Dear readers, thank you for all the reviews! I apologize for the errors in the last chapter, I have been going between a PC and an iPad, so it was a bit difficult getting the word processors to match up. Also, I am looking for a beta! I've never used one before, so any advice on finding one, or any volunteers? :) I really appreciate all the kind words and suggestions, everyone, please keep them up! They make me so happy, and excited to write. Now, enough words, let's find out what our favorite royals are up to. - marth
The royal physician found Elsa pacing in the kitchens, worrying a lock of unnaturally blonde hair. "Your majesty," he said quietly to get her attention.
The young woman stopped suddenly mid stride and turned to face him, her face emotionless but her eyes concerned. "Oh! Yes, Doctor Haugen. What is your diagnosis?"
The older man's brows met in frustrated confusion. "The burns across his back are as healed as they are going to get, no poultice or cream will erase the new skin. Those scars will be his for life. However," his aged eyes met Elsa's, "the burn across his chest is not one of natural means. It seems to have originated from a cursed flame. Therefore, it can not be healed by any natural means, I fear. I will have to write some colleagues of mine, to see if this has been encountered before, but until then, we can only change the dressing and keep it clean and free from infection. I'm surprised he did not succumb to his wounds." Doctor Haugen placed a soft hand on the queen's arm and gestured towards her prisoner's door. "He is yours to attend, a very amenable patient, I might add." With that, the doctor left Elsa to face Hans.
The prince was sitting on the cot once again, his chest looking noticeably bulkier with the swaths of bandages around it. He stood upon her entrance, bowing stiffly. Elsa folded her hands and cautiously met his green eyes as he rose. They looked tired, but otherwise there was no trace of any feeling. The young queen pushed down resurfacing memories of his betrayal and tried to remain calm, but anger still bubbled up inside of her. Before she could think of a way to start the conversation, Hans stepped towards her.
"Can we begin the lesson, your grace?" She noticed the tightness in his face, and that his hands were thrust into the pockets of his pants. She mentally steadied herself and stood her ground.
"Tell me how you came to be so grievously wounded, and then we will begin. I will have you keep no secrets from me, not after all the lies." The queen circled him, positioning herself against the table.
Hans still revealed nothing through his features besides deep discomfort. "Your grace, I would prefer not to discuss the matter of my injuries. I feel they have no bearing on the situation at hand."
"Of course they do! I will not house a fugitive, no matter how desperate you may be! If there is some other crime you have committed, then trade be damned, I won't -"
"Your grace, my answer is no."
Elsa was incensed by his rebuke, but the anxiety at the prospect of a confrontation in the dungeons won. "Fine," she answered sullenly, "let's just get this over with."
She whipped towards the door and started down the hallway, making sure that Hans was following her. They eventually stopped in the storage room near the kitchens. It was large enough, and brightly lit. And best of all, it was rarely trafficked by anyone but herself and the staff, so they didn't have to worry about anyone seeing Hans who wasn't supposed to. Although at this point, Elsa figured everyone knew that she was sheltering her would-be murderer.
"So, an imp cursed you with the power to produce fire, am I correct?" she started slowly. They stood across from each other in the cavernous room.
"Yes, it seems to only effect my hands, and... the flames are heightened by my emotions. It doesn't burn my skin now, but it did at first." The prince drew his hands slowly out of his pockets and stared at them.
That explained the burn on his chest then. Elsa watched him warily. "I only just learned to control my powers, and it is not an easy task. You must not master your emotions, but accept them. You are going to be angry, happy, sad. That's part of being human." While she was speaking, her fingers shot small snow bursts into the air, glittering as they drifted downwards. "Once you accept that you can't control the way your heart feels about something, then you can control when you use the magic."
"Right now, it only happens when I seem to be out of control," Hans muttered. His own fingers looked as normal as ever, fleshy pink and calloused from years of training with sword and horse.
The young queen studied Hans. Here was a man that was used to being in control. Hell, he had even controlled his emotions and reactions enough to make everyone believe that he was a good person and in love with her sister. He knew how to do anything except feel freely, and that just made Elsa mistrust him more. "You need to let go, to feel without inhibitions. What is keeping you from acting like every other vapid, self absorbed twenty-three year old prince?"
"Self-absorbed?" Hans scoffed, his eyes narrowed. "That's rich, coming from the woman that nearly let her baby sister marry a man and die because she couldn't think of anything past her own woes." He started to circle around her.
Elsa kept her distance but matched his pace. "I was trying not to hurt anyone! Unlike some people who don't care about others at all, I did everything I knew to do to keep Anna safe. And don't forget, you're the one who nearly killed her!"
The prince clenched his fists. "Don't presume to know anything about me, Elsa, because you couldn't even fathom what I've been through."
"Oh, are we on first name basis now? Well, since I did save your life and all, I guess you think that means you can walk all over my generosity?" Frost crept up over her hands, growing large and pointed icicles down her fingers.
"You put me in a dungeon, in case you've forgotten. I may have tried to harm you, but I had my reasons!" Hans barely noticed the pleasant warmth rolling off of his fists as glared at the queen.
"Great! Reasons! Murder and stealing my kingdom is totally comparable to sleeping on a hard bed. I'm sorry, should I write for your darling brothers to bring you a feather tick from home? Will they try to murder me too?" Elsa stopped and her voice dropped to barely above a whisper, "Or is it you they will try to murder, Hans? Try to finish the job?"
The snow queen hardly had time to blink before she was knocked to the floor, Hans on top of her. His fists scorched the floor on each side of her head, singeing her hair. The flames, as fiery as his hair, went all the way past his shoulders. Ash floated like hellish snow in the air; the flames were burning the fabric of his shirt and bandages. Finally Elsa tore her eyes away from the inferno to meet blazing green, flashing with anger. "Making assumptions, Queen Elsa," Hans snarled, "is a very dangerous thing to do."
A queer smile found Elsa's lips, and she placed her hands to Hans' bare chest. A split second later, he screamed and the prince was across the room, frozen to the wall by a think layer of ice. Elsa stood gracefully and glanced over him, to insure that he wasn't too harmed. Her eyes lingered on his chest for a moment, but soon she met his eyes once more. If she were the type to swear, then she would have sworn that there was confusion and disbelief to be found there. But he blinked, and they were calm now, and completely shielded, his hands back to mortal flesh. His shirt and bandages were reduced to ash, but his skin was unburned besides the previous magical burn. "This lesson," she said softly as she forced him to look into her eyes, "is over."
She turned away from him, leaving the prince frozen and struggling for breath against the ice. He would melt, eventually. Her feet led her up the stairway towards the great hall as she pondered the fight. She had made two very important observations. One, there had been disappointment in his eyes when she announced the lesson over. Whether it was disappointment in himself or her, she could not tell. Elsa was not angry with his outburst; in fact, it had helped greatly in learning about the limits of his abilities. She had intentionally goaded him into attacking her, so she couldn't blame him too much.
She opened the small side door into the great hall and started for her chambers. Her second observation was even more interesting, however. In the middle of the gruesome red burn wound, there had been hand prints that weren't there before. Her hand prints.
Elsa pulled a familiar lock of hair into her fingers and turned towards the castle library. Perhaps Doctor Haugen would not have to write any colleagues after all.