The dark alley echoed with the anxious tread of the man's boots on the wet cobblestones. His figure cut back and forth through the fog, occasionally stopping to flatten itself against the wall at the first hint of noise. The only sounds to reach his deserted nook were the faint curses and guffaws of workmen and sailors on the nearby docks and the squeaks of mice as they ran from cats. Finally, the man looked up at the full moon and sighed in resignation.
"Well, there goes his last chance," he said to himself. He poked his head around the corner and was scanning to make sure the coast was clear when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. With one instinctive, fluid motion, he whirled around, backed away, and pulled out a dagger.
"Oh, I'm sorry – did I startle you?" said the amused voice beneath the long, black cloak.
"Show yourself!" The newcomer stepped forward into the moonlight and threw back his hood, revealing a young but hardened face framed by fiery red hair. His nervous companion lowered his weapon and sighed in relief. "You're lucky – after tonight, I was going to give up."
"Sorry – it took me longer than I anticipated to access my funds," said the cloaked figure as he untied a small sack, jingling with coins, from his belt.
"I hope you brought enough," the first man said cockily. "Waiting here four nights in a row has doubled the price."
"I'm good for it," the other said impatiently. "Do you have it?"
The older man crossed his arms. "Are you sure? Last I heard, prison wasn't a very lucrative career, Hans." The emphasis wasn't in the word he spoke but in the word he left out.
"You would be wise to remember I'm still a prince."
The first man laughed smugly and said, "I don't think your king sees it that way."
"We'll soon see about that," said Hans, clenching his fist at the mention of his brother. He shook the purse full of coins again and told his companion, "Believe me when I say there's no problem; I've made arrangements for just such occasions as this, so you can stop stalling. Do you have it or not?"
"Well prepared – I like that. Haven't met many traitors who take the proper precautions in case..."
"Do you have it?"
"So eager... perhaps I should triple the price..."
"Do. You. Have it?!"
The older man shook his head, bored with that refrain now. "Calm yourself – it's right here." He held up the leather bag hanging from his right shoulder. His customer took a step towards it but stopped in his tracks when the owner clutched the bag against his side, held out his left hand, and cleared his throat.
Hans poured a few coins from the purse into his palm and pocketed them before holding out the rest. The dealer began rummaging through his bag of goods as he said, "I hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you. This artifact has been in the family for generations. Decades we've spent protecting it from thieves and bandits. And it's paid for itself hundreds of times over. You're getting quite a bargain..."
Hans rolled his eyes in boredom. "Yes, I'm sure it took unimaginable pains and dangers to acquire it."
To his surprise, the older man shrugged his shoulders and said, "Actually, no, it was..."
Anticipating his next words, Hans groaned, "Let me guess – a steal?"
His companion removed a small package wrapped in plain brown paper and string from his bag as he answered, "As a matter of fact, yes, it was. The king sold it to my great-grandfather for a pittance – said it reminded him of a painful part of his past and he wanted to be rid of it once and for all."
"Would've been easier just to destroy it," Hans said doubtingly.
"Not when he knew what would happen if he did."
"If this is a trick..."
"Would I lie to you, Your Highness?"
The customer glared skeptically at the vendor as they made the trade. Hans instantly tore the paper away from the package while its previous owner began counting the coins. The prince grinned hungrily at the sight beneath the wrapping and ran his fingers over the shining silver edges, still unable to believe it was real. "It does exist... at last... after all this time, it's finally mine!"
Still counting his payment, the dealer laughed and said, "I told you you could trust me." Satisfied that he hadn't been cheated, either, he stowed the gold in his bag and headed to one end of the alley. As he waited to be sure no watchman or other unwanted guest was passing when he made his exit, he whispered, "Pleasure doing business with you. If there's ever anything else I can help you with..."
Hans waved the artifact in front of him as he finished: "... I know where to find you."
"Use it well," the first man said sarcastically before he darted off into the darkness.
