A/N: :) Woo Hoo! Reviews, favs, and follows!
Prince Klaus had seen the crocus flag in the harbor and thought nothing of it; despite his brother's actions trade with Arendelle had not waned. He turned his attention back to the documents he had been perusing before only to be interrupted by a knock on his office door. He sighed, he had just gotten the focus to get back to work, "come in."
"Prince Klaus, the ship from Arendelle," Frederick, his assistant, huffed out of breathe, "It's the queen."
Klaus shot up out of his chair, "Queen Elsa is in the harbor?"
"Yes, your highness."
"Have my parents been informed?"
"No, sir, I came straight to you."
"Good, I will tell them, make sure Hans is out of sight, but do not tell him she's here," He said pushing past the man.
"Father!" Klaus yelled throwing open the door to King Anders' study, "Queen Elsa has just docked in the harbor!" King Anders and Crown Prince Wolfgang exchanged shocked and worried looks, "I told Frederick to keep Hans busy and to not inform him of her arrival. Should I go to the docks to meet her?"
"Yes, I will find your mother and we will be prepared to greet her when you bring her in the gates,"
Klaus nodded and ran to greet Arendelle's ice queen.
Baltia was more than she had expected. The sprawling white city seemed to glow under the sunlight; the metallic roofs sparkling diamonds in the snow; the harbor stretched far into the distance on either side of the ship. Elsa stood at the top of the gangplank trying to perfect her composure; she straightened her silk lavender dress, adjusted her cape then looked over to Kai who smiled and nodded. As they descended she could see the people on the dock dividing to let someone through.
Klaus was not the type to be aggressive and apologized to every person he had to push past as he hurried towards the queen's vessel. He finally broke free of the crowd and stumbled a little as he reduced his run to a walk. He bowed deeply before her, "I am Prince Klaus, your majesty, welcome to the Southern Isles," he righted himself and gave her a warm smile. He was dressed in black, smaller than Hans, with dark hair that was starting to grey at the temples, he was handsome despite his nose being slightly too large for his face, and his kind brown eyes made her understand why he would be unable to discipline his children.
She smiled back, "It's a pleasure, Prince Klaus."
"Please, come with me, King Anders and Queen Adelaide eagerly await your arrival at the palace."
"I'm sorry there is no carriage, it's just that, well, we weren't expecting you. Not that it's a problem!"
"It's perfectly alright; it's a welcome change from the time on board," she began scanning the names of the ships in the harbor in hopes of confirming his presence.
She clasped her hand over her mouth as she gasped and stopped in her tracks. There was the Daggry in dry dock. The foremast was broken and hung sideways; a large hole could be seen in the main sail as well as the hull. Klaus followed her eyes to the damaged ship, "Don't worry your majesty, she was under the command of our finest admiral, all aboard are alive and well." He smiled, "it is a miracle he was able to sail her home," he said under his breath.
"Prince Klaus?"
"Yes, Queen Elsa?"
She felt it was unlikely she would get another chance like this handed to her anytime soon, "Tell me about Prince Hans."
Klaus choked in shock, "What...what would like to know, your majesty?"
She stopped and turned to face him, "the truth."
Of all the people in the world she was the one who deserved to know it the most, but was the last person he wanted to talk to about it. He sighed in defeat, "Let us take a walk through the gardens."
He knew his parents wouldn't be ready at the gates when they got there; his mother took too long a time to get ready and his father was probably with her inadvertently making it worse. He took this opportunity to guide the foreign monarch and her steward through the palace's private gardens.
"It took us months to find a noaidi who had a theory about what could have changed him. I felt terrible leaving my brother in that isolated cell, but it was too dangerous to let him out. As soon as the noaidi arrived I fetched Hans. The noaidi confirmed that he was carrying pieces of the mirror inside him, and my parents wept on Hans' shoulders. Hans fell into a chair when they released him. He grabbed his chest, grimaced, threw his head back and let out an otherworldly scream then his head fell forward and he wept. When he looked back up it was as if he soul had returned," Klaus smiled at the memory, then turned to Elsa with a frown, "I know it doesn't sound believable, and I don't blame you if you don't believe it."
