awaken from…. Anna sighed and rubbed her nose with the tip of her bedsheet. What a terrible night this was, and every passing hour only seemed to make things worse. She almost feared what the dawn would bring.

As she laid there and tried to force current events from her mind, her attention was drawn towards the windows. The wind was picking up, and every so often, she could hear a loud gust brush against the castle. Nature's sounds were nothing new to her, and for the most part, she's tuned them out.

Until there was the noise of something that clearly wasn't wind. It was a short, scraping sound coming from outside. It was new to her, and hearing it enough, she sat up slowly and glanced over towards the windows.

Before she could really question it further, she could see a shadow of something fly across the window, and the unmistakable sound of a grunt. Something, or someone was outside.

Anna's heart started to race all over again, and she slipped out of bed cautiously. Was there a soldier outside her door? Was he here to assert some more dominance over her like the others? Well. Not again. She had quite enough of being manhandled and tossed about like some children's ragdoll. There was a large anthology on her nightstand—a collection of poems she found in the library that had served well as late-night reading material—she picked it up and held it close to her with both hands. It had a decent bit of weight to it; it'd do as a makeshift weapon.

As she tiptoed over towards the door, she could hear the sound of the knob wiggling from behind her curtains, and soon it pried itself open.

This is it. Just one swift swing. It's time these people learn that the princess of Arendelle won't submit so easily.

The form of a man emerged from the curtains, and with a deep breath, Anna swung her hands about and struck the tome right into the intruder's head. The force of her strike wasn't as strong as she hoped it would be, but it still knocked the man down to the floor.

"Ow! Christ, Anna. It's just me."

Wait, what? Anna was immediately taken aback, and her arms slowly lowered. She knew that voice all too well. But… what was he doing breaking in through the window?

"H-Hans?" She asked and tilted her head curiously to the side. "Is that really you?"

"What's left of him—ugh…" he groaned and remained flat on the ground for a few moments to let the shock wear off. One of his hands rubbed the back of his head to make sure he wasn't bleeding.

"I-I'm sorry…" Anna tried to apologize. "I thought you were one of those soldiers."

"…do I look like an Alvanian to you?"

She couldn't help but shrug. "I mean, you don't now, but it's dark and I've been on edge all—" she silenced herself and eyed him carefully as he slowly rose onto his hands and knees.

What do I think I'm doing? I don't owe him any explanations. This is Hans. If anything, he owes me one for sneaking in here.

There were so many emotions going through her mind. Confusion to what was going on and relief to seeing a familiar face that wasn't an Alvanian soldier—even if had to be her ex-fiancé.

"How'd you get in here?" She finally asked. Might as well start with something simple.

Hans shot her a dumbfounded look. "Seriously? The. Window." He deadpanned and jerked his thumb behind him.

"I know that." Anna rolled her eyes. "No need to be rude."

"Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."

"Hmmph." She grumbled and set the anthology down on the nearest table surface. "I meant how did you even get to my window. This entire castle is on lockdown. Everyone's been confined to quarters."

"Trust me. I know." He slowly rose to his feet. "I've been ducking around, hiding behind shrubbery, trees, and climbing stone walls for what feels like forever." He finally turned around to look at her and sighed, "you're in your nightclothes?"

Anna looked down at herself, not understanding where his shock was coming from. "Uh, yeah? It's the middle of the night. Did you expect me to—" she cut herself off when Hans suddenly started moving about the room, and she got a better view of him. There were little bits of twig and leaves stuck to parts of his coat. And there was a rather large satchel draped across his torso. She recognized it. Several times, she had caught him out in the communal gardens with that bag beside him, and his sketchbook and instruments strewn about. Tonight though, she doubted he broke into her bedroom just to draw. And then it struck her that he never actually answered her.

"Hey, I asked you a question before. What're—hey!" Now he had opened up her wardrobe and started to sort through her clothes. She was stunned. Who does he think he is?! Three years and still no respect for me. "Hans!" She growled and rushed over to push him away. But instead of knocking him aside, she found herself pressed up against him with an arm of his around her waist.

"Shh!" He hissed and clamped his free hand over her mouth. "Do you want your guard to hear you?" He whispered.

Her eyes darted towards the door briefly and she shook her head. Still, his grip on her didn't lessen. She could do without being silenced in his arms and managed to level a glare to him as she elbowed him hard in the side.

He seemed to get the message. "Talk quietly," he said as he released her.

