As soon as she was out of sight, Hans locked himself in one of the rooms in the castle. He had only his servant with him and allowed no one to enter. He had to think. He needed to get all his facts straight and come up with a plan. Every outcome had to be accounted for. His servant didn't know anything about his true intentions; the poor man just thought his master was nervous because he was in charge. If he only knew that Hans was actually in his element. He felt calm and in control.

"Your Highness, is this truly necessary?" asked Edward, tentatively.

Hans paced back and forth. "Yes, we need to be ready for anything. Go through the list once more."

"Yes, sir." He looked at the list. "Princess Anna returns injured, but with her sister."

Hans toyed with his coat. "The Princess is the first priority; wait until she gets better. The Queen is deemed safe and in the right mind, therefore she'll take control of her kingdom once more." Convince everyone that she's not safe and make sure Anna does not survive her injures, he added silently to himself.

Edward nodded. "The Princess returns injured, but alone."

"Let her get better. The Queen is now assumed dangerous; address that issue by banishing her or permanent imprisonment. Until the Princess is old enough, stay in power to protect Arendelle." Kill off the Queen eventually and marry Anna as soon as possible.

"Correct. 'The Princess does not return nor does the Queen.'"

Hans racked through his memory for the answer. "Wait a while and send search parties. If they turn up negative, then inform the diplomats and other officials of Arendelle. They will handle the issue." Advise them using the right words so that they pick him.

"The Queen returns alone."

"Question her on the whereabouts of Princess Anna. No matter what she says, assume it untrue because any true sister would care about their sibling. Give the reins of power to the officials and they will handle it." Convince them of the Queen's treason and kill her off.

"The Q-," began Edward.

Hans stared out the window of the room. It was the middle of summer and it was snowing. It was absolutely amazing. "Let's stop there, Edward."

"Of course, Your Highness." He was silent for a second. "Sir, are you alright?"

Your Majesty, are you alright? That's what the woman in the crowd asked Queen Elsa; at least, that's what she told him when he spoke to those in the crowd. The woman didn't get an answer or at least a legitimate one; she and all of Arendelle got a frozen fountain and now, snow in the middle of summer. A snowed-in kingdom. "No, I'm not," he answered for Elsa. She was only a Queen in a literal sense, but like he told that official before, she was just as human as any of them. Someone with feelings. A person.

"Sir?" Edward looked worried.

Hans turned his head and smiled. "But I must stay strong for Arendelle and Princess Anna. I can't let petty feelings come in the way of my promise to the Princess."

"Of course, but you certainly should address your feelings, Your Highness."

Hans laughed. "Look at us, Edward, all talking about feelings. Certainly unexpected."

"You seem happy, sir." The servant was relieved to hear him laugh.

"It's because I am happy." He truly was. This was better than he expected. He would never regret coming to Arendelle. It served its purpose of being entertaining.

Edward looked him again; the weary Prince was gone and instead there was a young boy, whom he served and played with. The boy's face was glowing. "I'm glad of it." He hadn't seen that look of pure bliss on his master's face ever since his oldest brother turned sixteen. He could remember the memory as clear as ever.

Hans walked around, his clothes torn, skin caked with mud, and hair mussed up. His expression was that of delight that only made him glow like an angel and look like one too, despite his ragged appearance. One forgot the dirt and just saw the face.

"Ed, we'd better fix that hole in the wall later. Don't tell anyone, alright?" He winked, pleased with himself.

"Of course, sir." Edward smiled, only a few years older than Hans.

Hans was only six and there was certainly an age gap between him and his oldest brother, but he loved him more than anyone else. He could never understand the snickers his other brothers would make when he passed by. Gail told him to ignore them and so he did; Hans had eyes only for his brother. When Gail played with him, the other brothers soon followed and they all had a lovely time. When he was all alone, Gail would cheer him up. He always did.

"Told you a million times, Ed, don't call me that. I'm only Hans."

"Sorry," responded Edward, blushing shyly. "It's just that you're a Prince. I have to be respectful."

Hans smiled, his hazel eyes sparkling. "So be respectful. That's fine. But me being a Prince is nothing. I'm just like you."

"Just like you?" asked Edward, almost telling him the truth, but stopped himself. Sure, he was a servant and worked harder than Hans ever would, but this was Hans. The angelic boy. He couldn't bear to hurt him.

"Yeah, you're not what they call you: a servant. You're my friend."He climbed up the stairs.

"I guess."

"Don't believe anything otherwise, Ed," he said, his expression serious. "Now, where's Gail? I need to give him my present."

"He's in his room, I think. What did you get him?" asked Edward curiously.

He went into his room and began rummaging through his trunk. Hans pulled out a curiously shaped object wrapped in paper. "You'll see. It's great!"

"Alright then. I'll wait downstairs."

Hans looked surprised. "What? Why? Gail loves you as much as I do. You can surprise him too."

"He's probably busy; he will be starting all his new courses today since he'll need to prepare to become King."

"Nah, Gail's never too busy for me." He dismissed the thought easily. "Suit yourself. Wait for me in the hall then."

