As soon as Hans and Elsa reached her chambers, she hurried across the floor and flung herself facedown on the bed. Hans lifted an eyebrow, and crossed the room after her.

"Queen Elsa?" he began. "That doesn't look... comfortable."

She made no reply, and Hans suddenly recalled his stiff demeanor from earlier, which he reassumed now.

"Suit yourself. I am going to send for some food."

"Unfasten me?" Her voice came, plaintive, and childlike, from where her face was buried in the mattress.

Hans cleared his throat. "I suppose." Removing his gloves once again, he undid the hooks and eyes in a much shorter time than it had taken him to do them in the first place, and left the queen released upon the bed.

"I will leave you now. Someone will bring food."

"Hans." Her voice stopped him in his tracks. Turning, he saw Elsa sit up upon the bed and turn, her dress hanging loose and unfastened from her slight form, her face blotched and pale. She said nothing further, encouraging his prompt:

"Yes, your majesty...?"

"I'm sorry."

He drew his brows together. "For what?"

Elsa heaved a sigh. "You're wasting your time with me."

He laughed, a short bark. "Anna is wasting my time for me, you mean."

And he left the room. Only then did Elsa let herself really cry. She did not know how the plate of food came to be by her bedside, but it smelled good, and recalled her to her hunger. After she ate she coiled herself up in the window seat and remained almost motionless until the sun set.

On the opposite side of the palace, the twilight gathering in the shadows and spreading outwards, Anna pulled the hood of her cloak up to conceal her face and slipped out the servant's door. Mounting the horse which was waiting as ordered, she surveyed the view of the city. Arendelle was quiet at this hour, and only the shouts of those down at the docks trying to ready their crafts to ride the evening tide out into the bay interrupted the stillness of the air. Kicking the horse into a gallop, she crossed the bridge that connected the island citadel to the mainland without attracting excessive notice, and was soon cantering through the wild woods of the summer fjord. Her breath made faint puffs in front of her as she dismounted and looked about her.

"Summer is so short in this place," she muttered to herself. "And winter is rude enough to try to come back every single night." She frowned at the clear cool sky above her, beginning to twinkle with stars between the reaching branches of the trees. "Don't go giving any ideas to Elsa, now."

"Who are you talking to?" A voice startled Anna half out of her wits, and she repressed a scream, her eyes searching the shifting darkness. Her mount stomped restlessly.

"No one," she said defensively. "Who are you? Show yourself"

"Who am I?" A chuckle filled the night. "I think you know. And if I showed myself wouldn't we be in trouble."

A familiar silhouette stepped from behind a tree, and Anna gave a quiet exclamation.

"Kristoff!"

She ran into his arms and he let out a playful grunt as she made him lose his balance and almost fall upon the pine needles carpeting the ground.

"Easy there," he hissed. "Are you sure no one saw you?"

"Not a soul." Anna tossed her head. "Can you see me?"

Kristoff shook his head. "Not really. You?"

"I can't see you a bit."

He grinned in the darkness; his voice tipped upwards. "Then we're obeying the queen very well, aren't we." He gestured. "Who's your friend?"

"A mount that belonged to our very own Prince Hans. He took a fancy to me and so I adopted him."

"Does Hans know this?"

Anna laughed. "I didn't exactly go to the prison to ask his permission."

Kristoff made no response, but chuckled quietly. He ran his hands through his hair, and finally spoke after a long moment.

"Well, aren't we a talkative bunch. Tired of me already?"

Anna shook her head, biting her lip in the darkness. "I'm kind of..." She trailed off. Silence reigned.

"Kind of what?"

"Kind of worried."

"About what?"

"Elsa."

"Oh, Anna." He drew her into his arms and she buried her face in his chest. "Don't worry... It's probably not as bad as it seems."

"I'm worried about her, about Hans, about us, about everything." Anna's voice rose in pitch. "And I hate being worried like this, it's not -"

"It's not a good thing."

