Three

Elsa was prepared to share Hans' story at dinner, but Anna made sure that no words interrupted her own. Nothing could stop the animated description of her day out in town, complete with a few reenactments that involved nearly tearing the tablecloth from under their plates. A small wine stain consisted of the battle scars of storytelling.

"Yeah, and so Kristoff turns to this guy and is totally prepared to knock him out, but I was like, 'You can't blame him. I mean, it's not like he knows he just accidentally shoved the princess of Arendelle into a cart of fruit,' and Kristoff was like-" Anna paused to draw her face in and look as buff as possible. "'Anyone who hurts you is my responsibility." Anna pulled her face back into the normal, delighted expression she always wore. "But the guy was gone by then and had also dropped his apples after tripping me, so who's the real winner here?"

"You ate apples off the ground?" Ingvalda asked, eyes reflecting horror as she stuck a fork in the meat on her plate.

Anna shrugged, twirling her utensil around in the food. "Well, yeah. We rubbed them off on our shirts first."

Ingvalda still looked like Anna had said 'manure' instead of 'apple', but only turned her nose up and sighed. "A princess shouldn't take risks like that, m'lady. The apple may have been dropped on purpose."

Anna glanced at Kristoff quickly, something akin to a mischievous smile threatening to break through. "Of course. Won't happen again."

The table was strangely crowded, even though it stretched far enough to host a banquet. Four of the middle seats were occupied; Kristoff and Elsa on one side, and Ingvalda and Anna on the other.

Elsa noticed that Kristoff still wasn't completely comfortable, always darting his attention up to the cold, disapproving eyes of Ingvalda and squirming in the outfit that was cleaner than his old clothes and passable enough as dinner dress. Anna said that he was used to wearing the same clothing for days at a time, and never sat down for a meal unless it was with his family. He shared a diet of carrots with his reindeer most of the time. The huge plate of stroganoff and glass full of wine seemed to intimidate the big mountain man, and he'd barely eaten half.

Anna's food was, of course, untouched, mostly due to her mouth already being occupied with words. Once she grew tired, she'd eventually vacuum the entire meal down, but the stories hadn't run dry yet. Anna was now demonstrating with her silverware how Kristoff and Sven had almost fallen into the fjord, much to the silent mountain man's discomfort. A thin red blush stretched across his face as Ingvalda's glare grew stronger with each word.

Elsa empathized with him; Ingvalda was awfully intimidating. The older woman's meal was being eaten with perfect timing in perfect sized chunks without dropping any food on the tablecloth or her outfit. She sipped her wine as if she'd calculated exactly how much was enough. She was so perfect at her dinner etiquette that Elsa felt leagues behind in her practice as queen.

Elsa noticed Kristoff's habit of fidgeting with his thumbs when the glare became too intense. She knew that guilt gnawed away at him. After all, besides herself, no one knew that the princess and the mountain man had their own brand of romance blooming. To Ingvalda, he was simply a guest to the queen and princess.

Where Anna was impulsive and more than excited to share with the world about her love for him, Kristoff took things slower, always said to just roll along with life. And Anna had complied for a whole year already. Not that Elsa was surprised, after the result of rushing into her engagement with Hans.

The remembrance of the man's name made Elsa's stomach twist. She'd been eating all through Anna's thorough explanation of her day on the town, but now set her fork down. The appetite was gone.

"Are you finished with your meal?" Ingvalda asked when Anna paused for breath.

"Hm?" Elsa asked, realizing the former custodian of Arendelle was addressing her. "Oh, yes. I'm quite full, thank you."

"Huh?" Anna said, looking down at her plate of food that was quickly growing cold. "Oh, you're already done? Geez, we just started dinner."

Elsa caught Kristoff glancing at the large clock at the end of the hall which read half an hour since dinner began. Neither bothered to share the news.

"Hurry up, Anna dear," Ingvalda said. "Mustn't keep your sister waiting,"

Anna nodded, beginning to scarf down her food. Ingvalda looked like she wanted to intervene at the barbaric manner of eating, but Elsa saved that lecture from taking place.

"Have you been busy, Ingvalda?" she asked, handing her plate to a servant and thanking them.

Ingvalda turned away from Anna, happy to speak about herself for once. "Yes, my queen. Not nearly as busy as I was during my time as custodian, of course. But still rather busy. I've been managing most of your documents until you get into the rhythm of being monarch."

"Ah," Elsa said, staring down into her wineglass. She'd not counted on so much busywork once she became queen. Thankfully, a lot of that labor was lifted from her shoulders by the woman who was used to doing all of the work. With nothing to do now, Ingvalda felt the need to still help. She told Elsa there was no greater honor than helping the new queen of Arendelle with her chores.

