A/N: Back into the fray after quite a long wait period compared to usual update times. I'm sorry! I have a feeling a lot of you are not going to be too happy with me in this chapter, especially how things continue. I promise I know what I'm doing. Just stay with me, stay with me. Keep calm and Helsa on.

Chapter Nineteen

Freedom Has Its Cost

A calming voice intruded into Hans' reverie. "Hans? Hans, relax! It's alright! Are you okay?"

Hans blinked through the darkness, trying to help his eyes adjust to the shadowy environment. Sitting up, he rubbed his head, smoothing back his hair, the horrifying scenes of his nightmare slowly fading. "Heins?" he groaned, light filtering in through the single window in the dungeon just enough to illuminate his brother's concerned face hovering beside him.

"Thank goodness," Heins exclaimed, collapsing on the bench next to him with clear worry furrowing his brows. He placed a gentle hand on Hans' shoulder. "I thought you'd never wake up."

"What's going on?" Like a crack of thunder, the events of the party hit him and he gasped. "Oh, God… she knows. She found out who I am. They all know." Slowly, he turned to stare at his brother, his voice swathed in dark undertone. He pulled away from Heins, shifting so they were not touching one another and finished with a hissed accusation. "Because of you."

Heins' lips parted and guilt washed over his expression. "Hans, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to tell everyone who we were…it just… happened. The wine and the party sort of blurred together and I lost control of myself… please don't be angry with me. Please don't hate me." He continued plaintively, "You don't hate me, do you?"

Hans bent over, placing his head in his hands. His breath came in short puffs of vapor in the cool night air. "I was so close, Heins. So close… and now, everyone knows who we are."

For a moment, his brother was silent, and then, in a small voice, Heins lamented, "I know."

"Everything we've worked for, everything we tried so hard to do, it's all for nothing, Heins," Hans elaborated, shaking his head as he got to his feet. He moved to the small window in the wall , gripping the iron bars in his hands and gazing out at the sea in the distance. "For nothing."

"Don't say that," Heins murmured, head bowed. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" Hans retorted, glowering at his brother, anger burning behind his eyes.

"Because I can't have lost her… I can't." Heins' gaze remained glued to the cobblestone floor.

Hans' anger suddenly dissipated in the midst of a realization. He may have lost his opportunity to apologize to Elsa, but his brother's outburst had done more than expose Hans' past. It had exposed Heins' identity as well. His father's voice seemed to come from nowhere, reciting the creed he knew by heart. He forgives until he forfeits breath. A prince forgets the trespasses against him. He is compassionate. He sacrifices. The harsh creases of his forehead softened, and he rested a supportive arm on his brother's shoulder, though his posture was still tense. "You won't," he sighed with determination. "We've been through worse. We'll figure it out."

It was an uncomfortably long moment before Heins spoke again, and his voice carried little of the cheerful lilt usually accompanying it. "… You were dreaming about Kris again, weren't you?"

Hans turned to meet his brother's eyes squarely, but said nothing.

Heins blinked and leveled his gaze with his brother. "You talk in your sleep."

Hans sighed, clenching his fingers together and squeezing for a moment. "I…" he trailed off, at a clear loss for words.

"You don't have to say anything." Heins rested his hands on his knees and leaned back against the wall, green eyes studying the ceiling. "I know you miss her. I miss her, too." His voice quieted and he murmured hopefully, "But you know you don't have to keep the pain to yourself. You can talk to me… if you want to. I am your brother."

"There's nothing to talk about." Hans deflected with the skill of a master. "We had a sister. She died."

Heins leaned away, face contorted into confusion. Then, in a rare show of negative emotion, he frowned. "How can you say that?"

"What?" Hans met his brother's stare.

"I said, how can you say that? There's nothing to talk about? How can you possibly mean that? Don't you feel anything at all? Ever since she died… you've acted like she never even existed. You've never talked about memories or even mentioned her name. Everyone else has expressed their pain… but ever since it happened… you just… it's like you shut a door to your heart… a part of you has been gone ever since she left."