As soon as she was free, Anna swung her arm up to slap him in the face. Her hand stung once it made contact, but she didn't care. After being snatched about earlier in the evening, she wasn't in the mood to receive similar treatment from Hans.

Hans rubbed his cheek and matched her harsh gaze, "the hell?!"

"Don't you dare touch me." She quietly snapped back and took a few steps away as a precaution. "I've been roughed around by those men out there. I don't want nor need it from you, too."

Hans held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "OK. You're right. I'm sorry. Please…just don't hit me anymore. I'm not here to cause problems—"

"—then why are you? What do you want?"

He turned his head back to her wardrobe. "Well… I'd like you to get dressed for one thing. Unless you prefer bailing out in your nightdress."

Wait, what? Her eyes darted from him to her clothes. "I don't understand."

"We're escaping." He sighed for having to spell it out for her. "I'm serious. Get dressed—or stay here and be tortured and abused for information."

Well when he puts it like that… Anna didn't need to be told twice. She immediately pushed past him to her wardrobe and started puling out pieces.

"Do you have any luggage in here?" He asked while glancing around the room. "Satchels? Purses?"

She draped a petticoat over her arm and pointed to a larger trunk across the room. "In the—" she didn't even finish her sentence before Hans bolted to the trunk in question. "O-okay…" she frowned and watched as he began sorting through the contents inside. "What're you—"

"Anna, please…" Hans pleaded, glancing at her. "We don't have a lot of time." He pointed to her washroom. "Go get dressed."

Anna frowned, "Am I going to get an explanation for all of this at some point?"

"Later. Now go."

It took everything she had to resist huffing at his behavior. She could do without being bossed around, but she understood the need for urgency. She moved quickly into the washroom once she had enough of an outfit put together. As she laid her pieces down and pulled her nightdress up over her head, she could hear him moving about the room and she frowned. Was he really going through more of her belongings again? What could he be looking for?

She wished she could call out to him through the door, but that might alert the guard. A sigh escaped her as she tugged her corset tight. That'd go over really well. Catching a man prowling about my room.

Once she finished dressing, she took a quick look at herself. Her hair was still braided for bed, but it would have to do. Anna quickly opened the door and stepped back into the room. Her jaw instantly dropped. The room was a mess. Her wardrobe was wide open. Some of her clothes were tossed haphazardly on the floor, a chair, the bed. Dresser drawers were pulled out. She couldn't believe it. And Hans was sweeping about trying to sort through his chaos.

"What on…" she was speechless. "What have you done?" She asked in a hushed tone and stormed over to grab at his arm before he could do any more damage. "Stop going through my things!"

Hans yanked his arm free and raised his index finger towards her. "We're moving against the clock here. There was no time to wait around while you made yourself look presentable."

"I was in there for maybe five minutes."

"And that's all the time I needed to gather some clothes for you." He said, thrusting a half-filled satchel into her waiting arms. "Here. Finish filling that." Without another word, he turned away and with a second bag in hand, began rummaging through another trunk.

Anna glared at him before turning her attention to the bag in her hands. "Oh god…" she groaned, "You touched my undergarments? Have you no sense of boundaries?!"

"Apparently not." He said far too calmly, and Anna could almost picture the stupid grin that had to be all over his face as he spoke, "Because I clearly wanted an excuse to fondle your delicate silk stockings."

In a fit of rage, before she could stop herself, she hurled the satchel at the back of his head.

The impact made Hans drop the satchel he was holding, and he turned to glare at her over his shoulder. "That was sarcasm." Picking up her bag from the floor, he roughly tossed it back to her, "now stop wasting time."

Anna finished packing in silence. Every few seconds, she would glance over to see what else he was getting into. By now, another of her satchels was draped across his body, joining the one he was already wearing. He then rushed past her towards the balcony doors and peeked through the curtains.

"I'm ready." She whispered after tugging on a pair of heeled boots. "What do we do?" She approached him from behind. Her hands nervously ran up and down the leather strap of her bag. When he didn't respond, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "H-Hans?"

"There's a soldier out there." He groaned and glanced at her over his shoulder, "I knew we were taking too long."

Anna frowned and pulled back. She knew immediately that the 'we' was really directed at her. It wasn't as if she was slacking entirely. Still, she held her tongue. Now was not the time to start an argument, and she had to keep reminding herself that. A gust of wind came through the small gap in the door, enough to make her turn back to grab her cloak. "Is there another way out?" She eventually asked.

