Control, and the Lack Thereof
What originally was planned to be a simple visit to an ally country, Elsa noted in annoyance, quickly turned into negotiations on transporting a prisoner. While Flynn and Rapunzel were more than accommodating in letting Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff lead the decisions regarding Hans, it took much more time out of her days in Corona than she would have liked. To add on top of that, there were also the negotiations about trade that she had already planned for the trip, though they now had less precedence. Trade was good between Corona and Arendelle as always, though much more pronounced than in the past.
If Elsa were to act logically in this case, she would leave all responsibility of Hans to the Coronian rulers, as per the royals of the Southern Isle's request. It was simple, effective (now that everyone knew what they were dealing with), and already had all their resources at their disposal (a good length of rope to either tie him up to prevent him from committing homicide again, or hanging if it came to that). Though admittedly, she would also be selfish in going that route, and it wouldn't sit well in her conscience that Arendelle had the possibility of reversing whatever happened to Hans.
Not to mention that she didn't want to completely ruin the hopes his twelve – eleven – brothers had in fixing the broken relationship they had with their youngest sibling. She would have wanted others to do the same if Anna and herself had a similar strain in their relationship.
However, a large part of agreeing to bring Hans to Arendelle was that she felt incredibly guilty for being at fault for this whole mess. No one had even imagined all the consequences of her bringing an unnatural winter to Arendelle. And now, innocent people were dead because of it. According to Hans' account, the pixies have been killing other people for months. She dared not think how many people lost their lives, especially if the land didn't accept those sacrifices as willingly since a human didn't offer them. How much more would needlessly die should this continue?
She knew that, in order for the whole mess to be sorted, she needed to find a way to reverse the anger the land had towards mankind. Hans being at the land's mercy to murder when demanded needed to stop. It was akin to giving an angry alcoholic more alcohol: while it would appease their wants and possibly calm them down for a short while, the cycle will only continue unless you address the underlying constant want for alcohol. Cutting off that supply would be effective, albeit shocking to the addict.
Of course, that was if the trolls were able to free Hans from his curse or to redeem mankind in the land's eyes. Figurative "eyes," of course. If not, she could only hope that she could forgive herself for restraining Hans and driving him mad in not "harvesting" people. It would be for the greater good, of course, but it didn't mean that she would make the decision lightly. Or even if such a solution would last in the end. The sheer number of unknown variables in this problem were too much, and the risks were plentiful, but she and everyone else knew that they needed to try.
In sharing her thoughts and feelings about what she decided to do, Anna kept reassuring her that she wouldn't think less of Elsa for doing so, and that she figured it was okay to have pity on Hans. Though not too much pity, since he was still a horrible person. He killed three strangers and didn't even react, not to mention that he pinned it on everyone else but himself, as Anna had pointed out.
It was on the fifth day of their stay that all of them met with the haggard prince in his cell, the bodies of the guards and doctor long gone. Somehow, some of the castle guards were able to retrieve the corpses shortly after their first confrontation. No one was allowed to be around him afterwards, though a group of at least four guards would deliver him meals and check on him nightly. Other than that, no one really interacted with him as a precaution. Even Elsa and the others didn't even see him since the night of Flynn and Rapuzel's wedding anniversary, now also known as the night three people were needlessly slaughtered. They made their way to the dungeon, six guards in tow.
A bit overkill, if it were any other prisoner.
The sniveling mess of a man in the dungeon wasn't what they expected to find when they went to tell him about bringing him to Arendelle. Pompous, proud, arrogant, or the same cool demeanor he displayed while sharing his tale of the pixie: these attitudes were what they prepared for. To see him visibly breaking down in emotional distress? No one quite knew when to broach the subject, since speaking felt like they were intruding upon something.
Was this still acting?
Hans' back faced them, hunched over and hiding his face from view. The scythe laid against the prison door, as if he couldn't bear looking at it. No one had dared to take it from him. Soft sobs could be heard escaping him once in a while.
Elsa almost didn't hear him when he broke the silence.
"What were their names?" Hans murmured softly.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Anna asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"The guards and the doctor, what were their names?" Hans' voice croaked, a bit louder.
"Why? So you can list off all the people you've killed in your head for some kind of sick amusement?"
"Anna," Elsa interceded, already not liking the direction the conversation was going. Elsa loved her sister, of course, but sometimes she felt that her lack of tact needed to be worked on.
