So I wrote a cute little Christmas thing-a-ma-bob for fire!Hans and Elsa if they had met when they were children… I tried to keep all the headcanons from gel-du-cerveau on Tumblr out of my head, to keep it totally original, but her blog is a great source of my inspiration. This was supposed to be uploaded yesterday, but the site was down for login... But here ya go. Enjoy!
It's was Elsa's first Christmas ball, and she was excited as could be – but she couldn't help but be distracted by the red-haired boy in the corner with the sad green eyes.
She was seven now, growing up quicker than ever, but the bright holidays like Christmas in the castle were still exciting to her – the colorful lights, the swirling waltzes, the spinning of dresses and tailcoats as the adults pattered across the ballroom floor – but here she was, not paying attention to any of that. She was seven now, dressed in her winter blue church dress, sitting on the small throne next to her parents', and was wondering why the boy in the white suit looked so sad on Juleaften. It was supposed to be a happy time, the day before Julenissen came in the night and brought all the good little girls and boys gifts. So why did he look so solemn?
For once she was glad that Anna wasn't here to pester her; she had business to do. The child glanced up at her father and asked with a puerile gaze, "Father? May I go over to where the gingerbread treats are? I'm hungry."
Her light-haired father looked down at her with a hearty laugh. "Well, isn't my little girl growing up. Ready to walk through all these grown-ups all by herself. " With a ruffle of her bangs, he replied, "Of course, darling. Just be careful." Lightly he touched her hand, referencing the icy power that she was born with.
Elsa nodded happily, with a smile back. "I will! I promise!"
She hopped down from the tiny throne and scampered across the wooden floor, trying to be as regal as possible in her brisk walk. Occasionally she would have to dodge a skirt or two, or curtsy to the other royals who addressed her, but she was within eyeshot of the mysterious boy within minutes. He looked up from twiddling his fingers in his lap with surprise, hurriedly flinging himself into a deep bow.
"Good evening, Princess Elsa. Glaedelig Jul," he said quickly, his voice bright and airy. "My name is Prince Hans. Of the Southern Isles," he added as he righted himself with a small smile at the girl.
"It's nice to meet you, Hans. Glaedelig Jul to you as well," Elsa replied with a curtsy. At she stood again, she reached over to the nearby refreshment table and picked out two gingerbread cookies, handing on to Hans as she stood beside him. "Why do you stand here, all by your lonesome? It's the night before Jul!"
The prince took the cookie with a shaky hand, taking a small bite before answering Elsa. "I… I, um, I'm not good at dancing…"
Elsa smiled slyly at him. Was that all he thought this ball was about? "Well, you don't have to dance… you could go talk to the other princes our age, over there!" She pointed briefly at the corner across the room, where a group of royal young boys were playing knights. "There's plenty to do other than dance."
"But… a few of my brothers are over there… I don't want to annoy them… and I don't want the other kids to be afraid of me." He let his now-empty hand hang at his side, his fingers moving in anxiety.
With a furrow of her brow, Elsa asked curiously, "Now why would they be afraid of you? You seem nice enough." Her gaze traveled down to his twitching fingers, and for the first time she noticed he was wearing gloves. Not the kind of gloves you would wear if it was cold, but the kind you would wear if you were much older, an adult at a formal event. And unless Hans was older than he looked… "And, i-if I may ask, why do you wear those gloves…?"
Hans looked up at her sharply, and Elsa drew an intake of breath as she locked eyes with him. She took a step back, trembling slightly. She was doing it again, getting into business she had no need to know. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry…"
"No, princess…" Hans lowered his gaze, "It's quite all right…"
An awkward silence ensued between them, as the waltz that was danced before them slowly turned into a gavotte. Elsa looked up at the chandelier above them, warming the room with its bright candles. She looked at Hans, who had gone back to rolling her hands in his lap again. She then looked at her own hands, ungloved and free, small ice crystals at her fingertips. What could Hans be hiding…?
"Elsa."
