Many Beauty and the Many Beast

by Felicity Collins

  "I suppose that's where I come in" I said crossing my arms.

  "Yes" Sky replied "Hans, I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't necessary, but from what Kristoff told me, you guys are never in the same spot on the ice harvesting grounds. My men and I already have set up a system to pass information quickly but with the ice harvesters moving from one place to another it's not possible, same goes for Storm's men."

  "We need you to be our infiltrate among the ice-harvesters" Storm said "Skylynn and I can't because someone needs to be at Elsa's side. After the assault, she can't be left alone at least not until we find out who sent those hit-men and I wouldn't trust anyone but Skylynn or myself with this task" I raised an eyebrow at him.

  "Alright. I'll do it, but correct me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't sound like just a security thing. If it was like that, you could have sent your men to follow Elsa around like shadows" I said "Sounds like Elsa is important enough to you both that you don't trust your men to be alone with her" Storm was about to open his mouth, but I cut him off "You're her suitor, Storm. It's your duty. I'm glad you're concerned with her well-being. I was mostly referring to my sister" I said glancing at Sky.

  "Let's just say that it is in our best interests to keep Elsa alive. Her health state concerns me" Storm and I smirked for a moment.

  "Come on, confess it." I said holding back a small laugh. Sky looked at me weirdly.

  "Come on, say it" Storm said nudging her with his shoulder.

  "Say what?" Sky asked confused.

  "Just admit you finally made friends with Elsa" Storm said

  "No. It's purely political business" she said furrowing her eyebrows.

  "Come on, Sky. You know that caring about a friend is not a bad thing" I said. Skylynn looked at me.

  "I only care about Elsa in terms of keeping her alive, because with her dead, I can kiss both you and my alliance with Arendelle goodbye and my kingdom is screwed! That's why I care about Elsa" Sky said glaring at Storm and I , wiping our smirks. Then her irritated demeanor vanished and changed to a more shy one "But… yeah… I may also sort of made friends with her…" she reluctantly admitted. I smiled at her, but Storm and I both dropped the subject and returned to the topic.

  "So, I take it as you and Storm are teaming up now" I said.

  "Yes, we are" Sky said. Storm raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.

  "We? Does that mean we're partners, now?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

  "Well, you are courting the queen so, I'd say you don't have a choice but teaming up with me. After all, you can't court a woman when she's dead"

  "You had me at the assault part, I was just surprised by your sudden change of mind in having me by your side" he replied

  "Not by my side, by Elsa's side. That won't be too hard for you would it?" she remarked

  "Absolutely not. But let me ask you something, I couldn't help but notice that every time you're with Elsa and I arrive, you always leave. Shall I take it positively or negatively, as in you trying to avoid me?"

  "I trust you around her. I know you can take care of the situation if there was a second regicide attempt. I'm not avoiding you" Sky answered.

  "Thank you, then. I am her suitor after all, protecting her and her sister it kind of is my duty now, which coincidentally it's also what King Theodore ordered me to do"

  "He told you to stay here to protect her and her sister from me" I corrected with a glare even though it wasn't directed to him. I wasn't sure if I could say the same about my sister's.

  "You, crazy aristocrats, suitor duty, whatever. The point remains the same" Storm countered. Sky shook her head.

  "So, I take it is official then?" I asked after a moment of silence "You're courting the queen of Arendelle"

  "I don't really know if it is official yet… but the thing is: I like her" Storm said and glanced at Skylynn who remained silent for a moment. It looked like Storm was moving on.

  "Good luck then" it was all I could say.

  "I really hope she is lucky" Skylynn said, looking at Storm in the eyes. It was a warning look, a reminder of what he did during the Revolution "I got to go. Goodnight, Hans" she said and walked away.

  "Sky wait" Storm pleaded, but she didn't look back and closed my cell door behind her, leaving me alone with Storm. Guilt was written all over his face. Part thought of him as a traitor, even though she knew he never really did actually betray them. That Storm wanted her to trust him again was obvious, but I knew that it would have been really hard for him to do that, almost impossible… and then there was Landon's shadow still following her, his presence was still in her heart.

