"Hansel, this is the 'Hans' we talked about. The woman is his sister and—I presume—his accomplice."

The troll hunter, evidently named Hansel, turned and grimaced as King Olaf made the introduction. The audience had been holding their breaths, but now the Great Hall buzzed to life with hushed gossip. Anna looked back over her shoulder. She had a good guess as to which one of them was the greater target of curiosity.

"If memory serves correctly," Hansel said, walking up to the prince on his knees. The audience quieted. "I saved your life out there." He merely looked down upon Hans, waiting.

Anna expected Hans to apologize or crack a wise remark. She was shocked that he did neither.

"Yes, that's right... for that I'm grateful-"

"Grateful?" The troll hunter scoffed. "You have a curious way of showing it, stealing my identity." The man reached in his long coat pocket and withdrew an envelope. He opened this and displayed the contents for Hans to read. "Here, a letter from my Lord Langlete of Grimmstad. Are you even from Grimmstad? Is Hans truly your name?"

Anna watched mutely, unable to think of an interjection that could help. Her heart beat so heavily that it was almost a distraction from watching Hans think of what to say. What happened to the smooth Prince Charming that had conned her? Could it be he really believed the real troll hunter had died back in the forest?

"Sir, it was never my intention to rob you of your identity," Hans said.

Hansel sneered and looked past Hans to Anna. "Was this his idea or yours?"

Blood boiling at the accusation, Anna moved to answer when Hans interrupted. "I dragged her into this. Please let me explain."

"Yes!" King Olaf cheered from his throne. All eyes turned toward him. "Please explain why you masqueraded yourself as the famed troll hunter of Grimmstad. Please tell us why you lied to the crown of Arendelle."

Anna gulped. She had been so worried about how to convince the king to make peace with the trolls. She certainly hadn't expected the real Hans—Hansel—to show up. At the rate things were going, Hans might be tried for treason. Worse, she might be tried with him.

"Your Majesty," Hans said with a bow of his head. "I give my humblest apology. I am aware of what this looks like." Anna mentally begged him not to say 'treason', just on the very slim chance that the word was not already in everyone's heads. "One might say it was treason." Anna's shoulders slumped. Shut it, Hans, she thought with a shake of her head. But Hans would not look away from the throne.

"The truth is," Hans continued. Anna stifled a groan, not willing to draw attention to herself. "When I escaped—for which I owe this man—and arrived here in Arendelle with his things, your people just … assumed. Parents wept as they told me how they didn't feel safe letting their children into the forest. Women begged me to make it so their husbands who worked at the saw mill would be safe going to work every morning. Men offered their aid to fight the creatures in the forest if I could just determine a weakness first."

"You let them assume," Hansel argued.

"Because of my own assumption," Hans cut back. "You were surely dead, I thought. Even now, I'm not sure how you can possibly be standing here. I am truly sorry for deceiving the people of Arendelle, but I did not have it in me to crush their hopes."

There were murmurs in the crowd now. But Anna had eyes only for Queen Elsebet, who leaned to the side to whisper to her husband. Anna felt her own hope return to her. The queen seemed the more reasonable of the two monarchs. Perhaps she was talking King Olaf into some leniency.

"What of my weapons? My hunt log?" Hansel asked, seemingly unmoved by his impostor's words.

Hans looked down at his bound hands when he answered. "They were lost. We ran into several skirmishes in the forest."

"You what?!"

Hans held his hands up, seeing the troll hunter's agitation. "I'll replace everything at the earliest opportunity," Hans assured him. But the troll hunter would not be pacified.

Hansel stalked up to the prince on the floor, his eyes boring down into him. "What good is the word of a liar? I never should have saved you!"

Anna's head snapped up. "Hey!" she yelled, feeling everyone's attention turn on her. She looked to Hans, unsure of herself now. Why should she speak up for him after everything he did to her? Yet as she knelt there—her knees starting to ache on the hard floor—meeting Hans's look of surprise, she felt in her gut that he was sincere. At least right now, she felt that he was. "Weren't you listening?" She asked, directing the question at Hansel. "He was trying to keep hope alive. Now that's what we came back with today... hope. But if you just want to call us liars, we don't have to share that hope with you." She was bluffing, of course. She didn't want Old Arendelle to war with the trolls. What kind of future would that create for her to go back to? She shuddered to think of it.

"Miss Anna."

Anna looked up. It had been Queen Elsebet who addressed her. She wanted to look away from the queen's disappointed eyes, but she held her gaze anyway.

"We've met the trolls," Anna said, watching for the queen's reaction.

"What did you say?" the king asked. He gripped the arms of his seat and gaped from Hans to Anna. "You've met them?"

