Hans paced back and forth in the parlor, his shadow elongated on the soft red carpet. The fireplace crackled as it sat in the hearth, yellow, orange and red dots dancing in the darkness.

He hadn't been able to get to Elsa. She was too distant, too aloof. In fact, no one was able to get through to her, open her up. Until he had seen her sister. Sweet little Anna, with her red hair and bright smile.

"She was so easy!" he muttered to himself, shaking his fists in triumph. He grinned to himself. Oh, how easy it had been!

"Easy how, may I ask?" a voice echoed. hans froze, his eyes flitting in every direction.

"Who said that?!" he said in a hushed whisper. Then he appeared. Literally rolling out of the darkness, the stranger grinned. Hans took a step back, feeling the heat of the fire through the thick fabric of his trousers.

"Who are you?" he said, puffing out his chest. He was prince, after all- and a prince couldn't look weak in front of enemies! But is he an enemy? he thought as the man glided sideways, crossing his arms.

"You mortals," he chuckled, "all so demanding." Hans opened his mouth to say something, then clamped it shut when the man glared at him, revealing a row of jagged teeth. His black hair was sticking out in all directions, and his skin was deathly grey.

"What?" Hans finally said, scrunching his nose. The man rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter," he said, "what matters is…. well, you'll see, right?"

"What….?" Hans repeated, trailing off. The man groaned.

"Why do i end up dealing with such idiots!" he muttered to himself, black sand skittering across the floor as he waved his hands about wildly. Hesitantly, hans bent down, picking some of it up with his fingers. Each crystal was perfectly dark, cold to the touch. He gave the stranger a curious look.

"Why do you have sand?" he asked. The man stopped rambling, raising an eyebrow in question.

"You silly little man," he laughed, "why would you need to ask such a thing?"

"Why do you have sand?" the prince repeated, "being front eh Southern isles, i can assure you, there isn't sand anywhere else."

"Well, Mister Southern Isles, it shouldn't matter to you if I have sand or not," the man said pointedly.

"But-"

"But nothing," he said bluntly, "I'm Pitch Black. I can have whatever I want!"

"Pitch Black….?" Hans mumbled, his voice barely audible.

"If it helps you, I'm better known as the monster that hides under your bed," he said, an annoyed look in his golden eyes.

"I'm sorry?" Hans said. He couldn't stop looking at the sand, at the man's eyes. They look like a sun being eclipsed… he thought. The man scowled.

"I'm the one who goes bump in the night?" he suggested. Hans shook his head. It didn't bring up anything, didn't ring any bells.

"Sorry," he said.

"You blasted idiot!" he spat at the prince, curling his hands into fists, "I'm the bloody Bogey Man!" Hans widened his eyes. Could this guy be for real?

"But there isn't such a thing as the Bogey Man," he said simply, shaking his head. Pitch shook his head, a cackle rising from his throat.

"That's where you're wrong!" he accused, a wild look in his beautiful golden eyes, "I do! Every child! Every adult! i live off their fear!" Hans felt his breath catch in his throat, the black sand falling between his fingers, sifting to the floor.

"What do you mean…?" he asked nervously, tugging at the collar of his uniform. Maybe I should tame the fire a bit? he thought, glancing at the flames that danced happily, eating the ripened logs. Pitch tucked his chin into his neck, his teeth looking like a crescent moon against the black velvet sky.

"You're scared?" he asked, making Hans jump.

"Tha-that's preposterous!" Hans protested.

"No! You are scared!" pitch confirmed. Hans blinked, but when he opened his eyes, Pitch was no longer standing in font of him. Besides that, it had gotten suddenly cold. Shivering, he rubbed his arms, hugging himself tightly as he looked around the room, spare shafts of light piercing the stained glass windows.

"The fire went out, by the way," Pitch said. Hans jumped around to find the man sitting lazily in a love seat, legs hanging over the arm of the chair. Hans gritted his teeth, although they were really chattering. Pitch patted the seat next to him with a thin hand. Even from where he was standing, Hans could practically see every bone in his hand, the knuckles jutting out like knives in a carcass. Pitch smirked, "Come. Sit."

"I'd prefer to stand, thank you very much," Hans said through tight lips. Pitch glowered.

"First Elsa now you!" Pitch babbled, just loud enough for him to hear. Hasn drew in a sharp gasp.

"Elsa?" he asked hesitantly, "…. Queen Elsa?!" Pitch grinned.

"The one and only," he confirmed, "if you like, I can tell you all about it. Gossip like two lovestruck girls." Pitch let his fingers run along the cloth of the seat, his nail ripping through the fabric. Cotton peeked out from its hiding spot, fluffy clods peeking out fem behind the sun.

