A/N: I hope the development in the beginning didn't throw you off that much! If any of you are worried about the lack of familiar faces, don't be! We'll get to the characters we know in good time, I promise. In the mean time, enjoy more of my OC bros!

Thank you so much for all the feedback you've given me so far and for all those who are following, it's encouraged me to continue. … Also, I love Heins. Can I keep him forever? Please R and R!

-Chapter Two-

What Brothers Do

"Will he be alright?" Heins asked, his forehead crumpling in worry lines, leaning forward to watch the castle doctor perform her duties, nursing Hans' wounded wrists.

Now that the old blood from the wounds had been cleaned sufficiently, and the bruised wrists lightly bandaged in soft, white gauze strips, the doctor felt satisfied with her work. She nodded to Heins, the ever-invasive one with concern shining in his eyes like the living green of the forest. She'd always been amazed at how his eyes could shine like that. She gave the bandages a final snip to cut off the excess and smoothed over to make the lining seamless, opening her bag and replacing her tools inside, most of them unneeded in the simple patch-up case. It never hurt to be prepared, her practice taught her, but the damage in this case was minor. Her lips pursed as she eyed the young man's wrists, holding back her questions. It would be improper to pry. She was more worried about his attitude than his physical health. This man was not the Hans she remembered treating as a boy, or even a young man. Something which had occurred in Arendelle had taken a profound effect on him, and not for the better.

"Are you sure?" Heins asked, following after her departure from his brother's side, still inside the spare room used for doctoring.

The doctor peered back behind her and gazed upon the youngest of the Southern Isle princes with thought permeating her brow. She lowered her voice out of respect, although by the looks of the empty gaze the prince wore, she doubted Hans could hear anything beyond his own thoughts. "Heins, what your brother really needs right now is not healing of his flesh wounds. He needs a deeper healing. Something has struck his very soul. I trust if anyone can help him heal what truly needs to be healed, I believe you can."

Heins paused for a moment, then spoke back in the same low tone, innocence lining his voice like a child's. "How does one heal a soul, doctor Helen?"

"I will leave that to you," responded the doctor with a gentle smile, going to her desk to reconsider her tool choices. Apart from being the castle doctor of people, Helen Hunter also held the royal veterinarian privileges, looking over the king's royal steeds, dogs, and livestock as needed. Hans had not been treated accordingly by the soldiers. It would be wise to look over his steed. "A good start is to try talking to him. Be yourself, and treat him as if normal. Now if you'll excuse me, I must see to Sitron. He has had a long journey and a check-up is in order, especially if they've taken the same care of him as they have your brother."

Heins watched her take her bag and give a small semblance of a polite curtsy as she took her leave. He bowed deeply in response, remained stationary for a moment, and then walked over to his brother, sitting down next to him on the plush bed. "Want to go to your room?" he asked, trying to sense out Hans' emotions. "I'll help you there."

"I don't care," Hans replied, his eyes focused on his hands, or perhaps, his wrists.

The doctor was right. Something had happened in Arendelle, and not for the better. It may not have been very much conversation, but at least his younger brother was speaking to him. It was a start. "Let me help you." Heins hefted his brother to his feet with a supportive hand, wrapping his arm around his shoulders.

Hans withdrew from it with the swiftness as if it were a snake coiling over his back, folding his arms over his chest as if to hug himself, his gaze dark as it peered to the side, away from his older brother. "I can walk."

"Alright." Heins remained by his brother, expression laced in concern, trying to think of what he could say. Be yourself. The doctor's advice rang clear in his head and he swallowed, starting up a conversation he hoped would make his brother more receptive. "Sooo… tell me about Arendelle! Was it beautiful? Was the party as good as our parties are? Oh! Tell me about the dresses, the suits, the clothes!" he urged, excitement permeating his tone.

Hans looked to his older brother and considered what to say as they walked down the hall, the plush carpet pliable under his scuffed, dirty boots. He had no pent-up anger or bad memories of Heins and he remembered how much his brother had begged to go along for the coronation. God only knows why his father had picked the youngest, out of all the brothers, to attend such an important affair for their relations. Now he'd gone and ruined everything. He wondered if his father was regretting his decisions. "Arendelle was fine."

