Vileness, Violence, and… Violins?
The following day, Prince Anders left for the Southern Isles. As much as he wanted to have one more moment alone with Hans before his departure, his requests were constantly refused.
"Only talk to me if you're going to say goodbye," Hans had said tersely. He didn't want to risk having to hear anymore remarks of his "bravery" from his brother if he could help it.
"Then it is goodbye," Anders had responded, dejected. "I will update our brothers of your new situation. Expect many correspondences from them upon my return, for I believe they'd want to be constantly posted on how things are going for you in Arendelle from now on. They were expecting me to bring back your corpse, or something to that effect. They'd be pleased to know how far you've come under the queen's care."
"I know."
And no more words were exchanged between them after that.
It was the day after Anders' departure where the call to sacrifice had reemerged – and the day where Hans exercised his new duties as executioner. His first "assignment" was to be the ringmaster-convict that held him hostage during the night where all those people were needlessly killed.
Hans studied himself in the floor-length mirror wearing the livery of Arendelle. It had been so long since he had last shaved his face and manicured the tresses of hair that flourished during his days in dungeons. By all outward appearances he was back to his old self, the image of a royal upbringing once again blatant in his features, albeit somewhat gaunt and pallid due to the lack of eating and sunlight. The vain part of himself would have relished the fact that, despite the catastrophe of being cursed and the stresses of having to learn to live with them, he still retained the handsome visage famously worn by his deceased father.
Of course, that proud and arrogant part of himself was much more silent compared to the inner voices of disgust and guilt that tore at his conscience.
After all, if beauty faded, what quality would Hans have left that he would be able to offer to the world once it did? Absolutely nothing. Even the traits that he once prided himself for: confidence, wit, resourcefulness; they were now utterly useless in his new purpose to kill and the new life he had to carve out around it.
However, the voice of the land was even more menacing and desiring for attention.
"You'll get your sacrifice. Just wait a few more moments," Hans said aloud, frustrated. He adjusted the new gloves given to him along with his uniform. They were of a lighter material, white, and slid across his palms insecurely since they haven't been worn in yet. He kept tugging them snug every so often due to his palms sweating and causing them to come dangerously loose. They were reminiscent of the gloves he would wear back when he was seen to be an "honorable prince."
Both were relics of days of falsehood: the ones he wore when he was "honorable," and the ones he wore now that he was seen as a "hero."
As soon as his executioner's duties were done, he would put the old ones on without a second thought. Though they were dirty, they were at least much more reliable and didn't lie about his current state. They didn't show any dignity, or status. They were as genuine as the genuine leather they were made of.
"Prince Hans, you are summoned to the courtyard," the guard waiting outside of his room said after two knocks on the door.
Hans' hands ghosted over his wrists where chained cuffs used to hang and dropped them, trying to break the habit of feeling for the restraints when they were still a part of his living arrangements. They were removed as a reward for his "heroics" while saving the queen. Even the number of guards were reduced from four to one, a shadow that seemed much too relaxed being around a dangerous criminal like Hans. The guard even tried to make small talk with the prince every once in a while, efforts which were always ignored.
The guard supposed his lack of conversation might have been due to Hans seeing himself as superior, which the guard readily accepted since Hans was still considered to be royalty. However, such suppositions were wrong. Hans just didn't want to bring himself to get attached to someone who could easily end up being another victim to the curse, similar to the reason why he avoided conversation with Kristoff.
In fact, everyone in the castle was too at-ease with Hans around since the day the convicts escaped. It was as if the past was suddenly forgiven by that fateful night.
Did they not know that Hans was even more a danger to their safety than before?
"I am ready," Hans said as he stood in front of the door. The guard unlocked the door from his side and hinged the door ajar.
###
How fitting that the first execution by his hand was to be a public one. Let everyone see the terror, the scourge that Prince Hans was to the kingdom of Arendelle.