"I loved Kris!" Hans blurted, face flushed as streaks of moonlight shone through the bars. His eyesight began to blur and he blinked to clear it, realizing how loud his pulse sounded in the silence of the cell. "Don't think I ever forgot about her for a minute… I was there when she died."

It was obvious Heins felt guilty because he suddenly became quiet, which made it even more startling when the hoarse reply came from across the hallway.

"You were the only one that was there… and the rest of us could never find closure, because you could never find closure. She wouldn't have wanted you to torture yourself all these years." Heins, the more curious of the two brothers, leaned against the wooden doorway and squinted into the darkness through the small window. Suddenly his face lit into excitement, standing on the ball of his feet to see clearer.

"Hans! Hans, it's Harry!"

#

"I don't believe you." Calm yourself. Calm. Her old mantra "conceal, don't feel" came to mind, but Elsa brushed it off, taking slow, deep breaths, fists at her side. She had to feel in order to get control over those feelings. The key was to keep it in perspective. She was in control. "Anna, how could you do something so… so…" She squeezed her eyes closed, fingers going to her temples to massage them, a headache throbbing behind her skull, building until the pounding blocked out her thoughts... "So stupid."

"Elsa, you need to calm down," Anna said, her tone slow and nervous as if she were walking on glass. "Just listen to me."

"Anna, he tried to kill us!" Elsa snapped her eyes open and she gasped, blinking back little flakes of ice. Shards of black ice sprouted from the ground in spikes, surrounding her in a semi-circle, poking outwards towards her sister. They were only half a foot or so in length, but both of them knew, if not under control, her powers were lethal. She exhaled slowly once more, stepping over the wall towards her sister, hugging her once. "I'm sorry, Anna… I'm just so worried. I only want you to be safe."

"Elsa, I know you're worried about me… about the kingdom. But you have to trust me." Anna parted from the hug and held her hands out pleadingly. "I know what he did. I know better than anyone. But I think he's telling the truth. I think he really only wants to apologize."

"Why would he want that?" Elsa demanded, going back to pacing, an act which seemed to help keep her powers under control. Though she'd gained considerable ground with her magic since returning home a little less than a year ago, when her emotions were heightened, sometimes she still lost the battle. She couldn't afford that now.

"I don't know. Maybe it runs deeper than him just apologizing. Maybe it's something we can't understand yet. But I know all he asked was to talk to you. I know he told me how sorry he was. And I know he told us he wants to help us. You know that we can't survive another winter without commercial trade with another country, and Corona can't keep coming to our rescue. Maybe we should hear him out. At least we have to try," Anna urged, taking her sister's hands.

Elsa avoided her sister's gaze, trying to organize her thoughts. "How do I know he won't go behind our backs again? Try to stage a hostile takeover?"

Anna hesitated, twiddling her fingers and bringing one of them up to her hair to twist a strand around her pinkie. "… I was thinking about the same thing earlier, Elsa…and I started to wonder… stay with me on this… if he wanted to take over the kingdom so badly, why didn't he do it when I was gone looking for you? I left him in charge… and then you said he stopped you from… from overreacting with those Weselton weasel drones who attacked you in your castle. He told me when he left me alone that he considered staging an accident for you but then when I left… I had doomed myself. He had every opportunity to be king, Elsa… can I just… say something crazy?"

Elsa faced her sister and shot her a frown.

Anna bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders, admitting the last thing she knew her sister wanted to hear. "I don't think he's lying."

"Anna…" Elsa shook her head pensively.

"Let me ask you something about what was going on at the ball. When he was with you did he seem… dangerous at all?" Anna asked, wavering one hand back and forth in the air.

