"She suspects you."
He says it calmly, but suddenly. All the better to make the other man flinch. And flinch, he does. The Prince finds he enjoys the sight. He has never liked the ice-deliverer anyway. Not because of the reason that the princess assumes, however. It had been mildly narcissistic of her to assume that he is simply jealous. As if he can be, of such a man!
No, he dislikes him for the same reason that the Queen's suspicions have fallen on him. The man is loyal. Too much for his own good, one can argue. But his loyalties lie in a strange place. With the creatures he considers his family. A loyalty that is easy to exploit.
"Who does?"
The man has gone pale, now. His hands are shaking, and not from the cold.
"Not the one you fear. The princess has no inkling of your deeds. The Queen, however..."
He pauses deliberately. The man who stares back at him has pure terror in eyes. Just the expression that had been in the princess' eyes all those years ago, when he had broken the cold, hard truth to her.
"She will have your head, if her suspicions are confirmed, you know." He is really enjoying it far too much. A voice at the back of his mind reminds him that the Queen thought he had been reformed. He is not sure she herself believes it completely, but he knows that if she saw him now, it would be a work of mere moments for her to send him away to his brother's dungeon.
But he takes the risk anyway. The simple curiosity of where this path would lead him, is enough to make it worth it. The thrill of working for the Queen, on her own orders, while also working directly against her, is beautiful.
"I could, of course, try to convince her otherwise. She just might listen to the man who she brought to detect this in the first place."
It was an offer, one that Kristoff will not have the choice to refuse. The peasant, for he will never be anything more than one, is furious at his own helplessness. The Prince, however, had anticipated this, knowing his enemy well enough to realise the self-dependent pride he holds in his heart. It makes it all the more interesting to watch the emotions dance across the sullen face.
The silence is broken moments later by a plea, barely vocalised.
"Help me, please."
Notes: RL has been keeping me extremely busy, so apologies for the delayed update! But we finally have some politics brewing!
Hope you like it!