Authors note: Welcome to the next chapter. I want to thank all of my lovely readers. I am happy that you are all enjoying the remake so far as I worked hard to make sure this was as perfect as possible.:)

I will not tell a summary of what to expect in this chapter as I want to keep the rest a secret, a secret which I hope will delight all of you lovely readers. (Wink). Any way on with the new story, please tell me what you think and what improvements I can make on it as your opinions matter.


Southern isle palace:

Hans could not sleep, he tossed and turned, he just could not get comfortable in bed.

Giving up Hans tossed the blankets aside and got up, putting on an over coat he decided to take a walk to tire himself out.

Grabbing a candle he lit it before leaving the room.

The light was dim, but worked lighting the dark hallway.

As he walked Hans felt a chill, it was like uninviting, like he was not welcomed there. Not that it was new, ever since he got to the Isles with his so called real family, for being his real family and it being his real home, both made him feel as though he was living in a prison, the castle was the jail, his brothers were the guards while Stephen and Valhalla were his wardens.

It was not supposed to be that way, he was supposed to be home, hone in Corona... how he longed to return to it, to go back to his friends, family, the room he had in the palace, he missed the warmth and welcome he felt, the happiness, Corona was truly home.

"I wish... I wish I could go back, I want to go back to Corona" whispered Hans to himself.


Several months later:

A lot of talking could be heard as Karen went on and on talking about one thing or another as Hans nodded listening, it was a welcome distraction from the events which occurred and his homesickness. His brothers despise him, his so called birth parents did not care about him, often times acting as though he did not exist and the few times they noticed him they treated him like he was dirt, his brothers were worse, cruel would never be enough to describe them and its not just to him, they were cruel to the servants, visitors, even each other, its almost as if they were determined to destroy others and each other.


Flashback:

Knocking at the doors Hans entered the kitchen where the servants were hard at work preparing extremely complicated dishes for dinner. To Hans it was wasteful as a lot of the food ended up being thrown away into the streets.

"Move move, his majesty wants his roast done perfectly" he heard the head chef yell making the kitchen hands work faster.

Walking over to the head chef Hans asked "Why must all the food be cooked? Isn't it a little excessive?",

"Oh your highness, sorry I did not see you there" said the head chef bowing down,

"Its okay, but again why so much food when its almost all going to waste" said Hans,

"Its a matter of show your highness, the more rank you have the more food you have to have on the table" said the head chef,

"Karen told me that, but its ridicules, we have so much food that not even we who are a lot of people can finish it..and most of us don't even eat" said Hans as he remembered Karen, Calebs and Erik's wives, the wives barely touched their food while Karen was given extremely small portions. Hans may not be a doctor, but he knew Karen needed more food on her plate than what she was given.

"Look, I agree, but there is nothing we can do about it, if we disobey we get a punishment" said the head chef,

"Alright, but can you at least serve a bit more food on Karens plate, she desperately needs more" said Hans.

The head chef was going to refuse, but he remembered how Karen looked like the last time he saw her and he had to agree with Hans, that girl was too skinny and frail, so much so that she looked like she was 12 years old instead of 15 years old and it was not the girls fault, but the mother queen who kept a tight controlling reign on her granddaughter.

"We will do that your highness" said the head chef,

"Oh also, if you would mind, can you make fish soup for dinner?" asked Hans,

"Fish soup!? For dinner!?" yelled the head chef looking at Hans as if he grew an extra head, Hans nodded yes,

"But but...that's a commoners dish" stammered the head chef,

"And it taste good, you can just make a small bowl for me as I would really like that soup" said Hans,

"Sire I cannot make the soup, if it appears on the table...I'd rather not even begin to imagen" said the head chef in horror.

"Okay, well...maybe you guys can make a bowl, hide it and I can come and pick it up later" offered Hans.

Pausing the chef though then nodded in agreement,

"Thank you" said Hans before leaving to get ready for dinner.

A couple of hours passed before Hans made his way towards the dinning room, he knew it was dinner time even if he was not told as often times his family except Karen would remember he was not there.

