Notes: This isn't a normal multi-chapter story. This is more like snapshots of time in this particular AU. Having said that, I hope you enjoy the ocean view...
Disclaimer: I am not Jennifer Lee or anyone else involved in the making of Disney's Frozen. I'm just a fanfic writer.
Anna clutched the keys tightly in her fist, the grooves cutting into her palm as she stared at the pretty little white cottage. There was nothing ominous about it. The sun was shining as was to be expected on a sunny July day at the beach. There was a beautiful little white picket fence surrounding the property and even a small lawn that was just as green as it had been in the pictures she had seen online. There was no real reason she should have felt this overwhelming sense of unreality as she stared at the cottage that would be her home for the next two weeks, but she couldn't seem to shake it either. It was probably because her entire life had turned upside down and so nothing felt quite right anymore. She let out a sigh, her shoulders drooping a bit as she turned off her car and stepped out into the brilliant sunny day.
Once she had her luggage out of the car, a smart little suitcase with wheels and a pull out handle, Anna made her way up the flagstone path and stepped onto the porch. She took a moment to admire the sandy beach and crystal blue waters that were a short 200 ft walk from the house, and then squared her shoulders and slid the key into the lock on the door. No matter how she felt about this unplanned vacation, Elsa had paid good money for her to take some time for herself and she wasn't going to waste that generosity on moping around. She was here to think and to paint, to reflect and plan for her future. It sounded like such a boring way to spend her time in a beautiful place like this.
She hauled her suitcase over the threshold of the house and closed the door behind her, knowing that if she didn't do it now she was likely to forget. That was one of her many problems she had been suffering from in the past month or so. She would get distracted and lose track of everything she was doing. Yes, it was definitely better to make sure that doors closed behind her and all manner of electronics were turned off as soon as she finished using them. She didn't want another incident like the iron. It was really too bad, those had been her favorite trousers and she still hadn't been able to find a proper replacement for them.
She stepped from the foyer into the living room and found herself gasping in surprise. It was so pretty! Everything was done in shades of cream and pale blue, including the powder blue tile on the floors. She picked up a vase from the table, filled with delicate lavender blossoms, and inhaled the soft scent. The owners of the house had gone above and beyond what she had expected from the few pictures she had seen, these blossoms were real flowers, not a nice silk bouquet like she had thought. Not everyone paid attention to details like that, but Anna appreciated it, she felt at home.
After setting the small crystal vase back on the coffee table, Anna began exploring the rest of the cottage, hoping to find the bedroom so that she could start unpacking her things. It hadn't been a very long drive, but she was already tired and ready for a nap. And wasn't that part of what vacations were for? Catching up on your rest and relaxation? Besides, there was no one here to tell her what to do, not for the next two weeks. It was just going to be her and her thoughts, and what was a better way to spend her vacation than that?
It didn't take her long to find the bedroom, a rectangular room with that same pale blue color on the walls and a soft white shag carpeting on the floors. It also had large doors set into one of the walls that led out onto the beach. The curtains had been drawn to the sides and she could see a perfect view of the shore through the thick glass panes that made up most of the doors. The view of the beach didn't hold her long, though, as there was a view inside the room that kept drawing her eye. She couldn't keep the smile off her face when she saw the bed, a California King with a gauzy white canopy hanging over head. It was quite possibly the most romantically beautiful bed she had ever seen and she couldn't wait to curl up on it and sleep.
It didn't take long for her to unpack her clothing into the small bedside dresser, she had brought only a few outfits after learning that the cottage had a washing machine and dryer that she was able to use. It had never made sense to her to pack things she didn't need. She and Elsa had that in common, it was one of the only things that they seemed to share. She was much more impulsive and flighty than her sister, prone to romantic daydreams and quick to fall in love. Oh, if only she could be more like Elsa when it came to love. If she had been more picky in the guys she chose to date, maybe she wouldn't have been dumped by the scum of the earth. At least, that's what Elsa called him. Anna had picked out a few other choice words, every one of which suited him perfectly. Damn Hans Westerguard, Anna thought bitterly as she threw her underwear into a drawer. If it hadn't been for him she wouldn't be here, rethinking her life. He had just seemed so damn charming. How could she have known that the same charm she had been drawn to had been hiding a cold hearted bastard?
Tears welled up in her eyes and she slammed the dresser drawer hard, feeling satisfaction course through her at the loud wooden bang it made. She didn't need a nap, what she needed was to leech out her aggressions, to throw paint on one of the many canvases she had brought in her trunk and lose herself in her art. Hans didn't deserve another moment of her time, not after he had so casually tossed her out of his apartment and his life. She was here to find herself again and she was determined to do just that.
With a sense of purpose lighting her up, she stalked from the bedroom, across the living room (snatching her keys from the coffee table where she had dropped them next to the vase of flowers) and was about to head out the front door when it was wrenched open and she found herself standing face to face with a tall, blonde and burly man that she had never seen before.
