Chapter 3:

The Substitute King

Hans was beaming.

He felt like the luckiest man in the world, being dragged through the party by Anna. The crowd was fanning out, starting to dissipate as the night started approaching the morning hours. They trudged through, pushing their way around weary guests.

He couldn't believe his luck; not only had he met a beautiful, funny, interesting (albeit, naïve) princess, but she was willing to marry him on the spot. Sure, maybe it veered off from the original plan, but hypothetically-speaking, if anything were to happen to the queen, it was most certainly Anna who would take the throne. And who would reign right beside her? Why, her handsome, courageous husband, of course.

Success was so close, he could almost taste it. The idea left him absolutely giddy. Although he wasn't quite sure what it was, exactly, that he felt for Princess Anna, he was almost positive that with some time and cultivation, he really could love her. This was close enough for now.

Together, they spotted Elsa in the crowd, talking to some patrons, presumably thanking them for their attendance.

"Elsa!" Anna yelled out, before toning herself down. She curtsied awkwardly. "I mean…Queen. Me again. Um. May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." Hans took that as his cue to bow in front of the beautiful, reserved queen.

"Your majesty," he greeted, politely. Elsa curtsied back. Anna could hardly contain herself, she was bursting at the seams.

"We would like-" she paused, so Hans continued for her.

"Your blessing-"

"…of-" she giggled, the suspense growing.

"Our marriage!" they finally blurted in unison, embracing one another. They watched as Elsa's face fell.

"Marriage…?" she asked, her tone falling flat.

"Yes!" Anna exclaimed, excitedly.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused." Hans wasn't liking the look in her eyes, but he figured all she needed was a little convincing; after all, they'd only just met. It was normal for her to be hesitant. But she wasn't there with them tonight, she didn't know the chemistry or the connection they'd made so quickly. If she'd been there with them the whole night, she would understand.

"Well, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves. We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course, we'll have soup, roast, ice cream and then…" she paused, an epiphany coming to her. "Wait. Would we live here?" she bounced up and down excitedly.

"Aaaaaabsolutely!" Hans agreed; that was definitely part of the plan. Why would he take her back to the Southern Isles when they could just stay here in Arendelle? A place where no one knew him, a place where he was respected and welcomed with such open arms. He could hardly believe how perfectly this was going.

"Oh! We can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us-" she said to Hans happily, ignoring Elsa's quiet protests. "Of course we have the room, I don't know. Some of them must-"

"Wait! Slow down," Elsa said sternly, finally quieting Anna's rambling. "No one's brothers are staying here. No one is getting married." The words stung, Hans suddenly felt very foolish standing there in front of the young queen's icy gaze; something about the rejection resonated with him quickly, and he was increasingly aware of all of the eyes upon them, beginning to create a scene. No eyes, however, burned into them more than those of Lars, glowering in the back corner as per usual. He swallowed hard; let out a nervous laugh.

"Wait, what?" Anna asked, her voice crushed. Elsa seemed to notice the crowd as well, lowering her head and voice towards Anna.

"May I talk to you please? Alone?" she requested quietly. Anna stepped away from her sister, defiantly taking Hans' arm in hers.

"No," she said, hurt but strong. "Whatever you have to say y-you can say to both of us." Elsa's eyes narrowed, her head tall once more.

"Fine. You can't marry a man you just met." Hans felt his stomach drop. It was silly of him to assume this could go off without a hitch. The worst part was that Elsa was right. The self-doubt instantly came flooding back to Hans. The women continued their argument, and all Hans could do was silently panic inside.

His plan was quickly unraveling, and his father's plan was ruined. There was no way he would be marrying either woman at this point, especially now that Elsa wouldn't bless the marriage. Word of his failure was sure to reach his father in no time. if only he hadn't acted so hastily, if only he had waited a few days, met the queen and cultivated the relationship instead of letting his infatuation get the better of him.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The girls bickered more and Hans tired to intercede, only to be shot down by a cold and definite Elsa. He worried, not just about himself but about Anna as well. She was braver than usual; he assumed the champagne and adrenaline was helping her say things she would have normally kept inside. It wasn't long before she held Elsa's glove in her hand, begging her for some kind of reaction other than shutting her out.

"When I said to enjoy yourself, this is hardly what I meant," Lars' voice spat near his ear, fuming. He hadn't even noticed Lars slink up beside him. He ignored him completely, moving forward after Anna. He would deal with Lars later.

Without knowing exactly what was being said between the sisters at this point, Hans was taken aback by a giant, icy blast across the room. Patrons gasped in shock, himself included. It took a moment to process what was happening, and that the giant, pointed shards of ice that now blanketed the ballroom floor had come from Elsa uncloaked hand.

