Elsa couldn't breathe.

No, no, this couldn't be...no, oh, gods, no.

"You're just...you're just trying to keep me from Kristoff. You're lying, how do I know if you're even telling the truth? You could just be - " She was sickened by it, the sound of Hans laughing as she felt the power within her begin to stir.

Why was he laughing? WHY WAS HE LAUGHING -

"Oh, I assure you...nothing I say is a lie. It was me, that much is true. That bumbling idiot isn't capable of that sort of thing, I promise you." Hans almost sounded as if he were just...discussing the weather, the matter so causal and unimportant he couldn't even be bothered to look panicked when her face shifted and changed from incredulousness to the blistering, seething wrath that collected in her body, warming her for the first time in a long time.

This had to be some sort of cruel joke, right? Some sick play to rile her up, she had to believe, so why? Why did he look so...triumphant? So...pleasedwith himself as he stepped back, looking at her face with...ease?

"You...but you...why would you - " Elsa stopped herself.

Was there ever a reason? Was she seriously even trying to inquire about something that foul, that...fucking depraved? There was no reason anyone on this earth could give her to explain why it is that he did what he did, and even then, she just...couldn't believe it. They'd hugged each other, kissed, even...gotten engaged; this...how did he let it come to this? Why...why would he do something so FOUL?! She watched his facial features remain largely the same, bearing no amount of remorse as he sufficed to answer.

"Well, many reasons, I think. Let's see..." Putting a finger to his chin as if in thought about the question, he explained.

"We were alone, and well, she made it real easy after I, you know,bashedher in the head. Can't have her making too much noise now, can I? Now, why I did it? I mean, I have my reasons. I was...horny, yeah, definitely that." He started off, using his fingers to mark off the reasons, Elsa's blood ran cold, colder than it ever had.

Bashed her...in the head? He...hadn't mentioned that before, the thought of her baby sister being put out of commission like a wretched animal and defaced like that, for such a sorry reason, it made her want to -

"You FUCKING WHAT?!" She screamed, hands radiated with bright, blue magic as she felt her urge to hurt him grow, mind completely lost to Kristoff as she began forward, but Hans only worked to step back, looking no more uneasy than he had before.

"I mean, yeah! It's a real shame I couldn't hear her as I was fucking her. I'm sure she would have made the cutest little sounds, you know? But you can't string everyone along when you've got a mewling, crying bitch alerting their attention. But don't worry; I broke her in easy after that." He explained grossly, sparing no amount of the details as his face went red, and she grew sick.

Was he...FANTASIZING ABOUT IT?!

"You bastard! I'll kill you, I'll fucking kill you!" She screamed again, but this time, she couldn't stop the discharge of ice that blast from her finger tips, fracturing into a cascade of shards as the man had almost appeared to anticipate the attack, but she didn't have the time nor ability to consider such an idea.

She just wanted to spill his blood.

-(Same time...)-

There is was.

There was the woman, themonster, that he was looking for.

Without so much as an ounce of hesitation, she was already out for his head, and aggressively, too.

Jumping out of the way of a spear of ice, he didn't even think to give himself pause as he rushed along the surface of the fjord, distinct flashes of violent, blue light the only indication he had that there were surely more to come after that. In fact, he clashing and crashing of what sounded like glass spit pieces around his feet, threatening to trip him as he shouted over the pale.

"IsaidI was gentle! You can't blame me..for taking the opportunity, can you? It isn't as if I didn't have help, Elsa!" He chuckled, and after only a moment, she considered his words, screamed, and the ground beneath trembled as thorns and spikes of ice, also tried to take him down.

She was pulling out all the stops, huh?

'Alright...there should be one to my left, she's going to try to take out my left leg...'He thought, minding the ice to his left when he saw it begin to glow, and just like that, he was right, the man dashing out of the way of it before landing on his feet, but she didn't give him a moment's pause before attempting a matching strike on the other side, and this one just narrowly missed his foot as he was just a single, fluid motion away from ending it.

And so soon, too.

'Got it. Keep moving. Look for an opening...and take it. I can't keep this up forever.'He thought to himself, getting to his feet just as quickly and pressing forward as the queen continued her onslaught without even allowing him to recover completely,

Not that he expected her to.

