The City

(A/N: And here we have another H.C. Andersen quote hidden somewhere. And Hans and Elsa spending a good deal of time together. Really don't like the title of this chapter but couldn't come up with anything better. Sorry.)

"Edvard played this game already, Hans. Taking me into town," Elsa teased as the two of them hurried, hand in hand, towards town.

"Edvard. Hah! The man is playing us all for fools. Him and Carl both," Hans said with a scoff.

"How so?" Elsa asked.

"Nobody is that much of a lovesick sap within a few days of meeting a woman... Unless they are, I mean I've seen people like that, but he's not one of them! Believe me. He doesn't believe in love at first sight, as much as he'd have us - and by us I mean the other suitors - believe otherwise; but to get ahead in this suitor business, moving slowly isn't really an option. I wouldn't be surprised if he set up that whole incident with the carriage himself. Why else would Carl just happen to be there at the same time you two were?" Hans asked. "Something doesn't ring true about that."

"You think he put a little girl in danger on purpose?" Elsa incredulously asked.

"Admittedly no. The guy is smart, but he's not without conscience. He genuinely likes you, I believe, perhaps cares for you even. He wouldn't have done something that risked his chance of being the victor if his life depended on it," Hans replied. Besides, the Southern Isles weren't the only nation that would benefit from ties with Arendelle. "The little girl and the puppy just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their presence happened to work out in his favor more than his first plan would have. He adapts."

"Like you, Chameleon Prince," Elsa said.

"He isn't even in my league," Hans answered flatly, looking slightly jealous; and defensive of his title. "I'm of the opinion his original idea was for the carriage to nearly run down Carl. The Duke is clever as well, and ambitious. It isn't unlikely that he and Edvard formed a sort of alliance that guarantees they both make it to the final rounds. Shows of heroics, shows of loyalty despite rivalry, things such as that."

"If all you suspect it true, I'm impressed. I do like a man that goes the distance for me," Elsa said, eyes sparkling teasingly.

"Now you're just being coy," Hans bluntly replied, unimpressed.

Elsa giggled. "Regardless, being taken into town is old now, Admiral," she said.

"Trust me. I have a purpose and a plan," Hans replied.

"Do you?" she asked.

He cringed. "I have a few ideas," he lamely excused.

"Uh huh," she said doubtfully, smirking.

"I do! For instance, it isn't this kingdom we're travelling to," Hans said.

"Wait, really?" she asked, smirk falling to a look of shock as her eyes widened. Say for the Southern Isles, Weselton, and one other place, she'd never really been away from Arendelle. He winked. She heard a bell ringing and gasped. "The train?!" she exclaimed. She'd never been on a train before!

"You'll remember a day with me," Hans replied, grinning back at her. "Uh oh, it's leaving the station. Let's hurry up!"

Frozen

The two of them began to run faster, racing along the platform. "Wait! Wait!" Elsa called at it with a laugh, knowing that no one could hear but trying anyway. They would catch it, after all. She hoped.

"Come on, cut us a break!" Hans called as well, grinning excitedly as the mini thrill of chasing after a moving train consumed them both.

"Hans, we're going to miss it!" Elsa said as it began picking up speed and their window of opportunity shrunk.

"I don't think so," Hans said. An attendant was keeping a door open, having noticed the two. He was giving them a last shot at catching it. "Now!" he said, picking her up suddenly. She gave a little scream as he did so, then realized this was their last opening. She quickly grabbed at the handle of the door and clung to it, pulling herself inside the car with the attendant's aid. She grinned back at Hans and reached out for the prince. He seized her outstretched hand and she pulled him quickly into the coach alongside her, again with the help of the attendant. They shut the door swiftly, as the train began to really pick up speed, then leaned against it in relief. Exchanging looks, the two began to laugh.

"I can't believe we actually did that!" she exclaimed.

"I know!" Hans agreed.

"Ah hem," the attendant said, looking unimpressed and holding out his hand for tickets. Hans cringed and handed them over, innocently grinning. The man rolled his eyes and walked off.

Elsa and Hans watched after him sheepishly then smiled at one another. "Come on. Let's get seated," Hans said.

"I'd rather walk around, honestly," she answered.

"Then let's do that," Hans said. "I haven't been on a locomotive in years. It'll be interesting to see how it's changed." Elsa grinned, and the two of them set off to explore the train.

