Authors note: I feel that this chapter will also be sad, but it holds important parts of the story, don't worry, the next chapter won't be so sad...hopefully...

As for why Anna left the palace, it was needed as it made her grow in more ways then one compared to what have happened if she had stayed in the palace because if she stayed her growth would have been stunted. Either way, Anna is still Anna though, more responsible and a little more grown up, but still Anna.

Anynway, hope you all enjoy it and please review when done. Oh also pay close attention to the next chapters as they will show little winks to the Hans Christian Anderson stories.


Grief


Corona:

Four tombstones sat in silence at a meadow near the Chateau De Montium, each one different, yet at the same time not. All were made out of marble which was a beautiful white with blue veins and speckles, one was decorated with many pretty swirl patterns and the plaque said "Here lies Meline De Montium, A good and selfless mother who gave her all", the one next to it had no decoration other than a glass slab showing off an old uniform and a plaque which said "Here lies Galen De Montium, proud and strong, forever he will be missed", next to that was another tombstone, this one was decorated with many carved flowers and read "Here lies Amelia De Montium, an angel which has returned to heaven where she will forever watch over the ones she loves" and the final tombstone, it was decorated with a carved picture of the ship Swan and the sea, in it it read "Here lies Alexander De Montium, more than an explorer and merchant, he was a man of honor who showed that family is not defined by blood, but by those who you love".

Standing over the graves Hans looked down at them, he seemed calm and composed, but deep inside he was not as the grief he felt was almost too much to bear.


Flashback:

Sitting on one of the living rooms of the Chateau Hans looked outside towards the road, hoping to see his fathers Alexander's carriage while his mind was occupied with thoughts and worries.

"How am I going to tell Father that Mama is dead?" though Hans, he just could not find the best way to tell him, in fact each conversation he though up always seemed worse than the last.

Then a knock on the door which distracted him, turning his head he saw it was Queen Arianna and Rapunzel, both were dressed in a simple black frock which was common in mourning, Arianna had a black bonnet while Rapunzel had a black ribbon adorning her hair, in one hand she carried a basket.

"I made you some of your favorites...I figured you might need it" said Rapunzel as she walked over and set the basket down on a table,

"Thank you Rapunzel..." said Hans softly as he got up from his seat and walked over,

"Hans, we are sorry about your mothers passing" said Arianna softly "She truly was the most amazing person I ever had the pleasure of meeting",

"Its okay, I thank you all for everything" said Hans looking down,

"If only we could do more" said Rapunzel,

"You already are...but...I worry, what am I going to tell my Father? How can I tell him that the one he loves is dead?" said Hans sadly then jumped when he heard a knock on the door, startling him.

Both Arianna and Rapunzel grew quiet as they though the same thing Hans did, that it was Alexander back from his trip.

"Guess I will have to tell him, its best he hears it from me than anybody else" though Hans as he breathed and talked out of the room, with Rapunzel and Arianna following him.

The stairs and halls seemed to grow long as Hans walked towards the front door, his stomach was tied in knots and he even trembled a bit at nervousness as he reached and opened the door.

Sadly, it was not Alexander, but the dock watch, he stood wearing black, a somber look in his face as he said "Are you the son of Alexander De Montium?",

"Yes, its me" said Hans, taking his hat off the dock watch said "I am sorry, but I come bearing terrible news..",

"What news?" though Hans as he mentally begged not to hear the next words which were to come.

"Your father...he is dead...a violent storm tore through the ships... all of the ships sank and took your father down with it" said the dock watch softly "I am sorry for your loss...your father was the greatest man who I ever had the pleasure of meeting".

The words registered in Hans mind as he froze for a moment, breathing he held his tears as he spoke in a trembling voice "Thank you kind sir...this must not have been easy news to deliver", nodding the man left, Hans turned and closed the door softly behind him before resting his back against the door and slowly sliding down to the floor letting tears spill.

Arianna and Rapunzel looked worried as they went to his side and tried to comfort him, but no words could help.

End of Flashback:


They were gone...his mother...father...grandparents...all of them...

He tried to comfort himself by thinking of the positive, that they were not truly gone, that they were still there..just in heaven...that was the only comfort he had.