"Well?" Pitch asked after a few minutes, "care to join me?" Slowly, Hans approached the chair, eyeing Pitch warily as he lowered himself down. Pitch nodded, "There's a good boy…."

"I'm not an animal," Hans snapped, "I am a prince, so I expect you to treat me as such!" Pitch widened his eyes, a mock look of concern etched into his features.

"Oh, did I offend you?" he asked, his voice putting on a falsetto, "much apologies, Your Highness." Hans rolled his eyes- the Bogey mans as really starting to get on his nerves!

"No?" Pitch asked, "jokes not working for you?"

"Just tell me what you know about the Queen," Hans changed the subject. Nails clicking, Pitched leaned his chin in his palm, resting his long elbow on Hans' knee.

"Are you sure you want to hear that story?" Pitch asked dryly, "I mean, it is rather boring-"

"Tell me what you know about Elsa!" Hans barked. Pitch held his hands up in defense.

"Alright! Alright! Geez, you'd think i'd at least get some sir tot welcome, but no-"

"Tell me! That's an order!" Hans was nearly screaming now, pushing himself up from the seat. Pitch licked his lips, clasping his hands in his lap. His leg bobbed up and down as he crossed it over the other. Hans wasn't really sure where Pitch's feet were- he sort of blended in with his surroundings, save the teeth and eyes.

"Last I checked, I didn't have to take orders from you," Pitch teased, raising an eyebrow. Hans rolled his eyes, spinning on his heel. Pitch called after him, "Where do you think you're going, hmmm?"

"If you aren't going to give me viable information," Hans sighed coldly, "then I'm leaving."

"But you have a guest!" Pitch declared.

"I have a kingdom to run," Hans replied, resting his hand on the door. The door itself was ajar, hiding Pitch from view of anyone outside in the halls.

"But this isn't your kingdom," Pitch whispered.

"Princess Anna left me in charge!" Hans explained, "so right now, it is my kingdom!" Pitch let out a small laugh- raspy, echoing in the cavernous room.

"Princess Anna…" Pitch said almost fondly, "I had so much fun with her…."

"You met Anna?" Hans asked. Pitch nodded, staring intensely into Hans' back.

"Indeed," Pitch said, "although, let's face it: she doesn't seem like the wifey type, you know what I'm saying?" Smiling to himself, Pitch thought, Hopefully he understands….

Hans though…. Hans stood at the door, his fingers nearly digging ingot eh wood. There was no way Pitch knew about it…. absolutely no way…..

"Our engagement…." Hans mumbled under his breath. Pitch snapped his fingers.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Pitch sang, imitating a bell, "and we have a winner!" Face burning, Hans let his hand slide down the wood until he was gripping the knob, the metal slick- it had been freshly polished when the servants had cleaned the castle for Elsa's coronation.

"How do you know about my engagement to Anna?" Hans asked, cursing himself for the shakiness in his voice, how weak he sounded.

"Trust me, prince Hans of the Southern Isles," pitch said softly, waving his hand, "I know a lot of things." When he folded his fingers over his palm, the door was suddenly jerked closed, the knob leaving a scrape on his skin, underneath his glove.

"H-how did you do that?!" Hans stammered, yelping in surprise as he heard Pitch snap his thin fingers and he was suddenly flung backwards, finding himself shoved into the love seat besides him, the bogey man looking unamused.

"Like I said, I can do whatever I want," Pitch leered over him, golden eyes burning with an insane fire.

"Let me go!" Hans demanded. For the briefest moment, Pitch let his eyes waned, looking as if he was actually pondering the statement,

The bogey man shrugged, "I don't think i want to."

"I am a prince! A royal!" Hans heard his voice rise with each word as he squirmed, but didn't get anywhere. But there are no bonds, no ropes! he thought in a panic.

"Uncomfortable?" pitch ask sweetly as he watched Hans struggle.

"Witchcraft!" Hans cried, his face turning beet red, "treason!"

"Didn't we already go over this?" Pitch drawled, "I don't have to take orders from you. Ever." Hans stopped wiggling around, glancing up at Pitch. From below, the black spiky hair on Pitch's head looked like thorns, protruding from the stem of a beautiful rose. A crown of thorns, Hans thought, clearing his throat before asking for a third time, "What do you know about the Queen?"

"You don't want to hear about your fiancee?" Pitch said. Hans furrowed his brows.

"Are you kidding?" Hans asked in bewilderment, "you think I would actually marry a girl like her?!"