Right now, the man thought with each dodge, bob, and weave, this was her apex, her peak, the terror of her power growing as the storm answered the call of her emotion, blocking them from view...the perfect alibi. Gripping the handle of his sword, he knew it wouldn't be long until he closed the distance between them, he knew that well, bracing his muscles to strike as a blast of cold rushed past his head.

He was getting closer.

"She trusted you! SHE TRUSTED YOU!" She bellowed, sounding enraged, yes, but...mournful.

Anna trusted him?

TRUSTED HIM?!

Hans would have burst out in tears from the hilarity of it.

'Of course she fucking trusted me! The stupid cunt would have trusted a mule if it offered to be her friend.'he thought darkly, cynically, pulling himself out of the way of a shard barreling towards his skull, the fragment shattering the ice with impact.

He thought on it.

From the very moment that he'd met her, on that warm, beautiful day, there was one stench he knew too well that emanated from her pores.

Desperation.

She reeked of it.

Stank of it.

The stench was heavy enough that from theverymoment they met, he knew that she wanted attention.

Companionship.

Love.

Gods, it was sickening.

In fact, it was so sickening, the man remembered as he continued forward, he almost felt sorry for her in a way. That someone so insecure, so agitating, and so pathetic could stand to live at all.

Unfortunate, really.

He knew her type; the sad, lonely ones that would take anything from anyone if it meant they could feel just a little less alone, if only for a little while. The sort that were deprived of human connection for so long that they almost forget what that feels like, so when they get even a whiff of it, atasteof it...they latch on.

And they latchhard.

And she was no different.

Andhewasn't special.

He could have been anybody, really. A guard, a peasant, a gods-forsaken dog for crying out loud...it wasn'thimthat she wanted.

She just wanted to feel...wanted.

And it was that very desire, the man relished sweetly as he watched Elsa stumble back at his movements, struggling to aim her powers as he ducked and weaved too fast, that he knew he could use.

He knew that he could exploit.

And with an unsheathing of his weapon, and a slash, he felt the blade cut through something soft, something...of flesh and bone. Elsa screamed, but not of anger this time...but of pain.

White...hot...pain, he was sure.

He knew the feeling.

Around them, the pain must have taken up a bit of her attention as the storm began to weaken, if just a bit. Looking about, he knew it just needed to let up enough that he could set through it to the guards above because if he could see them...they could surely see him.

But it wasn't enough yet.

He needed to push her more.

"Yeah...I know she did. How do you think she managed to get attached so quickly? I guess I would, too, if I didn't have such a shitty sister to rely on. In a way, she was sort of like...a dog that way, you know? She begged like a dog, she was put down like a dog, hell..." His eyes darkened, his lips upturned into an ugly smirk.

"...she even takes my cock like one." And that was enough to reawaken her rage.

"SHUT UP!" And she was up again, and just the same, he was rushing about, her attacks even more vigorous than before.

-(Same time...)-

The wound on her side was piercing, awful, deeply set as she could feel warm blood begin to seep through her dress and down her leg.

He'd gotten her good.

Wincing, the throws of her magic was enough strain on its own, but now? With this slowing her down, she knew she'd have to give her all to even keep pace with him.

But her anger was enough fuel to do that and then some.

Elsa couldn't bear it, the words he'd said, the truth he...spat from his awful lips. Her mind couldn't fathom the horror that he wrought upon her only kin, the woman growing sicker by the thought as she tried to focus on him, the prince never seeming to tire no matter how much she pushed him to move.

"She even takes my cock like one -" His words rang in her head like a terrible memory, filling every corner of her mind as she couldn't help but imagine in.

The terror she felt, or rather, couldn't feel, she remembered horribly, knowing and recalling that he said that he hadn't just raped her, and that surely would have been enough, but he 'bashed' her? Just what did that entail? How much...damage did he do?

"Just DIE ALREADY!" She bellowed, realizing quickly that she was beginning to feel...faint.

No, no, she couldn't go down yet.

Not until she took him down. Not until she splattered him across the ice for what he's done.

For what she...allowed to happen.

In truth, she knew that this storm, her sister's curse...it had been her fault.

Every...last...bit of it.