"Sure," replied Edward, following him out of the room and bowed his head.

Hans laughed. "Come on, now you're just trying to tease me." He never did take anything seriously as all innocent boys didn't. He just didn't understand yet.

Edward kept an eye on his master while he opened the door of his older brother's room and leaped inside with his present. The young servant could hear their voices of what was supposed to be a lovely conversation.

"Happy Birthday, Gail!"Hans' voice was filled with cheer.

A tired sigh. "You shouldn't be here," answered the brother coldly. Edward couldn't believe it; this was the brother who normally spoke so kindly with Hans, the one sibling who actually cared.

"Since when have we cared about rules?" Hans laughed, the last giddy laugh for a long time.

The question was ignored. "How can you prance in here, dressed like a homeless man?"

"Gail, stop joking with me. I brought you a present."

"Out! Hans, get out!"

"Gail, stop this. Stop acting like Mom and Dad. Stop acting all proper. Stop acting like you don't love me!" The voice grew to a shout.

"Guards!" Several of them entered the room hastily. "Remove His Highness out from my room."

"Yes, Your Highness." A pause. "Your Highness, please, you must leave."

"Gail…" His voice was small and shaky.

A guard, carrying Hans, took him out and placed him outside. "Your Highness." He saluted before leaving. Another guard brought his present and placed it gently on the floor next to him.

Edward rushed to his side. "Sir, I'm sorry."

Hans began crying, his tears forming streaks down his face. "Gail…"

Someone laughed and Edward looked around angrily for the source. "Look at poor little Hans, all alone now." It was James, a smirk on his face, with his other brothers. "How sad! Even Gail doesn't have time for him now."

"Gail never did. If only he knew…" Another chuckle. This time it was Thomas.

"Knew what?" shouted Hans.

Louis, Alec, and William all laughed. The triplets responded together, "That it was all a lie."

"A lie?" asked Edward aloud.

"Yes, Edward. You see, my youngest brother is so dense." David smiled wickedly. "This whole friendship with Hans and Gail was just an exercise. Father wanted Gail to learn how to pity and comfort even the lowest of subjects. And the perfect test subject was Hans."

"The lonely Hans. No one loves you, brother," replied George.

Harry smirked. "We don't definitely."

"Never did," continued Andrew.

"We only played with you because, well, that's a secret," added Nero.

"Nah, I think I'll tell him." Chris smiled widely. "We wanted a good word with the future King. It's politics, little brother, you'll learn that soon enough. But you missed your chance with Gail. Your loss."

"Have fun playing with your servant. I suspect even he'll leave you." James chuckled once more before leading the group of evil brothers away.

Edward looked at his poor master. The tears were all dried up, but his face was still a mess. His expression was that of a dead man's. The angel was gone and now what was left was truly an empty shell. "Hans, don't believe them. His Majesty isn't cruel. And Prince Gail would never do that to you."

"It's true then, isn't it, Ed?" croaked Hans. "Gail was just playing a game. It makes sense. If no one else loved me, why would he? He's better than me, more worthy. I'm not good enough for him."

"Hans…remember what you said? That being a Prince is nothing? That I am just like you? Well, the same goes with you and your brother."

His eyes looked at him, but he was not seeing anything with his usual warmth. He only saw unloving figures before him and everything was darkened. "No. Not with Gail. Gail is perfect. Gail is superior."

"Prince Gail is your brother."

A cold smile appeared on his face. "I don't deserve that."

And from that day on, Hans was never the same. His weakness, as his master called it now, disappeared and a new Hans emerged. A darker one. He buried his feelings and memories and became a robot, able to change character and personality when needed. He ignored his brothers completely and studied alone. He became the lonely figure that his brothers described him as before; he even severed ties with Edward. There was no more friendship anymore; it didn't register in his mind. But this trip to Arendelle might bring back the old Hans, the mischievous boy from before.

"Edward?" Hans' voice cut through his head.

Edward blinked quickly. "Your Highness?"

"You blanked out for a minute or two. You weren't answering my questions." Hans was amused.

"Sorry, was it that you asked?" Edward bowed his head slightly.

"I was wondering what you thought about the Duke, but never mind, I shouldn't have asked. It doesn't matter." Hans shook his head, reaching to open the door. "I'll see you later then. I've got a rather urgent meeting with some of the ambassadors and diplomats here."

"Going to fix Arendelle's ties with them, sir?"

"I should, right? After all, these relationships are very important and will affect Arendelle."

"Yes, a relationship, no matter how small, should be patched up." Edward looked straight at Hans, taking his chances with this rare opportunity of his master in a good mood.

"If you're implying something, Edward, I suggest you keep it to yourself," answered Hans, coldly. He knew perfectly well what his servant was talking about and had no desire to discuss it. And that was final.

This whole flashback was not planned, but I think I could fit it into the plot nicely. Also, in this chapter, we got Edward's POV along with Hans', which goes against my format of this story, but it was needed to get the flashback in. We'll return to the movie plot after a few chapters. These chapters are simply taking place while Hans is off-screen in the movie.

Thank you!