"Sorry," Anna said, sheepish. She swiped pinched fingers across pursed lips and flicked her wrist, a motion that looked like she zipped them closed and threw away a key. Anna at least recognized that flaw in herself, which was a good start. Elsa gave her a small smile at seeing the gesture.
The atmosphere in the dungeon was tense, Hans' sobs ceasing and the silence prevailing.
"Why do you want their names?" Rapunzel asked after a few moments. Looking at her fellow queen, she could see that Rapunzel was distressed. The people who died were under her protection, and being the proper example of royalty, took the blame and sorrow over their demise. A good portion of negotiating the transport of Hans also included trying to console her in the fact that there wasn't much that could have been done. That they had no idea that something like this was to be prevented.
The fact that Rapunzel was the one to call the doctor, causing the avalanche of events to occur, didn't help. Sadly, it seemed that the brunette queen would forever hesitate in her altruistic decisions from then on, this event forever haunting her. The king as well, since he was the one who handed the guards the keys to the cell. Unfortunately, it seemed that even the purest of intentions were not without negative consequence. Elsa hoped that such consequences were able to be rectified.
After all, Elsa was ultimately the one to cause all of this to happen. The thought weighed heavily in her heart and mind. It was no small miracle that she didn't bring another unnatural winter with all the stress she herself was experiencing. Anna's rosy personality and outlook on life certainly helped prevent that.
Oh, she hoped that Anna above anyone else would be able to escape the corrupting blame and pain in the end. If Anna's spirits were to be crushed like everyone else?
Elsa banished the thought.
Hans hunched over even more and brought his hands to his face, covering them. His shoulders sagged as a sigh escaped him.
"I don't know. Princess Anna's probably right."
There was something in his voice that bothered Elsa. Was Hans feeling… guilty? Though if it was guilt from having been exposed, or if it was guilt from having killed people for no reason, it was hard to tell. She hoped it was the latter, because she definitely didn't want to satisfy his curiosity if it was the former.
"William, Strauss, and Doctor Igor," Elsa said, remembering the distress of telling their families the news of their deaths. "And they were upstanding citizens of Corona."
"Doctor Igor saved many lives!" Rapunzel bit out, tears streaking down her face. "He even cared for my parents when they were on their deathbeds, never leaving their sides. William and Strauss were no older than you! Younger, even! How did you not care about them when you saw what you did?"
A beat.
"I did. More than I realized at the time. But I wasn't going to give you the pleasure of seeing that," Hans explained. His back straightened, whole outward persona changing. Slowly, he rose to his feet and faced them. He would've fooled them into believing that he was alright, his expression at ease and amicable, but his eyes were raw and red as if he spent hours crying prior. "I would've lost my composure, and I would run the risk of revealing more facets of me that would come back to bite me in the end. Then I had a few days of doing nothing but soul-searching, and here I am. And it's eating me up inside."
"Why are you so open all of a sudden?" Anna asked, though all the anger from earlier was no longer present. Elsa made no move to remind her sister about her promise of silence. Anna needed this as much as Rapunzel did, perhaps even more. Her sister needed the closure, since that was taken from her when Hans made his appearance again. Now that she was calm, it was a good time to let her little sister speak. "You've never let anyone know what's going around in that head of yours unless there's something in it for you."
"Maybe there is something in it for me. Namely, a chance for everything to return to as it should be. But this time, I know that whatever happens, I won't like what's coming. I already started spilling information to you when I knew that just hiding what happened to me would make things worse. You might see me as insane, but I'm not stupid.
"And now? After having those days of solitary confinement? I figured, why keep hiding anything? Before, I used it as a way to control the situation, manipulate it in a way where it would suit me best. I was in denial, thinking that if I had at least that bit of control, everything will be alright in the end.
"And yet, I know that I don't. How can I? I never did, even before this... curse. I was only fooling myself that manipulation meant that I was in control. I could never even hope to have a say in what happened in my life. My brothers always did. I always had to plan around them, since they were the only ones immune to my attempts at manipulation. Sending me to Arendelle was an example of their control over my life. Yet, I always thought that they only sent me there to toss the unneeded sibling to delegate with a closed-off kingdom, which is nigh impossible.
"Greater still, even when I had everything falling into place, despite my plans going awry... I still had no control. Fate didn't want me to rule Arendelle. How could I ever hope to compete against that? So yes, there is something in it for me, Princess Anna. As much as I loathe to say it, there is something I need from the three of you that I won't get by using old methods."
