Arendelle Docks
"Must you really go?" Anna whined for the twentieth time today as Elsa strode down the dock, accompanied by her Guards.
Elsa sighed, starting to become quite irritated. "Yes, Anna. I have to do this." As annoyed as her sister's pestering was, Elsa hardly blamed her sister for her anxiety, for several reasons. First, boat travel and this family did not historically end well. Second, Anna was expected to assume the royal duties while she was gone. And third, easily the biggest reason, Elsa was visiting the Southern Isles of all places.
"But why?"
"Because this is my fault." Perhaps not the best words to say.
"Excuse me? Hans attempts to murder both of us and steal our kingdom, and it's YOUR fault?"
Elsa paused, trying to word the situation in the best way. "Yes, Hans was a bastard. But, the Southern Isles swore they had nothing to do with it, and yet I acted in anger. I made King Frederick beg for normal relations, which embarrassed him greatly." Anna looked at Elsa in confusion, not grasping the importance of the situation.
"Look, many people here in Arendelle still equate The Southern Isles with Hans, and have been increasing prices or not doing business with them at all. The best way to assure them and stabilize relations is for me to go to Southern Isles on a goodwill tour." Anna, started to grasp the situation but still lacked the vital information Elsa did.
"But why? We have other trade partners than Weselton and the Southern Isles. Why do we need to?"
Elsa sighed, finally deciding to tell her the truth. "For Papa's sake."
Anna grew pale with a shocked expression. "What?"
"You were too young to remember, and for the most part so was I. But our father and King Frederick were very close when they were younger, to the point that he is my godfather. I forgot that shortly after the Great Thaw. I owe it to Papa to stabilize relations"
Anna nodded, understanding before snapping back into irritated and defensive mode. "But what if it's dangerous? It could be a trap. If only one of his brothers is like him, it could be fatal!"
Elsa smiled, placing her hand on her shoulder to reassure her sister. "Don't worry, I would not have left without a sizable armed escort, which King Frederick has graciously permitted to take, understanding my caution."
Anna was still skeptical, but finally nodded, give her sister her blessing to undertake the voyage. She light up again, impulsively making a decision. "But I'm coming too!"
Elsa recoiled, stunned. "What? No!" She unclasped her hands, breaking her calm demeanor and beginning to raise her voice and gesture at her sister. "I need you HERE, to help the Prime Minister."
"Nah, he'd be happier and less stressed without me here. I need to keep you company and out of the drama place!" Elsa paused realizing that she was right in both counts, not sure how to respond.
Anna laughed, slapping Elsa on the shoulder. "Come on, It'll be an adventure!" Elsa sighed, signaling a Guard to run a message to inform the Ministers. I hope so Anna, I do hope so.
…
Kesselburg, the Southern Isles
"Presenting Queen Elsa, of Arendelle!" The horns sounded as Elsa gracefully was led off the boat by her Guards. Everything about today was a statement planned days in advance. Her Guards were wearing the newest issue uniform, a drab green wool uniform, following many European armies of beginning to discard bright uniforms for duller and easier to produce uniforms. In addition the cumbersome Shako had been replaced with soft service caps.
They also carried new revolvers and slung Dreyse Needle rifles to symbolize Queen Elsa investing heavily on a stronger, modernized Arendelle Army. With these weapons and modern cartridge pouches and belts, they certainly looked cutting edge.
Even Elsa had carefully planned out her outfit. She left her ice dress behind and wore a concealing dress bearing her nation's colors of purple and green. She also wore her gloves. It wasn't that she did not have control over her powers, it was a simply a show. Looks mattered today, and while Elsa hated the damn things, she had to appear as non-hostile as possible.
She also wore her crown, another item she preferred to go without, but wore for the sake of appearances. Waiting for her was King Frederick and Major Josef, Captain of the Guard. Both bowed as she stepped of the gang plank.
