Devious Ice

Chapter 3: An Uneasy Visit

I am SO SORRY that this took so long! I've been having a hard time focusing on writing. But I finally pushed through and finished it. I promise that future chapters will come out much more quickly.

I do like people's reactions to Gustav. They ranged from "Oh no" to "HE NEEDS TO DIE." Hahaha. I realize that I left off the last chapter on a really down note so I had to update it. I know this chapter was a long time in coming so I hope you like it!

It had been a week since Elsa wrote her letter to Hans. She had been nervous all week, desperate for a response. The antsy queen sat at her desk, shifting in her seat. Her nerves made the chair uncomfortable. Did her letter not arrive? Did Kristan not give it to him? Elsa was distracted from the work that lay on her desk. More menial things to sign. Not something she could concentrate on.

A knock on the door caught Elsa's attention.

"Yes? What is it?" the queen asked impatiently.

"The mail from the Southern Isles has arrived. I was told to bring it directly to you when it did." Elsa dashed to the door to open it. Before her stood a flustered guard with a carefully wrapped parcel. She snatched it from the poor man before remembering her manners.

"Thank you," Elsa curtsied out of habit. She slammed the door shut and ripped the paper covering the parcel apart. There was a large envelope inside of it. Tearing it open, she dumped the contents on the bed and two letters fell onto the sheets. One carefully labelled "Kristan" and the other wrinkled and unmarked. Picking up the one labelled "Kristan", she unfolded the letter and read it.

Dear Queen Elsa,

I did receive the letter you wrote to my brother. I gave it to him immediately. I apologize for how long it took but Hans decided to take his time on the letter. I did not read it so I don't know what it says. Best of luck.

I also received your papers for our trade agreement. The first shipment should be arriving in a few days.

Kristan

Elsa gripped Kristan's letter, slowly moving her glance to Hans' letter. She gently put the elder brother's letter down and picked up Hans'. She was nervous about what it would say.

Do I want to know?

…..

Yes.

Elsa couldn't stand to wait any longer, hastily opening the letter. The queen anxiously eyed the letter in her hands. Ice seeped onto the paper from her fingertips. Elsa shut her eyes and focused.

Stop it. Relax Elsa.

She slowly opened her eyes, seeing the ice recede. With a deep breath Elsa finally began reading the letter. Hans' surprisingly neat handwriting adorned the paper.

My Dear Queen Elsa,

I'm flattered you call me "prince", but I am no longer welcome amongst the royal family.

So, you want to know what I meant? I'll tell you. But I have one condition: I'll only tell you in person. Yes, you'll have to come back to my dirty cell if you want to know.

With love,

Former Prince Hans

That's it? A few sentences?

Elsa gave a deep sigh. Of course he wanted her to come back. But should she go? It might be selfish but she was dying to know. Elsa reread the letter over and over. He was deliberately being vague but she didn't know how to respond to this. If she wrote back demanding an answer Hans would just repeat himself. The only way to find out was to visit. The queen lay down on the bed, exasperated over the situation.

I need to talk to Anna.

Elsa sat up. She picked the letters up and folded them, sliding them back into the envelope. Rising from the bed she moved to her desk, putting the envelope in one of the drawers. She looked at the papers on her desk and told herself that she'd do them later. First, she had to find Anna.

Elsa left her room and made her way through the halls of the castle in her search. She found her younger sister in the dining hall eating. It was past lunch but it seemed that Anna had convinced the chefs to make her something to eat. She sat at the end of the large table with a large half eaten chocolate pie in front of her.

"Oh hi Elsa!" Anna blurted out, in between chewing her food.

"Hello Anna," Elsa smiled. She took a seat near her sister and sighed. Anna took a large bite of the pie.

"Problems with the trade stuff?" she managed to get out. Elsa wasn't sure how to tell Anna what was really going on. The trade agreement was already settled. But she couldn't tell her sister that she was thinking about going back to see Hans. There was no way she could tell Anna that.

"Yeah. I might have to go back to discuss a few more things," Elsa almost kicked herself for lying. It wasn't something she did to Anna, especially not since they reconnected.

"Well that sucks," Anna pushed the pie over to her sister. "Pie?"

Elsa smiled. If there was anything that could make her feel better, it was chocolate and a talk with Anna. Grabbing the spoon from the dish she took a bite of the pie.