"Sure. You can waltz right out the door and let the guards shoot both of us."

Her eyes immediately narrowed. "That was not deserving of a stupid answer."

"It wasn't stupid." Hans whispered over his shoulder. "I was merely being honest."

"But… if we can't go out that way…" she pointed to the balcony, "what do we do?"

"Oh. We're going out this way. Even if we have to forge our own path."

"Wait, what?" She asked and started to follow him outside. She made it to the door before he held up a hand to stop her.

"I'll go first. Wait here." He announced, and before she could react, he was swinging a leg over the railing and then down he went.

He's crazy! She thought as she rushed to the railing and peered down, curious to what Hans was going to do. It took a few moments, but then she spotted him just letting go of the castle wall. Her heart was racing as she sought out where the guard was in relation to Hans' location. She found him on the other side of the garden. The rifle in the man's hands made her nervous, and her hands gripped the metal rail tighter once Hans entered her field of vision. He was sneaking up on the soldier. There was something in his hands, and she squinted to figure out what it was.

Oh my god, that's a rock from the landscaping… Her hands covered her mouth as Hans was suddenly behind the man. His hands went up over his head, and then—

Whack!

Anna cringed upon hearing the crack sound of impact, and then the guard instantly slumped to the ground.

Did Hans just kill him?

She watched, frozen in place as Hans dragged the man away from the lit path to a darkened spot behind some of the shrubbery. She couldn't see the Alvanian anymore, but Hans was still visible, bent over what she presumed to be the man's body.

Eventually, she tore her eyes away and looked around the garden. Everything was completely enclosed. It let her to wonder how Hans expected them to get out. There was also the question of how Hans even managed to get around the castle in the first place. Everyone was immediately confined to their rooms once King Wilhelm was killed.

What, did he just launch himslelf out his window and jump another guard? How many people have Hans attacked tonight? And how many more will fall while we try this mad escape? It's just—

"Anna!" His voice startled her from her thoughts, and she peered down the right side of the balcony. Hans was standing there waving for her to come down. "It's safe now."

Is it? "How do you expect me to get down?"

"Climb like I did."

"There's nothing to grab hold of!"

"Then jump."

"Hans!" She hissed, wide-eyed. "This is the third floor!"

"So? I'll catch you."

Sure you will…. Not feeling too confident in her second option, she warily sat up on the rail to swing her legs over. Surely if Hans could manage, she could, too. Still, it was a bit of a ways down and the stone surface didn't seem right for climbing. "I don't know about this…" she said quietly to herself as her hand rubbed against the wall. There wasn't a lot for her to maintain a solid grip. After some struggling, she managed to get a firm holding on the wall and heaved her body onto it.

Her mind instantly flashed back in time three years prior, when she boldly tried to scale part of the North Mountain. She was far more naïve then, with an air of invincibility to her. With the drive to find her sister and restore summer, she didn't really think much of consequences. Only actions.

But that was then. And while she never lost her strong will, she's matured significantly and gained a greater sense for safety. This was no innocent venture with a rag-tag group of friends who would offer support and patience as she slowly made her way up a mountain or down a valley. Here, there was danger everywhere—from the guard in the bushes who may or may not be dead, to the entrances to the gardens where additional soldiers could appear at any time, to her just clutching the castle wall three floors high, with nothing to break her fall down below except for Hans. And he brought his own set of issues.

"Anna…."

Hans' voice reminded her that she couldn't hang there forever. She glanced down at him. He was still in the same spot.

"I'm… I'm coming…." She whispered and swallowed nervously. One foot moved off the stone and shifted a bit lower on the wall. Now more than ever she wished she paid better attention when Kristoff actually taught her a thing or two about climbing mountains.

One foot. Then a hand. Then the other foot… I can do this. She made it a few small steps downwards and let out a brief exhale. It's like descending a ladder. A really tall ladder. With a lot less to grab onto….

She made it another few feet and began to feel a bit more confident. That is, until a bit of wind shifted her satchel to dangle away from her body. Anna was mid-step when her balance was thrown off and she lost her grip on the wall. She barely had the chance to let out a gasp and even think about bracing for the fall when she was suddenly cushioned by a set of arms under her, followed by the sound of a quiet, labored grunt.

"See? I told you I'd catch you."

