Merry Belated Christmas everyone! If anyone is reading this story, first of all, big thank you and secondly, I hope you enjoy!

After a day passed, Rapunzel received another letter from Arendelle. She read the letter in her room, a hand making its way to her lips as she gasped, realizing that the Prince they met the other day was from the Southern Isles.

She sent for Eugene, who came running, huffing and puffing up the steps.

"What's wrong, blondie? Guy said it was urgent." he said, trying to catch his breath. Rapunzel held out the letter. "What's this? Eugene asked, taking the letter.

"Read." Rapunzel told him. Eugene's brown eyes scanned over the letter and widened as he read.

"Whoa shit." he muttered.

"Language, Eugene."

"Sorry blondie, but this is serious. I mean... really serious. What if that Hans guy is here? What if that was him we met in town?"

"It could be any of them. There's thirteen Westergard brothers and a lot of them look alike." Rapunzel said.

"Yeah, that's true."

"Eugene, we need to see him again. We need to ask him some questions to see if he is who he says he is."

Eugene thought for a moment. "I'll do it."

"What? Eugene-"

"No, no arguing with me on this, blondie. That guy could be some really bad news. I'm not risking you getting hurt. And plus, I used to be a thief, remember? I know how to tell when a person is lying or not with my eyes closed." Eugene insisted.

Rapunzel sighed. She knew he was right. "Okay... but take Max with you. And be careful, Eugene."

"Already planned on it. You know Max can smell a liar a mile away. And me, careful? Hon, remember who you're talking to." he said, smirking as he kissed Rapunzel's head.

Kristoff wondered if the sun was out. He had absolutely no idea where Hans was, but he didn't care. He'd hoped he walked off of a cliff or something, which would've been nice. Feeling antsy, he looked over at the Duke of Weselton's cronies that had been watching him since he'd been taken. He'd heard them call each other by name, finally and he put together that the one with facial hair was called Erik and the other was Francis. His eyes burned with hatred for them, these two people that had beaten him up for no reason at all. They'd been stopped by Hans, which Kristoff was grateful for, but he didn't know why… As his mind wandered, he heard a noise coming from above them.

What the...? Could it be?

He glanced over at Sven, who had heard it too, his ears twitching. As Kristoff listened, he could faintly make out the sound of voices… and footsteps.

Someone else was in there with them. Were they here to help him?

He shifted his gaze to Erik and Francis, who looked worried, almost scared as they had heard the sounds as well.

"Shit, you think someone's found us out?" Erik asked.

"There's no way. Nobody knows we're here."

As the footsteps sounded above them, Kristoff's breathing became rapid as he figured out what he had to do. He had to get their attention, whoever was up there. Sure, they were probably thieves looking to plunder whatever tower they were in, but he didn't care. Anywhere would be better than here. Kristoff looked over at Sven, who knew what he was thinking and gave him a firm shake of his head. Kristoff worked his jaw, trying in vain to slip the gag off of his mouth, but it proved useless. Rolling his eyes, he looked up at the ceiling and began to shout for whoever was there, his pleas muffled by the gag.

"Mmmfff! Mmff hmmm mmff!" he called to them. Help! I'm down here!

As Kristoff began to shout, he was oblivious to the Erik and Francis scrambling, realizing that they had to quiet him somehow.

"Holy-!"

"Get over there, now! Keep that bastard quiet!" Erik hissed to his cohort, who quickly made his way over to Kristoff, pulling a knife from his waist as he clapped has hand over Kristoff's mouth, silencing him even more. Regardless of his position, Kristoff continued to scream in vain for whoever was up above them, desperate for any help he could get.

"You'd better stop all that screaming and shut that mouth of yours, Ice boy." Francis snarled into his ear, pressing the blade of his knife to Kristoff's throat. "Be. Quiet."

