Nineteen

Although the last thing Elsa wanted to do was let Hans leave, she decided that their jailbreak couldn't wait until nightfall. After the encounter with the two killers, the queen was sure that the sooner they got the thirteenth prince out of the kingdom, the better.

She'd barely slept that night, and once she woke, she darted straight to Anna's room to tell her they had to do it today.

"What, in broad daylight?" asked the princess with a yawn, scratching her back. "Isn't that super risky?"

"It's been super risky keeping him here for so long in the first place," Elsa said. "The sooner he's gone, the sooner we can all finally breathe again."

Anna seemed to wake up a little more, face laced with concern. "This is really hard on you, isn't it?"

Elsa couldn't trust herself to speak. She just looked down at the bed and nodded. Anna immediately jumped up and threw her arms around her older sister.

"Oh, Elsa," was all she said. It's all she needed to. The queen bit her lip and tried to hold back the tears, but gave up easily and clamped her hands around Anna, grasping like her life depended on it.

Anna held her for as long as she needed, patting her back and resting her head against hers. When Elsa finally loosened her grip and pulled away, Anna smiled and held onto her hand.

"Go get dressed, okay?" she said quietly. "Do you want to break him out yourself? Or..."

Elsa shook her head. "No," she said, voice warbling. "No, would... would you and Kristoff? I don't know if I can bring myself to."

Anna nodded, understanding. "Then you gather the men. Say they're leaving early, and go get the ship. Be docked at noon, okay?"

Gathering a group of grumbling sailors and moving a large, unmarked ship by noon was a little easier said than done. Still, Elsa found herself standing in costume underneath a bright sun. She wore a brown dress and dark vest, and her hair was braided behind a bandanna. No one had given her much more than a passing glance as they bustled through the streets, but her heart was pounding so loud in her ears, she didn't know how no one noticed.

The ship bobbed easily in the water behind her, filled with men who went about their business, tidying up and loading even more supplies. The day was clear and crisp, the sun shining bright and happy and a slight October breeze tugging at Elsa's face. She pulled her dress tighter around herself, less because of the wind and more for self-assurance.

She gazed out into the usual crowd of people to look for her sister, but found nothing. She was beginning to worry as she heard a clock in town chime at fifteen minutes past noon. Anna should have been here already with their prisoner in tow.

The queen had begun to panic and was about to run to the prison herself when she saw three figures moving quickly towards her. On either side were Anna and Kristoff- not dressed in heavy enough disguise, Elsa thought- and a figure in the middle who was almost completely covered in a cloak. The queen could have groaned at how conspicuous they were.

Besides a few curious glancers, the three manuvered their way through the crowd without any difficulty. At least, no one pointed and screamed that the prisoner was escaping, so Elsa had to count her blessings.

She couldn't stand waiting idly on the end of the dock, so the queen hurried over as quickly as she could. She tried to remain cool and calm, but it must have looked more like a jog than a walk to meet the three. They met in the middle of the harbor, Elsa stopping herself before she slammed straight into the cloaked figure.

Anna was smiling, likely from the high of being a criminal. "We didn't even have to hurt any guards," she said excitedly. "So I think we might have like half an hour until they realize that the escaped horse was a wild goose chase. Or... wild horse chase? Anyway, I think we did good."

Elsa nodded, Anna's excitement radiating. Kristoff, however, was nervously glancing back every few seconds. Though Anna said they had half an hour, she believed Kristoff's actions meant it was time to hurry along.

Hans peaked from under his cover, eyes dazzling with excitement just like Anna. Elsa quickly looked away from him. If she wanted to stay cool, she was going to have to keep under control, and making eye contact was the number one way to lose that control.

"Is the ship set?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes," Elsa confirmed. "Let's get him on."

But Anna quickly frowned. "Hey, we go through all this and you're just gonna load him on? You're not even looking at him."

"Anna," Kristoff said quietly.

