A/N: You are all too kind! ;-; It always moves me to read how much you like my work. Reviews seriously make my day, especially those of who you explain what you liked in particular. And it makes me equally happy to see there are some people who like Heins as much as I do! Those of you commenting on the out of place things such as clocks and gravesites and all are smart cookies. Maybe we'll want to remember those things for later… Arendelle, here we come!

-Chapter Five-

Swirling Storm Defied

"Come on… come on…" Hans danced nervously from one foot to the other, his satchel slung around his back. The night sky had already begun to grow lighter, the blanket of darkness lifting to prepare the way for a new day. He dodged a duo of fishermen on their way to their boat by ducking behind a group of barrels, emerging from behind his cover to make sure his vessel of choice was still secure.

He hated not having command of a larger ship, one that would be able to carry more supplies and travel faster, but he knew he was already risking more than he dared by commandeering his father's smaller sailboat. It wasn't as if his father didn't have boats to spare, but Hans had been explicitly forbidden from leaving the Southern Isles, and he knew Helm, his brother in charge of naval forces, took his job very seriously, accounting for every vessel down to the dinghies. It wouldn't be long before he found the sailboat missing.

Hans would just have to settle with what he could control the easiest with two people, in this case, the underwhelming sailboat, a ship just large enough for a small compartment below deck where someone could fit supplies and a single person could sleep. The journey to Arendelle shouldn't take longer than two weeks at the most, so he'd just have to compromise the success of his mission with the loss of comfort. In any case, the sailboat made up for its lack of space with its easy sail control, and the wind was favorable today. It would be worth it. It would be worth it to be a prince again… to make his parents see him whole once more… and maybe in the process, feel whole himself.

He turned back to the stairways leading down to the docks, seeing no sign of his brother, groaning his frustration aloud, his foot tapping against the wood in double time. "Heins… what could possibly take you so long?"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm here!" Heins came careening around a corner, panting, his arms packed with luggage so high it covered his face entirely.

"I told you to only bring necessities! What's all this?" Hans hissed between his teeth, aware of the sounds of voices approaching, likely the type of people who made a living on the water like fishermen or traveling merchants.

"Just a few things I thought we needed," Heins managed as he turned sideways to see his brother. "Where's the ship?"

Hans pointed to the sailboat nestled between two larger vessels, already stocked with some water and things he'd "borrowed with intent to return in good time" from the dock supplies waiting to be loaded for the day. He dashed to his brother's side and took a few of the bags in his own arms. "Come on, give me some of that. We have to leave now, before someone sees."

"We're going to Arendelle in this?" Heins asked in a whisper, helping his brother finish loading the baggage below deck, the boat bobbing lower than usual with the added weight. "Sailing for two weeks?"

"Maybe less if we get whiff of a good autumn wind," Hans responded, rigging up the sail and freeing it from its rope confines.

"Do you know where you're going?"

"I took a map from Helm's chart stashes," replied Hans, tossing his brother a rope to tie down which he hoped would limit the questions. "You forget I've been there; I remember what I saw on the way." Water, water, and more water. "Here, start with the working and stop with the questions. I know what I'm doing." … I hope.

Heins tightened the rope in the proper places with a steady hand practiced at making tight knots, glancing towards the distance to see the gates of the water inlet wide open for departing workers. It was rare the king of Arendelle would shut the large gates allowing passage of people to and from the Southern Isles mainland. For one thing, the majority of the Southern Isles business had to do with water travel, so shutting gates would be simply refusing business, but on the more important note, the gates were simply difficult to close quickly without extreme effort from several men. The wall surrounding the Southern Isles bay was not particularly tall, but it was tall enough to ensure no ship would be able to sail over it. Safety had always been a concern of the king, and so every vessel not of Southern Isles origin was thoroughly examined before allowed through the passageway. Heins only hoped the mark of his father, a purple and dark blue seal of an anchor, would be enough to let them pass without extended scrutiny, if any at all.