"If you want the kingdom then you would, no?"

"I would get the kingdom if I married Elsa, not that child," Hans quipped. Now we're getting somewhere… Pitch thought as he nodded, urging Hans to continue, "Please, do go on."

"My own kingdom….." Hans started, unsure of whether he should be telling Pitch anything at all. But he has information on the Queen, he thought. Sighing, he went on, "It was falling to pieces. I needed an alliance." Pitch rested his chin on his hands, listening with a sort of rapture, nodding with every word.

"Then the news came," Hans continued. Pitch raised an eyebrow.

"What news?" he interrupted.

"That the King and Queen of Arendelle had died in a boating accident," Hans said.

"Hmm…. guess I missed that event," Pitch mumbled to himself, then said, "oh, right! You were saying?"

"Anyway," Hans added, "I decided to try and court the Queen, so that I could finally have my own kingdom. But no one could get to her!"

"Poor boy, you are," Pitch said with mock sympathy.

"And that's where Anna came in," Hans said finally, tickling pitch's attention. Sure, Anna hd been fun to mess with, but he wasn't able to get to the full extent back at the castle. Elsa had already been worn out, in his opinion, and he was aching to get another go at the princess.

"I like where this is going…." Pitch commented, "so what happened with her?"

"She was so…. desperate!" Hans felt his shoulders shake as he let out a small laugh.

Desperate… pitch liked the sound of that. he nodded, letting Hans continue.

"She wanted so badly to be loved by someone- anyone. And I wanted a kingdom-"

"So you asked her to marry you instead," Pitch said, an evil grin beginning to creep across his face. Hans nodded, saying, "And she said yes right away."

"But why about now?" Pitch asked, "aren't you afraid that the Queen might come back? Take back the kingdom or herself?" Hans scoffed.

"She put herself in exile," he said, "I don't think she's coming back." Pitch shrugged.

"Then Anna. What about her? She went after her sister, after all," Pitch reminded him.

"Hopefully she died in the mountains," Hans said coldly, "she wouldn't be of use to me after I get control." Pitch crossed his arms. Once he got this man out of eh way, he could really have some fun….

"You do realize that you'll probably fail," Pitch baited.

"But I haven't," Hans said, "I won!" Pitch gestured to the room, the emptiness surrounding them.

"Yes, but that could all be taken away from you," Pitch said, "Anna could come back-"

"- Thee's no way!" hans denied angrily.

"- and then you could get killed for treason," Pitch ignored Han's angry protests, "and if you're dead, you get nothing." Pitch resisted the urge to celebrate as he watched confused terror latch onto Han's face, his eyes wide in shock.

"Didn't think about that, huh?" Pitch said. Hans cursed under his breath. Pitch was right. He hadn't thought it out that far, didn't realize that there was the smallest possibility that she might survive.

"Is that what you're scared of then?" Pitch probed, "failing?"

"No!" Hans hissed, sneering at him.

"I think you are," Pitch went on, "like Elsa is so afraid of hurting others-"

"Shut up!"

"- Like Anna is so afraid of not finding her one true love-"

"I said shut up!" Hans shouted, "that's a command!"

"- you are afraid of losing your power. Your status. Everything," pitch finished, cocking his head, "and you know it. I know it- we both know it!"

"You know nothing!" Hans roared, swinging a fist in Pitch's direction. Where he thought he would collide with bone, he was met with only air, black sand glittering to the floor. Confused, Hans stared at it, blubbering, "What the….? That…. that isn't….."

"Isn't what, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles?" Pitch's voice rang, low and sickly, "isn't possible?"

Hans was silent. There really wasn't an explanation for it. Here was a man- the Bogey Man, no less- traipsing about casting spells left and right and yet he didn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it.

But he and believed Elsa.

He had seen her use her powers to create ice and snow. To create the winter wonderland Arendelle was currently trapped in.

So why couldn't he believe this man?

"Truth aside…." Pitch trailed on, appearing suddenly before him, mischievous grin on his face, "why don't we help one another?" Hans stiffened.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because we both want something," Pitch said, "you want the kingdom."

"And what is it you want….?" Hasn dared to ask, raising an eyebrow. Pitch rolled his eyes.

"You'll see soon enough," he answered, holding out a hand. Hans began to reach for it, then stopped, letting his fingers twitch.

"What do i get out of it?" Hans asked.

"The kingdom you so desperately desire," Pitch said, a haunting gleam in his eyes.

"What about Anna? And Elsa?" Hans added, his voice stone cold. Pitch let out a low chuckle.

"Start digging the grave, I'd say."