"Ye-" Elsa stopped herself. Her mouth hung open as she faltered to support her statement. She remembered him. They had been childhood friends at one point. What happened between them? Their talk last night as strangers had been nothing if not… enjoyable. She staggered a few steps back in shock, eyes locked on the floor, her hands going to cross over her heart, to enshrine herself. "No…"

"I don't think he wants to hurt us anymore, Elsa," Anna said, putting her hands on her sister's shoulders tentatively. "You told me he came to see you in the dungeon. The least you could do is go to see him. You don't even have to talk to him. Just… listen."

"I don't know, Anna." The queen shook her head and waved towards her bedroom door. "Please, you… you should go. I have to think." Flashes of herself and a boy sharing a stuffed horse came to mind. Could the same little boy still be in there somewhere? She sank down on the edge of her canopy bed, resting a hand on the soft comforter.

Anna sighed and backed away towards the open door, lingering there. "Promise me you'll think about it."

Elsa met her sister's gaze, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Okay. I'll think about it."

Anna smiled brightly and held her hands out as Elsa started to speak again. "Say no more, say no more, I'll go. I know you'll do the right thing." She slipped out of her sister's room with a little wave and gave a little sigh of satisfaction. For the first time since she'd encountered Hans back in Kristoff's cabin, she felt confident about things turning out for the better. Maybe Hans talking to Elsa would help her, too. She'd never really spoken about how the whole "sword confrontation" had made her feel. She'd never said anything about how she felt thinking she'd been responsible for her sister's death.

With a half-skip in her step, Anna made her way to the stairway, and proceeded to slide down the banister gracefully. Landing with a bounce at the bottom, she made her way to one of the largest rooms in the castle- the gallery. Flinging open the doors, she walked along, stopping before her favorite painting, that of Joan of Arc, holding her sword high in triumph. "Hey, Joan. Hanging in there?" she joked, sinking down on one of the sofas lining the walls. "I talked to Elsa. She seems like she'll really listen to him." Flopping back on the sofa and propping her feet on the wall, Anna blew a raspberry and crossed her arms, clicking her tongue. "What's the matter? You aren't talking to me now?"

"Ahem."

The soft sound of a throat clearing made Anna jump. She blinked rapidly, tilting her head back and nearly falling over herself in surprise as she saw a woman in servant's garb standing before the entryway for the gallery, a bonnet pulled down over her head. "Oh, hey! Sorry! Am I in your way? Do you need to clean or something?" She stood up and smoothed down wrinkles in her gown, glancing behind her at the wall, which now had two dainty footprints darkly standing out against the green wallpaper."Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I'll help you clean it! How do I start?"

The figure peeled back her bonnet and shut the doors behind her, facing Anna with determination shining in her eyes. "Princess Anna? I need your help."

#

"Harry, are you alright?" Hans shouted across the way, battling Heins for dominance over the narrow view in the door to catch a glimpse of his older brother.

"I'm fine," came the answer, though the voice was weaker than Hans remembered, "Are you two alright?"

"Aside from the being thrown in prison, yes," replied Hans, leaning down off his tiptoes for a moment, jealous of Heins' slightly taller stature. "What happened to you?"

"I could ask the same thing," replied Harry. "You were supposed to apologize to the queen. You must give one rotten apology!"

"I didn't get to apologize," Hans grumbled, stretching up again on tiptoes, "tell us what happened to you."

"Well, after I helped you two escape, they brought me before the chairman of trade relations, and while Lars vouched for me, when the soldiers reported two men had escaped from my ship, it didn't matter. I was brought to the dungeon to be detained and interrogated," Harry said.

"And?" Hans pressed.

"When I didn't tell them anything, they said they would keep me in here until I did. I assume they meant to try again in the future. I think they wanted the queen, Elsa, to talk to me, but there was some kind of party…"

"Extravaganza!" interjected Heins.

Harry groaned in exasperation. "Right...so, I never got to talk to her," Harry finished.

"It's a pity," replied Heins glibly, "because she's really very nice."

Hans pulled back from the door to give Heins a look of astonishment. "She threw us in the dungeon, you dork."

"She didn't," volleyed Heins with a half-smile. "I may have been… a little too giddy, but I remember what happened. The captain of the guard was the one who threw us in the dungeon. Elsa just stood there mouthing your name."

