Title: – For the First Time Again
Fandom: Frozen
Pairing: Hans/Anna
Summary: Prince Hans was a cold-hearted villain if there ever was one. Unforgettably horrible in every way! Now, if only he could actually remember all that.
Notes: This was originally titled "Suddenly (I Bump Into You)" in Tumblr for lack of imagination. Hollywood amnesia ahead. Partly here for better fanfic inventory with little tweaks here and there.
She took a steadying breath outside the door, wondering if she really wanted to. After all, no one could blame her for not wanting to see him. It was only right. He had no one to blame but himself. If he hadn't played with her feelings, locked her in a cold room to die before prancing off to kill his sister, well, maybe he would not have gotten into this situation in the first place.
It was only retribution. He was a naval officer-an admiral; surely he could handle a punch or two or get thrown into the sea. Wasn't that rough sort part of any naval training?
Yes, she thought, he'll be fine. She knocked on the door, pushing it open a short while after.
"Ah, Princess Anna," the royal physician, a man wrinkled with experience straightened from his chair. He managed a weak bow, which was excusable for his age. "Pardon me, your royal highness. I was expecting to see the queen."
"She has things to take care of, so I'm here in her stead." Her smile vanished as she motioned to the unmoving subject swaddled in blankets. "And how is…?"
"Ah, Prince Hans. He still hasn't woken up from his fall." He touched his chin thoughtfully, "his scrapes are manageable and thankfully we got all the water out of his lungs. But what concerns me is the bump he took on his head. The swelling's died down somewhat…just hope it doesn't cause any long term problems."
Anna gulped, trying to not feel the strong guilt lancing through her body. It had been a spur of the moment. A random act. He had done and almost done worse, what was one petty punch? Unfortunately she had underestimated her own strength, completely knocking him overboard...with him crashing to the side of the boat along his descent to the water.
"I can't say for sure when he'll wake up." The doctor's voice regained her attention, "But when he does, he'll need to stay in bed for a time with some controlled doses of laudanum. You know, for the pain."
She wasn't glad to hear that. That meant he had to stay here longer than he should. She threw her glance over to the patient, sleeping obliviously. He looked peaceful, his skin a little flushed from being cocooned in blankets that moved slightly from his even breaths. Beads of sweat lined his brow, which gleamed in the bright morning room.
She snorted. He certainly looked cozy. She turned back to the doctor, ready to thank him when the old man's eyes widened to the direction of the bed.
"He's stirring!" He ambled over to the side of the bed quickly as his creaky legs could carry; Anna's eyes followed. True enough, Hans was indeed starting to wake, groaning as he did. His eyes struggled to open, his body trying to shrug off the warm covers.
"Prince Hans, glad you're awake," the kind doctor readjusted his pillow, "how are you feeling? Do you feel any pain?"
Hans only grunted, fixing his head to the new angle of the pillow.
Anna stayed rooted in her place, watching from a comfortable distance.
"Prince Hans?" The doctor prodded for an answer.
A lock of red hair fell over his forehead as Hans' eyes wandered over the room, taking in the surroundings.
They stopped at Anna.
Anna's shoulders jumped a little, but she immediately squared them as she glared at him with unabashed loathing.
However, the expression in his eyes held nothing more than confusion.
"Prince Hans?" The doctor tried again.
Hans did not remove his eyes from Anna.
And he still didn't when he finally spoke.
"Hans…is that my name?"
Suffice to say, Elsa wasn't happy to receive the news, sharing the same sentiment as Anna over this unexpected turn of events.
The doctor shared his report, sitting comfortably in one of the cushioned armchairs of Elsa's study.
"I still stand by what I say," Anna piped, feet stamping the floor in a thoughtful pace, "he's obviously faking it. You know how good he is at deceiving people."
Her regnant sister frowned, considering her words as she leaned back against the front of her desk, her arms braced behind her.
"Your majesty, if I may." The doctor sounded exasperated, "As I've said multiple times today…I can confirm once again that the young prince has indeed suffered a memory loss."
"So he just conveniently forgets everything?" Anna rolled her eyes, throwing her arms up in annoyance, "It's a bunch of baloney if you ask me!"
The doctor, calm and collected, did not feed into the obvious tension, patiently reminding, "Princess, he experienced quite a serious blow mid-fall. His head trauma was pretty severe. I'm surprised he didn't snap his neck or crack his skull."
Anna winced at the doctor's words. The thought of almost having killed Hans made her stomach queasy. Curse her impulsive nature.
"Can this be treated, doctor?" Elsa asked, in a tone that made her hesitant to know the answer.
"This kind of thing…" The doctor sighed, lifting a bony hand to his forehead, "is really tricky. There aren't a lot of medical journals written about this sort of thing. I've had soldiers come from war who could barely remember their former lives after a fall in battle. Some managed to recover their memories in a short span of days but for others, it took months, years even. And there are those who never remember at all."
An ominous silence befell the room. Anna immediately set out to mollify it.
"Maybe if we tell him everything that happened, it'll jog back his memory?" It seemed like the sensible solution.
Elsa looked at the doctor with hopeful eyes, "Would that work?"
The older man seemed doubtful.
"You can try. But thing is we can't just feed him facts and expect him to just absorb them. As I've said, this is very tricky. Only time or certain triggers can sort this thing out." The doctor folded his hands on his lap, adding with a hint of hope, "I only pray that this is just a side-effect from his injury. Maybe when he fully recovers physically, he'll—"
Anna immediately seized the notion.