Elsa placed a gloved hand on Klaus' shoulder and smiled at him, eyes brimmed with unshed tears, "I do believe you. My steward, Kai, suffered the same affliction as a child."
"Really?" Klaus turned to Kai, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Indeed, your majesty. I was not under it as long as your poor brother was, but I too had pieces in my heart and eye."
"What was it like, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't mind at all, your highness," Kai drew in a deep breath, "I couldn't feel love, compassion, joy, kindness, or fear. The world was twisted and ugly, everyone and everything I saw was evil. People weren't people; they were objects in my way and nothing more."
"How did you get the glass out?"
Kai smiled, "the love of my dear Gerda."
"I brought Kai with me because he had a similar experience. You see, your brother wrote me letters; letters he never thought I would read. In one of the letters he told me the same story you just told me. Please forgive me for any discomfort you had in telling me, it's just, with circumstances like that I needed to hear it from someone else as well," she gave Klaus a guilty smile. "The reason for my voyage here is to tell him that he is forgiven."
Klaus clapped his hands together in front of his chest, "that's wonderful, thank you, your majesty, thank you."
"I need to speak to Hans on my own. I don't believe he will recognize me, since, as I have been told, the mirror shards distort everything you see. I would like to be the one to reveal my identity to him as well, if at all possible."
"Yes, your majesty," Klaus bowed to her, grinning ear to ear, "Shall we see if my parents have readied themselves?"
King Anders and Queen Adelaide stood together in the open courtyard just inside the palace doors. King Anders was a man who had aged very well. He had a well trimmed beard that accentuated his jaw line and added to his regality; the crown that adorned his grey hair looked as though it could not belong on the head of any other man, and his eye were the same golden green of his youngest son. Queen Adelaide wore an elaborate silk gown of soft pinks, and her dark hair flowed freely over her bare shoulders; she equaled her husband in beauty and presence.
Elsa had gained enough confidence over her short reign to not outwardly appear intimidated by the pair, but on the inside she wanted nothing more than to run. Kai's presence at her side helped her stay strong and Klaus' elated smile eased her anxiety and made her smile as well.
"Welcome, Queen Elsa. Please forgive the rushing staff, they are preparing rooms for your steward and you," King Anders said with a slight chuckle as a maid narrowly avoided crashing into him.
"There is nothing to forgive, your majesty. I am the one who chose to arrive without giving you proper notice. Is there a place where we may speak in private?" Elsa felt it was best to get things over with quickly with the king and queen; she knew it was going to be a lot harder with Hans.
"So you see, your majesties, why my visit could not be announced," Elsa finished her tale, leaving out the other one hundred and four letters, and stood before them with her hands folded in front of her.
"That would have been almost impossible to convey properly in a letter," Queen Adelaide said as she rose from her seat and stood in front of Elsa, "We thank you for your kindness and understanding and will gladly comply with your wishes."
"Indeed, we will prepare a welcoming ball and banquet for tomorrow evening. I'm sure Klaus can keep him distracted until after your introduction," King Anders added standing next to his wife.
Klaus found Hans where he could normally be found since he returned to port. He lay sprawled on the couch in the library, his injured arm across his chest, the other hanging off; the novel he had been reading lie opened covering his face. Klaus laughed to himself as the pages flapped in rhythm to Hans' slight snoring, "that captivating a read, dear brother?"
"Absolutely riveting," Hans said without removing the tome from his face, "What is the staff running around for? Their frantic footsteps have been interrupting my reading."
Klaus laughed, "Your 'reading' has been interrupted by them preparing rooms for guests."
"This means another ball, doesn't it?"
"Yes, tomorrow evening."
"Is there any chance of my injury getting me out of this one too?"
