Fourteen

Prince John washed ashore only three days after Francis, who arrived a week after Campbell. Arendelle now had a dead king, three dead princes, and a traitor who was going mad down in his cell.

Elsa delivered the news to Hans with a heavy heart, watching his mouth twitch and his eyes grow wild. He glared at her as if she was the one taking out his family members one by one.

When she quietly finished the delivery, he had exiled himself to standing beside the window. The temperature in the room had risen since she walked in. Whether she rolled her sleeves up from the heat or out of nervousness, she wasn't sure.

"You told me you'd find the killer," Hans said, words muffled through gritted teeth.

"I'm trying," she said, and it wasn't completely a lie. Kristoff had volunteered to keep an eye out for anyone who could be delivering bodies, but so far, he'd come up bleary-eyed and empty-handed from the night watch. It seemed the killer didn't knock on the gates and dash when they left their gifts.

"These things take time," she tried to console. "I promise, we'll find-"

"But when?" he snapped, turning around. His face was burning. "How many more of my brothers are going to appear on your shores before you bring the killer to justice? Will you finally be motivated when my own body shows up, so you can complete your collection?"

Elsa's mouth hung open, partially ashamed but mostly offended.

"I said I'm trying," she snapped. "And you're in no position to be accusing me. Your name has been pinned to all four."

"But it's not me," he whined. "You know that."

"Just because I know doesn't give us any solid proof," Elsa said, looking away from him. He was giving her what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes. "Besides, that wouldn't stop the killer, even if the kingdom decided you were innocent from these crimes."

When she looked back, his bright eyes had faded and his face was twisted into a scowl. "Maybe if I was let out of this damned prison, then I could take action against the killer since you won't."

She couldn't believe him. "I told you that I am trying. And you know setting you free is asking for far too much."

"Is it?" he countered. "Is it so much to ask that a man innocent of crimes be set free?"

"You're not innocent!" she burst, yelling for the first time that day. "You tried to take over the kingdom! You seduced my sister and left her to die! You tried to kill me so you could wear the crown!"

Hans winced slightly, then hissed, "I thought you said you'd overlook it all. The past is in the past, isn't it?"

She had never experienced higher frustration than at this moment. How had her heart chosen this absolute ass of a man?

"You're still trying to manipulate me, aren't you?" Elsa said, voice lowered and heart sinking. "You haven't changed at all."

Hans, on the other hand, hadn't calmed. In fact, his face was more scarlet than ever, and his breathing was visible and audible. "I have changed!" he yelled, thrusting his hands up.

But in that action, a wave of fire sailed from his palms straight towards Elsa. Her heart leaped straight into her throat.

Luckily, her hands were bare, and reflexively went up to stop the flames. A wall of ice immediately spread from ceiling to floor, wall to wall.

She closed her eyes and heard the loud hiss of fire licking ice. When all was quiet again, she dared open one eye. The ice had melted slightly on his side, but the wall was thick and the fire hadn't eaten its way through. She was safe.

The man on the other side, however, looked like he'd just been given a death sentence. Though the ice warped his features, Elsa saw two green eyes wide with horror. He shook his head slightly, and she read the word, "No," on his lips. He seemed to gasp, then swiftly planted his hands under his armpits, as to muffle any more fire. He kept shaking his head and saying, "No, no, no."

Elsa almost had pity on him. He was going through more than even she had. He had every right to be completely upset. But he can't control it, she thought. He's even more dangerous than me.

She remembered what Kristoff had said on the day King Lewis washed up; "His comfort isn't more important than people's lives."

With a heavy heart, she lowered her hands and looked him in the eye. He was terrified, that much she could read. But as tears welled up in her eyes, she could only shake her head at him and turn for the door.

She thought he heard him yelling in agony as the door closed. The queen tried not to think of it as she hurried away, wiping stray tears away. She had to get away from him right now. Anna had been right, after all. There was still a monster left, no matter how hard she'd wanted it to be gone.

The next day brought another letter. Her heart sank as she recognized the seal of the Southern Isles. Wasn't there ever any good news?

She slunk to her room, heart still heavy and nerves jumpy from yesterday's encounter. She closed the door immediately after setting foot inside her chambers. She glared down at the letter, unwilling to see whatever was enclosed inside.

Still, she was compelled to find out any advances, so she quietly opened it. There was no rush to get to the words.

This letter was signed by Jørgen, the seventh prince. He wrote in a scribbly hand, and it took some time to decipher, but it was easy to tell he was in full fledged panic. He wrote saying that besides the continued disappearance of the king and queen, Prince Campbell is missing and their letters to other brothers have always been responded by someone else, saying they are missing. The only ones still there and accounted for were brothers seven through twelve, counting numbers nine and ten who were still in a prison in Corona, Germany. It seemed Hans wasn't the only one in trouble with the law.

The letter gave Elsa little hope. How would she ever find the killer if they were so swift? It seemed nearly impossible that they could kidnap the brothers from so many places in so little time. And in the right order, too. Wouldn't it have been easier to just hit the princes in order of location? This killer had ventured from the Southern Isles in Denmark to the Western Chain in France to China to Iceland, Russia, and India. Without context of birth, their hit would have been seemingly random. And with the rest of the brothers- save the criminals- in the same spot, they'd be even easier to claim.

Not to mention the killers' constant trips to Arendelle to drop the bodies. Elsa wanted to crush the letter in her hands, she was so frustrated. She was never going to catch this phantom.

She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, then folded the letter neatly back into its envelope. For some reason, she remembered Princess Bhumi, the girl that could give life and take it with just a touch. She'd been driven to tears by Hans. As she felt a droplet roam down her cheek, Elsa knew that Bhumi wasn't the only one he'd made cry.

