I'm AAAALLLLIIIIVVVVEEEE! Hi everyone! I am so sorry about taking so long to update, but...blah, blah, blah...life is busy...blah, blah, blah...you've heard it all already. Bottom line, the next chapter is up. Yay! But in all seriousness, thank you all for being so kind and patient and understanding and caring and supportive. Basically, you all deserve an award and I hope my next chapter will suffice. Since it's been so long, I will gladly give you guys a quick rundown about what's happening. Again, thank you and enjoy the next chapter. Happy Reading! :)

Summary:

Elsa received permission, by unanimous vote, to begin her and Hans' plan of constructing new weapons for Arendelle with James Jagger leading this project. Elsa has also confronted Anna and Kristoff about the new weapons being made and Jagger's involvement. At first, Anna and Kristoff were quite hesitant, however, after Elsa revealed some more hidden secrets about her past, including her skills in sword fighting, the couple is starting to grow to accept it. The Captain of the Royal is in charge of teaching Kristoff and Elsa is in charge of teaching Anna, despite the Captain's concern. Meanwhile, while Hans, Annaliese, and Klaus were travelling to the Southern Isles, Annaliese managed to flirtatiously gather information from Klaus and she accidentally caught Hans off-guard while he was taking an evening stroll on deck. As a cover, Annaliese faked it as a drunken encounter and Hans stayed in her room overnight in order to "take care of her" but instead he and Annaliese discussed the information she gathered. Klaus has started to grow suspicious of the two friends, but they have cleverly covered all of their tracks, therefore he has no evidence against them. Now, the trio have returned to the Southern Isles just in time for breakfast and have been greeted by the third eldest brother, Simon. However, Hans and Annaliese are both running on no sleep and Simon as cleverly threatened Annaliese in telling the rest of the brothers about Kendrick's death (and the lie about their lack of children) during the breakfast they are on their way to attending.

Chapter 9

Thoughts raced through Hans' mind as his brother, Simon, backhandedly threatened his best friend. How could he be so polite and respectful to Annaliese one moment and then subtlety putting her on the hot seat the next? But what surprised Hans the most was the calm and composed nod Annaliese produced, her façade not faltering one bit. It seemed strange how he had known her all his life, yet her recent behavior was not completely herself. He made a mental note to check on her later and ask her what was going on. But right now he had his own problems to worry about.

The dining room doors opened and Simon placed his hands on Hans' shoulders from behind and directed his youngest brother inside, "Look who finally came home!" He announced with a chuckle as they stepped into the room and paused as Hans observed the long table that was full with both food and family company. With a quick scan of the occupied seats, Hans could tell that he was the last brother to arrive and not only that, but he noticed that the last unoccupied seats sat at opposite ends of the long table meaning that he and Annaliese would be seated at separate ends. He didn't realize how nervous he was until all eyes landed on the 'unlucky' thirteenth prince and a strange silence hung in the air.

The silence was broken as his second eldest brother, Viktor, stood up with a beaming smile that reminded Hans of their mother, "Welcome home, Hans!" The rest of his brothers shouted their cheers of welcome and approval as if Hans had just returned from singlehandedly overtaking an entire kingdom…probably because in their mind, he did. However, he could not believe that all of this pomp and circumstance stemmed from his marriage to Elsa, but then again, they were not aware of any of his other recent accomplishments so that had to be it.

Hans watched in amazement as Viktor happily strode over to Hans and gave him a hearty handshake, beaming with pride and warmth, "My God, it has been too long since we last saw each other. How are you doing, my dear brother?"

It took every ounce of self-control inside Hans to keep from throwing a punch or yelling words of anger at his hypocritical brothers, but he knew he had a mission and right now it required him to play nice. So he dug deep and searched for the cold hearted manipulator that had been in hibernation since his adventure in Sperca. "Viktor…" Hans' voice was smooth and genuine as he accepted his brother's warm welcome, "I have been living a life of luxury that almost makes being married to Elsa worth it."