Anna nodded. "They don't want to hurt anyone," she said, ignoring the king's face as it twisted in revulsion. "In fact, it's only because their leader doesn't trust humans that they attacked the sawmill."

"Anna..." Hans warned.

But she continued. "He's just one troll though. He doesn't represent them all. Based on the ones we met... I just know they could be friends to the people of Arendelle. If you just give them a chance—"

"That's enough!" the king raged, standing.

"My king," the queen said. But King Olaf's mind was made up.

He shouted, directing most of his fury at Hans. "I sent you to study them for weaknesses, not to befriend them!"

"Your Majesty, if I may..." Anna said, glancing nervously at Hans. Why wasn't he pitching in? Here was a time she could actually appreciate his skill for charm and manipulation.

"You may not," King Olaf snapped. "Guards. Lock them up!"

"Olaf!" the queen objected.

"Enough, woman. It's done. At least until I figure out what to do with them."

Anna instinctively shrank back as two guards moved toward her. She looked at Hans, waiting for him to say something clever or just something to help them out of this. She waited for him to smirk or wink at her, any sign to indicate that he had something up his sleeve. But the guards grabbed them both and lifted them to their feet. One turned Hans away from her and guided him out of the hall. Anna was forced to follow.

Kristoff headed northeast, having set the craggy coast as a destination. His parents had sent him off with food and supplies. Bulda almost hadn't let him go.

"You be careful out there!" she had warned him, leaping up to hug him.

"I know how to take care of myself," Kristoff had assured her with a chuckle.

"You've not been out that way. It's not like you're going up to Batsfjord," she'd argued. Batsfjord was one of the towns north of Arendelle. Kristoff had traveled there several times on ice deliveries. Going to the coast was about the same distance, just a few degrees to the east. Once he reached the river, he could follow it the rest of the way. "It's wild up there."

Kristoff had raised his eyebrow. "Are you that worried about me?"

"We both are," Cliff had said. "Just promise us not to sleep out in the open. Keep your eye out."

"You're starting to scare me," Kristoff said, feigning a nervous look. Bulda swatted him over his blond head.

"We're serious! Promise us!"

So he'd promised. But several hours later, he was already in unfamiliar territory and he could not see what all the fuss was for. There was no road, so he had had to leave his sled behind. He could see running into wolves being problematic, but he had weapons and matches for fire to keep them at bay.

Sven groaned beneath him, alerting Kristoff for the reindeer's need to take a break. Kristoff hopped down and led his furry friend into a more shaded cluster of trees where they both sat to rest. Sven sniffed his muzzle toward Kristoff's sack of food.

"Later," Kristoff said. He rolled his eyes when the reindeer snorted in disapproval. "Don't give me that..."

The reindeer sighed, a gesture he had originally learned for the sole purpose of mocking his human friend but eventually became something natural he did. Kristoff grinned and subtly pulled an apple out of his pocket. With Sven's head turned away from him, Kristoff used a small knife to slice the fruit in half. Then he gently tossed half at Sven's head. The reindeer hawed in surprise, his eyes bulging when he spotted the apple on the ground. He nearly inhaled it, snorting in contentment afterward.

"I wonder what she's doing right now," Kristoff thought aloud. He was only a little startled with himself when he realized he wasn't talking about Anna. Oh, sure. He prayed—or prayed as someone who didn't know how to pray—for her safety, particularly that her safety included hundreds of miles of distance between herself and that conniving Prince Hans. But at this particular moment, it was not the princess he wondered about. It was her older sister.

Kristoff ignored the blush on his face and bit off a quarter of the apple. What did it matter what the queen was up to? He had probably caused her a little aggravation by going out after the Ice Maiden himself. But Elsa still had a kingdom to rule.

Your Majesty, he'd written. I know this will be an annoyance to you, but don't you worry. I'll be fine. I'm not prone to just sitting around indoors for long periods of time, you'll have to forgive that. I made a decision after the attack at your castle. Specifically, I've decided to track down the Ice Maiden. Now don't fret. I'm not crazy enough to take her on myself. But you have so many matters to tend to. So I'm taking it upon myself to help you with this one. It's what Anna would want. I'll be back with the Ice Maiden's location as soon as I can. Your friend, Kristoff. P.S. Don't let that noble intimidate you. P.P.S. Please don't come after me.

He had agonized for a good ten minutes over whether it was formal enough before folding it up and leaving it on his bed, which he had made a ludicrous attempt at tidying up before his departure. He still couldn't wrap his head around anyone cleaning up after him. At least venturing north would take him away from that for a while.

A stick snapped on the ground behind him. Sven snorted and struggled too quickly to stand. Kristoff just registered the alertness in the reindeer's eyes as something hard struck him on the head from behind. He dropped the apple and fell out cold to the ground.