"Glad I caught you…"was all she really heard as she glanced from the ground to Hans, her eyes wide with shock. Images were flashing in her mind, moments in time from Elsa's coronation. The ballroom, the portrait gallery, the bridge, the stables—any and every time she managed to stumble in Hans' presence, and when he latched onto her with a supportive hand or two to keep her steady. He was different then, his face full of playful smiles and charming, lighthearted laughter. Now, she knew his true nature, and there was only mind panic and exhaustion across his features.

Well… at least he kept his word… The sincerity reminded her of something else—the last time she was hastily trying to scale a steep surface, she ended up landing in Kristoff's waiting arms.

"That was like a crazy trust exercise…."

Granted, she purposefully launched herself off the mountain wall versus falling off, but the outcome was still the same. She had no guarantee Kristoff would catch her then, either. In a way, she supposed she unintentionally tested what little trust she had in Hans. And he passed. For now. She could only hope his double-crossing days were long behind him.

"Will you stop staring at me like that? Are you okay or not?"

Was she staring? Anna didn't even realize it and shook her head sharply. "Fine." She muttered and pushed harshly against his chest to wiggle out of his arms and back onto her own two feet. Her hand immediately gripped her satchel strap as she took a few steps away from Hans to look around.

"You're welcome." He mumbled dryly at her lack of thanks. "I mean, it would be a real waste to bother breaking you out just to let you fall to your death."

"Hmmph." She huffed with a shrug of her shoulders. "Now what?"

"We find a way out of here." He replied, moving to stand in front of her.

"Did you kill him?" She asked, pointing across the garden, "that man?"

Hans shook his head and reached behind to grasp her hand. "No, and we need to go before that becomes a necessity." Once he was certain she wasn't going to wrench away, he turned partially and spoke barely above a whisper. "Follow my lead, and whatever you do, stay quiet. Truly getting out of here is going to be the real challenge."

She nodded quickly. "Do you have a plan?" she whispered back.

"Not to get shot."

Anna couldn't resist rolling her eyes. Psh. I could have said that. "That's more like a hope."

He shot her an annoyed look. "Do you want to argue about it? Or do you want to leave?"

She clamped her mouth shut to prevent another meaningless squabble. Throwing barbs his way was far too easy for her. It didn't matter to her if they were justified or not. Years of dormant aggression towards Hans were being released with full force over the last several weeks, and suddenly being thrown into his company didn't help the situation. But in spite of the bitterness towards the Southern Isles prince, she had to get along—at least for now. Whatever his reasons, he was going far out of his way to get her out of the castle. And the only way she would get answers to all of her questions was to trust him to get them both to safety.

Her hand squeezed into his in a show of support. "Let's go."

"Hans wait, please!" Her hand let go of his and she collapsed onto her hands and knees in the dirt. Her entire body was screaming at her. Never in her entire life had she run so much in a short period of time. She could think back to all of the times she chased snowgies around Arendelle and the snowy cliffs of the North Mountain, raced Kristoff and Elsa for a charity event last spring, even that one instance when Marshmallow pursued her and Kristoff through the deep mountain snow. She would take all of those moments three times over versus all of the stress and running to flee the castle.

The worst part was, she should have expected this much. No one ever fled from a dangerous situation at a casual stroll's pace. And naturally, it wouldn't stop the moment they reached castle grounds.

Had I been smart, I would have picked better boots. These are just part of the problem….

Hans was certainly right about one thing. Getting out of the castle really was the hard part. He kept a firm grip on her as he weaved them through castle corridor after corridor—some of which she's never been on before. He even knew the routes of some of the servant's passageways. But not every path was clear. As she expected, they ran into their fare share of opposition, and she lost track of how many times his body smushed hers into the wall or ducked her down onto the ground. Hans really did a number on invading personal space, but there was no time nor valid reason to gripe.

The lack of space wasn't the only part of their flight that bothered her. She witnessed some first-hand violence on Hans' part. It startled her knowing that he could throw a single punch and knock a man out. Or worse. She could still hear the cracking sound of his fist contacting with a soldier's jaw and it made her cringe. Hans moved fast in each and every instance that they got caught, and she was surprised in the end that all of the guards were silenced before they could alert their comrades.

Silenced…. Or killed? She still wasn't sure.

Now, she struggled to catch her breath. Every time they were on the move, Hans held her hand. Sometimes her arm. It was a struggle to keep up with him at times. He naturally ran faster than she did, and by the time they managed to find a proper exit onto the castle grounds, her legs were already sore and slowing that she felt Hans tugging her along as they fled.