Kristoff gulped, doing as he was told. Sure, at this point he hardly believed he would get out of this alive, but just in case something did manage to happen, he didn't want to die now at the hands of this son of a bitch. His breaths were rapid, coming through his nose as he struggled against his bonds, trying in vain to free himself in any way before he felt Francis push the knife even deeper into his neck.

"What did I say?" he hissed as Kristoff felt stinging sensation on his neck, closing his eyes tightly and whimpering into the gag as the man slowly cut into him.

"Be still and keep quiet if you want this to be the only thing I do." Francis warned. He then removed his hand from over Kristoff's mouth and held him by the jaw, his knife still pressed against his neck. Kristoff did his best to swallow the pain, the blood dripping from his neck down his to his chest as the footsteps above continued.

"Nobody's here. There's nothing." Kristoff heard a faint voice say.

No! I'm here! Please! Please, come down here! Please! Help me!

"The boss probably won't be too happy about this. Suppose we'd better break it to him gently."

"Guess we'd better get out of here. Good thing too. This place gives me the creeps."

Kristoff listened for the men, their footsteps retreating as he stared helplessly up at the ceiling. After a few minutes, they had gone. Francis then released him and pushed him to the ground roughly, Kristoff letting out a pained, muffled grunt as he hit the stone floor.

Where was he? How would he get out? Would he ever see his family again? Would he ever see Elsa or Olaf again?

Would he ever see Anna again? Would he ever get the chance to tell her how he really felt deep down inside? Sincerely?

Kristoff closed his eyes tight and laid his head down against the floor, trying his best to fight back the tears.

Be a man, Kristoff. Don't let them see you cry. Don't you shed a tear… don't do it.

He couldn't help it. He had been reduced to nothing, his lowest point. Sure, he'd been pushed around all his life by others, but this was a hundred times worse. Days away from home, bound, gagged, beaten, bruised, broken and no chance of getting out. He thought of how Anna must feel and a couple of stray tears came from his eyes. Help had been so close, and yet he couldn't even call for it…

It was over…

Eugene sat in a booth at the local pub and inn, hoping to see a sign of Elias or... whoever he was. He'd been there for about an hour now, leaving Maximus outside. As Eugene finished his beer, he saw the door open and the Prince walk inside and approach the bar.

"I'd like a-" he heard him begin before yelling across the pub at him.

"Hey, you!" the prince looked at him. Eugene waved him over. "Got an extra seat here if you wanna join me!"

Hans thought for a moment and shrugged. If he didn't join Eugene, he might not leave him alone and he'd rather not have Eugene suspicious of him. He approached the booth and sat down as Eugene waved down the bartender.

"Be a doll and get us two more, if you would!" he called over.

"Sure thing, Eugene."

Eugene smirked and turned towards the prince. "So, how's it going?" he asked, playing it cool.

Hans shrugged. "Going pretty well. It's a lovely kingdom you and Rapunzel have here."

"You're telling me. Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd like that part but hey, I guess you kinda learn to like your kingdom, huh? Speaking of which, how do you like your kingdom? I hear it's beautiful there."

"It is rather nice there if I do say so myself," Hans said, "It's just across from Arendelle so the winters get pretty cold, but they are beautiful."

As they spoke, a waitress came and set their beers down in front of them. Eugene took his beer and sipped it, raising his glass to the waitress.

"Appreciate it."

"No problem, Eugene. Let me know if I can get you two anything else, all right?"

"Will do."

Eugene turned back to the prince as he tried his beer. The prince looked god smacked.

"Strong beer, huh?" Eugene smirked.

"Oh yes... very strong." Hans choked out.

Eugene chuckled, "Takes some getting used to. By the second glass you'll be begging for a third. They brew it right here in Corona."

"Is that so?"

"Mm-hm." Eugene sipped his beer. "So, you just visiting Corona or are you just passing through?"

"Just passing through. I heard it was beautiful, especially with those floating paper lanterns they let go at night. Do they still do that even though Rapunzel is back?" Hans asked.

