A/N: I posted the M wedding night chapter as a separate story entitled "Every Moment After: When the Gloves Come Off." I meant to put that in notes for the last update, but it slipped my mind.
Gustav Skytte was a notorious pirate who operated in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The sun that reflected off the white walls of the bailey made the young prince squint. The gates were shut; guards were posted at all possible entry ways and guards not in uniform mingled in the crowd so the princes were permitted to wander freely. Some of the older princes were trying their budding skills of flirtation on the local girls. Others were chasing each other through the mass of people or stuffing their faces with ungodly amounts of sugar.
The shock of auburn hair peaked out from the blanket his mother held so lovingly in her arms. Jealousy welled up within him as he stood apart from the crowd, "You look troubled, young prince." A tall man in a long dark blue coat came to stand next to him. Reinvald looked up at him with suspicious eyes. He chuckled, "No need to be concerned," the man's voice was thick and husky, "I only noticed you were not partaking in the festivities and wondered why that should be so. A young lad such as yourself should be out with your brothers eating sweets and playing jokes."
"I do not feel like doing those things," Reinvald pouted and turned his head back towards his mother and his youngest brother.
"Hmm, I see. Weren't you the one usually at the queen's side on these occasions?"
"Yes, until he was born."
Reinvald's eyes narrowed as he stared at the baby in Queen Adelaide's arms; he didn't see the dark smile that split the man's tan face.
"I was so jealous of the attention you were receiving. He convinced me you took it from me. That I had been replaced, that no one in the family cared for me. He nursed my pathetic injured pride. He expressed what I thought was a genuine interest in my welfare; wrote to me regularly, sent me gifts. For eight years he groomed me, molded me into his lackey and I was weak enough to fall for it. When I was six and ten he gave me the mirror shards. I was so convinced you were the source of everything that was wrong I never thought twice about implanting them in you. There was an addition spell on those shards, a spell that bound you to me. I was to use you for any tasks that required risk. I wasn't disposable. I was important. I was his key to funneling money out of the kingdom and into his endeavors."
"Wait, so the mirror shards were tied to you too?" Kristoff asked.
"Yes, the spell also bound me to Hans. The shards dampened so many of my emotions; sympathy, compassion, love were all but flies to be swatted away. I didn't suffer as he did, how could I?" his voice broke as his body shook and his tears fell onto the rug below him, "I hear his screams when rooms are silent."
"Did you come here expecting pity?" Hans spat. Kristoff looked at the man in the chair. His face told the story of the emotions battling behind his green eyes.
"No! I have been trying to make amends for my sins ever since the shards were removed. I have done everything I could to protect you!" Hans' jumped in surprise when Reinvald looked up at him. His eyes were filled with fire and pain, "Why do you think all the assassins failed? I hired them! I made sure they were incompetent I drugged them to guarantee it! I gave them the thorn apple and told them it was hemlock! I tried to keep you off the water and away from pirate hunting anyway I could! Do you know how difficult it was to convince him not to kill you when they kidnapped you without revealing I was trying to save you? I tried to stop your marriage because I knew this would happen! They're coming for you, Hans. They're coming for you because soon you will have an entire nation's navy at your command!" his head fell again, "and it's all my fault," Reinvald breathed slowly and deep for a few seconds before standing but could not look his brother in the eye, "I tried to prevent this, but I was powerless against the threat of you leading Arendelle's navy. He realized I was no longer his puppet and had me captured as well."
"I see you managed to escape," Hans said still angry and skeptical.
"Yes, I have done things I'm not proud of," Reinvald said in a quiet, haunted voice, "even after the shards were removed," Hans looked at his brother's bloody gloves and realized the blood on his brother's clothes did not belong to him.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Can you really afford to risk not to?"
Hans clenched his fists as he looked at the mess of a man before him, "No," he sighed, "why now?"
"The queen is away. He's been waiting for this."
"Who is 'he'?"
"Gustav Skytte," Reinvald braced himself for his brother's reaction.
"Gustav Skytte!" Kristoff had no time to prepare as Hans jumped from his chair and loomed over his brother, "He is the most dangerous man in these waters!"
"And he fears you!" Reinvald ran his hands through his dirty hair, "They will arrive in a week flying flags of Friezenburg. You are his target and he will not hesitate to kill anyone in the way. He's arrogant and doesn't believe you'll be prepared for this," Reinvald paced nervously, "He shouldn't have figured out my escape before then," he mumbled under his breath. Hans noticed him shudder and tighten his lips.
The guard had fallen asleep with his back against the bars of the cell. This was his opportunity. He untied his cravat, quietly slipped it through the bars and around the man's neck several times. He crossed the ends, wrapped the silk around his wrists, placed his foot against the bars and took a deep breath before pulling hard. The guard didn't have a chance to make a sound. He held the guard for a few moments after he had stopped moving to ensure his death. Reinvald released the body and it slid down the bars. He reached through the bars and used the key from the guard's pocket to release himself. He dragged the body into the cell and covered it with a blanket after relieving it of its weapons. He blew out the lamp light and waited. The guards rotated every eight hours and the next was soon to come; he would have to kill all four to prevent the notice of his escape.
