"And that's pretty much it. Don't expect much of a difference at home. As far as we are concered, you will be exiled to live with our Uncle; under constant supervision." Hans rattled the chains on his wrists and coughed.
"You can't even look at me to say something like that?" He sneered. Tomas glanced up through the bars of the cell door window.
"I have no reason to look at you, Hans. Keep in mind that the Queen is letting you off lightly, as are we."
Around the corner, Elsa listened carefully. She concluded that Tomas was on bitter terms with his brother, and her shoulders relaxed slightly.
"You act like you're all high and mighty now, but you're the baby. And even worse, you're a freak; just like the Queen." Hans laughed cruelly. That was it. Tomas roared and grabbed the cell window.
"Shut your mouth, Hans! I'm nothing like you!"
"Of course not! I'm normal!" Hans shook his shackles again. Around the corner, Elsa's eyes widened and she covered her mouth.
"Shut UP, Hans! It's under control! I-in fact, I think it's disappearing. I can't do anything near what the Queen is capable of…" He grimaced as Hans laughed again.
"Then what's that burning smell? Did you burn a hole in your gloves again?"
"No. Of course not." Tomas growled. Elsa looked down at her gloves, and her gasp was audible enough that Tomas looked up in her direction. Elsa stumbled and hurried up the stairs, yelling for the guards. Tomas kicked the cell door and ran after the queen.
"Queen Elsa, wait! Please!" He looked up to see the queen talking briefly to the guards.
"I want you on high security. That man is a monster." Tomas's heart dropped, and his hands clenched instinctively when the guards rushed towards him; however, they continued rushing past him down into Hans's cell. Gah!...w-wait, what?
"Queen Elsa! Please come back!" Tomas scurried up, tripping on his own feet, and scurried after the princess. The blonde was walking towards the castle, holding her head in her hands.
"Conceal...don't feel…d-don't let it show…" She mumbled. When she noticed Tomas approaching her, her hand extended towards him, fingertips glowing an icy blue. "I-I'm so confused...and I don't want to hurt anyone…"
"Let's just calm down," Tomas hushed her gently, "What are you confused about?" His own hands raised in defense; also revealing the burn mark in his palm.
"Earlier...when we touched. What you and Hans were talking about…" Elsa looked down at her own trembling hands.
"Hans is just...not right. He's bitter; you know that, Queen Elsa. And it was just static between us earlier, remember? I-I had these holes earlier...I…" He sighed. "Okay. You can't tell anyone…"
"I see." She relaxed momentarily. "I'm sorry for overreacting...I didn't realize that you and Hans clashed so much. I can have the tailor get you some new gloves, if you like." Elsa turned back to the castle.
"Uhm...thank you..? A-as I said, Hans is bitter. We're probably partially to blame for that, but...please don't take what he said to heart." Elsa waved her hand, shrugging.
"No matter. So long as he cannot harm Anna anymore, he is none of my concern. Enjoy the rest of you day, Prince Tomas."
Tomas leaned against a pillar next to the blacksmith's workshop. Dammit…he sighed, pushing steam through the holes in his gloves. Further ahead, Elsa ran her hands through her messy bangs. Oh Anna...why did you have to say he was cute? She chewed her lip, glancing over her shoulder at Tomas, who was picking at the tattered cloth.
"Prince Tomas?" She piped quietly. He clasped his hands together quickly, standing straight. "Would you like to see the castle?" She smiled, "I should apologize for being...well…"
"Oh...oh sure! And don't worry about it!" He laughed nervously, "I'd love to see it!" He took off to catch up to her.
"I haven't really warmed up to anybody in forever; not even Anna yet. So, at least I could try to make a good impression during your time here." She chewed her lip again.
"I think both you and the princess are doing just fine! You're really cool, calm, and collected. I admire that." He smiled slightly.
"Well," Elsa giggled, "I try to be pretty cool." Laughing, she created a few snowflakes above their heads.
"Woah...that's really pretty...I suppose that it's true when they say no two snowflakes are alike, huh?"
"That's right! I've studied them, and even though they're fabricated with magic, each one is unique!" She beamed, creating a small snow flurry that followed the pair.
"It's really cool that you know how to make certain things out of it." Tomas reached a hand up to touch one before dropping his arm back to his side.
"When we were kids, I made Olaf the Snowman. My abilities brought him to life, even! Right now, he's watching over my Ice Castle. Anna likes me to stay at home though, since she still gets nightmares often...and when Kristoff isn't here, I like to try and comfort her…" Her voice faded off momentarily, but she shook her head and smiled. "In my Ice Castle, I'm so free!" Tomas tilted his head curiously.
You can be free here too, can't you? I mean, there's an ice rink by the gates that you made, right? Who says you can't edit this castle any way that you want to?"
"I just-...people like to be warm here. The cold doesn't bother me, but the others aren't so tough. Anna complains if I make even one little flurry inside," Elsa huffed.
"Well, you could always extend the castle." Tomas put a hand on her shoulder, turning her; his skin abnormally warm, even through his gloves. "See, over there! You could freeze a small portion of the water to put a place of your own there, and connect it to the castle, keeping both parts at normal temperatures." Elsa shuddered from the warmth of Tomas's hand, and tapped her chin in thought. Yeah, I suppose that could work. "It's not a big part of the harbor," he continued, "and there's no place to dock there anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem. You can have your own comfort place, and still be close to your sister."
