Almost (Hiatus)

Chapter 7: Red

"Please leave us." she commanded. Bewildered, the guard turned to her and spoke, "But - But, your majesty," he said, hesitating and still uncertain with his own actions. She looked back and smiled, reassuring him that, in a way, it's fine; that she'll be fine. Finally, he budged, bowed his head, responded with a "Yes, my queen.", then left.

After the metal door closed shut, Elsa turned back to him, the self-loathing Hans who she is not familiar with. She does not know this Hans for the Hans that she knows is a man who would try to escape in any way possible - mainly for revenge on Anna and her. Instead, he stayed on the floor, burying his face in his palms in a futile attempt to get her out of his mind, hoping that once he releases, she'll disappear like melted ice.

His auburn hair isn't as proper as before, she noticed, and confusingly, he seemed to not care about it, at all.

She averted her gaze from his hair, then, to his beaten body. Her eyebrows furrowed as she caught sight of the color red, or to be more precise, the blood that have stained his top completely. And she was sure, that now, there are a lot more than when he arrived. "Hans," she addressed him formally, a way to hide her sympathy for him. It scares her, she admitted, because for a conniving man like him to know how soft-hearted she is, no doubt that he'll concoct more than a million ways to use it against them.

Without even bothering to face her, he spoke. "What?" he said as he remained on the ground, craddling his head in his filthy hands. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the man that sat before her, the wicked man who turned out to be a monster, just like her. She mentally admitted that he looked so innocent and defenseless, that he couldn't hurt so much as a fly; but then, the horrible memories came flooding back, fighting her urge to pity him, the urge to forgive him even though a part of her wanted to. And she didn't know why she does.

"What is it?" he asked again. This time, he took his precious attention off of himself and turned to look at her, his eyebrows knitted in irritation. And again, she refused to answer - or better yet, she couldn't.

She wanted to ask him about the stains. Sure enough, it's not a surprise to be injured when escaping a high security prison, but what confused her is that there seemed to be some fresh wounds on his wrists, and the cloth covering them are now soaked in his own blood. They weren't there before, she mused.

The stench that surrounded them, mainly because of the blood, was too intense, too much that it nearly made her want to vomit everything she ate. She covered her nose as eventually, it went numb, immuning her to the smell. She squinted her eyes as she tries to see it clearly, and she did. The other stains were obviously from his escape, no doubt about that, but the ones on his wrists are not. They looked slashed, somehow.

And her thoughts was right, he was - indeed - cutting himself.

She looked around the eerie room, hoping to see the thing he used in his self-harming. There were no knives nor any sharp objects, to her relief. He doesnt have anything that could help him escape. Still, she wondered what object he could've used.

"If you're here to sentence me to death, so be it. I will go with you without any complains." he continued, placing his arms on his knees. That's when she realized that she haven't spoken since his first question. She wanted to talk but then she felt as if she lost her own voice, prompting her to clutch her neck and stay silent.

He kept looking at her, waiting for the response. She knew he was, so she forced herself to speak, feeling the dryness of her throat. "I'm not here for that, Hans. Besides, I have no intention of hanging or even beheading you; no matter how much you deserve it. I am neither ruthless, nor I am in favor of taking one's life, even yours." she explained.