"You know you don’t have to be alone, Hans." Elsa breathed as she moved slowly and carefully to her feet. She looked closely at him, wondering exactly what it was that kept him from exposing more to her. It seemed like everytime she might get close enough to actually uncovering something there would be another getting in the way, keeping her eyes off the final prize and meaning she could never quite work out what was truly going on.

"I will be back, Hans." She said simply, waiting for the cell door to open and glancing back at him, "And whatever it is that is affecting you so, whatever it is that has made you into this, has given you these reactions, I or someone will figure out. Even if I have to assign someone to watch and assist you at all hours of the day."

Walking away, she heard the clash of the metal doors closing behind her and she frowned to herself. Whatever was going on, she didn’t want to miss out on knowing. Something had a hold on the prince, it had to. Perhaps a curse, which meant perhaps the Trolls could help him as they had helped Anna once, long ago. One more pointed glance backwards, and she headed up the stairs.

—— - - Mini time skip -

Elsa carried the tray with her as she was let into the cell late the next morning, the sun already high in the sky and the warmth of the air settling around them. “Good morning, Hans,” She greeted clamly, the door closing behind her. “I hope you are hungry. I figured perhaps a breakfast of nourishment might help you feel more well. I brought a variety of things, so you may help yourself.” She addressed him, putting the tray down beside his cot.

"I have been considering possibilities overnight and consulted a few advisers this morning, which is why I must apologise for my lateness. I said I would return though, and I have, with some new theories."

Hans had laid back down not long after the queen had left. Motionless, quiet, empty. He stared up at the ceiling until he was finally able to sleep. 

He spent the rest of his time in his cell much the same way until he heard her return. The man cracked open his eyes and felt life seem to restore into him as she stepped inside. Hans managed to slowly push himself into a sitting position on the cot, sparing a glance at the tray of food and back at the Elsa.

"Theories?" Hans had to tilt his head slightly at that, quirking a brow before he made himself pick up his tray to set it on his lap. Might as well eat something that wasn't entirely disgusting. 

He didn't have much hope of her figuring it out, but if she came up with something close enough to the truth, maybe he could spare some more details. Hans waited to hear them, taking a drink.

Elsa frowned as she shook her head. This time she noticed that he had flinched, so close in proximity she was. And it was in some way reactant to what she had said, though he had said it was not based on being given orders. “Then tell me how it works, Hans, because I need to know.” Sapphire gaze stared hard back at him, unflinching even as he hissed at her to go away.

"I do not want to let you simply exist down here. That is not the sort of queen I will be and it is not the sort of man you are. The fact that you are so content to stay in the dungeons when you struck me as eager for the crown, that is what confuses me." She shook her head quickly, a reminder that she was going nowhere fast as her hand came around to hold her ankle lightly where she sat.

"Every decision I make reflects who I am. I do not want to look into a mirror and see someone who is willing to merely let someone take the blame for actions they are not resposnsible for, if that is what is truly the case here." She said quietly, recalling the fact that prior to her visits, he had been alone and almost actionless. With her there, he was frustrated certainly, but with the guards outside the barred doors, she could at least feel safe in that if he reacted violently she would be able to get away.

She softened a little, “I can stay here if you’d like. Until you’ve rested. There is something about this tale that doesn’t sit right with me and I will not make any judgement until I know what it is that I am missing.” Elsa looked him over for a few moments, before then also offering, “Or I can return in the morning with food and juice, to replenish your energy. I want to know what has been the cause of all this pain to Arendelle, and I am certain you can help me to figure it out.”

He had to bite back a snarky retort at her wanting him to tell her anything. He managed what he said already while putting his life in danger and here she was asking more. Of course it'd never be enough. But there was her hope and kindness and determination entering him without his consent or want and he had no choice but to react on it unless he wanted to show her the damn curse's punishment for not doing what it was there for.