"It's not like me, that's what I was going to say. I'm the one that is never down, I'm always cheerful, always finding something funny in any situation."

"I know." Kristoff stroked her hair back from her forehead. "That's one thing that I think everyone appreciates about you."

"And you?" She tilted her face up toward him.

"I love it." She smiled, and he added, "Though you do drive people crazy sometimes."

"Hey!" Anna pulled away. "Are you implying something?"

"Not at all." His eyes shone innocently in the moonlight, and Anna turned away.

"What?"

"The moon's rising – I can sort of see you."

"Ah. Following the rules of course."

Kristoff wrapped his arms around Anna for a brief hug from behind, and gave her a tiny push forward.

"Off you go. Keep Hans under control. I mean it."

"Can I?" Anna mounted her horse and looked down at him. "I am starting to wonder what sort of idea this was anyway."

"Has anything happened?" He crossed his arms, but suddenly looked over his shoulder as a crackling was heard in the underbrush.

"Sh!" he hissed, holding up his hand and taking a few cautious steps toward the rustling scrub. Anna heard Kristoff's voice from the stand of trees.

"Go away... Yes, now, I'm talking to Anna, and we can't be discovered... No – yes you will, you'll make too much noise... He's royal, Sven - he's trained to not make noise. Well, if I'd - hey! Knock it off, seriously I'm... alright. Alright."

He reemerged, and gestured. "Reindeer. Impatient creatures. I've got to go. Oh, wait - but Hans? Anything...?"

Anna shook her head. "I think he's using her."

"How?"

"Power-play. He's finally realized that he can use this to his advantage. Actually..." Anna sighed. "...There's no way for him not to benefit from this."

Kristoff exhaled gustily. "Well, keep me posted."

"I will."

"Be careful."

Anna was already halfway down the slope. "I won't!"

"Shh! You'll get us in trouble!" he hissed back. And her laughter reached him on the dark wings of the night.

Anna cantered over the bridge and into the castle courtyard, and was prepared to dismount before the block when a voice arrested her mid-action.

"Nice evening for some air?"

"This is not funny." She scowled. "Who is it, and why does everyone keep trying to startle me?"

"Startle you?" Hans stepped into the light of the flaming lanterns. "I wasn't actually talking to you." He grasped the bridle of his horse and scratched him beneath the chin. The horse let his eyes droop closed in pleasure.

Anna put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me, but that is my horse."

Hans looked dumbfounded. "You're joking, right? This is my horse."

"Not anymore. Property of state criminals is confiscated by the crown."

"So it's still not your horse."

"I'm pretty sure it is. I've been riding him for the last month and he seems to -"

"It's Elsa's horse."

Anna opened her mouth to reply, but shut it again almost immediately. "Fine. But she doesn't need it."

"I wonder if I could talk her into riding..." Hans mused.

Anna's eyes widened. "No, no no... She's never ridden a horse in her life - she'd probably be terrified."

"I should teach her."

"You should keep her safe."

Hans's eyes grew shadowy in the flickering light. "You doubt that I will?"

Anna twisted a strand of her hair. "Wellll... yes."

"I am sorry, then. I have been working to earn her trust and yours. I still have a long way to go, but –"

"Yeah. A long way to go." Anna inhaled deeply. "There is really no way with this approach that you don't win, right?"

"Win?"

"Win." Anna gestured. "You know. Come out on top. Triumph. Succeed. Overcome. Head boy, top banana."

Hans shook his head. "I am deeply offended that you think I am merely using this for my own ends."

Anna snorted. "Right. I'm going inside."
And she did, leaving Hans standing in the courtyard with the horse.

Marching through the halls, and up the stairs, Anna went to Elsa's door and knocked.

"Hello?"

There was no response. However, the door was not locked, and she eased the handle down, leaning against the door and peering in. She expected Elsa to be awake, staring, or fidgeting, as she did for hours into the night, but she was in bed, her back to Anna, the covers loosely draped over her slumbering form.

