A/N: Update is a day early, mostly due to the fact tomorrow is going to be busy and I'm not sure I would have the opportunity to post it.

The novels they are discussing are (in order of mention): Villette, Jane Eyre, and Shirley by Charlotte Bronte, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen.

To prevent any confusion, a ship's captain is the one commanding the ship regardless of rank. So, yes, Hans is an admiral, but when's in control of a ship he's a captain too.

I'm upping the rating to T due to innuendo. I haven't decided if I'm going to go M with this yet. Thank you so much for the reviews and support :)

"I honestly don't understand, why is he the considered the more desirable man?" Hans asked seated on the couch with his legs crossed, the ankle of one resting on the knee of the other, one arm on the arm rest, and the other laying across the back of the couch as Elsa scanned the shelves behind him, "Dr. Bretton seems like a much better choice."

"Hmm, red hair, clever, spirited, I wonder why you would think him the better man."

"The similarities have nothing to do with it! M. Paul has his moments, I'll give him that, the bit at the party when Lucy was in the pink dress was funny, but he's just so moody and brooding. Is it the air of mystery? I would imagine a woman would rather have a man she can talk to. I mean, if you plan to spend the rest of your life with someone, why would you want to spend it with someone you can barely converse with?" he stopped only to breathe, "Seriously, Rochester kept his mentally ill wife locked in the attic and planned to marry Jane while he was still married! How could you trust someone after that? Moore knew Caroline was in love with him, but pursued Shirley for her money anyway. Then he comes back to Caroline only after being rejected by her best friend! How could she feel secure in his proclamations of love after that? How could she not feel that he only wanted her because he had no other options? How is that supposed to be a happy ending?"

"You realize all of those are by the same author?"

"Alright, well, Heathcliff wasn't exactly amiable. Or what about Darcy? He didn't keep anyone locked in an attic, but he was so closed off it took the intervention of a third party to reveal to Lizzie he wasn't what he presented himself to be." Elsa laughed. "What's so funny?"

Hans moved his arm, Elsa leaned over, folded her arms on the back of the couch and smiled, "I agree with you."

"So," he purposely drawled, "you would prefer a clever, spirited, red-head?" he looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a roguish grin that made her thankful most of her weight was being supported by her arms.

"Don't flatter yourself," she said standing up again and turning away to hide the redness in her cheeks. "Captain Wentworth?"

"Well, he's a naval officer, of course he would be an exception."

She laughed, "That makes a difference?"

"Of course it does."

"Elsa, Fru Sorenson needs us to come by for…" Anna stopped midsentence when she realized her sister was not alone; Kristoff almost running into her as her forward movement stopped as well. She had seen him from the ship, but wasn't prepared to see him this close.

Elsa stiffened, "Admiral Westerguard, this is my sister, Princess Anna."

Elsa watched as Hans' smile disappeared, his eyes grew wide, all colour drained from his face and his grip on the arm of the couch tightened. He knew he was there for Anna's wedding, but since he originally didn't believe he would be leaving the ship he had no contingency plan for this. He bit his lip, fell to one knee in front of her and bowed his head, "Princess Anna, I…I…I have no…there are no words to express the remorse I feel for what I have done to both your sister and you."

"Get up," Elsa felt relief wash over her as Anna smiled. Hans stood with a very confused expression, "I know about the mirror. Pabbie and Gerda have explained it to me many times. It was just a shock seeing you. Though it will take some getting used to seeing you and not wanting to punch you again."

Hans smiled, "Thank you for your kindness, Princess Anna."

"Oh! This is Kristoff, my fiancé," Hans bowed gracefully before the ice harvester.

"Uhh, hi," Kristoff managed entirely unsure of what to do at this moment.

"Elsa! Fru Sorenson wants us for a final fitting!" Anna grabbed her sister's arm and drug her from the room.