It was dark when they made their escape. Anna wasn't sure what time it was now, but it was well into daylight hours. By now, she expected that the Alvanians had probably discovered her missing. She could almost imagine the scene—a guard barging into her room to bring her some form of breakfast and seeing the absolute mess she and Hans left behind. The castle must be chaotic with the search. Did they know Hans was missing, too? Would the search go beyond the castle grounds? And how long would it take before that happened?

"Anna, we have to keep moving." His voice became louder as he doubled back to her position and bent over, leaning his hands on his thighs. He was breathing heavily, too, but not to the winded extent that she was. In fact, he merely looked as if he did a long, casual jog down some wooded trail. She was insanely jealous.

There was a wide tree stump just ahead and she crawled her way to it, slumping against it to finish her break. "I… I just need a rest." She gasped, "we've been running for hours. Aren't you tired, too?"

"Of course, I am—"

"-then sit down and shut up." She groaned. Her eyes closed and her head leaned back against the stump. "Why am I the only one ready to keel over and die?"

"…you can't tell me to shut up and then immediately ask me a question." He replied with a scoff.

One of her eyes opened enough to glare at him. "Why are you so difficult?"

Hans moved to sit down beside her. "I'm difficult?"

"Yes." Anna nodded. "I've done everything you've asked. And now I finally want a moment to myself and you want to ruin it." She took another deep breath and turned away from him. Whether he wanted to or not, he was going to get a break, too. There was no way she could take another step right now. And now that she was on the ground, she was certain getting up would be another challenge in itself. Still, it felt so good to just stop. "Where do you think we even are? We can't possibly be in Oskberg, right?"

"For the amount of time we've been out? No. I'd say we're ways past." Hans replied and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright. I'll concede your point. A rest does feel good."

"See? I told y—" her cheeks instantly flushed as a loud gurgling noise erupted from her stomach. Now that she had stopped to take a breather, her focus was no longer on running and keeping up with Hans. Her respite brought forth a new problem. She hadn't eaten since the dinner and snacks from the ball, and all of the physical activity worked up quite the appetite. Her hands went to cover her stomach, hoping that the loud rumblings wouldn't reach Hans' ear. What good was running away if they would only starve to death in the middle of the woods? A quick glance from him confirmed that he did in fact hear her stomach rumbling, and she felt even more embarrassed.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were thinking it." She brought her knees up to tuck under her chin and fixed her skirts. "God, what a mess this whole thing is." She sighed, not paying attention to how Hans had turned towards her as he rummaged through one of the satchels draped across him.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better—"

"—I doubt it—"

"—I'm hungry, too." He finished, producing two apples from the bag and handing one to her. "If we're going to break, we might as well make the most of it."

The sudden appearance of food certainly shocked her, and she couldn't help but flash him a grateful smile as she gently took the fruit from his hands. "Oh, thank you! I'm glad one of us was smart enough to bring provisions."

Hans took a bite from his apple and raised a curious brow at her while he chewed and swallowed. "Was that a compliment? Or did my ears deceive me?"

She swallowed her own bite and waved the apple in her hand. "It was. I wouldn't get used to them, though."

"I'll be sure to revel in the moment." He said slyly, and then shrugged his shoulders, "though I suppose being the gentleman that I am—" she scoffed at that, but he ignored it, "—I can't take all the credit. Majority of the snacks I brought came from your room."

"Wait, what?!" Now she turned on him, any smiles or pleasantries instantly disappearing from her face. "So, first my undergarments, then you raided my stash?"

Hans casually took another bite. "I don't see why you're so upset. Would you rather have the Alvanians snoop through your things and take them for themselves? At least you get to enjoy them." Once he only had the core left in his hands, he tossed it casually behind him. "The fact of the matter is, you had food tucked away, and we were going to need it."

"Is there anything else that you stole that I should know about?"

"Eh. Just your coin purse."

"Wonderful." Anna muttered to herself in between bites.

Hans got back to his feet and stretched. "Well. I think we better keep moving now. We can't stay in one place for too long." He said and held out a hand to help her rise.

Anna discarded her apple core and ignored his offered hand when she stood back up. "How much further north do we have to go? I thought we would have reached the water by now." She asked, glancing around their surroundings. For as far as she could tell, they were in the middle of a dense forest. Nothing but trees, bushes, rocks, and more trees.

Hans took her hand and started guiding her through the woods again in the original direction they were heading. "We're not going north. We're headed south."