"Elsa?" Anna called softly, making sure that she was really asleep. There was no response. Anna tiptoed across the floor, intending to close the curtains, but she trod upon a loose board which let out a groan, and Elsa rolled over.

"Who's there?" she whispered, her lips clumsy with sleep.

"It's me, Anna," her sister whispered. "Sorry for bothering you, I didn't mean to wake you up, I was just checking–"

"It's fine." Elsa flopped over onto her back, and stared at the canopy above her, her vision gradually clearing. Anna closed the heavy curtains and asked, "Do you want me to bank the fire? You sort of left it..." she trailed off, referring to the undisturbed embers on the hearth.

"If you want," Elsa replied quietly, but not distantly.

"Better, or we'll burn the place down," Anna chirped, and to her surprise, Elsa laughed. Anna turned, a grin stretching across her face.

"Good day?"

"Long day." Elsa stretched and sighed.

"How was Hans?"

Elsa made no reply, and as Anna came to sit on the side of the bed she could see her sister's brows working in concentrated thought. Her lips parted to speak.

"Fine," she said.

Anna exhaled – she hadn't even realized she was holding her breath.

"Oh. Soooo, what did you do?" She bounced slightly.

Elsa smiled a tiny smile. "We held court."
Anna's eyes were wide. "Wait, what? Are you serious? You held court? With actual subjects?"

Elsa shook her head. "Well, no. But it was a start. I think soon I could do it though. The throne." She heaved a sigh. "I haven't sat on it in so long."

"And... did you like the feeling?"
Elsa shrugged, her shoulders bunching the pillow. "I don't know. But I feel... brave. Like I want to get used to it. I think I could do it." There was a gleam in her eye that Anna didn't entirely trust. Like Hans.

"Is Hans a good teacher?"
Elsa's eyebrows lowered. "I don't know. I don't think so."

"You realize why it has to be this way, don't you?"

Surprisingly, Elsa nodded. "Because you don't want to care for me anymore."

Anna opened her mouth in shock, only to manage, "Oh, no, that's not it! That's not it at all!"

"What then?" Elsa didn't seem phased. "Why else is he here? Some sort of strange punishment?"
Anna giggled. "You could say that." But she quickly sobered. "No. It's because – because you needed someone different. Someone not me. Someone to help you who knows... who knows what they're doing."

"And Hans does?"

Anna nodded. "He has not been around you all your life like I have. You have a different history."

"He tried to kill me."

"He has changed."

Elsa seemed to consider this for a moment. But she said nothing.

Anna had no choice but to repeat the statement. "He has changed." And she could only hope it was true.

Anna continued to see Kristoff every other night for two weeks, and mercifully, Elsa seemed to know nothing of it. But Anna didn't dare bring him up in conversation, and so she could never be sure.

Hans spent time with Elsa every day, as if fearing that a lapse would send her back. Anna broached the idea of giving her a bit of a break, lest she be burned out on "participatory life" too quickly, but he shook his head.

"She is doing well. She will be ready to rule in a matter of months."
And Anna nodded, not daring to put a damper on that. It did sound appealing. Because as soon as Elsa was properly ruling, the sooner she could talk her into reinstating Kristoff as the town ice-master.

It was an especially bright day when Hans determined to take Elsa outside the palace for the first time. He aroused her early in the morning with a noisy rap on the door.

"Your majesty?"

"Yes." Elsa opened the door to reveal she was already dressed, and Hans bowed.

"Very good, Queen Elsa. You're learning quickly."

"I'm not an idiot," she murmured, a light blush covering her cheeks. "I can dress myself. I just usually don't."

"Why?" Hans was determined never to bypass a teaching moment. "Have you asked yourself that?"

Elsa's forehead was furrowed. "No. I don't know why. Just as I don't know so many other things."
"I thought you said you weren't an idiot." Hans held his breath. That was harsh. But he could not unsay it.

Elsa hesitated. "Only idiots can never admit when there's something they don't know."