"The party, Hans! Tell me about the party! Tellll meeee!" Heins shook his younger brother's shoulders, which caused both of them to laugh. It felt good to hear his youngest brother laugh.

"Okay, okay! Stop shaking me!" Hans batted his older brother away with a hand and thought back to better things, a smile on his lips. "Wellll where do I start… the party was nice, lots of people from everywhere, all kinds of food…"

"Roasted game? Cheese and breads? Wild grape wine?" Heins asked, eyes alight. "Oh, what I would have given to be there! Oh, and the chocolate fondue! Tell me they had chocolate fondue!"

Hans chuckled, nodding. "Yes, even that."

"And the princess? The new queen? Did you meet them, get to talk to them at all?"

Hans' smile remained, but shrank as he replied, "yes. Yes to both."

"I always knew you would get to do something important one day, didn't I tell you all the time? Didn't I? See, and now father chose you specifically for this relation business. It's good, Hans! It's so good… I'm happy for you." Heins squeezed his brother's shoulder again, and this time Hans did not brush it away. They came to a stop before his room, placed on the end of the hall before a window and two armored inanimate soldiers on either side, the door decorated with paintings of seagulls on the outer rims and golden swirls trailing along behind them. Each brother had chosen, probably purposely, to have their own room on a different floor of the castle, apart from the twins, who usually did things together. Hans swung open the door and took a moment of reminiscing. It was only a month ago he had been packing to go on the trip in the first place, and things had been so different then.

He walked inside, the scent of lilacs greeting his nose. Stunned, he turned to see a vase filled on his desk, the flowers a plump purple color, fresh and lovely, with a note underneath them. He picked it up and unfolded the crease, the royal seal on the back evidence it came from his parents. Scanning the note, he felt a strange swirl of guilt and love fill his gut.

Welcome home- Mother and Father

"She missed you."

Hans turned towards his brother, who lingered in the doorway. "She talked about you almost every night, wondered how you were doing. You should have seen how much she bragged to the people seeking audiences about how her son was fulfilling important meetings and how much she hoped you'd be happy."

Hans placed the note back down, turning his attention to his bed and taking a seat, running his gloved hands through his hair, only to regret how much they smelled of mildew. He looked up to see Heins standing still in the doorway. "Why are you standing there?"

"You never come in my room without knocking. I do the same for you!" Heins replied, a rare show of respect Hans usually didn't receive from his older brothers.

"Well come in and close the door." Heins obeyed and Hans pried off his boots, marveling at how great it felt to wiggle his toes freely, following up with removing his socks, which had once been white but were obviously worn in, a dusty dull brown on the bottom.

Heins sat in one of two chairs in the room, body facing the back of the chair, arms resting on the spine of it, crossed over one another, pinching his nose playfully. "You should open a window first. I don't know how long Mother's flowers will last under that!"

Hans shot his brother a frown, but listened to reason, sitting up on his bed to open the window directly next to it, one of the best sights in the castle. It led straight out over one of the long, flat portions of roof, and occasionally, when he was younger or needed some privacy, Hans would sneak out to get a good sight of the sunrise or set, depending on the time of day. The time being a little after sunset, all Hans could see was the twinkling lights of the stars, the flickering of the lamps in the streets, and the swish of the lighthouse over the sea. He slipped off his gloves, giving them a haphazard toss on the bed and falling back on it with a deep sigh, the sheets contouring around his figure. It felt so good to take the little pleasures in life as they came, especially after having to confront his parents with such a terrible truth.

"Oh! But I forgot to tell you."

"Forgot to tell me what?" Hans asked, turning his head to face Heins.

"Mother and Father had this big dinner planned in the main hall for your return. It's probably still on! Everyone will be there! Well, all the brothers, anyway. They want to hear about how things went."

"Great," grumbled Hans, sitting up and heading towards his walk-in closet to see what he could change into. "When is it?"

Heins glanced at the clock in the room, a beautiful hand-made piece of machinery outlined in gold metal, with a little ship serving as the hour hand and a lifeboat as the minute, a precious gift Hans had never replaced or taken down even if it had been years since he'd received it as a little boy. "Five minutes." The clock ticked. "Four minutes."

