Anna and Kristoff shivered as they trudged forlornly through the snow, surrounded by Lieutenant Verner and his soldiers from the Southern Isles who were all comfortably mounted on horseback. Neither Anna nor Kristoff were dressed for winter, and they were both very cold. Anna's toes were going numb in her light summer shoes. Even though she knew she had been colder, that was of little comfort. She found herself silently cursing her sister for creating another winter storm before reminding herself that Elsa wouldn't have done it unless she was in danger. There was no longer any doubt in Anna's mind that Elsa was in danger. They were all in danger.
"Where are you taking us?" Anna asked Verner.
"Silence!" the lieutenant snapped in response.
The forest suddenly opened up into a clearing and they found themselves approaching a small village on a narrow fjord. The tiny rustic cottages and sheds were more primitive than the houses in the city near the castle that Anna was used to seeing.
"Where are we?" Anna whispered to Kristoff.
"This is Lillehaven," Kristoff whispered back.
"Lillehaven?" Anna thought back to her geography lessons. "That's on the edge of Arendelle. Why would they bring us here?"
"Well, your sister did put up a wall," Kristoff pointed out. "Lillehaven is the next closest port."
As they were led through the village, Anna noticed that soldiers in Southern Isles uniforms vastly outnumbered the residents of Lillehaven. Still dressed in their summer clothing, the townsfolk had been put to work in the cold weather tending horses, preparing food, and moving supplies for the invaders. Occasionally, Anna's eyes met those of one of toiling citizens, and she could feel their hopelessness and despair. She wondered if any of them realized who she was. She thought about calling attention to herself, but she didn't really think it would improve her situation and she realized that knowing their princess was imprisoned would just add to the people's misery.
At the Lillehaven waterfront, a single wooden dock jutted out into the fjord. Tied to the dock was the largest ship either Anna or Kristoff had ever seen. Its four masts towered like trees over the massive dark hull. Anna squinted up at the flag at the top of the main mast. It was a blue pennant with a gold fleur-de-lis. Anna recognized it as the flag of the Southern Isles. She looked out at the fjord, where four smaller frigates sat at anchor, all flying the same flag.
Anna and Kristoff were marched down the dock and up the gangplank onto the huge vessel. Kristoff was surprised to find that much of the main deck was taken up with large cargo hatches. The hatches were all securely closed and covered, so he couldn't get a look down into the hold, but it made him curious as to what cargo the ship was intended to carry. They were led toward the stern of the ship and down a ladder to a small brig that was separated from the cargo hold by a bulkhead with a door secured by heavy crossbars. Oil lanterns on the bulkhead provided dim lighting and also managed to keep the confined space slightly warmer than the frigid weather outside. A gate of iron bars formed a cell that Anna and Kristoff promptly found themselves locked inside.
The cell was small and spartan. Aside from the iron gate, the walls were bare wood. The only furnishing was a single narrow wooden bench secured along one wall, offering sleeping space for only one person. A tiny barred window high on the back wall let in the cold air from the outside.
"What is the meaning of this?" Anna asked Verner.
"You'll find out soon enough," Verner replied.
Another figure descended the ladder, his back to them. He wore a different uniform than the other Southern Isles soldiers, and Anna reasoned it was a Southern Isles naval uniform, though as he reached the bottom of the ladder and started to turn, Anna noticed there was no rank insignia on the sleeves of his jacket. He was carrying a tray, which he looked down at as he turned. Between his posture and the dim lighting, Anna could not clearly see his face. Eventually he looked up, and Anna saw a face she had hoped never to see again.
"Hans," Anna hissed. "I should have known."
"Hello, Anna," Hans said, a hint of melancholy in his voice.
Anna noticed there was something different about Hans. It was almost as if he was another person. Gone was the confidence and the arrogance that she had seen in him before. Now he seemed timid, almost broken. He could barely look her in the eye. She wasn't sure what to make of him. She wasn't about to let herself fall for another one of his tricks.
"I brought you something to eat," Hans said.