Taking his seat next to Daniel he mentally winced when Daniel moved the seat so he was away from him. Karen frowned at that, if she had her way she would have sat next to her uncle, but it was not considered proper for a niece to sit next to her uncle, she always had to sit next to her aunt or grandmother.

A minute passed before all the dishes of food were served, then one by one all of them got a plate of food, Hans smiled when he saw that Karen got a bigger portion on her plate, her eyes widen with happiness as she immediately went to dig in only to be stopped by her grandmother Valhalla.

"What is the meaning of this!?" she demanded outraged "That portion is much to big", the servants coward in fear,

"Speak up or all of you will get the beating of the life" threaten King Stephen, Hans eyes widen he could not believe he was hearing that, they did nothing wrong and yet they will be punished for trying to help his niece.

"That's not fair!" Hans yelled before he could even stop himself, the room grew quiet as the attention was placed solely on him.

"What did you say?" said Valhalla so coldly it was like the arctic wind,

"Its not fair" Hans repeated seeing as he had gone to far to back down, plus he would not let them continue to treat his niece and their workers like objects they owned.

"Oh, its not fair? Did you hear that, its not fair" said Valhalla as she began to laugh, others joined while Karen looked at Hans scared as she got up and walked over and said "What do you think its fair?",

"That they be treated with dignity and respect...they are people like us regardless of social status...that my niece is to be treated like a person, not a doll" said Hans,

"And how would you know that?; You were never a ruler" said Stephen,

"No, but I served two of the greatest rulers I ever had the pleasure of meeting" said Hans honestly,

"Oh, there are greater rulers than us?" said Valhalla in a matter of fact voice.

Hans grew silent as fear began to overwhelm him,

"Answer us boy!" yelled Stephen. Hans sighted, he could not lie, he was taught against it, plus he made a promise to his loving mama to remain the honest, honorable man she had raised, he will never break it no matter what becomes of him,

"I have to tell the truth and nothing but the truth" said Hans,

"The truth, how refreshing" said Valhalla amused,

"Yes and the truth is, you two are wealthy, but your power is not absolute, the people are the real rulers, they are the legs which your rule stand, if they decide to eliminate your rule they will and have the power to and to be honest it will come sooner than you think as you are all so cruel and vile, its a wonder how your all still ruling right now and if you two were to die people would celebrate as there is nothing good for them to remember you by" said Hans.

There was a loud slap, Hans felt his cheek which was red by how Valhalla slapped him, he could not believe she slapped him...for something as telling the truth...when his loving parents Amelia and Alexander never lay a hand on him.

He stared at Valhalla shocked while she looked at him in anger, "How dare you boy!? Do you know who you are talking to!?" growled Valhalla,

"Seems that Corona has spoiled you too much, fine we won't punish you or them, but rest assure, the next time we will not be so lenient" warned Stephen "Now go to your room, we don't want to see your face around here till further notice".

Getting up Hans walked away still in shock, the servants and Karen looked at Hans sadly as he quietly left.

Flashback:


True he did not have dinner that night with the family or any other night, but he did not go hungry as the servants and guards would sneak dinner to him. It was also not the last time he clashed with his family as things between them got worse, both in arguments and it even escalated to the point of physical fights.

"Hans look look" he heard Karen say eagerly as she ran over to an apple tree which was growing particularly ripe red apples,

"Oh yes, Sitron was eyeing that tree for a while" said Hans as he walked over,

"I can see why" said Karen as she reached for an apple in a lower branch, then squealed when Skadi flew by, cutting the apple and letting it drop on Karens hand.

"Thank you" said Karen as she took a big bite out of the apple, savoring its sweet juices.

Skadi hooted happily before flying and landing on Hans shoulder,

"You never told me where you got the owl" commented Karen before taking another bite,

"I didn't get her and to be quite frank she found me and Sitron" said Hans,

"Found you two?" asked Karen,

"Yes, me and Sitron were in the woods when Skadi showed up, afterwards she just stuck around" said Hans as he walked to the tree and took an apple before placing it in his pocket as he was going to give it to Sitron later on.