Queen Elsa was aloft on her balcony watching the crowd, Princess Anna standing beside her. Kristoff stood next to the guard that shadowed Hans in the courtyard, his face settled on a neutral expression as he held the wrapped scythe in his hands. The condemned convict was handled by more guards, raised up on a platform with his back facing the crowd, a rope gag around the man's mouth to prevent speaking. Hans stood in front of the criminal, completing the arrangement as he faced the audience with a sheet of paper raised to his face. On it was the criminal's judgment.
Hans ignored the murmurings of the crowd. He knew that they were talking about him, but he wasn't sure if their mutterings were in his favor or not. They knew of his treachery towards the kingdom, but news of his actions two nights ago had also spread throughout the people. They likely were arguing their stances about Hans.
But he couldn't linger on those thoughts for long because there was a job he needed to finish.
"Frederick Frandsen," Hans started, reading from the paper in his hands. "You have been accused and proven guilty of conspiracy against the Crown of Arendelle and have been accused and proven guilty of sixty-seven separate counts of murder and assassination." Hans peered over the paper at the convict in disbelief. Sixty-seven? The condemned criminal gave him a triumphant grin.
Hans turned to the sheet of paper again, "You have been charged with creating and leading an illegal organization with intent to terrorize and overthrow the establishments of the Law and the Crown. By order of the Queen of Arendelle and her Royal Council, you have been hereby sentenced to death for your crimes. You are not given the privilege of making any last statements."
The wicked man sneered at the executioner, a low growl forming around the gag. His eyes were murderous and threatening.
Don't speak to the criminal, don't speak a single word outside of the script.
Hans willed his face to betray no reaction as he stared into the wicked man's eyes and finished the procedure in a practiced voice, "May God have mercy on your soul."
Cued by these words, Kristoff unwrapped the scythe and handed it up to Hans. He grabbed the tool and let it rest against the crook of his arm as he pulled off a white glove, forcing back the welling fear whenever he felt air touching his hand's exposed skin.
The smug expression on the condemned melted away when Hans reached out with the uncovered hand and touched the center of his brow.
The rest of the procedure went without any issues.
The convict collapsed in pain when Hans hid away his hand once more inside the glove. Just when the man's growl was about to transform into an agonized whine, his life was cut short by one swift stroke of the shadow-glowing blade of the scythe. The crowd gasped in shock, their earlier mutterings silenced by the display.
There, the deed was done. The man didn't suffer, and Hans resisted the urge to talk back to him, as Elsa had requested. Humanity was given another temporary reprieve from the land. The only consolation he had was that there wasn't any bloodshed at this death and that he wouldn't go land-crazy anytime soon.
"He's a freak," one of the villagers gasped in front of him. "Vile devil-spawn."
"He's a monster," another said aloud.
Good, they weren't blind to what Hans was. All the better for their safety.
###
Hans hadn't yet changed out of the uniform, save for changing into the old working gloves the princess gave him, when he returned to his other duties as a servant of Arendelle. He was in the middle of dusting the sitting room when he noticed, out the window, Kristoff and Anna in the courtyard below. The two were having a leisurely stroll around the cobblestone.
Kristoff strummed a lute with his lips moving in song as Anna gave him a meek, bashful smile, her hand hiding a fit of giggling. The scene was a stark contrast to the earlier sepulchral events during the public execution in the very same courtyard. If one didn't know any better, it was as if it never happened.
Hans could faintly hear the blond's voice carry into the room.
Ugh, a sappy love-struck song. Apparently Kristoff wasn't above such humiliation.
Hans couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy witnessing the scene, however. It wasn't that he vied for the admiration from either of the two lovebirds below, it was the fact that they were able to live so happy and free despite all the danger that was around them – that lived in the same castle with them. The two would defy any storm of calamity, together.
They were living their "happily ever after" while Hans would continue to be miserable. That was why Hans was jealous. Hadn't he worked so hard to make a life for himself? Hadn't he pushed and clawed his way to that freedom that he was so close to attaining?
No, no, no. The way he went about it was incorrect, that is what made him the villain. That is why he would never experience the simple joys the couple outside the window shared together. The life he lived now was what he deserved.