Hans and Kristoff stood and avoided looking at each other, "I have no idea what to do right now so, I'm just gonna go," Kristoff said backing away.

Hans smiled awkwardly, "I don't think there's protocol for this situation, so that seems like a good plan."

As Hans emerged from his room he heard Anna laughing from the entrance hall, which wasn't unusual, but the plummy voice that followed caused him to involuntarily snarl. He followed the sound of her laughter and found her, his mother, and the owner of the voice that set him on edge, his brother Reinvald.

"Oh, Hans dear, your brother made it. Isn't that wonderful?" Queen Adelaide asked excitedly.

"Splendid," Hans deadpanned. The two men were the same height, but that's where the physical similarities ended. Hans was larger, his shoulders broader, and his face more boyish. Prince Reinvald's thick, golden hair was perfect, his jaw line sharper, set beneath his perfectly sculpted eyebrows his heavy lidded, light brown eyes seemed in a constant state of temptation, his slightly upturned nose was smaller than Han's, so were his ears, and chin, his lips were fuller, his black tailcoat was custom fit to show off his thin frame and his fair skin had no sign of freckles or sun; he could have walked out of a young woman's dream.

"It must be so trying for you to have to spend so much time on land, Admiral Prince Hans Westerguard, hero of the northern seas," the sudden mocking tone he took caught Anna by surprise.

"I have managed."

"Didn't you tell me you plan on taking a boat out tomorrow, Hans?" his mother asked.

"Yes, mother."

"So, you're all better after your encounter off the shores of Corona then, dear brother?" Reinvald drawled the last two words.

"Just another scar."

"You must have quite a few of them by now, much more befitting a sailor than a prince."

"Oh, Reinvald, leave your brother be. A military position didn't suit you, but Hans has done brilliantly."

"Mother, I meant no disrespect; I am only suggesting that perhaps he should stop risking his life chasing pirates as an Admiral, and court a lady as a prince before he makes himself entirely unfit to do so."

"Not all of us have been gifted with your charms," Hans said coldly.

"You flatter me, brother, but with your reputation as a hero, and your title, I'm sure there is a lady that will able to overlook your physical flaws and your personality," The spite dripping from Reinvald's words was almost tangible and his vindictive grin made Anna very uncomfortable.

"Boys! That is enough! I'm so sorry, Princess Anna."

"That's alright, Queen Adelaide," she turned to the blond man, "A member of the staff will show you to your room in a moment. Please excuse me, I need to go do…something," Anna quickly exited.

"Wow, that was awkward," Anna said as she entered Elsa's study.

"And what would 'that' be?" Elsa asked without looking up from her paperwork.

"Hans' brother Reinvald came in this morning and I was there when he found out."

"That's what I get for addressing the invitation to 'The Royal Family of the Southern Isles,'" Elsa grumbled.

"Hans barely said anything and Reinvald ended up telling him that he was ugly and a woman would only marry him because he was a prince."

"He said this in front of you?" Elsa asked shocked.

"Yeah, and their mother. He was really charming until Hans showed up, then he got mean and kind of creepy."

"I'll have to tell Kai to make sure they are seated far away from each other at dinner."

Hans stood on the deck of the small sloop going over the rigging with the few sailors he had taken from the Absalon, "Ahoy!" He turned to find Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff standing on the dock, "Going out, Admiral?"

Hans' long legs stepped over the gap that separated the ship from the dock easily and he bowed, "Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, soon to be Prince Kristoff," he returned his attention to Elsa, "That is my plan. I was told you would be busy all day."

"My advisers can take care of can take care of today's meetings."

"Shirking duties, your majesty?" he asked with a playful grin.

"No, I'm delegating authority."

"So what brings you here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We were wondering if we could join you," Anna piped up.

"I've never been sailing before!" Olaf said stepping from behind Anna.