"You know what you need? A break!" Anna exclaimed.

"You mean a break where we do something stupid?"

"Yeah!" Anna replied with enthusiasm.

"Just let me finish the pie first." Elsa dropped her polite manners and shoveled a large bite of pie into her mouth. "Mmmmm…"

I don't indulge enough, Elsa thought to herself.

But despite this moment of happiness, the thought of going back to the Southern Isles to get answers from Hans still weighed on her mind. Doing her best to keep from icing the pie, Elsa looked at her smiling sister and felt some relief. Even if Anna didn't know, her being there was enough to give Elsa strength. Elsa finished the bite of pie and took a breath.

The snow queen made up her mind. She was going to go see Hans. With this surge of confidence and a smirk she spoke to her sister. With a flick of her wrist, she created a small flurry of snowflakes that slowly fell to the ground.

"Would you prefer a slide or a spiral staircase?"

Anna lit up.

Arriving at the docks of the Southern Isles two weeks later was less stressful than the last time, but no less uneasy. She only brought two guards with her this time. She at least felt safer after her first visit. It was talking to Hans that made her uneasy. Elsa gripped her ice dress. She was scared of what he would say. What similarities could they have between them? When she thinks of Hans her thoughts flip between him calming her at the ice castle and him trying to kill her on the fjord. She honestly didn't have that clear of a picture of who Hans really was. There was so much mystery wrapped around him that Elsa feared what his real answer would be.

As she stood on the docks she noticed that ice had spread from her feet.

Keep calm Elsa. You can do this, she told herself. You have Kristan and Marianne here.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves Elsa walked forward, her two guards following. Each step laid down less and less ice until her footsteps were normal.

Exchanging letters back and forth, Elsa informed Kristan of her return. He told her that he would have a carriage waiting for her to bring her to the castle, and that he would prepare things so that she could see Hans.

A ball bounced near Elsa, causing the queen to stop. Her guards braced themselves and pointed their spears and the small bouncing object. Elsa sighed and raised her hand to put the guards at ease. A small boy, who looked around 4 years old ran over to the ball.

"Hello!" The small boy said to Elsa. He had brown hair and wore clothing Elsa thought looked too expensive for a small village child. Scanning the docks for his parents all she saw were a few Southern Isle guards watching the boy.

Deciding to make sure the boy found his parents, Elsa knelt down to his level.

"Hello. Are your parents around?" Elsa asked the child in a gentle voice.

"Uh-huh! My mommy is over there!" he replied pointing towards the direction he ran from. Elsa checked in that direction but didn't see any women there.

"So are you playing right now?" Elsa asked him. The little boy smiled.

"Yes! But I wish I had a puppy to play with. Mommy said she doesn't mind but that grandma and grandpa won't like it." The boy said sadly. Elsa wasn't going to let this injustice endure.

"Do you want to see something really cool?" The little boy nodded and hopped excitedly. Elsa stood up and took a few steps back.

"Check this out!" Elsa called as she flung her hands out. A flurry flew out and spun on the spot she focused on. A snowman grew out of the flurry. It was closer to Marshmallow than Olaf, but it immediately sprang to life. The boy hugged it quickly, a huge smile plastered over his face. Elsa returned his smile.

"Thank you, Lady!" he squealed. Almost forgetting, Elsa summoned a cloud to keep the snowman cold.

"Philip! Philip! Where did you go?" a familiar voice called. The boy immediately turned to the source of the voice.

"Mommy!" he called out, holding onto his new friend. Elsa quickly glanced over to see Marianne walking over with a few guards following her. She knelt down and the little boy ran into her open arms.

"Hey honey, I told you not to run off like that" Marianne looked up at Elsa smiling. "Hello Elsa. I see you've met my son." Elsa was a little taken aback by this new information.

"But mom I stayed by the guards. They were safe. I also met a lady!" Philip proclaimed. Marianne gave him a thoughtful smile.

"I take it this is yours and Kristan's child?" Elsa asked. She could feel the awkwardness of every word.

"Yes! This is Philip. Say hello to Queen Elsa, Philip," Marianne instructed the boy. He smiled and stood at attention.

"Hello, Queen Elsa! I am Prince Philip of the Southern Isles!" He proclaimed and then gasped for air. "I'm going to be king one day!"