Life would have been so much simpler if she'd just heeded Anna's advice and sent the man home in the first place. She never should have gotten involved. She never should have let her walls down and let him weasel his way into her heart.

Elsa rubbed her hairline and stood up straight from leaning against the door. The queen made the custom trip to her pillow to put the letter in, as if she was some addicted hoarder. It was going to be harder to sleep than usual with all this paper stuffed inside.

She was just reaching for the pillow when to her horror, the door opened.

"Elsa?"

The queen swiftly turned away, dropping the letter on the bed and spotting Anna timidly holding onto the door. Of all the times... Elsa internally hissed.

"I, uh..." Anna began, eyes on the floor. Her fingers traced swirls in the door. Elsa wondered if Anna saw her guilty, blushing face. "I wanted to apologize... about the other day."

Oh. She wanted to talk about that. Elsa blushed, remembering she'd confessed her heart to Anna.

"No, it's fine," Elsa said, afraid of moving from her place lest it draw attention to the letter on the bed.

"No, it's not fine," Anna said, wringing her hands together. "I shouldn't have lost my temper, because I mean after all, you're my sister, and family is the most important..." she trailed off, her gaze wandering to the bed. Elsa was a statue. "What's that?"

"Nothing," Elsa hurried to say, snatching the letter up and quickly stuffing it in the pillow. "Nothing important."

But Anna was finished being blown off. "Elsa..."

"Is that all?" the queen interrupted, meanwhile kicking herself for being so rude. How long am I going to push her away?

Anna seemed to be thinking the same. Under normal circumstances, Anna might have looked unbearably sad, but put on a smile for show. Not this time. Anna's eyebrows were pulled down and her lips were tightly pressed together. It was terrifying to see the change in character. I did this to her.

"Ingvalda and I wanted to know if you were coming to tea," Anna said bitterly. "But it looks like you're busy."

Elsa wanted so badly to reach out to Anna, to apologize for everything and tell her about lessons and the letters and how sorry she was. But Anna grabbed the door and slammed it shut after her.

The queen winced at the force. She stared at the wood long after her sister disappeared. She didn't know how her heart could still be beating. She'd finally succeeded in pushing Anna away after so many years.

She had to change this. She had to get Anna back. A ray of sunshine like her wasn't destined to bear so much anger. What was the one constant that had pulled them apart again?

Hans.

With a sinking heart, she realized Hans had been right. She had to set him free. With him gone, maybe he could stop the killer. Elsa would be free to tell Anna she didn't know what got into herself, and they'd repair the relationship.

The only thing that kept her from running to his cell now and letting him out was that she was selfish. She now knew why she'd kept him here so long and refused to write to the Southern Isles. Elsa had been stupid enough to listen to him, empathizing and falling in love.

But was it really love? He was a prisoner that had once tried to kill her and lost control yesterday, nearly frying her. And if he felt anything besides friendship, he hadn't shown it yet.

Olaf had said something once, something Anna repeated. Love putting someone else's needs before yours.

With a trembling lip and as much strength as she could manage, Elsa stood, heart sinking further with each step towards the dungeon.

Tea hadn't been the same without Elsa. Ever since August, there'd been so much distance between the two that Anna had a hard time believing anything had changed.

Her glumness must have reflected on her face, because Ingvalda paused in the middle of a monologue to ask, "What's the matter?"

Anna glanced up and shrugged at the woman who had never really felt like family. She reeked of business. "Nothing."

"You've been stirring your tea and staring at the wall for three minutes," Ingvalda said pointedly. Honestly, Anna thought the lady was mad that she wasn't paying attention to her speech on the strain of trade.

Anna was never good at staying quiet, and with everything running through her mind, she needed someone to listen to at least a little of the gossip.

"I just don't understand why Elsa's being so distant," Anna burst. "I mean, yeah, she's kinda been like that her whole life, but this past year she got better and we were talking and having tea and then he showed up and it changed Elsa and I don't like it."

"You mean Prince Hans?" Ingvalda asked. It made Anna feel a little better to have someone attend to her words, even if it was the ex-custodian.

The princess nodded. "She's been talking with him, and I mean like a lot. And she's sure that he's not the killer and I guess it would be kind of hard to kill people from other countries when you're in jail but she's so defensive! And then the other day she just..." Anna couldn't bring herself to spill every secret. Even if she was mad, she couldn't confess that. "I'm just frustrated."

"Where is she now?" Ingvalda asked, her eyes narrower than usual.

Anna shrugged. "She was in her room before. She was holding a letter- oh, and that's another thing! She started getting the mail delivered to her."

"Did she?" Ingvalda said, nearly leaning forward. "Why?"

"I dunno. But she had the letter- and she's been getting letters for, like, weeks, now- and she stuffed it in her pillow all secret-like and I just ugh!" Anna dragged her hands down her face in frustration. "Thanks for listening to me. Kristoff hates hearing gossip, he's always trying to wiggle his way out of-."

"No, thank you, Anna," Ingvalda said, rising from the table. "In fact, I have a feeling our foreign affairs may be settled sooner than I thought."

She pushed in her chair and began to walk away, much to the princess' surprise. "I thought we were having tea?"

"I'm sorry, dear. I believe I have some matters to attend. Forgive me for ducking out early," said the former custodian with a slight bow. And just like that, Anna was once again left by herself.

Anna was left wondering if she might have said too much. In fact, as she stared into her teacup, she felt she'd said enough for Elsa to never want to speak to her again.

I have this nasty habit of piling all kinds of bad onto these characters. Poor babes deserve better than all of this.

All your continued support has me buzzing with joy. Thank you!