Chapter 16: The House of Westergaard

No marriage? It just didn't make any sense. How can Hans rule Arendelle when he's not married to the Queen? Anna's thoughts reeled with confusion. "Hans, I don't understand..."

Hans stood up and paced the room again. "You told me about Elsa's situation with the future of Northern Isles. Well, my brothers are also aware that Elsa can become its next queen, and possibly rule as its regent if she has a son who could inherit both Arendelle and the Northern Isles. Arendelle itself is only a small country that has never been an important player politically or economically, but the Northern Isles is different."

Anna nodded. She understood the significance of the Northern Isles when Elsa married Knudsvig. "Elsa told me the Northern Isles has a formidable navy, a strategic port and natural resources that can be the envy of any country in Scandinavia."

"She's quite right," Hans agreed. "The Northern Isles itself is already a prize but by joining with Arendelle it will become the solid trade gateway of the north, an economic and political power in the region. And it can be united under the rule of one precious child."

He stopped pacing and stared back at her. "There lies the opportunity. My opportunity... to sire that child and pass him off as Knudsvig's."

Anna's mouth fell open with the shock of that revelation. Hans was being used as a... Oh heavens! I can't even say it... like a stud horse to a mare for a purpose! It was simply degrading!

"I'm not the first Westergaard forced to do this," he continued. "Haven't you realized it by now given our history? The Westergaards marry into a throne if they could. If not, they sire children who will inherit one. That's how we keep alliances with nations for generations."

Anna couldn't imagine that this extended even beyond Hans. "You mean there are others among your brothers who have done this?"

"You have no idea," he chuckled mirthlessly. He sat down to be at level with her. "Promise me, you'll tell no one on what I'll tell you. My brothers' lives and their children can be put in danger if anyone knew."

"I promise," Anna solemnly nodded.

"Almost every royal family in Europe is littered by secret Westergaard bastards. Case in point: Czar Alexander of Russia. He's half Westergaard and he knows it. His grandfather is also a Westergaard."

"Czar Alexander? But his grandmother was Empress Ekaterina the Great, the one who united Russia." Anna had read about famous Russian empress and admired her strength for ruling alone without a husband by her side. It was one of the history lessons that Anna had been interested in before.

"A formidable woman like your sister," Hans agreed. "But also a lonely, dissatisfied wife. She's had several lovers in her lifetime and one of them was my great uncle, who as a typical Westergaard, charmed his way into her bedchamber and gave her the son she needed to become regent of Russia. Of course, the son Peter proved to be just as inept as a lover with his own wife. So my second brother Einar came to the Russian court and cheered up his poor missis. Nine months later the future Czar Alexander was born. He secretly grew up under the tutelage and influence of Einar. If you ever wondered why Caleb took away my family name before he sent me off to this war, this was one of the reasons. He couldn't risk the Russians finding out a Westergaard fought against them and even worse, that soldier was the blood uncle of their own king."

"But the Southern Isles openly declared for Emperor Bonaparte against Russia," Anna pointed.

"Well that couldn't be helped," Hans said with a roll of his eyes. "Caleb plays it safe and had to declare for Napoleon because he was the dominating ruler but that didn't mean he wasn't also supporting the Russians on the side. Either way, Caleb has an ace because while the Czar is his nephew he also has my other brother Jurgen deep into the French Emperor's household should Napoleon emerge as the victor of this conflict."

Anna caught the hint. "How deep into Emperor Bonaparte's household exactly?" she asked.

Hans shrugged. "Let's just say that Napoleon's angelic son and heir doesn't have a drop of Corsican blood in his veins."

"My goodness!" Anna muttered. "The Russian Czar and the next ruler of France..."

"Both my brothers' children. Of course little Napoleon Francois may not get to claim that empire after this fiasco of a war. I'm not too worried about Jurgen. He's probably set his sights on some Austrian princess by now."

