"That went well," said Anna as they watched Prince Johan's ship sail back to the Southern Isles.

"Yes. If only we didn't need to deal with Hans now," said Elsa with a glance down to the dungeons. They hadn't moved him yet nor had they told him their plan for his punishment.

"I'm kind of looking forward to telling him about it. He won't be in any position to reject it, after all," said Anna with a toothy grin.

"Of course not," said Elsa. It wasn't that he didn't deserve this, but she had the impression that the only reason that he'd been sent to them was because his own family wasn't really willing to do any more to him but still felt that he needed something extra.

Elsa turned and began to walk back to the throne room while Anna cackled at the window. She commanded a guard to go and fetch Hans so that she could explain his mission to him.

"Hey, wait up!" cried Anna when she realized that Elsa had left the perch by the window. "I didn't mean right now!"

Elsa stopped and sighed. "Then when, Anna? I don't want him here any longer than necessary. Every moment he's here is another moment he can make trouble for us, no matter how much of his tongue his family lopped off."

Anna nodded with her eyes downcast. "You're right, of course. It's just that I was hoping to see him locked up for a few days before you sent him on his way. Make him suffer a little more, I guess."

"Anna, he has suffered enough physical punishment, that's not why they brought him to us," said Elsa.

"That's not what I heard them say," said Anna, arms crossed with a pouty frown.

"Well it's what I heard, and I think I have more say on the matter than you do since I am Queen," said Elsa, pausing in her walk only to allow a pair of servants to open the door for her and Anna.

Anna grumbled but didn't protest as they went to their thrones on the dais of the attendance room.

The pair was similar in design; crafted out of the finest mountain timbers by the greatest carver the kingdom had ever known. The only real difference was in which seat was meant for whom. The larger, grander of the two was meant as the seat of the reigning monarch while the lesser seat was meant as a throne for the ruler's companion.

If the ruling monarch was married then this would be the throne of their husband or wife, but in Elsa's case it generally was where Anna resided since she was the closest person to Elsa. Since she didn't expect to get married anytime soon, considering the reaction the reveal her powers generated in the few nobles she might have been interested in, so for the foreseeable future the chair was Anna's.

They'd only just made themselves comfortable when the guards showed up with Hans in hand. "Your majesty, the prisoner, Hans the Regicide of the Southern Isles" said one of the guards before spitting on him. He then shoved Hans forward and shook his hand in the air, as if by touching him he might get infected with some virulent disease.

"That is quite enough. No need to do any more to him than is needed," said Elsa to the guard. The guard turned red and murmured an apology to Hans.

Hans just sneered at him, but when he turned to face Elsa he bowed. "Aa ee eee. Ee eh," said Hans, forcing the air out as he spoke.

"Hans. You know what you have done and you know the consequences of your actions," said Elsa to him.

It was not a question and Hans did not take it as such. He gave only a curt nod confirming that he understood.

"Good. Then you understand that the task I set before you is what we have deemed to be a fair and balanced punishment," said Elsa.

Hans nodded again.

"There is a monster loose in the northern reach of Arendelle called Wendigo. You are to destroy it and make sure that it cannot and will not ever recover. You are not to return until you have proof of its demise," said Elsa, never breaking her gaze with him.

Hans grunted in response. He opened his mouth to garble at her again then shook his head and paced back and forth. He then mimed taking out a sword and packing various pieces of equipment before looking at Elsa to see if she understood.

Elsa nodded. "Yes, you'll have access to what you may need. Nothing extravagant, but I won't send you out underprepared."

"What!" cried out Anna. She looked up at Hans and bit her lip before leaning towards Elsa. "I thought this was a punishment!" she said in an angry whisper.

Elsa sighed. "The punishment is the task, and if I don't allow him at least a few tools then it will be a very ineffective attempt at solving our problem, won't it?"

"But how do we know that he'll really go after it instead of just running away?" asked Anna.

Elsa looked up at Hans, who stood at attention as he waited for them to speak to him again. He didn't appear to be trying to listen to their little back and forth, but Anna was never one to be quiet about her opinions.

"Anna, do you trust me?" asked Elsa under her breath.

"Yes, but," began Anna.

"Then let me handle this, please?" asked Elsa.

Anna opened her mouth to say something but then shut it and nodded at her sister.

Elsa turned back to Hans. "The guardsmen will take you down to the armory and allow you to pick out the various tools and supplies you think you may need, but no more. Hunan, see too it," she said

The guard who brought in Hans bowed and then gripped Hans by his forearm and removed him from the room.

"That will be all, thank you," said Elsa to the other gurardsmen in the room and in a few moments Elsa and Anna were alone.

Elsa sighed and Anna's hands in hers. "Anna, I love you, and I love our new closeness, but if you're going to sit with me on the dais then you have to trust what I'm doing, alright? If nothing else you have to hold it in until we have a private moment to talk about it. Please?"

Anna opened and closed her mouth a few times and deflated. "Alright, I suppose I can be a little brash sometimes," said Anna, trying to ignore the snort of Elsa's muffled giggle, "So I'll try to keep quiet when you're doing the talking for us."

Elsa breathed in and out a couple times before responding. "That's all I ask. Besides, considering how much trouble the Wendigo gave me, I'm sure it'll not be a walk in the park for Hans either," she said with a smile.