The dining hall erupted with his brothers' laughter at his snarky remark followed by the sudden bombardment of his brothers as the rest of them stood up from their spots at the table and rushed to properly greet him with unusual warmth and praise. All of this attention stirred both disgust and amusement within Hans as he watched how humbled his brothers acted towards him. And then it hit him…he was the only Southern Isles Prince that had actually married into a kingship. All of his brothers were married to princesses that have not yet inherited the throne, even Klaus was on stand-by until their father finally stepped down or passed away. In a strange moment of realization, Hans finally understood why they were acting excessively welcoming…he, the youngest of the thirteen royal princes of the Southern Isles, possessed the highest amount of power and authority. Although their actions disgusted him, he could not help but find this newfound respect thrilling and merited.

Being so caught up in the moment, Hans almost forgot about Annaliese. As he continued to revel in his brothers' praise, he casually glanced around the room in search of his best friend. Finally, he spotted her still standing by the doors with Klaus standing intimidatingly close to her, almost as if he was keeping her from entering the dining hall. "Gentlemen…" Hans' voice boomed in a clear and confident tone, "I must say that I am aghast to receive such a warm welcome however we must not be rude in forgetting to welcome the last member of our search team." Hans broke away from his crowd of brothers as he strode over to Annaliese and Klaus. As he held out his hand to Annaliese, he noticed that Klaus had a stiff hand wrapped around her arm, but with a hard look from Hans, Klaus reluctantly let go. Annaliese gratefully accepted Hans' hand and let him lead her further into the room as he graciously presented her to the group of royal siblings, "You all remember Annaliese. Queen of Sperca?" Annaliese let a small smile crack her stoic expression as Hans made sure to remind his brothers of her higher authority.

As if on cue, the assembly of princes all properly bowed and acknowledged her presence, following their required etiquette when meeting a royal of higher status. Hans took this moment to explain the reasoning behind her attendance, "Queen Annaliese as selflessly volunteered her time and energy in our efforts in catching this man. She has grown up here with us and is well known and loved by the commoners of our kingdom. She has sources that we could only dream of. It would have been quite foolish to reject her help."

One by one each brother nodded in agreement as they acknowledged the benefit of her presence along with praising the idea of accepting her help. Annaliese just smiled and nodded until the babbling had ceased. Then with a quick glance at the table, she pointedly gestured towards the food, "Gentlemen, let us not waste this feast that is stretch out before us."

Now, that was a plan the princes could get behind as they fumbled back to their seats in hungry agreement. As seats were being filled, Hans subtly linked hands with Annaliese, making sure to keep her near him so that they would not be seated too far away from each other.

"Hans!" He turned around to find Viktor standing by the head of the table, waving his arm above his head, "Come sit by me."

Hans reluctantly moved towards the head of the table, his hand still firmly grasped around Annaliese's. By where Viktor was standing, Hans figured that his brother would sit at the head of the table while he would sit on either side of him. However as he approached the chair, Viktor graciously pulled out the seat at the head of the table, leaving Hans a little perplexed, "Viktor, this is not my normal seat."

His brother lightly chuckled, "I know but since you hold the highest authority in the room, you get to sit in father's seat. That is how the order of authority works, Hans." Before Hans could protest, Viktor swiftly grabbed Annaliese's free hand and began leading her away from Hans, "Of course, we will show you the same respect, Queen Annaliese." Hans' pulse quickened as he realized where Viktor was taking her…the opposite head of the table. He did not know if this was planned or if Viktor legitimately was doing what he thought was right, but unfortunately he and Annaliese were sitting as far away from each other as possible. Even worse, he could clearly see that Klaus was not happy in seeing that Annaliese would be taking his seat. The spoiled first born had never sat on the side of the table since their mother's "death" and now here he was being moved by a woman who used to serve and clean up after them. The irony of it all actually made Hans smile as he ducked his head and took his seat while Viktor made his way back to his seat on Hans' left while Klaus took the seat on Hans' right.

"Wipe that smirked off your face, Hansey." Klaus quietly hissed as he scooted his chair in and placed the napkin on his lap, "They won't be so kind once she tells them what happened to Kendrick." Hans only casted a hard look in his brother's direction as a response.

