I walk up to my personal study. I haven't been in there since Hans' arrival. I don't ever have the time or the room in my brain for anymore thoughts. I close the door and sit at my desk. I search for my shelves for nothing in particular. My fingertips brush over the many textures of the spines of my books, skinny and thick. They stop on a particularly interesting book. I put my fingers on the top of the book and pull it off the shelf a little so I can read the title. I let my eyes scan over the title, The Thirteen Kingdoms. I pull the book of the shelf and take the book to my desk.
I open it to the first page and skim over it.
Their kingdom was in debt. Soon it would fade into nothing.
Greedy king.
Thirteen sons.
One daughter.
A plan to not only save their kingdom, but make it grow.
Not one heir.
Each had their own kingdom.
The king left this prophecy as his death wish.
Each son entrusted the other to keep their system moving.
I slammed the book shut, my heart beat racing. I let everything that had caught my eye bounce around in my skull. I sit back in my chair and stare at the book. I want to read it, to find out more, but I can't bring myself to do so. I take the book and go into my room. I set it on my vanity and look in the mirror for a long time.
My eyes are filled with emotions I don't even know how to express. That's all I concentrate on, my eyes; my emotions. I watch the corners of my mirror freeze at the edges, and I look away as fear mixes in with the other emotions.
I leave my room, grabbing the book from my vanity, and search for Hans. I find him downstairs in the sitting room. He stares into the fire and has a thinking expression planted on his face. I quietly walk in the room and sit next to him on the couch. He turns his head towards me when he feels the couch shift as I sit down.
"I'm sorry about Fredrik." I whisper.
"He doesn't matter." Hans replies, looking at me.
"Can I ask you a question?" I wonder, looking at the book, which is text to me, out of Hans' sight for now.
"Sure, anything." He replies, taking my hands in his.
"Can you tell me about why your brother's forced you to come here?" I inquire.
He sighs and turns to face me more, then nods.
"Well, I have my twelve older brothers, well had. I also had a twin sister, but, as I told you before, they killed her. When I was little, my sister and I always stuck together, as we were the youngest. My older brothers always got everything, and when I was little, everything wasn't much. The Southern Isles weren't wealthy at the time. It was a poor kingdom due to the overspending of my father. It even caused our mother to flee with another king in a neighboring kingdom, as my father's greed was consuming him. When my father was dying, he announced his death wish. He told us, if we never completed his wish, then his death would be in vain. He told my brothers and me that we were to each rule a kingdom to regain the wealth of his kingdom. My eldest brother, Gustav, was to rule the throne of my father's kingdom and the rest of us were to marry into the throne in another kingdom. Once that happened, we were supposed to create one large empire. Gustav, Fredrik, Henrik, and Elias were the most serious about my father's wish. They went to the extreme of killing my sister just to get your kingdom. That's the only reason I ever tried to hurt you or Anna. I didn't ever want to hurt you. It's just, harming someone I didn't know seemed like the easy way out to save my sister's life. I even tried to let you go once you were in the dungeon, but my brother's wouldn't let me. Elsa, all I can ask is your forgiveness." He explains to me dourly, his face grim and his eyes clouded with bad memories.
"Hans, you already have it." I reply auspiciously, letting his hands hold mine.
"Elsa... They're only going to keep coming back. They won't stop until there are twelve kingdoms." He croons, looking at me seriously.
I pause for nearly three minutes before looking at the book. I pull my hands out of Hans' grasp and I take the book in my hands.
"Does this book mean anything to you?" I ask him, handing him the book. "You've described everything that I read in here." I add in a sullen whisper.
He takes the book in his hands and runs his fingertips over the golden title.
"Where did you get this?" Hans questions me, holding up the book.
"I just found it in my study." I answer quietly.
"I don't understand... how it could possibly end up here." Hans mutters under his breath.
"Why, where's it from?" I ask him.
"My sister, Hanna..." He begins, pointing out the author's name on the title page. "...was writing this before she died. Last I ever saw of it, was in her room, on her desk. It was still open to the page she was writing the morning before she died." Hans explains, opening the book to a half written page.
"...the twelve brothers convinced the thirteenth son to become a king. The rising sun shined brightly as the thirteenth son's boat set off towards the last kingdom. The kingdom that had been left a mystery for near two decades, was soon to be..."
I listen to Hans read the last, unfinished paragraph.
"She never finished the paragraph, let alone the sentence. My brothers must have gotten to her first..." He sighs sadly.
"Hans... how did Hanna die?" I ask, not wanting to intrude, but curiosity gets the best of me.
"They say that it was a tragic accident. That the fire was an accident, but I know better." He murmurs, looking off into the distance.
"I'm sorry." I whisper.
"It's not your fault." He replies, closing the book and setting it on the table in front of the love-seat.
I get up and walk out on the balcony in the sitting room. I lean on the railing and look out.
"What did we ever do to anyone? All we ever wanted was to keep the ones we love safe. Look at the consequences we're suffering." I mutter angrily.
He puts a hand on my shoulder and I turn to face him. I let him wrap his arms around me and we stand in the lightly falling flurries embracing.
"There were perks though." He points out.
"Like?" I ask.
"Without me being forced here, I never would have met you." He answers with a smile. "And ice magic isn't so bad, you know. It's not as destructive as fire, and you can create the most beautiful things with it." Hans adds with a sweet look in his eye.
"I guess, but I've hurt so many people because of my powers." I bring out the flaws.
"Elsa..." He gives a small smile. "...if you think only of the bad things, you'll never be able to move on. Trust in the good." He tells me wisely.
I hug him tighter and he puts a hand under my chin. He looks me in the eyes.
"Elsa..." He begins. "...I believe in you. I believe that you're good, even if you think you're not." He tells me reassuringly.
"Hans, can I tell you something?" I ask him.
"Anything."
"I think I'm in love with you." I whisper to the one I was sure I'd never fall for.
The one I couldn't let myself fall for. Yet here I am, admitting my love for him.
"Elsa, I know I'm in love with you." He replies, turning me around and kissing me.
When pulls back and looks at me, I want to speak, but don't know what to say.
"Elsa, promise me you'll never take yourself as a monster again." He pleads me.
"I promise." I swear.
He nods and leaves the balcony. I stand there like an idiot. Point for him, this is the second time he's left me speechless on a balcony in the same week. I let a smile spread across my face.
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Sorry for the short chapter guys. Just thought of this as a short plot enhancer because I didn't want to make a 10 page chapter instead of my usual 2-5 page chapter. The song I chose for this chapter was All Your Life by the Band Perry.