"Well hello, Prince Philip," Elsa returned in a proper tone, feeling goofy as she said it. She gave a curtsey in her ice dress. The new snowman ran up to Philip.

"Mommy I also made a new friend!" he shouted while he gave the snowman a big hug. Marianne looked quite surprised.

"Wow! Elsa…did you do this?" she asked. Marianne quickly laughed. "I guess that's silly question to ask."

"Uhm…yes! I can make living snowmen… It's… sort of a thing… I can do," Elsa had never really put any thought into explaining how she could do that.

"Mommy, when is daddy gonna be done? I want to show him my new friend!" Philip butted in impatiently.

Marianne turned back to her son.

"Now Philip, you know daddy has to talk with grandpa. And-"

"Uh-huh, grandpa doesn't like being interrupted," Philip recited. Clearly this wasn't the first time he's heard that. Marianne smiled at the boy.

"But you know what you can do? You can help the chef prepare the food!"

"But grandpa hates it when I do that!" Philip said excitedly.

"I know," Marianne replied with a big smile. "And that's what makes it fun." Philip smiled back at his mother.

"Okay!" he blurted and ran off towards the castle.

"Don't forget to go with the guards!" Marianne called. Philip halted and then bolted towards a guard. She stood up.

"Can you bring me to the castle?" Philip politely asked the guard, barely standing still to ask the question. The guard nodded silently and signaled to a handful of other guards to come with him. They escorted a running Philip to the castle.

Marianne sighed. She turned to Elsa with a slightly worn expression.

"He's a handful but he's just a bundle of joy."

"I didn't realize you and Kristan had a child," the young queen stated, still processing the new information.

"Yeah, I had him a year or so after we were married," Marianne explained.

"Well…congratulations!" Elsa felt stupid for saying that. Marianne laughed.

"Thank you, Elsa."

"And Kristan's father doesn't want him cooking? I'm really not all that surprised, given what I've seen." Marianne sighed.

"He thinks that cooking is 'beneath' royalty. That only the poor have to cook. I like messing with him though," Marianne said with a smirk.

"And Philip won't get in trouble?" Elsa asked

"No no. Philip is going to be the heir one day. Magnus loves his heirs. Not me so much," Marianne started to sound annoyed. "I'm pretty sure both of them still see me as the baby maker." Elsa felt like she was missing something.

"I'm sure that if you and Kristan loved each other his parents would be more accepting of you." A faint smile broke Marianne's annoyed look.

"I didn't tell you how Kristan and I met did I?"

"Uh…no you didn't," Elsa replied, even more confused.

"Our wedding was arranged. I didn't even meet him until I walked up to the altar," Marianne explained, with a plain expression.

"Oh…I…I didn't know," Elsa felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She felt so awkward. Marianne waved it off.

"Oh dear it's alright. It all worked out," she reassured Elsa with a smile. "Kristan is the best man I could have asked for to be my husband. After our wedding, he told me that he wanted us to at least be friends."

Elsa admired how Marianne and Kristan found love. She wondered if she would be able to find something even remotely close to what they have.

"Well, from what Kristan told me you weren't here to talk to me," Marianne said, subtly changing the subject.

"Ah yes…I'm here to talk…." Elsa wasn't sure if she should mention Hans publicly.

"Yes, I know. Kristan told me," Marianne interrupted to save her from mentioning Hans.

But Elsa suddenly saw Kristan appear from behind Marianne. He put a finger to his lips to signal to Elsa to keep it quiet. He ran up to his wife and quickly picked her up, spinning her around.

"Ahhh! Kristan!" Marianne screamed as her husband spun her. He set her down and she gave him a kiss. Kristan gazed into his wife's eyes momentarily before turning to Elsa.

"Welcome back to the Southern Isles Queen Elsa. I'm glad you decided to return," the prince said with a smile.

"Thank you, Kristan. But I'd rather…do this quickly," Elsa responded. Kristan nodded.

"Of course," Marianne smiled. She looked towards her husband. "Well dear it seems you have some business to attend to. I'll go make sure Philip is having fun." She gave Kristan a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Kristan's eyes were glued to his wife as she made her way to the castle, waving to her as she turned back and waved. As she climbed into her carriage Kristan moved his attention to Elsa once more.