  Storm glanced at me, waiting for me to go in Protective-Big-Brother mode and lecture him, but I didn't. There was no point, though I did have something to say.

  "That's what happens when you betray someone's trust, and I'm telling you by experience" I said.

  "I noticed…" was his response.

  "How am I supposed to take the fact that you're trying to get my sister trust again? Do you miss your best friend or you haven't moved on yet?" I asked him crossing my arms.

  "She married another man, Hans. Even if I still had feelings for her, clearly Skylynn never felt the same for me" he replied sadly "So to answer your questions: I miss my best friend, and I have moved on… it was just a crush" I rolled my eyes at his last statement.

  "Yeah, right…" I mumbled "If you haven't betrayed her, tell her why. Don't avoid the problem, Storm. It won't take you anywhere" Storm kept his gaze on me waiting and spoke up only when he realized I was not going ask the question he was waiting for.

  "You're not going to ask me why I left Drakora in the moment of need? Why I left your sister and my king?" he asked.

  "It's not my trust you betrayed. This is between you and Skylynn… but I can tell that speaking to her about this is difficult and I won't press the matter" I replied meeting his gaze. Storm lightly nodded.

  "Thank you"

  "Don't mention it. Anyway, right now you need to work together, trust each other like you did on the battlefield" I said "And Storm, the hit-men might have not wanted Sky's life but they were more than ready to drag her into this mess and by sticking to Elsa's side she's exposing herself"

  "I told her and she was already aware of it" Storm replied "You heard her: Elsa's survival is essential for keeping you alive and the stability of her kingdom. It's a risk she's willing to take"

  "I know. Keep an eye out for her" I told him seriously.

  "Always have and always will" Storm replied. I gave him a curt understanding nod, then Storm bid his goodbye and left me alone in my cell. I laid down on my bunk and closed my eyes drifting into sleep.

  The day after I did what I was asked: spy around. Now, the fact that I was the one being controlled had both a pro and a con. The bad thing was that everyone was watching me, waiting for me to make my wrong move as it was expected form an attempted murderer. The good news were that being I at the center of the attention, no one bothered to keep an eye out for possible suspects. That meant that if there was someone working with the hit-men the others were going to be too busy watching me to notice him, making my job easier.

  The first day of spying around gave no results. The harvesters were hard workers and considering I was being punished, I was the one who was supposed be kept busy for the whole time. Other than that, no one seemed to be acting suspiciously. Day two was exactly the same. Everyone had their duties, everyone did them, Kristoff organized and ordered around, everyone followed him, everyone was giving me nasty looks. Nothing new. On the third day I was more than sure that I was going to tell my sister there was no threat coming from the ice harvesters. That they, though, was market day, meaning that it was Kristoff's turn and a few other ice harvesters to go to town and sell ice, that meant that he was taking me along. My job of course, did not consist in standing next to the sleigh and speak with customers, I was to unload the ice and cut it in whatever way the clients wanted it.

  It was almost time for us to
leave when I saw something. Among the people in the crowded marketplace I noticed a man: dark winter clothes, knife and sword, and I recognized his face. It was one of the surviving hit-men. He scanned around the marketplace for soldiers and then he quietly walked away, trying to blend into the crowd, heading towards an alleyway, away from indiscreet eyes. I looked towards Kristoff and the other men with him and saw they were too busy speaking with the customers to watch me. I had to risk it and sneak away now or I would have lost the man. Careful not to get their attention, I walked away and followed the guy, unlike him though, I had to sneak away from the crowd, since most people would have recognized me. Finally managed to follow the man into the alley, but apparently he hadn't reached his destination yet. Making sure not to get caught, I silently followed him into another alley way. There the man stopped. I immediately hid behind the corner, the moment he turned around. I waited a few second and slightly leaned forward to take a peek.