Hans set the tray down on the floor in front of the cell and slid it under the gate. On the tray were some rations and a couple of tin cups filled with water.
"It's going to be a little hard to eat like this," Anna said, holding up her arms to show that her wrists were still tied together.
Hans glanced at Verner.
"Really?" Hans asked Verner, who simply shrugged in response. Hans turned back to Anna. "Here," he said, reaching through the bars to untie her.
"Why are you doing this?" Anna asked.
"I thought you might be hungry," Hans replied as he untied Kristoff.
"Not that," Anna said. "Why did you come here? Why did you have us captured?"
"None of this was my idea," Hans said. "After what happened, do you really think I would ever want to return to Arendelle?"
"You tried to take over Arendelle once," Anna said angrily. "Why wouldn't you try again?"
"Your people would never accept me as their king now," Hans said. "They all know what I did." He looked Anna in the eye and held her gaze for the first time. "I know it won't make up for anything, but I want you to know I'm sorry, for everything."
Anna didn't know what to say. She never expected Hans to apologize. She was even more surprised that he actually seemed sincere. Still, she had trouble believing him. He had tricked her before.
"You're just sorry you got caught," Anna eventually said, practically spitting the words at him.
"Maybe you're right," Hans said. "I'm not sure I could tell the difference. But, I still didn't want to come back to Arendelle."
"Why should I believe you?" Anna asked angrily.
"Because he's telling the truth," came a voice from the top of the ladder.
A figure in a dark gray cloak climbed down the ladder and turned to face them. Beneath the cloak he was dressed in a gray Southern Isles military uniform. A broadsword hung off his belt in a scabbard. A helmet made of a dull silver-colored scale-like material sat incongruously on his head. Anna thought the helmet looked like something out of a museum, or maybe an illustration from a book of ancient myths. The man walked up to the cell without hesitation, roughly shoving Hans out of the way.
"Princess Anna of Arendelle, I presume?" the stranger began. "It is an honor to meet you. I am Prince Anton of the Southern Isles. Welcome aboard the Valkyrie."
Prince Anton looked very much like his brother Hans, though he was visibly older and had a more muscular build and dark brown hair that was almost black. His pointed nose was bent downwards as if it had been broken in the past and had not healed correctly. But what Anna was most struck by was the way he spoke. Though the words themselves were perfectly cordial and exactly what she would expect to hear from a prince, he spat them with such unveiled contempt that for a moment she was taken aback and found herself speechless. That moment quickly passed, however, and her sense of outrage returned.
"You have some nerve invading Arendelle, enslaving the people of Lillehaven and locking up the crown princess!" Anna said angrily.
"And me," Kristoff added sheepishly.
"Yeah! And him!" Anna shouted, pointing at Kristoff.
"Ah, you have such spirit!" Anton said with an evil grin. "I like it!" He turned to Hans. "You should have married her when you had the chance." Without giving Hans a chance to respond, Anton moved on to Lieutenant Verner. "Did they give you any trouble?" he asked.
"Nothing I couldn't handle, sir," Verner replied. "We found them right where you said we would. Patrolling the wall was a brilliant strategy."
"Of course it was," Anton said smugly. "Well done, Verner. You may go."
"Yes, sir," said Verner. He motioned to his men to follow him up the ladder, leaving only Anton and Hans.
"I am sorry if Verner was a bit rough with you," Anton said to Anna, though she found his apology insincere. "I want you to know that I don't really think of the two of you as prisoners. You're more like guests."
"If we're guests, that must mean we're free to leave," Anna said defiantly.
"I said you're like guests," Anton replied. "There is a difference. But, rest assured you will be treated well as long as you're here."
"So, why are we here?" Anna asked. "Is this part of some plan to restore your brother's reputation after what he did?"
"This isn't about Hans," Anton said. "I don't care about his reputation. He's only here because he's been to Arendelle before, and I thought that might make him useful, so I asked my brother Fredrick to assign Hans to me as my assistant. Hans is in no position to resist. He's been sentenced to hard labor ever since her returned from Arendelle. I'm sure this is an improvement over shoveling manure."