"I thank you for your help," Elsa said, looking up briefly. Ingvalda's face grew something between smug and pleased, and she nodded gracefully.

"It's my pleasure, your majesty."

Elsa bit her lip, watching Anna stuff her face, and felt guilty for not yet speaking of Hans. But in Ingvalda's presence, she felt like she couldn't talk. Ingvalda was all about being proper and precise. Speaking to Hans in the cell a second time was definitely not the queenly thing to do.

She took a brave leap, saying, "Ingvalda, do you have much more to do?"

"Nothing I can't handle, your majesty."

"You may be excused from the table, then," Elsa said, feeling a pulse in her fingertips.

Ingvalda blinked, face now expressionless. "Are you sure, your majesty, because it's not the proper-"

"I said you are excused," Elsa said finitely. She couldn't bring herself to look up at the woman, but Ingvalda rose and pushed her chair in.

"Of course, my queen," she said, bowing slightly and leaving the room.

Anna had stopped in mid-chew, a bit of stroganoff hanging out of her mouth. The princess and her "friend" watched the former custodian leave the room, heels clicking as she made her way to the door. The heavy wood finally opened and closed with a thick thud. Anna turned to her sister, cocking her head with food dripping down her face.

She tried to speak, but Elsa held her hand up. "Anna, please. I'm not Ingvalda, but you still have to chew."

Anna chewed quickly and swallowed. "Why'd you make her leave?" Anna said, wiping her chin with the side of her hand. Now that Ingvalda was gone, Kristoff didn't hesitate to wipe away with his thumb what Anna didn't get.

"I... I went to go see the prisoner today," Elsa said, heartbeat pulsing in her ears.

Anna's eyebrows raised and her jaw dropped. Kristoff immediately turned to the queen, attention focused purely on her.

"Are you all right? Did he hurt you?" Kristoff asked, concerned.

Elsa smiled, touched by the mountain man's attention. "I'm fine, thank you. He didn't hurt me."

"I said you didn't have to go back," Anna said, suddenly distressed. "I know that you were uncomfortable last-"

"No, no, it's fine," Elsa said, holding her hands up gently. "I felt confident. I was in control. I didn't get a story, but I did get a little bit of explanation."

"Really?" Anna asked, guilt replaced with excitement. "What is it? Why is he here?"

Elsa told them about how Hans said he escaped from the boat and that he wouldn't say why the ship hadn't docked. She spoke about how he felt he couldn't return to the Southern Isles because he couldn't live with his brothers, always feeling overshadowed. About how he tried to escape on a boat to sail away to somewhere new and become king there.

Anna listened intently, letting her sister tell the tale as she quietly ate her meal. Kristoff remained concerned, shifting uncomfortably in his seat; or maybe he was just uncomfortable in his clothing.

"And that's all the explanation I got," Elsa finished. "I said the ship was out of the question."

"Of course," Kristoff agreed. "You can't take this man's word for truth, especially when he confesses he's withholding it."

Elsa nodded. "I just don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked. "The answer's easy. Just contact the Southern Isles. Tell them to get down here and collect their trash."

That's easy for you to say, a surprising part of Elsa's mind chided. She was uncomfortable with the thought. Of course it was logical to contact the Southern Isles. He was an attempted murderer, the man who tried killing both her and her sister. She had no reason to feel any mercy. No reason to feel wary about the thought of sending him home.

So why did she hesitate?

Elsa closed her eyes, briefly lost in thought. Once her eyes closed, she saw another pair. Two orbs of green, burning like fire. Why would green remind her of fire? There was something strange about him and his eyes that could go from fierce to assured to panicked-

Panic.

That was it. The memory of the panic in his eyes when she suggested sending him back is what made her so hesitant. The helplessness and fear that was cast out before her as he pleaded with those eyes is why her stomach tied tight at the thought of the prince, likely to soon be former prince, bound and being led by his older brothers onto a ship. She saw him being loaded like cargo onto the boat and saw him look at her with those panicked green eyes. Panic and fear. The same panic that she'd seen in her own blue eyes. A different color, a different situation, a different life, and yet it was the same.

"Elsa?"

The queen snapped out of it, blinking as Anna came into focus. The younger princess had her head tilted, braids angled with her face. "You all right? We kinda lost you for a second."

"Yes... yes I'm fine," Elsa said, clearing her throat and trying to shake her terrifying revelation away.

"So... what's the verdict?" Anna asked, propping her face on her hands.

