A/N: Hey everyone! This is my /first/ fanfic ever, so I'm really nervous about it. However, I had a lot of fun writing it! This could be a oneshot, but I'm also open to making it into a multi-chapter fic if anyone is interested!
Just a bad dream, Anna assured herself, wiping the tears from her eyes. It was a recurring nightmare, and hadn't left her to a good night's sleep every since the day she'd frozen to save Elsa. Even though she'd thawed out just a minute later, the dead feeling of, well, being dead, still remained with her. Maybe a walk around the castle would help, she thought to herself, getting out of bed and grabbing a sweater.
Anna closed the door behind her carefully, making sure she wouldn't wake anyone up. She quietly made her way over to her favorite room, the one with all of the paintings. She never knew if this kind of room had a specific name. It always had been the one with all the paintings and probably always would be. While Anna walked through the large and empty room, her small footsteps echoed. She remembered when she was much younger, and even as recently as a week ago, when she would come to talk to Joan, her favorite painting. However, ever since she'd returned home, she was too embarrassed to come here. Someone could overhear, Elsa and Kristoff in particular. It was silly of her to talk to paintings, and she knew she would scare Elsa or Kristoff away with her weird habits, which were the result of being virtually alone for 13 years.
Anna laid back on the coach beneath the painting and just started to talk. "H-hey Joan, I realize it's been a while," she started, somewhat hesitant and worried that someone might overhear. "I just had an awful dream, and for some reason I can't get over everything that happened. I mean, if I had gotten there even a second too late, Elsa could be dead and so could I. Hans could've gotten what he wanted all along! A-and I know it's over now but I can't help feeling that I'm still there," she whispered, not feeling much better. This ritual might've satisfied her before, but now that she knew what it was like to talk to a real person, it just wasn't enough.
Kristoff awoke to the sound of footsteps, even though they were faint. He was a naturally light sleeper, probably due to living in the mountains for so long. It was important to have a good sense of hearing. Even though he knew it was probably nothing, most likely a mouse or maybe even Olaf, he decided to check it out anyway. After all, he wouldn't have any peace until he did.
He had been louder than Anna had, but still tried to keep quiet nonetheless. While he wandered around the castle, he realized how big it really was. He had seen it from the outside, on his infrequent trips to Arendelle, He didn't care for the crowds, but rather the quiet of the forest. That's why he seriously limited his time in Arendelle.
He continued walking down the long hallway until he reached a room with a large, mahogany door. From inside, he could hear speaking, Anna speaking. He knew it wasn't right to eavesdrop, but he couldn't really help himself at this point. His feelings for Anna were apparent, but he didn't know what to do with them. He pressed his ear to the door, being able to make out what she was saying. "For some reason I can't get over everything that happened. I mean, if I had gotten there even a second too late, Elsa could be dead and so could I. Hans could've gotten what he wanted all along! A-and I know it's over now but I can't help feeling that I'm still there," he heard. Who was she even talking to? It couldn't be Elsa, maybe it was Olaf? However, something told him Olaf wasn't the best person to talk to about those sorts of things.
Kristoff had been leaning on the door pretty heavily, mostly because of the sturdy look of it. However, it wasn't nearly as strong as it had appeared, because it gave into the pressure and opened. Trying to look less awkward, he made it out to look like he had opened the door on purpose. What he found inside surprised him. Anna wasn't talking to anyone, that is, unless the paintings counted as people. It was kind of cute actually.
Anna looked up from her seat, surprised that anyone heard her come here. It was exactly what she feared, and now she knew Kristoff would think less of her now. However, before she could say anything, he did. "Talking to paintings I see?" he said, walking into the room and looking around at the artwork. "I-I know it's weird, I'm sorry you had to hear it," she said, apologizing, hoping to repair at least some of the damages.
"It's not weird," he said, sitting down next to her. She was shocked by the gesture, and it made her nervous. She was hopelessly awkward and just didn't know what to do. Last time she liked someone, there was a marriage proposal and that was pretty much it. "Yeah it is," she replied, "But it's not like I can talk to Elsa about it," she admitted with a sigh. "It's not like I can talk to her about anything really. I'm too nervous to mess it all up with her. I mean, I've waited too long for her to be here. Plus I didn't want to bother you," she explained. "She was always locked in her room, so I started talking to the paintings, especially after my parents were gone. That's Joan," she said, pointing to a seemingly ancient painting of Joan of Arc.
"You don't have to worry about bothering me," he said. "What happened?" he asked, somewhat interested to hear what had been bothering her. "I-I'm really sorry, I didn't know," he said, feeling upset remembering his own parents. He knew how that one went.
"W-well, I've been having this dream. And in it, I was too late to save Elsa and Hans killed her. And I was frozen. I know this sounds really dumb, but I can't get over the whole being frozen thing. I was dead, and I remember being dead. It was the worst feeling. It all just went blank, and I was nothing. In the dream I feel dead, and I can't get it out of my head," she said, starting to cry. "I know it's stupid but I can't get it out of my head."
"It's not stupid," Kristoff said. However, he was interrupted by Anna. "The whole thing was my fault. If I hadn't been such an idiot, I would've never agreed to marry Hans. I'm an idiot and I put Elsa's life in danger because I was so desperate for someone to love me. He even said so himself," she said, upset.
"You're not an idiot, just because he's a lying, murdering bastard. It's his fault, not yours," he said, angry that Hans' words had gotten to her so much. "You can't believe a word that comes out of his mouth because he's wrong and a liar," he said, losing track of his words out of anger. "He's wrong because he took advantage of you and didn't know how wonderful you are," he said, letting that last part come out as an accident. His face went red, and he looked down at the ground.
"You really mean that?" Anna asked, blushing as well. "Because nobody's ever said anything like that to me before, probably for a good reason," she said.
"Of course I mean it. I-Imean, you're kind of the nicest, most b-beautiful girl I've ever met," he said, stumbling on his words. He couldn't believe he was finally saying it.
"That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me before," she said, blushing. "Goodnight," she said, giving him a quick kiss. "A-and thanks," she said, before turning around and exiting the painting room. "Sorry Joan," she whispered to herself.