"Oh, I intend to," the fugitive whispered as he admired his new treasure. It shone brilliantly in the moonlight, with not a single scratch, speck of dirt or rust, or any sign of tarnishing or aging in its smooth, flawless surface. Was it his imagination, or did it vibrate in his fingers, as if it was alive with power?
Time to see if it had as much power as the legend said. After taking a quick, instinctive glance to the left and right, Hans gripped the handle firmly in his right hand, narrowed his eyes, and whispered, slowly and bitterly, "Show me the princess of Arendelle."
The mirror glowed a brilliant emerald green as his reflection was swallowed by a swirling, golden spiral. For an instant, the light burst into a bright, blinding glow that obscured everything; then, the glare died away to reveal, not the face of a red-haired man standing alone in a dark alley shrouded in fog, but a crowded ballroom at the height of the evening's festivities, with not a single idle bystander to be found amongst the army of dancers. He was only interested in one of them: the strawberry-blonde girl who skipped across the dance floor like a sprite, on the arm of a rugged, young, blonde man, both making up for what they lacked in grace and refinement with a seemingly limitless supply of energy and laughter. Hans recognized his face instantly; it would appear that what he'd heard in prison about her marrying that commoner was true. He had never really doubted it, but seeing it with his own eyes was even more surprising than how he was seeing it.
He was too angry to pause to marvel at the magic he had just confirmed that he held in the palm of his hand. That should have been me! was the only thought that registered in his mind. He was supposed to be their adored prince, surrounded by cheering subjects, finally receiving the respect he deserved, with no older brothers to steal the spotlight! Prince? No – he would have been king by now, the previous queen safely disposed of months ago and him sitting securely on the throne beside his wife, who was in too much awe of him to draw away any of his glory or interfere with his spotlight, the entire kingdom at his command, all heads turned toward him, all knees bowed, all the honor he'd been unjustly robbed of his entire life his at last!
His rage grew as he watched the young couple flit around the ballroom. Just look at them! Dancing as if they hadn't a care in the world while he was forced to slink through the streets like a criminal! He should have been the center of everything tonight and every night; instead, he was forced to watch from the sidelines. Just like he'd always been! He had watched his oldest brother be crowned king, the second and third oldest marry neighboring queens, and the rest be honored for wise counsel or bravery on the battlefield while he was trapped on the sidelines. That was supposed to be over by now! Everything had gone wrong! They had ruined everything for him!
You always knew there was a chance it would end this way, Hans reminded himself. He had known from the beginning that attempting to gain a throne by marriage and/or assassination came with certain risks, and he had taken all the necessary precautions should he ultimately fail. Almost as soon as he found just the right opportunity and made his move, he was arrested and sentenced for treason, with his title, birthright, fortune, and estate all confiscated. Fortunately, he had been prepared, storing sufficient amounts of money in strategic locations for just such circumstances as this.
His first goal after he escaped from prison had been to track down the mirror he now held in his hand. It was the only way he could think of to find the key to getting his revenge on the women who had done this to him. It had taken months of searching, bribery, threats, and trickery, but he had finally tracked it down! Now it was only a matter of time before they paid for ruining his plans!
He intended to get more than simply revenge, however. His desire for a throne and kingdom of his own hadn't died; that ambition still burned hot within him, and Hans still had every intention of fulfilling it. The only problem was that, after what he'd done, not only had rulership of the Southern Isles become even more hopelessly unobtainable than ever, but he had no chance of making a royal marriage anywhere now, which meant that, if he were to rule anywhere, it would have to be Arendelle; he would have to take what he wanted from these two sisters – he wasn't going to get it anywhere else. The question was, how?
Princess Anna's husband scooped her up and twirled her around, only for her to pull him into a passionate kiss as soon as he set her down. Hans frowned as he assessed the position this put him in. She was useless to him now. There had been times when he cursed himself for not trying to maintain her trust (maybe if he had kissed her and then played the heartbroken lover, lamenting that she obviously didn't love him like she'd claimed?), but it was too late now. She undoubtedly hated him more than anyone; she would never trust him again. He had no hope of getting the throne through her. That left one other option...