"Oh," Hans' eyes widened at that the unexpected request and the sudden presence of a talking snowman, "That would be great," he said with a forced smile. He had been looking forward to a relaxing time out, now he was facing an afternoon of awkward.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you got sea sick," Anna said rubbing Kristoff's back as heaved over the side.

"I didn't either."

"Drink this," Hans said handing him a small cup of steaming pale, brown liquid.

"What is it?" Kristoff asked trying not to vomit again.

"Ginger tea, it will help. Also, stand up, try not to move your head, and look off into the distance until it fully works."

"Not your first time dealing with seasickness?" Elsa asked as he returned to her side.

"Far from it, I always keep a cache of ginger on hand. In the roughest seas it can strike the best of us." He thought for a moment and decided to ask something that had been plaguing him, "How did you have all those clothes ready for me when I arrived?

Elsa laughed, "Your parents sent them with their invitation acceptance."

Hans looked surprised; "He was just…" he let out a sigh, "Of course they did. I should have known mother would never have me attend such an event smelling like a cannon. That also explains the fit," he growled under his breath. Elsa raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Mother is so determined to marry me off she keeps having my clothes altered to, how does she say it, 'show off my best assets.'"

She covered her mouth to hide her giggle, then composed herself, "May I ask why all of your tailcoats are white, but Klaus, Wolfgang, and Reinvald wear black?"

"Old family tradition. Our house is known for having large families and a few generations ago the queen had the idea of colour coding her married and unmarried children. The unwed princes wore white, the married, black. The same for princesses, only they wore sashes instead of coats," the boat rocked as the helmsman shifted course causing Elsa to lose her footing. Hans quickly wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her tightly so her back was pressed against his chest. Her face flushed and her heart sped up, "you'll get used to it," he laughed. Her eyes widened at the suggestion of getting used to him holding her like that. He released her, "that's why sailors have a distinctive walk."

"Oh, that's what you…" she cleared her throat, "I'm going to go check on Anna."

He shook his head at her odd behavior and went to talk to the helmsman.

"Feeling any better?" Elsa asked as she approached Anna and Kristoff.

"Yeah, much," Kristoff said relief, "Olaf! What are you…ugh…I'll be right back," he went to prevent the childlike snowman from doing anything he wasn't supposed to.

Elsa stood next to her sister, but her eyes were on ship's captain. The breeze blew his hair back and the light danced across the moving strands making it look like fire. Her view of him was from the side and she came to appreciate the adjusted fit of his clothes. The white tailcoat he wore shone brilliantly in the sun and she could just see the outline of the muscles of his shoulders through it when he moved. She bit her lip as her eyes trailed up from his boots, noting how the fabric of his trousers clung to his long, powerful legs and his well-sculpted… "You're staring," Anna whispered in her sister's ear.

Elsa startled, instantly flushed, and froze the small section of gunwale she gripped in reaction, "I…I was not, I was just…," she started to panic as she looked for something else she could claim to have been staring at.

Anna hadn't been able to stop playing the conversation she had overheard between Queen Adelaide and King Anders in her head. Could they be right? She thought about how Elsa told the story of her visit to the Southern Isles, how she looked when she asked if she could send the invitation, and how she reacted when she heard Hans was refusing to leave the ship. Anna laughed and playfully elbowed her sister, "Don't worry, I won't tell," she said with a wink. Elsa turned her flushed face towards the deck, but Anna could see the edge of a smile, "Maybe we need to talk when we get home."

"Captain, we have company," a sailor yelled from the crow's nest. Hans jumped the railing in front of the bridge, landed on the deck, climbed the rigging and took the spy glass he was handed, "off the port bow, sir."

Hans brought the glass to his eye. His expression hardened, "Damn, it's a flotilla," he handed the glass back to the sailor, climbed down, and ran up to the bridge, "bring her about, I doubt they'll give chase and I need some time to think."

