Eleven

King Lewis of the Southern Isles was missing.

At least, he was presumed to be, up until less than an hour ago.

Elsa was overcome by a strong sense of déjà vu as she was slapped in the face with strange new circumstances involving a Westergard. She sat in the tea room with Ingvalda, who was busy speaking with countless other people who all had calm voices but were clearly in a panic. Finding the king consort of the Southern Isles in Arendelle- dead? The scandal would never die.

But the queen couldn't help but dismiss the threat of a scandal. Who cared about reputation? Her mind was only on the king, the father whom Hans had spoken so highly of. Her heart twisted as she remembered his stammering panic earlier when the servant all but dragged Elsa from the room. If he was like that then, he'd be an absolute mess by now. She wondered that he hadn't turned the castle's rock walls into magma yet.

Though the room churned with movement, Elsa's attention was caught as someone with a pair of bright carrot-colored braids entered the room. Anna searched the room with frantic blue eyes until she locked gaze with her sister and came running. The queen stood up to receive Anna as she slammed into her arms and squeezed tight. Two hugs in one day; now Elsa was just being greedy.

Kristoff followed close behind, his face heated red from hurrying. Anna was even more flustered and unkempt, Elsa saw when she pulled away. The princess had eyes only for Elsa and scanned every inch of her sister's face.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked. "We were riding back and someone told us there was someone dead and I thought it was you and-"

"I'm fine," Elsa reassured, holding Anna's hands in hers. "But I was so scared at first, when I heard. I thought it was you."

Anna smiled sadly and choked out a laugh. "Well, it's good that neither of us has accurate instincts."

Kristoff, having caught his breath, found the time to enter the conversation. "Who is it? What happened?"

Elsa glanced down at her crisp, purple dress and exhaled. She tried to smile at them and gestured with her head to the seats.

Anna squeezed her sister's hand once more, then joined Kristoff in sharing a cramped chair. Elsa sat at her own spot.

"Earlier today, one of the fish mongers opened a crate, and underneath a layer of fish was a body," she began. Anna wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"It waa a man, dressed finely and wearing an elegant, expensive crown. And the seal on his coat made it evident that he was the king of the Southern Isles."

Anna's mouth dropped opened and Kristoff's shoulders fell lax.

"What?" Anna breathed. "You mean like... like, Hans' dad?"

Elsa nodded and felt her pulse quicken ever so slightly. Now came the hard part.

"There was... there was a note pinned to him," Elsa continued hesitantly.

"A note?" Kristoff repeated.

"Let me see it!" Anna demanded.

Elsa shook her head. "Ingvalda and the others have it."

"What does it say?" Anna asked, nearly bouncing in their chair. She couldn't stand being left without answers.

"It... it was from Hans," Elsa said, voice getting quieter.

"It was from who?" Anna asked, bouncing ceasing and eyes slitting narrow.

"I don't know how," Elsa said, shaking her head. "All it said was 'One down, thirteen to go.' Signed Prince Hans. On the back, it was labeled, 'King Lewis of the Southern Isles'. "

"But that doesn't make any sense," Anna shook her head. "Hans can't have killed his dad. He's been in here for like, a month. And thirteen to go? Doesn't he only have twelve brothers? Is he planning on killing himself?"

"I think he means the queen too," Kristoff explained, not making Elsa feel any better.

She stared down at the purple of her dress, trying to make sense of any and every thing.

"Well, first thing's first," Anna said, standing. "We have to put Hans back in a cell."

Why did Elsa want to grind her teeth at the suggestion? It made perfect sense, after all. Since his name was the one- literally- pinned to the body, he should have been put on trial and killed as soon as possible. But if he's in a cell or dead, the contract is void. Hans won't teach you any more.

Anna paused, seeing the panic and opposition in Elsa's lack of a response. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Elsa, I know you're the queen, and you've been making a bunch of decisions that don't make any sense and you tell me to trust you. But there's a body out there that Hans is somehow connected to. He's a danger. He needs to be put back in prison."

"He already has," Elsa mumbled, staring blankly at the wall.