But it didn't wash away how exhausted he was as he closed his eyes and kept his head against the wall. The mention of reflections and mirrors from her mouth had him slowly cracking an eye open. "I can't tell you anything else," he answered finally, his posture and expression seeming to soften on their own, but it wasn't at all.

Not unlike that moment he had walked in on he in the dungeons. Where he was the kind prince who just wanted to help everyone, including the monstrous queen.

He shook his head, though. At her idea of staying here with him. "Best if you come back later." 

Elsa was now completely bewildered. She hardly knew what to think let alone what he was actually saying, and so she folded her skirts beneath her and sat near to him on the floor, deciding that if she was going to try to figure it out she might as well do so more comfortably. Her eyes raised up to examine him and he definitely looked worn, his words a harsh and almost forced whisper until he went quiet and she was left even more confused than she had been before he had spoken. 

"You are under the control of everyone. Including me? And not by choice— and you clearly cannot speak of it, or you would have done so before now. How can you be under the control of everyone though? Certainly someone else must be the source?" Concern etched her face, and she shook her head once.  "Prisoner or not you are in my castle and it is my right to be here and to question you. It is also my right to figure out something when it is not right, and you are making me believe that this is the case." She flattened the fabric of her skirt, "I can be wherever I like, after all." Magic was unspoken of, despite her own abilities. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him and Elsa wondered if perhaps there was more about him that she did not know.  "Must you obey all commands? Is that what you mean?" She raised an eyebrow, "If so, I command you to answer me." It didn’t hurt to try, after all.

No, she didn't get it. Of course she didn't get it. He rested his head against the wall behind him, eyes locked on hers where she now sat in front of him. Talking to him on his level, hm? He almost wanted to laugh.

But his expression remained dull and he was still silent. There were cracks showing up around his throat to keep him quiet about the curse, but it was hardly noticeable unless she saw through in the shadows.

"That's not how this works, your majesty," he said finally. Careful with his words. He leaned forward, cuffed hands resting on his lap and chains rattling as he did so, eyes narrowed on her face. "You have little control over it, yourself. Or you did." He raised an eyebrow slightly, head tilting while he looked down at her hands, then back to her face.

But the curse was catching on again. There was another painful seize. A pulse of agony he had to bite down as he returned to his usual sitting position. He really should stop talking about it. His chest hurt. His eyes burned. 

Hans sucked in a breath and exhaled softly, shrugging his shoulders. "You'd be wiser to just let me be down here. Keep a guard or two. At a reasonable distance. Then it's like I'm not here at all."

He wondered if the guards ever mentioned how lifeless he was in his cell most days until a guard brought him food and water. It was the briefest of flashes of life that showed, then. At one point he remembered being kicked over in an attempt to see if he had died. Boy, weren't they surprised when he struck back with equal force, chained or not.

Yes, he wondered if they ever told her any of that.

Probably not. She wouldn't approve of such treatment, he knew. Looking at her now, he knew.

"I'm tired. Can we call it a day?"

[angry prince noises]

Shattered Reflections

It was a long, quiet ride toward home. 

Anna was far more relaxed, however, than on the way up. She had no trouble sliding her arms around Hans’ middle to hold on, and her forehead even came up to rest under the top of his spine. She was exhausted, and she felt like this whole thing had been a goosechase. She was even starting to nod off to sleep a little, when Sitron, of his own volition, slowed down immensely.

Roused, Anna was just about to speak to tell Hans that soon it would be dark again and they needed to reach the half-way point to Oaken’s before then. But of course, then she heard it: growling. Twigs snapping underfoot. Snarling. 

“Wolves." she breathed, panic striking her as she remembered the last run-in with them. 

Hans tensed with her, swallowing down the spread of fear between them as he gripped harder on Sitron's rein. "Easy boy...easy...come on, we need to get going. Fast." He gave a little kick and the horse reared back a bit before making a charge once wolves had their eyes gleaming behind bushes and trees. They were running,  but they were also being chased.

"Please tell me you brought a sword with you," he called over his shoulder to Anna. Some form of defense would be nice if Sitron couldn't outrun them. The snow was pretty damn thick under them.