He stopped dead in his tracks, his chocolate brown eyes growing wide as he took in her presence. "Who are you?" he asked gruffly, setting several bags of groceries down on the tile floor in the foyer.
"I was just about to ask you the same question!" Anna said in surprise. She looked down at the food and frowned. "What's all of that for?"
"To eat," he said, as though that were completely obvious. He stepped around her and held the door open for her. "Get out."
"Excuse me?" she asked, not understanding what he meant. "Why would I leave? I have the place rented for the next two weeks."
A tick moved in his jaw and he shook his head. "Not possible."
"Why not?" She placed her hands on her hips, ready to go to war with this strange man who had shown up and invaded her peace and quiet.
"Because I'm renting it for the next two weeks," the stranger said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He looked more than annoyed, he looked downright angry at her intrusion into his life. Unfortunately for him, he had to be wrong.
"No, look," Anna said angrily, reaching into her purse and pulling out the confirmation sheet that she had printed out two hours earlier. "It says here that I'm scheduled from July 1st through the 15th."
The blonde stranger yanked the paper from her hands and stared at it, as though daring the paper to be wrong. When his eyes widened, she felt victory within her grasp. She was about to rub it in that she was right and he was wrong and kick him out, when he tossed the paper back at her and pulled out his cell phone. He jabbed at the buttons and then smashed it against his ear, practically seething with frustration. "Dammit Sven, pick up the phone," the man snapped. When the person he was calling didn't pick up on the other line, he shoved the phone back in his pocket and ran a hand over the back of his neck.
"So?" Anna prompted, curious to know what his little show had been about. He sent her a scathing look and then swept the bags from the floor into his arms and stormed past her into the kitchen. Unlike her, he seemed to know exactly where he was going in the house without having to examine and search everything. She suspected that he had been there before.
"I called him a month ago," the man seethed as he put the groceries away in cabinets and the small cream refrigerator tucked away in the corner of the room. "He told me not to worry about it and he would see to the details. Yeah, he'll see if I ever help him with a building project again."
"Your friend owns this cottage?" Anna asked him, setting herself on a stool next to the island and propping her elbows on top.
"I helped him build it," the man said stiffly, "and in return he said that I could borrow it whenever I wanted as long as I gave him notice. Well, I gave him plenty of notice and you see what happens?" He waved a carton of milk in his hand and Anna ducked, hoping that it wouldn't fly free and hit her.
"He double booked us?" Anna guessed, having already figured out that much for herself amidst his angry musings.
He nodded, slamming the milk carton in the refrigerator and then turning his focus on her. "He's probably already up at his cabin for the 4th and he doesn't get reception up there. Which leaves the two of us to deal with the crap he left behind."
"Does that happen a lot?" Anna asked, wondering from his tone if he had been in this situation before. It sounded like he had known this "Sven" for quite a while.
"Not as much since he got married, but often enough," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. It looked to her like he was finally calming down, but she didn't want to jinx it.
"That's probably what happened," she told him. "I talked to a woman on the phone when I confirmed the rental. If he didn't tell his wife that he already rented it out to you…"
"Well thanks, Sherlock, but that doesn't exactly help much does it?" he said patronizingly. "Unless you can come back in two weeks or find yourself another place, we seem to be stuck together."
She frowned. "Why couldn't you come back in two weeks? Why would it have to be me?"
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck again. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you, but I just finished a six month long construction project and I'm tired. I needed a break and this isn't exactly what I expected."
Her eyes widened and mouth fell open just a bit. Had this hostile man in front of her really just apologized? She felt bad for him, especially because she knew how he felt. She hadn't exactly been expecting an intrusion on her vacation either. They were both in a tight spot without a lot of choices. She couldn't afford to pay Elsa back for this and she didn't want to put any pressure on her to change her vacation plans either. She was twenty years old, she could figure out what to do by herself, and right now she needed to make peace with the man standing on the other side of the island.
"I'm not here to get in your way. If you want, I'll take the couch and you can pretend I'm not even here," she suggested, hoping that he would take her peace treaty and not throw it back in her face. It was almost painful to give up that bed, but he had a prior claim on the cottage and she was willing to do whatever it took to make peace.
"My mother would have my hide if I let a girl take the couch," he grumbled, "so you take the bed and I'll have the couch. We can work things out until Sven gets back on Monday, that's less than a week that we have to deal with each other."
Anna beamed at him. "I promise you won't even know I'm here. I'll spend most of my time out on the porch with my easel."
He gave a long suffering sigh but nodded. "All right, whatever," he agreed.
"I'm Anna, by the way," she said and shot out her hand, "what's your name?"
"Kristoff," he muttered and then walked out of the room. He didn't even shake her hand.
Fine, she thought as she walked out to her car to grab her painting supplies, she didn't need him as a friend or anything. They were just planning to stay out of each others way, so she didn't need a handshake or a smile or anything to let her know that he didn't resent her for ruining his vacation even though she hadn't intended that at all! It suited her just fine. Fine.