Anna shuddered. The way Hans told it, the behavior of his brothers held no shock value for him. She couldn't imagine how he could have grown up knowing he would be used this way to further his family's political influence. "You sound as if this was a normal thing?"

"It is in my family," Hans sullenly replied. "My brothers and I were raised to exploit the vulnerability of women in unhappy marriages. Evidently, a lot of them are married to powerful men who haven't the time to spare for their own families. The society we live in cares little for the personal happiness of royal wives and their children. Until a child grows to become someone imported, most are shunted to the side by their royal fathers. So if a neglected child sees a man who pays attention to him and treats his mother better than his father, who do you think that child will turn to for advice once he grows to adulthood and becomes king?"

Anna couldn't believe the audacity of Hans' family. This was no ordinary scheme to take a throne but a continuous vie for power through the influence of a parent with his own child.

"So Elsa was intended for you to exploit," Anna said bitterly. "To be played for her position and for her future son."

"Caleb didn't bother with her before when Arendelle was the only one at stake. It was too insignificant a country in the larger scale of things. However, now that the Northern Isles can also be hers, it is essential for her womb, as Holford puts it, to carry a Westergaard future king."

"Elsa is more than just a 'womb!'" Anna protested indignantly. She resented that her sister was being viewed as an object, just a means to an end.

Hans hung his head and sadly shook it. "I don't see her that way, not anymore. Not after what you've shown me."

"What do you mean?" Anna demanded.

"My brothers knew I wanted Arendelle since I was a boy. It must seem like the perfect plan to them when they found out we've reconnected and became friends. Caleb has spies in Arendelle and I figured one of them intercepted your letter to Elsa about me. I don't know why Elsa invited me to Arendelle. The only explanation I can think of is that my brothers have already set her to think well of me. All I had to do is come with you and charm her."

He paused to meet her eyes though he seemed to make an effort to do so. "I'm not going to lie. I've considered doing it. My brothers are practically handing Arendelle to me and they're giving me a second even more prosperous country as a bonus. Who was I to say no? So I kept my distance from you since New Year. I didn't want you near me to remind me of what you've made me see."

"And what exactly is that?" Anna asked. She suddenly felt like she was looking at a lost little boy. Hans looked so vulnerable when he spoke again.

"The possibility of another kind of life. One where I don't need to sell my body for power, where I don't need to deceive a woman that had treated me with mercy and gave me a second chance to live even when I don't deserve it. A life where maybe... just maybe… I can find a love of my own… like you have."

Anna didn't know what to say to that. She can never imagine she could inspire Hans to see that possibility. She reached out and held his hand. "Hans, you can have that life."

She could see his eyelids glisten with unshed tears and he fought to blink them away. "I know, and I will pursue it. That's why I can't come with you. I'm not going to let Caleb use me as his instrument anymore. Elsa doesn't deserve to be played. I can't... I won't do that. I owe my life to her. I owe it to your father who loved me in his own way. And I owe it to you for the kindness you've shown me."

"What will you do then?" Anna asked. Though she was touched by his declaration, she couldn't help but think of Caroline and the possibility that Hans was just abandoning one potential queen to marry another.

Hans shrugged. "Go back to the army. It won't be long anyway before Caleb finds out I disobeyed him and rescinds my pardon. I might as well be where I should be serving my sentence." He reached into his coat pocket and handed her a folded piece of paper. "My old commander Marshal Bernadotte, now the Crown Prince of Sweden has invited me to join his regiment in his adopted country. I leave the same afternoon as you do but on a different ship."

Anna read the page he gave her. It was an official transfer for Hans to the regiment stationed in Sweden. The details of the ship that will take him there was just as what he said.

"You're not staying here?" she asked.

"There's no reason for me to..." He stopped abruptly and eyed her knowingly. "You thought I was trying to marry Caroline?"

Anna nodded hesitantly. "It... it crossed my mind."