Perhaps if she'd just...shown even the slightest bit of self-control, if she could have kept herself in check, or even more than that, if she would haven't been so absent in her life, if she'd have just...tried harder, than...maybe none of this would have happened.

Maybe she would be in there with her right now, grinning and laughing through the pain, sure, but...with her.

Safe and happy and not alone...here on this ice.

A pipe dream now, she was sure.

Hans was there again.

Close enough that she could feel the warmth from his body, smell the sweat that clung to him in the frigid air.

She opened her mouth to scream as he tore the blade from her body again, echoing despair lost to wind as he stepped back to admire his work.

"You're getting slow. I expected more of a fight from you, you know." He taunted, his blade dripping with blood.

Her blood.

The cut was deeper, weeping liquid horror out on the ice as she tried to cover it, crying out from the radiating pain of her touch to the raw flesh and torn fabric beneath.

'H-have to...get up. Can't stay down here...'She thought, mind become muddled, a symptom, she was sure, of the blood loss she was suffering. Stumbling to her feet, she only noticed then that the wall of ice and wind that she'd conjured before had been to dissolve, breaking away and showing more and more of the fjord around them, and that, as far as she could tell, was a sure sign of her waning power.

Looking up, the woman stumbled back, putting out her hand defensively as she mustered up all of the strength that she could, though Hans didn't look fazed by this at all. In fact, she could see him wiping his blade, sheathing it, and stopping his pursuit, much to her confusion.

'W-what...is he doing?'She thought, watching him warily as he grinned again, and she was sure she was thoroughly tired of seeing that look upon his face.

"You're not looking so good, Elsa, you know? It's too bad, really." Hans began, looking to his left for something that didn't know what to look out for.

Why was he looking over there so much?

She wouldn't have time to really ponder on this, giving him an irritable, biting look as magic fizzled at her fingertips.

"I w-wonder...why..." Came her bitter response, but she doubled back.

"W-wait, what's too bad?" She asked, lifting her hand more and bracing to fire when he walked forward a bit before stepping back placidly. Her fear, her apprehension, seemed amusing enough to him as it was.

"Oh, just that...you won't be here to see what comes next after this." The prince said, and couldn't understand.

Why...did he always have to speak in riddles? Why was nothing ever...clear with him?!

He must have known that she was thinking just that, and sighing, as if he was remarking her supposed stupidity, the prince was clear with his words.

"It's a shame that when I take the crown and Arendelle becomes mine, you won't be here to see it. I'm sure you can guess why can't you?" Gesturing to her side, Elsa guarded the wounds defensively, fighting against his assumptions.

"You don't...k-know that! You aren't going to - " As if she weren't even speaking, he continued, disregarding her entirely.

"Regardless, you don't have to worry. See, I'll bring Arendelle to the glory that it was always meant to be..." Stepping closer to her, Elsa stepped back, eyes wide with horror as he continued.

"...the people will love me..." He continued, and with a look of horror at his smile, she listened to his words, leaving his mouth with tempting hate.

"...and at the end of it all, on those quiet nights when it's just Anna and I...I'll be sure to thank you when I'm fucking her brains out. Nice...and...slow. She'll bear my seed, but really, you should be thanking me. That would be putting her to good use." She'd had enough.

SHE'D HAD ENOUGH.

"DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT MY SISTER THAT WAY!" And just like that, just as the ice and storm had settled to bitter wind, she fired out the tenuous magic that ached and yearned to free of her hands to leave marks of her hatred behind. She didn't care where it landed, or whether it killed him, she just wanted him to be silent.

She...couldn't take hearing that anymore.

She just...couldn't.

But when she heard him scream out in pain, she opened her eyes, having not even realized that she'd closed them, and when she did, her eyes glittered with silent victory as she watched him stumble back, cradling his eye and shouting curses upon her name as it was clear what had been done.

This was her chance.

"You...stupid BITCH! You...FUCK!" He spit and cursed, screaming as she saw something white, akin to frost, crackle beneath his fingers before his good eye caught sight of her moving. Standing, she trembled forward, feeling even weaker than she had before, but she pushed anyway.

She wasn't sure she'd get a chance like this again.