As if responding to his thoughts, the area visible to him in the mirror shifted so that his vision was soon focused on a different figure across the room. Hans dimly recognized Queen Elsa's partner from a ball his parents held years ago, but he couldn't recall his name. Elsa certainly danced better than her sister, although she didn't seem to be enjoying herself quite as much; her smile wasn't half as wide as her partner's, but, still, it was genuine, and the guests surrounding them clapped and laughed as if there was no place they would rather be.
The dance ended, and she thanked her partner and let him kiss her hand but then walked away without a single glance back. The young man looked longingly after her for a bit before sighing in disappointment. She had been attentive and polite but also perfectly cool; he could cherish no hopes of anything more with her. Every man she passed turned to glimpse at her as she walked by, but she simply smiled and shook her head at the bold few who asked her for the next dance. She made her way to the dais at the head of the room and sat down alone with a smile and a sigh, content but not excited, happy but peacefully, not mirthfully, so.
To Hans, the scene was incredible because it looked so normal. On the surface, there was nothing special about the woman, nothing the least bit unusual about her behavior or the attitude of the people around her, nothing to indicate she was different from any other queen in history. One never could have guessed by looking at her what she'd been through in her past or what incredible power she possessed.
"The fool," Hans whispered aloud. "Pitiful..." To think someone with talent like hers would spend her life like this, quietly ruling one little kingdom, when she could conquer countless others! He understood why, when she couldn't control it, it had been necessary to hide it (using it could only have caused more damage than good), but why would she go about business as usual after she learned how to control it? Why didn't she use it for something besides the childish shows and games he'd heard about? He had seen what she was capable of – why didn't she make sure everyone else knew, too? Had she forgotten what she could do?! She could have brought the world to its knees in fear! Forced everyone to obey her! Done anything, gotten anything she wanted! It wasn't fair! If he had that kind of power, he would have put it to real use! It was wasted on her!
That's not the only thing going to waste, Hans couldn't help thinking as he watched men continue to present themselves to her. All of them received a few minutes of pleasant but idle conversation before she moved on; their company may have pleased her, but, apparently, none of them interested her. Whatever it took to satisfy her, evidently, no one in that room had it. Everything about her manner confirmed that, still, no one was getting anywhere with her. Her new wardrobe made it painfully obvious what they were missing. The fact that she wasn't conscious of it, that she walked with that sheer film of ice glittering on her slender shoulders and that train swirling around her shapely legs as if unaware of the effect it produced, only made it worse. Hans looked her body up and down from head and toe, surprised at his own curiosity; he'd never cared to look at many women that way, but, then again, he would have to be blind not to notice how beautiful this one was. He grinned as he watched her flip her braid back as she pushed a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes. Yes, it was a shame – so much power, so much beauty being wasted. It was high time someone fixed that...
I knew I shouldn't have given up on the heir of Arendelle so quickly, Hans thought with regret. She had been his target from the beginning, before comparing her disposition with her sister's had made him decide it would be much more efficient to change tactics. To his credit, he hadn't miscalculated; marrying Princess Anna and making her the heir would have been much easier than trying to woo Elsa as she was back then. His plan had only failed because of the sudden revelation of Elsa's powers, something he couldn't possibly have been expected to account for. The plan was perfect, but everything fell apart because of her freak spell of eternal winter. It was all because of her! Anna was annoying, but she was no threat; to harbor a grudge against that buffoon would have been beneath him. His pride wouldn't allow him to acknowledge harmless, silly little Anna as an opponent. No, his hatred was directed entirely at Elsa – she was the one who had wrecked everything!