Anna shared a brief look with Kristoff, then said, "Listen, it's for the greater good. I know you've... I don't know. You wanted him out of a cell. But his comfort isn't more important than people's lives."

Elsa could hardly argue with it. In fact, the accusation made her feel even worse than ever before.

"Yeah," Elsa agreed meagerly, feeling like a child who had disappointed her parents. But that's exactly what I am, isn't it?

Anna reached out, but stopped. She looked up for permission and Elsa nodded, taking her hand gently.

"It's going to be okay, Elsa. Whatever you're going through, we'll figure this out together."

Elsa nodded, not trusting herself with words.

Anna gave one last squeeze and let go. "I'm going to talk with Ingvalda, okay?"

Elsa nodded again, feeling like a puppet being pulled on strings.

"Kristoff, can you stay with Elsa, please?" Anna asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, of course," the mountain man said, making a show of staying in his seat that made Anna giggle. She waved a little and walked off. Elsa wondered how Anna could still flirt when she'd just been told someone was dead a few minutes ago.

The mumbling of the room never dulled, but Anna's absence made the air directly in front of Elsa stale. One glance at Kristoff revealed he was still too awkward to strike up a conversation. A spiteful part of Elsa thought good. She wasn't in any mood for small talk anyway.

"Whatever it is, you need to tell her."

Kristoff's voice was unexpected, and Elsa turned with a look that must have seemed offended, because Kristoff's eyebrows raised as he hurried to apologize.

"I'm... I'm sorry, your majesty, I misspoke."

"No, no, it's not that," Elsa discarded the notion that she was angry. "What did you mean?"

Kristoff couldn't have looked less comfortable surrounded by a gang of thieves. "I only meant... that Anna says she hates being kept in the dark. She told me about your comings and goings. She's worried about you."

Elsa bit her inner lip, glancing at the redhead who was impatiently awaiting her turn to speak with the ex-custodian.

"I don't know what's going on, but if this is his fault-"

"It's not," Elsa said immediately, shutting him up. "At least... not completely."

Kristoff sat with his legs spread apart and his elbows resting on each knee. It wasn't regal, but a year alone wasn't enough to take the casualty out of the man who was raised by trolls.

"Don't blame yourself for what's been done," Kristoff soothed. "Whatever you-"

"I'm not blaming myself!" Elsa interrupted, tightening her fists so the material of her gloves felt uncomfortably tight around her hands.

Kristoff's soft eyes widened and he looked at the floor, thin blush in full burn.

"Of course. I'm sorry, your majesty," he said guiltily.

Instantly, Elsa felt awful. It wasn't his fault that any of this was happening. "I'm sorry, Kristoff," she sighed, and closed her eyes. She foresaw a migraine appearing soon. "I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have spoken out," Kristoff tried to turn the tables.

Elsa nearly smiled. "If we're going to continue pointing out ourselves at fault, we may be at it for hours."

Kristoff's sheepishness melted into a genuine smile. He was much better at smiling than she was. Elsa saw once again why her sister had chosen this mountain man.

"We may be, your majesty," he laughed shortly.

They fell into silence again, but it was less forced. A mutual need and understanding for lack of words. That was something she thought Anna and Hans would never know. God forbid either go without talking for more than a minute.

Thinking of Hans snapped Elsa back into a funk. How was he taking the news? Was he already back in the cell? She wanted badly to see him, to talk with him. But there was a crowd that expected her to be present now, even if it meant sulking in the corner with her someday-to-be-brother-in-law.

"If it's... not too bold, your majesty," Kristoff began again. "You can always speak to me about anything. I mean, my family- the trolls- were pretty good at giving advice. Maybe a little rubbed off on me."

Elsa smiled ever so slightly at his words. "Thank you. That's very generous, Kristoff. What did Anna say you called them? The... the love experts, was it?"

Kristoff pulled his hands to his face and groaned, but laughed. As he drew them down his cheeks, a sheepish grin made its presence known on his face. "Oh, yeah. That was... that was just me being stupid. Showing off. Pretending I had friends."

