Twenty-Nine

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was dead.

Elsa now knew why Hans had looked so horrified after she came back to life. The gruesome sight sprawled across the floor wasn't the first time she'd seen someone she loved motionless. A vision of Anna on the fjord hit Elsa like a brick. Her knees were weak, but she was so focused on Hans that she couldn't pay attention to her failing muscles. A small yelp escaped her as she stumbled to the man on the ground.

She paid no attention to Bhumi, who was standing right near him. She was completely blocked out. Elsa only saw Hans. When she reached the body, she dropped to her knees. Despite her best intentions to control herself, Elsa saw that ice was creeping all around the floor, cracking its way around Hans' body. A light snow fell sluggishly, as opposed to hanging in the air like it usually did when she was devastated.

She took Hans' head into her hands, placing it in her lap. He looked like he could almost be sleeping. A cold tear hit his forehead as Elsa shook her head in disbelief.

"Please bring him back," she said in a warbling voice.

"What's done is done," said Bhumi, words deep and final.

"This isn't what you really want. You have to know it's is wrong," Elsa tried to appeal, stroking his hair with a shaking hand. There was a horrible burning in her throat as tears compromised her voice.

"You don't know what I want," the princess snapped. "Be happy I spared your life."

Elsa shook her head, finished speaking. She lay her own head atop his, chest heaving as she sobbed. "Please, you have to bring him back. You have to."

Bhumi, though Elsa couldn't see her, was certainly thinking about something. If she truly was heartless, she would have left after she killed the man who ruined her life. But something had kept her here.

"You should be thanking me," Bhumi eventually said. "He ruined your life too. He's the reason your crown was taken."

The crown was trivial. Elsa had nearly forgotten its loss. So long as Anna was alive and well, she'd give away everyone's crown to Ingvalda. "He wasn't the only reason."

"This man tried to kill you!" Bhumi said, close to spitting the words out. "How can you be so naive? Did he look up at you with big eyes and say 'I'm sorry'? How was it so easy for you to forgive him?"

Elsa shook her head, keeping a firm grasp on Hans' head like if she let go, he'd really be gone forever. Her head drooped, lowering until she was quietly crying with foreheads pressed together. She didn't know what to say.

"You're pathetic," Bhumi muttered and Elsa knew she was turning away.

Elsa should have been furious. She should have been attacking Bhumi, spearing her through the heart with an icicle, but she couldn't. She didn't have a drop of anger amid her sea of absolute anguish. Besides, if Bhumi was dead, there was no chance of Hans ever being reanimated. Maybe if Elsa could talk her way out of this situation... She had one chance to convince the murderous princess.

"I didn't forgive him."

Footsteps halted.

"What?"

Elsa took in a deep breath. "I never forgave Hans for what he did. And no matter what he does, no matter how he pleads for it, I never will."

Bhumi was silent. Elsa worried that she had left, and turned her head towards where the princess had last stood. She was still there, a face full of mixed emotions.

"You've never granted forgiveness. But you still defend him," she said slowly, eyes slit as she attempted to understand.

Elsa could hardly look at the body she held without feeling sick to her stomach. She never wanted to hold another dead loved one again; twice was far too many times.

"Hans tried to kill me once, and he fully intended on letting my sister die. There was a time when I thought there was no justice but to let him rot for his crimes. But... something changed. He revealed his story to me. We had very little in common, but what we did have bonded us. I do believe Hans has changed from the man he was a year ago, and different from the boy who made you cry."

Bhumi had her arms crossed, her headscarf casting shade over her face. But Elsa thought she saw something working its way into her mind.

"I will never forgive him for the man he once was. Nothing could apologize for it. But we can't rewrite the past. You have to understand that the crime you're sentencing him for is past due; he's trying to fix what he's broken."

Elsa saw Bhumi's lower lip curl in, hopefully bitten in thought. Elsa hoped she was thinking in their favor.