"Possibly!" Elsa continued walking, dispersing the snow as they entered the castle doors. There isn't much to do here though without causing trouble, she thought to herself. "What do you like to do, Prince Tomas?"
"It's not empty; there's all kinds of beautiful artwork here. I don't get to do much by myself, though. I'm the second youngest brother, I'm not in charge, and I still have to do most of the chores that no one else wants to."
"Is that why you're here to pick up Hans by yourself?" She asked.
"Eh heh…" Tomas chuckled, "Kind of. It's also nice to get away from the family once in a while." He shrugged his shoulders, smiling sheepishly at Elsa. "Not to sound like I came here to gawk, but I also wanted to get a glimpse of what you can do…"
"Really?" Elsa giggled, "Well...where can I show you?"
"Huh? You don't have to anymore if you don't want to."
"I want to!" Elsa grabbed his hand and took off running through the castle. She tried to ignore the current that shook through her arm; much like the feeling earlier. Tomas bit his lip and tried to contain the building heat within his cheeks.
The pair reached an empty room that contained a simple table next to a shining window. The sunlight shone off of the white walls, and Elsa let go of Tomas's hand.
"This used to be a studio that my mother liked to stay and work in for hours on end. I come down here when I need to be alone...or when I like to do this-..." She waved her hand over the ceiling, and a gentle snow began to fall down on their heads.
"Oh wow…" Tomas smiled faintly and pulled his jacket collar up over his neck, and tucked his sleeves into the rims of his gloves. "That's so neat!" Elsa grinned from ear to ear, and swirled a pile of snow up into an icy form of herself, who began to dance. The form twirled around Tomas, and snowflakes twinkled like stars in the sunlight. "Thats...so beautiful…I don't know anyone else who can do anything like it." He muttered.
"It's nothing…" Elsa blushed, and the snow in the air swirled slowly around her. Tomas shuddered as he felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. Noticing a slight amount of steam rise off his skin, he walked around to try and act casual.
"It's anything besides 'nothing'. You could do so much with this." Elsa blushed and tugged on her braid, not noticing the dripping snow melting off of the ceiling. Tomas gulped, and tugged on his collar. "H-hey! Could you show me the rest of the castle?" Tomas grabbed her hand, and started leading her out of the room. "I'd love to see the whole place before dinner!" He smiled.
"Sure!" Elsa let go after a moment, waving her arms at the rows of armor and paintings in the hallways. "Anna loves the paintings and the ballroom the most, but I like all of the balconies. I can see every inch of Arendelle that way; it's comforting. So...tell me about you, Prince Tomas! If you don't mind; I mean, I know that walking is awful interesting and everything."
"Me?" He asked, "As I said, I don't get to experience a whole lot. I like traveling when I can, and I like to read. I'm usually by myself at home, so I absorb myself in books."
"Well, we have a giant library," Elsa grinned, but her smile curved downwards quickly, "If you ever come back here, that is…"
"I would love to come back!" He beamed. "Really, I would!"
"Really?" Elsa hugged his arm. As she leaned against him, the sunlight caught the shine of her hair, and made her entire complexion glow. The tremor feeling rushed through his entire core. Tomas swallowed hard, feeling his face flush.
"Um...Yes, of course. I really like it here." He breathed out slowly, trying to calm down his racing heart. Elsa looked up at him with a genuine smile.
"This is the first good day I've had in a while...thank you." She smiled, rubbing her arm nervously. "You're so warm though!"
"Eheh, you think so?" He stammered, "I get that a lot. High body temperature, I guess." He bit his lip, changing the topic. "Despite the circumstances, I've had a really nice day here so far. I've never had someone take so much interest in me."
"Other than Anna, I've never really talked with anyone for more than a few minutes…" Her brow furrowed and she placed her cool palm against Tomas's forehead, causing some steam to rise. "Tomas! That's not normal! I'm going to call for a doct-"
"No!" He shouted, flailing his arms. "I am totally okay! Just a high temperature! And I mean, you're probably a little colder than normal too, right?" He grasped her shoulders and the same steam rose up again. Elsa shrugged her shoulders and looked into his eyes with a confused look.
"What did you mean earlier with Hans? When you said that you can't do as much as me?" Elsa frowned.
"I...I…" He groaned and pulled his hands back, putting them behind his head. "Can we go to the balcony? I'll show you…" Elsa complied, and she led him around the corner to a pair of grand doors that looked back towards the Ice Castle. "Okay." Tomas took a deep breath and removed his gloves, tucking them into his belt. "I'm only going to do it once though, alright?" Elsa nodded and folded her arms, tilting her head curiously.
He cupped his hands in a small circle over his mouth, and blew steam through the hole that they created. He continued blowing until a small red flame started to grow between his fingers. He stretched his arms out to his shoulders in a fiery line before he slapped his hands together and extinguished the fire. Dancing sparks floated above his head, and he looked over at Elsa, whose jaw was clenching and unclenching nervously.