Placing some flowers on top of the graves he turned to leave back to the house where people were going in and out taking things, while Eugene went back and forth yelling angrily"Go right ahead you vultures! Help yourselves!",

"Eugene, that is enough" said Hans, his voice almost cracking,

"You cannot let this happen! This is your home and those are your things! They have no right to take them regardless of the debt" said Eugene angrily,

"They can...father had stakes the entire fortune on the last trip, guess he though he could make it back" said Hans softly as he looked down.

"Hans, you can talk to King Fredric and Queen Arianna, they can lend you some money" said Eugene, but Hans shook his head, both the king and queen and even Rapunzel had already offered him that help, Hans refused as he did not want to become a burden.

"No, I do not take what's not mine as for me, don't worry, I will find another job and everything will be fine" said Hans as he though of possible jobs he could get, even considered enlisting back as an Admiral.

Eugene though for a minute then smirked and said "I got a job, if your interest", raising his eyebrow surprised Hans said "I am listening...but nothing illegal Eugene",

"Easy Hans, now you know I know nothing or royalty and such" said Eugene,

"Yes?" said Hans not sure of where Eugene was going with this,

"You know more of the royal stuff than I do...so why don't I hire you as an advisor? You can teach me all that mumbo jumbo stuff and advise me and Rapunzel when needed" said Eugene surprising Hans, he knew Eugene quite well and knew he did not like people telling him what to do...unless it was Rapunzel...

"You sure? I mean, you do not like...certain things..." said Hans unsure,

"Of course I am sure, besides you can live in the palace and this job gives you an excuse to do something other than mope around...which no offence...it does not suit you" said Eugene confident.

Hans though about it, Eugene has had many ideas, most were not good, like the time he wanted to be a royal guard...or that other time he tried to organize a royal banquet...or the time he decided to show off against a famous knight...the last one Eugene dragged Hans into it and they both wound up being chased up and down the streets of Corona by a sword wielding maniac.

This idea...frankly...it was one of Eugenes most smart ideas.

"Alright, I will take the job, but I asked not any special treatment" said Hans then though and added "And no blind dates!",

"What? Come on Hans! You want to know how many girls asked me to set them up with you?" said Eugene, though his reason was selfless as he did feel that Hans needed some female companionship... females that were not family that is...

"No and I don't want to know! The last time you set me up for a blind date I barely got out alive!" said Hans crossing his arms,

"Come on, it was not that bad and how was I supposed to know the girl was already engaged to be married?" said Eugene, while Hans gave him a deadpanned look.

"Alright fine! I Eugene Fitzherbert promise not to set you on any more blind dates" said Eugene in defeat,

"Thank you" said Hans as he turned and went back inside the Chateau to take some of his most prize possessions before leaving, while Eugene, despite the promise was making some mental plans of how to set Hans up on another date without him knowing it was a date.


Arendelle town:

Nervousness, that was what was felt as Anna entered town to run some errands, holding a basket in one hand while the other ran through her now black hair locks she walked the streets full of people, afraid to be recognized.

"Calm down Anna, its not like they will take one look and realize I am princess Anna" though Anna trying to calm herself only to nearly jump out of her skin when she heard somebody shout.

"THE PRINCESS IS COMING!", the first reaction Anna had was to drop to the ground as people ran...pass her...

After a while Anna calm herself and got back up to her feet and looked at the crowd which cheered as Elsa rode by on a white horse, she wore a peacock inspired dress and a crown while being escorted by fully armed guards and three ladies in waiting.

"Elsa?" though Anna as she walked over to get a closer look, she quickly frowned noticing her sisters unhappiness.

True she looked poised and elegant, as usual, but if you looked closer you would notice how her eyes closed slowly as if wanting to avoid to spill tears,

"I am sorry Elsa" though Anna knowing she was partially to blame for her sisters unhappiness, yet she knew Elsa understood her reasons as they often spoke about it in their secret meetings.

Turning Anna left as she had errands to run and a job to find, her eyes raised up a bit when she walked pass a dress shop and noticed a help wanted sign.

"Looks like I got a job" though Anna with glee as she ran over and entered the shop.


Arendelle palace:

Arriving to the palace Elsa was happy to be back in her room as she removed the heavy, ornamental and rather over exaggerated dress and changed to a much casual simpler dress.