"Well, we should make our way to the castle," Kristan said in a slightly disappointed sigh.

Elsa followed Kristan silently through the docks, her two guards silently following her. She hoped her nervousness wasn't showing. The queen wanted to be confident when she confronted Hans, and did her best to keep her chin up. Kristan could tell that Elsa was uneasy about meeting his brother again.

"Are you alright, Elsa?" Kristan asked her, glancing back towards her. Elsa quickly moved her attention to Kristan.

"Yes. I am." Elsa was lying. Kristan smiled.

"If there's one thing I've learned from my brothers it's how to see through a lie."

This made Elsa think. She hadn't thought much of Hans' brothers outside of Kristan.

"No I'm not. I'm feeling a bit nervous about this, to be honest," the snow queen admitted.

"Trust me when I say that Hans is far from the worst brother to deal with. Despite how difficult he can be to talk to he's still capable of manners." Elsa felt there were a lot of unsaid things hiding behind the prince's words.

"What are…the rest of your brothers like?" Elsa inquired. Kristan paused and stopped near one of the docks.

"Well…" Kristan wasn't sure where to start. "They're not all like Hans if that's what you mean. Besides me there's Kasper, who handles politics with foreign countries. He would actually be meeting with you but I wanted to handle this personally due to Hans'….actions in your country. Erik and Abel, they're twins, used to be troublemakers but they've gotten better. Frederick is the second eldest but he'd rather not socialize with anyone. And he….doesn't particularly like me."

Elsa was a bit confused on how Frederick wouldn't like Kristan. Kristan looked distressed at the thought of the subject.

"But that's family matters. Nothing to do with Hans. My other brothers are not nice, to put it simply. But the only ones you need to stay away from are Gustav and Daniel." Elsa was trying to process all of what Kristan was telling her. Family life with the Westergaards was significantly more complicated than she had anticipated. Elsa was broken from that thought when she heard a familiar voice screaming.

"NIELS! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" John came running down a flight of stairs, red faced from the screaming. Elsa's guards readied themselves but Elsa pushed their weapons down again. Kristan immediately looked out towards the sea. John stopped in front of Kristan and Elsa, heavily panting. He looked towards Elsa surprised.

"My lady!" He blurted out before panting again. Kristan sighed and pointed out Niels in the bay.

"Queen Elsa, that would be one of my youngest brothers. Niels," Kristan said with a slightly annoyed tone and his hand lazily thrown out to direct Elsa's attention. Elsa scanned the bay and found the man riding a sort of board with a small sail attached to it. He was jumping off the waves and heading right for them.

"He's supposed to be doing a naval exercise right now," spat John, overcoming his panting to comment on his annoyance of Niels. Elsa took a step back as Niels sped towards the docks. Kristan chuckled at his brother.

"Don't worry, Queen Elsa. Niels won't do anything. Well he'll do something silly but that's just his personality." Elsa wasn't sure how reassured she felt. A glance down revealed that ice was spreading from her feet. She didn't feel in danger but the current events were rather stressful.

Niels reached the docks, and instead of stopping he just rammed right into the stone docks, destroying the board he was riding and sending him flying forward. He clumsily rolled up to the two other royals and stood up just short of Elsa. He was extremely close to Elsa, leaning forward with a large smile on his face.

"Hello! I heard you had arrived!" Niels excitedly spat out. Elsa took a step back from him, taking in his features. He looked remarkably like Hans, even more so than Kristan. The white uniform he wore would have made it difficult to tell him and Hans apart at a distance. His hair was the same color, if a bit more ruffled. He had a slightly wider face accompanied by what seems to be the family tradition of sideburns. He was definitely taller than Hans, but not as tall as Kristan. But the main thing that Elsa thought really set him from Hans was the constant smile on his face. The look of pure joy and happiness was seemingly plastered on. Elsa's thoughts were broken when Niels grabbed her hand and started shaking it.

"I'm so pleased to meet you!" Niels exclaimed with sheer honest happiness. John looked like he was about to blow a gasket.

"Niels! Give the queen a proper greeting!" John blasted at the young prince.

"OH!" Niels had forgotten about the traditional bow. He went down to one knee.

"Oh, Niels. That's not necessary," Elsa told him, putting her hand up. Niels shot back up.