Except... it wasn't. He deserved to continue to rot away in a cell, to be chained up for the rest of his life, released only to assuage the land's temper just for the sake of sparing the good people of humanity. He didn't deserve the chance of ever living a somewhat-normal life the queen had allowed him in serving her people as an official executioner. The trust that everyone in the castle had so freely given to him was completely uncalled for.
The fear and anger the people had expressed during the execution was the correct way to go about it. Why couldn't anyone else pick up on that?
"Hello, Prince Hans," the queen's voice sounded behind him.
Hans straightened, as did the guard that followed him around, as her footsteps resonated closer to where he stood. He turned around to face her, setting aside the duster he was using, and gave her a respectful bow.
"Your Majesty," Hans sputtered in surprise. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you intended to be here at this time. I'll move onto my other respons–"
"No, it's fine. I was looking for you, after all." She glanced to a corner of the sitting room. "Prince Anders had mentioned that you used to play."
Confused and not really understanding the queen's purpose for seeking him out, Hans turned his gaze to the corner of the room Elsa directed her attention to. Sitting in the corner of the room was a brown, parlor-grand pianoforte, waiting to be dusted. Somehow, the incredibly large object had completely escaped his notice.
Then again, he always did have an intense dislike of the instrument.
"I used to," Hans confirmed. "I don't believe he mentioned how much I hated it."
"Oh, he did. All of your brothers hated it. Though he did say that you were pretty good, back then."
"Compared to him? Of course he would say that. He never did get the idea that it was possible to play softly. And especially compared to Holger. He just didn't put any effort into trying to practice."
"He also mentioned that you enjoyed 'creatively messing up' your performances," Elsa laughed and sighed wistfully. "It's a shame that you don't play anymore. Anna's been wanting me to play a duet with her, but I never did get to learn due to…" She waved her fingers in a small circle, conjuring a few flakes of snow to fall from her fingertips for emphasis. "Circumstances."
The faint tenor of Kristoff's voice wafted softly into the room.
"It seems that she found someone who would be more than able to accompany her, if she ever wanted to perform," Hans noted.
"A lute and a piano? Don't you think that's… non-traditional?"
Hans shrugged. "I never performed pieces 'traditionally' myself. If I didn't raise an angry mob of music fanatics at ruining my performances, I'm sure Princess Anna and Mister Bjorgman would be fine."
Why was the queen so casual around him? What was her purpose for being here?
…and why in the world was he not more suspicious about it?
"You should take up the hobby again. I heard that it can take your mind off things," Elsa said. "Maybe even perform a proper duet with Anna if she's ever up to it."
Even more perplexed, since he wasn't sure what she meant by the suggestion, Hans said hesitantly, "I can't. There's the problem with dexterity…" He trailed off, looking down at his gloved hands before returning his attention to the queen.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I forgot," Elsa said. Her face fell in disappointment.
For some reason, Hans didn't like that expression on her and amended quickly, "But I think I can take up the violin again. I think I'll be fine with one hand without a glove. If that's okay with you, of course."
A smile returned to the queen's face at the addendum. "There's one in storage that can be brought out for you to practice with, whenever you so desire."
And with that, the queen left the room without another word.
"It's either Her Majesty has grown fond of you lately," Hans' shadow of a guard quipped when the monarch was away from the room and out of earshot. "Or she really wants to hear more music played around the castle. If it's the latter, I agree. These halls are rarely graced with the joys of music. Makes them empty. It doesn't suit the pleasant, lively natures of the queen and princess."
Though he didn't make any outward indication, Hans' heart skipped a beat at what the guard said. The way the man said it, it was likely the absent-minded drivel that the guard was prone to. He didn't really mean his observations of fondness.
Queen Elsa growing fond of Hans? Preposterous! He wanted to kill her for her kingdom!
But… it would explain her obvious concern for him. Her wants to get him out of the dungeon. Her excessive worry for him when he was a hostage. Her desires to seek him out, personally, instead of sending for him. Her never-ending kindness and mercies. Things that he would've used to his own advantage, since they were weaknesses that were strangely… attractive now.
Even more strange was that… Hans was growing fond of the queen, as well, now that he thought about it.