He gave a defeated sigh. "Anna, you don't have to worry about Caroline. I have no romantic designs on her. She's just a child."

"So was I when I met you," Anna argued. "And I was even younger than she is now."

He clasped her hand firmly. "Anna, I swear to you, I have no desire to have any relationship with Caroline other than be her friend. King Frederick may like me well enough but he knows who I really am and he would never let me marry her even if I wanted to. I just spent three days hunting with him and during that time he made it quite clear for me to stay away from her which I promised I will. He knows I'm leaving."

Anna was a bit relieved but was not entirely convinced. "What if Caleb asks you to go after her instead?"

"He'll never do that," Hans said without missing a beat.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because she can never inherit her father's crown."

Anna raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? But she's his eldest daughter. Uncle Frederick doesn't have living sons."

"Technically that's not accurate. He does have a son through his mistress."

Anna gasped at this revelation.

Hans just gave a dismissive wave. "Look that's beside the point. His bastard is insignificant but Caroline is one as well. She can never be queen because the Danish Salic Law doesn't allow women to rule unlike the laws of Arendelle. If Uncle Frederick dies without a legitimate son, the crown passes to his cousin. Caleb knows that well so Caroline's place in the succession is too trivial for my brother to even bother. And then there's the second reason Caleb won't send me or any of my brothers to go after Caroline."

"And what's that?"

Hans smiled uncomfortably. "Caleb draws the line on pairing us with really close relations like siblings or our immediate offspring. Caroline is well... my niece."

Anna was confused. "I thought you said she was your cousin?"

Hans raised an eyebrow and Anna got what he was hinting. "Oh heavens no! She can't also be..."

"Brother number eight, Franz is her real father. He was a failure because he wasn't able to produce sons so the kingdom of Denmark-Norway is still relatively without a secret Westergaard future king. Caroline doesn't know and it's best that it stayed that way."

Anna felt like she was gut punched. No royal family seemed to be safe from the Westergaards. It got her suddenly worried of her own mother and how she must have felt at the beginning of her marriage. "Hans, Elsa and I... we're not also Westergaards, are we?"

Hans shook his head. "No. Thank goodness. As I said, Arendelle is a relatively small country, not significant enough to risk the scandal of a clandestine Westergaard secret child when a legal marriage will do. That's why Caleb agreed to send me to Elsa's coronation in the first place to marry her. But I failed doing that so I suppose this is his punishment for me."

Anna clutched at his hand tighter. "So you're going back to the army. You've heard what the soldiers in the war office are saying. War can break out again any moment. Hans, you can't go back into battle. You can be killed!"

"Maybe," he said. He signed with resignation. "But that's what a common soldier's life is and it's the one I'd rather have. At least, this way, I'll be free. Caleb may offer me a life of prosperity and power but if I do his bidding to father Elsa's child, I will forever be under Caleb's control or risk the exposure of my child. I won't do that."

"Then don't," Anna said firmly as a plan formed into her head. Hans doesn't have to go back to his old life as a soldier. He can make a new home with me and Elsa where he can be safe. And maybe he's just the right person I need to help Elsa out of the pickle she's in. He's so brilliant, he's bound to think of ways to solve Elsa's problem. "You don't have to risk your life again in battle to be free of your brother. Come home to Arendelle with me. We'll tell Elsa what you told me and she'll understand. Caleb won't know you disobeyed him."

Hans gave her a surprised look. "You trust me enough that I'm not going to go after your sister after what I told you?"

"You told me, that's all I need, Hans. I trust you," she emphasized.

Hans no longer blinked away his tears. "And I promise you, I will always try to live up to that trust. Thank you." He bit his lip uncomfortably and they seemed to have fallen into an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Hans spoke again, hesitantly: "Anna, there's something you should—"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a knock at the door. A servant opened it and bowed before them. "Colonel Jorgenbjorgen?"

Hans stood up. "What is it?"