Hours had gone with them sitting at opposite sides of the cell, not speaking a word to each other. Anna had shouted and raged from the locked door at first. Her voice grew tired though. Now she sat on a cot against the cold, grey wall and stared at the floor. She contemplated a number of things as the minutes dragged on. She wondered how much time had passed since they were thrown into the dungeons. She wondered if the queen was trying even now to persuade her husband to release them.

"I should be used to this," she muttered, breaking the quiet.

"What?"

She glanced across the cell to Hans, surprised he had responded. "Being locked up."

"Oh... right," he said with a nod. So he remembered what she'd told him about the castle gates.

"The king was really angry," Anna said, hugging herself against a draft that blew in through the window of their cell door. "I mean, I was expecting that. I just wasn't expecting him to be that angry. He must be my what? Great-great-great-great grandfather? What a grump!" She giggled at that, though she knew she was forcing it.

Hans sighed. "That's why I wanted to do the talking."

Anna glared at him. "Is that all you have to say?"

Hans shrugged, leaning against the opposite wall, not even looking at her now. "What do you want me to say?"

"Who knows how long we'll be in here?" she thought aloud, no longer caring about what he had to say. No one knew who they were, where they came from. There was no one to help them. What if she never saw Elsa again?

"Hey..."

She heard him, but barely registered it as her thoughts took over. What if Queen Elsebet couldn't reason with her husband? What if they were tried for treason?

Hans knelt in front of her. She'd been so consumed in worry, she hadn't noticed him approach. He became blurry as she blinked back tears at the thought of never going home.

"Anna," he said.

"Don't. You're going to say something stupid, I just know it. Just go back to your side of the room and leave me alone," she warned him.

He considered that as he took one of her hands into his. "I was just going to thank you for sticking up for me back there. No one's ever done that for me before. And you of all people have the least reason to."

She gently took her hand back so she could use both hands to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. She was sure she looked like a mess. Why did she have to be a mess in front of him?

"I know you're scared," he said, looking around the cell. "These aren't accommodations you're used to." She sniffed loudly, telling herself not to care whether or not he would be disgusted. He hadn't seemed to hear though. "King Olaf is stern... but he's not cruel. I'm sure you'll be let out in no time."

She furrowed her brow. "I won't leave without you."

He sat back and studied her in blatant surprise.

"We're in this together, right?" she added, hoping there were no assumptions going on in that gorgeous head of his. She would not be hoodwinked again. Thinking quickly, she changed the subject. "Do you think they'll go after the trolls?"

Hans shook his head. "I don't know."

"Psst!"

Both Hans and Anna snapped their heads towards the cell door. The door was solid wood save for a barred window at the center. Through the window, Anna could make out the top of a small, pretty face.

"Your Highness...?" she whispered, quickly patting at her own face. She couldn't very well look like an emotional wreck in front of her ancestor, could she?

"Is it true?" The princess wrapped her fingers around the bars and hopped so that she could better see into the cell. "It looks scary in there..."

"Is what true, Your Highness?" Hans asked, standing. He beckoned Anna to join him at the cell door.

"That the trolls are peaceful?" Princess Kirsten asked.

Hans and Anna looked to one another. He gestured, leaving it for her to answer.

"Well, there is one who hates humans... but all the others are peaceful. Maybe they can persuade the other one. But we have to show them we want peace."

The younger princess went quiet for a moment, disappearing from view. Anna looked to Hans, who peered out the door window.

"Give me time," Princess Kirsten whispered. "I'll get you both out of here."

"Huh?" Anna and Hans said together.

"You must forgive my father. He doesn't trust anything magical."

"He probably wouldn't be happy to find out you've been down here," Hans commented.

Anna was startled when the princess laughed in reply. "Don't you worry, no one's seen me!"

"Wait... how do you plan to get us out of here?" Anna asked, wanting to hope. Dare she hope?

There was a noise from elsewhere outside the cell. The princess turned her head away. "I need to go. Don't worry!" She waved at them and disappeared.

"Wait! Hey, wait!" Anna shouted, jumping up to try and see out through the little window.

"She's gone," Hans told her, resting his hands on her shoulders to still her jumping.

"What do you suppose all that was about?" she asked, turning toward him.

"I can only guess," Hans answered, grinning towards the cell door.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I put a poll up on my profile page regarding Hans POV chapters. Check it out, submit your vote... I'm interested in what you guys think! So far I haven't dived into Hans's thoughts because I preferred to leave him as something of a mystery. I still wouldn't spell out what's going on with him; that's to be a slow reveal, though many of you have already made excellent guesses! :D

Speaking of guesses, does anyone want to guess who or what knocked Kristoff out over the head?