He couldn't be too hard on Elsa, though. After all, the eternal winter incident had given him an opportunity he'd never expected. For two days, he'd been the hero of Arendelle, the people's refuge and defender, helping them survive a terrible ordeal, his greatness and virtue proclaimed throughout the land. He had always wanted to be the hero, adored by the masses who looked to him for guidance and protection. He'd finally gotten the recognition and respect he deserved! He should have gone down in history as the great hero who saved Arendelle from the monster that threatened it! He still didn't know what had knocked him out or what had happened before he regained consciousness. All he knew was that he had been robbed of his triumph! He had never gotten his moment of glory!
"You'll pay for that, my lady," the prince hissed at the queen through teeth clenched in anger. She would pay for humiliating him like that! One way or another, her kingdom would be his! He just had to defeat her first...
Therein lies the challenge, thought Hans, looking forward to it. He knew what he was dealing with this time. And, if another legend was true, it should be easily dealt with. Time to get down to business. The last thing he saw in the ballroom was Princess Anna running up to embrace her sister and asking her if she was having a good time. Then he said, "Show me the Snow Queen," and watched the mirror light up again.
When the light faded, he was looking at a vast chamber carved entirely from ice – floor, walls, pillars – coated in a thin layer of snow. Everything in the room was so still that he at first thought it was empty, but when he looked closer, he gasped when he noticed that one of the pillars was actually a woman sitting straight and still on a throne. Both she and the robes she wore were the exact same color as her icy surroundings. She would be about eight feet tall standing up, and she was so pale that she seemed to be made of the same ice as her robes and the room. He would have thought her a statue if not for the cold fire that blazed in her clear, blue eyes. This was indeed the Snow Queen – ruler of winter, commander of ice and snow, key to his victory. And now he knew where to find her! Nothing else to do but get going!
Hans tucked the mirror safely into his small satchel of supplies and threw his hood up before stepping to the edge of the alley. He glanced quickly up and down the street, ducked back into the shadows and waited for one watchman to pass, then made a break for it and ran towards the docks. He would stow away on the first ship he found heading north. Once they got to the next port, he would buy the supplies he needed for the rest of the journey. With such a powerful map to show him the way, he would be there in no time.
"I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."
The low, cold voice reverberated off every wall of the immense chamber, making it impossible for Hans to tell, at first, where it came from. After he'd made himself sufficiently dizzy examining the vast array of ice carved into the most dazzling, intricate shapes and designs all over the floor, walls, columns, and ceiling, he finally spotted the source of the unexpected greeting, far off to his left.
Hans strolled sedately towards to the speaker, an amused grin on his face. "I see introductions won't be necessary," he observed while still a few yards away, unable to stop looking every which way at the frozen splendor around him. Never had he seen such power...
"I assumed you knew that when you invited yourself in," the woman said tonelessly, standing motionless with her head bowed and her back to him.
"Pardon me – when I saw your doors standing wide open, I assumed you were inviting me in."
The slightest hint of laughter crept into the impassive monotone: "Most passersby would take that as a sign to run."
"I never was good at obeying rules."
"So I've seen."
"Then I trust you know why I'm here?" Hans' grin widened as he approached her, as calm and confident as ever.
"It wasn't difficult to surmise. I trust you know who I am?"
Hans indulged in a soft chuckle before replying, "I know everything about you, my lady..." His words disappeared into a gasp of shock as his eyes fell on the floor before him. He looked bewilderedly from the mirror in his left hand, to the woman (unbeknownst to him, smirking at his reaction), to the sight at her feet. Although the entire floor was the rough, uneven surface of a frozen lake, a large, amorphous patch before her was as flat and smooth as a pane of the finest glass, and within it, he could clearly see and hear two men – one with light skin and a finely trimmed beard, the other with darker skin and a thin layer of unkempt stubble – talking in low voices.
"It's impossible..." he muttered, stepping up to the edge. "The Mirror of Reason... it still exists!" He looked back at the mirror in his hand. "But it was destroyed."
