Hans remembered, not that he wanted to;
(flashback...)
It was an accident, yet there was a new king crowned by sunset. King Archer. He had made a pact with his youngest brother who was way too far from the throne to be a threat.
"Be a good boy, Hans, and I'll send you a commission."
He had done it for power, they both had. But there was the matter of succession. The king had been married. And, unfortunately, her royal highness came back from vacation pregnant. Apparently the king had sent her abroad during an 'illness' that turned out to be his heir.
Archer had not been pleased, "Take care of it, Hans..."
"...How...?"
The king smirked, "You're smart, you figure it out..."
Sarah knew the schemes of the brothers, so when the one brother furthest from the throne approached her about getting free from the country, and living a normal life for herself and her child, she readily agreed.
She didn't know he had plotted to kill her.
end flashback
...Hans had changed, though. He realized that grabbing power for the sake of power was pointless, and downright evil. What if someone tried to kill his queen?
Sarah was supposed to be dead but not too long ago a demand for money had been made on the king. The right to succession belonged to the eldest son of the present king, so if Archer wanted to keep power, he would have to pay off Sarah.
...and that wasn't going to happen. So, what would the king do? Send in his little brother to do the dirty work.
"You killed her father, now finish the whore and the brat." And that was the clean version of his rant.
So here Hans was, on the way out of town with the most trustworthy man on the planet. Irony, a man hated more than Judas by the local priest was being helped by someone whose name came from 'Christ'.
"So, what's your story, stranger?"
"I prefer to keep to myself."
"I prefer to not. And it's my sled sooo..."
"I don't want anybody getting hurt."
"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."
Hans shrugged, "I'm... a sailor." It was true, kind of.
"Really? Seems like a lonely life, ever think of settling down?"
"A while ago, but... it didn't work out."
"That bad huh?"
Hans kept silent.
Kristoff kept talking, "Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar."
The prince tensed up, "...Shadow. We meet awhile back when you got Shadow."
"Ooooh! I loved that dog."
"I'm sure he loved being loved."
The two sat together in silence.
"So, what're you going to the mountains for anyways?"
"I'm searching for a woman."
"Aren't we all?"
Hans laughed a bit.
"Well, not me," Kristoff's chest swelled with pride, "I have my Anna. She's the best."
"...Anna, the best?" Hans let out a mutter that, for the sake of the children reading this, I will not write. Still, he swallowed his pride and said, "I'm very happy for you. Both of you."
"Thanks. So do you have someone."
"No, I'm completely alone."
"Oh, there's someone, I'm sure. You'll find someone who is the best out there."
"...there is a woman, who's better than the best."
"Do you love someone?"
Hans paused here. He could be honest, and no one would ever know, "...yes. But I messed it up, and now she hates me."
"It can't be that bad."
"I may have... attacked her a little bit. And her family doesn't like me very much."
Kristoff's eyes went wide, "Oooooh! Yeah, that's a problem."
"There were extenuating circumstances."
"Aren't there always?"
Hans shrugged. Kristoff continued, "You apologize yet?"
The prince sighed, "And what good would that do? She won't forgive me."
"Forgive others, and they'll learn to forgive you."
Hans nodded in thought, "That's... actually pretty wise."
"Got it from some love experts. We'll have to have you over some time."
Hans sat there in silence. Apologizing? Seemed stupid, but, maybe if she forgave him... no, he was being silly. He had paid his penance when he got turned into a frickin' dog. But there was no way he would ever have... her.
The two rode together in silence. Up the mountains into Meridian. From there, Hans disembarked by himself.
Kristoff had some final words for his companion, "Love experts; they really work."
Hans snorted, but bowed his head respectfully, "Sure."
He found himself in a small, isolated town where he had contracted a rough seaman named Blacksails to 'deposit' Sarah and her child. In hindsight, it was one of his worst sins. Not that he was partial to any of them. Sins, like people, came in varying degrees of evil. Even lying can be pretty horrible when done the right (or wrong) way.
He walked into the town hall, brushing loose snow off his shoulders and head. He rang a bell and waited. A small, withered woman came out.
"...Hello."
"Yes, I'm looking for someone who came through almost ten years ago; brownish hair, blue eyes, round face. Kept to herself- a lot. And paranoid."
"Oh! You mean Sarah! That poor girl. You know, it's funny. Two men were in here a week before you arrived claimed to be looking for her too!"
"That's because they're going to put her in danger. You know what happened to her?"
"Oh, yeah! Moved into town for about a month, then got married, moved away."
Hans sighed into his hands. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, "Let me guess; Arrendelle."
The woman looked up in shock and smiled, nodding. Hans cursed himself, the universe, and anyone who might be listening, "Of course she did. Excuse me."
Little did he know that Anna, crown princess of Arrendelle, was looking for him.