"Verdict?" Elsa repeated, lifting the glass of wine to her lips. She noticed her hands were shaking slightly. The glass fogged up upon her touch, but she tried to ignore it.

"About what to do with Hans?"

"Ah," she said, swishing the wine around in the glass and staring at it as if all the answers were in there. She knew Kristoff and Anna were staring at her, and tried not to feel the heat of their gazes.

She knew what they wanted to hear. They wanted her to curse the bastard, send him home because he deserved whatever they could dole out. If he wanted so badly to never return to the Southern Isles, that's where they should send him. Because he was a villain. A selfish, unwanted villain.

She'd been the villain before. She'd been a monster.

She knew what Anna and Kristoff wanted her to say. 'Send him home, because he's a villain, he's a...'

A monster.

Don't be the monster they fear you are.

"I... I think we should wait."

"What?" Kristoff said, gentle face contorting with emotion. "But he tried killing-"

"Kristoff," Anna stopped him with a look. The man shut up, biting his lip, decidedly unhappy. Anna turned to her sister. "Why not ship him off now? I mean, word's gonna get out eventually. Only the people in the castle know, but someday the secret's going to leak that we've got the missing prince in our dungeon."

"I know, I know," Elsa said, setting the glass down for fear it might slip out of her hands. "But right now everyone thinks he's dead. And I'm still confused about his story. Something doesn't make sense. I need to figure out what happened to the ship. If he did sabotage it, I want to know where it ended up. If he stays a few more days, then it'll all be worth it. I can't have him ruining other people's kingdoms or sinking ships, and even if his brothers do ensure he doesn't, then it's my job to help Westernland serve justice to their delegate."

"It's not your job, you're not obligated to anything except get him outta here," Anna said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"If you'll excuse me, your majesty, but I agree with Anna," Kristoff added, tired of keeping his mouth shut. "I understand how you want to serve justice, but maybe it's time to worry about your own safety."

Elsa could feel her blood begin to chill. "I... I recognize how you guys feel. But I am the queen, and I say he stays."

An hour ago, Elsa had been prepared to send him away without so much as a parting glance, but now she was fighting for him to stay? What had happened? She stared into the reddish-purple of the wine, hoping for an explanation. Elsa had felt something akin to empathy for a terrible man, and that scared her to death.

She promised herself that she'd only visit a few more times. Get more of the story to eventually piece together an explanation. And when the time was right, when she felt nothing more for those panicked eyes, she'd alert the Southern Isles.

The plan didn't sound very solid to her, but she faked her confidence. "Once I find out what happened to the ship, I'll make him leave."

Neither Anna nor Kristoff sounded very solid in her decision, and exchanged a wary glance that Elsa knew meant she was going to be talked about by them later. She tried not to care, but couldn't help but feel immensely guilty for her decision.

"Well... all right," Anna said with a well-meaning shrug. "I guess you're the queen, after all."

"But you'll tell us if you need help," Kristoff suggested.

"Of course," Elsa said, rising from the table. The other two followed, and a servant took Kristoff and Anna's plates as the three walked to the door. "Thank you for understanding."

They obviously didn't, but it almost made Elsa feel better to pretend that they did.

For the third time in the past few days, Elsa found herself telling the guards that she wished to see the prisoner. She wondered if the look they exchanged shouldn't have bothered her, but it did anyway. Even though she was queen, she still felt sheepish for entering the room and closing the door behind herself.

"Is this Arendelle's form of torture? Keep sending the queen?" Hans said before Elsa turned to face him. "Because I must say I'm enjoying my punishment."

"I'm not attempting to torture you," Elsa said, turning to see him standing by the window. He was tugging his gloves on and flexing his fingers. "Though you'd probably deserve it."

"I thought you were telling Anna all of my secrets?" Hans asked, hands held together.

"I did. And that's Princess Anna, to you," Elsa said, gaze fixated on his hands.

"Princess Anna, of course," Hans corrected himself, but it was too sarcastic for Elsa's liking. "And she sent you back down with a message?"

"No," Elsa said hesitantly. "I'm here of my own accord."

This seemed to actually catch Hans by surprise. He stood still, hands still clasped together and an expression of wonder thrown onto his face. He stared at Elsa as if trying to understand what the punchline to the joke was.

Elsa looked at the floor, unable to stand his stare. "There's still too much you haven't told me. I want to know where the ship is."

Hans seemed to relax, a motive finally found. "Oh, I see." His hands unclasped and he held them behind his back, straightening his posture. "Well, I'm afraid you won't get much more out of me."

"What does that mean?"

Hans said nothing, but a smug smile crawled across his face that made Elsa irritated. He took a seat with a small sigh, claiming the cot as his own.