Frozen

It was about a three hour ride to reach the destination, a city a good distance away from Arendelle. Elsa felt herself being lightly shaken. "Hmm?" she asked eyes flickering open.

"We're there, your Majesty," Hans said to her.

"Where? Oh!" she exclaimed, realizing she'd fallen asleep; and that her head was resting on his shoulder. "Sorry about that," she added, rubbing her eyes.

"It's fine," Hans assured, smiling. The train was slowing to a stop. Elsa pulled out a mirror and began to fix her makeup. "I don't understand why you even bother with that stuff. You're every bit as beautiful without."

She smiled to herself. "You're a man. You wouldn't understand," she teased, finishing up. "Makeup improves everyone's looks. It gives a confidence boost."

"You need one? You're queen, Elsa," Hans said with a laugh.

"I may be queen, but I'm not exactly totally secure about myself even now," Elsa replied, smiling at him. "I've gotten better, since I stopped hiding my powers and just let them go, but still. Come on, let's hurry." Hans nodded and stood with her. The two moved to get off.

Stepping out into the light, Elsa grinned excitedly, looking around. "There are so many people," she said. She felt a thrill being somewhere that was so vastly different from the town where the castle was situated. "I've never really seen much more of Arendelle than the village outside the castle."

"And you'll see farther still, one day. Other kingdoms and possibly countries, even. Travelling is amazing and exciting and fresh and new… I love it. Every part of it," Hans said. "I'll see the world one day, I promise you that. Well, I'll give it a good try, at least."

"If it's like this, take me with you," she said.

"It's better," Hans replied with a grin. "The sights and cultures and different sorts of people… You'd love it."

She was quiet, looking rueful a moment. "I would… But I can't just leave my duties as Queen," she said with a sigh.

"Fortunately, you're not an only child," Hans pointed out.

"You think I could get away with leaving Anna in charge for a while?" Elsa asked.

"Why not? It would be good practice for her," Hans replied. "It'll definitely teach her a lot more about responsibility. Then you and your 'king' can wander about; having adventures, forming political ties… Of course you'd probably only get away with that once every year or two, leaving for an extended period, but a lot can be done in that amount of time, if you set your mind to it."

"It sounds wonderful," Elsa mused.

"To move, to breathe, to fly, to live, to gain all while you give. To roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live," Hans said.

"One of yours?" she asked.

"One of mine," he confirmed proudly.

"I love it," she said, with a laugh.

Hans grinned and hailed a coach. He opened the door for her and she climbed in. Hans looked at the driver. "Coachman, what would you recommend first time tourists visit?" Hans asked.

"There's the city square, my lord. It's quite the sight. The theatre is there, or not far from it," the coachman replied.

"What's playing?" Hans questioned.

"Tonight operas. Semiramide is one," the man answered.

"Hmm, a little tragic. The young woman much prefers happy endings," Hans said.

"Euryanthe, an opera, is also set to be performed," the coachman said.

"Still dark, but better. It's very romantic, I've been told, and at least it has a semi-happy ending," Hans said. "Very well, the town square, then," he said. He climbed in after Elsa, and the coachman started off.

Frozen

Elsa looked around the town square, amazed by everything that was going on, but also a little overwhelmed. It was a bigger crowd than she was used to or liked. Hans was no fan of the amount of people either, it seemed. They moved down the street sticking close together, then swiftly Hans dodged into a random building. Elsa followed him. "Wow. Didn't expect the heart of the city to be this big," Hans remarked.

"Well, we found where most of the good shopping is, and restaurants, and other," Elsa said. "Did I see an opera house?"

"You did," Hans replied. "Well, it's a theatre, really. They present more than simply opera there. They also have productions and ballet. Harald Scharff has likely performed there. He's performed everywhere."

"Is he very good?" Elsa asked.

"You'll have to see him dance sometime, without a partner. No one better, or very few," Hans replied.

"Maybe he'll put on a show at that palace," Elsa said.

"In front of the creeps tormenting him? I doubt it," Hans replied. "But I could be wrong. He may do it just to flaunt that honor in their faces."

"About that, your brothers and you really should be more proactive in defending him," Elsa said, frowning.

"He needs practice with hecklers," Hans defended, blushing slightly.

"Not an excuse, Hans," Elsa said.

"I know," Hans said with a sigh. "But you know what the political climate is like for us right now."

"He's your friend," Elsa pointed out. "He's worth taking a risk for."