Hans had no proper response for that. So he changed the subject.

"Today, we are going outside."
Elsa turned her head. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. It's splendid day. You're wasting it indoors."

"It's too – bright. Too open."
"And what's wrong with that?" Hans crossed his arms, and was aware of the passing of a gaggle of servants behind him. Duly, Elsa withheld her reply until they were out of earshot.

"It bothers me," she said simply, as if that were proof enough they should not undertake the task.

"Heaven forbid you should be bothered."

She thought she saw a smirk behind his remark.

"Do I have to?" she asked, permitting herself a small smile.

He nodded. "Yes."
"Says who?"

"Me."

"And you're the king here?" Too late she realized what she'd said. "You... you –"

Hans's eyes were wide.

"Wait – hold on a second. No. No, that's not what I'm doing at all."

"You're trying to have a hold over me," she whispered. "You're trying to become indispensable to me –"

"Elsa, listen. Your sister just asked –"

"I know what she asked. But you're doing this for your own purposes, so that –"

"Not here," Hans hissed, as another flurry of activity suggested potential eavesdroppers. "Come outside, and we will discuss it."

"You – I – I won't be out there long," she stammered. "And – maybe I can just sit on a bench."

He nodded. "That's all I'd ask anyway. I don't think you're ready for a cricket match."

She did not smile, but nodded, and said, "I am going to find my cloak."

When she retreated within her room, Hans ran his hands through his hair and tried to still the wild beating of his heart. What should he say? She would never believe him. She could not find out. Not now, not ever. He caught the eye of Hilda as she trundled along.

"Hilda – where is Princess Anna?"

"I don't know," the maid replied, shaking her head. "She keeps disappearing. Going for rides on that white horse –"

"My horse," Hans growled.

"That horse. She's going outside the city to the woods, that much I know. Says it energizes her." Hilda shook her head."I don't know what she's really up to."

"I do," Hans muttered. "But you mustn't cause a fuss. Just let her know that I know what she's up to. That's all."

"Very good, Master Hans," Hilda said, and not a moment too soon, for just then Elsa emerged, wearing a heavy winter cape and a wide-brimmed bonnet. Hans scowled.

"What do you think you're dressed for?"

"A walk in the garden..." Elsa returned doubtfully. "Why, what is –"

"First of all, that cloak is far too heavy. It's approaching summer. And the bonnet's hideous."
Elsa drooped her gaze like a reprimanded child. "It's the only one I could find. It still fits."

"Still?"

"I used to wear it when I was young. Kept my face from burning."

"We won't be out for long. Take it off."

Reluctantly, Elsa undid the ties and removed the wide-brimmed atrocity. "Should I just –"

"Go bare-headed, for heaven's sake. It's not as if you'll die. And forget about this." He undid the ties on her cloak, and she flinched under his touch, not lifting her head as he cast it over her shoulder within the room behind her and shut the door.

"Come along, your majesty," he said, bowing, and trying to sweeten his tone. But he knew this was not going to be an easy day.

The moment he flung open the doors to the terraced gardens, Elsa shrunk back from the fingers of light as if they were swords, but Hans firmly pried her arms away from her face and propelled her down the steps and onto the pebbled walk. She tripped ever so slightly as she turned her head from side to side, looking around, her face squinched against the sunlight, and breathing quickly as she took it all in.

"I need to sit," she managed. "It's too much."

"It's called air," Hans said acidly. "And those are trees. And that –" He indicated the flight of a passing swallow. "That's a bird."

"Very funny," Elsa breathed, sitting down on a bench with her back to the exterior of the palace. Hans crossed his arms.

"There's a better bench in the summer house in the center of the –"

"No," she said, shaking her head vehemently. "Not that far. Not that open."

"Fine," he murmured, sitting down beside her, and burying the toe of his boot in the tiny gravel, flicking it away from them in a shower of pebbles.

"So you think I'm still power-mongering," he said at last, his voice measured. "Why?"