Once everyone had filled their plates and everything settled down, Simon stood while clinking his glass with his spoon, "Brothers, and sister-in-law…" He playfully bowed his head in Annaliese's direction, making her smile as Simon continued his speech, "Although we have been brought together by an unfortunate incident, let us cherish this valuable time together. For it has been years since we have all gathered in this castle and dined at this table, and it may be years before we all gather together again. Therefore I would like to make a toast to this family and its many successes, along with a toast for our father…may he make a hasty recovery and may we bring this son of a-"

"Ahem." Viktor, who was seated beside Simon, violently cleared his throat and disapprovingly shook his head as he glanced over at Annaliese.

Simon ducked his head in embarrassment, "My apologies…" He lifted his head once more and timidly continued, "May be bring this assailant to justice and make him pay for his crimes against our family."

"Here! Here!" All of the brothers enthusiastically shouted with lifted glasses, followed by the routine drink. As the dining hall filled with small talk and chatter, Hans inconspicuously took attendance of those at the table and realized that not only was Kendrick missing, for obvious reasons, but also Gregory, his brother that loaned Hans and Elsa his home in London and who also got caught up in the Vortex incident during their honeymoon, was nowhere to be seen. This slightly disappointed Hans since he had hoped that he and Gregory could combine their knowledge of Vortex in order to help speed up the search.

Viktor had noticed the concerned look forming on his baby brother's face and watched as his eyes scanned the faces of those in attendance, "Everything okay, Hans?"

Hans snapped out of his thoughts as he redirected his attention to his brother, "Yes, but I am perplexed by the absence of Gregory…" He leaned closer to Viktor and slightly lower his voice, his face filled with genuine concern, "He isn't in any trouble is he?"

"Well…" Viktor reciprocated Hans' behavior, leaning towards him and speaking in hushed tones, "As a matter of fact, when we sent him the letter to come join us, we received a strange letter from the British Parliament saying that Gregory was under investigation for terrorism and that he was currently living under house arrest."

Hans deeply furrowed his brows together in confusing, making sure to put up a convincing façade, "What? That's absurd."

"That is what we thought but there is nothing we can do. We just get to sit back and watch this fall to our advantage."

Now Hans was genuinely confused, "How do you figure this will benefit the Southern Isles?"

Viktor smiled as he thoughtfully rubbed his goatee, "Sooner or later they will realize that Gregory is innocent and they will feel ashamed for every misconducted action they took upon him. Then we will finally get the alliance we have been waiting for. Gregory will no longer have to act as a liaison between our two kingdoms and he could finally come home." Viktor took a hearty bite out of his toast, "So…how are things on your end? The Arendelle sisters treating you well?"

From the ease of the conversation with his elder brother, Hans was almost tempted to tell Viktor some stretches of truth however his instinct was telling him to keep his guard up. So with a casual shrug, Hans reached for his drink and haughtily looked into his glass as he nonchalantly twirled the liquid inside, "Well, they treat me as if I'm one of their own, which is quite foolish if you ask me. You know, considering the history we have." He took a long sip from the glass and then put it down before looking at his brother again, "The sisters are so naïve that it is almost too easy. Like taking candy from a baby."

Viktor chuckled, "From what I've heard, a beautiful baby." He leaned forward with intrigue, "What's Elsa like? I've only heard rumors and read news articles about her. Is she really as beautiful as everyone says?"

It took Hans every muscle in his body not to smile like a love sick child, so much so that he had to clench one of his fists under the table to keep his cool composure. So in response, Hans casually shrugged again as he pretended to find his food more interesting, "I suppose on first impressions. But once you see all the sides of someone, they look completely different." Hans was actually quite proud of his answer being that he was running on no sleep.

Viktor nodded understandingly as he lowered his eyes and returned to his own breakfast, "You know, once this is all over…perhaps I could, I don't know…visit?"

