Chapter 2: Sending the Letter

Okay! It seems that several people liked my first chapter! I'm really glad! I was worried that people wouldn't like it. Now I do in fact have a plan and a rough outline for the story, but I'm filling it out as I go. Sorry this took so long. I had most of it done and then I just got distracted

"You and I, we're not so dissimilar"

What could that mean? He couldn't possibly be saying that they were the same. She wouldn't believe it. But no matter how much Elsa tried to put the words out of her mind they kept burrowing their way back into it.

"Your majesty?" called the advisor. Elsa snapped back to her meeting. She was at an ornate oval mahogany table sitting with five of her advisors. There had been a report from some of the soldiers posted at the Weselton border that some suspicious individuals were seen.

"Yes," she replied. "I understand your concern about the border but we don't need to take extreme measures." The advisor sighed.

"You can't ignore the disturbances that have been reported. This sounds serious. We need to send troops down there immediately!" the man pleaded. Elsa collected herself.

"Alright. We'll send some troops to scout. If these reports have merit we will take action. I don't want to start a war with Wease-Weselton," Elsa instructed.

"Yes your majesty," he resigned. He sat back in his chair, not making it a secret that he wanted quicker action taken.

"Well, that about wraps it up," announced another advisor. The tall man shuffled some papers and pushed up his glasses. Aside from the border issue it was just another meeting about the same old things. The queen had been sitting in that meeting for hours and was bored out of her mind. Not to mention the stress was getting to her. Elsa always got stressed out from her advisor meetings, having to argue and defend herself constantly against the more stubborn ones. The conclusion of today's meeting brought a sense of relief to the snow queen. She rose from her chair and turned to her advisors.

"So what are your orders your majesty?" asked the advisor.

"Tell the Captain at the border to organize a scouting party. Have them search the area for traces of these intruders or anything odd, and then report back," she ordered.

"Yes your majesty," he answered. He quickly exited the room to give the orders.

"If that is all there is to discuss, I will be in my room resting," Elsa told the remaining advisors. She left the room and headed to her bed chamber.

Once inside she shut the door and leaned against it. Today wasn't too stressful all things considered, but it wasn't eventful either.

So this is what her mother and father did on a daily basis. Meetings, discussions, arguments, being annoyed by advisors and military officers left and right all day. By now it was midafternoon and Elsa just wanted to do nothing. She took a deep breath and pulled her hair out of the loose bun it was in, combing it back. Elsa strolled over to the mirror in her room. There was something about this hairstyle that she liked. She felt more like herself when she wore her hair like this.

She slid off her dress, letting it fall at her feet. Raising her hands, Elsa formed a fancy dress with her powers. The exhausted queen walked over to her bed, collapsing on it. She loved wearing ice dresses. She wished she could wear them all the time. The royal tailor was extremely annoyed when he discovered that she had destroyed her coronation gown in the process of making her first ice dress, so she promised not to mess up any of her other dresses. The ice dresses were great for public appearances but she felt it was more proper to wear normal dresses for meetings.

"Can I say something crazy?"

Elsa heard Hans' voice again. Why won't it stop? She buried her face in her hands.

She wanted to know what he meant. It was killing her not to know. Why would he say they were similar?

Did he… could he know what my loneliness was like? The pale queen pondered. She slid her hands down her face, resting the tips of her fingers on her chin.

You could write a letter, she thought to herself. It would allow her to communicate with him without having to be face to face. So she wouldn't have to worry about being flustered. It would be easy to get a letter to Hans. While Elsa and Kristan had come to an agreement, there were still some papers that needed to be finalized. He had sent papers over and Elsa just needed to sign send the last of them back. She could just put a letter to Hans in with them. Kristan would surely help her.

The queen stretched out on her bed. She couldn't think about this right now. Not with the day she'd had. Maybe later, but not now.

She needed to relax. Anna didn't have anything to do today, and it's been a while since they had a decent amount of time to be with each other. She smiled.

Elsa leapt off her bed and ran out of her door. Moving down the halls she ran into Gerda.

"Gerda, do you know where Anna is?" she asked the caretaker. Gerda gave a smile.

"Yes your majesty. She's in the library," Gerda happily informed the queen.