"Does it mean that you don't know where the ship is, or you won't tell me where it is?" Elsa tried.

Hans' smirk grew wider and Elsa felt her hands grow cold.

"I'm not afraid to use alternative methods to get the truth out."

"I don't doubt," Hans said. "Of course, you don't want to plunge your kingdom in another surprise winter. You may have power, but you don't have much control."

These words choked Elsa. They grabbed at her skin and pinched, and squeezed her throat so air was thinner than the very top of the north mountain. The ice around her hands creeped around so delicate patterns curled inside her fingerprints. She pulled her shaking hands up to look at the sparkling display.

He's right, her mind whispered. You think that one taste of freedom has made you in control? You couldn't be more wrong. Being free from the gloves doesn't automatically make you less of a threat. In fact, everyone's in even more danger now that you're unchained. Anna is in even more danger...

Hans didn't have the decency to look away, watching her breathing become constricted and her eyes grow wide at the sight of the thin layer of ice on her hands. He held a gloved hand up, outstretched towards her, then drew it back so quickly that Elsa doubted whether he had moved at all.

"But of course, you won't need to use your powers anytime soon," Hans said. If Elsa didn't know better, she might have thought he was trying to calm her down. Of course, he must have feared for his own well being, stuck in a small room in shackles with the unstable ice queen.

"N-no," Elsa said, bending her fingers to make the frost crack ever so quietly. "No, not yet."

"Good," Hans said, voice warm and assuring. Even if he was acting to calm her down for his own purposes, it still made Elsa feel just a little better to hear that kind of tone.

It was the same kind of tone Anna used occasionally, to assure Elsa that she was all right, that it was all okay. That she wouldn't be hurt. Elsa remembered the assurance in Anna's smiles, in her hugs, in her unrequited love no matter how badly Elsa ruined something.

She closed her eyes and let the rare warmth seep into her, the feeling of love. Remembering Anna safe and assured gave her the power to draw the ice from her hands. She opened her eyes and looked to the small ball of ice floating above her hands. With a sigh, she dispelled it, causing the ice to leave nothing but a gentle cold breeze.

Hans was still sitting with wide eyes, having witnessed Elsa's display.

"That was... impressive," Hans said. "I thought you said you couldn't stop the winter?"

"How did you think I cleared up my kingdom?" Elsa asked, feeling better. "I found a solution when when Anna came back to me."

"You found a fix to your power?" Hans asked, leaning forward like this question was the most important thing he'd ever asked. "How?"

"Love," Elsa said simply. "I just need to find that place... the one that makes me warm and happy. It's hard to access sometimes, but whenever I remember Anna's smile and her pure heart..."

She stopped, realizing Hans was still watching her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking so much."

"Oh, I don't mind. Your majesty," he threw in the last words hurriedly. Something made Elsa's lips tug up in the slightest way.

"We're not here to talk about me, though," she said. "I want to hear more about you, specifically about the ship. Where is it?"

Hans sighed, leaning back against the wall. "I can't say."

"Very well. I'll get it out eventually. Why don't you tell me something else until you're ready to share its location with me," Elsa said. She knocked on the door and asked a guard for the stool again.

When the seat was placed, Hans was still looking at the queen with a dumb expression. "Something... else?"

"Yes," Elsa said, settling her dress on the seat. "Tell me about your brothers. About what it was like growing up under twelve of them."

Hans' face darkened slightly, but a hint of curiosity couldn't be disguised. "That's a story that no one would want to hear. Tragedies are no fun."

"And yet I'm still sitting here and requesting one," Elsa said, folding her arms. "Justify what it was like being the unlucky thirteen."

The curiosity became a full fledged smirk, and Hans relaxed his muscles. His shoulders shook briefly as he laughed.

"Only because you asked, your majesty. The hell do I have to lose, anyway?"

He rolled his neck and cracked in knuckles in preparation, and Elsa sat patiently, eyes still unnaturally drawn to his gloves that had once been white before time and dirt had done their worst.

Hans sat up tall and finally began. "Being youngest of twelve had its ups and downs. Mostly downs. Three of them pretended I was invisible for two years..."

I promise that the"last half of the chapter visiting Hans" mold will be broken. Things'll heat up (heh fire puns) soon.

My life's gonna get pretty busy soon with practice and shows (I'm in two productions right now, playing Queen of Hearts in one and a chorus role in another) and AP testing (I took my SAT on Saturday and my brain's totally fried). But I promise you guys that the schedule won't be thrown off.

HUGE thank you to everyone who's reading this and giving me some kind of affirmation (reviews, faves, follows). They warm my heart more than anything. Until next week!