"What? Four minutes? I can't get ready for a big dinner in four minutes!" Hans threw a dinner party suit out of the closet.

Heins dove and caught the clothing before it hit the ground, the chair toppling over in his efforts. "Hey! Don't throw this! This is Equalian silk! Do you know how much a rung of this costs, not including the shipping efforts?"

"Sorry!" Hans came dashing out of the closet with a new pair of boots in hand and some tights, as well as a crisp button-down shirt and an overcoat of a dark blue color outlined in black.

"Ooo, I like it! It's a good color for you! Now all you need to finish is a little bit of color coordination with a pin or a crest…" Heins began rummaging in his brother's top drawer.

"I don't have time to talk about accessorizing right now, Heins! I have to get cleaned and get to the dinner in four minutes!"

"Three minutes, Hans." Heins stood up and smiled, walking outside into the hall. "Don't worry about it! I'll go tell them you're coming, you've just got to unpack first! Just come when you're ready! The regular dining room we have for family dinners, alright?"

"Okay, alright, just go!" Hans grabbed the pile of clothes over his shoulder and bolted from his room, the door swinging shut in his wake, disappearing down the hall barefoot to get washed up.

#

Hans had been outside the door leading to the huge dining room for what he guessed was ten minutes. It felt like forever, as most things do when one doesn't want to do them. Part of him knew this would come, and normally facing his older brothers would have just been annoying, but if they all knew… and there was no way to tell one way or another. He heard their voices and could pick them out if he listened carefully, but he didn't understand what was being said. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the inevitable, and pulled the door open, making his entrance.

The expanse of the dining table was lined with familiar faces, but very few of them looked interested, and there were a few who did not look up at all. His chair, as typical, was next to the head and oldest of the table, empty, a symbol for the last in line, as they were normally seated according to age. He gave a brief bow meaning nothing more than an upholding of tradition, and took his place.

"Well, well! The prodigal son returns, does he?"

Thwock!

An arrow landed in an apple not an arm's length from Hans, fired by the speaker, who pounded his fist on the table, face alight in glee at his brother's instinctive jump. His goatee of red gleamed in the firelight, the embers crackling merrily, keeping the room a pleasant warm temperature. "Did you see that? What a shot! What a magnificent coil…" The man grinned as he pulled back the trigger of the crossbow. "Truly a great piece of craftsmanship."

"Harken!" The man grimaced at his name. Hans watched the exchange with interest, taking the arrow. No sooner did it arrive over his plate than the apple split in half, landing on his plate. The recoil of the crossbow had been enough to break through the apple entirely. He caught a flash of an uncomfortable smile from Harken, the man in charge of his father's weaponry. Harken always been fascinated with weapons even as a child and so the position had been natural for him, but his obsessions over the weaponry had not. "Put the crossbow down. We don't admire weaponry at dinner. If Father were here you'd be scolded worse." The head of the table picked up a glass of wine at his right, his small brown mustache crinkling as he smiled, dipping towards Hans. "Welcome back to the Southern Isles, little brother. We can finally hold our toast! I propose a toast to our youngest brother, and to his safe journey back!"

"Hear, hear!" Heins exclaimed, lifting his already-empty glass.

"Heins, I told you to wait!" the head of the table exclaimed, frowning. "There's no point in toasting if you have no wine."

"Sorry, but I was thirsty, and it just looked so tempting. "

The older brother sighed, smiling once more. "I'll look over it tonight. To Hans." He downed his drink and gestured with a gloved hand. "Little brother, tell us all about your journey. It's good you didn't run into any storms on the way back. I heard there were a few reports of terrible weather from our trip to the Northern Isles."

Helm, one of the oldest brothers still at home, was named perfectly, as he took the profession of overseeing his father's fleet. Hans judged by the looks on his brethren they didn't know the truth, which both relaxed him and made him nervous. Helm had never been overly cruel to Hans, since he'd often been busy with his own affairs and paid the youngest brother less attention as the years went by, but that was business as normal.

"Where did you hear that?" Hans asked, cutting the apple with a knife, which he thought was ridiculous, but he'd always been scolded if he ate with his hands.

