Their shackles were very inconvenient.
Hans wriggled against Elsa. Their whole situation was extremely uncomfortable.
"Stop that!" She hissed. Certain parts of his were touching parts of hers. It was very... uncomfortable.
The pair had been given only one bed. Hans insisted he should have it, and Elsa insisted Hans should be a gentleman and give it to her. It was only fair therefore that they share it.
Hans had tried, unsuccessfully, to boot her out. Every time he did, however, he came tumbling out after her, which was actually really awkward. He felt her body grind against him, slowly, slowly trying to find purchase, submitting her form to his in ways that made his mind... Uh oh.
"Stop that!" He hissed, resting her above his hips onto his stomach, away from a developing problem.
She pouted, and stopped squirming. Hans' leg popped up unceremoniously between hers. She blanched, and stared at the intrusion. Surely, he couldn't be serious! Finally, she slumped back into her bed-mate, and allowed this to happen.
After a few seconds of tense silence, wherein the pair pretended to ignore one another, Elsa spoke up, "Why aren't they attacking?"
"They're waiting for us to get into international waters. Then, when they attack, there'll be no evidence."
Elsa sat in silence, letting his words sink in. Oddly, he kind of… ran his hand along her arm, reassuringly. The queen didn't feel comfortable receiving attention from this villain, but it was the only kind she would be getting. At least he would kill her fast and painlessly. She did not want to think about…
"What will they do?" She asked quietly. Her eyes searched Hans'. He owed her the truth, and they both knew it. As much as he loathed her, as often as he'd dreamt of murdering her brutally, he still owed her the truth.
"Nothing," He said, "There're not going to kill you."
Elsa snorted, "Of course not, you are."
"That's right!" He proclaimed, "We should have another few minutes of peace until-"
"Until they attack," She finished quietly.
Hans shivered against her. Becoming embarrassed, Queen Elsa tried to suppress the cold she was emitting, only to realize there was none.
"Are you afraid?"
She had no idea where that had come from. Hans was wicked, a liar! He had tried to kill her! Of course he would deceive her right? Except that he owed her the truth, didn't he?
"Yes," He said, trying to say it quiet enough that no one would ever hear it, "I'm scared. And you should be too."
"I've spent most of my life afraid," She said, a bit louder, "And I'm done with that."
He snorted, "It's not that simple."
"Why not?"
"Because!" He had no real evidence it wasn't, but she hadn't seen what he had seen. Elsa turned, trying to look him in the eyes.
"I refuse to let others tell me how to live anymore, your prince-ness!" She fumed, "And I am not surprised to find out you're the same coward you were months ago when you betrayed myself and my sister!"
She tried to accentuate the point by walking away in a huff, only to drag Hans down with her- literally. He landed on top of her roughly.
"OOf!' She groaned. Then she saw his eyes. He wasn't just afraid, he was terrified. Although in an awkward position, Elsa continued, "I'm brave, Hans. I have enough courage to live, so I can go home to my sister. I'll fight to my last breath, and if I can keep fighting after that, I will."
Hans thought of the moments of death where warriors reached beyond their physical limits.
"If I'm going to die," He answered in the old Westerguard stand-by, "I'm going to die in a pool of my enemy's blood."
Elsa shook her head, "Why die at all? Don't you have someone waiting for you?"
Hans was silent, so she pressed on, "I mean, good-looking guy like you? A prince no less! Don't you have anyone that cares about you? A brother, perhaps?"
He shook his head, "The only one… I ever liked even remotely was Kristoff."
Elsa let out a snort, "How'd that turn out?"
Hans laughed, "Yeah… it's just… I wanted this life to end so bad I could taste it. I thought I was getting a new life in Arrendelle."
"You can't get a new life when you're holding onto the old one," she reasoned. Hans nodded. Elsa was right.
"Then why were you sending me back to prison?" He accused, "Sure, I still want to kill you- but a deal is a deal, your highness."
"…I didn't," She admitted.
"But… the treaty with the pirates-!" He let annoyance creep into his voice. She frowned at him.
"I never signed that!" She insisted. Hans glared at her. The two scrambled away from each other as Hans started pacing. Little clues started dropping into place. The queen could see understanding light up in his eyes.
"I've been betrayed!" He hissed. Then he shrugged, "…okay!"
Elsa paled, "I've been betrayed!" she insisted, "And you're taking this in stride!"
Hans shrugged, "Betrayal happens. It's no big deal."
She slapped him across the face. He blinked.
"Don't do that."
She slapped him again, "How dare you! Trust is the most important thing a person can have! How dare you just… put it off like that!"
"Are you going to slap me again?"
"No!"
She slapped him again, "Now do you get why betrayal is the worst crime."
"Not compared to cannibalism," He insisted, "Don't slap me again."
She ignored him.
That was enough for Hans. He grabbed her arms and slammed her into the wall.
"I don't tolerate assaults on my person!" He spoke in a deep, threatening tone. She smirked.
"Then why are you giving up?" She asked, breathlessly. Hans met her eyes, and impossibly, told the truth.
"I'm terrified. And I would do anything to get away from them."
Elsa watched his face as he went deeper into the madness he had witness, understanding dawning on her.
"That's why you came to Arrendelle. You weren't trying to take over, you were running away," She gasped.
Hans looked down, unfamiliar with the shame of being found out, "I… I just don't want to live like this; afraid of everything."
That admission filled the silence that followed. Hans had always thought of himself as powerful, or, at least, intimidating. He had now surrendered that image to the one person in the world most likely to hate him for it.
But she didn't.
"Hans," She spoke softly, "I give you my word, I will do whatever I can to save you."
"Why?" He asked.
She gazed into his eyes, making sure he wasn't trying to hide anymore.
"I know what it's like to be afraid all the time. I know what it's like in the dark. And pardon me, but I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," Her eyes clenched shut, "So believe me when I say we can get through this, together. You're not the only one they've hurt."
She took her hat off. Although he'd seen the damage before, and although the two of them were in close proximity to one another almost constantly, this- this was intimate to him. Something she hid from others, even herself. And she was showing him.
"Do you trust me?" She queried.
"Yes," He answered, not thinking about it.
"Good," She said, "I have a plan!"