the princess by several inches, and very lanky, which came from running away from twelve older brothers. Elsa reminded him of a deer—timid and easily frightened, with large blue eyes that held pools of sadness.
“So I was thinking—let’s forget the courtyard. It’s packed with people.” Hans led her down the long hall. “Let’s go somewhere quieter. How about the stables? It’s been a while since I’ve been down there to see Sitron.”
“The stables,” Elsa said slowly. She definitely seemed to like Hans’s horse, Sitron. He was so docile. “I think that’s a great idea.”
She paused in front of the large portrait of her family that hung in the hall. Her parents looked down on her from the wall. In the painting, they each had one hand on their young daughter’s shoulders. She looked like she was around eight.
“I used to fantasize about being an only child,” Hans admitted. “What was it really like? Who did you play with on a rainy day? Or cheat from on your schoolwork? Or go sledding with when it snowed?”
Elsa thought for a moment. “I was quiet and always handed in my schoolwork early—and did it on my own.”
He smirked. “Show-off. My brothers were always getting me in trouble with our governess, sending papers flying into the back of her head and blaming it on me. Have I told you how three of them pretended I was invisible? Literally! For two years!”
Elsa’s eyes widened. “That’s horrible!”
Hans shrugged. “That’s what brothers do.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Elsa said, and looked away.
He didn’t skip a beat. “But you must have had friends.”
“My parents let me play with the staff’s children, and sometimes they’d invite dukes or nobles to come for a party and I’d play with their kids,” she explained, “but there was no one I was really close with.” She looked at him sidelong. “I have a feeling my childhood was a lot lonelier than yours.”
“That very well may be, but at least you weren’t always competing for attention and trying to figure out where you belonged.” Hans paused. “Your childhood may have been lonely, but your future won’t be. I’m sure you’ll have a family of your own someday.” She blushed and looked away again, but he kept going. “And you’ll probably want more than one heir for the kingdom. I’m surprised your parents didn’t.”
“My mother couldn’t have any more children after me,” Elsa said softly. “But I’ve often wondered…No, it’s ridiculous.”
“What?” he asked earnestly. It wasn’t often she opened up, but when she did, he glimpsed the princess she might have been before the tragedy.
Elsa looked around sheepishly. “It’s silly.”
“I like silly,” he said, and spun her around.
She laughed and studied his face for a moment before speaking. “I always wanted a sister,” she blurted out. “I feel bad saying that, but sometimes I’d fantasize about having a little sister.” She blushed. “I told you it was silly.”
“Not silly,” he said. “It sounds like you were lonely.” He held her hand, and she looked at him in surprise. “But you don’t have to be anymore.”
Elsa squeezed his hand. “I like talking to you.”
“I’m glad.” Finally, he was making progress! “I’ve been searching so long for a place of my own, but with you, I think I may have found it.” Elsa opened her mouth to say something.
Down the hall, a door slammed, and Lord Peterssen emerged with the Duke of Weselton. Neither saw them.
“Maybe we should call the princess down to go over her coronation speech one more time,” they heard the Duke say. “It needs to be just right.”
Elsa tried to back away. He held tight and pulled her through an open door and out of sight. The two of them broke into a run, laughing as they raced through the portrait hall and other rooms, till they made their way outside into the sun and to freedom.
When they finally reached the stables, Elsa stopped to catch her breath. “I can’t remember the last time I ran off like that!” she said, laughing.
“Sometimes you need an escape,” Hans said. It was what he had done. He didn’t add that part.
Elsa spread her arms wide and spun around. “It’s liberating!”
He’d never seen her act that free. He had her exactly where he wanted her.
He walked to the stables and opened some of the upper doors to the barn. Horses immediately poked their heads out. Sitron appeared, his white-and-black mane blowing softly in the wind. Hans petted his mane while Elsa stepped over to rub his dun