"Hedvil is away on the Northern Isles relations trip," remarked Henning, one of the twins. It was unusual to see them apart, but since they were both relations specialists with the other lands, ambassadors of a sort, such things were bound to happen. Hans could sense a twinge of bitterness from the brother, probably from his being passed over to travel to Arendelle. It wasn't his fault father had chosen him to go when he'd never asked and other brothers had. "He told us of the trouble with the storms in his last letter."

"Did the queen even look at you?" The blunt question came from one of the bluntest of his brothers, Horatio, who was in charge of finances, and therefore, uninterested in everything which didn't make money. His long, thin nose wrinkled as he separated a pea from the rest of the food on his plate.

"Doubtful. Why pay attention to the runt?"

Hans shot Hugo a glower, anger permeating from him. Hugo had been one of the brothers whose sole purpose seemed to be to make Hans miserable. Muscular and lean, he tended to his own affairs privately and spent little time with the other brothers, his attention more centered on the curves of the women living in the kingdom than the curve of learning a business or making a name for himself. If Hans had been more specific with Princess Anna, he'd have told her how much he hated Hugo, for Hugo had come up with the brilliant idea of pretending Hans was invisible and followed through for two years, two other parties joining in being Harken and… odd, where was…

It was at that moment the doors opened again and Harald entered, looking none for the better, his uniform a little rumpled and a sneer curling his lip. He took his place in silence and began to help himself to the food.

"Where have you been?" asked Helm, face studious as he noted his brother's expression.

"I was detained," Harald replied, meeting eyes with Hans, his gaze dark enough to dim the room. Hans had felt anger, even hatred, from his brothers before, but usually not to this degree. Harald certainly knew the truth about Hans' actions, but he must have been sworn to secrecy, because he said nothing. "I had to see to two of my soldiers."

"Did you get in trouble for unnecessary measures again, Harald," Hugo remarked with a chuckle, sipping on his second glass of wine.

"It's not a very good example for the Southern Isles if their own people are disfavorable of the militia," added Henning.

"I was asked before mother and father on a private matter," replied Harald, taking a long drink of his untouched wine.

"No matter," Helm replied, gesturing to Hans, "Hans was just about to tell us about his trip to the coronation. Tell us all about it. Did you meet the Queen… Queen of Arendelle personally?" He didn't know her name, and it was obvious from his insertion of her title last-minute.

"Elsa," corrected Hans, quick enough to stun his older brother. "Her name is Elsa." He felt oddly protective of the absence of her name. Perhaps it was his guilty conscience trying to make remedy of an unforgiveable situation.

"Queen Elsa," Helm added, nodding, remedying his slip.

"Yes, I met her," he replied, shying away from adding much more than that. He could feel Harald's eyes on him, and he hated the sensation.

"Any chance she's looking for a king," remarked Hugo, sipping his third glass and sounding a little slurred. Helm shot him a glare and he shrugged, "just asking."

Hans felt his lips curl into a smile. Oh, I would love to see you try and woo her, Hugo. "I doubt it."

"Isn't there a princess of Arendelle as well?" Henning remarked, taking a bite of bread and chewing.

"Princesses are easy," replied Hugo, finishing his wine and grinning, facing his other easy target. "Aren't they, Heins?"

Heins blinked and took on a sullen look. "I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do," grinned Hugo, waving his fork in his brother's direction, "Do you know, Hans, that your brother has had not one, but two women asking for audience with him since you've been gone? I don't understand him in the least. Of course, I offered to go in his place, and one accepted, but still, either one would have been an experience, Heins. Live a little. Once you go and get committed to one woman, it's all over."

" Astounding advice," snapped Hans, causing Hugo to switch his attention to him and away from Heins. It was true, Heins had always captured attention of women, but he'd never shown any interest in settling down with one, and when asked and prodded by his parents, he'd simply remarked he was waiting for the right one.

"You can talk little brother, but you had your chance to get something out of the trip, and you come back just as alone as when you left. Oh, but I guess you'll always have Sitron, won't you? The two of you make a perfect couple."

"That's enough," stated Helm, causing Hugo to sigh and lift his hands in surrender. "In any case, Hans, it's good to have you home."

"Hasn't been the same here without you," replied Horatio with a drawl, getting up from the table. "I apologize but I must be off. I've important business to attend to. It seems some of our largest partners in trade are demanding less pay for their goods."

