". . . get the fiance out of the way and the whole thing will be fixed!"
Hans knew something had changed right away. He no longer felt like himself. There was this new burning urge to take Arendelle for his own in Princess Anna's absence, since it seemed as if Queen Elsa was gone for good. What, with her magic going crazy and freezing the town, Arendelle was ripe for the taking. Since there were so many of his brothers in line for the throne before him back in the Southern Isles, there was no need for him to return there, just to be cast in their shadows again.
"Yes, take Arendelle while you can," a voice whispered. "Marry Anna, then kill her. With Elsa gone, she will become Queen, making you King." For a second, Hans contemplated listening to the voice, then shook himself, horrified. I love Anna, he thought. Why would I kill her? I don't . . . I don't even know if I could kill anyone, much less her. And yet . . . something was calling him, a dark impulse beckoning from the back of his mind.
The longer she was away, the stronger the feeling grew. "Do you really love her?" that voice asked him. "You've only known her for a few days; it's a passing fancy, nothing more."
No, he said every time he questioned his love for Anna. This is real. I know it.
"And what makes you so sure she feels the same way, hmm?"
She agreed to marry me the night we met. Why else would she say that? On that, the voice was strangely quiet. But about the castle . . . oh, the castle. The castle was the key to the kingdom. If he could just somehow just get inside and talk to the dukes-
"Wait!" The voice cried. "Didn't Anna name you Acting Ruler of Arendelle? Didn't she give you all the power?" There it was. Power. Hans knew that word all too well. Power. The forbidden fruit, just out of reach. With power, his brothers would finally stop looking down on him. With power, he could have everything he wanted. With power . . . he could - no, he would - rule Arendelle, perhaps the world in due time.
That was all the voice needed. In an instant, Hans' true self was locked inside and a stranger was now showing. He could still see, hear, and feel everything, but he could do nothing but watch from the inside of his mind.
With renewed purpose, Hans walked briskly to the castle and made his way to the library. Perhaps there was something that would help him in his new mission.
Too many times had Hans tried to escape, had tried to take his body back; he was exhausted from the effort. This strange magic that had taken it was extremely strong and nigh impossible to break free from. Only twice had he managed to do anything - once he had managed to raise his arm halfway before it dropped, and the other time he had said, "help me" through clenched teeth. Unfortunately, nobody was around to hear it.
He could hardly tell the fake thoughts from his true intentions anymore; they blurred together like heavy snow until he couldn't distinguish left from right. He was fading, wasting away in his own body like a fruit that went bad on the inside.
And then she came back. Anna came back with a strange man riding a reindeer and a snowman. The man was carrying her - he carried her to the palace - but Hans saw from where he was watching out of the window and told some servants to bring her to him quickly. He could tell she was dying and he needed to trick her into handing over the throne. He needed to see her again.
A minute later, Anna stumbled into the room, supported by two servants. Hans' panic at seeing her in such a state overrode the magic and he ran to her, finally in control of his body again. "Anna!" He took her from them, her skin freezing through the fabric of his clothes. "Why are you so cold?"
"Hans, you have to kiss me." His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden request.
"What?"
"Now. Now!" Everyone else in the room filed out, one of the maids saying something about privacy.
"What happened out there?"
"Elsa struck me with her powers."
"I thought you said she'd never hurt you!" Elsa, hurt her own sister? It didn't sound right. But it did make things easier. If he could blame Anna's death on Elsa, well . . . the throne was there, just waiting for him to go out and take it.
"I was wrong." She stumbled and he caught her, carrying her over to the couch and setting her down gently. "She froze my heart and only an act of true love can save me." Hans' eyebrows furrowed in thought for a second, then his face cleared.
"A true love's kiss," he said. That was why she wanted him, no, needed him to kiss her. His hand trailed down her cheek, coming below her chin and tilted her head up. As their faces got closer and closer, the fake Hans struggled to burst through to the surface.
No, he said to the voice, you're not taking this from me. I won't let you take her! Their lips were only inches apart, and even though his eyes were closed, he knew she was right there. Her cold breath rested upon his face, her labored breathing twisting his heart painfully.
And then he stopped. "Oh Anna," he said, pulling away slightly. "If only there were someone out there who loved you."
NO! He screamed. No! Anna!
"Wh-what?" He stood up, his face resting in a self-satisfied smirk, and walked to the window. "Y-you said you did." Hans stood there for a moment, staring out at the frozen water before answering.
"As thirteenth in line in my own kingdom-" he pulled the curtain closed- "I didn't stand a chance. I knew I'd have to marry into the throne somewhere."
"What are you talking about?" Pulling off one of his gloves, he put out the candle close to Anna, the only one lit in the room, and picked up the pitcher of water.
"As heir, Elsa was preferable of course, but no one was getting anywhere with her. But you-"
"Hans."
"You were so desperate for love, you were willing to marry me just like that."
No, Anna! He screamed from inside. This isn't me!
"I figured after we married, I'd have to stage a little accident for Elsa." He poured the water in the fireplace, extinguishing the only heat and light left in the room.
"Hans!" Anna gasped, reaching for the dying flames and falling off the couch. "No. Stop." Her strength was waning, and so was Hans'. The love of his life, his Anna, was dying on the floor and he could do nothing about it.
"But then she did it herself. And you were dumb enough to go after her." He placed the pitcher on the little table next to the fireplace as Anna spoke behind him.
"Hans, please." He chuckled.
"All that's left now is to kill Elsa," he said as he strolled towards her, stopping a few inches from her, "and bring back summer."