But the princess had already grabbed Elsa's arm and made her pay attention. "I know you're really upset right now, but if you don't say goodbye, you're going to regret it real soon, and that's gonna haunt you your entire life."

Elsa knew she was right. But she didn't know if she could say goodbye. She still didn't look at the escaped convict.

"Kristoff and I are gonna go check the uh, the water?" Anna said, patting her sister's arm. "I'm gonna give you five entire minutes."

"Just don't... cause a scene," Kristoff added warily, still glancing around. Anna was natural at breaking the law, but Kristoff seemed as worried as a kid stealing their first cookie.

Anna steered clear of going on the ship, but dragged Kristoff over to a space on the dock where the water lapped at the wood. As she left, she said, "Guess we will need to get him out soon, there's an awful lot of ships docked today."

Elsa was left standing in the middle of a crowd with Hans. Funny, no one seemed to bat an eyelash at the queen and Arendelle's most infamous villain. Hiding in plain sight really did wonders.

She was clasping her hands in front of her, wanting to reach out, but not trusting herself to.

"I... I hope you have a safe journey," she said with a small nod, ever looking away from him. He hadn't said a word yet. "There should be enough provisions for at least a month. There's also some things for trade and-"

"Elsa," he stopped her with one word.

She looked from the cobblestone streets up to the man in front of her. Hans still had the cloak around him, and was hunched over slightly, like a beggar. He was an awfully good actor, after all. He placed his hand on her arm, rubbing it lightly and grabbing at the fabric. His touch paralyzed her. It was all she could do to not dive into his arms and beg him not to leave.

"You've been the greatest thing that's ever happened to me," he said quietly. "And I don't say that lightly. I was- still am- a criminal, and a traitor and a tyrant and selfish and..." He laughed. "Well, I'm all sorts of bad. But you pushed through all that and still saw a spark of something else. I've never felt like fire is... good, before. I never realized I might actually benefit from it."

Elsa smiled bittersweetly, remembering one of their first conversations since he'd reappeared. "'King Hans of somewhere new'." she recited. "You're finally going to get what you wanted all along."

His hand was still on her arm, now more of a grasp than something to sooth. "I don't want to be king," he muttered. "I didn't realize how complicated it was. Being king isn't just a title and something to prove my family wrong with. No, I'm going to leave that life behind."

Elsa's face fell. "You're not going to go after the killer?"

He shook his head. "No. Let them take the rest of my family. I'm starting fresh. Once I get on that boat, I'll change my name, change my life. Go somewhere else and start over."

On one hand, she was relieved he'd be out of danger. But her heart faltered as she realized she was part of his old life. She was another thing he was going to leave behind.

"So... so..." she tried to say something, anything, but her mind was blank. This was really the end of it.

He held his arms opened and brought her in tightly. She was now crying, though she swore she wouldn't. Though she felt betrayed and cheated, she held on and gave him the most crushing hug she could. Maybe he was able to let this all go and dispel it from memory, but Elsa was far from letting it go. There was no way she could just forget he'd been a part of her life.

Her heart felt as though it had been ripped to shreds. He was leaving her and he was going to forget all about what they had. She wondered if two days from now, he'd even care that the woman who wanted more than anything to keep him in her arms still remembered and still wanted him and could never forget.

"I love you," she said quietly. She'd never said that before. To Anna, yes, she'd mentioned love, but to him, she'd never said it. And with a sinking heart, she realized he'd never said it either. He'd never loved her. He'd wanted her. 'I think I want you.'

Her hug grew slack when he failed to respond. He didn't say it now, and Elsa knew that he had never wanted her as much as she had wanted him.

She pulled away quickly, horrified by her revelation. But no sooner had she pulled away than he leaned down and kissed her. It was firm and final and made Elsa want to cry. But she closed her eyes and accepted it, pretending that this was his way of saying, 'I love you too', and not just some kind of parting gift.

Too soon they separated and she was left with the ghost impression of his lips against hers. He was indecipherable. Hans held his arm out to her.