Hans gave his brother a subtle side glance, partly in surprise and partly in suspicion. As much as Hans tried to think badly about his brothers, Viktor genuinely seemed bashful about the invitation which caught him off guard. So many first time moments were occurring, this is the first time that Hans actually had this long of a conversation with his brother and this is the first time that anyone of his brothers, let alone one of the eldest, actually asked his permission for something.

Viktor glanced up from his food and upon seeing the hesitant and conflicted look on Hans' face, he quickly lowered his eyes again and briefly shook his head, "You know what? Never mind. I'm sure you have a lot of other things on your plate to worry about-"

"I'll think about it." Hans suddenly said, much to his own surprise. He knew that he had changed since spending so much time with his Arendelle family, but he worried that he may have gone too soft, he needed to put up a convincing façade after all. However, the look of sincere hope and excitement on his brother's face made Hans believe that this invitation was quite sincere and off the record. Maybe his brothers were not so bad after all.

"Hey Hansey!" Jefferson, the oldest of the five youngest princes, shouted from his seat that was much too far from Hans to be socially acceptable. But nonetheless, he continued to shout across the table, "We were just discussing this the other day and we wanted your input." Hans did not feel like shouting back so he just lifted a curious eyebrow and nodded in his direction. A naughty grinned flashed on Jefferson's face as he eyed his youngest brother, "How is Elsa in the personal aspects of your marriage? 'Cause you know, being the Queen of Ice and Snow must certainly come with some benefits and drawbacks."

Many, if not most, of Hans' brothers were already chuckling at the comment. Immediately, Hans' pulse quickened as anger pulsated through his body. Fortunately for Hans, he knew his brothers too well and figured that they would be vulgar about his and Elsa's relationship. So much so, that he already had a response prepared for such an occasion.

As Hans took a deep breath and opened his mouth to respond, another one of the younger siblings, Charles to be exact, briskly cut him off,

"Jeffery, you know that's an inappropriate question to ask." Hans let out an internal sigh of relief that at least one of his brothers finally came to his defense. However, his grateful attitude diminished when Charles started to play with the tips of his long handlebar mustache, his glance falling back over at Hans, "Is it not obvious that our dear baby brother has not had a lot of personal relations with his wife?"

Jefferson narrowed his eyes at Charles, "And how did you come up with that conclusion?"

Anger was starting to build up inside Hans again as it became clear that this pseudo argument was a set up to humiliate him and Elsa. He could feel his exhaustion finally taking a toll on him as the strength to hold his tongue grew weaker by the second. But he had to take whatever childish remarks they were going to make because he had a mission, he had to stay on everyone's good side. Hans held his breath as he noticed the shifty look in Charles' eyes, one that Hans knew from experience which was never a good sign. "It's pretty simple, Jeffery…Hansey doesn't have any children yet. And as far as we know, he hasn't made any sort of pregnancy announcement either. Right, baby brother?"

Feeling like the air had just been knocked out of him, the only response Hans could give was lowering his head. Taking that as a sign of defeat, Jefferson decided to put in a couple more jabs, "It's alright, Hansey, you could always take one of my children. Ilene and I are expecting our third one soon."

More chuckling and laughter sounded in the dining hall as Hans clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth together. He could not feel, he could not breath, he could not think. The only thing he could do was keep telling himself to not lose his temper, to not get up and storm out of the room. Conceal don't feel…don't let them know… He repeated over and over in his head.

Apparently, Charles was not done torturing his youngest brother as he took a long sip of his drink before shouting, "I guess being married to the Ice Queen wasn't such a good idea after all. You should have married the gullible red-headed sister instead. At least she could have provided you with children." More laughter sounded at the remark.

Unfortunately, that was when Jefferson took it one step too far, "I guess you could say that Elsa is as barren as the North Mountain."

At that moment, something snapped within Hans as he bolted upright into a standing position, his chair loudly clanking to the floor. Everyone's laughter seemed to immediately cease to exist as Hans threw his most threatening glare in the direction of Jefferson and Charles. Hundreds of different scenarios flashed through Hans' mind as he thought of the numerous ways to make them pay for their ghastly remarks. However, just one glance at the horrified expression on Annaliese's face was enough to keep Hans from doing any physical harm to his brothers. He had already gone down that road once and he did not dare start another journey down it. As he furiously clenched and unclenched his hands, he stepped away from the table and silently made his way to the nearest exit. Just as he was about to slam the door behind him, he could hear Jefferson's voice fill the room again, "So…Queen Annaliese? Where's Kendrick and how many children have you two had?"