"Yeah… I know that too…" Hans replied, looking down.

She smiled. "Come on, let's keep going. Maybe reach a quieter part of town and do a little more exploring before this opera you were talking about. I'm actually excited for it," she said, taking his hand and pulling him though the building and out the backway. "I would have liked to see a bit of Comedie-Italliene, I think. Seeing Iscawin wearing Pierrot at the masquerade made me itch for it, I haven't seen it since I was little, but I think I may find this opera just as interesting." They came out onto a much quieter street and smiled approvingly, walking down it side by side. "This place is amazing," she remarked.

"I know," Hans said. "I've seen bigger, though. I've gone to England before, for instance. The place is massive, and it isn't even the largest city around."

"I'd like to see it someday," Elsa said.

"We will; and much more besides," he promised with a smile. "Well, if it's me you choose to marry," he teased as an afterthought.

She smiled but said nothing. Her smile fell to a thoughtful frown. She was… actually seriously considering it… That thought should disturb her, shouldn't it? But it didn't. She was actually finding herself glad he was suddenly taking this suitor game more seriously. He was playing it, now, like he had a chance. He hadn't had one before, she admitted, but now… Would it really be so bad? Ugh, what was she thinking? If Anna ever found out she was considering something like this… She couldn't look at Hans as a serious potential. Not after all he'd done. She had to think about Anna's feelings on the matter. Anna would never be okay with it. There was nothing more important to her than her sister. She wanted Anna to feel safe, not to live her life fearful that Hans would one day become a monster again… But still… She shook her head, focusing on the sights again. She didn't have to look at any of that right now. It could wait for later. For now she just wanted to enjoy her freedom.

Frozen

They stood in a crowd, watching a platform set up in the street. A young woman was there, speaking boldly and passionately about being a woman in a man's world, and about rights and such things as that. Hans and Elsa watched in intrigue, taking in her words. Of course this new order coming to light wasn't anything new - Elsa had been dealing with such matters for some time now, as had her father and mother before her - but it had only really started to begin taking off in Arendelle since the previous king and queen had been on the throne. Perhaps the greatest step had been when her father had ensured his eldest child, boy or girl, would inherit his throne. There had been great protest from the council, but the old king had shut it down immediately.

"What do you think of this ideal that is gaining popularity?" Elsa asked Hans as the woman's speech finished to a rousing applause, which she and the Prince both clapped to. They turned, walking away from the street as the crowd began to disperse.

Hans was silent a moment, thinking. "I believe it has the potential to do many, many good and wonderful things for women the world around… I also think, though, that it has the power to be abused horribly, and warped into something completely out of the realms of what it originally was meant to be."

"Are you frightened it'll become Amazonian in its ideologies?" Elsa teased. "Burn the corsets, down with all men!" she cried out, running ahead and hopping up onto a wall, holding a post as an anchor while leaning out over the edge of it.

Hans, pursuing her, laughed. "My lady queen, how progressive of you!" he said.

"Let's return to the time of the Amazon warriors, where men were cattle and only newborn girls were of any use while the boys were to be disposed of," Elsa said, laughing as well. "Let women kind rise from the ground and annihilate the male presence."

"Now that is a scary thought," Hans remarked. "Perhaps I'm worrying for nothing, but can you blame me? Should it ever come to that, my family line would be doomed you know," he teased.

"You're a paranoid one, aren't you?" Elsa joked. "But I do agree that it has the potential to be abused and warped. True female empowerment doesn't mean burning your underclothes and saying no to marriage or men. I doubt it will get to that level, however, so really you don't have to worry just yet."

He reached up, grinning, and she let him lift her down from the wall. "To be fair to this new ideal, you hardly need a man or marriage to be happy, as much as society would have you think otherwise and push you towards it," he pointed out. Nor did a man need a woman and marriage to be happy, for that matter.

"That's true, but it's nice to have one," Elsa answered, smirking.

"Now Elsa, you're a strong and independent woman who doesn't need any man," Hans said with a grin.

"Mmm hmm. But who says I can't be strong and independent with one?" she asked.

Hans chuckled. "No argument there. Well, not in the regards to the having a man thing, but you get what I mean," he said. She giggled and nodded. Hans was silent a moment, thinking. "Aren't you afraid you'll lose some of your freedom, with marriage?" he wondered. A serious expression crossed over Elsa's face as she took this question in and realized the potential truth in it.