"I am glad she did, cause if she didn't then I would not meet her" said Karen happily, Skadi hooted,

"She says she is glad to meet you too" said Hans,

"I still don't know how you understand animals" said Karen,

"I thank my mama for it, she taught me how to" said Hans,

"Mama? You mean Grandma Valhalla?" asked Karen confused, Hans shook his head and said "No, she is not my mama, I am talking about my loving parents Amelia and Alexander, Amelia is the one who taught me that",

"You must have really loved them" said Karen,

"I do, they are my parents" said Hans.

"I wish I-",

"Boy! BOY! Get over here!" Hans heard King Stephen and Queen Valhalla scream from somewhere in the palace, it was so loud they could hear it from the outside.

"Wonder what do they want" said Hans as he turned to move but Karen grabbed hold of his arm, pulling so he would stay,

"No please, don't go" said Karen,

"I will be coming back" said Hans,

"What if Grandma Valhalla hits you again?" asked Karen worried "I don't want you getting hurt",

"Don't worry, I will be fine" said Hans as he took out the apple and gave it to Karen and asked "Can you give this to Sitron for me?",

"Okay" said Karen taking the apple and leaving still hesitating on whether to leave Hans alone or not.


Arendelle Forest:

"You did what?" said Ellen covering her mouth as she, Kristoff and Anna sat down on the table of their cabin for dinner, their meal being a simple bread, jam, soup and fish.

"You heard me, I made a bet with Elsa and she said yes" said Anna proudly as she took a bite out of her bread and chewed, she loved the freedom of eating how she pleased and not having to worry about looking like a "Pig" how she heard one of the courts comment about her.

"What did you bet?" asked Kristoff worried,

"I bet her that her love, whom I promised not to mention his name, would cross paths with her and its not only that, I also betted that they would fall in love and marry" said Anna,

"Anna you cannot make such a bet, what if it does not happen" said Kristoff,

"Oh it will happen, I can feel it inside of me" said Anna holding the spoon up proudly,

"Okay, if you say so" said Kristoff as he though that Anna was lucky that Elsa did not notice that the bet did not have a timeline,

"I for one hope it does happen, your sister is a lovely person, she deserves love" said Ellen with a smile.

"It will happen I am sure of it or my name is not Anna" said Anna,

"Then I will call you Olga" joked Kristoff only to be pinched playfully by Anna.

The group burst to laughter before continuing their meal in peace.


Southern isle palace:

Entering the throne room Hans felt nervousness, even knowing that Pascal was in his pocket and that Skadi was looking through the windows, it did not ease his worries as he pushed the doors open and entered the room.

For a moment he felt a sense of deja-vu as he saw both Stephen and Valhalla sitting in their thrones, looking like two statues instead of people, walking closer Hans felt a sense of impending doom as he stopped when he was a good distance away from them.

Behind him he froze when the doors were closed by two guards who stood over the door, as if making sure that he would not leave the room.

Not saying a word Hans bowed and waited for the two rulers to speak.

"Boy, it is time you pay us back" said Stephen, Hans rose quickly as he looked confused "Pay them back? For what?",

"Pardon?" asked Hans confused,

"We brought you into this world, regardless of whether we wanted you or not" said Valhalla then stressed "Believe me, I did not wanted you, I wanted a girl", Hans clenched his fist tightly as he tried to control his anger, he had heard it so many times yet no matter how many times he heard it it never stopped hurting.

"So, we have the perfect way for you to pay us back for your...inconvenience..." said Stephen,

"Sorry for being such a way" hissed Hans, luckily they did not hear as Valhalla continued "You were in Corona all your life, part of the court and the military forces, you know all the inner workings of the place, especially the rulers as you were their advisor, so you know all their secrets, how the city works, how it can break".

"What do you want?" asked Hans getting worried, a part of him did not wanted to know, yet he had if there was any chance for him to leave the Southern isle's,

"We want you to lead our military forces and conquer Corona" said Stephen.