"I'm afraid not, they are very interested in meeting the famous Admiral Westerguard."
"Can't someone just pretend to be me?"
"And who would you have do that? You're the only one of us that has that hair; if you didn't have father's eyes I would swear you were sired by someone else."
"Yes, I'm the only one of us that looks like his head was set aflame; the only one with these accursed freckles too," Hans sighed in defeat causing the pages of the book to flap again, "full dress uniform?"
"Feathered hat and all."
"Naval officers don't wear feathers in their hats, that's only military and civilians."
"Prince's do."
"I'm not going to win this, am I?" Hans asked lifting the book slightly from his face and looking at his brother with one eye.
"Not a chance."
Elsa stood in front of the mirror and straightened her dress; it was a silk pale blue off the shoulder a-line, with embellishments of lace and pearls at the neckline and hem. She pulled her hair up in the same style she wore at her coronation and stared at her tiara for a moment before deciding it would be best to leave it behind for the evening. She examined herself one last time and told herself she was dressing to represent Arendelle, not to impress him.
"Damn it, Klaus," Hans mumbled to himself as he slid his great coat on his good arm, and let it drape over his left shoulder; there was no way he was going to try to wear a sling over the coat, so the coat would just have to go over the sling. He didn't want to go to this ball or banquet, but if he had to go he wanted to at least be on time. Klaus finally came in with Hans' feathered bicorn hat and placed on his head facing it fore and aft, "Did you have to go hunt the ostriches for the feathers?" Hans asked with a chuckle. He envied his brother; he only had to wear a high collared tailcoat over his waistcoat and shirt and there was no hat involved.
"No, but the staff did have a bit of trouble locating it."
"How? I have five."
"Several were lost during the attack, remember," Klaus straightened Hans' coat on his broad shoulders, and helped him on with this gloves.
Hans looked in the mirror, "I look ridiculous."
"Come on, you can complain later," Klaus said dragging his brother from the room.
Queen Adelaide had been quick to introduce Elsa to Klaus' wife Gemma in order to give her a companion for the evening while the she went and flitted about the room, "Adelaide means well, but has no idea how awkward she can make things," Gemma said with an apologetic smile, "She probably introduced us, since I know the most of what's going on; other than Klaus, Wolfgang, and Anders." Gemma had chestnut hair that hung in loose curls over her shoulders, grey eyes, a full mouth, and wore a simple maroon gown.
"He told you?" Elsa asked slightly surprised.
"Klaus tells me everything, even things he shouldn't," Gemma said with a sweet smile.
"That's actually a bit of a relief. It saves me a lot of explaining," Elsa smiled back.
"Sadly, I never believed Klaus either. I just thought he was making excuses to protect his brother. Hans was never outwardly cruel, but apathetic and manipulative. I couldn't stand him, but he's completely different now. I was skeptical at first; worried it was one of his schemes again. That changed soon after when I found him in the library weeping uncontrollably into the arm of the couch. He had just finished reading the story of Orpheus and Eurydice I found out later. I sat next to him and asked him what was wrong. He turned and looked at me with the most miserable expression I've ever seen, threw his arms around me and continued to cry on my shoulder. Through the sniffs and sobs I put together that he was racked with guilt over what he done to your sister and you. It took him a while to learn to control the emotions he hadn't felt in over a decade. Thankfully, he has a better handle on them now," Gemma smiled, "I can't help but love him like he's my little brother."
Hans and Klaus slipped into the crowd drawing as little attention to themselves as possible, "Uncle Hans!" The men turned quickly to see Brigitta in her nightgown running towards him at full speed; a nursemaid trailing behind her. She wrapped her small five year old body around his leg, "Please dance with me?"
"I'm so sorry, your highnesses, she got away from me."
"It's fine, Priya, I'll handle her from here," Hans said grinning.
"Please tell me Jens is behaving better for you," Klaus asked her sympathetically.
"Yes, your highness, he's already asleep."