"Maybe a little… But I'm restricted being a queen as it is. If I weren't royalty I'd have more freedom, even if I was married, than I do now as a single woman," Elsa answered.

He cringed then looked at her again. "Elsa," he said. She turned to him. "Even if you weren't a queen, and I wasn't a prince, and we were just a man and woman, you would never be lacking for freedom if you married me. You will be as liberated as if you were still single. I can keep up to you well enough," he continued with a smile.

"Can you now?" she asked, smiling back.

"Perhaps even surpass," he answered.

"That's a challenge I'm willing to take," she said, grinning. You know, she didn't doubt his words… If she married him, yes, she could believe that she would be every bit as free as she was now. She could believe that he wouldn't hold her down. In fact he would perhaps even help lift her up higher, and gain more freedom, than she'd ever thought she would ever have. Even now, with this little excursion, he was doing so. She'd never thought she was free enough to just go off like this to a neighboring city or land for a day. To be fair she probably shouldn't be anyway, but that she knew she could get away with it now, if things became to stressful - she wouldn't run off just because she felt like it, that wasn't responsible in the least - meant a lot to her.

"You can't very well take the challenge if you don't marry me," Hans teased. "Shall I give you a ring and seal the deal?"

"No shortcuts, prince Hans. You go through the process like everyone else," she teased back, grinning down at him.

He chuckled and nodded. "Come on. Let's explore a bit more. We have a while yet before we need to get to the theatre. It is the grandest thing you'll ever see, stunning in every respect. At least, it is if it's anything like the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane in London," he said. Elsa nodded, grinning, and the two walked off again to explore the city more. They both preferred quieter and smaller towns, but the city was a treat if it was experienced only every so often.

Meanwhile

The triplets were pressed against the palace wall and listening intently to a conversation around the corner. "What are you three doing?" Iscawin questioned, coming up to them.

"Shh!" the three said.

Iscawin started and looked confused. He heard voices, then, and frowned. "Are you seriously eavesdropping?" he demanded in an angry whisper.

"Shut up and listen, little brother," Connyn hissed, giving him a deadly serious glare. A glare that definitely didn't sit well with Iscawin. Iscawin fell silent and listened.

"Then it's agreed. The Prince, Kelin-Sel, has to go," a voice said.

Iscawin's eyes widened. What now? He quickly joined the triplets in eavesdropping. "What's happening?" he asked.

"They saw Kelin-Sel in the garden with Elsa, that's what," Coth murmured. "And saw him kiss her."

"He did what?!" Iscawin demanded.

"On the forehead, Iscawin, not the lips," Coth said, rolling his eyes. "But it was enough, and now they've determined Kelin-Sel is the biggest threat to them of all the suitors. They want him to disappear. For a very long time."

"Oh god…" Iscawin whispered.

"I don't think they mean disappear as in permanently. Duke Carl Alexander is with them, and he's called them down from such a notion as murder each time the possibility is brought up. He's their ringmaster, it seems, so Kelin-Sel's life isn't in danger, but I'm not anymore okay with this than I would be if they were talking death," Calcas said. Iscawin nodded in agreement.

"Sell him as a slave to Norway or Britain," a second voice said. "It would keep him out of our hair for a good long while. Or we could enslave him ourselves."

"I like that idea. We could sell him back to his brothers after Elsa has chosen one of us and married him," a third stated.

"Oh hell no," Connyn growled. He looked about ready to go out there and confront all of them, but Coth held him back, giving him a warning glare.

"None of us need that sort of drama with the Southern Isles," Carl's voice stated firmly. "Locking him away in a dungeon, or holding him captive in some abandoned hunting cabin in the woods, will be just as useful to us."

"And also more dangerous. What if he escapes?" a fourth voice, besides Carl's, demanded. "Everything is ruined then. Even more so if he sees who his kidnappers are."

"However, his brothers will be so busy searching for him that they'll be out of the way as well," a fifth suitor pointed out in support of Carl's idea.

"Precisely. The young prince Hans is proving more of a threat than I feel alright with; as is Iscawin," Carl stated. "Really, aside from Edvard all of those princes are our biggest threat, and so the sooner they get out of the way the better. If they're spending all of their time searching for their brother, it means more opportunity for us."