"A messenger arrived from the war office, sir." He held out a tray with a letter. "He said you are to report immediately to the officers' barracks tonight."

"Tonight? But it's almost dinner time. Can it wait until morning?" Anna protested.

Hans, however, only tore open the message and read through it. He looked to Anna and gave her an apologetic look before he turned to the servant. "Tell the messenger I'll be out in fifteen minutes. I just need to pick up a few things."

The servant bowed and showed himself out.

"Hans, what's wrong?" Anna asked. His serious demeanor could only mean something bad and she feared the worst.

"General Yorck, one of the Prussian commanders signed an armistice with the Russian army two days before the New Year but the word got out only now. It's a sign the Prussians are now turning against France." He held out the letter. "This order came from Marshal Ney himself. He's at the war office right now and he's ordering the officers back to the barracks to reassure our loyalty."

Anna had met Marshal Ney before and knew he was one of Emperor Bonaparte's closest commanders. She didn't exactly understand what Hans meant by reassuring their loyalty but it must be serious if one of the highest ranking officers were sending out urgent messages for them to come. "Will… will you be okay?"

He smiled reassuringly at her. "It's nothing, just a random check in. Ney is getting a little skittish over this armistice and wants to see his officers in person. He just wants to make sure we're not planning a coup against the Emperor. I have to go but I'll be back tomorrow, I promise and we can talk more then."

"If you say so," Anna said though she still felt uncertain. "Just be careful alright." She gave him a brief hug then let him go.

She watched him disappear into the corridor towards his quarters and she couldn't shake off the feeling that something about tomorrow will not go as smoothly as he said. She went back into the tea room and sat down, reeling at the revelations that Hans told her tonight. It was quite a lot to take in.

"Anna?" an apprehensive voice came from behind her and she turned to see Caroline had returned. She glanced at the room in confusion. "Where's Colonel Jorgenbjorgen?"

"He was recalled back to the barracks tonight," Anna replied. "He had to leave immediately."

Disappointment immediately showed on the younger girl's face. "So he's not coming to dinner?"

Anna suddenly pitied her poor cousin. "I'm afraid not. He just left to pack a few things. He's going straight away to the war office." Anna was about to reassure her Hans will be back tomorrow when she remembered who exactly Caroline was to Hans and why she ought not to encourage the poor girl any further.

"He's not coming back, is he?" the girl was almost close to tears. "Papa made him leave!"

"Made him leave?" Anna was confused. "No, Caroline, he was recalled by his superiors."

But the girl shook her head. "Because Papa asked them to! He doesn't want me near the Colonel and he just told me to stay away from him. That's why he had Leontina call me and Villy."

Anna had a feeling Caroline may be right, but she couldn't blame Uncle Frederick for keeping her cousin away from Hans, even if her uncle didn't know that Caroline wasn't really his daughter. Hans' previous reputation was enough to send any parent to take precautions against a possible unwanted suitor like him.

"I won't let Papa dictate to me what he wants!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Look, Caroline," Anna said gently. "Maybe he has a point…"

However, her cousin didn't seem to hear her. "He may still be in his room. I can still catch him and tell him he can write to me if he wants."

"Caroline, I don't think that's a good idea…" Anna never got to finish her sentence for her cousin had taken off running towards Hans' assigned apartment. She rolled her eyes and followed after the love sick girl.

Anna caught up to her by the time they reached the guest wing. Caroline stood outside of Hans' room speaking to a manservant. He was explaining that Hans had already left with just a small bag. The younger princess' shoulders slumped as she dismissed the servant.

"Papa said he was no good for me," Caroline said dejectedly. "He said Colonel Jorgenbjorgen is already engaged to someone else, but I know he was lying. Papa twitches his nose when he's lying and he did it three times when I demanded to know why I shouldn't' be friends with the Colonel."

Anna had to give her uncle credit for being creative but he didn't have to be that creative to get Caroline to stay away from Hans. She contemplated just telling Caroline the truth, well at least the partial truth where she was once engaged to Hans and how that had ended.