"Your sister," Bhumi said, voice quiet and low. "She's fine that you're with her would-be-murderer?"

Elsa choked out a tearful laugh. "Oh, not at all. She tries to not acknowledge the man; her fiance addresses him even colder. But they know that I'm capable, and I know what I'm doing. They know that if I'm happy, Hans must have done something to change."

The princess was quiet again, lips pursed. How could she consider ruining what she'd worked so hard to achieve? Hans' body felt heavier by the second to Elsa's shaking hands.

"That vile woman, Carol," Bhumi finally said. "She plans to still take over the chain of trade. I couldn't go to Corona to kill the twin brothers without Carol's help, so she still has able bodied soldiers for herself. I can't let that happen."

"We can aid you," Elsa pleaded, thanking Bhumi silently for giving her a chance to bargain. "Allow us to fight against the tyranny. Just bring Hans back."

"What do you have to offer?" Bhumi said with crossed arms and a look on her face like she'd regret her decision later.

"Hans would be glad to help you take down Carol. We can offer ships, men, we can-"

"Do you know what Carol's next move would be?" Bhumi interrupted.

Hans was never invited to hear Carol's details of her plot to control the ring of trade; he'd be close to useless on the subject. Elsa saw her opportunity slipping from her. She frantically thought for something that would be in their favor. What they needed was a brother... or nine brothers and a king.

"If you bring back the brothers, I promise you we can get inside Carol's mind."

Bhumi had thrown up a red flag at the mention. "Not a chance. I'm not allowing those oppressors to come back and continue leeching countries."

"What if I guaranteed they'd never be fully in control? Keep them for a few years' service as their punishment. When they hear how their mother was so easy to throw them away, they may turn."

"And if they don't? What if they turn against me?"

"Then you may take their lives again," Elsa assured, firm. She was placing huge bets where it wasn't her place to, but she was a desperate woman. She was so close to bringing the man in her arms back to life.

Bhumi thought more, and the waiting was pure torture. Elsa wondered what kind of internal war waged in the princess' mind.

"Don't let the world harden your heart, Bhumi," Elsa said quietly, paying no mind to the tears that dripped from her chin onto the stone floor. Tears turned to ice in midair, tinkling as they shattered on the stone floor.. "From one magician to another, please."

The princess finally cracked. "Step away from the corpse."

Elsa's heart jumped into her throat. She nodded and carefully laid his head down, backing far enough away for Bhumi to work her magic, but close enough to rush to his side the moment he would gasp for air.

Bhumi hovered above the body, a sour look on her face. Elsa hoped she wasn't having second thoughts.

"To be clear, once I revive him, you'll tell him he isn't to harm me," Bhumi ordered, eyes narrowed. "You'll allow me use of your ship, and we're immediately to begin ending Carol's plot. And if anything goes against what you promised me, I'll take the lives of every Westergard and yourself."

Elsa immediately nodded. She'd never held so much on the balance, but she'd never been so sure of a deal in her life.

With a sigh, Bhumi turned back to the body, leaning down and tapping his face with a slight touch of her finger.

No sound had ever hit Elsa's ears that was as sweet as Hans' desperate wheeze for breath. Bhumi stepped cautiously aside as Elsa scrambled to his side. Hans sounded like a dying animal and Elsa cried as she clung to his hand, squeezing it because she couldn't squeeze the rest of him yet.

They must have looked quite the picture to Princess Bhumi. Elsa had hair falling out of her braid, but she didn't bother to clear it from her face, and her borrowed dress from the Southern Isles hung off her like an ill-fitted sheet. Hans looked like absolute hell, especially as he woke from the dead. The unruly red hair, too pale face, and panicked expression as he greedily took in air completed the portrait.

But appearances meant nothing to Elsa at that moment, she just cried and laughed as Hans breathed for the first time in minutes. He was breathing, that's all that mattered.

"Elsa?" he whispered between gasps.