"Then why say all this like it doesn't bother you? You aren't fooling anyone." Anna crossed her arms, driving the point home.
"No, I only hoped to fool myself. I'm not doing a good job of it, I'll admit." He heaved a long sigh and turned his gaze to the wall to the right of him, breaking eye contact. He lifted his gaze and directed it to Elsa. "I thank you, Queen Elsa, in telling me their names." Then he clapped his hands together once and altered his mood to a more cheerful one. The façade didn't reach his eyes, Elsa noted. "So, have you decided?"
Throughout the exchange, Elsa almost forgot the whole reason for them being in the dungeon with him. This about-face in Hans' attitude hadn't prepared her – or anyone else, it seemed – for the confrontation. It was incredibly hard to keep track of, leaving her in a whirlwind of fake expressions and genuine words. At least, she thought they were genuine, as far as she could tell.
"These are the terms of your voyage and stay in Arendelle," Elsa started. Why did she have to sound so formal? The terms could lead to someone's execution, even if the person deserved it. It seemed that she was taking an old page from her book. Conceal it, don't feel it.
Or maybe it was a page from Hans'?
No, no, she had nothing in common with that man. She crossed her arms to keep from fidgeting after the thought entered her mind. It was okay to feel sympathy, but not too much sympathy, as Anna had reminded her not too long ago.
"On the boat, you must be watched by at least four personnel and chained. Your... tools must be stored in the cargo hold of the ship," she continued. Hans visibly reeled in hearing this, his eyes widening in fear, but he kept silent.
Yes, she was aware of the strange phenomenon that Hans felt between him and the scythe in particular, and would change that term accordingly if it became a problem. She only needed to do so as a precaution at first. After all, no one knew what would happen if he had it in his sights or not. The only logical approach would be to keep it around somewhere close enough where that "tug" wouldn't get too much.
At least, that was her working theory. Even the reason for bringing him to Arendelle was a theory.
Such was the privilege of one going on an expedition into the unknown, sadly. This scenario notwithstanding.
"As soon as we reach harbor, you will be sent to the dungeons in wait as we prepare for our sojourn to the mountains. While in the dungeons, as well as during the journey, you will continue to be accompanied by at least four guards," Elsa said. "Should you lose control of yourself, your limbs will be tied to each other and you will be bound to a post. Should you attack anyone, you will be executed. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Hans replied. "Your terms are most generous and logical, and I will see to it that I will follow them to the best of my ability." He gave her a deep bow and nodded his head afterward. The way his eyebrows were knitted together in worry didn't sit well with Elsa. She hoped that his worry was misplaced, though.
"Good. I must send a letter to the Southern Isles of your... condition."
"...You don't meant to tell them everything, do you?"
"I must. They intended for you to stay in Corona. Since circumstances changed and that Arendelle is now the one responsible for carrying out your due punishment, they must be notified as such. Leaving out your new developments would make them suspicious, and would cause political scandal for a prince to experience a change of hands in such a way without proper notice. Whatever they make of the information about you and your curse, whether they believe it or not, is up to them. I will address it when the time comes."
Hans didn't seem to like her vague answer very much, but acquiesced and said no more. Elsa was glad, because, though she spent days trying to come up with every possibility and every decision that could go wrong, there was still much more in this plan that she didn't have an answer to. Hans' brothers and their reactions was yet another variable that she couldn't really plan for.
"In two days, we make our leave."
###
With all the ruckus that was thrown about since Hans' arrival in Corona, Anna was glad that there was finally time for the royals (including her beloved Kristoff) being able to relax and enjoy one another's company. It was her first time ever being in another kingdom, experiencing foreign sights and smells. It was even better knowing that she was able to enjoy it with her sister and her fiancé.
It felt amazing to make friends with the king and queen of Corona, especially with Queen Rapunzel. The two found that they were both adventurous, fun-loving kindred spirits, though Rapunzel had a lot more grace than she herself had. It was a shame that their intended week-long stay ended up being a two-day visit, in essence.
The advice that the king and queen had given her and Kristoff about a relationship between a royal and commoner proved invaluable, and brought to light some insecurities that she never really noticed Kristoff even had. She always saw him as gruff, strong, and manly; but with a sensitive, protective, and nurturing side she also appreciated. Insecure? She never thought about it, but she was glad to have learned this about him. It would make their relationship stronger knowing that once these problems were overcome, they did this together. Neither one would be caught having to deal with their own problems alone.
