I'm Afraid of What I'm Risking if I Follow You

Part 9

"That's very noble of him," said Maj. "You have a great example from which to learn."

If only they both knew—Mother had always been right; only Ahtohallan had the answers.

"So that's how she knew about the dam," said Hans lowly. "Your father told her, and even if she never saw it, she always believed it, and knew where it would be."

The next one had Agnarr singing (a little off-key, Elsa hated to admit) the song of Ahtohallan from the Northuldra. He strummed on a lute in an attempt to impress Maj.

Hans cringed a little. "Well... it's a good thing my mother can sing—otherwise I might not have learned it well."

Elsa had to laugh at that. "Your voice is certainly better than his."

Of course, it wasn't just nice. She hated that he had, probably, one of the greatest, clearest voices she'd ever heard. The type of hypnotizing voice that could lure any unsuspecting maiden to her doom.

A siren's voice, she joked to herself.

"Please don't sing that at our wedding, Agnarr," Maj said in between giggles. "You'll drive all the guests away."

This had both of them at attention, eyes wide.

"They were..." said Hans.

Elsa nodded. Neither had to say it; they both knew, being formal royals. Betrothed. That had always been the plan.

Then... why was Elsa the one blessed with the power of the Fifth Spirit at her birth, and Hans unaffected by the other four?

They looked at each other for a moment. If Agnarr of Arendelle and Majken of the Southern Isles had gotten married, Elsa wouldn't have existed. Or, if she did, it wouldn't have been under the same circumstances.

She walked back to the memory of his mother exploding to her own father. Kneeling over a discarded parchment, she could recognize Agnarr's handwriting—that he was breaking off their previous engagement for his new queen in hopes of mending the conflict between Arendelle and the Northuldra. "A conflict," he had written, "I find far more pressing and important to my heart over our already good ties between Arendelle and the Southern Isles."

And he was in love with Iduna.

Hans kneeled beside her, reading. "Your father chose your mother instead," he surmised. "And my mother never got over it."

Didn't get over it enough to try and marry off her sons to other, neighboring kingdoms. But what about Hans and Arendelle?

There was... Kai in another memory, trying to hand a letter to Agnarr. He looked about the age right before he and Mother...

"Another letter from the Southern Isles, Your Majesty," he said with a bow, but her father waved it off.

"I know what it is," he said. "Elsa is of age to think about suitors, yes, and their Queen's youngest is the right age for her. But I'd rather she focus on her studies for now."

"That was always code for 'controlling my powers,'" Elsa explained.

Looking down, she noticed Hans's hands balled up into fists, like he was holding back an anger she didn't realize was even dormant. "What is it?" she asked.

"She was grooming me," he uttered. "This whole time, like some chess piece she saw as a plaything to move into the right position. She probably never even loved me, like the rest of them didn't."

"Did you know about this?" Elsa gestured to Agnarr's rejection of the letter. "That she was trying to marry us off?"

She had to think about it for a moment, about what would have happened if her father actually let her see letters from suitors. If she thought Hans a serious contender, before actually knowing him. Would he be the attempted murderer if she had rejected him? Fell for his charms if he made his move on her, before her coronation?