"Okay good cause I hate doing that!" Niels exclaimed. John smacked his face with his hand so hard everyone could hear it.

"Prince Niels! We need to get back to the exercise!" the captain was obviously trying not to scream. Niels started to pout.

"Oh John. Can't I talk to the queen? I didn't get to meet her last time!" Elsa was standing there confused at the fact that people here wanted to talk to her. Of course, she was foreign royalty but Niels seemed extremely eager. It was then that Elsa realized something. Niels reminded her a lot of Anna. Suddenly his joy and goofiness were actually comforting because it was like having Anna there.

"Fine Niels. You are a prince. But it's my duty to make sure you're doing what you're supposed to," John was sounding exhausted. Niels smiled and grabbed his shoulders.

"Don't worry John! It's not like my parents care about me! There's nothing to worry about if I slack off!" Niels wasn't at all concerned with what he just said. It upset John how aware he was of his parents' negligence, but he didn't show it.

"Niels. Just make sure to get back to the training exercise when you're done talking with Queen Elsa," John instructed with a point of his finger. "I do…have other matters to deal with." Kristan spoke up to change the subject.

"John, Kasper will need to work on details of the security for his negotiation next week. He's in the library right now preparing for it," Kristan said to John. John nodded. Before leaving he turned to Elsa.

"Good day to you, Queen Elsa. I apologize that I keep meeting you while I'm stressed," he calmly said with a bow.

"It's really no trouble," Elsa tried to wave it off. "Things in Arendelle are crazy too," she gave an awkward smile. John headed off. Niels turned to Elsa smiling.

"So, I hear that you're going to talk to Hans!" Niels blurted without phasing. Elsa and Kristan went wide-eyed.

"Niels! Let's…. keep this quiet," Kristan asked his brother, quickly looking around to see if anyone heard it. Niels clasped both hands over his mouth.

"Sorry!" Niels gave a muffled apology through his hands.

"It's alright, Niels, just…" Kristan hushed his voice, "this is a sensitive subject for the people," the elder prince reassured his brother. Niels removed his hands from his mouth. There was an awkward silence.

"Yes, I am talking to him," Elsa said, breaking the silence. Niels gave a big smile and shook her hand.

"Thank you! I hope you can help because he won't talk to any of us!" Niels blurted again. Kristan's face formed a frown.

"I do, too," the crown prince said. Elsa noticed his sad expression.

"So how do you like the Southern Isles?" Niels inquired. Elsa was taken aback by his unwavering enthusiasm given the previous subject.

"It's nice. Not really what I had imagined before I came. It's actually fairly similar to Arendelle."

"Wonderful! I'd love to visit Arendelle sometime!" Niels exclaimed. Elsa gave a chuckle.

"I think you'd get along well with my sister," Elsa pictured the trouble Niels and Anna would get into. It stressed her out.

"We'll have to go there sometime, Kristan!"

"We should, at some point," the eldest brother smiled.

"Hooray! Oh! I guess I should get back to the exercise!" Niels exclaimed before giving Elsa an over exaggerated bow and running off.

"He's certainly odd, isn't he?" Kristan said, watching his brother run off. "But trust me he's one of the better brothers. Maybe the best of us."

Elsa pondered the thought of sweet Niels being surrounded by the bad brothers Kristan has mentioned. She had a hard time imagining how Niels came out so positive. Then again, Anna came out positive from being alone all those years. Guilt started overcoming Elsa at the thought of it.

"Shall we go?" Kristan asked, breaking Elsa's focus.

"Yes, Kristan. Let's get this over with." Elsa followed Kristan towards the castle.

The trip on their way to Hans was a quiet one. Elsa went over and over in her head what to say. She didn't know how to approach Hans. He said they were similar. How? Kristan noticed her restlessness.

"Elsa, it will be alright," Kristan tried to comfort her.

"I know, but I can't shake the fear of what Hans is going to say."

"The unknown truth can be a very terrifying thing," Kristan paused. "But it's better to know than to worry about not knowing." Elsa sat on his advice. They were wise words but Elsa still felt uneasy.

"I suppose that's true…" Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't going to handle this well if she let her fears grip her like that.

