Disclaimer: Frozen and its characters aren't mine. This is merely a whimsy, a what-may-have-been that drifted through my mind.


The first thing Hans saw was white hair. Then the girl rushed at him, only to trip and fall into his arms. Now he could see it was Anna. "My only hope is true love" Anna croaked. At this distance, he could see the red in her cheeks, the ice in her eyelashes, and the snot dribbling down her lip. She clung to him as if he could save her.

Hans remembered how he had clutched Elizabeth Valois' hand, begging her to elope. She had been amenable to his clumsy courtship before learning of his blood status, but in this world, thirteenth sons needed to make their own luck. Though they need not be unkind.

Hans led Anna to a private antichamber, taking his time with the fire so he could weigh his options. Anna was going to be so disappointed. It might be kinder not to kiss her at all; he knew it wouldn't work, that if he loved her it was as an adorable puppy who opened doors for him, yet the thought of ripping her rose tinted glasses off so callously pooled dread in his stomach.

Anna collapsed onto the carpet. Hans knelt down and lifted her chin. She closed her eyes. Brave girl. Thinking of all her likable features, he pressed his lips to her chafed ones.

Think of your future with her. Anna is no longer the naive child, but a grown woman, wise to the ways of the world. She knows your faults and loves you anyways because you revealed them slowly, one-by-one over the years, and now it is too late for her to escape. She loves you. This precious, graceful thing. Many heirs are born to you (but not thirteen) and they fill the castle with noise. They may be annoying, but you will no longer be alone, and all of Arendelle is under your benevolent protection. Everything is perfect.

Except it wasn't. Anna's lips had gotten even colder, corpse-like, if anything. Perhaps because he is showering affection on the future "Anna", and not the Anna who shivers in his arms. He kissed harder, left hand sweeping up her back.

Remember that moment, after years of rejection for being thirteenth, when she didn't care. Bright Anna, the hope for your future, accepting your worst deficiency. Of course, she's young, naive, might realize her mistake years down the road—

Think of the friendship between you. Except there wasn't. They couldn't finish eachothers' sentences because that takes years of companionship. The only reason she'd said yes was a desperate need for affection; she'd been starved of it.

Anna was dying. It was an insult for Hans to have even tried. Maybe if he thought of that, of how sad her death would be: dead before marriage. Dead before she became cynical and untrusting. Dead before finding a scrap of affection. How sad. Grieve Hans. Miss her.

It was Anna who stopped the kiss. He could've said "You do not long for me; you long for me to desire you", which was true. He could've said "This is a kiss for avoiding death, not a kiss for love". Also true. Instead he sighed.

"Oh Anna"

I'm sorry.

"Is there anyone who loves you?"


Comments and critique are welcome, though specificity is preferred.