  He stood there looking around. He was waiting for someone who was surely his other friend. I just stayed there for a couple of minutes. I knew that at this point Kristoff or the ice-harvesters must have been looking for me, but this was more important. I knew that if they thought I was doing something wrong my sister would have paid for it, but if I gave them the information they needed, no one was going to lay a finger on her. Suddenly I heard something behind me, I spun around and saw Kristoff popping out of the corner behind me and he was not happy. His large hand immediately came forward to hook on my coat.

  "Where do-UMPF!" Kristoff did not get the chance to finish as I swiftly blocked his hand twisting it behind his back, used my knee to make him kneel on the ground and used my other hand to shut his mouth. I felt a tingle of pain on my back, but now it was just irritating. Kristoff on the other hand was shocked, clearly not expecting me to move so quickly, but-hey- if Sky is such a good fighter and I taught her, there must be a reason.

  "Shh! The hit-men are here" I whispered in his ear before he could fight back. That got his attention and I let go of him.

  "What? You followed the hit-men?" he said keeping his voice down, standing back up.

  "Take a look and shut up" I said quietly. Kristoff glared at me and we both looked back where the assassin was. He was still waiting. Then we heard a voice and the man faced the other way. Another guy dressed the same way walked to him, looking around for anything suspicious. I recognized them both. Kristoff and I shared a look and kept looking.

  "So, what news from our clients?" the one I followed said.

  "The mediator said they're not happy, mate" the other said "But added that if we're still up for the job they'll be willing to raise the sum to 100,000 kr. at the condition that we take care of another problem" the other man whistled.

  "50,000 kr. each… sounds good. Let's do this" he said. The second man shook his head, clearly not convinced about this "Meet me at the Old Mill in two hours. We'll discuss the plan there"

  "Fine, but if you don't show up. I'm outta this! Without the others, killing the Snow Queen with those Drakorians at her side is suicide!" he said.

  "Fine! Fine! All we have to do is knock her out first, like last time, take care of those two and then we kill her. Simple as that!" the first guy said "We'll discuss the details later" and with that they parted ways. Kristoff and I looked at each other and silently walked away thinking over what we had just heard.

  "We need to tell Skylynn and Storm. Now" I said, but Kristoff stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

  "Hold on a minute" he said "You followed that man to-"

  "Shut up!" I snapped before he could say what I knew he was going to say. Then I moved his hand away and was about to walk away, but Kristoff stopped me again.

  "What do you gain from this, Hans? What's your game?" Kristoff demanded "Personally, if you told me about this, I wouldn't have believed you. Why are you suddenly willing to risk so much for Elsa?"

  "I don't gain anything from this and I'm not risking for Elsa. I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do" I replied taking his hand off me and walking away with Kristoff by my side.

  "How do I know this is not just a show?" he said suspiciously.

  "Because I don't want anyone to know I found the assassins and a lead to find out who's behind this" I replied "I want you to go to my sister or to Storm and tell them what we heard and don't you dare tell them it was me who discovered it, because I will know if you did" Kristoff remained silent studying me "Is that enough? And don't ask me why because it's none of your business!" I barked.

  "Alright… fine…" Kristoff said, he too didn't look too keen of taking credit after he only overheard the conversation by following me. We were just a few feet away to get back into the open of the market place and I needed an excuse for my absence fast. Unfortunately, Kristoff came up with one and he punched me in the stomach, almost making me throw up my lunch.

  "What the hell was that for?!" I said as painfully holding my guts. He just put my arm around his shoulder, supporting me as I was still doubled over in pain, as we walked through the marketplace.

  "You needed an excuse, now you have one. You ate something that made you sick. I'm sorry about that" he said.

  "No, you're not…" I retorted.