"Indeed it was. Over the years, I've put most of it back together. A good many pieces are still out there, of course; the biggest one was found by a faerie, who figured out a way, using the magical properties of silver, to make it work like the whole – a window to the world that allows anyone who looks in it to see anything and everything. The piece you now hold in your hand, correct?"
Hans shook his head to clear it and thrust the mirror into his satchel. "Incredible... so that's how you knew – you've been watching me."
"I've been watching her." With that, the Snow Queen waved her arm, and the image of the two men faded away, leaving nothing but a blank mirror of unmelting ice, reflecting the ice above and around it. She finally turned around to face her visitor.
Watching her? Hans could think of only one motive behind that. "Then it's true... about the last queen and the king... about the curse."
"You knew it was, or you wouldn't have come all this way."
"I had to find out. I had nothing to lose."
The Snow Queen strolled over to her throne as she spoke. "And now that you know, what do you intend to do? Tell me – to what do I owe the honor of your visit, Prince Hans?"
Hans balled his hand into a fist and narrowed his eyes as he said, "You know what I want – I came here for revenge!"
The Snow Queen sighed in either boredom or annoyance or possibly both. "What exactly do you expect me to do about that?"
"I want you to give me the same power you gave Elsa. I'll pay anything you want – my first born, my voice, my soul, anything, just tell me what I need to do to get it. It's the only way I can beat her. And you're the only one who can do it."
"Interesting idea," the Snow Queen mused aloud. "Unfortunately, you're over twenty years too late. I can bestow my powers on humans only when they're born."
"Why am I not surprised?" Hans groaned before he started pacing to relieve the frustration building up.
"Don't be too disappointed – even if I could, I doubt you would have had much of a chance against Elsa anyway."
Her tone and the look in her eyes made Hans say, "You're probably right – after all, she's more powerful than you."
A sharp gust of wind blew through the room, but his expression only grew more smug. "Just as powerful as I am," he heard her mumble.
Hans nodded. "Yes, in hindsight, not the wisest move."
"My curse should have destroyed her! It would have if it hadn't been for..."
"Princess Anna," her guest finished for her. "Thanks to her, now that Elsa's able to control it, she's invincible."
"I'm well aware of that," the Snow Queen said, her voice still perfectly tranquil and even yet seething with fury. "If I had the means to take revenge against her, don't you think I would have done it years ago? There's nothing I can do – I can't touch her."
Hans suddenly raised his head and took his chin in his right hand as an idea struck him. "Maybe you've just been approaching from the wrong angle."
"This must be the part where you suggest I go after her sister or her people instead," his listener said, unimpressed.
"Of course not – she's more than capable of protecting those she loves..."
"DON'T SAY THAT WORD!"
Hearing the Snow Queen raise her voice like that was so unexpected that Hans actually stopped pacing and cringed at the sound. When she leaned back against her throne, he bowed slightly in her direction and said, "Forgive me, my queen. I only meant to say that, although neither of us would be a match for Elsa in battle, or have any hope of getting at... those she is willing to protect, there are other ways to defeat her. Her powers used to be torture for her, bringing her nothing but misery; with a little work, they could be that way again."
The Snow Queen snickered and shook her head. "Is that so? Just how would I go about doing that?"
"The same way you did to her mother. Only on a much bigger scale."
His bemused audience snapped to attention at that ominous statement. "What are you proposing?"
Hans folded his arms and stepped up to her throne. "Does that mean we have a deal?"
"Why would I make any deal with you?"
"Because we both want the same thing – revenge against Elsa. And with my genius combined with your power, we just might get it."
The Snow Queen stared into the distance for a moment, a look of immense satisfaction in her eyes. Hans concluded he'd made a good impression. Finally, she turned to him and asked, "What did you have in mind?"
Hans smiled in triumph as he said, "I should warn you, it will take some time."
"I've waited years to get my revenge against Gerda and Kai and their children; I have the patience to wait a little longer."
"How appropriate, considering what humans say about revenge..."