"Oh yeah. She loves those lanterns. She could never let those go."

"Right." Hans took another swig of beer. Eugene studied him carefully, but with a sense of subtlety. Since he'd read the letter, an uneasy feeling began to stir inside him but he remained as calm as he could. Being a thief for years had disciplined him very well, believe it or not.

"So, how long are you planning to stay?" Eugene asked.

"Probably a couple of days." Hans answered, his eyes on his beer instead of Eugene.

Lie.

"Are you staying here at the inn? I hear it's a great place to stay. Good food, good service."

"Yes, I have a room upstairs actually."

Another lie.

"Oh okay, that's good for you. Did you come with anyone or are you traveling alone? Could get awful lonely traveling all by yourself." Eugene said, sipping his beer.

"No, it's just me." Hans said, looking down at his beer and taking another sip.

You lying son of a bitch.

"It doesn't get lonely?"

"Eh, you get used to it."

"You travel a lot?"

"Every now and again."

Bet you do a lot of traveling. Especially lately. Eugene thought. "Ever been to Arendelle yourself? I know its right across the water from you guys."

"Never been. Just two of my brothers."

Lie number four.

"Which ones? Maybe I've heard of them. Rapunzel and I visited there a few months ago and there was a Westergard brother there."

"That was Hans." Hans said.

Eugene snapped his fingers as if to act surprised. "Oh yeah! I remember. He's the one who got in all that trouble for trying to kill the Queen and her sister, yeah?"

Hans downcast his eyes, a little uneasy, but he couldn't let Eugene see that. "Sadly, yes. That was my brother." he mumbled.

Eugene clicked his tongue, "What a naughty boy he must be. Pity that had to happen, isn't it?" he asked, toying with him.

"A real shame."

"I have one other question for you, Elias." Eugene said, taking the pictures of Kristoff and Sven from his pocket and smoothing out on the table. Hans' throat tightened as he looked down at the pictures. He looked up at Eugene and his green eyes met brown.

Shit, thought Hans.

"These two went missing from Arendelle a while back and we've been asked to keep an eye out for them. You haven't seen them around Corona have you?"

Hans shook his head, giving Eugene all he needed. "No, can't say that I have."

Eugene inhaled deeply, showing signs of disappointment. "The man's name is Kristoff Bjorgman. We hear he's about your height, you may have an inch or so on him but then again he wears boots most of the time. As you can see from the description, he's got messy blonde hair and brown eyes. The reindeer's name's Sven and he'll most likely be wherever Kristoff is. So, if you do manage to catch eye of them while you're here or you hear something, you come straight to me or Rapunzel and let us know. Got it?"

"Crystal." Hans said, hesitating slightly. Eugene's brown eyes lingered on him for a moment before folding up the papers and stuffing them back in his pocket.

Bingo, thought Eugene.

He chugged down the last of his beer and slammed the mug down on the table, letting out a long exhale. "Nothing like a good drink, huh Elias? Can I call you Elias?"

"Sure."

"All right, well, Elias," he began, getting up and stretching out, popping his back, "I'd better get going, it's been a long day." he said, faking a yawn. "Can't keep the wife waiting, y'know?"

"Right."

Eugene straightened up and went over beside Hans, extending his hand. "Good talking to you. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Until then..." Hans took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Good talking with you." he said. Eugene flashed him a grin and winked, giving his shoulder a quick slap before exiting.

"Catch you on the flip side, handsome." he said as he exited. Eugene heard the door shut behind him as he mounted Maximus, who whinnied at him.

"Oh you'd better believe it, Max." he said, looking back at the pub, "This is the guy we're looking for."

Inside the pub, Hans saw Eugene look back before he rode away.

Suddenly he didn't feel quite so safe anymore.

Ooh stuff's getting real. Any theories? Thoughts? Let me know! (please, I'm really doubting myself because I have a strong feeling nobody reads anything I write so if you do, please let me know because the slightest little thing will make my day!)