Anna was also convinced that such advice could pertain to her relationship with her sister as well. There was no doubt that there were insecurities the two faced on a daily basis, and it was only relatively recently where the two even considered it okay to spill one's worries to the other.
Wow, coming from a world with no companions to having two of the best people in the world being a part of her life was complicated. If there was one negative thing she would say about the change, it was that relationships were hard. But there was a whole universe of good things she could say as well, and she couldn't hope to list them all.
When their trip finally came to an end, she was hesitant to leave; it meant it was back to the same old routine. Still, she was quite happy about the good memories that were formed in Corona and almost nothing could wipe the smile off her face when she boarded the boat and shouted back promises to visit Corona again to a waving crowd.
Well, almost, since Hans was coming with them.
She didn't like the inner conflict she was having regarding him. He was a terrible, terrible man. He lied, betrayed, and left her to die. He tried to murder Elsa, all for the sake of gaining power. And yet, his brothers still held onto hope that he would change. They loved him, even when everyone else believed him to be a monster.
And that's what bothered her the most, since that was the same exact situation that she was in. Everyone saw Elsa as dangerous, as a monster. But Anna didn't listen to them and went to retrieve her sister anyway because she loved her. Loved her enough to risk everything.
Hans' brother, Klaus… He died doing the same thing. And maybe… maybe that was the catalyst that sparked the transition in Hans. Maybe it was the only way to ever reach that psychotic brain of his, having to murder his own brother and realize that he loved that brother as well.
But he was a threat to everyone. He was a conniving little –
Yet he was changing, and no one deserved the torture he was experiencing.
But he was stubborn, and for all she knew, he somehow manipulated his way back to Arendelle.
Yet he was telling the truth! She saw that horrible display with her own eyes! How was that manipulation?
But it was Hans, and of course he would do something like using the truth to bend people to his will.
… would he? It didn't look like he even had any will left, though.
If only Hans were a smidgeon easier to figure out, she wouldn't have brought herself to confront him on their third day out at sea in the brig of the ship bringing them back to Arendelle.
"Elsa's saying you're being a headache and that you're refusing to eat like a big baby," Anna said, constantly trying to remind herself to not lose her temper.
"I doubt she said it in as many words," Hans said. "But yes."
Seeing that he wasn't rising to the occasion for another shouting match, Anna's mood lightened and she relaxed a bit. He was actually trying to act a bit more accommodating, which was a relief. Maybe this conversation might actually get her answers. The answers to what, though, she hoped she would figure out.
"What, the food around here not good enough for you?" she teased, though not without a bit of malice in her voice.
"Actually, one's appetite is nonexistent when one has shackles on them." He shook the manacles around his wrists for emphasis.
"Looks like you're going to have to starve, since there's no way we would remove those."
"I never hoped they'd get removed." He tilted his face toward the ground, a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm getting the feeling that your reason for being here isn't to check up on why I refused to eat."
"Yup."
"And that you're withholding your true intents, just so that you would make me uncomfortable."
"Yup."
"And you're using one-word responses to irritate me, since I'm not getting any clues to what you want of me."
"Yup."
"Save it, Anna. I've played the irritating younger sibling act many times in the past. I grew up with twelve older brothers, remember?"
"Tell me about your brothers."
"What?" Hans visibly paled at this request. Anna nodded and sat on the floor, cross-legged with her elbows on her knees and hands supporting her head.
"If it's a long story, I've got nothing else to do. Come on, spill. Are they handsome? Oh, how many of them are already taken?" She batted her eyelashes good-naturedly. If Anna were completely honest, she really didn't have any ill-intent poking into Hans' past. She was just curious and needed to sate her need to try to see if he was manipulating everyone. And the way that Hans wasn't making any moves to upset her or prevent her prying, she found that making him uncomfortable was a bit amusing. The tiniest spark in his eyes suggested that the feeling was mutual. "Are you already an uncle?"
"I have… had twelve older brothers. What kind of question is that? Of course I'm an uncle."
"Ooh, that would make you the crazy uncle of the family."
"I take offense to that."
"But you're also not denying it."
"Would you just – Okay, look. Why are you so interested in my family all of a sudden?"