"Your Majesty, welcome to the Southern Isles." He gestured down the dock, leading towards the castle. Queen Elsa nodded, and proceeded to follow the two down the dock. Before they could begin to converse, a shouted "Wait for Me!" startled the two men, but hardly fazed the Queen. It was Anna, sprinting down the dock, up to her sister before settling next to her sister, fidgeting as she recognized the older man as the King.
The King was puzzled. "Princess Anna? I did not expect you to come as well. I specifically did not send you an invitation due to… past events."
"Well, I go where my sister goes." Anna said, a matter of factly but awkwardly. "So what are we doing while we're here?"
"Well, we planned a quick ceremony with reporters and the new cameras. After that there is a wedding along with the reception. We do not wish to keep Queen Elsa here too long away from her duties, so the third day is a day of rest, with a ship ready to take her home that evening."
Queen Elsa nodded. "I get the feeling that you want me gone as soon as possible."
King Frederick smiled. Agdar didn't raise a fool. "To be honest Queen Elsa, you are not the only one that finds this awkward. I still remember you as the girl I bounced on my knee. And now I have to beg you for forgiveness."
Elsa nodded as they continued to stroll down the walkway. "I should have remembered those days in the immediate aftermath of the Great Thaw. I admit mistakes were made."
"Cleary, Queen Elsa. Just as I made a mistake as to what son to represent me at your coronation."
Anna was bored. As far a she could tell, it was just two people sucking up to each other. She rolled her eyes and prepared to speak, before Elsa sent her a chilling glare. Leaning in she whispered "This is diplomacy, just stay quiet, and let me do the talking."
Anna rolled her eyes again. Maybe she should have stayed back in Arendelle.
…
The first day had gone smoothly, the only hiccup being the photographs. While Elsa had had a photo taken of her at the Coronation, she had expected and braced for it. At the ceremony she had not expected the flash and small explosion as each of the series of cameras had gone off. It turns out it was a good thing she was wearing the gloves, or she might have given King Frederick frostbite.
Other than that it was a simple ceremony. A new treaty was signed, helping bring relations hopefully back to normal, and the amount of reporters would hopefully mean that the merchants of Arendelle would stop setting unfair prices for exports. There was a banquet, which security was tricky. The Guard Sergeant in charge of the detail, (Ironically named Hans) had insisted that her servants cook Queen Elsa's food. This didn't sit well with either the Chef or Major Josef. A compromise was struck where a guard would monitor the cooks and the Queen and King would share the same cooks. To avoid further trouble, Elsa simply conjured Ice water instead of wine.
Afterwards, to demonstrate trust in their Arendelle allies, King Frederick asked her to demonstrate her ice powers. Nervous, Elsa only performed a few simple tricks, afraid that a major stunt might backfire or harm someone. Luckily, Anna was there to back up Elsa and reassure her.
One thing that no-one did, not even Anna, was talk or ask about the Elephant in the room- Prince Hans. He was not mentioned by any of the royal family. Six brothers were there, and another two mentioned, but the King simply explained that the "other brothers", not even given a number at five, were "away." Considering the damage he had caused, it appeared to Elsa that everyone wanted to forget about Hans.
Elsa slumped as she entered the room, removing her gloves and tiara and falling down on the bed to remove her heels. She had to wait for 30 minutes outside the door as the Guards "cleared" her room of danger, and then attempted to tidy up. In terms of the latter, well… there's a reason Guards don't double as servants. It was neat, but many of the things there out of place, overly straightened or oddly organized. The room was ready for a Sergeant's inspection, not a Queen.
Since Servants had brought their luggage up early, that too was inspected, so when Elsa attempted to open her suitcase for a nightgown, all she found was a series of neatly rolled clothing articles. Socks, Underwear, Gowns, dresses, gloves, everything was an identical roll.
Elsa sighed. I'll need to establish a new security protocol when I return to Arendelle. Before she could begin to undress the door flew open, as Anna bound into the room and Leaped onto the bed. The bounce promptly lifted Elsa into the air and caused her luggage to spill onto the floor. Luckily, her security had swept before leaving or her clothing would have dirt, dust, and boot polish on it.