"Then it's agreed. We disappear Kelin-Sel," one of the first voices that spoke said. "Now it's a matter of how. Those brothers are constantly with each other in some sort of twisted version of a united front. Well, as united as they can be. It's no secret those young men despise each other."

"And it's no secret Hans is insidious as all getup," Calcas mused.

"What are you implying?" Iscawin asked.

"It appears the Chameleon Prince, aka Traitor Prince, gets to use his camouflage once more. This time, though, not to betray. To play spy. Double agent, more precisely," Calcas answered.

"Hans can play both sides of a coin as easily as breathing," Connyn agreed. "So what? We send him in to play the suitors and he gets into their graces under the guise of helping them get Kelin-Sel?"

"Exactly," Calcas said.

"But all the while he's working to keep Kelin-Sel safe by informing him, Elsa, the Duke of Weselton, and us, of each plot that comes into play against our brother," Coth said, smirking.

"The moment he comes back from his day with Elsa we can fill him in," Iscawin said. "We can't stay here any longer, though. They're going to figure us out."

"Right. Let's go," Connyn agreed. Quickly the four brothers slinked away from the area. The suitors were now splitting up to go to their rooms. They got out now, or they got caught.

Frozen

The sun was setting, by the time Hans and Elsa returned. They weren't in any hurry to get back to the castle, right now. At the moment they were walking along the beach in comfortable silence, every so often a remark made or an action giggled at. They didn't walk hand-in-hand. It would be too intimate a gesture in public, and frowned upon. Besides, it wasn't as if they were lovers.

"The opera was so amazing and beautiful, and that theatre... I've never seen anything like it before," Elsa remarked after a time.

"It doesn't compare to some," Hans said. "One day I'll show you some truly spectacular ones."

"I look forward to it," she replied, smiling. "I've... It's been a good day..."

Hans smiled gently at her. "It has," he agreed. "I've very much enjoyed our time together. More than I thought I would."

Elsa was quiet. "So have I," she finally answered. "Only…"

"You're not supposed to have," Hans finished for her quietly. "Neither am I."

"What would Anna even think? If I told her that I was having fun with you?" Elsa asked.

"She wouldn't know what to think, what to say or do, how to take it…" Hans said. "She'd react in anger. Lash out. More likely at me than at you… Everything we should be doing and feeling."

"Everything we think we should be doing and feeling," Elsa corrected.

Hans looked out over the sea. He wasn't sure where to go from here. What would be appropriate? They didn't exactly teach you etiquette for how you were to treat a woman you betrayed, despised, semi-made up with, then gradually became attached to, though you weren't willing to admit to friendship. More like deep affection. Very deep. Deeper than it should be. "When you have discussed with the Duke of Weselton which men will be sent home and which will stay, what happens next?" he asked, unwilling to call an end to the day just yet.

"Well, there's enough competition between you all as it is, without giving you still more reason to fight, so the 'games' bit will be skipped. I was thinking maybe a concert at that theatre could be interesting," she said.

"That can't be all," Hans said.

"Well, maybe skating would be fun," she said.

"Skating? Oh, uh, yeah. Fun," Hans said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. She gave him an odd look. He cringed. "I've, uh, never actually…"

"Help!" a desperate voice cried out suddenly. The two sharply looked in the direction it had come from, previous conversation forgotten.

"Someone's in trouble!" Elsa exclaimed.

"Thank you, Queen obvious," Hans bit.

"Don't get fork tongued," she called back to him, already running in the direction the cry had come from. He pursued her swiftly. Towards the gardens, he noted. A very thick part of the palace gardens, hard to see into.

Frozen

"Help! Somebody!" the voice frantically called. "Stop it, please!" A cry of pain echoed right after, and angry voices could be heard saying things like 'shut up' and 'no one is coming to save you, little boy' and 'cry all you want, no one will hear'. They heard the sounds of wood and rocks falling on flesh.

"Stop it!" Elsa shouted furiously in the direction of the voices. "Leave him alone! Where are you?! We're trying to find you!"

"Hel…" the distressed voice began in a sob before it was cut off by a scream of pain.

"I know that voice," Hans said, feeling a chill up his spine. "Harald!" he shouted, double-timing. Elsa paled.

"Hans!" Harald shouted back through fearful sobs.