"Why, if what you say is true, did you treat me with such animosity after the shards were removed," Hans watched his brother pace as though he was stalking prey.
"How obvious would it have been that I was involved if my attitude towards you dramatically changed with no explanation?"
"So you just wanted to save your own skin."
"No!" Reinvald was near panic, "I know what he is capable of! If I removed myself how could I have protected you?" his entire body shook, "I let him control me for four and twenty years! You had no choice, I did."
"Why did the memories resurface? I remember you pushing that needle into my eye to ensure they wouldn't," Hans sneered.
Reinvald flinched at his words, "The troll. When he repaired your memories it must have interfered with the spell. If he was aware of its existence he may have been able to remove it entirely."
"Hans," Kristoff put a hand on his shoulder, "We both know what that mirror can do; you more than anyone."
Hans huffed, "I will have a bath and a change of clothes readied for you. I must speak with Captain Siegfried and Admiral Tvedt."
"Thank you," Reinvald said to Kristoff as Hans slammed the door behind him.
"You better be telling the truth or the pirates will be last thing you'll need to worry about."
It had been several days since his arrival and Reinvald had not seen his brother since then. He knew Hans would be preparing for the attack. Skytte had planned on bringing the armada earlier, but some acts of bribery and sabotage had ensured his delay. He had hoped it would delay him until Queen Elsa's return, but two days was all he was able to arrange. He did not know when she would return and only hoped Arendelle would be able to hold out until then.
Reinvald sat on the bed in a clean shirt and drawers, his hair still damp from the bath; the guard's uniform lay draped across a chair ready for the morning. What was visible of him, his hands, neck, face, and legs below the knee, showed no sign of injury, "How did you escape with no injuries?" Hans asked as sat in the chair across from him.
Reinvald did not lift his eyes from the floor, "I ensured there was no one to leave them," Hans was not prepared for that answer.
"How?"
"How do you believe I knew the assassins would be inept? How do you think I knew which poison to use?"
"The man Lars captured. You killed him," Hans was stunned, "You were trained."
"I was groomed. I was whatever he wanted me to be. I pulled away from everyone thinking they didn't want me," a tear slipped down his face, "I am such a fool."
"You were a child," Reinvald looked up to find sympathy in his brother's face, "Skytte is not a stupid man. He was hunting for a way to get his claws into the Baltian palace. You were vulnerable and he saw an opening."
"How," tears now streamed down the blonde prince's face, "how can you treat me like this? After everything I've done?"
"Elsa once told me that everyone deserves a second chance," he remembered the night she revealed her identity in the library, "this is yours."
"Hans, I didn't just come here to warn you. I came to fight for you."
Hans thought for a moment, "Does anyone else know about your involvement with Skytte?"
"Priscilla. Priscilla knows everything," Hans looked confused, "You weren't the only one I hurt. I stole her. I courted her because she was a challenge, because so many other men wanted her. When she married me I saw her as a prize, not a partner," Reinvald's gaze returned to the floor, "I was in the parlor when the shards were removed."
Reinvald shook the confusion off as he raised himself to his hands and knees. A small tawny hand appeared before him, light flickered off the gold ring it wore. He stared at it for a moment before placing his hand in hers and standing. He looked down at the dark, petite woman before him. She was beautiful, but her eyes were filled with sorrow. Sorrow he knew he caused, "I'm so sorry, Priscilla," he gently caressed her cheek as tears began to run down his.
"I confessed everything to her. I told her I didn't expect her to stay with me, she could take anything she wanted with her and I would make any arrangements she required," he smiled, "I'll never understand why she stayed, but over the course of the next few months I fell in love with my wife."
He sat at the piano and played while she sang, at least he tried to. He was an accomplished pianist, but he became so absorbed in her he would forget to play, "Are you alright?" Priscilla giggled at his happy smile.
"Huh?" he snapped out of his trance.
"You were staring," she gave him a flirtatious smile. He felt the heat rise in his face and his pulse began to race as she approached him. He was helpless under her pale amber eyes as she stood before him. He trembled at her touch as she held his chin in her hand and brushed her thumb across his bottom lip. She leaned closer and touched her lips to his. He lightly returned the kiss; the first they had shared since their wedding day and the only one that had ever meant anything to him. She sat in his lap on the piano bench and ran her finger along his jaw line. She kissed him harder and the passion it sparked frightened him. He had felt desire before, but this was different; it wasn't about him. For the first time it was about her. She pulled away slightly and the lust in her eyes took his breath, "Most wives don't have to wait years to consummate their marriage," she grinned as she whispered in his ear, "make it worth the wait."
"I came here knowing that I would not see her again. I knew there was a chance you would outright kill me, something I cannot blame you for trying, or that I will die by Skytte's hand," his voice was pleading, "I know you owe me nothing, but, please, tell her I did not die a coward."
"I will not let you die. You will go back to your wife and produce another grandchild for mother to spoil," Hans smiled. He could see Reinvald's chin quiver. He pulled the blonde man up from the bed and held him in an embrace. Reinvald stood shocked for a moment before returning the gesture.