Mouthing my name… she was, wasn't she? Hans sank down to his feet, back against the door. "Okay, you're right. But we can't do anything about it now except wait for her to come. And who knows when that will be."

"Or you could opt for the second and obviously better option," interjected a new voice. Hans thought it sounded familiar, but when he gripped the bars and stretched to look once again, he was greeted with the sight of the royal Arendelle crest on a guard's hat. He frowned as he noted another guard accompanying the first man, but his eyes widened when the hat tilted up to reveal unruly red hair curling around golden earrings. "Coast all clear, Johan?"

"Heinrik!" shouted Hans, face brightening in the dark of the night.

"Shhh! Shout my name for all of Arendelle to hear, why don't you?" his older brother scolded, turning back to his first mate.

"Clear," replied Johan, returning to the door.

"Good, now hand over the keys," Heinrik said, extending an open palm to his friend.

Johan blinked a few times. "Keys?" He patted the uniform down, swallowing and adding, "I thought you had them."

"No, Johan, we went over this!" Heinrik removed his officer's cap, counting off on his fingers. "The order goes: guards, uniforms, keys, rescue, home. Did you really forget the keys?"

"You have got to be kidding me! You're blaming me for this? I had my hands full handling the guards and the lookout duty and now you expected me to handle the keys? The whole plan was your idea!" Johan exclaimed, gesturing to himself, Heinrik, and around them in frenzied motions, talking as much with his hands as his mouth.

"Which obviously you didn't worry enough about to carry out properly," Heinrik said, snagging a lantern hanging on a nearby iron peg and examining the door, rapping his knuckles on it.

"Oh, I don't worry enough? Okay, okay then, do you remember when you told me what your plan was, and I said it was crazy and you said 'You worry too much' and I said 'No, I worry exactly the right amount'? You can never worry too much." Johan bent down and examined the door as well, focusing on the hinges.

"What I wouldn't give for some dynamite," remarked Heinrik with a grumble. "We forgot the keys. At this rate, the queen'll be adding another brother to her collection. She's almost got half the Southern Isles brood under her thumb, why not add another?" He pursed his lips. "The door's pretty solid. It would take some force to break in."

Johan shrugged, "So we don't have the keys, at least things can't get-"

"Who's down there?" interrupted a loud, growling voice from up the stairwell. Footsteps began to tramp rapidly as the voice echoed closer.

"Excuse me, were you going to say 'worse'?" retorted Heinrik.

"Nnnooo…" Johan's keen eyes quickly scanned the dark environment around them, assessing their situation. He snapped back to his friend, "Well, there's nowhere for us to hide. We can pretend to be soldiers, but we should get ready for a fight. I hope we're not outnumbered too badly."

"Got it. I'll take the pretending, you take the knock-out. Do your thing," Heinrik straightened, leaning over and blowing out the lantern in his hand with a quick exhale to shroud his more detailed features. Johan disappeared into the darkness towards the sound of the voice, and it wasn't but a few moments until the source of the stern shout appeared, a man dressed in Arendelle custom uniform.

"You there! Who are you? What business do you have in here! Show yourse-unh!" a sudden pained grunt came from the man and he slumped forward into a heap.

"Wow, that was fast," remarked Heinrik, blinking in astonishment. "Nice hit, Johan, he's out cold!"

"I didn't touch him…" Johan stammered, and stepped forward with a bewildered expression on his face.

"If you didn't hit him… then…" Heinrik squinted into the darkness as a match was struck and the light shown on the figure of a strawberry blonde bending over the soldier, wielding a large skillet.

"Oh, gosh! I'm sorry!" Anna shook out the match after lighting her lantern and leaned over the guard, checking his head for injuries. "He looks okay, but I bet he'll have a bad headache when he wakes up. I'm going to have to make him a huge cake or something to apologize later."

Heinrik just stared, stunned into silence.