His thoughts didn't turn to vengeance whenever she entered his mind. He wanted to save her from the escaped convicts. The weird feeling of guilt when it seemed that his reluctance to take up the old, hated skill of playing an instrument again disappointed her.
As irrational as it was, the queen had somehow twisted his views of her upside down. His once-hated enemy was now seen as a benevolent ally.
No, no, that wasn't the right word.
A friend? But that didn't feel quite right either. They haven't conversed enough to quite know each other enough for that. For all he knew, Elsa's actions could even be based simply on the fact that she was trying to appease a beast in a way. The "beast," in this case, being the land that had a deep-seated anger towards mankind. Ergo, if Hans was satisfied, then there was a lesser chance for him to slip into madness and kill everyone, right?
Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't going to develop into whatever connection the couple out on the courtyard shared. That was something entirely outside of his reach, that's for certain.
###
Completely oblivious to the prince's torn feelings regarding Queen Elsa, said monarch directed her attention to a servant she happened upon in the hallways.
"There is a violin in storage somewhere. Can you send it to Prince Hans' quarters?" she asked the maid.
"With due haste, Your Majesty," the maid said with a curtsy and passed by the queen to disappear into a nearby room.
Satisfied, Elsa made her way to her study, ready to sift through the piles of letters and reports that were sent to her that day. She barely settled herself at her desk to read the first report when Anna bounded in tugging Kristoff behind her into the room.
"Elsa! Oh—" Anna said, stopping in front of the queen's desk. "Sorry, I'll ask you when you aren't busy."
"No, you can stay, I can do both," Elsa said, scanning through the report in her hand. A kingdom requesting more lumber in preparation for the colder months; not a problem, since there was enough excess that Arendelle could spare this year. She gestured to a pair of chairs nearby before grabbing a quill and some paper. "Sit, it really isn't a bother."
Anna joyously plopped herself into one of the chairs while Kristoff more subduedly took his seat.
"So I was thinking the kingdom should have a talent showcase during our wedding! That way, everyone can have a way to feel like they're involved, and there would be entertainment, and oh, it would be so much fun!" Anna chattered excitedly.
"I-If it isn't too much work, of course," Kristoff said, nervous. "The two of us can plan the whole event, even hold auditions to make sure the performers are capable."
Elsa mulled over the idea as she wrote out her response to the letter. With all the events tied to instilling Hans as the executioner, she almost forgot about her sister's wedding, which was a few months away. She was fortunate to have delegated a team of planners for the event, since it would have likely escaped her attentions until the date was nearly upon them.
A talent show would be nice, and befitting of everything that encompassed Anna's character: fun, entertaining, light-hearted, and involving the kingdom's populace. It wouldn't be too hard to find people willing to volunteer, and it would also showcase the various facets of culture for visitors from other kingdoms and countries.
Maybe she'd be able to convince Hans to join in on the performance. His gloomy demeanor as of late indicated that he needed some sort of creative, constructive outlet. Seeing him hold it all inside wasn't healthy.
It might even raise him into a better light for her people. The gawking and looks of protests she saw in the crowd during the execution didn't escape her notice. If they could at least see him on a platform in front of the people not doing anything as unsavory as performing an execution, they might start to tolerate him more. Or at least see him as a person, not a monster.
Yes, she was aware of the special attention she was giving to the prince, and she didn't try to hide it. She was only trying to be friendly. After all, when Elsa was going through her forced isolation, all she needed was a caring and friendly person to reach her. Why wouldn't Hans react any different to such advances?
Kristoff was certainly trying, but he lacked a sense of when to try to break the barriers, and when to rebuild. The ice harvester – parole officer, but that was only a temporary job since it ended when Prince Hans was deemed reformed – meant well, but he didn't quite empathize to the level that Elsa could. Of course, a neutral third party was absolutely needed, and Elsa knew that she and her sister couldn't fill that role.
She wouldn't ever say it in as many words out loud, since it would embarrass everyone involved, but she was seeing the lost, lonely, scared girl she used to be incarnated into Hans. The one whose actions led to freezing her entire kingdom.
…which led to Hans acting the way he was. And the catastrophe that the trolls warned about solidified the fact that history was going to repeat itself.
