Day 15

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Looking down into Anna's eyes, he finally nodded. “On my honor,” he answered. His voice quavered slightly as he said the words, and he hoped Anna would chalk it up to nerves, not excitement.

She didn't even notice. Letting out a visible sigh of relief—after all, the temperature was now well below freezing—she grabbed her cloak from Kai's outstretched hand and then hopped onto her horse. Turning, she addressed the crowd. “I leave Prince Hans in charge!”

Instantly, the gathered crowd began to murmur. He made out a few confused “Prince Hans?” and “Who's Prince Hans?” questions. He could hear others saying things like “The princess shouldn't leave now,” and “What will happen to us if she's gone?”

The thought gave Hans pause. He needed Anna if he was going to pull off his plan. What if something happened to her? He reached up a hand and placed it on Anna's knee. “Are you sure you can trust her?” he asked. “I don't want you getting hurt.” And it was true. He didn't want to see Anna hurt. Elsa he didn't care about. In fact, Elsa's getting hurt or disappearing might just solve all his problems. But Anna ... everything hinged on Anna now. Everything.

“She's my sister,” Anna said. “She would never hurt me.”

Then, snapping the reins, she turned her horse and galloped off.

Watching as the pair grew smaller, Hans turned to the crowd. “People of Arendelle!” he shouted into the wind. “Princess Anna has put her faith in me, and now you must as well. I promise, I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe. I don't want anyone to worry needlessly. I'm here for you!” And for myself,he added silently ...

Sighing, he turned and made his way back into the castle. Gerda and Kai were rushing about, trying to keep candles lit and fires blazing. But the wind was whipping, and for every fire that stayed lit, two burned out.

“Gerda!” Hans called out. The older woman paused and looked over at him.

“Yes, sir?” she asked, her voice weary.

Hans opened his mouth to bark an order but thought otherwise. He could tell Gerda was scared. It wouldn't do to act like the bully. He needed to show her he was on her side. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Gerda looked surprised. “I'm fine, sir,” she said, giving him a quick, shy smile. “We must carry on. It's what the princess and the queen would want. I just don't know what to do is all.”

“You leave that to me,” Hans replied. “First things first. We need to make sure people are warm, right?” She nodded, and he felt a surge of confidence. “So I'll need an inventory of all the blankets we have. Both in the castle and in the stables. I don't need them to be clean. I just need them to be in one piece.”

“Horse blankets, sir?” Gerda said.

Hans nodded. “At this point, I don't think anyone cares, do you?”

“I'll begin immediately.” Gerda turned to go.

“Wait,” he called out. “What else do you have to fight the cold? There must be a storeroom of the royal family's winter clothes, no? Send someone to collect everything they can from there, as well. Cloaks, stoles, muffs. Anything.” He paused as another idea came to him. “And then let's go check out the Great Hall. We should be able to fit quite a few people in there. We can remove the furniture and then ...”

Gerda nodded, her eyes wide as the prince continued to rattle off a list of to-dos: setting up cots; getting food from the pantry; providing toys for the young children to keep them distracted. Finally, noticing her look, Hans stopped and smiled sheepishly. “Am I asking too much?” he said.

“No, sir,” she replied. “Not at all. I was just thinking ... well, I was just thinking it is nice to have someone here to support the girls. It's been so long since the king ...” Her voice trailed off.

Hans walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don't fret, Gerda,” he said, giving it a squeeze. “I'm here now.”

“Yes, sir. Yes you are.” Gerda turned to go and then paused. “I'll get going on the blankets first, Prince Hans. I'll find you as soon as we have some gathered.”

It didn't take long for Gerda to gather up a large number of blankets and cloaks. Finding Hans in the library writing lists of what still needed to be done, she gestured for him to join her. When he walked into the hall, he was shocked to see at least a dozen castle staff standing there, arms loaded down with blankets in various colors, sizes, and shapes. A few more held warm cloaks in their hands. It was exactly what Hans had wanted.

“Good job, Gerda,” he said. Gerda blushed at his praise. “Now, let's start getting these outside and delivered to our guests. If you see children, be sure to get them the warmest of the blankets, please. Same with the elderly. They will not be able to fight off the cold as well.”

As the staff began to head toward the main castle door, Hans looked over at Gerda. “I'm going to go outside now. But I need you to stay here and work with Cook to get the soup and hot glogg into the Great Hall. I'll start sending people in shortly.” Turning, he followed the staff out the door. It was time to show everyone the leader he could be—and would be—if they let him.