"Dammit!" Hans cursed, seeing the garden wall up ahead. He leapt up onto it and nimbly scaled it, falling over onto the other side but landing on hands and feet. He booked it into the thick trees. He heard Elsa not far behind him. Hans shoved through some shrubs and gasped. Down a small hill were seven men, beating on Harald Scharff violently. Harald wasn't even trying to cry out, anymore, and looked as if he were starting to succumb. "Get away from him!" Hans all but screamed in fury, charging the men with sword flashing out of its sheath as he rapidly closed the distance.

The men looked sharply over, eyes wide, and yelped on seeing the prince barrelling down on them, the Snow Queen at his back and causing a horrible chill in the air. They saw ice creeping towards them. Hans leapt into the fray, slicing at the men. They began to fight back, but Hans ran on adrenaline. The cover Elsa had started to provide was helping too. She was freezing the ground beneath the feet of the men so that they couldn't keep their balance. Hans kept cutting and slicing viciously. He was well aware he'd done a lot of damage and injured a good number of the attackers. He wasn't looking to kill, or they'd be dead, but he was looking to make them think he was going to slaughter them. Terror was in their eyes and they were frantically trying to retreat now. Elsa reached Harald's side and quickly gathered him into her arms, holding him closely and reassuringly, gazing down at him in fear and concern. He was gawking in a cross between horror and awe at Hans's frenzy.

"We'll bring you to a doctor immediately," Elsa said to Harald.

"I-I don't think it's-it's worth… Ah!" he cried out, holding his ribs.

"It's worth the trouble," Elsa bluntly and seriously stated. She watched after Hans as he drove the seven suitors back like they were wild beasts to be fended off for the sake of a flock of sheep. She shifted uneasily. Please don't let him do anything foolhardy and stupid that could get him killed.

Frozen

The suitors were soon cowering to the prince, all of them having dropped their weapons. Hans was darkly scowling at them as Elsa continued to monitor Harald. She got a feeling this was personal for the prince, so she wasn't going to step in. "Who do you think you are?" Hans darkly asked in a growl. "What did you expect you were going to get away with?!" They didn't dare answer. "Speak!" Hans viciously ordered.

"We were not going to kill him!" one man immediately defended, breaking under the command.

"Then what were you doing?!" Hans demanded.

"We only wanted to drive him off, my lord!" another insisted. "Get him away from us, away from this palace, away from every sort of decent folk…!"

"He is more decent than any of you," Hans said with a sneer.

"He is nothing but a f…" a fourth began.

"Say it, and it'll be the last thing you ever say. I swear to god I will cut out your tongue. It is not your place to judge what sort of man Mr. Scharff is! Nor is it your place to judge the kind of man I am, or anyone," Hans angrily said.

"That man is a stain on society!" a fifth suitor declared.

"You don't even know what he is! I'm tired of your assumptions!" Hans snapped.

"Assumptions? Hah! You would think that, wouldn't you? Judging by what we found in his room, you're hardly better than him. If we had killed the boy it would have been a mercy to him." The man looked scathingly at Scharff. "He is of no use to anything or anyone unless that use is in a whorehouse."

Harald pulled from Elsa's arms and staggered away into the garden. "Harald!" Elsa called.

Hans looked sharply after him and worry replaced anger. He turned sharply to the men. "He is a thousand times the man any of you will ever be, and a thousand times more worthy of life," he darkly stated. He turned after his friend again. "Harald, wait!" he called racing after the boy, the suitors forgotten.

"Get out!" Elsa furiously yelled, shooting to her feet and glaring dangerously at the attackers. "All of you! Away from my palace, out of the village, out of my kingdom! Go home. You're no longer welcome here. I am through with you. All of you! Grow up and maybe in the future you'll stand a chance at being at least permitted into Arendelle's borders once more, for the sake of political meetings and little else."

The suitors eyed her, looked ready to protest, and then determined it wasn't going to do any good. "Very well. We're about done with this place anyway. It and its sorceress queen. Who would choose to marry a witch anyway? You're destined to be alone all your days, Queen Elsa," It took all the willpower she possessed to remain calm and not attack them with a blizzard. Her displeasure was plain to see, though, by the chill in the air, the ice spreading across the ground, and the snow flurry that had begun to swirl around her. They got the hint and quickly left. The moment they were out of sight, she let out a shaky breath, shoulders sagging and hurt filling her eyes. She closed them tightly, sighed, and went to try and find Hans and Harald.