"Of course," replied Helm. "Welcome back, Hans. Good night," he rose and gave a short bow of politeness, exiting out of the rear doors after Horatio, the other brothers following suit without much goodbyes of their own.

Hans rose to his feet and gave a nod to the remaining brothers. He had nothing to say to them, but protocol insisted he manage something. "Goodnight."

"Hans, may I follow you for a moment?" Heins asked, getting up from his chair. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes?" replied Hans with a shrug, turning away and exiting the dining hall. His brother followed along beside him, along the halls and down the stairs until he reached his room, pausing outside. "What was it you wanted?"

"Please help me!" His brother looked aghast as he whispered, his tone low and pleading, taking Hans by surprise as Heins ruffled his previously smooth hair with his gloved hands. "These women won't leave me alone. I'm supposed to spend the latter part of the next day with the Princess Orion of Allorin. I was thinking if I could… say I was spending part of the day with the youngest prince who'd only just come back from a long trip and needed a day to relax? Sitron will need exercise, and I thought… a little ride out in the countryside? Anything to keep me away from her."

"Don't you want to get out of this castle, out of the Southern Isles?" Hans asked, a puzzle look coming over his face. He'd never understood Heins completely, but he knew that if any women were to pay him the time of day, he'd jump at the chance… as he'd jumped in Arendelle. The trouble was, he'd found out he was jumping into a bottomless pit.

"Of course I want to go eventually," replied Heins, smiling and brushing his hair back down with a few smoothing motions. "But I can't just jump at the offer of a woman who wants to marry me in one day, can I? These princesses who come to ask for my hand, who assume I'm interested… they don't know anything about me. They don't even try…"

Hans glanced over at his brother and his brow furrowed. What do I know about Anna… about Elsa?

"They don't even know my last name, can you believe it? It's Westergard! Westergard! They don't know my friends, or my favorite color." He laughed. "What if they don't like the way I eat? What if they don't like how big my feet are?" He sighed and looked to his brother. "So… what do you think? Will you help me?"

Hans couldn't help but smile. "Alright, alright. You can go on a short ride with Sitron and I."

"Oh, thank you, Hans. If I can avoid her for the least little while without being obviously rude, I'll do anything. I didn't want to trouble you when you just got off the boat, but you were my only hope."

"It's what brothers do," shrugged Hans, remembering when he'd said the same words to Anna out on the balcony. "I'm feeling a bit worn tonight though, Heins. Do you mind if we talk tomorrow?"

"Of course not!" said his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder with a pat. "It is good to have you back, little brother. Even if they don't mean it, I do."

Hans watched his brother disappear around the corner and entered his room, stunned to see his mother standing there, the picture of beauty with the moonlight from his open window casting a white glow around her figure. Would he have no rest from people tonight? Unlike the encounter with his brothers, Hans felt he needed to speak to his mother. He bowed, which he was also getting tired of doing tonight, and tried to smile as honestly as possible. "Mother?"

"Are you alright?" His mother approached with the grace of a feather in the wind, drifting over the floor as if her feet never touched it at all. "Let me see." She held out her hands for his own, which he gave up to her, and she scrutinized the doctor's work with a mother's eye, her touch like a breeze as she brushed her fingers over the bandages. "Oh my baby… my baby…" She brought his wrists to her lips and bestowed a kiss with each, even if he didn't feel it through the gauze. She let his arms down and turned, fetching something from his desk side table and holding it out, a plate of chocolate cake. "I brought you some of your favorite dessert. I thought you would want some home comfort after being away for so long."

The look of damage behind her eyes caught the thought of eating anything, no matter how delicious, appalling. He accepted it and smelled the heavenly aroma of the chocolate lining the fluffy cake, shaking his head, setting it aside on his dresser. "You didn't have to."

"I know." She took his hands, leading him to his bed, and gracefully perched on the edge, her gown pooling out around her. "I wanted to be there tonight. Your Father and I both did. But we had to discuss things."

Things. "There's no use in prolonging it or ignoring it, Mother." Hans dropped his gaze. "We might as well just accept it."