  "You're right, I'm not. I've been wanting to do that for a while" Kristoff replied with a satisfied smirk. I shook my head and remained quiet, I kind of did deserve that, but apparently that pathetic excuse worked. I was in pain enough to make it believable. Up side of this episode was that I got to go into my cell to rest earlier. A few hours later, I heard some shouting out of my cell. I recognized the voice immediately, it was the man I had followed in the marketplace. He was begging the guards not to leave him alone with Queen Skylynn. I smirked satisfied. Apparently Elsa was letting my sister do the questioning. I could hold my curiosity back and walked to my cell door, trying to listen to what was going on, but obviously, I couldn't hear anything. Then I heard something, voices, but it was all muffled talking. Then I finally heard Elsa's voice clearly as she stepped in front of my cell door.

  "Thank you for your assistance, Sky… Although I don't really agree with your methods. There was no need to punch him!" Elsa scolded.

  "Like you didn't shoot ice at him. I noticed the frost in the throne room on my way here" I heard Sky reply. I could just picture her smirking in that moment.

  "I just lost it for a second" she replied irritated.

  "I got the job done. Stop complaining" Skylynn replied. I knew Elsa was rolling her eyes when she didn't reply "Not to mention that you shot ice on his bleeding nose when I was done, hypocrite" she mocked her.

  "You're in Arendelle, do not question it's queen" she replied "Anyway, to sum it up" Elsa said seriously "We may not know who was the one who sent them, but now we know where to look"

  "Aristocracy" I head Anna's voice say. Well, that was good news. It might have taken a while but at least it shortened the list of suspects. A moment later though, I had to jump away from the door as I heard Elsa tell Skylynn that she was free to come see me if she wanted to. Of course a second later, Skylynn was in my room while I pretended to be looking around the cell, with my hands clasped behind my back.

  "Hans…" she said with an annoyed voice, closing the door behind her.

  "Oh, hey, Tiger" I greeted as I met a gaze that matched the tone of her voice.

  "Where you eavesdropping?" she deadpanned.

  "No" I replied. Sky raised an eyebrow "Yes, I was" I replied "I heard the research is going well" I said.

  "It is. The guy spilled" Sky said and with that she told me what happened while she questioned the guy. When Kristoff told them what we overheard while spying the hit-men, she and Storm went to the Old Mill and caught one of the two surviving assassins, who immediately started tweeting. Apparently it all started during the assembly in which middle and working class participated in. Having taken away all the privileges the aristocracy used to have and favored the merchants and the peasants, most of the nobles are not
okay with Elsa's reign. Which is nothing knew considering she basically took away all their powers and put the nobles them on an equal footing as the other two classes. Most of them had political designs that with the presence of middle and working class in parliament couldn't be achieved anymore.

  The thug did not know who was the mastermind behind that, but point is that Elsa is respected and loved throughout the country. No one has motivations strong enough to want her dead because she's become what people call an 'enlightened queen'. No one, except for the aristocracy, that is. New fact was that Anna was next in case grief wouldn't have broken her first. That was about it, but apparently Elsa decided to have an immediate investigation on her ministers, new and old, start immediately.

  When Skylynn left the room after summarizing what happened during the third degree I thought that we were done with the research for the day, but I was so wrong. That evening probably a few hours before dinner time I was once again surprised by another visit. A guard came in asking if I was feeling any better and when I said yes, he said that in order to make up for the extra time off, I was to go clean the stables. Escorted by the guards, I soon found myself with a shovel and a huge bucket and was kindly invited to clean the stables. It was then that I got another surprise visit.

  Storm's POV:

  After the third degree, I went riding. I needed to think over about stuff and like Sky, riding helped me clear my head. When I returned to the palace, it was a little before dinner. When I got close to the stables, I hopped off my horse and taking it by the reins, I walked back to the stables. Looking forward I recognized Hans working there, cleaning the stables. He didn't see me and I would have made myself known if it weren't for two men entering the stables. It was dark outside and the two men were facing the opposite direction and I didn't get to see their faces, but by the way they were dressed, I knew they were aristocrats. I would have gone in without a problem if it weren't for how they greeted Hans.