"Yes, that's it!" She snapped her fingers, the possibility working well in her head. "His mind is just a little addled. But he'll be fine! You'll see, he'll turn back into a snake the moment his bruise is gone."
A wave of relief washed over her. Yes that was it. That had to be it!
"I mean," The young princess laughed, "I sometimes forget what happened after blacking out on chocolate. It's probably the same with Hans' case, am I right?"
Both other parties only regarded her silently.
Elsa dismissed the doctor who had several appointments to attend to. Anna on her way to the gardens, escorted him.
"Of all the luck." Anna grumbled, "Just when the gates have finally opened and the winter is thawed, we get stuck with the least wanted person in all of Arendelle."
Her normally fast pace was slowed down for the older gentleman's sake, who smiled in amusement at her words, "You don't have to see him if you don't want to, Princess."
Anna frowned. It was true she didn't have to. But the idea of him living in the same area as her did not placate her mood one bit.
"Ohh! I just want him shipped back to the Southern Isles. He's their problem. He shouldn't feel welcomed here any longer in Arendelle!"
"Princess Anna," the doctor had stopped in his tracks. Anna turned around in mild surprise. He shook his head, "I know this might be too much to ask, considering all that he's done but…please treat him properly."
Anna's brows furrowed, "Of course. He's getting the best medical care Arendelle has to offer—"
"That's not what I mean," He interrupted, "I'm talking about the way you people behave around him. You need to show compassion."
"Compassion?!" Anna almost choked on the word, "After what he did? Doctor! Why are you siding with him?"
The doctor sighed, "Princess, I am a doctor. I treat my patients regardless of who they are. Prince Westergard is no exception. And you have to understand…he has no memory prior to his accident. The last thing he needs is people treating him badly for reasons he can't even remember. Now, you can try and rehash everything that happened to him. But it would be like telling someone else's story. He might even reject it. His mind is in a very delicate situation."
Anna did not know what to say that. The doctor passed her, gently patting her shoulder, "You have a big heart, Princess. I know you can do it."
The windows were shaded as Hans laid in deep sleep. The light glowing behind the curtains created a soft yellow cast inside the room.
Anna shut the door quietly behind her and padded carefully to the foot of his bed. She observed his sleeping form. They had changed his clothes with a white tunic shirt and had lessened the blankets.
She looked down on his face and found it sickening how attractive he was even with his current state. His auburn hair was neatly combed, face relaxed with a hint of purplish pink decorating the bridge of his nose. It wasn't broken but the doctor did have to set it back in place. Once again, a touch of guilt struck her and she immediately tried to shrug it off.
He did way worse, she assured herself. Crossing her arms, she remembered the doctor's words and let out a sigh. How do you show compassion to a cold-blooded would've-been killer?
She was not allowed to dwell on those thoughts any longer as Hans once again stirred for the second time of the day. Anna was petrified, unsure of what she should do. Run perhaps? Knock him back to sleep? Wait, what?
Hans was struggling to sit up, the back of his head obviously causing him excruciating pain. His bleary dark-circled eyes shot up to Anna's with desperation, gasping out, "W-Water…"
The urgency in his voice caused Anna to instinctively rush to the bedside table, pouring him a glass from the pitcher. She offered it to him but his hands were too shaky. Silently complaining, Anna helped him, setting the glass to his parched lips. Her other hand carefully avoided the tender spot on his head as she reluctantly supported him. She watched the water go down his throat as he drank all of it greedily.
"Thank you…" He whispered, a trickle of water trailing from the corner of his mouth. Anna felt the urge to wipe it clean but immediately disciplined herself.
"Yeah, well…umm," she grumbled, "It's nothing…really."
She gripped her skirts, keeping her hands occupied.
"…Are you a nurse?"
Anna blinked, "Huh?"
Hans clenched his eyes. "I saw you earlier with the doctor. So I assumed…" He trailed off.
"No," Anna tried to keep her tone civil, "I'm a princess."
"A princess," he breathed, looking at her in disbelief, "is that really true?"
Anna found herself seething. Why was that so unbelievable?
"Yes, I'm a princess. This is Arendelle. My sister is queen. You know, the person you tried to—" she paused.
Hans waited, "I tried to…?"
"No, nothing, it's nothing. Forget about it. Well, you did forget about it. But—I'll just shut up now." She plopped herself down on the small seat beside the bed, "So, do you remember anything? Anything at all?" She leaned forward.
He winced, "I'm trying to…but nothing comes back to me. All I remember is waking up and…" his green eyes locked with her blue ones, "…seeing you."
There was something disarmingly honest about the way he said it that took her by surprise. Plus, the way he looked at her...
She immediately broke eye contact. "This is frustrating."
She was not going to fall for that again!
Anna heard him chuckle, and her treacherous heart dared to skip a beat. "Tell me about it. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of me being a prince. It sounds like one big joke to be honest."
"Trust me, it is no joke. You played the part perfectly."
The emphasis wasn't lost on him. "Played?"
Anna mentally slapped herself. "I mean—just trust me, you are one."
He nodded, "Oh okay, very well."
Anna purposely kept her gaze down to her shoes until Hans spoke again.
"Can I ask you something?"
Anna had no choice, "What?"
Genuine curiosity etched his face, "How did I," he motioned his head around the room as a gesture, "you know…end up here?"
Anna rolled her eyes.
Where would she start?