And then he was forced to pull back on the reins to halt Sitron when wolves circled in front of them. Damn it! And the fjord horse was rearing back again, kicking out with hooves. Hans fought to hold on, not realizing Anna was probably not gripping onto him hard enough as Sitron landed back on his hooves and made a quick turn to flee in another direction, jumping over the small pack of beasts.

It wasn't until he was a good few feet away he was feeling - empty.

"Anna-?" He looked behind him. Just wolves bounding behind him still. only, what, two or three stayed behind because -

Anna had fallen off.

The curse was seizing him again. It told him to feel nothing. There was nothing to warrant going back there to save her. He had his horse, previsions. Just run away, find some place to live. Leave her to die as he had before.

No. NO.

He wasn't going to let that happen again.

Hans quickly forced Sitron to turn around - the horse was loyal enough not to fight him on this. The curse reacted as it always did. Thin cracks and skin cold and grey as he surged forward. "Don't worry, boy,  I'll get us out of this-"

Just as he was reaching the queen, he jumped off of Sitron to tackle head on one of the wolves going for throat. His eyes were black, black as night and everything hurt. He was cracking. But he was fighting. And the wolves were terrified. As they should be. He looked like some kind of demon, he was sure. 

And he could feel Anna's terror too but he fought it back until the damn beasts were running off with their tails between their legs.

Hans crumpled onto his legs, into the snow, breathing labored as more cracks spread. Dark and ugly and he gasped before trying to let it all stop. Let the fear sink in. He slowly reverted back, shaking hard.

Did he smell blood? Had Anna managed to get injured? Was she dead? No, no, he still felt her.

"A-Anna...?" he croaked out.

ooc;

oooh ooh, i also have a idea

so like you know how apparently rapunzel is in frozen

maybe she didn’t come with eugene, and then she meets hans and yadda but like when he proposes to anna and the whole freezing thing happens and maybe shes stuck in Arendelle and take it from there? c:

Oh, sure! That sounds like it can work. He'd probably actually take her emotional influence to bring the cloaks out to everyone too. I can see them getting to know each other during the freeze over.

Would you like to start that thread then? c:

Shattered Reflections

Anna stared dumbfounded.

Of all things… Of all things, true love? Again?

Disbelief wracked her body. Was there nothing else? She even got to her knees, tried to prod Pabbie for any other method, but he insisted- nothing else could break the curse. True love was the strongest and most invincible antidote for all magic- and the only relief for dark magic.

She watched as trolls rolled back up, or wandered away- she didn’t blame them for the cold reception. They had to nurse a hurt Kristoff now, because of her. In a last desperate attempt to console herself, she made Pabbie promise her that he would take good care of Kristoff and not let him retreat into a shell. The old troll seemed to have more sympathy for Anna than any other, and he assured her that Kristoff would heal with time. 

All was silent again, and Anna stood up, turning to half-face Hans, face wrought with … hopelessness.

"How can anyone love you, if you’re never you to begin with?” But it wasn’t impossible. It couldn’t be, or Pabbie wouldn’t have even bothered telling them. She ran her hand over her face, realizing her fingers were shaking, and glanced around.

"I guess we had better go back home now. I don’t want to be here when Kristoff returns."

Hans didn't find it hard at all to wallow in hopelessness from Anna, when he felt it himself. A small freedom to let him be himself, but how was anyone able to tell the difference? She was right. No one would ever love him. He knew that. 

That was fine, though. After all of this, he preferred the cold dungeon cell with no one to feed off of. Maybe he could just let himself shatter into pieces before anyone could stop him.

How could anyone love you, Hans.

Oh, Anna, if only there was someone out there who loved you.

The curse was laughing at him. He swore he could hear it. Hear it as it clung to his heart in a vice grip. But as soon as he was aware of it, Anna tore his attention away, balling his hands into fists before he nodded.

"Yes, let's go."