"Maybe I can prove Papa's lying. If Colonel Jorgenbjorgen is really engaged, he should have some token in his room from his beloved. If I don't find anything then maybe he's free." Caroline continued. Before Anna could even react, Caroline had entered Hans' room and began riffling through his drawers.

Anna could only shake her head at the girl's audacity and lack of common sense. Not finding anything from a fiancé doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a fiancé. "Caroline, this is ridiculous, we shouldn't even be here! Come on let's go, we can talk about this outside."

However, the girl still wasn't listening. "I found a letter!" she shouted triumphantly as she pulled a piece of paper from one of the drawers.

"Caroline, this isn't appropriate. You shouldn't be reading that." Anna complained but the girl didn't heed her and still read the letter.

"I don't get it," the younger princess said, her nose wrinkling with confusion.

"Of course you don't, it's not meant for you!" Anna scolded. "Now just put it back where you got it."

But the girl shook her head. "No, I mean it has your name." She handed the letter to Anna.

"What do you mean it has my name?" Anna asked. She knew she should return the letter but her curiosity could no longer be satisfied. She opened the piece of paper and saw it was a short note with just three lines that gave her an instant chill as she read them:

A Westergaard through and through. Bravo Hans!

Lieutenant Kristoff Bjorgman.

- Holford

Author's Note: I threw in a lot of historical characters in this chapter so I should give them some proper context. I mentioned in the previous chapter about Catherine the Great and the way she came to power through her son. Throughout her life there have been rumors that her son was not really fathered by her husband because she did have quite a number of lovers. I conceived the idea that one of them was actually a Westergard and went even further to imagine that another Westergard also ended up fathering her grandchild. As for Napoleon's son Napoleon Francois, there is no evidence to support that he had another father other than Napoleon. However, Napoloeon's marriage to Marie Louise of Austria was also a typical political union. In fact she married him initially by proxy. As Napoleon was away from his wife for quite some time and given their age gap (he was 41, she was 19), it's easy to imagine she's also trapped in a loveless marriage. Of course, the one detail that cemented the idea to me that Napoleon's son could be a Westergard is hair color. Try Googling a picture of Napoleon's son and you'll see he's a redhead when the Corsica-born Napoleon is dark haired while Marie Louise is a brunette.

Princess Caroline of Denmark-Norway's parentage is also a product of my own imagination as there was no evidence that she was sired by anyone but King Frederick. However, what Hans mentioned about Danish Salic Law is accurate. Caroline never inherited the crown because she was a woman. Since she and her sister were also both childless, the crown of Denmark passed on to their father's next legitimate male relation.

The War of 6th Coalition began with the Convention of Taurogen on December 30, 1812 when Prussian General Ludvig Yorck von Wartenburg decided to sign an armistice with the Russian army, which eventually led Prussia to go against France. I tried to imagine how the now paranoid French army would have reacted to such news. Certainly the French Marshals (these are the highest ranking officers in the French army) would want to recall their subordinates as soon as possible to ensure they are not also switching sides. Marshal Michel Ney that I mentioned is one of Napoleon's closest commanders and was with him up to the decisive battle of Waterloo in 1815. Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, on the other hand, was also one of Napoleon's top generals who led quite a different path from Ney. He was elected as crown prince of Sweden when the Swedish line was dying out. He eventually betrayed Napoleon and led Sweden to join the War of the 6th Coalition. He later became King of Sweden and Norway (even if he's French) and established the Bernadotte dynasty. His descendants are still the ruling monarchs of Sweden up to this day.

This is one of those revelatory chapters in this story as I've managed to explain most of the mysteries I've left hanging, but I still have a few more to go. Hope you all enjoy it. I appreciate all your reviews and I'm glad I am prompting you to think of the plots I have in store. What do you think of this latest mystery I've dropped?