However, before she could really cover any ground, she saw him stand, gritted teeth and lips pulled back with an expression of pure, unadulterated fury that she'd never before seen on his face, and admittedly, though she would never tell this to him, it was scary.

Really scary, actually.

Regardless, she readied herself again, rearing back her arm as magic danced with dazzling presence over her free hand.

"Good, you deserve it..." She spat, preparing to fire.

He deserved every bit of agony and then some if it meant that she could return even just a bit of the suffering she imparted on her sister; she would do everything in her power to make it so. But something in his weaning anger set her off as he relaxed his shoulders, smiling, the look sending shivers down her spine.

What was he up to?

Shaking her head, it didn't matter, and she gathered her energy to fire a single shot at the man whilst he was still when she saw him drop his hand, regarding her slowly, carefully, as his smiled widened.

And he opened his mouth, even as what remained of his eye crackled and bled with frost and ice.

But that didn't matter now.

Not when she heard him shout as he turned to left once more, and with a start, she saw them.

The entirety of the royal guard, awaiting her in the silence of the waning storm, and about 100 crossbows loaded and trained just...one...her.

'Oh no - 'She wouldn't get to finish the thought.

"Fire!" He shouted suddenly, and all at once, they obeyed, each click of their triggers sounding akin to strikes of thunder as they echoed solemnly across the fjord.

Without even thinking she raised her hand, doing her best to blast the majority of them from the air as she turned on heel to outrun the ones that she could...but she was too late. Despite taking many of them out of the air, Elsa knew her compromised speed would be cause for some degree of grief as she felt them enter her body all at once.

She couldn't even scream.

She could only parse the sudden tearing of flesh beneath each tooth of the bolts that cut into her sides, her legs, her shoulders, splattering the fair ice beneath with blood and sinew so fresh and beautiful it almost looked akin to a painting. So morbid, so...cruel, she thought, falling at once and meeting the ground with quiet thud that almost sounded to muted for the force that she hit it with.

Or maybe it one sounded muted to her.

Perhaps it did as she couldn't hear much now, not through the rush of blood in her ears.

Beneath her, the ice...trembled as footsteps that drew closer and closer, the storm again picking up as she tried to cover her ground before the guards above had the chance to fire again.

She couldn't afford to take more than she hand.

'Come on...c-come on...g-get...get up...I...c-can't...die here...h-have to...save...A-Anna...'She whimpered in her mind, attempting to move but finding it hard to do so, her strength, he endurance, thoroughly spent.

But with Hans closing in, she knew she had to do something, anything.

She couldn't just lie here.

She had to move, she had to -

"After that little move you pulled back there, I have to HAND it to you - " Hans began, drawing back his foot and driving it into one of the wounds on her side, digging in the toe of his shoe into the wet holes of her fabric and into her delicate flesh with enough force to make her scream, her desperate motions to writhe out of range of his shoe met with even greater force as a wicked smile ate his anger, the man exclaiming "...I thought I might have been done for, but it's a good thing that your aim was so shit, you only managed to get one eye! Isn't that lucky?!" He screamed maniacally, kicking her again.

And again.

And again.

At some point, she could feel something...burst, but she couldn't tell what, a broken, pained wail tearing its way from her throat as she could feel more of her blood collecting beneath her.

At this rate, if she let this go on any longer than she would...she would certainly -

Beneath her, the ground trembled again, but this time, Hans took notice of it, just as he'd unsheathed his sword, readying himself for what she was sure to be the final blow.

She didn't want to die.

She...couldn't die.

Anna...Anna needed her.

She...couldn't...die.

"What is this? What are you - " Hans stopped as the fjord began to fracture, horrible seams in the sheets of thick, impenetrable ice appearing all around them as her power willed it to be so.

She had to get away.

If this went on, she wouldn't make it far enough to save Anna, let alone herself.

If she could find somewhere to recuperate than maybe, just maybe...she could come back.

She would definitely come back.

With a great, thundering crack, the ice broke beneath them, and at once, they were underwater.

-(Same time, elsewhere)-

"Elsa! Elsa!" Olaf called over the storm, confused as, for a bit, it seemed to have calmed down but now, the snowman lamented as his vision was even more obscured than it had been before, making it difficult to see even just a meter before him as he stumbled forward, leaving at a loss as to what he should do.