"Will you accompany me to the ship?" he asked. It was so formal, so impersonal. All she could do was nod and hold his arm as though it was only for appearances.

It seemed every step took a year, and yet they were at the ship in no time. Anna and Kristoff were waiting at the base, ready to receive Hans and send the ship away.

Elsa didn't want to let go of his arm. She felt like she'd been holding on forever, and she didn't know what to do with herself now that she was on her own. But she let go of him all the same, face as unreadable as his.

He turned to her before stepping up on the plank. The prince bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you for everything, your majesty."

He won't even say my name, she screamed inside. But she still curtsied, nodded, and said, "You're welcome."

And then he turned and left. Just like that, he was up the board and on the deck of the ship. She was out of sight, and she feared forever out of mind.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and immediately wanted to shrug it off. But it was Anna's, and she was trying her best to comfort. So Elsa put her own hand on top and held on. Anna's touch almost filled the void that Hans had left.

And it would take a while to fill that gaping void. It had been bad enough to have him leave, but to have him leave so coldly, with every intention of forgetting about her, had nearly pushed her back to darker times. Times when her mind would creep up on herself and whisper harm into her ear. She could almost hear it speaking again. He didn't care enough to stay. He never loved you, he only thought he wanted you.

"Do you want to watch the ship go?" Anna asked quietly.

Elsa thought for a moment, then shook her head. If he wasn't going to look back, then there was no reason for her to.

"Okay," the princess whispered.

Kristoff faced the queen and smiled. "Things'll get better," he said simply, and Elsa trusted him. He'd never given her a reason to not. So she nodded and tried to smile back. She was glad that at least one of the sisters got to keep the man. She was glad it was Kristoff. Hans had broken both their hearts; it really was for the best that he left.

The three turned around and began to walk back towards dry land, trading wooden docks for hard earth and stone. Although she hadn't intended to ever look back, she couldn't help a little peek. Her heart fluttered just a bit when she saw someone on deck looking back; was it Hans? But they left her sight as soon as they'd entered it, and she was left with nothing.

They'd nearly reached the city gates when they were greeted by five running men. Elsa wondered why guards were running. Her heart beat quickly as she thought about Hans' abandoned cell. Kristoff tried to lead them off the soldier's path, but they changed their direction, aimed straight at the three.

The group stopped in their tracks, confused and scared.

"Who are they?" Anna asked, grabbing for Elsa's hand.

Elsa had thought they were guards, but as they came closer, she saw that half of their uniforms were different, their colors foreign. The other half were Arendelle's, but she didn't know who the others were. They drew closer, and the seal on their coat suddenly became clear.

The queen's heart stopped. She'd seen that seal on many a letter before. They can't be here. Not yet. He's still leaving.

"Halt!" called one of the men, which was completely unnecessary, since they'd already stopped in their tracks.

"How do they know?" Anna hissed, grip tight as a cobra's. "And seriously, who are they?"

"They're from the Southern Isles," Elsa said, head spinning faster by the second. The brothers are here already."

She heard Anna swear quietly under her breath, surprising both her and Kristoff. But Anna offered no apology, and said, "That's why it seemed like there were so many ships in the water today."

The men quickly reached the trio, holding swords out at point. A few folk here and there became incredibly unnerved, especially when they heard what one of the men- one of Arendelle's own- had to say. "Queen Elsa, I hold you under arrest for treason, in plotting against Arendelle and aiding in the escape of a known traitor and murderer."

Elsa could hardly keep her balance. "Under whose orders?"

"By orders of her majesty, Custodian Ingvalda."

Protip: don't listen to the Treasure Planet soundtrack while writing scenes bursting with emotion because you'll end up blubbering

You guys are all wonderful and I love updating, but I fear that I might have to change the schedule from every Monday to every other. I know, I'm trash, but school's starting up and augh, lots of stuff to do. Stay posted.