Doing her hair in a bun she turned and walked out to the hallway where she hoped to find and speak to Kai as she had not heard of her mother in days.

Looking around she frowned as she noticed none of the servants seemed to be around,

"Maybe father might know" though Elsa, true it would be unlikely as her mother and father were not in speaking terms, but she would like to think there was a chance her mother would make some kind of contact.

With that in mind Elsa made her way to her fathers office which was located a bit out of the way from all the bedrooms and common rooms.

When she reached it she was going to knock on the door, but before she did the doors opened and Agnarr came out, Elsa stared as her father...he was not okay..he was pale, dark rings around his eyes, his clothes were a mess.

"Father?" asked Elsa scared for her father, he breathed and looked before he began to whine and cry, he was trying to tell her something, but the words refused to come out of his mouth.

"Father please, calm down, whats wrong?" Elsa asked/begged as she placed both her hands on her father, trying to keep him calm,

"Oh Elsa...my eldest...tragedy has fallen before us" Agnarr finally said after a while between sobs,

"What?" asked Elsa,

"Your mother, your dear mother...she is gone" cried Agnarr,

"Gone?" asked Elsa echoing, the words hit her like a fist, she collapsed to the ground as her knees refused to support her.

"No...No...it cannot be right" though Elsa in denial,

"The boat was shipwrecked, nobody survived" said Agnarr,

"No...NO!" yelled Elsa as she turned and ran to her room, collapsing unto her bed crying. It was a lie, her mother was not dead, that was what she wanted to believe as she lay on her bed.

"Maybe this is all just a bad dream...I am going to wake up now" though Elsa as she cried herself to sleep.

Laying in her bed Elsa slept soundly, so soundly she did not even hear the door of her room open and Gerda enter, walking she smiled softly at her before tucking her into bed.

"I am sorry your majesty, you are far to young to witness such tragedy, but rest assure I know that you will rise from this stronger than ever" Gerda said before leaving the room, closing the door gently behind her.


Unknown:

"Please, I beg of you",

"You have disappointed us Iduna" said a voice gravely,

"Instead of bringing both sides closer you have brought tragedy and death" said another voice, female and sounding sad,

"But I-",

"No excuses! You knew better and yet you decided not to act! For that a price will be payed!" growled the last voice,

"No no please" begged Idunna fearing for her daughters,

"Fret not, your daughters are innocent in all this, though sadly they will never reach the destiny we have set out for them we will not punish them for it" consoled the female voice. Idunna sighted in relief, happy to hear that then grew tense when they said "But you Idunna, you will be punished and you will fix what you broke"


Back at Corona, several months later:

Sitting down and reading over a few papers Hans was hard at work, pushing some reading glasses closer to his eyes he wrote down some notes before putting the papers away neatly in a stack and getting up from the desk and chair he was sitting on.

Since Eugene and Rapunzel went off on a honey moon Hans has had more work than usual as he not only had to handle their papers but several others, the ones which came in huge amount were about the shipwrecks caused by a rare occurrence, a storm stronger than any storm which had ever been recorded, with winds that tore off sails and waves which sunk even the mightiest ships.

The storm brought tragedy to millions and destroyed many peoples lives and businesses, Hans felt for the people, as he knew all of the merchants, many whom which had children and family, now they were left with nothing, some even less as some of the children ended up without parents.

Sighting Hans decided to bring up the issue to uncle Frederic and aunt Arianna when they returned from a meeting.

"Yes, maybe they can extend a safety net to them" though Hans as he left the office and walked out into the hallway, making his way to the stables where Sitron was being kept as he decided some leisure time in the beach would be just right.

Opening the doors towards the garden he took his time to smell the flowers and herbs which grew in and around the palace before he made his way to the stables where he found Sitron, looking quite bored as Maximus was not there to keep him company.

"Your cheerful this morning" commented Hans as he walked in and fetched a saddle, Sitron neighed in response before snorting,

"Yes, I know your bored, but don't worry, Maximus will be back soon and when he does you two can continue your conversations and such" said Hans trying to cheer the fjord horse up.