"Hans? Are you okay in there? It's me, Anna!" she tried to see through the window, but was too short even stretching on her tiptoes.

"Anna?" Hans brushed Heins aside and stood on his tiptoes, just able to make out the princess in the dim flickering of the lantern. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to bust you out! Well, not by myself." Anna gestured behind her, and from out of the darkness came Helena, hands tucked in front of her, still wearing her ballgown from the masquerade, though a little worn and dirty. "She asked for my help."

"You…" said a stunned Heinrik, blinking. "What are you doing here? When I grabbed you in the alley I told you I only needed you to find out where my brothers were."

Helena didn't answer, but instead bent in front of the door handle.

"It's no use," Heinrik commented dryly as she did, waving a hand. "Not unless you brought some keys with you… or some dynamite."

Anna slipped her hands around the bars of the window, grunting as she pulled. "Come on! Come onnn!" She braced herself against the door with her feet. "Maybe if I pull like this, I can make it…" She yanked harder, but her fingers slipped and the momentum sent her flying back into Johan who was swift enough to catch her. "Phew… thanks!" She blew a strand of wayward hair out of her eyes.

"I told you already," Heinrik said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "It's no use."

Helena reached behind her head, pulling out whatever remained of her intricate weave, a small bobby pin in her hand. "Well then it's lucky I brought a key." She waved a hand behind her for someone. "Can you bring that lantern closer? I have to see what I'm doing."

Johan fumbled for the lantern and obediently lowered it to her eye level, revealing her face piqued in concentration, eyes studious as she deftly twisted the bobby pin back and forth in the opening of the lock.

"I don't know what you think you're doing!" Heinrik grumbled. "That can't possibly do anything! Those locks are made to exact specifications, and we are wasting time! We need to find some real tools, like a crowbar, or saw, or torch.…or, or dynamite!" he added again. He turned with exasperation to search, but stopped short when he heard a soft click and the groaning of hinges opening.

He turned in amazement to see Heins leaping through the doorway and sweeping Helena into his arms in a tremendous hug. Then he held her away in embarrassment and looked deeply into her eyes. "I knew you were amazing," he said in a throaty tone as though he were swallowing back tears. "But I never knew how amazing, or how much you mean to me. I am so, so, sorry, Helena…for everything." Then his eyes noticed the dirt and tears on her ballgown and widened as he covered his mouth with one hand. "Oh. My. Gosh! What on earth happened to my…er, your…our dress?"

The glib change of subject broke the seriousness of the moment and sent her into a hysterical relieved giggle for just a moment. "Well, this night hasn't exactly gone the way I expected when we left for the ball…extravaganza. " Then she grew serious again. "I didn't expect to find out my escort was not who I thought he was, and that he had lied to me for weeks, and that he would get totally tipsy and dizzy, and… and make a fool of himself in front of everyone, and I didn't expect him to be dragged from the ballroom by soldiers in front of me, and I didn't think I would be physically accosted and almost suffocated in the alley by….pirates…looking for him, and, and…" She paused as Heins' face fell, and then continued quietly, "and I didn't expect to discover I had been given the thing my heart had dreamed of for so many years…my freedom, and my life back."

Henis had been staring at the ground in shame, but looked up tentatively at the change in the tone of her voice, and their eyes met and held.

"I had to find you again, to return the favor, and to thank you…Heins," she finished in a whisper as she stared into his eyes.

A throat cleared and Harry's voice came weakly from the other side of the hallway. "Um, excuse me…this is a very touching reunion and all, but…do you think you could possibly use that "key" to get my cell door open, too? More guards could be coming at any moment, and I don't think they will be happy to see our little reunion."

Helena started at the voice, but Heins quickly reassured her. "It's okay, it's just my brother Harry. Elsa locked him up, too. Can you try to release him as well?" Then his expression darkened as he glared accusingly at Heinrik and Johan, "Wait, what was that part about being accosted by pirates?"

