Hjerteløs looked like he was fast asleep.
Hans had never seen his father looking so peaceful in his life.
Hjerteløs was a cold, hard and admittedly ruthless man. He wanted nothing but the best from his sons and never had a kind word or glance to spare for his children. He never smiled. Since Hjerteløs felt nothing but contempt for his youngest son, Hans became more than acquainted with the back of his hand. Or he would order his men to use the whip.
If he was so inclined, he would send Hans to the coldest, deepest dungeon.
Or the ratty tower barely held up by shafts of wood.
The tower was never repaired. The roof was full of holes and there were deliberate openings in the walls so that wind shafts would make the precariously shifting tower even colder than usual. The tower was a sick, family tradition.
Strength was all that mattered.
Hjerteløs was raised to believe in "harshly disciplining" his children.
The goal was to make his children stronger, hardening them by any means necessary. Hans was sent to either the tower or the dungeon far more often than his brothers. His father was disgusted by his numerous "weaknesses" and often ordered Hans to get out of his sight.
One would think he could turn to his mother for affection and support.
That person would be wrong.
For Hjerteløs, it was love at first sight when he met Hensynsløs. He would brag that she was born with ice in her veins. She came from the nearby Valdr Islands. It was a harsh, barren series of islands where people had to grow up tough in order to survive the unforgiving terrain. As the only daughter of King Hræ, Hensynsløs grew up learning how to fight.
Her mother died in childbirth.
So, she didn't have any maternal influence either.
For Hensynsløs, Hans was a disappointment from the start. It didn't help that he was born premature and was a weak, sickly baby. The doctors were astonished that he survived.
Unfortunately for Hans, Hensynsløs nearly died giving birth to him.
It also didn't help that his pregnancy was difficult.
As a result, Hensynsløs' body was irreparably damaged and she couldn't bear anymore children. Needless to say, Hans' parents blamed him both for THAT particular "sin".
It was why Hjerteløs was so tough on Hans.
As if he was determined to punish him.
Like her husband, Hensynsløs also looked calm and peaceful. It was so contrary to how he knew her. She always had a cold scowl on her face. Hans' care was left to nannies and governesses. As soon as he was old enough, he was shipped to the local military school.
Hans' gaze shifted to his brothers.
All of them looked calm and peaceful:
Krig.
Hrae.
Valdr.
Kamphundr.
Graðungr.
Brýtæ.
Lemja.
Slíta.
Slitna.
Hœta.
Flár.
Svik.
The memories began flashing by his mind's eye. His brothers were cruel to him growing up. Sometimes, they would lure him to the tower and lock him inside. They would do the same if they wanted to keep him stuck in the dungeons.
Lemja and Svik in particular were especially cruel.
They pretended they wanted to play games with him.
Then, he would be left to his own devices as he searched futilely for them during a (one-sided) game of Hide and Seek or Tag.
Slita, Slitna and Hrae would pretend that he didn't exist.
Needless to say, Hans never had a kind memory of his siblings.
But a part of him still remained that sad, lonely and hopeful child who would sit on his tiny, uncomfortable bed in his equally small, claustrophobic room. He secretly dreamed of gaining the love and affection of his family.
He would remember staring hopefully at the door.
Hoping his parents or siblings would walk in.
While Hans didn't care for his family, it didn't mean he wanted anything to happen to them. The palace was a mess. The servants were scurrying around, trying to clean things up.
Castle workers were trying to see to repairs.
Doctors and nurses were scurrying to tend to various patients.
For once, rank didn't matter. Noblemen, soldiers and peasants were being given an equal amount of attention throughout the makeshift hospital. Other men were carefully carrying bodies and dumping them into various piles.
They would be buried in mass graves later.
The palace wasn't just a mess either.
Everywhere, there were broken down buildings or giant piles of rubble. The sand and grass showed signs of scorching and burning. In fact, some of the trees were still burning.
He could see pools of blood and dead bodies everywhere.
"What happened, Hǫrgr?" Hans asked.
"A civil war." Grand Pabbie admitted.
"A civil war?" Elsa couldn't believe her ears.
For all of his talk of wanting peace and plenty, Grand Pabbie could get downright cold, devious and cruel if he wanted to be. In other words, he wasn't above inciting violence if it meant fulfilling his plans for (his version) of the Greater Good.
"Explain!" Elsa snapped.
At first, Grand Pabbie didn't want to answer.
But Elsa refused to be sidetracked. She deserved an explanation. After everything Grand Pabbie did, he needed to held accountable for his actions.
She refused to let him weasel his way out of this.
Finally, Grand Pabbie told his story.
FLASHBACK
Grand Pabbie lay in waiting.
He knew this day would come.
Krig would feel that more than enough time has passed to launch his secret, vile campaign for Arendelle into action. He would arrogantly assume that he was a fool to put all of his faith into his "weakling" brother.
This time, Krig would come personally.
Under a false banner of truce.
What no one would know was that Krig would come in disguise at least several weeks beforehand. He would work alongside his spies to get the lay of the land. To know the people. To get inside their minds. To know the rulers. To know the soldiers.
Their fighting tactics.
Know their strengths and weaknesses.
He would also carefully study Elsa and Anna. He wanted to know what made them tick, how to manipulate them into (unwittingly) doing his bidding. He especially wanted to know the best way to woo Princess Anna. (She wasn't crowned yet).
The moment Krig and his forces touched down in Arendelle, Grand Pabbie attacked.
With his trolls in tow.
Krig was caught off guard. It was clear he didn't expect an attack from creatures that were supposed to be myth and legend. Like his father, he didn't believe in magic.
He believed in what his senses could tell him.
The spies were quickly subdued and rendered unconscious.
It wasn't long before Krig was put in a hypnotized, suggestible state, just like Hans only three years earlier. "Crown Prince Krig of the Southern Isles." Grand Pabbie said. "You will forget this meeting. You will forget that trolls exist. You will continue to believe that magic isn't real. You will forget all about your insidious ambitions for Arendelle. Instead, you will kill your mother and father. You won't do it right away. You will act as if you succeeded in your mission and feed your parents false information. Once you have lulled them into a false sense of security, you will kill them publicly. You will goad your brothers into a violent civil war as you jockey for the throne. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Master."
FLASHBACK ENDS
"How could you?" Elsa wanted to vomit.
"I had no choice, Elsa." Grand Pabbie said. "All of those princes would have only brought war and bloodshed to Arendelle."
"But you had no qualms bringing war and bloodshed to the Southern Isles?" Elsa asked.
"The Grea, er," Grand Pabbie faltered. He remembered just in time not to mention the Greater Good. He didn't want to feel more ice magic. "It was for the good of Arendelle."
"What about their wives and children?" Elsa asked.
"There were no survivors." Grand Pabbie admitted.
"You BASTARD!" Elsa snarled.
"It brought peace to Arendelle." Grand Pabbie was clearly unrepentant.
"What about Hans?" Elsa asked.
"My spells on him have worn off." Grand Pabbie admitted.
"What's to stop him from waging war against Arendelle?" Elsa demanded.
"King Hans will be too busy repairing the Southern Isles to bother with the likes of Arendelle." Grand Pabbie said. "He knows better than to engage in a war he cannot afford."
"You know, for someone who claims to want peace, you can be brutal." Elsa charged.
"As every cook knows, to make an omelet, sometimes you have to break a few eggs." Grand Pabbie said coldly in reply.