"You want the truth?"
"Of course."
"They still love you after everything you've done. I'm just trying to figure out why. I mean, you've hinted at them being terrible to you in the past. So why now?"
"I'm not sure I can answer that."
"Because you can't? Or because you don't want to?"
"Because I'm not sure. They never hinted that they even accepted that I was their brother. And then, when it seemed like I was going to either lose my head or swing on a rope by my neck, they claimed that they couldn't bring themselves to do it because they loved me too much, and regretted their treatment of me over the years."
"Really? There wasn't anything that they did that showed them they loved you?"
Hans quieted for a moment, brows knitted together and lips pursed in contemplation. After a few moments, the creaking of the ship reminding them of their location, Hans replied, "Their attitudes changed slightly a few years ago, actually. After Mother and Father passed away. I guess all their attention to dote on our ailing parents was then directed to me. I was almost eighteen at the time. Already a man, but still considered a child that needed raising in their eyes. One without parental figures.
"I think they realized their mistakes when they saw how I was turning out. Of course, their change in treating me didn't happen all at once. Pieter was the one started it all, of course. He was always the overly-sensitive one. In hindsight, I guess he was also one who got a good portion of the maltreatment as well, since he was the oldest brother and didn't quite fulfill the traditional image of manhood."
"Being sensitive doesn't make you any less of a man. Actually, I think the world needs more men like that sometimes."
"The fact that he cannot have children because of a horse-riding accident, and that he doesn't have the eyes for women made it worse, regardless."
"Does that mean he has the eyes for men?"
"What? No! No. He doesn't have the eyes for anyone. Though that didn't stop the others from targeting his lack of certain masculine traits." He brought pinched fingers to the bridge of his nose, eyes closed in mild annoyance. The chains restraining him clinked at the movement. "Why are you even concerned in the first place? My brothers are terrible people."
"And so are you, but the difference there is that they've tried to fix things. Why haven't you?"
"You think that I haven't? I tried taking back what they stole from me in Arendelle."
"How? You said there was no way you were ever going to inherit the throne, that was already obvious. How did they take something from you that you never were going to have?"
"They took control away from me! I almost had it, too! And if I succeeded, there was no way they were ever going to take that from me again!" Hans spat, the tides of their conversation becoming more heated. Realizing this, Anna stood from her seated position and turned on her heel to leave.
"W-wait, don't leave!" Hans called after her in alarm.
"I think it's about time I did. It's obvious I'm wasting my time here," Anna said coldly. She hated sounding like that; it left a bitter taste in her mouth. But that's what he did to her back when she was literally turning to ice. What goes around, comes around, right? Besides, it wasn't like she was leaving him to die.
Well, at least it didn't seem like she was.
"Please, as much as I hate you, you're the only one who dared to have an actual conversation with me in months," Hans pleaded. Anna hesitated and didn't take any further steps to leave the brig. "If I were to be completely honest, it seems easier to fight the… 'voice' when there's another person to listen to."
Anna sighed and turned to face the prisoner, arms crossed in displeasure. On one hand, she really didn't want to share company with him. On the other hand, it seemed that, for the safety of everyone else on the ship, it was more prudent to ignore her personal qualms against him and drive away whatever insanity that was bothering him. At least for a short while.
"Alright, I'll stay for a few more minutes. But if you so much as raise your voice again, I swear that you'll be tied up. And that will be the end of it, okay? Mind you, the feeling of hate is mutual."
Hans nodded slowly and offered a small smile. Anna wanted to believe it wasn't genuine, but at the same time knew that when it came to Hans, sometimes believing something isn't quite the reality of it.
"That's quite alright. I never expected you to say otherwise," Hans said.
Author's Note: A bit shorter chapter than I would've liked, but writing Anna and how she would probably feel left me kinda conflicted on her reactions. She's often depicted as being carefree and positive, but also irrational and a tad bit temperamental at times. Hopefully she wasn't too out of character when I made her just as conflicted as me about how she would react. A cop-out strategy, but I felt there needed to be some kind of proper interaction to lay some groundwork before other events started happening. Namely because I felt that (out of Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa) she would be the most likely person to be a part of said events.
Oh.. yeah… uh… hopefully that didn't tip you guys off on future events.
And I apologize for all the lack of action and hope I didn't bore you guys with this chapter.
Thanks again to everyone who has left a review!