As she worked on the lock, Heinrik flinched and apologized in a guilty tone. "Look, I'm sorry about being so rough and scaring you so badly. I just didn't know whose side you were on, and I couldn't let you scream and alert anyone. You were our only hope of finding out where Hans and Heins had gone, since we'd tracked them to your shop." He continued contritely, "I didn't know if we could trust you. I hope we didn't bruise you too badly." And with a final addition, trying to avoid the accusatory eyes of his younger brother, he jerked his head towards Johan. "It was his plan."

Helena didn't look up as she worked intently at the lock. "If you had just taken the time to explain who you were…"

"We didn't have the time." They gave a collected sigh of relief as the second door swung open, and then Heinrik continued in an urgent tone. "Harry, our ship is hidden just outside the harbor, and the rest of the crew is waiting. We have got to go as quickly as we can and…"

"No!" Twin voices cut him off as Hans and Heins both protested in unison.

Hans shook his head wildly. "I can't go yet, Heinrik! I have got to go back and finish talking to Elsa. I haven't been able to explain yet, and to beg her forgiveness…I've worked so hard to get to this point, and I can't leave without her knowing, without making it right."

Heins grabbed Helena's hands and held them tightly. "And I can't leave you, Helena! My life will never be complete without you in it! I can't leave you here alone, and without a job and a place to stay!"

Heinrik's lips parted, teeth grit. "You don't understand! We don't have the luxury of time to settle your affairs." His voice grew anxious, his tone quieter and softer. "It's… it's mother. I took your advice and went home after dropping you off in Havetby. I found out she's very ill. In fact… she may be dying. We've got to get back quickly, or you may not see her again."

The brothers stood in stunned silence at the unexpected news. Hans' heart seemed to be the only thing he could hear, and suddenly he remembered a conversation he'd had with the Queen Allowyn one of the last times they'd spoken.

"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…"

"Mother. What's really wrong?"

"It's nothing, Hans. Just a little case of chills."

What if it wasn't nothing? What if it was more than the chills? Anna spoke up, making him hold eye contact with her.

"I'll keep talking to Elsa, Hans. She isn't ready to see you right now. When I left her, she was still confused, angry, and… afraid. She was scattering ice everywhere. Believe me; she's in no state to hear what you have to say. But I'll explain everything and… maybe someday she'll believe me and be able to forgive you. You know… she reminds me a lot of you." Then she finished quietly. "You've got to go… I would have given anything for the chance to say goodbye to my parents."

Heins turned to Helena, still tightly holding onto her hands. "She's right… I have to go… but… I want you to come with me. You will come with me, won't you?"

Looking into his eyes, Helena slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry… I can't yet. I'm just… not… ready. I was falling in love with Hamish, but I have to grieve my loss of him before I can give my heart to you. I'm just… I'm not sure that you're both the same person. I need time."

"Something we don't have right now. Let's go while we still have the chance." Johan put an arm of support around Harry and Heinrik snagged his two brothers by the wrists as they started towards the stairs.

The streets were deserted in the stillness of the wakening dawn and the brothers were able to quickly sneak from the castle to the harbor. As they got on the ship, and the wind began to billow the sails, two lone figures stood on deck looking longingly back at the pier. Heins saw a shadowy figure in a blue satin ballgown appear and lift a hand to wave goodbye. Heins swallowed the lump in his throat and then suddenly bent down out of sight. Straightening up, he tossed something which landed at Helena's feet.

Bending over to pick it up, she saw it was one of the boots she'd bought back for him. She traced the "H" emblazoned on the back.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted to her. "Keep it safe for me! It'll never have another perfect mate until we're reunited, and neither will I! I promise you; I'll wait for you! I'll never love anyone the way I love you, Helena! You'll be in my heart always!"

The figures stood and watched long after the ship had faded into the oblivion of the blanketing fog.

A/N: I apologize for the wait again, readers. This update time just got away from me. I'll keep you updated but try to get back to my usual week update time. Thanks for your support, welcome to new followers and don't forget to spare me a review!