It did not work as Sitron snorted,

"Alright then why don't you talk to Pascal? He needs a friend too you know" offered Hans as he placed the saddle on the horse, Sitrons response was that he bumped against Hans,

"Hey, don't be rude, you should be a little more greatful for how they treat you here" Hans scolded lightly, Sitron neighed and bowed his head when he realized his master was right, here in the palace he was given the royal treatment so there was no reason for him to be so upset.

"I though so" said Hans as he mounted the horse and said "Come on, lets take a walk around the beach, maybe that can-" Hans was unable to say anything else as Sitron took off like a speeding bullet out the stables and the castle, the horse did not even bother to wait till the guards opened the gate as he found a "Short cut" though the roof.

"SITRON!" yelled Hans as he hang unto the "crazy horse" as it jumped from the roof of the gate to the roof of another house and to the streets where it picked up the pace.

"Sitron stop!" ordered Hans as Sitron continued to run fast, ignoring his orders,

"Stop!" Hans yelled loudly, Sitron continued his fast pace as hooves hit sand and ran across the beach.

"I SAID! WHOOOOOOEEEEEEEE!" yelled Hans loudly causing Sitron to stop in a harsh halt sending Hans flying across the air and land face first into a tide pool with a loud splash.

"Uh ho" though Sitron as he slowly made his way over to his master who got up and began to cough and spatter, getting the seaweed off of him quickly before composing himself and looking at Sitron quite angry.

Sitron gave a sheepish look and wince when Hans said "Lemons for you tonight" before he took off his coat, boots and vest in an effort to dry himself off quicker.


Meanwhile in the Arendelle forest:

"I am so very happy for you my daughter" said Ellen happily as she hugged Anna,

"Please Ellen, I am not your daughter" said Anna with a small smile,

"Nonesense, you are my daughter in anything but blood, oh wait till Kristoff hears this, he will be so happy, you a dress maker and repairer" said Ellen so happy one would think that Anna said that she was crown queen.

"Just a repairer, but Madame Ursa said that if I worked hard she would take me on as an apprentice" said Anna,

"Oh we must celebrate, oh I know! Let me make a honey cake with berry jam" said Ellen,

"My favorite" said Anna, true she preferred chocolate, but she loved Ellen's cakes nonetheless.

"So, there is a party and I was not invited" they heard, turning they saw Kristoff standing at the doorway smirking,

"Your home" said Anna happily as she ran and hugged Kristoff, as usual, holding her close Kristoff smile and said "What was it I heard? You being a dress maker?",

"Repairer, but someday I will be" said Anna with happiness,

"That's great, your finding your way all on your own" said Kristoff,

"Not on my own, Ellen helped me" said Anna with a smile as she looked at Ellen,

"Anything for my future daughter in law" said Ellen gushing, Kristoff looked down turning red while Anna giggled.

"Well now, better make that honey cake to celebrate" said Ellen as she quickly went to the kitchen to work,

"Can we use raspberries and black berries?" asked Kristoff,

"Sure why not" answered Ellen as she began to take out ingredients as she did there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it" said Anna as she happily ran to the door and opened it, looking out she found nobody, just a letter left on the ground.

Taking it she looked over it before opening it when she recognized the snowflake on it as her sisters snowflake.

Holding the letter she read it, her hands began to tremble as she finished reading it before dropping the letter and falling to the ground crying, her happy mood vanished with just a few words...

"Our mother is dead" though Anna crying in grief while Kristoff and Ellen immediately ran over to find out what was going on and to comfort her.


Meanwhile in Corona beach:

Sitting on the edge of the beach Hans stared out into the sea while Sitron rested nearby. The waves gently moved towards shore, a sharp contrast of how they were days ago.

"Father was right...the ocean is both beauty and destructive" though Hans as he played with a gold pocket watch with leaf designs on the lid, it was his fathers Alexander's, before placing it back on his pocket.

Getting up he made his way to get his coat when he heard some snickering,

"He, look at this one, another one" one rough voice said,

"Another one, too bad, this one is beautiful, oh well, she won't be needing that dress" said another.

Getting a bad feeling Hans followed the voices to the other side of the rocky tide pool where he found two people, thugs more like it busy trying to get a dress off of a woman who was laying among some shipwreck parts on the beach.

