"Are you awake?"

Elsa asked the question gently, so as to not disturb Hans in case he was still asleep or not fully awake. A few moments of silence passed, followed by Hans' now familiar voice.

"You can come in."

Elsa pushed the key into the door and unlocked it, slowly stepping inside before closing and locking the door behind her. Hans was sitting in his usual spot, a wooden chair next to a table she'd slowly filled over time with books, pens, and paper to give him something to do while he was locked in this cell awaiting his death. He'd pulled out the other chair for her, another habit he'd formed over time as her visits grew more frequent, and she approached it and sat in her usual spot.

Elsa wasn't heartless. Yes, Hans had tried to take out both her and her sister to take their throne. Yes, he was technically an attempted murderer. And yes, she knew she could be putting herself in danger every time she stepped into this room and locked the door behind her. But she couldn't stand the idea of throwing someone into this little room and leaving them to go crazy and die. Hans was still a human no matter how much everyone else had dehumanized him in their own eyes and she was going to treat him with decency before he was marched to the guillotine to have his life swiftly, and publicly, ended. She'd started off coming to his cell once a week, then when he'd earned a bit of her trust and stopped being so hostile, she upped the visits to twice a week, then three times, until eventually she'd found herself visiting him every day. She'd come to enjoy their daily visits and so had he. For her, it was an escape, and she felt like she was doing some good. For him, it was the part of his day that reminded him that someone still saw him as human. Even if what'd he'd done had stripped him of that in the eyes of the public.

When she wasn't there with him, it was silent. She would bring him books to read and he had enough ink and paper to write or draw with, but the room was small. It only had one window and that was his only source of sunlight. Sometimes she'd bring him wood and tools to craft little trinkets and knick knacks with, but you can only make things like that so many times before even that isn't fun anymore. She was his one human interaction he got every day outside of guards bringing him meals and he'd grown quite fond of her.

She would never admit it, but she'd grown quite fond of him too.

He'd picked up on this, but any advances he'd made or hints he dropped were brushed off or ignored. He understood. She was a queen and had expectations to meet and duties to fulfill. And, well, he did try to shotgun marry her sister and kill them both off. That wasn't exactly a great first impression, nor a forgivable one. She'd shown him enough kindness in being willing to even come see him at all and get to know him as a person before he was scheduled to die. She could have had him killed the day after the snowstorm incident, or simply froze him to death right then and there and forgotten him, the way his parents and siblings had gladly forgotten him when they received word of his current predicament. The way he'd been basically forgotten from birth, being the thirteenth in line to the throne. He wasn't even a spare; he was the spare to the spare to the spare.

But she hadn't forgotten him nor had she forgotten that he was human, and because of that he would at least die with the clean slate she was kind enough to give him instead of simply dying a killer, and that was enough for him.

Elsa had carried in a tea tray with her and set it on the table when she came in. She poured them both a cup before taking a sip. Hans sipped his at the same time and closed his eyes, lost in the flavor she'd picked today: vanilla orange with a hint of cinnamon. He thought about this; he used to take things from his life as a prince, like nice teas and luxury sheets, for granted. Over the last year, he'd learned to appreciate the little things and soak in moments like this. Accepting his impending death had softened his heart and made him more grateful for the small things. The company of the ice queen had, ironically, gradually warmed his heart over time. She wasn't the cold, closed off woman everyone thought she was. She had depth, she had humanity to her. She had a heart full of warmth that could move mountains. Or cleanse the ugly insides of self-serving forgotten princes into remorseful, respectable men with working consciences.

She set her cup down and began fidgeting with the gloves on her hands. He'd learned that this was something she did when she was nervous, so he reached over and took her hands in his. He looked at her with sincere eyes, making sure her eyes locked with his before he spoke.

"What's wrong, Elsa?"

She looked at him with an expression of guilt mixed with sorrow. He knew she struggled with feelings of doubt and insecurity because of her ice powers and the way she'd mishandled them in the past, and because of the way she'd shut Anna out to protect her, but this was different.