"Sometimes, it takes a disaster to build a better person," her mother once said to her. They were words meant to help lessen the blow of keeping the secret of her powers from Anna, to lessen the blow of how much she hated herself for putting Anna in danger. But it was much later where she discovered that the words rang true, though probably not in the way her parents had expected. It took freezing her kingdom to see how much her sister loved her despite closing her out for over a decade, and in turn freed her of the fear of her own powers.
Big events cause bigger changes. Who knew if Hans would ever redeem himself if something terrible like this didn't happen?
But that didn't sit well with her. Dwelling on "what if?" never helped her to move forward.
"I think it's a great idea," Elsa responded, dabbing the excess ink on the page.
"Really? Oh thank you so much, Elsa! I'll make sure it's the best show ever!" Anna said giddily, clapping her palms together. "C'mon Kristoff! Let's go find some talent!" She made a grab for her fiancé's arm, tugging playfully as she stood from her chair to leave. Kristoff laughed good-naturedly but stayed seated.
"Hang on, Anna," he said with a smile. "I need to talk to the queen about something."
"Alright." The princess hopped back to the chair, reseating herself.
"I heard that you spoke to him briefly," he directed to Elsa.
"Yes," Elsa said, preparing the wax seal for her letter.
"He's not doing well. Isn't he?"
She held the royal signet on the wax a bit longer than needed when she sighed, "Not really."
"I thought that releasing him would help, but I keep getting the feeling that it wasn't a good idea in the end. It's like he's closed off completely now, instead when in the cell he was starting to open up a bit."
"What do you suggest?"
"Maybe… talk to him a bit more? I'm not really good with, uh, people like him. He still restrains himself from having a real conversation with me."
"And I'm not really used to casual conversations. I can't think of anyone he's been able to reveal anything of himself to…"
Queen Elsa and Kristoff looked to the red-haired princess lounging on her chair.
"Why is everyone looking at me?" Anna asked, confused and doe-eyed.
###
Just because she gave him some gloves to wear did not mean that they were "buddy-buddy" all of a sudden. Yeah, she said sorry, and it was understood that she would no longer antagonize him since he was genuine about not wanting to hurt anyone. Stopping the blood-bath that happened a few days ago made her a little less paranoid about him wandering about the castle, too.
But she still didn't forgive him for wanting to kill Elsa, or for leaving her to freeze to death. Or manipulating everyone just so he could have his own kingdom. A maniac like that would never be a friend of hers.
That's not what they wanted, though. They wanted to make sure he was okay.
For the kingdom. I'll only do it for the kingdom, Anna reminded herself. Princess first before personal feelings.
However, their request for her to see what's going on in Hans' head wasn't urgent, so she didn't actively seek him out. She waited for an opportunity to present itself naturally.
Well… sort of. She didn't mean to look for him, she was just curious about where the music was coming from. She didn't know that any of the servants were trained to play the violin, so of course she wanted to see. Plus, the music sounded so sad, she wanted to ask the violinist to liven it up a bit. Because of this, Princess Anna found herself in the servants' wing close to everyone's time of repose, wanting to find out who the mysterious musician was.
She shouldn't have been surprised to see that it was Hans playing the instrument. After all, Prince Anders did off-handedly mention that all the Westergaard princes were musically trained to some degree.
Hans was… alright in his performance, but it wasn't really anything remarkable. The notes were way too shaky. Some servants were gathered around him, watching, enjoying the music regardless. The performer didn't looked too pleased at being the center of attention, but he didn't make any indication of that other than the frustrated furrow of his brow.
Now that she was here, might as well strike up a conversation and fulfill her sister's and her fiancé's wishes.
"Hello," Anna said, causing the servants to look in her direction and acknowledge her entrance with bows and 'Your Highnesses.' Hans offered a nod, but continued playing the piece he was in the middle of performing. She respectfully watched, keeping silent as the music came to an end.
Was it just her, or did his playing get a little more wavy when she entered?
The servants filed out of the room, returning to their own quarters for the night, leaving the two royals in the room alone (Hans' guard-follower staying with them, of course).