"Thank you!" Elsa called as she quickly made her way to the library. It warmed the woman's heart to see the queen out and about. She and Kai had tried so hard for a long time to get Elsa to do anything other than hole herself up in her room and keep to herself that the very sight of her running to find her sister was more than enough to make her happy.

Arriving at the doors to the library, the snow queen marched up and burst open the doors. Anna was balancing atop of a large pillar made of books, holding one up and dramatically reciting it. Upon Elsa's entrance she was distracted and fell off, landing on a pile of books. Anna turned her attention to her elder sister.

"Hey Anna. Do you want to build a snowman?" Elsa said with a sneaky smile. The energetic younger sister lit up.

A man wearing a brown hat from the town arrived at the castle, two guards escorting him to the main door. Upon being informed, Kai answered the man at the door.

"May I help you sir?"

"I would like to speak with the queen, if I may," the gentleman said.

"I'm very sorry sir, but the queen isn't available right now," Kai told the man. Whoosh sounds were heard behind Kai. The visitor saw the queen and princess skating through the castle on paths of ice. He stood there not knowing what to say.

"The queen is resting, please come back tomorrow," Kai started closing the door.

"Wait I saw-!" the man objected before the door was closed on him. He awkwardly stood there before leaving, taking off his hat and holding it in disappointment.

The two sisters sped down the hallways, Elsa providing a steady stream of ice to make a track on the floors that guided them through the many hallways of their castle. Anna clutched onto Elsa to keep herself from falling, the elder sister quietly appreciating that she could support her little sister.

But Elsa was distracted by her sister and lost her balance heading into a turn. Thinking quickly she summoned a large pile of snow that softened their landing. Anna ended up completely buried with her legs sticking out, but Elsa heard her sister laugh beneath the soft snow.

It was moments like this that Elsa cherished. Being able to forget that they're royalty and just have fun.

"Oh!" Anna suddenly exclaimed to Elsa's surprise. She burst out of the pile of soft snow. "It's Thursday! My date with Kristoff!"

She leapt out of the snow, wiping the powder off her dress. Elsa was saddened that Anna was leaving so soon. The energetic princess bolted down the hall before Elsa stopped her.

"Anna!" the queen called. Anna stopped and turned towards her sister. Elsa held her arms out and Anna ran into her for a hug. Elsa held her sister close. It had become an unspoken rule that before either of them left they had to hug. They never wanted to leave on bad terms or without saying goodbye.

"Have fun with Kristoff," Elsa told her sister. Anna gave a big smile.

"I will!" Anna proclaimed as she hurried to meet Kristoff. Elsa stood there watching her sister disappear around a corner. With a wave of her hand the snow and ice dissipated into the air. The hallway was quiet.

Alone again.

The snow queen sighed deeply and walked to her room.

Elsa entered her room, closing the door with a small gust of snow. With no distractions her thoughts drifted back towards Hans and his words.

She peered at her desk, the stationary set up with the incomplete trade papers.

This was her chance. As she approached her desk fear started to consume her. What if Hans' answer was something she didn't want to hear? What if he told her she was just as much of a monster as he was? It was becoming difficult to breath.

No Elsa. There's nothing to worry about. You're not a monster.

Elsa grasped at the chair on her desk, frost beginning to coat it.

"Don't be the monster they fear you are!" Hans' voice cut into her.

WHY. Why are his words coming back to her? Why can't she get them out of her head?

Ice spread from the chair onto the floor.

Calm down Elsa. Just let it go.

The queen took a deep breath. She gathered the ice up and turned it into a puff of snow. Elsa made up her mind. She needed to write that letter. She needed answers. Taking a seat at her desk she picked up Kristan's letter and papers. She gave the papers a once over just to check that everything was as they discussed. Confirming that it was, she signed it and then reached for blank paper from her stationary.

Here it goes.

"Dear Prince Hans…"

It was a dark night in the Southern Isles. Hans sat alone in his cell, with only a few torches for light glistening off the damp floors. He was trying to sleep on the dirty mat he was provided with as much as he could. The disgraced prince had mostly gotten used to it, but that didn't stop it from being unbearably uncomfortable. The cold is what really made it hard. He was a prince. He should be king - not stuck for the rest of his life in this forsaken prison. Hans shifted onto his back.

"I don't like crazy."