She was dead, probably been dead for a day or so as her body showed no signs of decomposition, her skin was pale, her dark hair was wild and matted by the salt water, her face was surprisingly calm, almost as if she was sleeping even though she was dead, regardless of whether she was dead or not he was not going to let those two rob her!

"I wish I brought my sword" though Hans as he walked over deciding to take another approach to the problem.

"Ahem" said Hans making his presence known and startling the two thugs, when seeing Hans was alone the two immediately took out the weapons, one had a dagger and the other had an axe.

"Calm down, I am not here to cause trouble" said Hans holding his arms up, showing he was unarmed,

"Like hell you are, you saw us" said one,

"Ya, whoe's to say your not going to try and stop us" said the other,

"Actually...I was hoping for a trade" offered Hans,

"Trade?" asked the two confused, even looking at Hans as if he was crazy.

Reaching into his pocket Hans felt a little sadness as he took out Alexanders pocket watch and held it out "This is a gold watch, it will fetch a higher price in the market than anything you take from the corpse...if you leave it alone you can have it".

"This one is either crazy or one of those religious types" whispered one, the other agreed but he was not stupid, he knew that the watch would get them more than what a dress ruined by salt water could.

Reaching he took the pocket watch from Hans and said "Pleasure doing business with ya lad" with that the two left.

Hans was sad at the loss of the watch, but knew his father would be proud of him doing the right thing. Walking over to the corpse he frowned "Poor woman, lost...and your family nowhere..."

With that he grabbed the body, deciding to burry her in a place she would not be disturbed and whistled for Sitron.

When Sitron was next to him he mounted the body unto the horse and grabbed the reins, pulling on it and leading Sitron away from the beach and a place where he knew the body would be alright.

A meadow which was not too far away, maybe 10 minutes or so give or take.

It was full of flowers, lush green trees and a lake nearby which was visited by all manner of animals, it was a perfect and beautiful place to rest.

Arriving Hans dropped to the ground and began to dig with his hands, it took a while but he finally made a hole which was deep and long enough, placing the body carefully unto the hole Hans covered it then placed a cross he made with some tree sticks and flowers he found around the meadow before offering a prayer.

Raising back up Hans said "Rest in peace...whoever you are..." before turning and making his way back to Corona palace.

Sitron followed close by, the sun had long since set leaving both in darkness, yet Hans was not afraid for he simply had no reason to fear the dark.

Then he heard a hoot startling him, his eyes peered into the darkness trying to find where it was coming from, soon there was a rustle coming from the bushes, Sitron neigh nervously while Hans jumped as a flash of white flew pass them and landed on a wood stump.

Gathering their bearings Hans looked to find it was an owl, a very beautiful and unusual owl with perfect silver and snow white feathers and the most beautiful yet strangely familiar pair of blue eyes Hans ever saw.

It hooted softly as Hans slowly approached the owl,

"Hello?" said Hans unsure, then his eyes widen as the owl bow down elegantly,

"Did you see that Sitron?" asked Hans to Sitron as he began to wonder if he was loosing his sanity, Sitron nodded, the horse had seen that too.

"Oh...okay...I am not going crazy" said Hans in relief before bowing down in return as his parents had always taught him to be polite and extend courtesy towards others regardless whether they were human or animal.

The owl seemed happy as it hooted then extended its wings and flapped, flying a short distance and landing on Hans shoulder startling him as he feared it would attack him.

But after a while Hans calm down as he saw the owl did not attack, frankly it looked quite comfortable sitting in his shoulder,

"You want to come with me?" asked Hans wondering if the owl was domestic or something, it nodded its heads answering the question,

"Okay, you can come" said Hans deciding that the owl was definitely domesticated by somebody as he walked over and began to lead Sitron out of the forest, true he could ride Sitron out of the forest, but Hans did not wanted to risk his horse getting injured because it was so dark in the forest.

After about an hour or so wandering around Hans, Sitron and the strange owl made their way out of the forest and towards the palace.


In Arendelle forest:

Through the thick bushes, tall trees and meadows there was a clearing in the forest which was full of flowers and green grasses. Sitting there Elsa dressed in a simple pheasant dress and bonnet looked around sadly, how could everything look so beautiful and happy while she mourned her mothers death?