"You're no match for Elsa." Hans crouched down and lifted her chin again.
"No. You're no match for Elsa. I, on the other hand-" He stood up and put his glove back on- "am the hero who is going to save Arendelle from destruction."
"You won't get away with this," she said weakly as he walked to the door.
"Oh," he said condescendingly, opening the door and turning back to look at Anna. The sight of her lying on the floor, her strong arms barely managing to hold her torso up, nearly all of her hair white from the magic . . . Hans' stomach twisted in disgust at this person taking over his body, this magic that was making him into something he wasn't. "I already have." Closing the door behind him, he pulled the key out and locked it, guaranteeing that she could not escape. Taking a deep breath, he arranged his face into a mask of pain and despair.
"Prince Hans!" He staggered into the room where the various dukes were sitting, talking about what to do next.
"Princess Anna is . . . dead." There was a chorus of disbelief, a "what happened to her?" and Hans sat heavily into a chair, leaning against the armrest.
"She was killed," he said, then hesitated. "By Queen Elsa." There was another round of gasps.
"Her own sister."
"At least we got to say our marriage vows, before she died in my arms."
You monster! The real Hans screamed. Shut up, shut up, shut up!
"There can be no doubt now," the Duke of Weselton said. "Queen Elsa is a monster and we are all in grave danger!"
"Prince Hans," another duke spoke quietly. "Arendelle looks to you." He paused for just enough time to make it seem as if he hadn't realized that the kingdom was now his, as if he hadn't planned for this.
"With a heavy heart, I charge Queen Elsa of Arendelle with treason . . . and sentence her to death." He choked back a sob, the real Hans showing for a split second before the spell was back in place.
He almost did it. They took Elsa captive, locked her in a specialized cell, but she escaped, conjuring a large snowstorm as she ran. Hans unsheathed his sword and took off, pushing through the storm in pursuit.
There. He could see her small frame pushing through the wind. "Elsa!" he yelled, putting the sword back at his side. She turned and gasped at the sight of him, backing away. "You can't run from this!"
"Just . . . take care of my sister."
"Your sister? She returned from the mountain, weak and cold. She said that you froze her heart."
"No." Elsa looked genuinely terrified for her sister. She didn't know, Hans realized. She didn't know that she froze Anna's heart. For one small moment, the weight on his heart lifted ever so slightly. She didn't know. She didn't try to kill her sister. She didn't try to take the one good thing in his life away. It was an accident.
"I tried to save her but it was too late." Hans could only hope that she could read his eyes, know his true intentions. "Her skin was ice, her hair turned white . . . your sister is dead." He could feel the strain of the spell as he spoke those words. "Because of you."
Elsa turned from him, stumbling a few steps before falling to the ice with a broken sob, the snowstorm coming to an abrupt halt. Hans drew his sword and advanced on her, every muscle in his body screaming for him to stop.
Raising it above his head, he started to bring it down, but there was a yell. "No!" A girl jumped in front of him, blocking him from killing Elsa. Too late did he realize it was Anna; his eyes widened and he tried to stop but the sword kept swinging.
But it didn't matter. From the middle of her chest blossomed solid ice, reaching up to the tips of her fingers moments before the sword reached her. It shattered, blowing him onto his back from the impact.
"Anna!" Hans heard an anguished cry come from Elsa, but he'd knocked his head on the ice. His head was spinning, his left ear ringing. Distantly, he heard her start sobbing and he knew in his heart that Anna was gone.
NO! That was the final straw. The spell exploded, washing over him like a wave before disappearing for good. In a daze, Hans sat up and his heart threatened to burst in his chest. Anna was nothing more than an ice sculpture now.
Rage bubbled throughout his body, all the way from his head to his fingers to his toes. He was about to stand, to run to Anna, but then something started to happen. Color returned to her chest, spreading slowly outwards to her face, her arms, her legs. The moment that her entire body unfroze, she gasped for air, her cloak falling to hang straight down her back.
Elsa looked up in shock and gasped in disbelief. "Anna!" The two sisters hugged tightly. "You would sacrifice yourself for me?"
"I love you," she replied simply. She hadn't noticed Hans sitting there - which may have been for the better - as all her attention was on her sister. The snowman gasped, lifting its head with its stick hands.
"An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart."
"Love will thaw. Of course."
"Elsa?"
"Love!" Elsa stretched her hands out to the ice and it started to melt, the water droplets rising in the air around them. The broken, frozen ships rose from the water, floating on top once more, as was their purpose. Hans managed to drag himself over to Anna's ship right before it broke the surface of the quickly melting ice.
If he hadn't been in so much pain from seeing the love of his life freeze right in front of him, Hans would have found the dissolving ice beautiful. Rubbing his jaw, he stood up, supporting himself against the edge of the port side. Walking up to him was . . .
"Anna? But . . . she froze your heart."
"The only frozen heart around here," she said, "is yours." Turning from him, she took a deep breath, then whirled around and punched him square in the face, sending him tumbling overboard. Hans knew she was strong, but to send him flying into the water?
And it was at that moment that he knew. He knew that Anna was gone. He knew that he had no hope at making things right or getting a chance to redeem himself. He knew that no matter what he said or did, she was no longer his Anna. She belonged to someone else now.
Everything had been taken from him. First his childhood, thanks to his brothers. Then it was his hope at ever ruling the Southern Isles. That one was courtesy of his parents. And now, the only thing he had ever truly wanted was also taken from him. Except it was no one's fault but his own. If only he could have broken through sooner. Then maybe things would have been different.