Hans cracked a smile. What an answer. If anything the Arendelle monarch's visit was a nice break from the monotony of prison life, and better then a visit from any of his brothers. It was really the only time he'd enjoyed himself at all in these last three months. He wondered if he'd ever see her again. Doubtful.

But…He kept thinking about her comment that he was mirroring her. This baffled him.

Do I really do that? The fallen prince asked himself.

Footsteps echoed down the stairway, followed by the sounds of keys sliding into locks. A visitor. Hans sat up on his mat, perturbed. He did not appreciate being interrupted when he was trying to sleep.

"Go away, Kristan," he snarled. "I've had enough of your whining about trying to make things up." His eldest brother annoyed him with his visits. Always trying to be the protective white knight.

"Oh, Hans," a loud but smooth voice not belonging to Kristan replied. Hans' heart skipped a beat, eyes briefly widening. "I'm flattered, but you know as well as I do that I don't care about making up."

Gustav. Hans knew what this meant. He shifted uncomfortably on the dirty mat.

The elder prince rounded the corner, followed by two guards. Wearing the familiar sideburns his ginger hair matched Hans, though considerably more unruly. His eyes matched his hair, a controlled fury glowing in them. He wore his royal uniforms, but it was clear he carried a slight disdain for it. Valuing it only for the power it gave him. Gustav smiled at his younger brother, slowing taking off his jacket. He was taller than Hans, and had a slightly more muscular build hidden by his uniform.

As much as Hans hated Kristan, he'd much rather him be visiting.

Gustav handed the jacket to one of the guards, who took it carefully. He licked his lips.

"So I hear the Queen of Arendelle visited you," Gustav began. This was one game Hans hated to play ever since he was a kid.

"Yes," he responded with a smile. "It was quite a nice visit." Please leave.

The tall prince signaled the guards with his hand. The one not holding the jacket walked up to the cell door and opened it. Hans' stomach churned.

"Come on, little brother," Gustav said with a smile. "Stand up. I didn't come down here to wait." His expression changed, the smile morphing into something more sinister. Hans carefully stood up, eyes locked on his brother's. Without realizing it, Hans put on a fierce face to challenge his brother. Gustav strolled into the cell.

"Put your hands up," the prince barked. Hans put his shackled hands up.

Here it comes.

Gustav shot a punch right at Hans' face. The younger prince managed to just barely block it as he fell backwards. Hans' opponent snatched his shirt, following with another punch that connected with his nose. Before Hans could recover he felt a shot to his gut. He gasped for breath. Gustav released his younger brother and launched a haymaker, which Hans was unable to counter because his shackles ran taut. He took the punch on his left cheek, feeling it cut his skin. He stumbled, pulled to the ground with a yank by his shackles. Gustav leapt on top of him, pinning the former prince down. Sadistic glee smeared on his face.

"So what do you think Hans?! Just like old times!" Gustav yelled. The young former prince's hands were held down by the chains. Hans closed his eyes.

Gustav wailed on his younger brother. Punch after punch connecting, smacking his face back and forth. Hans fought tears as his brother beat him. It felt like it went on forever. He couldn't keep track of how many times his brother was hitting him. Hans only felt the pain of each punch and the blood trickling down his face from the fresh cut.

And then it stopped. Hans tentatively opened his eyes. Gustav was still above him, breathing heavily.

"Now wasn't that fun?" He got out between breaths, patting Hans' left cheek. Hans remained silent as pain seared from his cut. Gustav pushed off of his brother to get up, forcing his full weight on the bruised man. The violent prince exited the cell, nodding to the guards to close it. He looked down at his bloodied white gloves. A smirk emerged from his mouth. Gustav glanced back at Hans, crumpled on the wet ground. Hans spit out blood.

"Have a nice night!" Gustav strutted up the stairs, followed by the guards. Hans crawled over to his mat, the dirty rag sounding a lot better now. He curled up, letting a few tears escape with a muffled whine.

OOPS. I'm sorry. This ended up being a lot more depressing than I had originally intended. Apparently "Older brother beating Hans" turned out to be a lot more…. involved than I thought. It was also really hard to write. I kept having to take breaks from it. Honestly Gustav legitimately scares me. This chapter wasn't nearly as long as the first chapter but it's still longer than I thought it would be (I keep doing that). Chapter 3 is up so I hope you like it! And don't forget to leave a review!