"Hans… I don't know why. I can't understand why. But I love you. No matter what happens, I love you. You know that, my baby?" She brought a hand to frame his cheek, and he was astonished at how cold her skin felt against his flesh, bringing his glove to cover it and facing her.

"You're freezing, Mother… your hand is like ice."

"It's this changing weather, that's all. Now that we're entering autumn… things getting cooler. This castle, I swear, is so hard to keep warm…"

She's lying. Mother, why are you lying? A sinking feeling of fearing the worst filled Hans. "Mother." She faced him as his gaze turned into one searching. "What's really wrong?"

"It's nothing, Hans. Just a little case of chills. We should be talking about you… your father and I… we just don't know what to do. I can't believe you would do something like this, something so utterly… terrible."

"I told you it was true, Mother. Why do you doubt it?"

"Because I know you, sweetheart." Allowyn dropped her hand and rested her hand on her son's knee. "I know you better than anyone else in the world… I don't know what you want… what you were searching for… but I know it's not a kingdom…"

Hans blinked, running over the words in his head, looking down at her hand as if trying to focus on himself. What do I want? "What do I want?" he spoke the words out loud, lifting his gaze to look at her mother.

"I can't answer for you, baby. You have to answer for yourself. But no matter what happens, I will always be right here." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, which, no matter how troubled Hans was, seemed to warm his very heart, bringing a smile with it. "There's my boy…" She thumbed his cheek and rose from his bed. "Your Father and I will see you tomorrow in the throne room to discuss our decisions."

"Mother?" Hans started, rising from the bed to follow just before she left his doorway.

She turned with the same grace she'd entered, a smile on her thin lips. "Yes, love?"

Hans picked up the plate of chocolate cake and cut a small piece with the fork, lifting it to his mouth and taking a bite, swallowing, the sweetness following all the way down his throat. "Thank you."

The queen smiled at the chocolate color on her son's teeth, a reminder of when he'd been a little boy. Though not so little anymore, he was still her boy, and she wouldn't give up on him like that, no matter what her other son had told her about how nefarious his plans were and how damaging the effect would be on their land.

#

Hans never imagined cake could taste so good. He was looking out the window when the door opened and shut once more, the lamplights far below long since extinguished, all life quiet. He turned, expecting to see his polite, but invasive brother Heins, or his Mother come back, always worried for him, but instead he saw Harald, half-shadowed in the fading moonlight. "… what are you doing here?" Hans asked, standing to his feet.

He hardly had time to react before his older brother's knee came smashing into his gut, collapsing with a gasp where his fingers contracted against the hard floor. Harald backed away, staring him down. "You think your little stunt in Arendelle isn't going to cost you?"

Hans gasped out, tears building in his green eyes from the pain, his fingers still spasming against the floor for a grip. "Why?"

"I lost two of my best soldiers today. 'Too unnecessarily violent', the king said. That won't happen again. If the king asks you tomorrow when you're before him how you were treated, what are you going to say?"

Hans's body trembled with the aftershock of pain, each breath bringing with it more difficulty to continue.

"What are you going to say?" shouted Harald, bending over Hans and forcing his head down against the ground.

"I'll say they treated me well!" Hans managed with a gasp, tears burning his eyes as he flinched, the pressure against his head releasing as Harald walked calmly back to his room door.

"Good. You learn." Harald brushed his glove against one of his medals, looking back at his younger brother briefly. "You're pathetic. You can be sure I'll work my damned hardest to get you the highest sentence I can get. And if you're killed… we'll be better off." The clock in Hans' room struck midnight, and the brother scoffed. "You still keep that thing? Good. Maybe it'll remind you why you won't tell the king about our little encounter. In fact, you're going to keep up appearances for the rest of your life, aren't you?"

"…yes," whispered Hans, his head pounding as hard as his heart.

"What was that?"

"Yes."

"See you tomorrow." Harald walked toward the room door and paused before closing it. "Oh, and little brother? Sweet dreams."

Hans wiped at his eyes after his brother disappeared, using the bed as a support structure to climb on top of it. He groaned as he sprawled on top of it, sure his ribs would be bruised from the attack the next day. He turned to face the ticking of the clock and the tears ran anew down his cheeks. He buried his face into the folds of his pillow to forget everything else and find temporary peace in the wake of dreams.