'Oh, no, oh, no...I have no idea where I am right now...come on, Elsa; help a snowman out here...'He thought in distress, looking about frantically before he resolved to calling out again, having no other idea what to do.

"Elsa! Elsa, I found him! I found Kristoff, but he needs help, he - " Suddenly, he felt the ground shake, throwing him to his side from the force, and he fought to stay in one piece as the wind continued to pick up. Beneath him, he could see the ice split, great cracks forming beneath him as the tremors continued for a few more moments more before stopping.

'What the...wait, maybe that's where Elsa is! I can follow the cracks there!' He figured out quickly, suddenly hopeful, and with a quick recovery to his feet, he followed the trail of cracks further into the storm.

-(Same time...)-

'More tricks, huh? Can't say she didn't at least put up a fight.'He thought as the frozen waters enveloped him in dark and blissful black. He'd almost forgotten what it sounded like to be away from the storm, the man strangely adjusted to the ceaseless hum of wind in his ears due to Elsa's powers, and he had to admit it; it was nice to be met by something else. With a start, though, he realized two things: firstly, his sword was gone. Inspecting his hands and the immediate pitch darkness that surrounded him, it didn't take long for him to figure that he'd lost it when she decided to send them beneath the ice, only further inconveniencing him.

He should have figured as much.

And second, and perhaps even more pressing, he thought, Elsa was nowhere to be found.

'Where is she...I don't have time for this!'Hans inquired quickly, but calmly, keeping his focus in check as she thought about where she might be.

Even the densest person could reason that this was clearly just a ploy to allow her to get away, probably to attempt to heal and come back at some other inconvenient time, and that wasn't part of the deal. He couldn't have vengeful witches coming by and destroying all of his hard work, so he had to handle this.

And he had to handle it now.

But she was nowhere to be found.

No matter where he looked, he was only met by the abyss. Cursing, he briefly considered surfacing for air when he saw it, the barest shimmers of dazzling light further away in the water a short distance from where he was.

And he didn't even have to think about it.

He'd found her

He could see her twisting, fighting against her own fatigue as she pulled out each of the bolts, and quickly, too, he noticed, illuminated the water around her, doing, what he assumed, was some rudimentary first aid by freezing her wounds.

Smart.

But that was perfect for him.

All he needed to do was take a breath and put into action the plan that began to concoct itself in his mind.

Looking up, he spotted a distant hole not too far from where he'd been set beneath the water, and quickly discreetly, he swam up to it, and just in time, too, the man gasping with need as he took in as much air as he could, his lungs filling and aching as he hadn't realized how long he'd been holding his breath for. He was again greeted by wind and cold, the cutting speckles of ice and snow beating into his certain red cheeks.

But there wasn't much time to relax above the surface; he had a queen to kill.

He couldn't help but smile with glee at thought.

Drawing several. successive breaths, he was sure to take them as quickly and deeply as he could, and with a dive, he was back beneath the sea, enveloped, incased, in darkness.

From afar, he could still see her trying to heal, and with a slip of the hand, he felt for it, the set dagger that he'd placed, sheathed and at arms, within the inner pocket of his jacket, the man smiling at his own genius. He'd been right; he did need it, the prince sensing no better time to use it than now. Self-congratulating aside, he had to move quickly, so he started on his way, diving just below her sight as he intended to make a move towards her...slowly but surely. At some point, he noticed that she had to surface, too, several times over the course of efforts to reach her.

A few time himself, he had to find breaths to take, portioned through the cracks and fractures that all but seemed to guide him to her, the woman never taking notice of him, even he drew closer, still.

He didn't have far now.

He tightened his grip around the dagger, pulling it free of his cover as the blade's end gleamed darkly in the water.

It was almost over now.

With a final push he was just behind her.

He...would...win.

"AGHH!"She thrashed violently as he plunged the dagger into her chest, sending plumes of red mist into the water, obscuring his view of her as she scrambled to get away. He could see with each movement, the bloom of blood only grew, spilling out of her as her movements disturbed the fragile frost that she had only just set upon her wounds. But he wouldn't give her the chance to recover, the man, still bearing the dagger in his grip, he went in again, this time catching her arm before he felt her shove him away, sending him back a bit, just enough that she could start to the surface, the man giving chase.