As soon as those words were spoken Hans felt himself loose his breath as he could not believe what he heard; How could they ask such a thing? He was raised in Corona, his friends were there, they trust him, he could and would never hurt/betray his friends or Corona.

"Well boy?" said Stephen confident that Hans would do as ordered.

Hans mind went back and forth dizzily, he could never go against and betray Corona, especially Aunty Arianna, Uncle Frederic, Rapunzel and Eugene after they have been nothing but kind to him, treating him like family, but looking at Stephen and Valhalla's face he knew that if he refused he would get the worst punishment that could ever be devised even be killed or worse be killed slowly and inhumanely.

He could agree, maybe his life will be easier if he just does what he is told, but if he does then he will loose everything and everybody he loves and holds dear.

"Promise me...always stay the same way we raised you, stay the same honorable, brave, loyal, honest and caring man you are...never take the easy way...it may seem easy, but in reality it never is and always leads to heart break, always do what is right, no matter how hard it seems, speak the truth even if it hurts more than the lie" he heard his mama Amelia say in his head, the promise he made her.

Clenching his fist Hans though/prayed "God in heaven, mama, papa, everybody, please give me strength to do this and stick to it".

"No" he said in a firm voice, both Stephen and Valhalla stared as the word was registered, No, simple yet strange word which they had never heard before, so much that at first they questioned what it was.

"No?" said Stephen,

"No, I am not going to do it, Corona is my home, my friends and family are there, I love them and I will protect them, no matter what becomes of me" said Hans seriously, he knew that as soon as those words were spoken his fate would be sealed.

The two rulers faces were stone still, but soon they contorted to ugliness Hans had never seen before,

"How dare you! First you disgrace us and now you dare to betray us and for what? Something as silly as love" yelled Stephen,

"There is nothing to betray or disgrace, you two do it all on your own, I just merely speak the truth and love is not silly, its what makes life worth living" said Hans standing his ground,

"Fine, then we shall show you how we deal with the likes of you" said Valhalla "GUARDS! PLACE HIM UNDER ARREST! LOCK HIM IN THE DUNGEON! A MONTH OR SO AND YOU WILL DO AS WE SAY!".

Reacting Hans he turned around to try to escape, but the guards quickly grabbed and subdued him, shackling his arms they dragged him away.

Hans struggled as he tried to escape, but it was futile as he was pulled and push down the halls and stairs to unfamiliar corridors, the farther they went the colder, darker and dingier it became, opening a cell door Hans was pushed into a tiny room with nothing but a barred opening which was too high for him to reach.

"You should have just agreed" said a guard feeling somewhat sorry for Hans,

"Sorry, but I am not a traitor" said Hans,

"To bad that loyalty will go to waste, nobody will be able to save you now" said the guard before the cell door was closed, leaving Hans alone.

Going to a corner Hans sat down, Pascal moved in his pocket before leaving it, gently taking the chameleon Hans held and said "I am sorry you were dragged into this Pascal", Pascal crooned a bit, he was happy that Hans chose not to betray Corona or his friends and those who he deemed as family, but the price to be payed was much to high in his opinion regardless of the noble deed he was doing.

Then there was a soft hoot,

"Skadi?" asked Hans as he looked up towards the opening, going through the bars Skadi hopped and glided down so that she landed in front of him.

"Hey, glad to see you" said Hans stroking her feathers "Seems that I got myself in a bit of a mess here", she hooted,

"Don't worry, I will be fine, no matter what they do to me I will not break, as long as I do not agree or speak Corona will be safe and if my death comes I need you to take Pascal and warn Aunty Arianna and Uncle Frederic" said Hans, Skadi and Pascal nodded before Skadi left through the bars while Hans and Pascal both stayed in the cell, contemplating fate.

To be continued...


Fun fact: There is a reason, well several of them why Valhalla acts the way she is acting, I would tell you but that would spoil the plot, when the time is right I will reveal the why of her actions. As for Stephen his reasons is because he is in part controlled and manipulated by Valhalla and also because he is very proud and inhumane, since he was a child he was never told no or corrected and a couple of other things due to him being a royal and thus he became the way he is.