Elsa's shoulders were tensed, and she brushed at the wisp of hair that played against her neck in the breeze, grimacing as once again it danced against her skin. "Stop," she whispered, as if the breezes would listen and oblige her delicate sensory system.

"Hm?"

"Nothing," she murmured. "I just can't imagine why else you'd be doing this."

"Did it ever occur to you that I don't want to do this?" He lifted his eyebrows. "That someone might be making me?"

"You don't seem like the person to do something unless you wanted it," Elsa observed, brushing again at the spot on her neck, and giving it a scratch with her nails.

"Don't." Hans eyed her sternly. "Whatever you're doing, don't. It's not normal."

Elsa pinned her hands to her lap obediently, and fought the urge to simply clench her jaw and bear the sensation. She shot her hand up one more time, but Hans caught it.

"What is the matter?" he demanded.

"My – the breeze – "she stammered.

"We're having a conversation."
"Well, we're trying," she offered, and Hans froze. His eyes grew wide, and suddenly, a laugh escaped his mouth.

Elsa watched him chuckle for quite some time, and at last he looked up. "Yes, yes, alright. You surprised me there. Didn't expect it." He cleared his throat. "So. On to other things. My horse." He mock-scowled. "Your sister has appropriated it."

"Adopted it."

"Stolen it."

"Appropriated it," she conceded, furrowing her brows. "Wait, what?"
"She rides it all the time.

"Where?"

Hans bit his tongue. "..Places. For exercise. For the horse, naturally. Actually, let's talk of something else." He didn't care so much for Anna and her little secret. But he was keenly aware that while he might risk Elsa's wrath without too much consequence at this point, he very much wanted to stay on Anna's good side.

"Let's talk of something else," he offered. "The weather."

"It's... fine." Elsa nodded. "Nice, almost. If a little warm."

Hans scratched his cheek. "Warm? You think this is warm? This is perfect."

"I like it colder."

They sat in a silence almost companionable for a long time, and Elsa gradually allowed her gaze to wander about them. Hans's eyes almost never left her as she sat next to him. Her gown was of the palest yellow, and a light weight that barely touched her slender form, flowing in soft ripples around her and moving ever so slightly in the light wind. Her face was pale, so pale, and her eyes looked an eerily beautiful icy color in the bright light, her hair tinted the slightest of blondes, nearer white. He was aware that she was beautiful. But before, he had not been aware that she was attractive.

"How is the... the skin – doing..." he stammered, cringing at his efforts. Never a stupider sentence was spoken, that he could have sworn.

"The – oh. Well, it's still there," she admitted, laughing quietly. "Which is good. I need it. But... I want winter to come. When I can hide again."

"Why do you want to hide?" he asked quietly. "Are you ashamed?"

She shook her head. "Just... uncomfortable. I hate it being touched. Because it never is."

"Why?"

Elsa met his eyes. "I've always been alone. I'm meant to be alone."

Hans was a little taken aback. "Who told you this?"

"No one had to tell me. I just figured it out."
There was a long pause, during which Hans battled several different courses of response. At last he settled on:

"Well, I wouldn't believe that if I were you. You never know."

Elsa looked at him for a brief moment, but as soon as he met her eyes she turned away. He took her hand in a swift move and he heard her intake of breath. Her skin was cool and smooth – fragile-feeling, and cold, like marble.

"Is this alright?" he asked at last.

She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't allow it.

"Let me. It will help you."

She gritted her teeth. "I... I can hardly stand it."

"Me?"

She shook her head. "Touch."

"Then you definitely should let me. You should get re-used to things. Especially this." He raised her hand to his lips in a kiss. A shudder passed through Elsa's form, all the way up her arm, from where his lips had touched. She pulled away.

"Your majesty?" he murmured.

"Too much," she replied quietly, standing, and bending hurried footsteps toward her retreat indoors. "Too much too quickly."

Hans leapt to his feet and followed on her heels.