"Tomorrow is the day…" she said, her voice almost a whisper.

His face fell.

He knew, but he didn't want to think about that right now. He was enjoying his final day alive and wanted to make the most of it. "I know, but…can we not talk about it? It's a beautiful day from what I can see through the window. We have wonderful tea. You have nothing you're supposed to be doing today that would put our visit on a stricter schedule. Let's just enjoy it, together. Make the most of the time we have left…"

She nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry…I just…" her voice cracked and he could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She looked up, took a few breaths, and blinked until the tears subsided. "I wish it could be different, Hans. We've grown close. I don't think you're a bad person…you had a bad moment. You've changed. It shouldn't have to be this way." She gave his hand a soft squeeze. "I care about you. I just wanted you to know that before…you know. I just wanted you to know that someone cares about you…truly, someone does. Even if it's just me."

He gave her a soft smile. "I care about you too, Elsa. More than you know."

He sighed.

"I didn't deserve the grace you've given me. But you gave it to me anyway. It changed me for the better and really put things into perspective for me. It made me realize we all have something weighing us down…nagging at us day and night, and that I wasn't the only one bearing a burden. I can't thank you enough for making me see that before tomorrow morning. Maybe now God, the gods…whoever, might see me as worthy of receiving some forgiveness.."

She could do nothing but slowly nod. He continued.

"The day I committed my…act of atrocity, the day I was brought down here and locked away, I could only think of vengeance. I only harbored hatred for you and Anna and the kingdom of Arendelle. I truly believed your throne was my right, and that I was slighted. I wanted nothing else but to break free and enact my reign of terror on the entire kingdom for imprisoning me here and treating me like an other the same way my family treated me my entire life for doing nothing but simply being born thirteenth in line. I truly, in my heart, thought you and your kingdom and everyone else only viewed me as an other, subhuman. You proved me wrong. You changed me. And I hope, when I take my final breath and I come face to face with God, that what you've done to transform my soul will make me worthy of redemption. But I'm at peace with the fact that I may not be. Because at least in my final months here, I saw that someone on Earth cared about me enough to make me realize that my time here was worth something. Even if that time was spent in a cell."

She slowly moved her hand to his and squeezed it lightly. He could see in her face that no matter how much he assured her, she still felt an immense sense of guilt about his upcoming fate. He squeezed her hand back. If he was going to do anything during his final twenty-four hours, he wanted to make sure one of those things was easing her conscience, even if it was only a little bit.

They finished their tea. The silence during their last few sips was louder than any conversation they could have had during their tea time and neither Hans nor Elsa failed to notice that. Hans was just unsure of what else he could say to ease Elsa's mind; Elsa was more and more uneasy about Hans' upcoming execution the more time passed. She felt even more guilt knowing she'd wasted half of their last day in solemn silence. Hans, though sad they didn't talk more on this last day, understood. Neither of them wanted to speak about what was to come; they wanted to spend the day together before they'd never get another day together again. But the tension of the execution hung in the air. Though either refused to speak any more of it, the weight of it hung in the air.

The end of Elsa's allotted time came. She had royal duties to attend to and couldn't stay any longer without the castle staff growing suspicious. She enveloped Hans in a lingering embrace. The warmth of her body, in spite of her ice powers, melted what remained of Han's frozen insides. He squeezed her, her petite and fragile body wrapped in his toned, lengthy arms. In one last attempt to ease her worries, he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. A tear escaped her right eye but she held her feelings in. She stood back and breathed a deep sigh.

"I'll never forget the time we spent together, Hans. You'll be in my prayers every day."

He nodded, understanding. "Words can never fully describe how thankful I am for the time you spent with me, Elsa."

Elsa teared up again, but held her composure. "Goodbye, Hans Westergard."

They shared one last embrace and then Elsa turned the key in the lock, exited the cell, and locked it back. Hans listened to her footsteps slowly disappear upstairs and then fell into his bed. He sobbed.

He could only hope she'd find the note he slipped into her dress pocket during their last embrace.