Anna laughed as she sat up, looking around the room. "Where's my bed?"
"You're sitting on it."
"Where's your bed." Anna asked, already knowing the answer.
Queen Elsa sighed. "You're sitting on it."
"WHAT?!"
"They only prepared one bedroom for us because they only knew that I was coming. And they were not able to get another on such short notice due to the stupid wedding. Half of the Southern Isle's is here."
"But Elsa, we never shared beds for a reason! You're cold as ice when you fall asleep!"
"It's too late now, besides, we don't have enough Guardsmen to guard two rooms. They have 2 hour shifts throughout the night as is."
"Ugghh." Anna fell back onto the bed. And I didn't pack winter wear.
…
Elsa and Anna shuffled down the pew, mere minutes before the ceremony was to start. As a sign of goodwill, they were seated next to King. Once again, he had no issue with Queen Elsa taking precaution. Sergeant Hans and three others were inside, unarmed of course as it was a church, on look out. Elsa was not too terribly worried as all she had to do was take off her gloves and she would be armed, they were simply looking out for trouble. The other six were outside, armed and in pairs at the entrances, paired with their counterparts from the Southern Isles.
As they sat down, they were greeted by the King. Preempting the eventual question, Queen Elsa apologized. "I'm sorry King Frederick, but we took longer to get ready that expected." She whispered out as she shot a glare at Anna.
"What?" Anna whispered defensively.
"It's your fault we're late."
"I wouldn't have needed so much time to get ready if I wasn't wearing 3 layers of clothes in bed!"
"Quiet!" This time is was the King. Diplomacy or no Diplomacy, he did not suffer childish bickering.
As they settled in the wooden seats, Anna looked up at the altar. Nobody had arrived yet except the priest.
"Elsa, who's getting married again?"
"Let me check." she pulled out a program. "Huh. The Lord of Kurzheim, Lord Hans."
"What!"
"Relax, Hans is a common name here. And that Hans was a Prince. There is no way Hans was the Lord of a backwater like-"
At that moment a number of Southern Isle's soldiers came in through the main entrance, quickly marching to the altar, taking the place of the best men. One was an actual officer, the rest were common soldiers.
That's strange. Why would-
Then a face that neither would ever have wanted to see again, came strolling down the aisle, accompanied by two guards. Elsa's heart froze as Prince Hans, of the Southern Isles took the place of the groom. Elsa could feel the inside of her gloves freeze to ice, as she began to have a panic attack. A flashback of a broken Queen on the ice, sobbing, as a merciless sword came down to end her life.
Anna did her best to calm her down, while attempting to get through her own panic attack. A study with all the lights and fires being extinguished, a cold room, with a cold man with an even colder plan of murder and succession. A love extinguished as surely as the candles and fireplace.
In between breaths, Elsa demanded information. "What… is… HE… doing here!"
King Frederick placed his hand on her shoulder, uncaring as his wooden hand turned to ice. "I assure you, Queen Elsa, I will explain everything in time. Just relax and enjoy the wedding."
Trusting the King, she tried to relax, but every time she looked up through the ceremony, she could only see the gaze of hatred emanating from the Princes' eyes.
…
As soon as the carriage began to roll, both sisters began to demand answers from the King, however Anna was the one he heard.
"What is Hans doing here!? You said you dealt with him, you said he was punished!"
King Frederick shouted for the first time since the two arrived. "ENOUGH!" He paused, returning to a quiet but stern voice. "I did deal with him, and he has been punished"
"How is being made a Lord and given lands a punishment?" Anna demanded to know as Anna tried to reign her sister in.
"Tell me Princess Anna, have you ever head of Kurzheim?"
Anna stopped, thinking back of all the geography lessons she slept through. "No, but I bet Elsa could tell you all about it!"