He said he understood the loneliness. Knowing more about his family she can understand having troubles, but when he had Kristan and Niels how could be lonely? Both of them seem like they care a great deal about Hans. And how could his loneliness compare to the years of self-inflicted isolation she went through? Hans tried to kill her to take her throne… Was that what he meant? That she was like him? Someone who would hurt people? She did hurt Anna. Locking her out completely and never talking to her for fear of hurting her. And almost killing her twice with her powers.

You're not a monster Elsa

The queen wished it was so easy to believe herself.

They arrived at the castle, and Kristan escorted Elsa to the dungeon. She instructed her guards to stay outside as Kristan had the dungeon guards open the door.

"I am Crown Prince Kristan. The Queen of Arendelle would like to see the prisoner," Kristan said with a very royal tone.

The guard silently picked the key from his belt and opened the door. He stepped inside and made his way down the stone steps, opening the gates for Elsa. She proceeded down the dark steps behind him. It hadn't been too long since she had last been here but it still felt incredibly haunting.

The guard left Elsa at the last gate. If she was going to turn back this was her last chance.

No. I've come too far to just leave now.

The snow queen stepped forward and turned the corner to find the familiar sight of Hans in his cell. He didn't react to her approaching him at first, but slowly raised his head as she neared his cage.

"I almost didn't expect you to come," Hans slyly opened. Elsa noticed he looked in even rougher shape than he did last time she saw him.

"I'm here for answers Hans. Nothing more," the pale queen retorted. She wasn't in the mood to play games with Hans. The disgraced prince chuckled.

"Well well. It's straight to the point with you," he was teasing her but his expression was more serious. She could tell the mirroring thing hadn't stopped. Elsa waved her hand and ice swirled in front of her to form an elaborately designed chair made of ice. She sat in it, crossed her legs out of habit and looked at Hans.

"Tell me what you meant," Elsa said, with no stutter or hesitation. Hans frowned. He took joy from the game and wanted to make this last as long as possible. He composed himself, straightened his posture and spoke.

"If you insist. You want to know what I meant. I'll tell you. Just one thing."

"What. What is it?" Elsa was getting impatient.

"You came all the way to the Southern Isles. Of course, to discuss trade with my brother. Why bother coming down to my little hole? What would make you possibly want to see me?" Han ended his jab with a smirk and Elsa felt the thought of his handsomeness creep in again.

Stop it, Elsa

She restrained the thought. It wasn't something she wanted to feel. She had to answer this question to get a straight answer out of Hans.

"If you want to know the truth," the pale queen started. "It was because I wanted to give you a piece of my mind. One final jab at you before I left." Elsa turned her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed to admit it. Hans' eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Interesting…" Elsa felt Hans' smirk. She hated how he could get to her like that. "You wanted to come in just to insult me? Very un-queenly of you," the disgraced prince remarked. Elsa kept looking away to avoid his smug glare. She only turned to face him when she was sure he didn't have a smug look on his face.

"I gave you want you wanted. Now tell me."

Hans sat up straight and fixed his expression to a more neutral one. Elsa looked back at him and he met her gaze with his own. He managed to reclaim at least part of his lost nobility. A slight look of confusion filled his face, no doubt matching her own surprise to see him manage to look at least somewhat dignified in his dirty clothes.

"What I meant was…" he trailed off. Elsa felt her palms sweat from the anticipation. Ice frosted her chair and seeped onto the floor. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know anymore. "Your situation was not that different from mine."

What?

"You spent years alone, locked up in your room, avoiding your sister at all costs," Hans started. Elsa hated being reminded of the years she neglected Anna. Her cheeks burned, embarrassed at the thought.

"I spent years being alone, refusing to see any of my brothers," Hans continued.

"At least you still have your parents!" Elsa angrily retorted. She didn't like hearing him compare himself to her like that. She only did what she did to keep Anna from being hurt.

"And what difference does it make?" Hans returned Elsa's anger. "My parents barely acknowledged my existence, and when they did it was to scold or demean me. Most of the time they ignored me. I know what it's like to not have parents."

Elsa sat back. As much as she wanted to yell back she couldn't help but feel pity for Hans. Hans leaned back and relaxed his pose. His words eased down from the anger.