"Yes. Yes, it's Elsa," she said. "We're alive, it's okay."

He reached out with his free hand and put it around her, dragging her down onto him. She had no complaints, and wrapped her arms gingerly around him as he caught his breath.

"Bhumi?" he asked.

"She's here, but-"

Before she could finish, a blur of motion caught her eyes, and she turned towards the cave's entrance. Standing there, breathing heavily and wielded with a sword was Anna, looking for Bhumi no doubt. Elsa remembered telling her sister to get them at sundown.

She turned away from her prince to stand up and wave at Anna. She couldn't let her loyal sister make Bhumi think that their deal was void. "Anna! Anna, it's okay! Don't hurt her!"

Anna spotted Elsa and very warily put her sword down, though she looked grateful to see Elsa well and standing. Then her eyes drifted to Hans on the floor, who was struggling to sit up and clung to Elsa's leg for support.

"She's here?" he wheezed, in reference to Bhumi. "We have to..." he couldn't get the words out, but a weak bit of fire lit in his hand.

"No," Elsa said. "We're not to harm Princess Bhumi. We made a deal."

Hans looked at Elsa like she'd sentenced him to die again. "You what?"

"Should I call everyone off?" Anna interrupted from the cave's entrance.

Elsa said yes, and Anna nodded before returning into the cave, everyone else probably waiting to hear the signal to ambush.

Bhumi, who'd been standing off to the side of the cave, had been watching all of this unfurl quietly, and now took the lead. She stepped out of shadow and stood tall. "Get up. We're leaving."

There was very clear panic in Hans' eye, but he took no action because of Elsa. He looked at her pleadingly, asking what was happening, but Elsa only shook her head and helped him get to his feet. He stood with shaky legs, and relied on Elsa for support. She didn't mind one bit.

The snow that had first fallen when Hans died had since waned, leaving only remnants of a cold dusting on the stone floor that Elsa hoped to never see again.

Bhumi waited for them at the entrance of the cave. She didn't look pleased, but neither did Hans. "Hurry up. We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

The princess then turned on her heel and walked into the dark cave. Elsa and Hans followed, shaky and slow.

"What is happening?" Hans hissed to Elsa.

A million thoughts were rushing through Elsa's mind. Had she made a very bad deal in her desperation? She couldn't quite remember. She only shook her head.

"Something good, I hope."

Though it came as no surprise, the others didn't like have Bhumi on board. Truth be told, Elsa didn't like it either. A practicing murderer with loose enough ethics to break their own promises wasn't the first choice she would've made. But Hans' life was worth more than a few days on the boat with her.

Elsa wanted to tell Hans, Anna, and Kristoff in private everything that occurred in the cave, but as soon as they boarded the ship, the whole crew was buzzing with questions and panic at the lack of Jørgen and the addition of Aruna's princess.

Elsa bit her lip. Everyone looked tired and cold and confused. She felt like they deserved the right to know. But they couldn't know it was Queen Carol, not yet. They wouldn't believe it from her. She'd have to twist the story.

The afternoon had been full of impulse decisions, and she figured one more couldn't bring anymore chaos than had already been unleashed. She drew a small crate out and stood on it, towering over everyone else.

"Everyone, please," she began, waving her arms across the crowd to hush. But they grew quiet very easy; they were all interested in what she had to say.

"Your Princes Jørgen and Hans have been losing parents and brothers for months now, and tonight we found a motive and faces to match the crimes. The Westergard family will finally get it's justice!"

The crowd cheered, though there was still some confused mumbling among them. Elsa knew that she hadn't been a very good queen when it came to legal work and basically every royal duty, but she was very good at speaking in public. She knew just what to say to please her people, even when her actions betrayed her.

"Unfortunately, your Prince Jørgen was taken by one of these horrific traitors to the Southern Isles," she said, and everyone began to mumble in panic. "He's isn't dead, don't fret! Only being used as a pawn in a game that we intend to win! We are going to rescue the prince and tell these killers that we will never be finished!"