"Gita reminds me so much of you," Klaus said as he stood next to his wife and placed a light kiss on her cheek.
"What has she done now?" Gemma asked with a sigh. Elsa put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile. Klaus pointed to the center of the ballroom floor, "Oh, no," Gemma said as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Elsa followed Klaus's finger to find a dark haired little girl in a nightgown standing on a pair of black leather dragoon boots and holding a man's hand in both of hers as they slowly moved about the dance floor, "Hans and you would let her get away with murder."
"Hans," Elsa whispered as she noticed who the man dancing with the girl was. She knew Klaus and Gemma were still conversing, but she could no longer hear them. His red hair shone in the light of the ball room, his golden green eyes seem to give off a light of their own, and his smile made her heart flutter; she had heard women commenting on the appeal of a man in uniform and now she understood what they meant (no matter how he felt about his hat). Kai had said he didn't believe it would take her long to reconcile his face to the man in the letters, but she was sure this is not what he meant. She wasn't ready, but she had no choice. The song ended, he crouched down to allow his niece to climb on his shoulders, and he headed towards her.
"You should be in bed, young lady," Gemma scolded.
"This, my lady, is my brother, Admiral Westerguard," Klaus said as he introduced him to Elsa.
Hans turned his head to look at her and found himself slightly short of breath as he looked into her sparkling blue eyes, "Uhh...hi," was all he could manage along with a goofy smirk.
"I realize now that I have no idea what you look like…"
"This is my uncle Hans. He hunts pirates!" Brigitta announced as she pushed his hat forward and over his eyes.
"Thank you, Gita," he said as he lifted the hat from his head and placed it on hers.
"You're pretty," Brigitta said as she lifted the ill fitting hat.
"Thank you," Elsa said as she smiled and lightly blushed.
"Did you come to marry uncle Hans too?"
"I think it's your bed time, little miss, let's go find Priya," Hans said with his face as red as his hair and left quickly to find the nursemaid.
"I am so sorry, your majesty," Klaus said pleadingly.
Elsa laughed, "It's alright; she's adorable and he obviously has no idea who I am."
The seating arrangement at the banquet had Elsa sitting between Kai and Queen Adelaide and across from Gemma, who had Hans on her left and Klaus on her right. She found herself stealing glances at Hans more often than she wanted to admit. He was animated when he spoke and would move items on Gemma's plate when she had her head turned speaking to Klaus; Klaus, it seemed, was aware of the game, as it became obvious he was trying his best not to laugh no matter what they were talking about.
"You two are incorrigible," Gemma shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose when she looked down at the ship and smiling sun Hans had arranged her food into. Klaus and Hans exchanged a look around her and both burst into laughter.
"Hans! Klaus! We have guests, please behave like civilized human beings," Queen Adelaide chided her sons.
"Yes, mother" they responded in unison.
Elsa found herself really just moving the food around on the plate. She would glance at him and lines from his letters would run through her head, "…I have found myself oddly interested in romantic novels." "The men of my flagship have given me the nickname Admiral Freckles…" "I spent sixteen years under the influence of that bloody mirror so I lack some of the, shall we say, experiences of other men my age." The last thought made her blush given the context of it in the letter. She looked up just in time to see him turn his eyes away from her quickly.
Hans shimmied out of his dress coat and threw it into the chair to join his hat; he used his teeth to remove his gloves. He began the arduous task of untying his cravat with one hand, but was interrupted by a knock at the door, "Come in."
"Your highness, your presence is requested in the library," Hans nodded in acknowledgment and straightened his cravat, slipped his coat back on, and struggled to put his gloves on his hands.
Elsa paced in front of the fire place, the heat melting the icy trail she was leaving. Her stomach was doing flips and she was unable to keep still. He would come through that door any moment and she would have to ruin this wonderful evening.
The door to the library opened and Elsa froze in place, "You wished to speak with me?" Hans asked clearly confused.