Hans froze in the doorway, his back still turned to the company at the table, waiting to hear her response. He knew that she had told Klaus that Kendrick was dead and that they had no children, but after that condescending display, Hans was not sure if her story would waiver. However the only thing he heard was the sound of a chair being forcefully pushed back, followed by a low growl, "None. And I regret it since he was not half the pig I thought him to be due to recent comparison. If I could, I would trade both of your souls to the fates if it meant getting Kendrick back. Now, if you'll excuse me. I wish to be rid of seeing your fowl faces."

Hans stepped into the hall at the sound of Annaliese's heels angrily clicked away from the table. Dead silence was the last thing they heard at the table as the dining room doors firmly shut behind Annaliese. Hans forgot that he still had his back towards the door and when he finally got the nerve to turn around, he noticed that Annaliese had her back leaning against the wall beside the door with her head lowered and hands covering her face. Hans cautiously walked toward her, not wanting to frighten her, "Annaliese?"

His voice was so gentle that she felt safe lowering her hands and looking up at her best friend, revealing streaks of tears running down her face, "I'm sorry, Hans. I couldn't keep my composure. It's just the way they talked about you and Elsa and…and…" She tried to take deep breaths, but only short ragged ones came out, "I just…miss…Kendrick…so much…"

Hans gently wrapped his arm around her and led her off the wall and further away from the dining room doors, knowing that his nosy brothers could easily be eavesdropping on them. "Let's get you out of here." With one of his hands firmly grasping her elbow for support and his other arm wrapped around her shoulders for comfort, he led her down the hall and away from his horrid brothers. I was wrong… He angrily thought to himself. They have not changed at all.


"Again!" Elsa commanded as Anna and Kristoff practiced a sparring routine with one another. Beads of sweat ran down their faces as they effortlessly swung their swords at each other in a series of blocks and jabs. "Not bad." She praised them as they finished with very few flaws, "Now…let's freestyle. Use everything the Captain and I have taught you in order to win this final spar. Remember, you are not battling your spouse, you are battling someone who has every intention of doing you harm. With that, be swift, be careful, be smart. Ready? En garde!" As the couple engaged in the exercise, Elsa slowly circled around them, scrutinizing Anna's every move while the Captain did the same with Kristoff. They intently watched them start by timidly striking towards one another but very soon they were fighting with an intensity that almost rivaled a true battle.

"Balance, Kristoff!" The Captain yelled as he carefully watched the ice harvester take a wobbly step back as Anna swung a forceful thrust forward, making him stumble a little more. "Straighten your posture! Keep your chest and torso forward when you swing!"

Taking the Captain's words into account, Kristoff managed to regain control of the flow of the exercise. He let out a ragged huff of breath as he forcefully swung his sword down on his wife, causing her to fall down onto one knee. Elsa could see Anna's strength straining under Kristoff's newfound control as she watched her sister visibly grit her teeth while her arms began to shake, "Remember what I told you, Anna. Fight smarter not harder."

Upon hearing her sister's words, Anna took a quick note of Kristoff's opened stance before suddenly lowering her sword while simultaneously using her downed knee to propel herself forward and slide right between Kristoff's open legs. A loud thud sounded as Kristoff's sword heavily collided with the floor along with a good portion of his body weight. While Kristoff was temporarily off balance, Anna rhythmically bounced back up from behind him and tapped the side of her sword to his ribcage, signaling that in a real fight she would have defeated him with a thrust going into his back and out through his chest.

"I win." She smugly smiled as she dropped her sword onto the floor and triumphantly raised her arms above her head, "I did it! I killed you!"

Kristoff exhaustedly rolled onto his back and smiled back up at her, "You seem too thrilled about killing your husband. Should I be worried?" He chuckled at her giddy expression.