Hans paced the small cabin racking his brain trying to find a way out of this. He pounded his fists on the table in frustration, opened his hands and leaned on it with his head down. Dahl wasn't there for him to talk to, and none of these men had seen combat. "Are you alright?" Elsa asked slowly opening the door and closing it behind her.

His head snapped up at the sound only to hang again, "No, I'm on a small ship with a crew that has never seen combat and the most important people in all of Arendelle I have to protect, while there is a fleet of pirates blocking our return to the harbor," he breathed in deeply, stood, and continued to pace with his hands folded behind him., "From what I could see there are four frigates and three sloops. That's approximately one hundred and eight and twenty long guns, and six and fifty carronades. We have four."

"Can we go around them?"

"Not without getting in firing range and the sloops would have enough time to move to intercept."

"How do you know they will fire at us?"

"I don't, but I can't remove it from the realm of possibility. We are a small unassuming vessel, not the type that would carry any valuable cargo, or be much of a prize in its own right, and there is nothing to indicate there is royalty aboard. It doesn't really make any sense why they would target us, but my instincts keep telling me something's wrong."

Elsa watched him pace for a few minutes then an idea struck her and a grin spread across her face, "They can't hit what they can't see," Hans looked puzzled. "They may have more guns, but you have me. I can raise a fog, but allow us to see through it and sail back to the harbor."

Hans eyes widened and he smiled, "That's brilliant!" he put both hands on her waist, picked her up and spun her around before placing her down, grabbing her hand and rushing out the door.

"You'll need to be up here," he said her taking to the bridge, "The last thing I want is for you to get hit by the boom when we're tacking," Elsa looked at him confused, "adjusting the sails, we have to sail in a zigzag pattern. I'll take the helm," he said relieving the man of his duties.

"Sir, what is your plan?" the boatswain asked from below.

"We're going to go right through them."

"Have you lost your mind, sir!?"

"No, this is probably the sanest strategy I've ever been a part of," he turned his attention to Elsa, "you'll want to hold on to something," he turned back to face forward, "Hard Over!" He yelled as he spun the wheel causing the ship to tilt sharply as he reversed direction, Elsa, having nothing else to grab flung her arms around his waist. The ship returned to a more comfortable angle as the course was set, "As much as I hate to inform you, it's safe to let go now."

Elsa stepped back, and as she raised her arms a thick mist rose from the sea reducing visibility to only a few inches. She then began what looked like an elegant ballet, but every graceful moment was necessary in moving the thick fog around the ship to compensate for the tacking. Kristoff held Anna tightly to him and Olaf held tightly to Kristoff's leg.

There were booms and long whistles could be heard followed by splashes; some distant, some uncomfortably close, "You're doing great, Queen Elsa. We've moved from our original trajectory and that's where they're concentrating their fire."

The booms got closer and the splashes more distant as they approached the blockade; the sulfurous smell of burnt black powder hung thickly in the mist. Everyone held their breath as the hulls of the other ships broke the edges of the fog; the only sounds that could be heard were the slapping of the water against the hulls and the creaking of wood between the blasts of the carronades. Elsa drew the fog closer in to prevent anyone on the decks of the enemy ships from seeing through it.

"We're through the line," Hans sighed, "but there are guns on both sides."

"I can do this as long as it's needed," Elsa said calmly.

"I think I've had enough sailing for a lifetime," Kristoff said as he helped Anna onto the dock.

"Yeah, I think I'll stay on land for a long time."

"That was fun!" Olaf said as he followed Anna and Kristoff back towards the castle, "Can we do that again?"

Hans helped Elsa on to the dock and the two walked initially in silence, "I'm sorry," Hans said unable to look at her.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"If I had only insisted you remain here, you wouldn't have been put in danger."

"You assume that I would have let you leave without me, and I'm very glad I was with you. If I hadn't been there's a good chance you wouldn't have made it back."

"You're right, your majesty, and it would be a shame for such a good little ship to be resting below the waves." Elsa smiled and rolled her eyes.