He tapped his brother on the shoulder, and Hans blinked. "Do the honors and christen the voyage," he gestured to the dock, all ties undone.

Hans approached the edge of the sailboat, gazing at it and shutting out the world around him for a short time. This was it. This was the moment everything changed. No more rules, no more standards to follow. He would make his own path, even if it meant defying his father's orders, taking chances with unseen consequences. He set the heel of his boot on the pier dock, took in the view of his family's castle, and pushed.

The boat sloshed away from the deck a few feet.

"And we're off!" Heins cheerfully exclaimed.

"Hey, what are you doing with the king's ship?" called a voice from the start of the docks, a man just coming to start his workday raising a hand to get their attention.

"Heins!" Hans snapped, glowering at his brother.

Heins bent his head low between his shoulders and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Help me!" Hans took hold of the rudder to help guide the sailboat, pointing. "Pull the ropes to get the billows taut; we need the sails full of the wind!"

"Right!" Heins was quick to obey, pulling on the rope and keeping his grip tight as the wind filled the spread fabric of the sail, setting their ship into sleek, unfettered movement.

"Who is that?"

"Was that the Prince Hans?"

"Get the Prince Helm, quick! Tell him a ship is being stolen!"

Hans grimaced and kept his gaze set behind him as the pier, previously deserted, began to buzz with activity like a drop of ice cream fallen in the middle of an ant hill. Ships were boarded and took chase; people awake early enough crowded the docks to get a better look. By the time anyone had prepared their vessel enough to truly take chase to the boat bandits, Hans had managed to get far enough away so his pursuers appeared as specks. He could still see well enough to spot his brothers crowding on the edge of the pier, Helm at the front judging by his trademark dark green suit colors.

"Hans! Hans, what do you think you're doing? Are you crazy?" His brother's voice was far-away, but loud enough to be heard as a shout, his hands cupping his mouth to help project his voice and then waving wildly in the air. "Come back!"

"No!" Hans shouted back, keeping his grip firm on the sail to let the wind dance among the fabric, the ship cutting through the waters smoothly as a knife through hot butter, "I'm going back, and you aren't going to stop me!"

"You can't leave… Isles! It's against… orders!" The words were beginning to break up as he neared the wall marking the Southern Isles mainland port, his brothers now indefinable figures apart from the vague colors he could make out of their clothing.

"I have to do this!" It was getting to the point where his brother's reply was no longer sensible between their distance, so he dropped his attempt to make himself heard. "I'm sorry… but I have to do this."

"I think we're in the clear!" Heins exclaimed, flashing Hans a grin of confidence before a sudden, low, resonating blast of a horn echoed through the air. "Uh oh…"

"That's the signal to close the port gates," Hans gasped, his eyes flashing to the hum of activity along the port walls, the men in charge of the gates hurrying to obey orders, their goal to get the gate lowered to sea level to stop any vessel from coming or going beyond the borders of the mainland. "No! He can't do this to me! He can't! We have to go faster!"

"How?" shouted Heins, pulling on the sails for all they were worth. "I'm not one with the wind and sky!"

Hans looked along the edges of the boat at the supplies he and his brother had gathered, and grabbed one of his bags containing sailing supplies, tossing it into the water with a splash. "Make it lighter! The lighter we are, the faster we'll go! We only need a little-more-time!" He snagged another bag, hefting it up to let it fall overboard when his brother unleashed a horrific gasp.

"Not that! Please not that!"

"Why?" Hans asked as his brother took hold of the opposite side of the bag, tugging it back. "What's so important? We have to get rid of weight!"

"But I-" The clip holding the bag closed came undone and it fell apart, revealing layer after layer of clothing which spilled onto the deck.

Hans just stared dumbly for a moment before turning accusatory eyes on his older brother. "Clothes?"

"I… um…I…"

Hans shifted his gaze to the multiple other pieces of luggage his brother had brought with him. "Wait, is there more?"

"I…"

"Heins!" Hans shouted, moving to undo the clasps and opening sack after bag after packed parcel of clothes. "I told you to only bring necessities!"