"Of course not. Now shut up and let me revel in my glory." She clasped her hands together and held them up high, shaking them side to side, "So Kristoff…" She flexed her muscles at him, "How does it feel to lose to a girl?"

Elsa stepped forward and sternly interrupted, "Anna, please deflate your ego and at least make an attempt at being professional."

Anna playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh come on Elsa. This win is a big deal! I mean look at Kristoff's physique and then look at mine-"

"Shall I remind you what I first told you before we started today?" Elsa firmly crossed her arms and gave her sister her most parental look.

In response, Anna dejectedly lowered her head and sighed, "It's not about the size or gender of the opponent, it's about the skill they possess." She walked over and offered her hand to her husband, "Good match, Kristoff."

Kristoff gently grasped her hand, "Same to you." He kindly smiled as she helped him get back up on his feet. "So…" Kristoff stretched his arms and back out as he looked between Elsa and the Captain, "Have we earned a break?"

"I believe so." Elsa smiled at his subtly, "Go get some lunch you two." As the couple turned to leave, Elsa reached out her arm towards her sister, "Anna, wait." Anna silently waited, still wounded from her sister's stern words. A small smile cracked Elsa's tough expression as she wrapped her arms around Anna, enveloping her in a hug, "You did well, sis. That slide between the legs was not only slick but also very effective in causing your opponent to lose their balance. I'm impressed."

Anna immediately returned the hug with a smile on her face, "Thanks, Elsa. You're a good teacher." She pulled apart and nodded her head toward the door, "Wanna go get lunch with us?"

Elsa delicately laughed as she picked up Anna's sword, "I would but you two go on ahead. I'll catch up with you in a second."

"Alrighty! Don't work too hard!" Anna grabbed Kristoff's hand and the two hungrily hurried out of the armory.

A smile spread on Elsa's face as she shook her head and went to go put Anna's sword away. Just as she slid the sword back into place, she could hear the Captain's footsteps come up behind her, "That was unethical, you know?"

"What?" Elsa turned around, slightly bewildered that the Captain would be so forward with her.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, but what Princess Anna did at the end goes against all rules of swordsmanship."

Elsa defensively crossed her arms, "Perhaps, but I'm not teaching her to fight as a gentlemen. I'm teaching her to fight as a person trying to defend herself from someone who intends on killing her."

"Queen Elsa, I just don't understand where this irrational fear of someone trying to kill Princess Anna is coming from. It is my job to hire and train numerous amounts of men to prevent such travesty-"

"But it only takes one slip up-"

"Do you not trust me and my abilities as the Captain of the Royal Guard?"

Elsa froze as she realized how much she let her tongue slip. A faint shade of pink stained her cheeks as she comb a tired hand through her hair and recomposed herself, "I apologize, Captain. I have the upmost faith in you and your abilities. I do not mean to undermine you in any way and I am sorry if it seems that I am. However, I will teach Anna the way I see fit and I do not appreciate you questioning me. There are quality reasons supporting the decisions I am making, and although you may not understand, it would be to your benefit to respect these decisions."

The Captain sternly nodded his head, "Understood. Now…"

Elsa furrowed her brows together, "Now?"

He slyly reached past her and picked up a sword off the rack behind her, "I have not seen you fight, Your Majesty."

She took a defensive step back, "You've seen me teach Anna."

"Yes, but teaching and doing are two separate things." A small smile broke his normally stoic expression, "You do know how to fight right? You're not just pulling the wool over my eyes?"

Elsa wanted to be mad at his insinuation about her inexperience but she did not know if it was his lighthearted teasing tone or the fact that he may be making a good point…she never displayed any sort of skills that proved she knew how to fight. With a small eye roll, she snatched the sword out of his hand, "Fine. Let's make this quick. I have lunch plans with my sister and brother-in-law."

