Love Turned Cold

Chapter 15

The day of Hans' execution arrived.

Robert and Kjerstin were in their bedroom, mentally preparing. Robert's mother, Charlotte came to provide another shoulder of support for her son, knowing he'd need it. The Southern Isles had sent their regards and approval, sending a dignitary and assigned officiants to take Hans' body to the Isles for burial.

"I don't know how we'll ever fully recover from this," Robert remarked. Kjerstin took his hands in hers.

"We will. It'll take time, yes, but we're doing this together, and it's for the benefit of our kingdom. From Arendelle to Hjallanes, to the Southern Isles."

"I know..."

"Whatever comes our way, I'm here." She assured him, pressing a kiss to his lips.

No villagers would be attending the execution. It would take place in the throne room, with dignitaries and other officials from Arendelle, Hjallnes, and the Southern Isles standing in observance. But villagers were preparing for both a Memoriam and celebration. Following Hans' execution, there would then be a public ceremony honoring and memorializing the late Conrad's life.

It was an official agreement between the three kingdoms. Once the execution was done and finalized, there would be a peace treaty and a trade agreement ceremony between Queen Kjerstin and King Friederick, one of Hans' elder brothers. Anna and Elsa would oversee this.

Finally, everyone gathered in the throne room. Kjerstin took her rightful seat on the throne, her mother and brother to her left, and Robert and Anna to her right. Arendelle's judge, Charles Helgesen, would be overseeing the court and final verdict. Kjerstin, Jonis, and Elsa would provide victim's testimonies, along with witness statements by friends and family members.

Off to the side, Oliver, Signe, Ryder, Honeymaren, and Soleil would watch as the court played out.

The opening of the session began with witness statements by selected family members, recounting what they remembered from that day, and everything following afterward.

Kjerstin and Jonis gave their victim's statements, as they were the son and daughter of the deceased victim. Then, came Elsa's. While Kjerstin and Jonis had written theirs out, Elsa's would be done purely from the heart. Before her, Hans sat handcuffed to a chair, head held down out of shame. She watched him closely, clutching, and wringing her hands out.

"Hans Westergaard. 25 years ago you first entered Arendelle with the hopes of winning over either my sister Anna or myself to gain the throne for yourself. In doing so, you very nearly succeeded and almost killed my sister in the process, and then the same for me. At the time, I was willing to grant you mercy, as I was a new queen at the time. We sent you home to face punishment from your own family, thinking that you would have learned your lesson,"

"We did not hear from you until my husband and I received a congratulations letter from you when we were engaged. And then, we were extremely surprised to hear she had met your son while on a trip to Denmark. We were hesitant to allow them to court, but your son proved himself worthy of our daughter's hand. His commitment," Elsa turned to face her son in law, giving him a gracious smile, "his loyalty, and compassion for not just our daughter, but to our family and crown demonstrated he would not be like you. And he has shown us time and time again, going all the way with my daughter to bring me home. He has proven well beyond doubt that he is not like you, and is twice the man you'll ever be. We welcomed him with open arms, and we welcomed you as well, hoping that his influence would help you embrace the sort of happiness that you sought after. But we were wrong to welcome you," everyone felt the room suddenly drop in temperature. Elsa made her down the steps of the platform, crossing the short distance to where Hans sat.

"I know very well what you wanted, and still want. Acceptance, recognition, love, but your desire for power overcomes all of that. And that very desire is what lead to my husband's death. On a day that was supposed to unite all three kingdoms of Arendelle, Hjallnes, and the Southern Isles, you betrayed that, shooting my beloved husband, just to prove a point. And yet you failed. But you did succeed in helping my family find a new way to appreciate our time together."

"But may I remind you, there is no mercy this time." She tilted his chin up with her finger to make eye contact with him, "you have caused grief beyond comprehension, and allowed you to wander this earth is not fair." Guards helped him stand and leave him to stand in front of her. With the slightest tap of her foot, swirls of ice began to creep around the floor, effectively freezing Hans in place, sticking his boots to the floor.

Behind her, Kjerstin watched from the throne, she had rarely seen her mother this ruthless, but it was justified, she gripped the arm of the throne so tightly, her knuckles began turning white. Robert saw this, and he took her hand in his, allowing him to grip it.

Elsa moved closer to Hans as the ice slowly crept up his legs. She whispered in his ear, as coldly as she could ever be.

"I hope you burn in hell."

Hans stood stiffly as the ice overcame the barrel of his chest, impaling through his heart, his eyes quickly shifted over to the gaze of his wife and son, who turned to look away. He opened his mouth to say one final goodbye, but the ice finally encased him before he could.

In the center of the throne room, stood the iced-over corpse of Hans Westergaard. Mouth gaped open in agony, gazing directly at his son and wife. It was a haunting sight to see. Elsa stood before him, and without faltering, lightly tapped it again, encasing the statue in another layer of ice for preservation. She had considered breaking apart the statue, but she felt that letting him feel the agony of slowly turning to ice was enough.

She turned on her heel and exited the throne room, mindlessly making her way to the hallway where her family portrait with her, Conrad, teen Kjerstin, and Jonis hung on display. She released a heavy breath and a single tear escaped. She felt like a heavy weight had been finally lifted from her shoulders. The threat to her family was finally gone. Never to be seen again, buried in his homeland. Nothing about him mattered anymore.

"It's done, Conrad... he's finally gone. He can't harm our family anymore..." She jumped slightly feeling a hand on her shoulder. Looking back, Anna was there. She had a sympathetic expression on her face.

"We're ready to sign the treaty. We're waiting for you." Elsa gave her sister a smile.

"I'll be there in a moment." After a moment, she gathered herself and made it back to the throne room where everyone was waiting for her.

After a few formal statements and reading the treaty aloud, Kjerstin and Friederick shook hands and both signed the treaty. Sealing it with wax stamps of their kingdoms crests.

Arendelle and the Southern Isles were united at last.