"Sorcery!" the waif-ish, old Duke exclaimed, putting a name on the mystical spectacle they'd all just witnessed. Hans didn't know what exactly it was, his sole interest now was making sure Anna was okay. Elsa ran out of the large, oak doors of the ballroom and into the night, and Hans ran to Anna's side.

"A-are you hurt?" he asked, genuinely concerned as he pressed his hand to her cheek and examined her for injuries. Her eyes never met his as she watched after Elsa, struggling to go after her, but Hans held her back.

"I have to go to her, let me go to her!" she said, her eyes brimming with tears. "She needs me!"

"Not until you tell me if you're hurt," Hans demanded. She turned to him, her eyebrows low and sad, confused.

"N-no," she choked out, suddenly pulling him close to her in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her, lowering his head to hers. In that moment he realized he was physically closer to her than he'd been all night.

"What are you going to do?"

"I-I…" she paused, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. "I need to go to her," she said, looking up at him, her blue eyes pleading. Hans simply nodded, before following her out into the courtyard.

Anna called after Elsa, running at full speed. Even with all of Hans' training, it was hard to keep up with the agile girls. He watched in awe as Elsa began to freeze the bay, as well as the village, making a run for it across the fjord. He ran to Anna's side as he watched her attempt to run after her across the ice, only to slip and fall. There was no way they would be able to catch up to Elsa to stop her on the slick ice. Hans helped a defeated Anna up and they turned back, hurrying towards the guards and patrons that continued to stand, bewildered and frightened.

"Are you alright?" Hans asked again. It was the only thing he could really think to say, as he, too, was in shock over the events that had transpired in only a matter of moments.

"No," she finally said, a sob in her voice.

"Did you know?" he asked.

"No."

How could she not know that Elsa had such a great power within her? Hans took a deep breath, trying to piece together what he'd just witnessed. His moment of clarity wasn't to come, however, as they spotted the Duke trying to arrange a party to go after the queen.

"Wait, no!" Anna yelled out to him. The Duke jumped behind his men.

"YOU! Is there sorcery in you, too? Are you a monster, too?"

"No-no," Anna said, fear in her voice. Hans could only imagine what the Duke was going to do with this information, the treachery and the witch hunt that would ensure. Surely Anna would be under investigation for what she knew, if anything at all. And now that he thought about it, what IF Anna had some kind of untapped power inside of her she had not realized yet? He didn't really know her. But that didn't matter. He felt it his duty to protect her. "I'm completely ordinary."

"That's right, she is…" But she wasn't. She was special. Just not ice-throwing, village-freezing special. He glanced down at her lovingly. "I-in the best way."

"…And my sister's not a Monster."

"She nearly killed me!" the Duke yelled dramatically. Hans could feel his patience for this man running increasingly thinner and thinner.

"You slipped on ice," he corrected.

"HER ice," the Duke clarified.

"It was an accident. She was scared. She didn't mean it. She didn't mean any of this…." Anna finally interceded. "Tonight was my fault." Hans couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as well. Had he not been there, had he not proposed like an idiot, this wouldn't have happened. "I pushed her. So I'm the one that needs to go after her."

"What?" Hans protested.

"Bring me my horse, please!" Anna commanded. Hans grabbed her shoulders and turned her to him.

"Anna! No! It's too dangerous!" Hans objected. He instantly realized just how naïve Anna really was, wanting to go after her sister. Here was a princess that had never really experienced anything beyond castle walls wanting to trek through the snow to find her sister.

"Elsa's not dangerous!" Anna insisted, heatedly. "I'll bring her back, and I'll make this right," she said to him, her eyes full of tears. He wanted to make it better for her, he wanted to tell her that this wasn't her fault, he wanted to fetch Sitron and go with her, they'd find her together. The Royal Handler approached them with her cloak and horse.

"I'm coming with you,' he demanded.

"No," she said firmly. "I need you here to take care of Arendelle."

What? Just like that? She and the queen were gone and it was up to him to rule their kingdom in their absence? In his life, his father never even trusted him to provide royal representation of the Southern Isles, let alone rule a kingdom, even if temporarily. The thought of ruling Arendelle fascinated and excited him. Without much thought, he assured her.

"On my honor," he promised. Anna threw on her cloak and hopped onto her horse.

"I leave Prince Hans in charge," she announced, much to the Duke's dismay. Something about that sentence fed a part of Hans he didn't even know was hungry. Although he knew he should go with her, insist on leaving the kingdom in the capable and trusting hands of the dignitaries that had ruled on behalf of the queen for the last three years, he was elated at the chance to prove himself. And she was giving him that chance. He held onto her for a moment longer.

"Are you sure you can trust her? I don't want you getting hurt."

"She's my sister. She would never hurt me," Hans watched her snap the reins and ride off into the snow-covered streets of Arendelle. He watched helplessly, knowing that anything that happened to her from this point forward was simply beyond his control, and it made his heart ache in his chest.

She's my sister, she would never hurt me.