"I'd rather be working in the stables than here with you," Hans muttered. "The stable hands were kinder to me than you've ever been. Out of all our brothers, you were always the most cruel."
"Oh, you're still here?" Anton said to Hans, genuinely surprised by his continued presence. "Don't you have something else you should be doing?"
"Yes, Brother," Hans replied submissively.
"Then go," Anton said, shoving Hans toward the ladder with such force that the younger brother stumbled and fell to the deck. Anton chuckled as his brother crashed into the ladder. As Hans got up, Anna saw a look of defeat on his face, and for a split second she actually felt sorry for him before silently reminding herself of what he had done. As Hans climbed up the ladder and disappeared out of sight, Anna realized that he hadn't been lying when he told her about the way his brothers treated him.
"So, if you're not trying to help Hans, what are you doing here?" Anna asked Anton.
"I'm here to restore my own reputation, along with that of the Southern Isles." Anton replied.
"I don't understand," Anna said.
"Then allow me to explain," Anton said. "I am second in line to the throne of the Southern Isles, but with my brother Fredrick destined to be king, I knew I had to make a name for myself. While Fredrick learned the art of diplomacy from our father, I did the dirty work and brought back the spoils of war. I expanded our empire and helped fight for our allies. If there was a battle to be won, I won it, and wherever I went I received a hero's welcome. Now, as you might imagine, I had my choice of any number of available princesses to take as my bride. But I didn't want to marry just any princess; I wanted to marry my way into the throne of a powerful kingdom. After many years, I finally became engaged to the princess of Zaragosa, the heir to the throne of a kingdom whose power rivaled our own. It was a union that would ultimately make me as influential a king as my brother would be."
"Now," Anton continued, "when the Southern Isles first received the invitation to your sister's coronation, we really had no intention of sending anyone at all. Arendelle was too small and insignificant to concern ourselves with. But, Hans volunteered to go, which was no surprise. He volunteered to attend every royal event he heard about in hopes of meeting a princess of his own and marrying his way to a throne, and we let him. After all, how much damage could he possibly do? Well, now we know. When the king and queen of Zaragosa heard what Hans had done, they began to question whether they wanted to be seen associating with anyone from the Southern Isles. They ended up calling off the wedding and sending me away in disgrace. I was upset. I was angry. But, eventually I realized I had other options. Or at least I thought I did. The story of what Hans did in Arendelle had quickly spread throughout the world, and I ended up being judged by my brother's actions rather than my own. I soon found out that despite everything I had done, I wasn't welcome anywhere anymore, and I had no choice but to return home with no prospects and no purpose."
"I agree that's not fair," Anna said, "though it's hard to have any sympathy for you while we're locked in your brig. But, Hans did leave me for dead and try to kill my sister. None of that is Arendelle's fault."
"You're right," Anton agreed. "None of it is your fault. It was Hans. But, nothing I can do to Hans will change anything. Believe me, I've tried. No matter how much we punish Hans, there will still be a powerful queen with the ability to turn any kingdom that opposes her into a frozen wasteland."
"Elsa would never do that!" Anna protested.
"It doesn't matter whether she would or not," Anton said. "It only matters that she can. And just look at what she's done to her own land. No one is willing to risk being next, so they've all turned their backs on the Southern Isles."
"So, your father and brother just gave you permission to conquer Arendelle?" Anna asked incredulously.
"Of course not," Anton said. "They don't know anything about this. Fredrick says we need to be patient, and work to restore our relationships diplomatically, and of course our father agrees with Fredrick. He always agrees with Fredrick. But I don't need their permission. These are my ships, and my men, and I will use them to do what my brother won't."
"And you think Elsa's just going to surrender because you have me?" Anna asked.
"No. I don't," Anton replied. "I expect her to fight. But, one way or another, she will come for you. And, when she does, I will be ready for her, and I will end her freezing reign."