Frozen

Hans searched for his friend worriedly. "Harald!" he called out. "Harald, please, answer me!" No response. His concern was only growing. He knew the look that had been in his friend's eyes well enough. It had certainly been in his own enough times. Usually before he 'accidentally' sliced some part of his body on something sharp. Harald was more the sort to go a little more dramatic than that, though. As in fatally dramatic. He quickened his pace, listening for his friend. He couldn't have gone far. Harald was quick, but not that quick.

He paused, soon, and listened. He heard a sniff. Finally, he inwardly cheered. He looked in that direction and headed towards it. He pushed through some hanging vines and paused, seeing his friend sitting at the side of a pond with his head buried in his knees. Hans inwardly cringed, now, and took a breath, approaching. "Harald," he said.

"What do you want?" Harald asked in a murmur.

"I want to make sure you're okay," Hans replied. "And that you didn't let those idiots get to you, though now I see they did."

"It's been a long time coming," Harald answered. "I haven't had a day's peace, Hans. Not one. Even the day I spent with Elsa was ended by returning to the wing and being hassled and thrown around from one bully to another to be taunted or struck. I just… Sometimes I believe it would be better to disappear."

"Don't even," Hans deadpanned. "They don't deserve the satisfaction. If you pulled something like that, it would mean they won. They're the last sort you want to let win…" He looked at the dancer. "Hey, those men won't be around anymore, okay? Elsa will drive them off and things will be alright."

"No they won't. I'll still hear the taunts. Maybe not as bad, but they'll still be there," Harald replied.

"But taunts you can handle," Hans replied with a smirk. "You'd have to, given your profession in the theatre." Harald smirked slightly then lifted a hand, spinning around a ring he wore on his left hand. Hans eyes it. "You're engaged," he noted in vague surprise.

"I am," he said, smiling slightly. "But this ring isn't hers… It was a gift from the other woman that I am coming to love… It's a complicated mess. Frankly I'd be better off marrying you and not having to deal with hurting them… One of them will be hurt so badly… I never wanted that. Not for either. Another reason disappearing might just be better all around."

"Or worse," Hans said. "The untold suffering you would leave behind for them to endure, and all those you love… It isn't worth it, Harald. Believe me it isn't worth it… What are their names?"

Harald looked up again and was silent. "Camilla Petersen and Elvida Moller," he replied. "They are wonderful girls, both of them. I despise love triangles…"

Hans nodded. "Tell me about the two of them," he said. "It may help." Harald nodded. Hans inwardly collapsed in relief. Good. His friend's mind was now off of the creeps who had been tormenting him. Immediately, and enthusiastically, the young man - teenager, Hans inwardly corrected - launched into a description of each girl. Hans listened quietly, nodding or interjecting something when appropriate.

Frozen

Elsa looked around worriedly. Where had they gone? "Hans? Harald?!" she called.

"We're here, Elsa," a voice said. Hans. She turned and saw the prince walking back towards her with Harald trailing a little behind. "We should bring Harald to Mael," he added.

"Is it bad enough to require your brother's help?" Elsa worriedly wondered.

"Your Majesty, no offense but Lars is the only 'doctor' I trust. He's always been," Hans replied. Elsa nodded. There was no point arguing him. Besides, someone with medical knowledge was someone with medical knowledge. Mael would be as fine as any official doctor would have been. She followed them. Hans turned to Harald. "The things I do for you," he teased lightly.

"Thank you," Harald replied, smiling at him gently.

Hans smiled back and turned to Elsa. "You made them regret it, I presume?" he asked.

"They haven't even begun to regret it, my dear one," Elsa darkly answered, frowning. Hans started, blinking, and flushed faintly as he realized the queen had called him 'my dear one'. She'd probably said it just in passing! Yeah, that was it. It wasn't a serious remark. Maybe she didn't even know she had said it, or maybe it was just something casual that she would say to any friend. But… but part of him almost hoped it was a term she had only uttered to him. Ugh, he had to stop. He was overthinking things. Again. He stayed quiet for the rest of the walk back to the palace. They all did, Harald because he sensed the awkwardness and Elsa because she suddenly realized what she had said and was busy kicking herself for it. It was so inappropriate. What had she been thinking?! It was one think to call him 'my friend'. It was an entirely different thing to call him 'my dear one'. With luck, though, it would just pass as a pet name. Hey, at least she hadn't called him 'my love'. That was just no. 'My dear one' could pass as romantic or friendly, and she had meant it to be friendly. She believed.