"You know it too, don't you Queen Elsa? The thought that you're nothing but a burden. That things would be easier if you weren't around. You want to talk but all you say are hurtful things"

Elsa froze. Go away Anna echoed in her mind. His words cut through her again, hitting her deep. She gripped her ice dress.

"You elected to keep yourself isolated. That's something I know too well. There were times I spent weeks without even leaving my room."

"But I did what I did out of love," the queen shot. The similarities were disturbing but she made sure to maintain the differences.

"Of course," Hans replied, putting his chained hands up in mock defense. "I won't deny I hate my brothers and would keep myself as far away from them as possible. But it's still isolation. It's still a lonely existence. I'm sure you understand."

The sad part was… Elsa did. She knew the feelings all too well. She closed her eyes and sighed. The ice that had grown receded as her nerves calmed. There was an awkward pause as Hans waited for her response. In a way, she was relieved. All this worry and anxiety over what he would say and it seemed to fizzle out. He did know the loneliness. But he didn't know the love she had for Anna.

"Yes, I do," She admitted. "I know what that feels like. I spent years isolating myself. I'm guessing you heard all that from Anna." Hans' expression moved to a more somber look.

"Not just her. Your reputation proceeded you."

"My reputation?" Elsa inquired.

"I knew you were a loner when I first arrived in Arendelle. The talk of the castle finally opening and people finally seeing the new queen after so many years." Hans shifted to more casual tone. "Would you be surprised if I said that marrying Anna wasn't even my original plan to take the throne?"

Elsa felt odd. The conversation started feeling…. Comfortable.

"Then enlighten me what you planned," Elsa teased. Hans laughed.

"My plan, dear queen, was to marry you," Hans delivered with a completely straight face. Elsa felt her chest tighten and cheeks burn. Marry… her? Hans let a smile creep across his face.

Why does he have to be handsome, Elsa regretted her own thoughts.

"I can see you weren't expecting that one. Yes indeed, my plan was to marry you and become King of Arendelle."

"And then kill me after the marriage?" Elsa sassily responded. Hans shrugged.

"Not if I didn't have to."

"Are you serious?" Elsa wasn't sure to believe him.

"Of course. Why would I? I want to be king not having the country chasing me with torches and pitchforks. If I could be king for the rest of my life with no trouble that's a victory in my book," Hans casually answered. Elsa raised an eyebrow to this.

"But when I realized that you weren't exactly going to be sociable I thought I'd try to marry Anna, which turned out to be a lot easier than I expected." Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Well that's an understatement. Even I didn't expect her to try to get married to you hours after you met. I'm sure you planned my demise for soon after." Her sarcastic remarks earned Hans's unsaid approval.

"At some point, yes. So I could rule Arendelle with Anna. Well I would rule. I don't think she'd be interested in that."

"Do you even know what ruling a country entails? All the meetings, talking to advisors every day, having to make difficult rulings, stressful negotiations with neighboring countries." She rambled, getting more dramatic as she listed all the things that stressed her out during her rule. "It's a lot more than sitting on a throne looking pretty," Elsa felt Hans didn't have a full grasp on the responsibilities of ruling a country.

"So you think I'm pretty?" Hans said eagerly. Elsa almost laughed at the response.

"Maybe if you wash your face a little," Elsa jokingly said motioning her hand over her face to mimic washing her face. Hans smiled smugly. He hadn't had this much fun in years.

"To answer your question, Elsa, I am very familiar with how countries run. I've observed how my elder brothers run things. Well my sane brothers. I've studied politics and negotiation tactics and I think I'm pretty good at handling people."

"Well former Prince Hans I'd be glad to take a day off and let you run things then. Just as long as you don't usurp my throne," the snow queen taunted. Hans continued to smile.

"I can't make any promises."

"That's very reassuring," Elsa sarcastically spat. Hans put his hands up in a shrug.

"What can I say? I just want to be king."

"Enough to kill?"

"It was only because you were such a dangerous opponent," Hans spoke in a playful tone.

"Oh, so we're rivals now?" Elsa laughed internally at the idea.

"Well I'd love to be your rival."

"Sorry Hans I'm not taking on a new rival. Stress is already enough of one."

"Then how about a friend? I'd love to be a friend."

He can't honestly be serious, Elsa thought to herself. She found herself amused at the banter.

"Friend?" Elsa laughed, unable to take Hans' last line seriously. "You tried to kill me and my sister."