The Captain chuckled as he led her to the sparring mat and unsheathed his own sword. Elsa hated to admit that when she watched him expertly rotate his sword around his body that a small hint of insecurity sparked inside her. What am I doing? He is the captain of the royal guard, of course he knows how to wield a sword. I am such a fool to accept this challenge. I have no real experience. The last time I sparred with someone was back in Sperca with Hans. Her heart leaped at the thought of her husband and the spar they engaged in about two years ago. Wait a second…if I recall correctly, I won that fight. I may have used my powers to my advantage, but then again, Hans is one of the best swordsmen in the entire region so I needed as much leverage as possible.

The Captain cautiously watched Elsa's faraway expression, "Are you ready, Queen Elsa?"

She instantly snapped out of her thoughts and a confident smile tugged at the corners of her lips, "All's fair?"

"If you'd like…" He skillfully slashed his sword diagonally across his body, "All's fair in love and war, Your Majesty."

Elsa laughed as she took her starting stance, "Ready?" The Captain nodded in response and with a deep breath, Elsa took a second of mental preparation before shouting, "En garde!"


The door slammed open as Hans carefully led Annaliese into his bedroom. He knew that it wouldn't take long before his brothers figured out where they went but he figured they had enough time to calm themselves down before facing them again. By the time Hans gently sat Annaliese down on his bed, her desperate sobs had quieted down to small sniffles. As she sat there and wiped the tears off her cheek, Hans quietly closed the door and firmly locked it, "Annaliese I am so sorry I roped you into this. You didn't ask for any of this-"

"Hans, stop." She glanced up at his tired face as he exhaustedly leaned against the door, "You didn't rope me into anything. I got myself into this mess and I promise I can handle it."

"'Liese…" Hans sighed as he slowly stepped towards her, "I heard what they said and saw how it affected you. It's only going to get worse."

"I said I can handle it." She sternly snapped, her eyes avoiding his.

Hans stopped walking and stared at her with concern, "What's going on with you? You've been a completely different person ever since we left Arendelle."

She let out a long sigh as she covered her face with her hands, "I've just been stressed. It's hard leaving Henry back in Arendelle when there is so much uncertainty."

"I know how you feel." He wandered over to the window and glanced out at the castle grounds below, thinking about Elsa's miscarriage and how he desperately wished he could be back in Arendelle comforting her instead of dealing with the verbal abuse of his brothers, "This trip came at the worst time imaginable."

Annaliese peeked at Hans through her fingers, "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Would it stop you if I said no?" He sarcastically responded as he continued to stare out of the window.

Annaliese let out a small laugh as she stood up from the bed, "Not really." She meandered towards her best friend with a sense of hesitancy, "You and Elsa…is there something-" She paused as she stood directly behind him, trying to collect her thoughts, "Has something happened?"

"Why do you ask?" Hans did not even glance at her, he just continued staring through the glass window.

Annaliese could tell by his stoic remarks and lack of body language that his mind was elsewhere, but she continued to press on, "The way you reacted to Charles and Jefferson's comments. Their comments were crude, yes, but it seems that they struck a nerve with you." Now he did not even respond to her and she could see his eyes glazing over, "Hans? What happened?"

"Elsa…" He swallowed tentatively as he lowered his eyes, realizing Annaliese never had any knowledge of Elsa's pregnancy nor her miscarriage. He felt foolish in that moment since he just accused his best friend of hiding something from him, when he was not even remotely truthful with her as well. Of course, he did not know if Elsa wanted this type of news being spread around to others living under the same castle roof. Still teetering on whether or not to tell the truth, Hans was saved by a firm knock on the door.

"Hans. Father would like an audience with you immediately."

Hans could easily identify the voice belonging to Klaus and he desperately hoped that he was not eavesdropping on their conversation this entire time. "I'll be right there." He quickly ran a hand through his hair in order to somewhat comb it back into a reasonable clean style and hustled over to the door. Before he touched the doorknob, he glanced back at Annaliese and whispered, "We don't know if any more of my boorish brothers are lurking around the hall so take the hidden exit. Do you remember-?"

"Yeah, I remember." She smiled as she dismissively waved her hand, "Just like old times, huh?"

"More than I would like it to be." Hans gave her a half-hearted smile before exiting his bedroom.