"But they are necessary!" Heins gushed, grabbing one of them and holding it close to his chest as if to guard it from the possibility of being thrown overboard. "I don't know if the people of Arendelle have switched from fall colors to winter or how long we'll be there or who we'll meet! I have to be ready to dress accordingly! I limited it to seven parcels… I'm used to a minimum three day rotation of clothes…" he trailed off, as if realizing the more he spoke, the worse it sounded. He threw his hands into the air, scrabbling to reclaim his fallen property strewn on the deck. "I didn't mean for you to take the rowboat thing I said last night seriously! I thought we would have a bigger place to store everything! We're never going to make it out before the gates close!" He pointed to the descending grate in the distance, enough men devoted to the task that the process was steady.

"We have to try, Heins! Please!" Hans whirled and met his brother with desperation shining in his eyes."Please, help me!" He grabbed the armful of clothing his brother had been holding, still firmly clutched in his grip. "Please..."

Heins stared at his youngest brother for a few moments in reflection, as they sailed close enough to hear the jeers of the men working the gate. He took his property back with a swift pull, smiled, and threw it over the side. "Hand me another bag!"

"That's it!" Hans' face lit with hope as a dying fire with another log added to the pile. "It's working! Keep going!"

Heins tossed bag after bag overboard, and the ship seemed to gain a little more stamina with every splash. The luggage bobbed in the waters behind them, swishing from side to side in the current, and eventually they would hit the gate, long after the brothers were gone. The man in charge of the mainland port wall gaped at the quickly-approaching duo moving closer, and shouted orders to his men, even though he knew the prospects of catching them were quickly becoming a lost cause.

"Stop them! Lower the gate together!"

"We can't go any faster, sir!"

"They're going to get through!"

The men on the wall scattered from their posts to watch as the boat sailed through the opening, the tip of the mast just nicking the wall as it glided through the entryway into the open water.

"Bye!" Heins called, waving to them good-naturedly as if he were a child going on a trip to town. "Oh, when the clothes get to the gate, tell Helm that they're gentle wash, let them soak to get rid of the salt water, and-"

Hans put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"And air dry!" he finished, still waving. "Thank you!"

"… thank you, Heins." Hans dropped his hand from his brother's shoulder. "It… it means a lot."

"No problem! I believe it was you who coined the phrase: it's what brothers do!" His ponytail flaring out behind him in the wind's bellows, Heins snatched one of two bags he had remaining and gave it a good-natured pat, looking behind him with a smirk of satisfaction. "I'm just happy we did it! Hah, tell us we can't go to Arendelle, will you? Oh, Hans, it's all so exciting! It's been so long since I've been anywhere outside of the Isles, and now for the first time in… in, well, forever, I can finally get the chance to see something new, and to help you apologize."

Nodding vaguely, Hans glanced back at the castle, his home, and watched it disappear into the distance, the figures on top of the wall turning into specks. It was funny to see how small everything seemed now, now that he was going back to see Anna, and more importantly, the Queen Elsa. He had no idea what he was going to say or whether it would perform some wonderful magic trick and poof him back into princely status at all. He turned away from home and set his gaze on the open sea before him.

It won't change anything. An inner voice whispered, so still and quiet, and yet capable of completely turning his world on head. It was a common practice for Hans to argue with himself, and usually he won, but this time, thinking back on the deeds he'd done and what awaited him in Arendelle, he was already floundering.

It might. He refuted the truth, cold as it may be.

You tried to kill her. You tried to kill her sister. She won't see you.

It was logical enough that it took him a minute to dredge up a reply. I have to do something. It doesn't matter if I solve my personal problems… and It's not the first time I've dealt with the subject of death… I just want to make myself believe it. If I can prove to myself I can follow the creed, apologize and put Arendelle behind me forever… then maybe… maybe that will be enough for me. And maybe it will make everyone else believe, too.

Like a terrible chime of a clock the argument rounded its head.

It won't change anything.