He pulled himself back onto Sitron and reached a hand to help her onto the back of the horse, Hans' expression falling into neutral territory. He could feel her emotions just fine. It didn't mean he had to show them completely.

ooc;

oh good! I haven’t really had a plot thread with a Rapunzel yet so that’ll be fun

fluff’s all fine haha. I mean so long as Rapunzel’s happy, Hans would be happy. He kindofdoesn’thaveachoice.

thats very true, xD

so what do you want to do? c:

well if we want to go post-movie on both of them

she could have met and known him some at Corona and couldn't believe he did these things and since she and Flynn had been visiting at to Coronation, she could visit him at his cell to try to figure out what really drove him to this yadda yadda

or we can do a thread before he's even at Arendelle and they meet at Corona and become friends. 

OR it can be, it's post movie for him- he escapes Arendelle and ends up in Corona, and while on the run with a bounty on his head, he ends up at her tower instead of Flynn.

Plenty of possibilities here haha.

If you have any ideas feel free to throw them at me too.

ooc;

revives blog

anyone up for some plotting maybe

or even crack?

I don’t care

hi there i would love to plot something

maybe fluff but-

so yeah

oh good! I haven't really had a plot thread with a Rapunzel yet so that'll be fun

fluff's all fine haha. I mean so long as Rapunzel's happy, Hans would be happy. He kindofdoesn'thaveachoice.

Shattered Reflections

Anna almost winced when she heard Pabbie call her by her title. She never wanted this. She never wanted to be Queen. It wasn’t suited to her, she didn’t fit in this role- but here she was, all-powerful ruler of Arendelle…and everything was lost to her. Her sister, her lover, her dreams and hopes and everything that had filled her with such life. It was gone.

She shook herself out of her remorse and glanced back at Hans, seeming to think a moment before she gestured him to come over. When he did, the eldest troll made him bend, and took his hands just as he had Anna’s. She swallowed back the sudden jerk of fear that flew through her, reflexive of being here, int his place, receiving news of magic-

"Ah. I’m afraid you’ve been cursed. There are sharp shards in your heart." Grand Pabbie gave Hans a weary look, right into his eyes, sincere and tired but very much willing to help. 

"Magic like this- it can only be broken when you’ve earned true love for who you really are. Not the reflective surface you are forced to project.” he let go of Hans’ hands and shook his head. “There is, truly, nothing I can do for you. I am sorry.”

Hans already knew this. A pang of memory long lost but resurfaced. He would never be cured of this. This curse was his and it would never be lifted. Shards in his heart. Always there. Constricting his emotions, his sense of self. He would only ever be who others wanted to see.

How could he ever be himself?

There had been that brief time during the coronation. He had been as close to himself as he had ever been in years - but it hadn't been enough. Anna saw herself and a dream more than she ever saw him.

And what now? What reason did she have? He killed her sister. He drove her into a life of hatred that made her push away the man she had grown to love as well.

Hans was only ever a monster. 

So he stepped back when the old troll was done and stood by Sitron, one hand resting against the horse's side as he spared a glance at Anna. That was it, then. The apology was there in his eyes, but he couldn't speak it. She wouldn't believe it anyway.

Shattered Reflections

Silence kept falling despite Anna’s ridiculous attempts at small talk. Nothing much came of it, so she eventually stopped. She figured it was pointless anyway, Hans was just a reflection of anything she desired.

When soon they were in a much warmer climate, Anna made him to stay on the horse, as she walked beside, and left him just out of the circle of rocks and moss that she came upon. She took a deep breath and ambled slowly between large boulders.

"It’s- it’s me. Anna. I need your help again.”

Hans kept hold of the reins between his gloved hands, calming Sitron as the horse warily eyed the boulders with him. He watched as Anna spoke out loud to a bunch of rocks - but he knew they weren't really rocks.

Especially when they started to shake and roll and become the trolls he expected to see. Grand Pabbie made way through the rest of them, a solemn look on his face. They were all aware of the broken engagement. 