Once the door clicked shut, Annaliese walked over to the fireplace and searched for the random indentation on the stones around the fireplace. She did not need to look for long since this used to be an everyday thing while she and Hans were growing up together in the Southern Isles castle. They used to spend long nights talking about their hopes, dreams, fears, and laughing about the arrogance and stupidity of the other Southern Isles princes. A nostalgic smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she glanced around the room, thinking about how simple it used to be back then. Back when they did not need anyone but each other and they did not anything but their friendship.

With a sigh, she picked up one of the fireplace tools and inserted it into the hidden key whole. Similar to the one in Sperca, the hidden exit behind the fireplace opened up and Annaliese quickly returned the fireplace tool before swiftly slipping into the hidden passage before the fireplace slid back into place.


As the door firmly clicked behind him, Hans noticed his brother casually leaning against the wall across the hall. A smug smirk crack Klaus' bored expression as he took in Hans' haggard appearance, "You look terrible."

Hans growled in response, "I haven't slept in two days…" He caught a glimpse of himself in one of hallway mirrors and self-assuredly smirked at his reflection, "I think I look rather well considering."

Klaus did not honor his brother's response with a response of his own, instead he decided to change the subject as they started down the hall, "Was Annaliese in there with you?" He casually glanced at Hans in order to catch some kind of reaction.

Unfortunately, for Klaus, Hans was a master of deception, "No…she went for a walk. She needed to clear her head." Not even the tiniest flinch showed on Hans' calm expression, he was completely stoic and exhausted.

Klaus decided to accept his answer and continued with his conversation, "That was some way of telling everyone of Kendrick's death."

"What do you mean?" Hans' face contorted a bit in confusion.

Klaus dramatically rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Hans. She just dumped the news and stormed off, leaving everyone with questions."

Hans nonchalantly shrugged, "Well, maybe they shouldn't have been so despicable during breakfast." Considering what Hans just went through with them, he found it hard to actually try and pity his brothers. However, he reminded himself again that he could not afford to make enemies with his brothers, so he tried to keep an open mind about the situation.

Klaus mindlessly scratched at his beard, a habit he tended to do when he was really concerned about something. Hans could not remember the last time he saw his brother look this troubled, but then again, it had been a long time since they saw each other. Anyhow, this newfound composure worried Hans slightly, he felt an uneasiness about him, "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" Klaus immediately dropped his hand.

Hans glanced down at his brother's hand then back up at his face, noticing his brother's unwillingness to make eye contact with him, "You were scratching at your beard. You're worried about something. What is it?"

"I just don't understand…" Klaus stopped walking and his concerned eyes finally fell on his youngest brother, "They were vulgar to you, Hans. Not Annaliese. I don't understand why she was so upset."

Hans indifferently scoffed, "Well probably because she…" He paused as he thought about it. Why had Annaliese been so upset? Hans opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Now he was confused. Annaliese said she was upset because she could not handle the way they made lude comments about him and Elsa. But they discussed such things on the boat ride over, therefore they were prepared for the worst. What caught Hans off guard during breakfast were the jokes about his and Elsa's lack of children, which was still a very sore subject for him. But it was also something only he knew about. So why was she so upset to the point of sobs?

Hans realized that his mouth was still open and that Klaus was curiously anticipating his response. Hans closed his mouth and rubbed a hand over his mouth and chin as he tried to clear his thoughts. He did not want to make Annaliese look suspicious, but his brother did have a point. Hans thoughtfully swallowed since his mouth had gone dry and carefully met his brother's gaze, "…Neither do I."


Dum Dum DUM! Is there something suspicious going on with Annaliese? Or is Hans' brothers just getting into his head? What did you think about Anna and Kristoff sparring? What's going to happen when Elsa fights the Captain of the Royal Guard? And when are we going to hear from Thomas Sullivan and his ally back in London? Please review and leave your thoughts. I get inspired when I read your feedback and maybe, with your permission, I can incorporate your ideas into the story. This story is yours just as much as it is mine. With that, please review and have an awesome weekend/week! :)