But Hans, of all people, knew just how hurtful siblings could really be. And that thought alone terrified him. Watching her ride away, Hans instantly felt regret for letting her go alone. There were plenty of guards, why would she go alone?

"Now what are we supposed to do, freeze to death?!" the Duke spat angrily. Hans turned to face the crowd, all of their dependence was now on him. He felt his hands shake as he realized just how much responsibility now rested on his (questionably) able shoulders.

"What do we do?" a townsperson cried out.

"We aren't prepared for this cold!"

"Our crops will die! We will starve!"

"…our children will freeze!"

The anguish began to grow increasingly desperate. Hans hurried to the frozen fountain, standing upon the concrete wall to rise above their heads, even if only by a few feet.

"Citizens!" he yelled out. They turned to him, anxiously awaiting instructions. He swallowed, hard. They needed a leader right now, so that was what he was going to be. "We mustn't panic! We will do what we can to endure this hardship! We will be distributing cloaks and blankets from the castle," he yelled towards the wait staff, who hurried inside to begin rummaging through linen closets and storages. "We must do what we can to keep warm; all able men need to be helping get firewood from the nearby woods, and all salvageable foods from the crops and gardens need to be harvested for consumption and storage." He looked among their worried faces. "We need to work together, depend on one another! We will get through this, I assure you."

Hans hopped down from the wall, hurrying over to one of his men.

"Get me Sitron," he demanded. He was going after her, he never should have let her go alone.

"Absolutely not!" he heard Lars' angry voice call out. He turned to him.

"I need to help Anna," he insisted.

"You have done enough!" Lars growled. Hans turned his back on him and began to put on his riding cloak. Lars reached for his shoulder and turned him around. "One more move and I will send word to your father about just how much damage you have done!" Hans shrunk under his dark and angry stare. "Get inside of your bedroom chamber at once so we can discuss just what you were thinking!"

Sent to his room like an adolescent. Hans couldn't believe this was happening, how had everything gone so awry in a matter of one day?

You're a failure.

He paced the room, anxiously looking out the window. The snow continued to dump down upon the ill-prepared village in flurries. He worried, not just for himself and Anna, whom he still couldn't believe was braving this treacherous weather, but for the people of Arendelle as well. He was all nerves, anxiously awaiting Lars to hear just how much he'd screwed this up. There was so much he needed to do, he felt torn into a million pieces. He needed to be here, ruling Arendelle in the Queen's absence. He needed to be out among the people, handing out cloaks and food. He needed to be with Anna, making sure she wasn't freezing to death or… he couldn't even imagine what kind of trouble she could be in already.

The loud bang from Lars barging into the room made him jump. He stood, quickly, prepared for the sound ear-bashing he was to receive.

"Lars, I-"

"What were you thinking?" Lars asked, his tone more even than Hans was expecting.

"I-I don't know-" Hans began.

"That is not an answer," Lars corrected. Hans looked down, unsure of what to say. "Your orders were clear, were they not?" Lars asked. Hans didn't respond. "So I will ask again. What were you thinking?" his tone became more menacing.

"I fell in love," Hans tried, but Lars' condescending gaze made him doubt himself. "Or at least, I-I think I did," he added sheepishly. Surely, Lars should understand that love, indeed, was a probable answer.

"Oh, Hans. If you believe that you fell in love you are more idiotic and naïve than even I thought," he said coldly.

"It's true!" Hans said, defensively. "I know it sounds crazy, but Princess Anna loves me and we-"

"She doesn't love you Hans. And you don't love her! You don't even know each other!"

"You're wrong. We felt something tonight. She does loves me-"

"She doesn't! She doesn't know any better. It was her first day outside of the castle walls and all she found was you. Who is to say once she gets wind of any other man she bumps into she is not going to fall for him as well? You are setting yourself up for disaster, and shaming the Westergaard name in the process!" Hans was speechless. Lars walked towards Hans, his eyes narrowing. "Your family would be ashamed if they knew just how weak you really are. They have always thought so little of you, how disappointing that you must prove it so quickly."

Hans' legs suddenly felt weak. He sat on the sofa by the fireplace, feeling sick to his stomach. Lars was right; how foolish he was acting. In LOVE? He didn't even know what love was, and yet he was willing to throw away everything because he assumed his infatuation with Anna was true love. Lars sighed, turning to poke at the dying fire.

"Such a shame I have to report this to your father," he said, sadly. Hans looked up at him, his eyes pleading.

"Please, don't tell them. They want to see me fail, it would kill what little dignity I have in their eyes," Hans begged. Lars' lips curled into a wry smile.

"I suppose there is a way we can try to fix this," Lars suggested coolly.

"Anything," Hans agreed, just thankful for any opportunity to undo what he'd done in such little time.

"You'll need to kill Queen Elsa."

Next chapter coming asap. Please review!