She noticed that one of his gloves were off and stepped back, anxious.
"Uh… your…" she said, pointing to the exposed hand. His eyes widened at noticing this and scrambled to find the missing article of leather in his coat pockets. He set down the wooden instrument in its case nearby before gingerly encasing his hand in the glove.
"Sorry. I forgot that it was off," Hans explained, playing off his earlier panic with a suave smile.
Ugh, he kept reminding her of that snake during Elsa's coronation whenever he did that.
"Where'd you get that?" she asked, referring to the violin at his feet.
"Queen Elsa. She suggested that I practice. To 'take my mind off of things,' as she said."
"And why would she do that?"
The faint blush that tinged his cheeks for a fraction of a second didn't escape her notice, but he continued to act as if it never happened.
"You know how kind Queen Elsa is. I think she's just concerned for my mental health, since I'm not really allowed outside of the castle's walls. I'm thinking that she believes that giving me a creative outlet is a good alternative. After all, if I go genuinely crazy, there's no stopping me from killing everyone, right?"
"I guess that's true," Anna said, trying to act calm and not give into her temper at the off-handed remark about murder. "But I thought your brother said you hated playing an instrument."
There, another flash of a blush, gone again in an instant.
"I do. And having all the servants ogle me as I perform doesn't make it any better. Reminds me too much of the recitals I was forced to take part in."
"But why do it now? You could have just ignored my sister and do whatever else you do in your free time."
"I thought that, perhaps, this time would be different. There's no harm in that, right?"
"No." Knowing that she wouldn't get anything else out of him, since a Prince Hans being illusive was something she couldn't pull information from, she waved him away, "Go get some sleep."
After packing the violin away, the man and the guard that followed him left the room. The scythe was toted behind him.
Looking at her surroundings, Anna realized that the room was a repurposed storage room, changed to allow the servants of the castle to have a place to convene and enjoy one another's company. Why would Hans willingly bring himself to a place that was set aside for "mere commoners?"
And why was he blushing? She didn't really bring up anything embarrassing, right? Why would he remove a glove, despite being all panicky and anxious without them on? Why would he willingly do things he didn't like to do, just because Elsa asked him nicely?
Her eyes widened at a possibility.
Was he… having a crush on Elsa?
She needed to talk to her sister about this. Like, right now.
She stifled a yawn behind a hand.
Okay, she would talk to Elsa about this in the morning. That sounded more to her liking.
Author's Note: That chapter title, tho. Inspired in part with a cliché violence-violins pun an old math teacher used a lot. Because he was a violinist.
(I hate coming up with titles :P)
Hey… another delay in updating. Whoops! Well, it seems like this is going to be more commonplace, since classes recently started for me, and my schedule for writing is going to be a bit more on the back-burner as the semester continues.
Unless any of you wants to do my Physics 110B homework. Hahah, kidding! I'd rather not be kicked out of college for cheating, thanks XD
I almost gave into abandoning this fic because I felt like the plot's becoming a convoluted mess, but I decided against it. I mean, at the very least I'm not turning this into any professor, and what about everyone else who's interested on the continuation of this fanfic? So I decided to at least write this chapter to fill in some gaps and create a means for me to drag the story to the ending that I've been wanting to write ever since I've started posting this on the site.
Which means that I've had to cull a lot of other ideas, because, while I really wanted to write them since I thought they were interesting, they would've completely changed the course of the story. The ending is what I really want to happen, and adding all those other ideas would've made the plot even more of a mess.
I might add those as "missing scenes" later on, as a separate post, when this is all finished.
Mon Dieu! Que vais-je faire? I don't even know how romance works!
Welp, at least it won't be as… light-hearted, down the road. Stories I come up with in my head are rarely ever happy. *cackles in delight*
Oh, dear characters, the worst is yet to come.
Soon. Soon, my pretties. But not soon enough.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Have all the figurative cupcakes of thanks that I bestow upon you! You guys make my day :D
*tosses imaginary cupcakes*
(I… might have to change the pairing categories of this story by the next chapter. We'll see ;P)