He was done with this.

He was ready to bring this all to an end.

'Another chase? She is certainly persistent.'He voiced in his mind as he raced to the surface, still holding tightly to his dagger.

He took to another hole as she surfaced at precisely the same time, the woman screaming in abject agony as she gripped the gaping hole in her chest, and in the truest sense, Hans hummed thoughtfully, it sounded to music. A shrill, beautiful song that told him that he'd done just the right thing. Pulling himself the water, he smiled as he found it, his former blade discarded coldly against the ice as if beckoning him to take them in hand.

And who was he not to oblige?

Regarding the dagger for only a moment before he dropped it into the hole, finding no further use for it, he waltzed over to the queen, looking upon her bleeding body with a strange revelry he couldn't place.

He loved it, the painted red, the pure white.

It was idilic, the scene before him.

It was almost...arousing, the man thought softly as he felt himself grow hard, the woman's eyes staring pleadingly from the ground as she tried to cover the wound, but its bleeding out-paced her.

She seemed to try to be speaking, but she couldn't. He assumed he'd punctured her lung, perhaps.

He couldn't tell, really, but he could see it, the light fading from her eyes. It was a beautiful sight.

Hans smiled as he knelt before her, stroking her soaked, frosted hair with a strange kindness he didn't afford many.

In a way, she should be thankful for that.

"Don't worry...I'll take good care of Anna." He whispered, and pulling his hand away, he held the sword with two hands, bringing it overhead.

And plunged it into her chest.

-(Same time, elsewhere)-

Olaf could tell that the fractures and cracks were becoming more complex, less just singular lines, but now? There were cascading branches and threads of stress that told of a struggle he hadn't seen. He figure her were almost there now, and even strange, the snowman thought, the storm seemed to be coming to a halt, his vision slowly restoring as he felt more confident to trek across the ice.

"That must mean that she's okay, that must mean - " He started to say when he...heard a sound.

Something like...laughter?

It...didn't sound like her voice.

'What's happening?'He thought, a surge of strange nervousness filling him as, the closer he can to source of the sound, the louder the laughter became.

But with that, there was something else.

It sounded...wet.

It sounded...wrong.

He needed to hurry.

"Elsa! Els - " Olaf, cutting through the white and distant mist, froze.

His eyes were wide.

Elsa was leaking, too.

-(Same time)-

He couldn't stop it.

The joy that filled him as he stabbed her...over, and over, and over again.

It was a momentous occasion, the most joyous of days, he knew that well, he could hear his own laughter shrill and cackling as he rooted the blade into her chest with enough force to eat through her sternum, fragments of bone and sinew clinging to his blade and hands as he felt her go still.

He didn't spare the rest of her body, either.

Again and again, over and over, rinse and repeat, he drove it wherever it could reach.

Her face.

Her stomach.

Her arms.

Her legs.

Everywhere.

No part of her would remain untouched. He could cut her, slice her, do whatever he liked, he'd won, hadn't he?

Stab

It was his special day.

Slice

It was all over now.

Squelch

Over, and over, and over, and over again.

Until she was pulp.

Mush.

That made him laugh, too.

He was just so...happy.

Stopping, he was out of breath, perhaps from laughter, perhaps from exertion...he didn't know, and frankly, the man thought as red vitality dripped down his face...he didn't care. Around him, the winter spell had begun to come undone, and through his euphoria, as short-lived as it was, he knew that he couldn't be seen like this.

Not with the corpse of the queen beneath him, her blood dressing him.

That...wouldn't be good, he thought. No, that wouldn't be good at all.

Standing, blade still in hand, he was soaked in it, drenched wholly and completely in her essence, but that wouldn't matter in a moment, and without a second to wasted, he glanced at his sword before the Prince, with a great throw, threw it out into the crater of water that Elsa had made.

And with a splash, it disappeared into the sea, never to be seen again.

'Perfect...now...'He thought, regarding the mess of flesh at his feet that barely resembled the queen she once was, hardly batting an eye as, just as the white of the storm was clearing away, and he was certain that the guards back towards the castle would be able to see him soon, just as with the sword, he followed suit with Elsa.