Elsa took in a deep breath, "Yes, please have a seat," she said with a gesture indicating he should sit on the couch, "Do you know who I am, Admiral?"
"Sadly, no; I was never told your name."
"I am Elsa."
All the blood drained from his face and his eyes grew wide with surprise and fear, "Queen Elsa of Arendelle?"
"Yes," the fear in his eyes hurt her far more than she had expected; the temperature in the room started to fall along with snowflakes on the carpet.
He stood quickly only to drop to one knee in front of her with his head lowered, "Do with me what you will, your majesty." Elsa stood with her hand on chest stunned and silent.
After a moment she bit her lip, dropped to her knees, and lifted his chin with her hand, "I didn't come here to punish you," she said with sympathetic smile. The pain in his eyes caught her off guard.
He averted his gaze, stood and walked away from her, "You should have," he said quietly. She stood back up, wrapped her arms around her waist and stared at the floor. "Yell at me."
"What?" She asked looking up at him.
He still had his back to her, "Yell at me, hit me, spear with an ice spike, freeze my heart and leave me to die slowly," she could hear his voice breaking and saw a tear roll down his face in the reflection from the window, "I deserve no less."
"He worries my goal is to get myself killed. Some days I wonder if he isn't right."
"No! I know about the mirror."
"I know I can never apologize enough for my actions, I fear it would be insulting to even try. Not a day goes by that it doesn't haunt me."
"I came to tell you that you are forgiven," Elsa said, tears now rolling down her pale cheeks. He turned to her with an unreadable expression, "Kai had that glass in him too as a child. I know the man that came to Arendelle wasn't really you. I came to give you a second chance," she waved her hand and rid the room of snow, "I know how important those are," she said quietly looking at the ground.
He walked to the couch, sat down, rested his right elbow on his knee and lowered his head, "This is a scenario I never prepared myself for. I didn't think I would be able to hide from you forever, but after what I did I expected you to make me suffer, not to forgive me," He tilted his head up and raised his eyes to look at her with a wry smile; a look that caused her heart to beat faster.
"I would like to get to know you, if you'd let me," she said taking a single step towards him.
He rose, his long strides easily closing the gap between them, "as you wish," he said with a thankful smile, "Shall we meet in the gardens after breakfast?"
"That would be lovely," she said returning his smile.
"Until then, your majesty," he bowed and gently kissed the top of her hand.
Klaus was finishing some paperwork in his office before he went to bed, when a heavy knock brought him to the door, "I tried to kill her? Why didn't you tell me she was Queen Elsa?" Hans demanded entering his brother's office.
"She wanted to tell you herself."
"She's kind. She's wonderful. She's gorgeous. I'm insane!" he paced Klaus' office running his hand through his hair.
"Calm down, Hans. She's forgiven you; doesn't that make you feel any better?"
"No! I mean, yes. I mean, I don't know! I never thought she would forgive me. Kill me or torture me, yes, but not forgive me," he huffed as Klaus watched mildly amused, "She touched me; she lifted my chin with her hand and looked into my eyes. Her skin is a little cool, but that's not what sent shivers down my spine," Hans hit the door frame with his fist, "Damn it, Klaus, what do I do?"
"I have no advice for you. You have yourself in a unique situation."
"Don't I always?" Hans said sarcastically. "She said she wants to get to know me, and before I realize what I'm doing I agree to meet her in the gardens after breakfast and I kiss her hand!"
Klaus couldn't help but chuckle, "Well, then, all I can tell you to do is enjoy the beauty of nature."
Elsa quickly changed into her bed clothes, tore her hair down, and buried her face into the pillows on the bed in order to muffle her frustrated screaming. She had come to forgive him and she didn't regret that decision, but what she was feeling was not forgiveness. Why did she ask to get to know him? She should be on the boat back to Arendelle in the morning; she had accomplished what she had come for, but part of her had to know the man who had revealed himself to her over the course of more than a hundred letters.