note: helsa…. i've resorted to helsa.

a few notes on the whole shebang:

first, i think i may have read every single iceburns story out there & something i've noticed is, most of them involve hans being the one to discover elsa's feelings toward him, and then rudely calling her out about it, appearing all-knowing/having his emotions totally in check, and using it against her [even if only for awhile]. personally, i think it'd be the other way around, and that's what we're going to have here: elsa grew up holding her emotions in, so she's a pro at it. she'll be the one who realizes hans is falling for her, and she may just have a little fun with it, because she's the queen & hell, she can have her fun if she wants to.

secondly, another common denominator i see is the awkwardness/anger between anna & hans, which i simply believe would NOT be an issue. it's clear from the movie that, by the end [when kristoff drops her off at the gates & she is all "will you be okay?"], anna is already into kristoff. i think returning to hans was a reluctant last-ditch effort to save herself, but that she'd already realized her mistake in accepting his proposal. therefore, in this story, there will be no angry!Anna or sisterly fights over the rules of feminism. and anna won't be all … wounded from the whole ordeal.

i know it was crucial to put that out into the universe.

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Hans knew he had to get off the boat. There was no way, no way he would face his brothers and come out of it alive. They would finally be able to finish off their baby brother, humble, homely, hellish, hated Hans, and they would be right to do so and no one would ever protest because, after all, he was defective. Vengeful. Shameless. He knew these things in his head, knew that his actions toward the princess and the queen of Arendelle were despicable. He was six again, out in the forest and surrounded by his brothers as they took turns practicing uppercuts on his face.

And yet, for the first time in his life, he had felt hope. Hope that he would never need to return to the Southern Isles. Hope that he could be free to rule a kingdom and escape his family's yoke of greed. He had taken a truly greedy path to arrive at his plan, and that plan had backfired in the most twisted of ways, but it had begun as a means to escape.

All was lost.

And yet, he had to try.

Hans ripped the bucket off his head and sat up in the cell. He overheard voices up on the ship's deck calling orders, cargo being moved around, equipment tossed and dropped, the churning of the waves against the hull.

"Hello?" he called. No answer. He tried again, louder. Hans began to beat the bucket against the wrought iron bars of his cell, more desperately with each thud. After a few minutes, a squat man trudged halfway down the stairs.

"Shut up," he called gruffly, then turned to climb the stairs again. Hans sprang up and grabbed the bars with his hands, trying with everything inside him to not appear desperate. And probably failing miserably.

"Wait, please! I… I request an audience with the queen," he called up. He attempted to keep his voice calm and level, knowing no one would reason with a madman. You were trained to do this as a prince, he told himself, always appear in control.

The deckhand raised an eyebrow and replied, "I have a feeling she will refuse." Still, for some reason he did not move from his spot on the stairs.

Hans glanced down at the floor, knowing this was his last chance.

"I would like the opportunity to speak with her. Please inform her immediately. I will be brief."

() () ()

The queen had just finished her ice skating charade, which had all been Anna's idea, of course, and had faded back into the shadows and ducked away from the celebration. Elsa felt highly uncomfortable, almost scandalous, creating ice and snow in front of people. She did not know if she would ever grow accustomed to it, and part of her wished she wouldn't.

This curse should not be displayed so casually.

She entered the library and closed the door behind her, leaning up against it to catch her breath. She was exhausted. This was evidenced by the dark circles beneath her eyes, and the fact that she was wearing the same dress she'd created for herself up on the North Mountain.

Elsa crossed the room to seat herself in front of the window. She looked out at the gardens, and beyond to the fjord and the distant mountains.

Arendelle was truly beautiful, and Elsa knew this more than most, as she had spent years of her childhood staring out at the landscape. She knew the types of trees and shrubs; she could correctly categorize each of the ships in port; she could track every constellation in the night sky.

If only the knowledge wasn't bought with my sister's unhappiness.

Just as she decided to bathe and change for bed, forgoing dinner, she heard a light knock on the door.

"Come in."

Kai's head appeared, popped in from the hallway. He looked uncomfortable, which worried her.

"Your Majesty… there is someone who wishes to speak with you."

Looking back, she would blame his tone for the light layer of frost which spread out at her feet.

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