Whipping some of her tears with her gloved hand she sighted,

"Elsa!" she heard, turning she saw Anna making her way towards where she was sitting on the back of a reindeer, Sven, if Elsa remembered correctly.

Quietly Elsa got up as Anna dismounted Sven and ran over, hugging Elsa close, wrapping her arms around Anna Elsa allowed herself to cry freely.

"I am so sorry! This is all my fault" said Anna as she began to weep "If I had not left...if I had accompanied mother..",

"No Anna, if you had accompanied her you'd be dead too" said Elsa quickly between tears,

"Oh Elsa, what are you going to do? Without mother...oh what will father do now that mother is gone" said Anna worried,

"He will do nothing, he is too buried in his grief to do anything" said Elsa softly then added "As sad as it is...its a good thing...for I can take over...and maybe fix some mistakes before they grow too complicated...its what mother would have wanted",

"Are you sure you can handle it?" asked Anna unsure,

"Yes...its what I have been preparing for my whole life" said Elsa then added "But I cannot do it without you sister",

"How can I help?" asked Anna confused as she whipped her tears with her sleeve,

"You can help a lot, you can be my eyes and ears around the town folk, talk to them, mingle, then tell me what they need, what changes need to be done and I will provide" said Elsa as she took her sisters hand and said "This way we can rule together, just like mother would have wanted",

"Yes Elsa, lets" said Anna as she smile at the though of honoring her mothers wishes made her and Elsa's grief vanish.

Her mother always wanted them to be together as any sisters would be and seeing this, wherever she was now...would make her very happy and that was what mattered.


Corona palace, a week later:

Sitting down at a table Hans placed a plate in front of him, said plate contained a nice sum of food which was delicate roast beef, a fine bake herb and cheese bread along with peas and carrots.

Taking a fork and knife he was ready to dig in when a hoot interrupted him, looking he saw the unusual owl, Skadi as he called her...

Originally he wanted to call her Ghost as he had though that she was a he, that was till she bit his thumb making him realize that the owl was really a she.

"What's wrong Skadi?" asked Hans, Skadi flew from its perch next to the window and landed on the table, eyeing his meal quite hungrily as if asking "Might if you spare some of your food for me?".

For a moment Hans wanted to shoo Skadi away as she had plenty of bird feed to keep her happy, though after thinking of it he realized that Skadi never did eat bird feed, much less mice as he had never seen her hunt and probably could not if it had been kept as a house pet so it would not be good if she starved to death.

"Alright, you can have some" said Hans as he cut the meat in half, offering it to the owl, who took it with surprise elegance and ate it quite daintily, much like queen Arianna would eat at a fine dinner.

"Wow" said Hans as he watched the owl eat flabbergasted at what he was seeing, though every day he would tell himself that there was nothing that the owl could do that would surprise him yet somehow the owl always did things which just completely baffled him.

When done with the meat Skadi looked at the table cloth,

"Oh..okay.." said Hans as he held it up, carefully Skadi rubbed its face on the towel, whipping itself clean before bowing her thanks and flying away back to her perch.

With a small smile Hans turned his attention back to his meal which he ate.

Placing both knife and fork on the table Hans got up as he was ready to get back to work when he noticed a servant walk over, holding a tray with a single letter, it was green with gold rims and designs.

"A letter for you Hans" said the servant,

"For me?" said Hans unsure as he took the letter, he had not gotten any letters since his father and mother passed away.

"Yes and you did not tell me that your last name was Westergaar" added the servant in surprise.

The very mention of that last name made Hans eyes wide as he quickly ripped the letter open, took out its content and began to read it, when done his hands began to shake to the point he could not hold unto the letter.

It dropped to the floor revealing it to be a letter from the King and Queen of the Southern isle's, demanding that their son return to them immediately.

To be continued...


Authors note: That is one strange owl, personally I am glad that Elsa and Anna are both "ruling together" in their own ways, Elsa in the court and royals while Anna with the commoners. Uh ho...Hans parents "want" him back...wonder why...

Okay on a lighter note, who here thinks that Kristoff and Anna should have their own love song scene? Personally I think they should, but tell me your opinions.

Any way hope you all enjoy this chapter, please review and stay tuned for the next one. Constructive criticism welcomed.