"Wait, what?" She immediately yanked her hand free and crossed her arms. "What do you mean, 'south'? Arendelle is north! The Southern Isles are north—"

"—and the Alvanians are north." He finished for her. "That would be the most obvious route, and the perfect opportunity to trap escapees like us. No. We're going south."

"But—" she didn't get the chance to respond when the sound of a twig snapping in the distance caught both of their attentions. Immediately, Hans pulled her down to the ground beneath the undergrowth. She tried to keep her body from trembling under him, but nerves were getting the better of her.

Did the guards catch up to us already? Maybe it was a better idea to keep moving, like Hans wanted…. She bit her lip and glanced at him. He didn't share her fear—or at least, his face didn't express it. He seemed rather calm, as if he was calculating their next move. His eyes darted about, no doubt trying to locate the source of the sound.

"Hans?" she began to whisper, and immediately, he put a finger to her lips. At least it was an improvement to his entire hand slapping over her mouth. He didn't verbally reply to her either, only shaking his head to keep her from speaking again.

'Stay here', he mouthed to her, and once she nodded, he crept away from her and disappeared around the trees.

Anna's heart began racing. She scrunched herself up as small as she could get and closed her eyes tight. For the first few moments, she could hear Hans' boots as he moved away, and then there was silence. She didn't know what to expect next. How long would Hans be gone? Who would he find in the woods? And who would come for her afterwards? She certainly wasn't feeling brave enough to even peek her head over the leaves to get a glimpse for herself.

More minutes of silence. The quiet began to unnerve her. That twig snap seemed fairly close to them, so why couldn't she hear Hans or whoever was out there?

BANG.

She let out a scream in fright. The sound of a shot going off was so unexpected and sounded too close for comfort. It was almost as loud as the shot that went off in the ballroom. She wasn't the only one disturbed by the sound. Birds in the nearby trees suddenly took flight into the sky, and she could hear what sounded like a horse whinny in fright a little way off. Tears started to force their way down her cheeks. Was Hans just killed? Would she be next? She retreated so deep into her thoughts that she didn't hear the sound of hoofs and footsteps approaching.

"Anna." Hans whispered nearby. "It's safe now."

She peeked an eye open at the sound of his voice, and slowly lifted her head up. Looking up over the shrubbery, she could see Hans a short distance away with a large, dark brown horse. He held the reins in one hand, and the other rubbed up and down the side of the steed's face, as if trying to soothe the creature. She got to her feet and brushed some small twigs from her cloak and dress before approaching cautiously.

The consoling looks on Hans' face instantly vanished when he turned his head to address her, and it was replaced with an accomplished grin. "Luck might just be on our side after all." He gestured to the equipment saddled to the horse, "These packs have money, water, rations…"

She held up a shaky hand. "What was that noise I heard? Where's his rider?" She asked the question, but already knew the answer.

"He was a scout." Hans replied solemnly and nodded his head towards the left. "We won't have to worry about him anymore."

So, he is dead… Anna's suspicion was confirmed. And even though they were the enemy, just knowing that Hans had no qualms about killing them made her feel incredibly uneasy. Would his violent tendencies be reserved only for the Alvanians crossing their path? And it didn't escape her notice that the belt around his great coat gained a new edition: a small holstered pistol. He must've taken that from the soldier…. "Did he come from the castle?"

"It's possible." Hans shrugged, "but that doesn't mean he was sent out to retrieve us, either. There could be other soldiers deployed throughout the kingdom as Alvania takes over the land."

Her hands rubbed her arms nervously. "Then I guess we should get going." She forced a shy smile, "but at least we won't have to run anymore."

Hans moved to the side of the horse and offered a hand to help her mount. "For now. The ride will give us more of a lead in case they really are on our trail." Once she was safely situated on the saddle, he climbed up behind her.

Anna sighed when his arms came her front. One wrapped around her waist, the other covered one of her own hands as she held the reins. She could feel Hans signaling the steed to turn about in the proper direction, and in no time, it started its trot through the woods, working its way up to a gallop. As she gripped the reins a little tighter, she glanced over her shoulder best she could to get a glimpse of Hans. With him leaning forward into her, his face was a lot closer than she anticipated it being, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Still, Hans didn't make any eye contact with her. He maintained sight straight ahead with a neutral expression on his face again.

I hope he knows what he's doing… and where we're supposed to be going. I may not know what's going on in his head, but I do know for certain that the next time we stop for a rest, I'm getting all the answers he's promised me. I just hope I can handle them.