"Queen Anna, what ails you-" The old troll paused as his eyes landed on the man on the horse. The rest of the trolls seemed to gasp and recoil. That wasn't a good sign. "I see. Dark magic..." He frowned all the more. "Bring him here, I must have a better look at him."

Hans hesitated, sparing a glance at Anna if he was allowed to come down off the horse.

Whatever was going on in his mind she was completely unaware of it. This young prince seemed damaged and cruel in his own way and she didn’t want any part of that. And yet she didn’t think it was on purpose. She didn’t feel right about anything. “You’re my first prisoner, yes. And I don’t like at all that the first thing I did as a Queen was to lock you in my dungeon and throw away the key. I do not plan on being a leader that deals with her problems by getting rid of them.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she watched him, wondering exactly what it was that made him seem off, made him seem like there was something dishonest about everything he said? Was it just that she didn’t trust him, or was there something more to it. “Yes, I do believe it. How you can tell I’m telling the truth or not I still don’t understand.” His words struck the queen, and she glanced at the guard. “She loved herself? What do you mean by that?” She pried, indicating for the door to be opened so she could get closer, to talk more forcedly. “You didn’t have a choice in the way you acted? I don’t understand how you can’t have a choice in your own actions.”  The bars of the door clanged as she entered, and her hands folded together as she drew near. “Someone is making you act the way you have? Is that it? Are you under the control of another?” Questioning, wondering. She was clever, the queen, and his words gave her pause. What was he concealing?

He wanted so badly to just shut everything off. To crawl away into some dark crevice and never come out again. He was tired. Tired of this. Of so many people dictating his actions. How to think. How to feel. He was better off not feeling anything at all.

So when her questions fell on deaf ears, Hans remained stoic and empty up until she began to make her way inside his cell. The prince - was he still a prince? tensed considerably and hissed between his teeth. A cornered animal. That was all he was anymore.

"I mean exactly what I mean, Queen Elsa." This sudden unwanted calmness and need for answers was overwhelming. He let out a breathy sigh and sat back against the wall, green, tired eyes locked on Elsa's. 

"If you want to get literal," he said quietly, as if whispering a secret while he turned his head slightly. "I am under control of everyone." The words were enough to cause a string of pains through his body, but not enough to warrant any visible changes. Hans only managed a faint hiss as the curse grabbed at his heart. Traveling to his throat. Effectively silencing him for now.

Hans swallowed down the discomfort and closed his eyes. "You really shouldn't be in here."

Rapunzel’s eyes widened and she nodded mutely. Even if this man wasn’t exactly trustworthy, she’d rather take her chances than end up dealing with more people.

"This is the worst day ever." She whispered.

Hans shot her a sympathetic look as he crouched down beside her, quiet and sighing softly.

"Agreed," he murmured back, peering up and listening carefully if the thugs had trailed off at last. Shoulders dropped eventually. "Although, I think it's safe now." Clearing his throat, the ginger looked Rapunzel over. God, that was a lot of hair. "I'm Hans...you are?"

Shattered Reflections

Anna just nodded and kept her eyes focused on the ice palace. She knew it wouldn’t do either of them well to actually try to journey up there and explore it now- Hans would be as overwhelmed with emotion as she would, and it wouldn’t be good or comfortable for either of them. So she just turned her attention forward again.

"We’re not far. We’ll reach the trolls soon." she told him. The weight of his words from earlier started to become heavier; Kristoff would be there for certain. What was she going to say? What if he didn’t let them speak to the trolls? Oh, god. 

He could feel the weight on himself, heavy and distracting but he pushed forward with Sitron, nodding silently as he lead them forward where she told them to go. Hans stared ahead, inwardly doubting how well this would all turn out. Perhaps it was better for him to die. If Kristoff saw fit.

Perhaps it'd free Anna from her hatred. Let them have their happily ever after. Elsa would have wanted it, he was sure. Or was Anna sure? Hans didn't know anymore. All these years living with the curse and he still didn't understand how it worked.