"Ah, it was worth a try," Hans said, almost sounding disappointed.

"Worth a try? Why would you think that?"

"Because, Queen, you seem to be awfully interested in our little talk here," Hans locked eyes with Elsa. She might be mistaken but she was actually… enjoying talking to him. After getting past the initial topic this turned out to be quite relaxing. But she would watch herself to make sure Hans isn't trying to manipulate her. Elsa shifted in her seat and uncrossed her legs. She finally answered Hans' remark.

"Touché, Hans. I am liking this conversation," the snow queen admitted, easier than she had expected.

"Then perhaps we can do this again."

"When would you propose we do this again?" Elsa was curious to what his response was going to be.

"Tomorrow. You bring the wine and I'll make dinner," Hans replied as if there was nothing odd about any of this.

"I'm afraid I can't. I'll be very busy," the queen responded.

"Well then when will you be free?" Hans sounded honest when he said that. Elsa wasn't quite prepared to give an honest answer.

"It would be a while. I don't- I don't know," now she was unsure. Should she even humor the idea?

"We could write," Hans suggested. Elsa got the feeling that this wasn't a joke and he was seriously suggesting this. It was like a negotiation and he was trying to get her to come back. Hans didn't look like a man who was playing a game right now. And she had noticed that he hadn't been mirroring her as much as he had the last time they talked.

"…I can do that," Elsa relented. Part of her screamed that this was a bad idea, but a bigger part of her wanted this. While she loves Anna, she doesn't want to burden her with her problems. Hans smiled.

"Just tell Kristan so he can bring me things to write you with," Hans didn't want to be too open but he was hoping to get to talk to her again. Elsa has been one of the few good things since he was imprisoned.

"I can't visit anytime soon though," the queen responded. Truthfully, she couldn't. She was pushing it with this trip. If she kept coming back saying she was negotiating deals would be a joke of an excuse. If she was going to come back she would have to be more careful. "But I'll see about it."

"Good," was Hans' simply reply. He locked eyes with Elsa. She noticed that despite his demeanor he seemed worn and exhausted.

It's getting late, Elsa thought.

"I apologize Hans, but I should be going. I'll need to be back soon," the queen calmly said as she rose from her seat. With a wave of her hand the ice chair disappeared.

"And now our pleasant conversation comes to an end," Hans said with an overly enthusiastic smile. His eyes betrayed him. Elsa knew he was sad she was leaving.

Who would have thought? Elsa pondered.

Before the snow queen turned to leave, a thought came to her.

"Hans, you should really talk to your brothers. At least Kristan and Niels." Elsa subconsciously held her breath, wondering if bringing this up was a bad idea. Hans scoffed.

"And why? To have them try to 'fix' me? To waste my time trying to make up for a lifetime of not caring?" Hans spat. Elsa felt her heart sink. She had ruined the mood. But that wasn't going to stop her.

"Because I know at the very least that Kristan and Niels care. Kristan wants to help you. When I finally opened up to Anna after years of keeping her out of my life things became so much easier." Elsa saw Hans look down. He seemed upset. Not out of anger, as far as she could tell, but more out of some kind of internal struggle. He didn't respond.

Hans hated it when people told him to listen to his brothers. Of course, he knows they want to help him. Of course, they're doing everything in their power to make things easier. But after all the things he went through, after all the suffering, was he supposed to just accept that help? If Hans had one thing to cling to, it was his pride, no matter how much easier giving it up would make things.

Elsa saw that he was going to have to sit on that.

"Well prince Hans, I bid you farewell. I'll… write when I can," Elsa ended the conversation, wishing that Hans would be more open to help. She curtsied and turned to leave the cell, her heels seeming to click louder on the dirty stone than they did coming in, ringing through the quiet dungeon.

But before leaving she paused and turned back to face Hans.

"Hans…. Don't be the monster they fear you are," Elsa echoed his own words with genuine care.

Hans watched as Elsa's ice dress sparkled in the dull light before disappearing around the corner.

I'd like to dedicate this fic to my friend Karina. She's the reason I started writing this in the first place. And I'd like to thank my beta reader Amy for helping me with this.

This is where the real Helsa stuff starts happening so look forward to more of that in the future. I have a lot of fun writing Hans and Elsa interacting.