Another cheer, quieter and a little less certain, erupted. Hans was looking up at her strangely, almost amused under all the misery and exhaust. She tried not to look at him and lose her motivation.

"But I have with me someone who may be able to remedy the ills against your kingdom. We now have a magician who can bring the royal family back to life!"

Her statement was followed by very confused mumbling and astonished muttering. Elsa glanced down at the Indian princess, who had wide eyes. She was obviously not expecting to be framed in a positive light.

"Princess Bhumi of Aruna wishes to help right the wrongs done by the fiend who took Prince Jørgen. She has the ability to bring the dead back to life, and is willing-"

"Isn't she the woman who brought you into the cave?" yelled someone in the crowd, presumably one who had been in the boat onshore.

Elsa pursed her lips as the crowd began to murmur again. Bhumi looked a little worried, almost startled.

"The princess was double crossing the villain," Elsa called out, almost telling a whole truth. "She promises all she wants is to bring the real villain to justice."

There was more muttering, almost understanding but still uncomfortable.

"Is she some kinda necromancer?" called out another.

Elsa knew of the above-average intolerance of magicians that the good people of the Southern Isles had. But now their leaders were her and Hans; they'd have to pay at least a bit of respect to those with magic.

"Princess Bhumi is here to help," she said finitely. "She's going to bring back your king and princes. I would suggest following what she wishes."

Everyone seemed to mutter in agreement, even if many had conflicting feelings.

"Tomorrow morning we sail," she concluded. "You may all retire for the night."

The sailors mumbled their way down to the sleeping area, some casting glances at Bhumi and some at Elsa. It was obvious the only person they'd trusted in power had been Jørgen. What were their other choices for leadership? The traitor prince and the ex-queen of Arendelle. They were partially at a loss in the near power vacuum. But for tonight, they would all sleep.

Anna was all over Elsa when she stepped down from the crate. "That can't be the whole story, tell me everything."

Elsa smiled and pulled Anna into a hug, so glad that she was safe. In the past hour or so, she'd realized how easy it was to have life smudged out.

"Hans' mother and Bhumi were the killers. Queen Carol is a magician and took Jørgen away to take over the world."

Anna pulled away with huge eyes. "What?"

"The rest is a long story; I'll tell you tomorrow," she mumbled. "I need sleep."

Though Anna looked like she'd explode, she nodded and sighed heavily. She wished Elsa goodnight and left to gossip at Kristoff before bed.

That left Hans and Bhumi. Elsa turned to see them standing very far apart from each other, both highly uncomfortable. Elsa tried to smile at the princess.

"You can have Prince Jørgen's cabin," Elsa offered, gesturing with her head for Bhumi to follow.

Bhumi's face turned from uncomfortable to hard as rock. "Lead me to it."

Elsa brought Bhumi to her room, wishing the princess a good night and was returned a confused glare and a closed door in the face. She hoped the good attitude would tell Bhumi to not go back on their promise.

Hans, who had followed them, wrapped his arms around Elsa from the back. She grew sleepy immediately, and sighed while she closed her eyes.

"What's happening?" Hans asked. "What happened after I died?"

Elsa didn't want to talk. But she started walking, pulling him out of an embrace and grabbed his hand instead. "Stay the night in my room, I'll explain everything."

Hans looked a little surprised. "Oh. Did you want to...?"

Elsa smiled, feeling a touch of heat in her cheeks. "Not tonight. Just be there beside me. I want to hear you breathing."

He squeezed her hand as they reached the cabin door. "For you, I'll never stop again."

I could never be that cruel to kill him off, you guys musta known that already. And things are very much looking up! Unless, of course, you don't trust Bhumi. In any case, I'm sad to say that there's only a few chapters left. I suspect that about three more. But I'll admit, you guys have pumped a whole lot of story out of me. Hope to savor these last few!

Happy Holidays!