He threw her into the melting fjord.

He noted her limp corpse, never bothering to float as she wavered at the surface for a breath until she, too, began to sink, disappearing in a haze of red until she was just...gone.

As if she had never been there at all.

Standing at the edge of the water, the ice melting beneath his feet, he knew he didn't have long before it would give out beneath him, but before it could, the man winced, cupping his face again as a shooting pain spread from his eye, and he remembered suddenly what she'd done before, a setting anger rising in his blood before it settled.

'It's...fine. This just works to sell this, that I was merely defending myself. I would have preferred not to lose an eye, but not much that can be done now...'He thought, cringing at the writhing pain that pulsed beneath.

He couldn't lie when he wished she would have chosen anywhere else to blast him with, he thought, spitting in the water where he'd thrown her.

Bitch.

And just like that, the ice beneath him thawed, sending him, again, into the now warming waters of the sea, he could hear the guard at the wall cascading down the steps, taking heed to the boats that had been incased in the ice, now free and operable as they raced over to where he was treading.

And quickly cleaning himself of any evidence of Elsa.

"Prince Hans! Prince Hans, you're alive!" One of the guards shouted, and as he turned to face them, visage again clean and pristine, save for the horrid, frosted wound that caked his left eye, he looked the part of a relieved prince.

A prince that had narrowly escaped death.

A prince bearing none in mind the secrets that he did.

"Yes, I'm fine! I'm over here!" He called back, treading above the surface of the water before he became aware of just how spent he was, noting the rush of fatigue that had begun to settle in his bones, remarking relief as the boats that had come to his aid as he was hoisted into one, meeting Linnea as she was quick to inspect his injury.

"That blasted witch! Quickly, back to the castle! He needs to be seen at once! My prince, how do you feel? You fought so valiantly." The older woman all but groveled at his feet, a commonality for the old wench as he waved away her concern and praise with false modesty that he knew would only further endear him to the lackeys around him.

The idiots loved when he pretended to be bashful, embarrassed, just plain appreciative, of their meaningless words.

Fucking imbeciles.

"Please, you worry about me enough. It's fine, I promise. I just didn't anticipate that she'd strike when she did. Perhaps it was my mistake for calling upon you all..." He exclaimed, falsely blaming himself, and just as he expected, they were quick to reassure him.

"What else were you to do, prince?! The sodding wench was sure to kill you if you hadn't, if you ask me, it couldn't have been done, soon enough." Another guard, a thinner, lankier man, one he didn't know the name of, exclaimed with a boldness he hadn't expected.

He liked the way he thought.

He'd have to keep him in mind.

"R-right, but...still. It's just too bad that she fled, but at least she stopped the winter before she did. That's one thing, at least..." The prince lied through his teeth, and at the mention of her fleeing, they were all chattering with disbelief, and they spent the rest of the ride there exclaiming their thoughts, but in the midst of, the man noticed something strange.

Out there in the quickly melting fjord, he noticed something bright and...orange.

He doubled back.

"A carrot?"He whispered under his breath, capturing Linnea's attention.

"What was that, my prince?" She asked, and quickly, not wanting to arouse concern, he discarded the thought.

It was probably nothing, anyway.

"Oh, n-nothing. Just thinking to myself is all." He answered, and it was time for them to depart the boats anyway, the young man in hand with his ward as she guided him to the stairs, even with his protests of being fully capable of walking on his own, but she insisted.

He wanted to roll his eyes.

She always did need to feel needed.

The sorry woman wasn't whole unless she was.

Walking up the stairs to the balcony and alcove where the guards had assembled, he had to admit that it did feel nice to be in the warmth of the palace once more, and as they navigated the halls and entered the main entrance of the castle, both he and Linnea were swarmed by nobles and servants alike, each bombarding him with questions, admiration, and accolades before Linneas broke it up, bellowing over the noise.

"Can't you see that he needs attention! Get him to a room now!" She shouted, and at once, the crowd parted, and nursemaids took him in arm, guiding him back to his chambers. There, he began to be treated, the gentle hands and doting of several of the servants consuming his vision as they began their work.

Yet all the same, he smiled.

Today...was a happy day.

Today...he'd won.