The princess jumped at the use of her name, sounding defeated from Hans' mouth. He should have said 'princess' but she was too shocked to chide him.
"Yes…?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
They locked eyes again, his wide but enigmatic, hers narrowed and slightly confused. Of course she could keep a secret – she had been keeping the secret of her ice powers from her kingdom her entire life. "If you have to tell me anything, I promise I will not breathe a word to anyone. Not even my mother and father. I… I can understand the power of secrets."
"…Okay." Hans, at this, quietly lifted the tablecloth and motioned for Elsa to go under first. With a furtive glance around the ballroom, the princess hurried under, the prince following right behind and letting the cloth float gently back to its normal position.
It was dark under the table as they sat with crossed legs touching, though not so dark as to where they couldn't see each other's faces. Gingerly, Hans removed each of his gloves and sat them to his right, as Elsa nervously adjusted her tiara. His hands seemed perfectly normal. Did what he had to show he come from inside him…?
As if on cue with Elsa's thoughts, Hans cupped his hands in front of her and made a small flame in his palms, right in front of her eyes.
Elsa gave a small gasp, her eyes alight with the red fire. "That's… amazing! You can create… actual fire!" She whispered, entranced by the dancing orange flare before her. From behind his hands, Elsa could see Hans's small smile brighten his already bright green eyes.
"You're the only one to ever say that. My parents… my parents tried to force this fire out of me… by horrible tortures I… don't want to describe…" He winced as he continued. "And my brothers, all twelve of them, treat me as if I'm a freak. Sometimes they even ignore me outright." He sighed, closing his hands as they were thrown back into darkness again. "And of course none of the kingdom knows this. What's even worse is that I'm the youngest brother… I'll have to deal with my brothers' torments until they all grow up and leave the Isles. So far only Anders has left and gotten married… he's the eldest." He looked up at Elsa, eyes brimming with tears from emotions that Elsa knew she could identify with. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, princess. No one understands me… and of course you—"
"No, Hans, but… I – I do understand!" She spluttered excitedly, leaning forward. Hans looked back at her, a crease in his brow.
"How…?"
Elsa only smiled, cupping her hands as he did and, feeling the cold rush through her veins, watched a snowball form in her waiting hands.
Now it was Hans's turn to gasp; his eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Elsa… you…?"
The eldest princess of Arendelle giggled. "See? I have magic too."
As Elsa lowered her hands and the snowball vanished, she continued her words. "I… I haven't suffered such horrors as you have, Hans, with your brothers and all… but I understand what it means to have this magic inside you, which you just want to share with everyone, but can't. My parents are accepting of my gift, as long as I keep it between them and my little sister, Anna. But sometimes I just want to show the kingdom who I really am. So yes, Hans." She patted his hand, still warm from his flame. "I completely understand what it means to be different. Your secret is safe with me."
The prince looked at her for a while, a grin slowly spreading onto his face. "T-Thank you, princess."
"Please, just call me Elsa. Because we're friends now, right?" Elsa gave a smile in return, glad to have finally cheered up the sad little boy in the corner.
With a slow nod, Hans replied, "Friends… of course, Elsa. We can be friends."
As they left the safety of being under the table together, Elsa felt her heart fill with light and happiness. She had found another person like her – full of magic that had to be kept secret from the eyes of their respective kingdoms. It was a good way to end the last few days of the Jul season, in Elsa's opinion. She felt a little less alone in the world – a little more like a regular princess. She hoped to see Hans again next year, when the snow fell from the sky and the bells rang across Arendelle. They'd make snowmen and build little fires together, away from the prying eyes of adults who were appalled and confused by the powers they carried in their souls. Maybe she would even bring Anna along.
Just before Elsa went to bed that night, she kneeled by her window with a candle at her side and prayed that Hans would have a good Christmas, with no mean parents or bullying brothers, and, that corners, for him anyway, would be a place of freedom instead of a place to hide.
Reviews are appreciated!
~Anais