Elsa placed her hand of Anna's forearm, a subtle message to let her handle this. "Actually, Anna, I only remember Kurzheim as a footnote in the geography of the Southern Isles. I never knew it was its own lordship." The admittance of a lack of knowledge on Elsa's part baffled Anna. Elsa never slept or day dreamed in class…
"Exactly. With 5000 people and 3 villages, a small fishing and wool industry, and poor weather conditions and its remoteness, Kurzheim is hardly a place anyone wants to go."
"I see, but why give him a lordship, even a remote one, instead of a prison cell?" Elsa asked, as politely as possible.
"Well, for several reasons. First and foremost, he is my son, no matter what's he's done. And what is it you said about family last night?"
Anna sighed. "You never give up on family."
"Exactly. Second, I know my son." The comment caused him to receive cold stares from the two ladies. "Well, somewhat. The point is, my son craves respect and attention, more than anything. No matter who it is, he has to be respected."
"So?"
"Think about the… incident. How did Hans handle himself when he effectively ran Arendelle for a day?"
Elsa nodded, beginning to see the King's angle, while Anna scoffed. Elsa admitted "According to the dignitaries and ministers, he actually ran Arendelle with efficiency."
"Yes, he did. Even to remote farmers and fishermen, he has to be respected. He will not slack or neglect his duties, he may even actually put Kurzheim on the map. In addition, I have taken… steps to ensure Hans never does something like this again."
"How so?"
"First, he is forbidden from leaving the Southern Isles without my explicit permission. Second He is forbidden from travelling to the capital without my permission. Both the Royal Navy and Merchant Marine have been informed of this. Third, I have marked him as incapable of inheritance."
"How does that work? Wouldn't that make him worthless to marry?" Anna asked what Elsa thought.
"Any children would still be grandchildren of the King. I have clarified to the Royal Genealogist that only Hans is incapable of succession, any children will be treated as any other grandchild will."
Elsa nodded her head in agreement. "I see, make him marriable, but incapable of murdering his way to the top."
"Fourth, I have a… shall we say… trusted man on the ground to keep an eye on things. A man that for various reasons can never be bought or blackmailed by Hans to serve him. Whose whole job is to watch Hans, and report it to me. Any mischief, and it will be the noose this time."
Elsa and Anna shuddered. A chilling thought. Elsa however, quickly had another thought.
"King Frederick, I have to ask, why the public wedding?" It was a loaded question. But King Frederick grasped the full weight of it.
"Ah, Yes. Well, I do not believe in hiding from judgment. Yes, many, including you disagree with my admittedly lenient treatment of my son, even though he is an attempted murderer. I will not hide my actions however. I ensured that the whole of the Southern Isle's know I spared my son. That is my burden to bear. I will also justify it as I believe it's best for the Kingdom to keep him alive. I see Kurzheim as a prison of its own. A prison of Isolation, responsibility and burden. And I know my son. This is a challenge, from me, and since it's his Duchy, his older brother Alexander." He paused as the Carriage arrived at the reception banquet. A Southern Isle soldier opened the door, saluting in anticipation for the King's exit from the carriage.
"And if there's one thing I know my son craves more than anything, even power- It's the respect of myself and his oldest brother."
…
"Let it Go, Hans."
Hans gave his best, and now, only friend in the world a glare. It was his best man, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Schwarzkopf. As Hans was given a command in the military as was customary for all princes, he served with him during the last minor war. Neither really saw action, but it was a bonding experience. At least, for Oleg. Like just about everyone else, Hans considered Oleg expendable. At least he used to.
Friendless, out casted, and disgraced, a man so loyal to still honor that friendship, well you don't throw that away. Oleg was like a faithful hound in that way. To the point he personally wrote the King to ask to serve as commander of the Kurzheim garrison, when he had just been offered a more prestigious command.
"Seriously, you lost. Hating the Snow Queen and being bitter at the world won't solve anything." Oleg may be loyal, but he was brutally honest. He didn't know it yet, but this would be a treasured quality in the coming years for Hans.
"My own father, would rather sit with… that witch, than with me."