"Why look so glum?" Heins asked, snapping his brother out of his inner sanctum of thought. "We made it! I thought you would be happy…" His face softened, his green eyes gentle. "Are you worried about meeting the queen?"

"Maybe." Hans didn't look at his brother, still lost in his thoughts.

"Hans… I'll be right here with you. We can meet the queen together, you don't have to be afraid. Besides, I bet she's the nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever! She just might need a little help letting it show."

"You haven't seen what she can do." Memories of the ice fortress and his previous encounters with Elsa battling the Duke's men flashed before his eyes, making him shudder. "I doubt my appearance will make anyone in all of Arendelle happy."

"Come on, quit worrying!" Heins brushed his brother's shoulder playfully as he stowed their luggage below deck. "What could possibly go wrong?"

#

"This could go wrong! This could go very wrong!" Heins shrieked over the lashing of the rain, knotting the sails down before they could be torn from the mast in the storm's grasp. The sailboat lurched in a pitch of an unseen wave and he stumbled over himself, falling down to the deck.

Hans bent over his brother and heaved him back to his feet, the rain stinging his eyes, so thick it seemed impossible to tell whether it came from above or straight from the sea itself. He shielded his face with an arm, shouting over the dauntless pounding of the torrent. "Where did this storm come from?"

"It's one of the ones the Southern Seas are known for, the ones that leave no one standing! We have to get below deck!" Lightning flashed in the angry dark clouds brewing overhead, thunder cracking so loudly Heins clapped his hands over his ears in earnest.

"We can't both fit!" Hans yelled back, the sailboat lurching again among the tempest, the build of their vessel groaning against the sea's power. Both brothers fell again, a wave overcoming the side of the boat and slamming them down against the wood, where they teetered against the edge of the railing dangerously. One of Hein's legs dipped over the side and it took all of Hans' grip to help pull him back over, his gloves making the work slippery and practically impossible.

The ropes strained in the whipping of the wind, snapping free and lurching in the wind, freeing the mainsail from its fetters, where the billows made short work of it. The gusts tore into the fabrics with their invisible fangs, slashing them through and whipping the boom from side to side. Hans grabbed the rope waving wildly in the storm's grasp, gloves slipping on the rope, Heins stumbling over to his brother half-blind from the rain.

"It's a lost cause, Hans! Stop! You can't control it!"

"I have to try!" Hans grabbed the tips of his gloves in his teeth, wrenching them off and throwing them upwards into the dark mouth of the storm's fury, where they disappeared among the sky. He wrapped the rope partially around his wrist to form a greater grip, teeth bared in direct opposition to the storm's anger, his frustration coming full circle as he was lifted off his feet by the wind snapping the boom once more.

"Hans, stop!" His brother lunged and tackled him to the ground just as the wind's vengeance reared its head, snapping the mast in half with a horrendous howl. "There's no time! Get below deck!"

"No! You!" Hans shouted, heart racing, making out the vague shape of his brother standing above the hold door inbetween blinks, feet slipping on the slick deck as he made his way, half-crawling, to his figure. "Go, Heins! Go!"

"I won't let anything happen to-"

Hans struggled to his feet, flinging opening the hold door with a wild swing, the hull below swallowed in darkness. "There's no time to argue, Heins! Just go! Go now!"

Heins put an arm on his brother's shoulder, squeezed tightly, and suddenly hurled Hans down into the darkness of the hold, where he tumbled among the shadows, stumbling to regain his footing. His head shot back up to make out his brother's face between the flashes of lightning above, a sacrificial smile on it. "Why?" he screamed as he watched the sea seem to come alive, rising up over his brother and their sailboat, making it tilt back, cargo sliding past him.

Heins' voice could not be heard over the roar of the thunder, but Hans read his lips as he scrambled up to reach him. "It's what brothers do."

The hold door closed; there was a terrible slam as the world churned upside down, and his vision went black.

#

A/N: … or not! Sorry, but I promise Arendelle is coming. (So many allusions in this chapter) Please consider leaving a review if you liked it? : )