"All the normal courtship deeds, of course," Elsa played.

"Of course," he chuckled. "But seriously. If you need help..."

"I'm fine, thank you," Elsa assured, though she was never sure herself.

Kristoff nodded. "Okay, okay. Good to know."

The tea room was invaded for a few more hours until officials began to clear out. Kristoff had long since fallen asleep in one of the chairs and Elsa had been lost in thought for who knew how long. The sun was setting when Gerda came in to tell the queen that dinner was finally ready.

She'd lost her chance to speak to Hans today, but as she walked solemnly to dinner with Ingvalda, Anna, and a bleary-eyed Kristoff, she vowed she'd see him tomorrow.

But tomorrow seemed to be a bad day.

As she walked to the familiar cell, the guards exchanged worried glances and uneasily eyed her, which made Elsa equally unnerved.

"I've come to see the prisoner," she said.

"Uh... of-of course, your majesty," one said. "But... he's not in any mood to see people."

"Screaming and crying and threatening to set the whole world on fire," the other added.

Elsa's heart stopped beating. "I assure you, I've been fine all this time. He won't hurt me."

"Your majesty-"

"That's an order," she interrupted coldly.

The two looked to each other again, and pacified that they'd given her fair warning, they decided that she could choose her own funeral and opened the door.

As soon as it creaked open, she heard him scream, "GO AWAY."

Elsa hesitated at the door, wondering if she should have heeded their advice after all. But she ignored her pulsing veins and continued in.

"I SAID LEAVE!" came the raw, throaty growl from within.

As Hans came into Elsa's view, she could have sworn he'd never left his cell. His hair that had finally been groomed was tussled up like he'd been pulling at it. His clothes were still fine, given he'd been back less than a day. But when his head whipped to her, she saw the same madness in this man's eyes that she'd seen before.

You saw him on the fjord, her mind recalled. You saw him reflected in the ice. Sword swinging down and a mad, mad look in his eyes. You were going to let him kill you.

Those emerald eyes were twisted and wild, like the year alone had stripped away all human sense. His teeth were set to grind, as though he'd have to pounce soon.

But it all softened when he saw her. His eyes grew tamer, his back straightened, his teeth parted.

"Elsa..." he said quietly, as though she was what anchored him to sanity. "It's not... he can't really..."

She knew exactly what he was asking, but the last thing she wanted to do was share the answer.

"Ingvalda recognized him," she mumbled. "He had the official seal and crown."

Hans was silent. He was staring into space, eyes void. She might have thought he was dead despite that he still stood and blinked occasionally.

She thought to tell him about the note, but considering his reaction to just this news, she'd conceal that tidbit of information for just a while longer, long enough for him to cool down.

Besides, what if he is the murderer? her mind ventured. You can't show a murderer the evidence against themselves. He'll deny it straightaway.

"Leave," he mumbled.

She had trouble processing it. "I'm sorry, wh-"

"I said, leave," Hans said, his voice straining. She could see the veins in his neck sticking out like they were about to pop.

"Hans, I-"

"GET OUT," he yelled through gritted teeth.

His face was dangerously red, and flickers of flame danced at his fingertips. She understood suddenly and rushed out of the room. Memories of a frozen room with snowflakes hanging in the air as she mourned her parents flew to her memory as she opened and closed the door with haste.

Not a moment after she'd shut it, a mournful scream erupted from inside.

One of the guards chuckled a little. "Only a matter of time 'til he went mad."

Elsa didn't have the patience or will to counter the man. And she wasn't even sure he was wrong. So she only took up her skirts and left the prison. As she receded, she heard one of the men whistle, then say, "Sure is a scorcher for September, huh? I feel like this jail's gotten twice as hot just in the last few minutes."

And here we see Hans in deeper waters than ever before. He couldn't really be vile enough to kill his own father.. but couldn't he?

On a happier note, I've just been told by the user Lyrtil that she plans to translate TPatS into Italian! Huge shout out to her, and also to all of you fantastic, supportive readers who have made this a pretty decent hit so far. Words can never express my gratitude for each and every one of you.