Oleg sipped wine. "He has to. Diplomacy, and all that shit. Plus let's face it, he owes the Ice Queen."
"How?"
"She could have sent a piece of you to each of your twelve brothers. I would have if I was her."
"I don't understand you Oleg. Why are here, with me?"
Oleg stopped to think, before answering. "Because, even if you are a little shit, who tried to murder two young women in colder blood than the Ice Queen, I am still your loyal friend. Through thick and thin. You stood by me then, I'll stand with you now, even if I never see full Colonel."
Hans stopped to look at his "Friend." Of average build, Oleg was by no means handsome. He had crooked teeth, a number of scars and dirty black hair on his head and his trimmed beard. His eyes were a muddy brown that reminded Hans of a dog's. The only reason he made it this far, was that a younger Hans gave his father a good report on him when he was a naval officer, and Oleg had never forgotten that.
Han's returned his attention to the reception. Unlike normal, two separate tables of honor had been set up. One for the "happy couple" where himself, Oleg, his wife, and her bridesmaids all sat. The other sat the King, some of his brothers, and the guests of honor- The Queen and Crown Prince of Arendelle. This was a wedding reception in name only. He had been told by Oleg that there was to be no toasts regarding Hans, or the "happy couple" in general. There would be a first dance and the tossing of the bouquet, but that was about it. This reception was far more about his father and the Queen of Arendelle than him. More of them being seen together, more handshakes, maybe even a dance together. All to paint a pretty picture of peace.
Such horse shit. If he had succeeded, and his family found out the lengths he went to get that crown without it going public, his father, Alexander, maybe a few others would have cared. Most of them didn't give a damn about Elsa and Anna. They were just upset because increased fur prices, or more paperwork involved in Arendelle threat assessments. They hated him because they looked bad. Only Father and Alexander cared about the friendship of a dead man, King Agdar.
…
It was the first dance, and the first time they had done anything intimate. During the ceremony the "You may kiss the bride" was dropped, as everyone knew it was a political marriage. They had touched the first time to exchange rings, and that was it. Hans however, was a charmer. He would win her over.
Putting on a similar smile to the time he met naïve Anna, he greeted her. "My Lady."
She smiled back. "Shut up."
"Excuse me?"
"I didn't walk into this blindly. I know about Arendelle, I know about Princess Anna. I know you."
"Well that's not fair, you know so much about me, and I know so little about you, my Lady."
"I don't care. You serve one purpose to me. You put your seed in my womb, so If play my cards right, I could be the Queen Mother. There is no love between us."
The song ended, and the tow returned to their seats. Lady Johanna unflinchingly tucked herself back in and returned to small talk with her Maid of Honor. Hans sat down, uneasy over his previous conversation. To his left, Oleg chuckled. "I guess your father is a better matchmaker than I thought!"
"What are you talking about?"
"She's just like you. Determined, Calculating, power hungry and cold. You could even say she…"
"Don't you fucking say it Oleg."
"Has a Frozen Heart, like you!"
Hans let his head fall onto his open palm. If there was one thing he despised about Oleg, it was that the man loved puns way too damned much. Ever since Oleg had paroled him days before, it had been one cold related pun after another. "Are you sure you don't have cold feet? Don't give me the cold shoulder. You're lucky they didn't give you the cold steel." He was sick of it.
It was going to be a long exile.
…
A bit of notes.
Dear god that was a lot of talking. Pretty much I wrote this chapter to explain and clarify exactly why King Frederick II did what he did, instead of doing what seems to be everyone else's two choices- Jail/execute Han's, or send him to be a servant or aid to Arendelle. This is not a Helsa. Period. Ever. On that note, get ready to say goodbye to Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. You are not going to see them for quite a while. The next many chapters are going to be exactly what I advertised. Hans on an Island, trying to turn it around. No wacky adventures, no evil schemes to murder them, nothing. While Hans still hates them he needs a foundation to stand on first. What'll happen if/when he gets that foundation, well, we'll find out…